Battle of the Burning Plains

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A Map of Alagaësia. The Burning Plains are unmarked but are West of the Jiet River.

Date	Unknown
Location	Burning Plains, near the Jiet River in Alagaësia
Result	Surda victory

Combatants

Surda,
Varden,
Dwarves,
Kull,
Villagers of Carvahall

Galbatorix's Alagaësia

Commanders

Orrin,
Nasuada,
Eragon,
Hrothgar†,
Garzhvog,
Roran

Murtagh

Strength

Unknown (comparatively few)

~100,000^[1]

Casualties

Unknown

Army completely routed

The Battle of the Burning Plains was the decisive battle in Eldest, second book of the fictional Inheritance trilogy, written by Christopher Paolini.

1 Prelude
2 Battle
3 Notes
4 References

[edit] Prelude

There had been constant tensions between the Varden and Galbatorix, king over Alagaësia. Surda, which was regarded as inconsequential by Galbatorix had been secretly supporting the Varden.

While Eragon was undergoing his training to become a Dragon Rider under the elf Dragon Rider Oromis in Ellesméra, he magically spied upon his friends Nasuada and Arya, whom he heard were planning for battle. At that point Eragon and Saphira, his dragon decided to partake in the battle themselves, and to finally unleash the fruits of their long and arduous training.

He went and told of his resolve to his trainer Oromis, and they heard the news that the elves had also decided to join in this campaign, which they felt could take decades to resolve. However, the elves would probably not be present at the Battle of the Burning Plains, since it would take far too much time to mobilize their army and resources. Eragon and Saphira along with Orik, the dwarf who was accompanying them, reached the battlefield on dragonback, where they found the situation for the Varden and Surda grim.

At the battlefield, two armies were arrayed opposite each other, the Varden and armies of Surda to the south and Galbatorix's army towards the north, with two miles of demilitarized zone between them. The Varden's and Surda's armies were said to have "paled in comparison to the size of the force assembled in the north. Galbatorix's army was so large, it measured three miles across on its leading edge, and how many in length it was impossible to say, for the individual man melted into a shadowy mass in the distance" ^[2]

Eragon took control of the Du Vrangr Gata, the magical society loyal to the Varden, and met with Nasuada and Orrin, the leaders of the Varden and Surda respectively.

Then, a faction of Kull, huge and strong Urgals, under their leader Garzhvog, had a meeting with Nasuada, and decided to join the rebel armies, because Galbatorix had abused their kind for too long. Being "noble savages" with a strong tribal nationalism, they swore to complete loyalty in exchange for Galbatorix's death. On the eve of battle, four Kull, including Garzhvog himself, joined Eragon to guard him on Nasuada's orders. Eragon reluctantly accepted, though he also accepted the help of 7 dwarves, including his friend Orik. They encountered Angela, a witch friendly to their armies, coming into their camp from the opposing camp. Suspecting her of treason, they confronted her, only to find out that she had poisoned the food of the armies of Galbatorix, and thus, managed to kill many of them.

[edit] Battle

When daybreak arrived, Eragon roused himself and his guard, and they joined the army marching out of their camp, armor padded to prevent any noise. Because of the nearly opaque vapors rising out of the ground which give the Burning Plains their name, the army remained undiscovered until they cross three-fourths of the no-man's land. The cavalry of King Orrin, and the Kull, who could run as fast as horses charged, and the two forces met.

Eragon had placed magical protective wards around himself, and those whom he held dear. His plan during the battle was to discover the enemy spellcasters, and immobilize them, and then in turn, those soldiers who were under their protection. However, the cunning of the spellcasters made it difficult for him to find them, though he was ultimately able to find some, with the help of Du Vrangr Gata. He was able to wrench the order from their minds that they were not supposed to harm either Saphira or himself. Recovering from the initial assault, Galbatorix's armies mobilized their machines of war: catapults, trebuchets and ballistae, which caused severe damage to the Varden. However, Eragon devised a cunning plan: he took control of the mind of a soldier near a machine and used him to render it unusable. He similarly disposed off the other machines.

In the midst of this Nasuada, badly injured came to Eragon, and told him "We need...a Rider" ^[3]. Eragon, inspired by her courage, made three sorties into the opposing forces, on foot with the help of Saphira and his guards. Though, however much they would try, the numbers of the opposing armies were too great to be quelled. As the battle dragged on three of the dwarves and two of the Kull in his guard were killed.

[edit] Expansion

At this point, the dwarves made their entry into the battle under their king, Hrothgar from the east. These reinforcements invigorated them, though soon they spotted a ship, coming up the Jiet River. Thinking that the ship was bringing reinforcements for the armies of Galbatorix, Eragon set out to destroy it, only to encounter his cousin Roran, and the entire population of his home village Carvahall. Eragon was pleasantly surprised to see his elder cousin, though Roran did not reciprocate his feelings, because the entire village had been driven as refugees from Carvahall due to the fact that it was Eragon's home ^[4]. Roran, as their captain, ordered the people to ground the ship and use the ballistae in their ship to wreak havoc on Galbatorix's army.

