Bridge City

Bridge City is a location in Sunwing. It is a relatively safe bat haven in a human city that is home to multiple massive Freetail colonies.

Description
Bridge City is a large metal bridge that crosses the vast river cutting through the surrounding human city. Composed of a latticework of metal beams, the bridge is upheld by several large stone pillars that stand in the water. The top of the bridge is populated by loud moving cars whose lights illuminate the road. The underside of the bridge is rife with ledges and nooks, providing ample space for the millions of bats inhabiting it to roost. The bridge also has several towers that soar into the sky and serve as vantage points that give way to the view of the human city. The tallest tower acts as a roost for Halo and the other elders.

Sunwing
Having just escaped the artificial forest, Marina, Frieda, and Ariel cross paths with Achilles and the group of bats he is travelling with. After exchanging pleasantries, Achilles tells Frieda that the Silverwing Hibernaculum has been seized by the owls. He tells her that him and his convoy are traveling to Bridge City and invites the group to join him.

The group, growing ever larger as they encounter more displaced bats, eventually reaches Bridge City. Marina marvels at its grandiose features, feeling a sense of pride at being present at such a legendary landmark - the greatest of all bat strongholds. The group is greeted by other bats and shown around. They learn that Bridge City's population had grown massively in the wake of the owls' martial law. When Marina wakes from her rest, Frieda beckons her to join the meeting of the elders. The meeting takes place on one of the bridge's soaring towers. When a messenger informs the elders that a group of rats have tunneled to the base of one of the piers, the group descends from the tower and flies under the bridge, coming to one of the large stone piers that juts from the shore of the river.

After a long journey from the southern jungles, Shade, Marina, Ariel, Chinook, Cassiel, Orestes, and many other escaped bats and owls approach Bridge City. As they approach, they are met by a group of bats led by Achilles, who questions their safety and escorts them to the negotiation with the owls. The meeting takes places high in the air above Bridge City with both sides circling one another in the air. After a negotiation is made for a temporary truce, Shade and Marina visit Frieda on one of the bridge's many sheltered ledges and reminisce on their journey together.

Trivia

 * Bridge City is based on the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas. It is home to an estimated 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats during the summer and is the largest urban bat colony in the world.