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iwillhaveamoonbase · 4 years

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We Could Be Heroes Ch. 4

Rayla made her way as quickly and quietly as possible back to her dorm. Claudia had texted back that she would wait in her car up the road. It was already after 8, so everyone was either in their dorms or studying in the library. ‘No clue what I’m going to tell the girls. I’m moving in with my boyfriend is the truth, but they’ll start asking questions. Maybe I’ll say nothing. I don’t tend to sleep there as much anymore. Too much risk running into Bandlr.’

By the time Rayla had put her building key in the lock she was no closer to an answer. Rayla went up to her floor and poked her head in her room. ‘Good; no one’s here. I’ll just grab my clothes and my books and I should be good to go. Anything else I need, Callum either has or will get.’ She grabbed a bag and began shoveling her textbooks and notebooks into it.

“Where you been, Rayla?” Rayla gulped as she turned to her roommate, Zaras, a Skywing elf, standing in the door way. Her wings looked as soft as ever while her pale blue skin looked a tad darker from the all sun she must have gotten since it became March. With long black hair and a sweet face, Zaras looked just as soft as her wings. No one ever saw her sharp tongue or heeled boots coming. Zaras had her dark eyebrow raised as she lightly brushed dust off her right wing.

“I’m just getting my stuff.” Was her voice shaking? ‘Confidence, Rayla. Runaan always said to act confident.’

“I see that,” Zaras gave a small smirk. “Where you going?”

“I’m going to stay with my boyfriend for a bit.”

“Why are you staying with Prince Callum?” Rayla felt her heart stop. “I haven’t told anyone.” Rayla’s heart started beating again as she relaxed just a bit. “If anyone asks where you are, I always say you must be in the library or at the 24-hour gym in town.”

“How long have you known?”

Zaras shrugged before sitting on Rayla’s bed. “The whole time, if it’s been more than a year. You spend a lot of time with him and you always look so happy after you spend the night at his place. Why do you think I insisted we be roommates again this year?”

“Because I’m the only person that tolerates your granola habit at three o’clock in the morning?”

“That and I like him, too. He has been nothing but respectful to every elf on campus. I have never seen him so much as raise his voice unless he was being provoked. He’s more aggressive with the humans who push him to try dark magic than he is with us. He also asked my honest opinion on the Sky arcanum and if I knew any good books of spells. You got yourself a good man, Rayla, and I don’t want you to lose him just because someone didn’t like him.”

“Thank you, Zaras. Bandlr is going to go public with this tomorrow. He found out and he’s acting like it’ll just ‘slip out.’” Zaras hissed as she shook her head. “I know. He’s an asshole and I would kill him if I could. I might, anyways. I think I would be doing everyone a favor.”

“Bandlr is going to be the least of your worries. You know that a lot of the humans on campus don’t like you, right? Just purely based on the fact that you freely admitted that you are, technically, an assassin. Even if you haven’t made a kill, you’re still trained and still able.”

Rayla put her head in her hands as she groaned. “I know. I also know that I don’t want to walk away from him. Even though it would be easier and would save the both of us a lot of pressure and harassment.”

“But you love him.” Rayla turned to see Zaras looking at her with a genuinely happy smile.

“That I do.”

“How are you going to get your stuff to his place?”

“His friend, Claudia, is going to help me. Her car’s already parked and she’s waiting for me.”

A quick clap of her hands and Zaras was up and already rifling through Rayla’s drawers. “Well, let’s get packing. Do you want anything out of the bathroom or can I have it? I really like the smell of your moonberry shampoo.”

“You can have all of it. Except the bubbles. Those are mine.”

“Noted. Where’s your other bag?” Zaras quickly helped pack while keeping an eye on the door. It was better to know who was and who wasn’t in the suite so that they could leave with as few questions as possible. “Do you seriously not have any sexy underwear? I have several pairs just to make me feel good on a bad day.”

“Callum might have a heart attack if I did. You know my bra with the front clasp? I wore it one time and he almost fainted. In about five years, I’ll try the front clasp again.” It had been a complete accident that he had even seen the stupid thing. She was changing at his place and he had happened to walk into the room. Callum had blushed bright red and stammered when he saw her take it off before leaving the room, stumbling the whole way.

“Pfft. That is just too adorable. I don’t know how anyone can think that dork is dangerous.”

“I don’t either. The most threatening thing he’s ever done was tell Bandlr to back off after he busted into Callum’s apartment.”

“You might need extra security, then. My dad knows people who work in the security industry. I’ll give him a call if you need it.”

“We’ll let you know. I can’t tell you how much it means to me, to us, that you’re helping me. That you’ve been helping me.”

Zaras shrugged, a thoughtful expression taking over her features. “I told you, he’s a good man. He’s also a talented mage with zero percent of the overconfidence that I see in a lot of the mages here on campus; human and elf. I have no idea how he got the Sky arcanum to work for him, though. From what he told me, he understood that the wind was a part of him, of everything. He also admitted that it was after he broke a primal stone, so take that as you will.”

“He’s explained it to me a bunch of ways and he loses me halfway through. He understands how he did it but he can’t explain it in a way that makes sense. And now that he’s planning to try with the other arcana, he has to make it make sense. He’ll always be dangerous if he can’t make people understand why he was able to access primal magic as a human. There will be people who accuse him of using dark magic to succeed or that he made a deal with someone like Aaravos.”

