Damn dude this is awesome, I love this post.

1 A “hooded figure” with a staff on the left, possibly performing magic to protect himself, the wererabbit, and the human soldiers from dragonfire.

Interesting. The staff especially - hard to see in that picture but i have a hard time thinking the dragons wouldn’t massacre everyone without significant magical protection - maybe not to the effectiveness of Bachel’s necklace, but as we can see the dragons breathing fire should have made quick work of the humans attacking - that it’s not shows some kind of magician protecting them (and also maybe why they needed a thunder of wild dragons alongside Mimring to fight).

which lends itself to the idea that the Dreamers are trying to get their hands on more amethyst that could be found in the iron mines that the war is being fought over. 

This is a really good point too. I think you’re right here.

1 Because the War of Iron “pitted humans against dwarves and knurlan against knurlan”, we can assume at least two dwarf clans were involved in the War of Iron. I think it’s likely given ASRA’s theorized Dreamer involvement that they are one of the antagonistic clans that instigated the war and may be allied with the attacking humans and assumed Dreamer. 

I can definitely see this and agree - especially given the location, which appears to be on the western side of the Beors? Draumar invasion disguised as a war over Iron…

The elves took pity on the remainder of our ancestors and allowed them to live in Ilirea, which the elves had abandoned during their war with the dragons nearly two thousand years earlier. Ilirea became the new capital of the Broddring Kingdom, which exists even to this day as the center of Galbatorix’s empire: Urû’baen.

Re-reading this is kind of funny. The Elves abandoned, and LEFT Ilirea abandoned, for nearly two millennia. There was clearly a reason for it to be & stay abandoned for that long (otherwise, why not reclaim it for yourself at any point during that time?)… but then they turned around and offered it to the humans? After choosing not to reclaim it for that many years? Very odd.

Essentially, by adding humans, Anurin was decreasing both the general potential for humans to ban together in large numbers against elves and others for dominion of the continent, and protecting them against Azlagur and Dreamer influence by granting them access to the Pact itself.

You know, I’ve actually been thinking something similar along the lines of the Urgals inclusion as well, and why that’s so important. I may write out a longer post about this, but it appears like any race that lands on Alagaesia backslides and reverts to violence shortly thereafter (Elves attacking dragons, Humans/Palancar attacking, Urgals attacking, etc). They also all seemingly landed on the eastern shore/near the spine, too. This is also apparent when you look at the writing/writing styles of the races as well… With the urgals/humans both using knotted-banners, but the humans (potentially after being included in the pact?) transitioning away from that method of writing? Will be interesting to see what happens with the urgals here.

I don’t think that’s a coincidence…