The High Priest of Helgrind was the leader of the Helgrind religion. It was described as neither male nor female and was thus referred to as "it". As events in Inheritance showed, it was very skilled in mental combat, taking on a Dragon Rider (Eragon), an elf (Arya), a werecat (Solembum), as well as Angela the Herbalist at once.
Role in Brisingr[]
The High Priest first appeared at the start of Brisingr, when Roran and Eragon were lying in wait to attack Helgrind. They witnessed one of their rather gory ceremonies in which a youth cut off his own hand. Eragon and Roran were revolted by this practice and hoped to not come across them again.
Role in Inheritance[]
The High Priest played a much larger role in Inheritance. When Eragon, Arya, Solembum and Angela were trying to escape the catacombs under Dras-Leona, Eragon and Arya were attacked and then knocked unconscious. When they woke up, they found themselves surrounded by magic-dampening crystals, bound in enchanted chains and were gagged. After a short while, the High Priest and its followers appeared. To Eragon's horror, the Priest revealed that they worshiped the Ra'zac and the Lethrblaka, known to the priests as the Old Ones. It also informed Eragon that by killing the Ra'zac and Lethrblaka, he had committed a crime of the highest offense and would hence be left along with Arya to be eaten alive by the Ra'zac hatchlings inside two eggs they left in the chamber. When the four protagonists escaped, they came across a cathedral in which the High Priest and its followers were practicing their religion. It ordered the priests to mentally assault the escapees, but Arya set one priest on fire and soon all of the priests were killed or ran away. The High Priest attacked Eragon, Arya, Angela and Solembum mentally, but Angela seemed to resist more than the others and went up to the Priest, told it her name and stabbed it with a dagger while the Priest showed horror at the sound of her name. The blade buried itself in the Priest's body and burned it to a pile of ash.
Physical Appearance[]
The High Priest was overall extremely deformed. It had no arms or legs, it didn't appear as a man or a woman and was classified as genderless by Eragon. Atop its head was a large crest.