“I wish him all the luck in the world. I also wish you luck. You’re gonna need it.”

“Thanks. I’ll need every last bit of luck you have. Where’s your lucky coin again?”

“You’ll take my lucky coin over my dead body.”

“I can arrange that.” They chuckled as Rayla did a quick sweep of the apartment. “I think that’s everything.”

“Let’s go, then.” Zaras made sure to walk out the door first, after grabbing Rayla’s bubbles, and kept the conversation on classes and the latest movie. “I’m telling you, Rayla, you need to go see this one. I’m normally am not a fan of human cinema, but this guy just cried as he rode off into the sunset. Wonderful. I need eight more.”

“You just have a thing for men crying.”

“Who doesn’t? I also really like girls in tight pants. Really tight pants.”

“Are we going to discuss your kinks all night? I’ll need a drink if we are.”

“Buy me some hard liquor and I’ll be sure to tell you every last one of them.”

“Name the time and place. There’s the car.” Zaras nodded and let Rayla lead the way from there. Claudia waved them over and quickly popped the trunk. “Thank you, again, Zaras.”

“You’re welcome. You owe me that drink. And I want you to tell me what’s going on. I’m here if you need me.” Rayla was normally not really a huggy person, but she quickly wrapped her arms around Zaras in thanks. It took a moment for Zaras to return the hug, squeezing Rayla with all her strength. When they separated, Zaras smiled at Rayla again before nodding her head to the car.

“Right. Good night.” Rayla hopped in and Claudia hurried down the road. Zaras waved before quickly turning back to the dorm. “Do you think anyone saw you?”

“Doubt it. Soren got a message from King Harrow today.” Brow raised; Claudia looked at Rayla out of the corner of her eye. “Apparently, he’s going to be officially stationed here?”

“I asked for him. I needed more people in our corner.”

“That sky elf looks pretty in your corner.”

“She is. I’ll introduce you sometime. Make sure you wear super tight pants.”

“Ooh. My kind of girl.” It didn’t take long to reach the apartment complex. Claudia drove to the back and grabbed a bag after parking. “Callum texted that he’s still at the store. I’m going to take his key when he gets back and get a copy made for you. You two can’t leave the apartment until I get back and that might not be until tomorrow night, okay?”

“As long as I get it before classes start Monday, I’m good to go.” They went in and up the elevator. Claudia suddenly got a big smile on her face as she laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m helping my ex-boyfriend’s girlfriend move into his apartment. And we have to keep everything a complete secret until tomorrow. I feel like some sort of secret agent.”

“How do you feel about that?” For all of Claudia’s prodding, Rayla had never known if Claudia was actually alright with watching her ex-boyfriend move on or was putting on a front because they were still friends.

Claudia shrugged and turned to Rayla. “Honestly? Not nearly as bad as I thought I would. Neither one of us was mature enough or in a good place for a real relationship. I’m a little jealous, but I think that has more to do with the fact that he’s moved on and in a steady relationship while I’m still going on speed dates. He was everything I was supposed to want; we just didn’t fit together. He has drawn such a thick line in the sand concerning dark magic and, well, dark magic is the only thing that’s allowing my brother to stand anymore. Callum has really pushed for me to learn healing from the other elves here. The only problem is that my father is Lord Viren and he hates elves. No one wants to teach me or help Soren because they’re scared that I’ll take their life force to heal Soren or we’ll take the secrets back to our dad.”

“You wouldn’t, though. Callum told me that you two are Team Soren and Claudia. You’re your own side and you wouldn’t jeopardize Soren’s health to get back in your father’s good graces.”

A chuckle and a shake of her head was all Rayla got for a moment. “He’s right. Viren’s our dad and we want nothing to do with him. He told Soren to kill Ezran while he and Callum were at the Banther Lodge a few years ago, before anyone knew just how treacherous he had become. He also told me to leave Soren to die if it was between him and an artifact that was supposed to amplify magical abilities. The things he’s called Callum and Queen Sarai…. I understand why my mom left him. Soren and I wish we had picked her all those years ago. He’s not going to be nice about this. All the hatred he’s felt towards Callum and Queen Sarai is also going to fall on you.” The elevator opened and the two got out, sitting on the floor with Rayla’s stuff to the side.

“Why did he hate her? She saved his life and died doing it.” Claudia looked conflicted for a few moments. Rayla could see the wheels turning in her head. She genuinely didn’t know what had made Viren turn on Sarai and Callum didn’t seem to have an answer either. If she knew, maybe she could be better prepared for anything Viren launched against them.

Finally, Claudia nodded her head, looking back at Rayla. “Don’t tell Callum this. Or Ezran. You have to promise you will never tell them.”

“Is it that bad?”

Claudia held Rayla’s stare and lightly shook her head. “You have no idea what he has called her. If Callum found out, he might kill my dad. I think King Harrow finding out about it is what ultimately led to he and my dad falling out.”

Rayla didn’t want to keep secrets from Callum and keeping one from Ezran would be more difficult than her training with Runaan. But this was also a chance to get another perspective on Callum’s history. She didn’t trust the news and she didn’t trust what most other people said because they didn’t know Callum; Claudia did. “I don’t like it, but I promise I won’t say anything.”

