The Burning Plains, known as Du Völlar Eldrvarya in the Ancient Language, were so named due to a battle between the Dragon Riders and the Forsworn, during which a dragon ignited the peat and the fire burrowed underground, where it still smolders. These fires created a scorched, continually smoking land.[1] Gouts of flame occasionally leapt out from cracks in the ground, scorching anybody who gets too close. The Plains are located between Surda and the Broddring Empire.
The Battle of The Burning Plains was fought here between the Broddring Empire and the Varden. It was also the place where the Urgals joined forces with the Varden and where Eragon and Saphira encountered Murtagh and his new dragon Thorn, who stole Zar'roc and revealed that the two Riders were brothers.
A later battle to happen here (Battle of the Jiet River) was another battle between Eragon and Saphira, Murtagh and Thorn, as well as was further down the river from the from the previous one.
The Burning Plains are not really plains, more of plates in the ground, with flames under the ground, occasionally leaping up through the cracks.
Real-world connections[]
The Burning Plains are somewhat similar to The Door to Hell near Darweze, Turkmenistan. In 1971, some geologists were conducting gas drilling in the Kara-Kum desert and discovered a gas chamber. They didn't dare to go down in the chamber because of the high concentration of gas, so they ignited the gas, expecting it to take a matter of days to remove it all. Since then, it's been burning without interruption (over 40 years).