Carn was a human spellcaster and member of the Varden. While he struggled to cast magic, he compensated by “inventing extraordinarily clever spells and by excelling at worming his way into his opponents’ minds.” (Narrative, 1st edition Brisingr, page 401) Others described his temperament as nervous and excitable. Carn was often relied upon to defeat his enemies and also to heal those with life-threatening injuries. He did his absolute best, though he was exhausted by even simple restorative spells.
Roran liked Carn instantly. The two bonded while they fought together under Martland Redbeard, Carn saving Roran’s life many times over the course of their friendship. When the Empire’s soldiers took over Deldarad in Surda and Captain Edric failed strategically, it was only with Carn’s support that Roran won over the allegiance of the Varden men under the captain’s command. Roran’s daring strategy spared many Varden lives. Over the course of the skirmish, Roran single handedly killed one hundred and ninety-three enemies, a feat he wouldn’t have succeeded at without the aid of one of Carn’s wards.
The magician accompanied Roran to Aroughs, where it was Stronghammer’s task to somehow conquer a city that seemed impermeable. Carn did some nighttime reconnaissance to decipher the purpose of the spells protecting Arough’s gates. This proved to be unnecessary because Roran hatched a plan to use barges and the water canals that entered the city to build enough force to batter the canal entrances open.
While the surreptitious preparations for this were taking place, a contingent of the Empire’s soldiers rode up to the Varden camp, which was nearly empty with exception of a few warriors and wounded. All the rest were modifying the waterways. Roran hatched a plan to intimidate the oncoming group enough to avoid bloodshed. Carn, at Roran’s request, was able to make the air around Stronghammer shimmer. When the group of the Empire’s soldiers rode up, Roran held a conversation with their leader, Tharos; in the meantime, Tharos’s magician exhausted himself trying to pierce Carn’s spell, not realizing the magic was not hiding anything and therefore could not be pierced. This in itself was fearsome enough, but with Roran’s convincing roleplay, it was enough to send Tharos and his soldiers packing for the time being.
Roran’s plan to penetrate Aroughs worked, though it wouldn’t have gone as well, or perhaps at all, without Carn’s assistance. Once again, Carn was forced to face Tharos’s magician, this time in battle. The silent duel went horribly awry. Tharos’s magician was distracted for a moment and when Carn came close to taking control of his mind, the magician hurriedly cast a spell that caused Carn to be immolated in a bright explosion of blue light, leaving only a smoking corpse behind. But Carn had his revenge. Before he died, he managed to kill his opponent by drawing all the moisture out of his enemy’s body.
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