“OK. I’ll hold you to it.” Claudia sighed as she leaned against the door. “You know that Queen Sarai wasn’t a noble, right?” Rayla nodded as she adjusted herself. She had a feeling Claudia was going to be giving her a lot of information and that this was a lot more complicated than she thought. “Well, when Queen Sarai and King Harrow were kids, they met when his father took him to visit his best general. That was Queen Sarai and General Amaya’s mother. Harrow was instantly smitten with her. They spent a lot of time together during that visit and Harrow was convinced he would marry her. He was right, eventually.

“Queen Sarai didn’t have those same thoughts. She viewed herself as a warrior first and that her job would be to protect the future king. And then she met Marco, Callum’s father. From what I heard; he had no prospects beyond his artwork. He didn’t come from a family with any kind of wealth or status, couldn’t use a bow and arrow or a sword and always questioned why the world couldn’t talk about peace instead of continuing to fight whenever the war was brought up. He was also opposed to dark magic; calling it the reason why the peace had been shattered in the first place. He was probably the last person who should marry a future military leader, but he came to their home one day to paint a portrait of Sarai and Amaya and that was that. They got married a year and a half later and Callum was born about two years after that.

“Marco died when Callum was only a year old from a bad fall. He was painting a client’s ceiling and someone on the ground wasn’t paying close enough attention. Queen Sarai was devastated and she buried herself in her work and raising Callum. Her work brought her to the capital and to Harrow. By this point, he and my father were close and my dad was pushing for Harrow to get married and have an heir before he was crowned king.” Claudia chuckled as a sad smile took over. “Harrow instantly fell back in love with her and he loved Callum immediately after meeting him. It didn’t matter to him that Callum was from his love’s first marriage. He was part of Sarai and that was enough.

“Dad didn’t think it was…appropriate for a future king to marry a woman who already had a child. It didn’t matter that she was a widow. She had a kid and she wasn’t noble; that should have taken her out of the running. He brought women from all over the Pentarchy and Harrow still chose Sarai. And it got really, really ugly between Sarai and my dad. She asked him what his problem was and he called Callum…well, he called Callum a mongrel son of a street urchin. He then said Callum wasn’t fit to lick Soren’s boots, let alone be the son of a king. That was before he proceeded to call Sarai a two-bit gold-digger who was only interested in Harrow because she wanted another man in her life and Harrow happened to be there. He told her she was nothing more than a whore who would lead Harrow to his own destruction. None of that was true, but my dad was so blinded by his devotion to Harrow that he didn’t see the truth anymore.

“Sarai said her piece by calling Dad a self-serving, egotistical asshole. She made him a deal; she wouldn’t tell Harrow what he said if he backed off. Dad knew a good deal when he saw one and agreed. Harrow would have believed Sarai in a heartbeat. Sarai and Harrow got married and then had Ezran. In between, Sarai began to let it be known to the rest of the world about her distaste for dark magic. She thought it was a shortcut and resisted every time it was brought up as a solution. This university was all her idea. She had taken what her first husband had said to heart and she wanted peace between the Pentarchy and Xadia. She instilled that in Callum and Harrow and they’ve instilled it in Ezran and General Amaya. And the four of them have started to instill it in the rest of the Pentarchy.

“They tried to get along for Harrow’s sake but my dad would just rail into her when he thought it was safe. Called her power hungry and manipulative. Soren and I heard things that no one should ever utter about anyone. Sarai died protecting my father because she knew how important he was to Harrow. She thought they would both make it out alive and they had just saved her sister. Dad had a high opinion of her for a little bit, until Harrow started implementing her ideas. The university and this town started to be built less than a year after her death. He pushed for more peace talks and gradually started to reject any of Dad’s ideas if they involved dark magic. Eventually, Harrow started to call for Dad for council less and less.

“Dad blamed Sarai for losing his best friend. The truth is, Sarai was right. Dark magic is a shortcut. It’s the only one we have, besides primal stones, for humans to learn magic. And it’s impossible to get primal stones. There are days when I listen to Callum and agree with everything he says. I wonder if dark magic has twisted my dad beyond repair and if that’s why he’s like this now. He used to be kinder and more understanding. What if dark magic does that to me one day?” She twisted the white lock in her hair and bit her lip. “But I also love magic and don’t want to give it up. I’ve always been a mage, and I’m really freaking good at it. I taught Callum how to use the primal stone and his first couple of spells. Callum can’t explain how he unlocked the arcanum in a way that anyone understands and I refuse to stop using dark magic to help my brother until I have another answer.”

Rayla had heard a lot of this from Callum, but to hear just how this animosity between Sarai and Viren and how that led to Harrow and Viren’s own relationship to deteriorate put new light on everything he had told her. “Callum really doesn’t know?”

Claudia shrugged, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “He knows about Dad’s feelings towards him and he knows Dad didn’t like Sarai. To my knowledge, he has no clue just how deep that hatred runs and for how long it has. Neither does Ezran. In their minds, Sarai was a saint; why would anyone hate her with all of their being? Harrow doesn’t want them to know what my dad called their mother. Callum also doesn’t know about the deal they made or the argument that it came from. As far as Callum and Ezran know, Dad just gave up and told Harrow to be happy. If they find out, it needs to be from Harrow. The only reason I know is because Dad got drunk one night and told me and Soren everything. When we told Harrow that we knew, he asked us to keep it quiet and never, ever tell Callum or Ezran. That was the same day that we told Harrow about his plot to kill Ezran. We picked Harrow’s side that day and Dad wanted nothing more to do with us and we wanted nothing more to do with him.”

