Daras Guildsward is a character who appears in a deleted scene from chapter Shadows on the Horizon of Inheritance.
Biography[]
Youth[]
Daras' father Thelmund Guildsward and had a brother, being his father's second son. He was born at Fellworth Manor, located in the swamps east of Belatona. Arriving at the age of five, Daras devoted the next twenty-eight years of his life to the fine arts and dwelled in the handling of the sword. For this, he was trained by the greatest fencing instructors of the Empire. He has also read and memorized every known weapon manual. According to him, he even improved all the manuals after consulting them. He might have studied at Mortenson School of Fencing, as he knew of their laws.
He therefore used his money only to procure the best weapons forged by the best blacksmiths in his region. Of the ten most skilled swordsmen in Surda and the Empire, Dalas challenged seven to a duel and defeated them. According to him, the last three behaved like cowards because they avoided him whenever he tried to confront them
Meeting with Eragon[]
Present in Belatona during its siege by the Varden rebels. While searching for Lord Bradburn with his companions, Roran, Arya and Blödhgarm, Eragon crosses paths with Daras, the latter leaning against a wall, tearing petals from the white rose. Seeing Eragon, Daras straightens and gets into an attack position, stating to have heard of the fame of the one nicknamed "Shadeslayer", such as his two victories against Murtagh. However, he wrongly believed that Eragon's father was an elf. Whatever the case, Daras saw in Eragon a worthy opponent against whom he can test his fighting skills
Despite Eragon's attempt to order him back to where he came from so he can live long enough and one day have children, Daras pulls out his sword and challenges him. While gloating over the fact that he had the advantage, Eragon takes him by surprise and thrusts Brisingr sword into his heart without much difficulty. Furious that his enemy had, in his eyes, not respecting the basic principles taught in the art of duelling, Daras replies by telling Eragon that he "cheated". While Dalas succumbed to his injury, Eragon contented himself with saying that he simply "won" .
References[]
https://www.paolini.net "The Swordsman"retrieved June 7, 2022