The Burning Bridge
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| The Burning Bridge | |
 First American Edition Cover |
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| Author | John Flanagan |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Series | Ranger's Apprentice |
| Publisher | Random House (Australia); Philomel (USA) |
| Publication date | May 5, 2005 |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Pages | 266 (Australian paperback edition); 256 (US hardcover edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 1741660906 (Australian paperback edition); ISBN 0399244557 (US hardcover edition) |
| Preceded by | The Ruins of Gorlan |
| Followed by | The Icebound Land |
The Burning Bridge is a 2006 fantasy novel and the second story of the Ranger's Apprentice series written by John Flanagan.
[edit] Plot introduction
On a special mission for the Rangers, Will, his friend Horace, an apprentice knight, and the Ranger Gilan travel to a neighboring country, Celtica. They discover that all the villagers are gone. Will and Horace wonder if all the villagers have been slain or captured, but Gilan thinks that the evil Lord Morgarath finally devised a plan to cross the mountain pass. If that were true, and the King wasn't warned, the country would be destroyed. Gilan goes to warn the King, and Will and Horace begin to follow a straggling Wargal force. On their way they come across Evanlyn, who claims to be a maid to an Araluen lady. When the three of them follow the Wargals they discover that a bridge is in the process of being built across The Fissure. They also discover that the King's army will be trapped on the Plains of Uthal, surrounded by Morgarath's army and a huge Skandian force. They decide that the only way to save the country is to burn the bridge. They manage to do this, but Will and Evanlyn are captured as they keep the fire going. Meanwhile, Gilan reaches the camp and as he reports Evanlyn to the King, we find that Evanlyn has a secret identity. Horace rushes back to the battlefield in time for the fight to begin. The cavalry is destroying Morgarath's army, so he sends a retreat, then goes forward and challenges Halt to single combat. When the King forbids Halt from accepting, Horace challenges Morgarath instead. Morgarath is about to kill Horace, but, using the move that Gilan taught Will, Horace stabs Morgarath and wins the battle. The Wargals start retreating back up Three Step Pass and the Skandians escape with Will and Evanlyn. Halt tries to rescue them, but he comes minutes too late. Halt promises Will that he will rescue him, which Halt tries to do in the third book.