“Why can’t they know?”

“Would you want your sons to know that someone you believed was your best friend and your biggest supporter thought their mother was anything less than honorable, even after she saved his life?”

Rayla thought about it for a moment. If she and Callum had children and were put in a similar situation, would she want their children to know something like that? “No, I don't think I would.”

“See?” Claudia asked not unkindly. “It's one thing to say that Viren didn't like Sarai, it's another to say the words he actually used. I don’t want to tell Callum or Ezran and neither does Soren. It’s not something you feel good about knowing. The only reason I told you is because you need to know what you’re going up against. Dad may say all of those things and worse to anyone who will listen and you have to be prepared. Don’t focus on what they call you. Don’t let anyone get the best of you with name-calling. Only state your and Callum’s truth. If you spend any time saying anything besides that and that you and Callum love each other for who you are, then they would have won and they will keep coming back. I’ll step in if I have to on your behalf. I like you, Rayla, and I like how happy you make Callum. No matter what, he is one of my best friends in this world and I don’t want him to lose you over something neither one of you can control.”

“He’s not gonna lose me. I’ll have to be dragged kicking and screaming out of this relationship at this point.”

“Good.” Claudia hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. “When Callum and I dated, it was before Dad was disgraced. To a degree, it was always assumed we would get married for political reasons. It wasn’t really a big deal to anyone until we broke-up. That’s when the gossip came around. I can’t imagine what the two of you must be feeling right now.”

Rayla stretched her legs out and folded her arms over her chest. “Nervous. A bit relieved. Like we’ve done both the smartest and stupidest thing we ever could. He wanted to give up when Amaya told us I didn’t have an out the second the public knew. He told me to go back to my uncles and I told him that if I did that there would be no second chances. We either stand together now or he will lose me forever.”

“Good for you.” Claudia had a big grin on her face at Rayla’s statement.

“I wasn’t going to let him give up. I think Bandlr’s threat to tell the world and then hearing his aunt tell him I had to stay at the border got to him. He finally came back to his senses when he saw I wasn’t going to run away and was going to take this media nonsense head-on.”

“I understand if he’s concerned about the media. It’s not easy to live the way he does. This is the most freedom he’s had since his mom married Harrow. Every move he makes, every outfit he wears, every person he meets is dissected to death. There are articles and videos out there about whether or not Harrow actually loves Callum and that has hit Callum so hard. They talk about body language this and Callum didn’t go to such-and-such event that and they don’t know anything that goes on behind closed doors. I have never seen someone love their kids as much as Harrow does Callum and Ezran. Harrow’s distance was because he didn’t want Callum to feel like he was replacing his father not because he loved Callum any less. It took a long, long time for Callum to call him ‘Dad’ and being constantly reminded that he is the ‘step-prince’ didn’t help.”

Before Rayla could respond, the elevator opened to reveal Callum, laden with groceries. “Hey, guys. I’ve got enough food to last a month. Or a week since you’ll be here, Rayla.”

Rayla did a quick eyeroll. “Ha ha, Mr. Skinny. It’s all muscle unlike your noodle arms.” Raylan and Claudia stood, each grabbing one of Raylas bags.

“You like my noodle arms.” A quick smirk at Rayla and Callum unlocked the door so they could head inside. Claudia and Rayla quickly put Rayla’s stuff down so Rayla could help Callum put their groceries away. “You’ll be so proud of me. I only got one more piece of fruit for the fruit bowl.”

“You’re eating that, too.”

“I’m drawing it tomorrow and then I’ll be done and we’ll spend the rest of the day eating fruit and Earthblood honey. And the day after that. And maybe the day after that.”

Rayla picked up said piece of fruit and glared at it. “I swear, if your plan is to slowly replace the rest of our diet with your fruit bowl, I will make you eat the actual bowl.”

“Do you hear what I put up with, Claudia?”

Claudia shook her head as she walked over to the two. She looked at the fruit bowl and then back at Callum. “Do you really need all that fruit for art?”

“It’s called still life and I haven’t done it in a while and drawing helps me relax in stressful situations. Also, please lay off my fruit.” Callum handed her the key to the apartment. “Let us know when you get the copy.”

“Got it. I’ll give you the bill then, too.”

“I can give you cash now.”

“Nah, I know you’re good for it. I also know where you live. Night.”

“Night, Clauds.”

“Thanks for the help.” Rayla followed Claudia to the door and locked it behind her. “Alright. We need to talk about something.” Callum gulped as he suddenly found his shirt very interesting. “I’m not still mad at the whole ‘run away while you can’ thing if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Oh, thank god. I was going to have a heart attack.”

“It’s about how…. calmly we bring up marriage. We teased each other about you marrying me because of honey and how strong I am. When Ezran talked about me being his big sister, I almost said ‘yes.’ And then, you called Runaan and Ethari your ‘future-in-laws.’ We’ve been bringing it up for months without ever really talking about it.” Rayla went back to the kitchen, lightly drumming her fingers against the counter. “Do you want to marry me?”

“I’m not opposed to it,” he hedged.

“Callum.” Rayla needed him to be as honest and serious as possible about this. She didn’t want to start planning a forever with him in her mind if it hadn’t even crossed his.