With the entry of Hrothgar and the dwarves into the battle, the opposing soldiers, most of whom were conscripted and torn out of their families, lost heart. Many of them surrendered, defected and turned on their comrades, or threw down their arms and fled. The officers also gave irrational orders, which helped the Varden rather than themselves.

[edit] Final battle

During the battle, Eragon sighted a flying figure, which he had earlier mistaken to be a Lethrblaka. Actually it turned out to be a red dragon, probably hatched out of one of the two eggs that Galbatorix had in his possession. The Dragon Rider killed King Hrothgar with a "shaft of crackling energy"^[5]. Eragon, filled with desire for revenge, flew off on Saphira to confront the unknown Rider, only to find himself facing a mighty opponent, one beyond his powers to defeat. The two dragons battled, but ultimately Eragon made a bold move by jumping off his saddle to hack at the feet of the other dragon. As he fell through the air, Saphira caught him and Eragon told her to land so that the two Riders could fight face to face on the ground. However, the other rider was able to heal his dragon by magic.

Eragon and the other Rider dueled, but the latter was able to fend off all of Eragon's attacks, no matter how clever or complex. Exhasuted by the ordeal, Eragon slipped and fell, and in a flash of realization, he remembered that he knows the person, through all of his fighting moves. He reached up and ripped his helm off, to reveal that his friend Murtagh was standing there.

At the beginning of the book, Murtagh, a friend Eragon had met in his travels and also the son of Morzan, a close compatriot of Galbatorix, was captured by a raidng party of Urgals, along with Ajihad, former leader of the Varden and father of Nasuada, and The Twins, the strongest spellweavers of the Varden.

Murtagh now revealled how The Twins were the spies of Galbatorix, and they had planned the ambush to kill Ajihad, and to capture Murtagh and bring him before Galbatorix. There Thorn, the red dragon hatched for Murtagh, and Galbatorix made Murtagh and Thorn swear loyalty to Galbatorix in the ancient language, and thus made it a vow which they could not break. Murtagh also revealed that Galbatorix, during their training, had told them of ancient secrets, "...spells so powerful that the elves dare not utter them[...] Words in the ancient language that were lost till Galbatorix discovered them. Ways to manipulate energy...Secrets, terrible secrets, that can destroy your enemies and fulfill all your desires."^[6]

Eragon, then realized that The Twins were also on the battlefield, and the powerful spellweavers that they were, were wreaking havoc on the Varden's spellcasters. Then the two Riders espied Roran climbing up the hill where The Twins were, and killing them both with his hammer. Murtagh did not warn The Twins because they had enjoyed torturing him when he was their prisoner.

Murtagh then explained why Galbatorix wanted Eragon and Saphira both alive, because Saphira is female, and Galbatorix wanted to use her to spawn a new race of Dragon Riders loyal to him. Eragon tried to convince Murtagh to turn to his side, but in vain. Then, left with no other option, he attacked Murtagh, but meets his match, and is left half dead. Murtagh then prepared to take Eragon back to Urû'baen, the capital of Galbatorix's empire, but Eragon convinced him to leave him and Saphira behind. Murtagh, showing his humane side, agreed, at the expense of his own suffering at the hands of Galbatorix, saying that Galbatorix's order had been to "...try and capture [Eragon] and Saphira" and that he had tried.^[7]

[edit] Revelation

Just as he was about to leave, Murtagh revealed a final deadly truth to Eragon, that the latter is also a son of Morzan, the closest ally of Galbatorix. Eragon was shocked, but on further thought came to believe it. Murtagh, in his final revelation said "...Zar'roc should have gone to Morzan's eldest son, not his youngest. It is mine by right of birth"^[8] As an inheritance of being their father's eldest son, Murtagh took Eragon's blood-red sword, Zar'roc, which was originally Morzan's and declares it a fit match to his dragon Thorn, whose color was also red.

The battle ended in a complete rout for the Varden, Surda, and the dwarves.

[edit] Notes

^ Paolini, Eldest, 587.
^ Paolini, Eldest, 581-582.
^ Paolini, Eldest, 626.
^ (see Roran's story)
^ Paolini, Eldest, 639.
^ Paolini, Eldest, 647.
^ Paolini, Eldest, 651-652.
^ Paolini, Eldest, 652.

[edit] References

Paolini, Christopher. Eldest. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 0-375-82670-X.

Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Trilogy
Books	Eragon \| Eldest \| Book 3
Films	Eragon
Main Characters	Eragon \| Brom \| Arya \| Galbatorix \| Murtagh \| Roran \| Ajihad \| Nasuada \| Angela \| Saphira \| Oromis \| more...
Places	Alagaësia \| Beor Mountains \| Carvahall \| Dras-Leona \| Ellesméra \| Farthen Dûr \| Hadarac Desert \| Helgrind \| Surda \| Teirm \| Urû'baen \| more...
Events	Blood-Oath Celebration \| Battle of the Burning Plains \| Battle for Carvahall \| Dagshelgr Invocation \| The Fall