Brisingr recap

Eragon and Roran, with Saphira's help, storm the dark spire of Helgrind and free Roran's betrothed Katrina, and Eragon destroys the last of the king's inhuman servants, the Ra'zac. Returning to the elves, Eragon learns from his teacher Oromis a truth that overturns Murtagh's earlier claim: his father was not the traitor Morzan but Brom, the former Rider who raised and trained him. With the aid of the elven smith Rhunon, Eragon forges a Rider's sword of his own and names it Brisingr. Among the dwarves, after their king's death, his friend Orik is chosen to take the throne, keeping the dwarves in the war. Nasuada endures a brutal ordeal to hold the loyalty of her allies. In a battle near the city of Gil'ead, Murtagh and the king's power strike down Oromis and Glaedr, though the old dragon's preserved heart-of-hearts passes into Eragon and Saphira's keeping, and the war moves toward its final stage.

Earlier in the cycle, farm boy Eragon became a Dragon Rider when a blue stone hatched into the dragon Saphira. After the king's servants killed his uncle, he fled with the storyteller Brom, secretly a former Rider, learning swordplay and magic until Brom died. Eragon delivered the captive elf Arya to the Varden, the rebels opposing King Galbatorix, and destroyed the Shade Durza in battle. He then trained with the hidden elf Rider Oromis and his dragon Glaedr, and elven magic healed and transformed him. His cousin Roran led their village to join the Varden after the Empire seized Katrina, the woman Roran loves. Nasuada took command of the rebellion. At the Battle of the Burning Plains, Eragon faced a new enemy Rider on a red dragon and found it was Murtagh, alive and forced into the king's service, who claimed they were brothers, both sons of the traitor Morzan, and took Eragon's sword.

This third book opens with Eragon shaken by Murtagh's claim of brotherhood and by the loss of his sword. His first and most personal task is at hand: with Roran and Saphira, he means to break into the grim fortress of Helgrind to rescue Katrina from the king's servants. The wider war continues to press on the Varden and their allies, and Eragon still owes his teachers a return to the elves to finish learning what a Rider must know, even as the Empire's strength grows and the coming battles promise to be harder than any yet fought.

By the close, Eragon has settled several of the questions that had haunted him. He rescues Katrina and kills the Ra'zac, letting Roran and Katrina marry, and he learns from Oromis that his true father was Brom, not the traitor Morzan, freeing him from Murtagh's poisonous claim of brotherhood by blood. With the elf smith Rhunon guiding his hands, he forges and wields a Rider's blade he names Brisingr. The dwarves elect Orik as their new king, securing their place in the alliance, and Nasuada survives a punishing trial that binds her wavering allies to the Varden. But the cost is heavy: in a battle near Gil'ead, Murtagh and Thorn, wielding power lent by Galbatorix, kill Eragon's teacher Oromis and the dragon Glaedr, robbing Eragon of his mentors. Glaedr's heart-of-hearts, which holds his consciousness, is saved and entrusted to Eragon and Saphira. The Varden press deeper into the Empire, the king's strength looms larger than ever, and Eragon knows the final reckoning with Galbatorix and Murtagh is drawing near.