“Fine,” Callum grabbed her hand and looked in her eyes with those suddenly far too green ones of his. “I know we haven’t been together that long, but I know I want to marry you someday. I wouldn’t have asked to meet Ethari and Runaan if I didn’t. I also don’t want to do it for a few years. We’re still young and there are so many things to see and do first.”

“Do you already have a ring?”

“No. I actually have one planned, but I’m going to have it specially made. I’m thinking,” he raised her hand and separated her middle finger out, “a band of platinum that has been twisted. I’m also thinking a moonstone sunken into the band. Nothing jutting out, so you won’t be able to cut someone when you backhand them.”

“But that’s the best part.” Rayla looked down at her hand as Callum stroked the base of her finger. “You’ve really thought about this.”

“More than thought about it. I've drawn it a hundred times.”

“Have you now?” It was supposed to come out cocky and self-assured, but instead, Rayla felt anticipation and curiosity step in.

Callum looked at her finger again, biting his lip. He went over to the bookcase, going to his shelf of sketchbooks. He quickly pulled out the one he was looking for and flipped through the pages. “This is the one I settled on.”

Callum came back to rest the book on the counter, open to a page with a single ring design. The top of the band was braided platinum with the moonstone embedded in the center. Not only that, but one side had a red stone and yellow stone while the other had purple and green ones. Each stone was also embedded. Callum had also drawn what he wanted the inside of the band to look like. So far, it was just the moon and sky runes, but plenty of room to add more. The uneven towers of Katolis were right next to the moon rune. “It’s very detailed,” she breathed.

“I just thought about it one day and I couldn't stop. I actually spent weeks of my summer vacation creating the perfect design.”

Rayla looked up at him. “You were thinking about this when we couldn't even see each other?”

“Well, yeah,” he sheepishly replied.

It was mindboggling to her. He had had this in his head for that long? “We hadn't been together for very long. Officially at least.”

“I'm not ready to get married now. I just know, even back then, that I want to marry you.”

“Is that a proposal?” Rayla let a grin come over her features. Teasing Callum was her default for whenever she became overwhelmed. And she was insanely overwhelmed.

“No, it's a plan.”

“Sounds like a proposal to me. You got a sketch for the ring; told me you want to be with me until you die.”

Callum put a mock affronted look on his face, hand going to his chest. “I did not use those words.”

“Maybe not. But that's what you meant.”

Callum flushed. “It’s not a proposal.” He paused as a small bit doubt entered his voice. “What do you think about the ring?”

“It’s beautiful. And if you had already had it made, I might have said ‘yes’ just now.” Callum glared at her teasing for a moment before her entire statement caught up with him, eyes going wide and mouth slightly ajar. Rayla blushed, quickly turning her attention back to the sketch. “I thought diamonds were traditional among humans, though.”

Callum let her change the subject, probably still processing her acceptance of his ‘not proposal.’ “We,” a quick point of his fingers between the two of them, “are not a traditional couple. I thinks something a bit more symbolic and unique to us would make far more sense. My mom didn't have one on her rings, either. My father could barely afford the plain silver one he gave her and Dad knew that Mom valued simplicity and creativity over showy. That ring was also braided, but it was gold and had my birthstone. Dad said it wasn't so much an engagement ring as it was a promise to love both Mom and me for the rest of his life.”

“You always talk so highly of her.” Rayla hadn’t noticed it before, but Claudia was right; Callum viewed Sarai as a saint. There was always a reverent tone in his voice whenever he talked about her and it seemed like she could have done no wrong in his eyes.

Callum shrugged. "She was my mom. She stood by my father and Dad through the tough times and believed in putting in the hard work for peace, love, and justice instead of taking the easy way out. I never doubted that she loved me and Ezran equally. I remember her being full of love and warmth, with a serious sweet tooth. Only a fool got between her and jelly tarts.” He chuckled. “There’s actually this great story Aunt Amaya tells. When they were kids, someone tried to take a bite of Mom’s cake and she stabbed their hand with her fork. Everyone knew to stay away from her dessert after that. I really miss her sometimes. I think about what life would be like if she were still here. I actually have this pair of socks she tried to knit when she was pregnant with Ezran. They were for me, but the sizing was so off and it looks like she tried to add a thumb at some point. I can never wear them, but I also can't bring myself to throw them away.”

“Do you think about what life would have been like with your father?”

A guilty look crossed his features. “I don't really remember him. It feels like Harrow has always been my dad. Everyone says I take after my father. I'm terrible with weapons, talented in art, and have his eyes. Even my smile is supposed to look just like his did. And it's nice to know that, but, it's hard for me to think ‘that's my father’ when I see a picture or someone mentions his name.” Callum started to absently flip through the pages of his sketchbook. “His grandparents died shortly after I turned six, so I don’t even have anyone to go to for stories about his childhood. My mom left me everything she had, but it was just a stack of documents that didn’t say much beyond medical history and the family trees with a handful of photographs. I have all of his art pieces that aren’t in a museum or were for clients, though. You know that portrait of my mom?”

Rayla turned to the picture in question. It was a replica of a very soft, gentle-looking Sarai. Rayla had often wondered if that portrait had been done while she was pregnant with Callum or was holding him. Sarai had always had a reputation in Xadia for being strong and excelling in combat, even with her talk about peace and understanding. To see her look so sweet had been a little jarring at first. “Yeah.”

“My father painted the original shortly before he died. The actual painting is hanging in an art museum in the capital, right next to the one he painted of Mom and Aunt Amaya. Me, Dad, Ezran, and Aunt Amaya all have painted copies. Trust me, the original is much better and I can’t wait to take you to see it someday. You can tell with each stroke just how much he loved her, and how he carefully chose each color to bring out the softness he saw in her that a lot of people didn’t because she was so good at being a warrior. That's the one thing that makes me go ‘yeah, that’s who my father was.’ Do you think about what your life would be like if your parents raised you?”

Rayla shook her head. “Not really. I couldn't have asked for better than Runaan and Ethari. My parents are members of the Dragon Guard and it’s a big honor, I just don't get to see them. As far as I'm concerned, Runaan and Ethari are my parents. If my mum and dad came here and told me they didn't approve of us, I can't imagine I'd really care. I'm not even sure when I can tell them.”

“You can't call them?”

Rayla shrugged. “That's only really used in emergencies. You have to hope that they call you. Letters are better. It’s getting late. Do you wanna go to bed?”

Callum looked like he wanted to continue the conversation, but looked at the clock before nodding. “Yeah, let’s go to bed. We’re gonna need to be well rested for tomorrow.”

“Is it wrong to hope tomorrow never comes?”

“Well, we’re not leaving this apartment until Monday, so we’ll just pretend it didn’t.”

“Like you’re pretending you didn’t propose?” Callum groaned as Rayla chuckled.

-------------------------------------

Notes:

Up to chapter 12 is actually already up on AO3, I just keep forgetting to post this here. Sorry!

We don't know that much about Sarai in canon, sadly, and we know nothing about Callum's father or that side of his family, and both of them, plus Viren's relationship with Sarai, are going to play a big part at some point. It's a bit of an info dump, but I needed some background laid out and Claudia was happy to help.

I don't think canon Viren thought of Sarai quite like this, but I saw some resentment brewing when Harrow didn't want to leave Amaya, and Sarai, behind when they went to go help Duren.

#rayllum #rayllum fanfic #we could be heroes #the dragon prince #moonbase fanfics

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skyfireflight · 5 years

Text

The Dragon Prince: A (Speculative) Timeline

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

This a timeline I've compiled from the show, information from the creators, and my own speculations. Also from this post by @mimosaeyes and this post by @solitae

Things here may be debunked once we have new information.

Suggestions for edits are welcome!

(And honestly, there's probably going to be a bunch of typos.)

Part of this is under a read more, because it's long.

Timeline:

5,000 years ago

1. The first elves appeared; at this time, they are not differentiated by primal sources

2. Dragons and elves are not united

3. Humans were struggling and suffered from starvation

2,000 years ago

1. The Rise of Elarion

Presumably when the City of Elarion was founded; still possible that it was named after a person.

2. Humanity found their way to magic; this allowed their civilization to begin to thrive

Presumably when Aaravos gifted magic/dark magic to humans.

1,200 years ago

1. The Era of Sol Regem, the first king of the dragons

2. The adventures of Sir Phineas Cursed; travelled together with Delilah Giehl, who became the youngest known university professor at the age of twelve

3. Dark magic has become a problem, with mass poaching of magical creatures

4. The confrontation between the human dark mage Ziard and Sol Regem

Sol Regem gives the ultimatum of either humans giving up dark magic, which humans thought of as what allowed them to live and thrive, or the destruction of the City of Elarion, which was home to hundreds of thousands of people; also calls humans lesser beings.

Ziard refuses to give up dark magic, and shows horried disbelief at the ultimatum. Sol Regem goes to destroy the City of Elarion. Ziard uses dark magic to absorb fire birds in order to try to stop Sol Regem and defend the City of Elarion; Sol Regem sees this and flies back to Ziard. Ziard throws a dark magic fireball at Sol Regem; Sol Regem breathes fire at Ziard. Sol Regem is blinded; Ziard is killed.

Between 1,200 - 1,000 years ago

1. Sol Regem is no longer the king of the dragons

2. Dragons and elves unite

3. The war between dragons/elves and humans begins

Moonshadow elves, Sunfire elves, and Skywing elves are shown to have fought. Whether Earthblood elves or Ocean Primal elves fought is unknown, though some speculate they did not.

Aaravos is also shown on the battlefield, but whether he participated or simply watched (possibly by astral projection) is unclear. It is speculated/assumed that other Startouch elves did not participate.

1,000 years ago

1. The Era of Luna Tenebris, queen of the dragons and the second known dragon monarch

2. The Judgement of the Half Moon

The humans lose the war against the elves and the dragons. Luna Tenebris orders humans to be exiled. All humans are driven out of Eastern Xadia, similar to the real-world Trail of Tears. Sunfire elves and Moonshadow elves are shown to have participated. Whether or not the other four elven races participated is unclear.

3. The Great Xadian Split

Xadia is divided in two. Powerful elven mages create a physical barrier, a river of lava, to keep humans from re-entering Eastern Xadia.

Between 1,000 - 300 years ago

1. The Mage Wars

On the human side of Xadia, powerful human mages become warlords who fight for power. This continues for a long time, and is an era in which Western Xadia is violent and war-torn.

300 years ago

1. The Era of Avizandum, king of the dragons and the third known dragon monarch; married to Zubeia, queen of the dragons. He is known to the humans as "Thunder," and guards the Western/Eastern Xadian border

2. The Orphan Queen, the first queen of Katolis, ancestor of Harrow and Ezran

The Mage Wars end and the human kingdom of Katolis is founded, presumably by the Orphan Queen.

It is assumed that she found her way to Xadia and somehow met/encountered Aaravos, by which she gained the Key of Aaravos and took it back to Katolis. The Key of Aaravos has since been passed down through the royal family of Katolis.

The Orphan Queen's true name, as of now, is unknown.

3. The Fallen Star, assumed/speculated to be Aaravos, the Startouch Archmage.

This is possibly when Avizandum discovers Aaravos's involvement with humans. Aaravos is imprisoned.

4. A spell is cast so that all text that humans have on Aaravos is unreadable

Between 300 - 100 years ago

1. The other four human kingdoms, Del Bar, Evenere, Neolandia, and Duren are founded

2. Western Xadia is now called the Human Kingdoms, or the Pentarchy; Eastern Xadia is simply referred to as "Xadia"

3. Unnamed Battle between Katolis and Xadia

It was assumed that the battle shown in the intro in the very first episode was when King Harrow of Katolis killed Avizandum in revenge for the death of his wife, Queen Sarai of Katolis. However, season 3 has revealed that this is not the case.

This battle took place sometime after Katolis was founded. Katolis's banners show the symbol for the queen's crown, so I speculate that Katolis was ruled by a queen, not a king, at this time. Whether this queen is the Orphan Queen, or one of her later descendants, is unknown.

Avizandum, Moonshadow elves, Skywing elves, and Sunfire elves are shown to have participated. Whether Earthblood elves or Ocean Primal elves participated is unknown.

Sunfire Queen Aditi, grandmother to Janai and Sunfire Queen Khessa, is also shown to have fought in this battle. Her fate is unknown, though it is speculated to have something to do with humans.

Though elven lifespans vary by race, they live about as long as humans, with the exception of the Startouch elves. While the battle could have taken place closer to 300 years ago, around the time Katolis was founded, it is unlikely that Queen Aditi was alive at this time. I speculate that it is more likely for this to have occurred closer to about 100 years ago. However, if this battle did take place 300 years ago when Katolis was founded, it is possible that Aaravos was involved, which could be how he knows what happened to Queen Aditi; his involvement could also have been a factor in why he was imprisoned.

The specifics as to why this battle occurred, or whether it was one battle or part of a longer war, is unknown.

18 years ago

1. Soren is born on January 19th

17 years ago

1. Claudia was born on June 16th*

16 years ago

1. A famine begins in Duren

2. Rayla is born on July 31st

15 years ago

1. Callum is born on July 15th

15 - 11 years ago

1. Sarai, Callum's mother, marries Harrow, crown prince of Katolis

11 years ago

1. Aanya is born on June 22nd

10 years ago

1. Ezran is born on March 19th

9 years ago

1. Harrow's father, king of Katolis, dies

2. Harrow and Sarai are crowned king and queen of Katolis

3. Queens Neha and Annika of Duren ask King Harrow of Katolis for aid; 100,000 of their people risk death from starvation that coming winter

Harrow agrees, promising half of Katolis' food. However, he barely has enough food for his own people; this would mean 50,000 people in each kingdom would die.

On a discovery made by High Mage Lord Viren, he, Harrow, Sarai, the queens of Duren, and some soldiers go to Xadia and kill a magma titan to use its heart in a spell that will warm the land and provide food to save their people.

However, before they can return over the border, Avizandum finds and attacks them.

4. Queen Neha and Queen Annika are killed by Avizandum

5. Queen Sarai is killed by Avizandum

6. The famine in Duren ends; 100,000 people are saved.

7. Aanya becomes queen of Duren

8. The egg of the Dragon Prince, Azymondias (also known as Zym) may have been laid sometime this year

9. Rayla's parents may have joined the Dragon Guard sometime this year, after the egg was laid

4 or 5 months ago

(note: Runaan says that "four full moons passed" since the king of the dragons was killed; whether or not he is counting the current full moon is unclear.)

1. Harrow kills Avizandum to in revenge for Sarai's death

Harrow drives Sarai’s spear, which was enchanted by dark magic as a weapon of revenge, into Avizandum’s heart. Avizandum turns to stone.

2. Viren infiltrates the dragon monarchs' lair, taking Aaravos's mirror and kidnapping the Dragon Prince egg

Zubeia is not present. While the rest of the Dragon Guard flee, Rayla's parents stay and fight Viren. Rayla's parents are restrained in magical blocks of ice.

Viren intends to destroy the egg, to prevent the new dragon from being a future threat. Rayla's mother convinces Viren to keep the egg alive.

Afterwards, the elves and dragons believe that Rayla's parents fled with the rest of the Dragon Guard, and that Dragon Prince egg was destroyed.

3. Rayla's parents are trapped in coins by Viren through dark magic

4. The Era of Avizandum ends

5. A new era, that will be later known as The Return of Aaravos, begins

Between 4 months ago - Now

1. Soren becomes the youngest crownguard of Katolis

Now (0 days)

1. Sent by Zubeia to kill Harrow and Ezran in revenge, six Moonshadow elf assassins arrive in Katolis

They are discovered by the guard Marcos. Rayla is sent to kill him, but spares him. This allows King Harrow and his guards to prepare for the coming attack; Harrow sends Callum and Ezran away to the Banther Lodge. Runaan calls Rayla off the mission.

2. Rayla infiltrates Katolis' castle to kill Harrow and Ezran and rectify her mistake

3. Ezran, Callum, and Rayla find the stolen Dragon Prince egg

Rayla asks Runaan to call off the mission, and the princes show him the Dragon Prince egg. Runaan refuses; Rayla fights Runaan to stall him.

4. Ezran, Callum, Rayla, and Bait begin the journey to take the egg of Dragon Prince back to Zubeia in Xadia, in order to try to stop the war and bring peace between Xadia and the Human Kingdoms

5. Runaan kills Harrow

6. Runaan is captured, and Viren imprisons him in his secret dungeon

1 day later (one day)

1. Callum gets the Key of Aaravos

Rayla goes to the Banther Lodge to get the "glow cube," but is found by General Amaya, the princes' aunt. Callum lies to get her to let Rayla go, but it backfires, and the children flee.

1 day later (two days)

1. Viren sends his children, Soren and Claudia, to search for Callum, Ezran, and the Dragon Prince egg; he imprisons Commander Gren in his secret dungeon

Unbeknownst to Claudia, Viren indirectly tells Soren to kill the princes.

Unbeknownst to Soren, Viren tells Claudia to choose the Dragon Prince egg over Soren if necessary.

2 days later (four days)

1. The gang, along with Ellis and Ava, climb the Cursed Caldera; they meet Lujanne, a Moonshadow elf mage

2. The Dragon Prince, Azymondias, is hatched

3. Runaan is trapped in a coin by Viren through dark magic

3 days later (one week)

1. Claudia and Soren find the gang at the Moon Nexus

2. Amaya fights Sunfire elves, and Sunfire knight Janai for the first time, at the Breach

1 day later (eight days)

1. Callum finds out about Harrow's, his stepfather's, death

2. Claudia and Soren's betrayal; the gang leaves the Moon Nexus

3. Corvus is captured on the Moon Nexus by Soren and Claudia

4. Viren sees Aaravos through the mirror for the first time

2 days later (ten days)

1. The gang meet Villads, who sails them across the small sea

2. Sunfire elves and Sunfire Knight Janai take over Katolis's fortress on the Xadian side of the Breach

1 day later (eleven days)

1. Callum reads Harrow's letter and learns about the Key of Aaravos

2. Viren meets with the monarchs of the four other Human Kingdoms to convince them to unite against Xadia; they refuse

3. Zubeia falls into a grief-induced coma

2 days later (thirteen days)

1. Pyrrha attacks a Katolis town

A sun dragon, Pyrrha, flies over a Katolis town. Soren and Claudia shoot at her, but miss. In retaliation instead of just understanding how scary she was and flying away, she sets fire to the town. Claudia and Soren shoot her down and chain her.

2. Callum uses dark magic for the first time

Rayla goes to help the dragon. Callum goes after her, and saves Rayla and unchains the dragon by using dark magic. Callum falls unconscious soon after

3. Soren gets severely injured by the dragon; his spine is broken, and he is paralyzed

4. Viren makes a magical bond with Aaravos

1 day later (two weeks)

1. Corvus finds the gang

2. Ezran learns that Harrow, his father, is dead

3. Ezran and Claudia reconcile and have a heart to heart

4. Callum learns the sky arcanum and gains sky magic

5. Claudia kills a deer to heal Soren through dark magic

6. Ezran decides to go back home with Corvus, to take his place as king

7. Claudia and Soren begin their way back to the castle

8. Viren sends out shadow assassins to the other four human kingdoms, at Aaravos's advice

9. Viren is arrested on charges of treason

10. Gren is found and freed from Viren's dungeon

1 day later (fifteen days)

1. Rayla, Callum, and Zym arrive in Xadia

The three are confronted by Sol Regem, who the gang cleverly trick and entrap in order to get past him into Xadia without getting killed.

2. Amaya and Gren reunite at the Breach

3. The Breach is sealed

The Standing Battalion of Katolis set off explosives along the Breach, caving in the stone and sealing the path with an impassable flow of lava.

4. Amaya is captured by Sunfire elves

5. Ezran is crowned king

1 day later (sixteen days)

1. Soren and Claudia are arrested for treason; Ezran releases them

2. Soren and Claudia speak to Viren; at Aaravos's advice, Viren lies about telling Soren to kill the princes

3. Janai interrogates Amaya

4. The Sunfire Queen Khessa puts Amaya through the Trial of Light; Amaya is found to be pure of heart and is allowed to live

5. Rayla and Callum arrive at Rayla's home, the Silvergrove; they discover Rayla's been banished, and meet Ethari

When the other Moonshadow assassins died, but Rayla lived, the Moonshadow elves of Silvergrove assumed that she abandoned them. Rayla and Callum speak to Ethari about what really happened and their plan to return Zym to Zubeia. Ethari reveals that Zubeia is dying, and gives them animal mounts to ride. Ethari then sends a message to Zubeia.

1 day later (seventeen days)

1. Nyx intercepts Ethari's message

2. Prince Kasef gives Ezran an ultimatum; either Katolis joins the fight against Xadia, or the armies of 3 kingdoms, Neolandia, Evenere, and Del Bar, will attack Katolis the next day at dawn

3. Rayla and Callum meet Nyx; they agree to ride on her ambler across the Midnight Desert

4. Ezran is tricked by Councilman Saleer into abdicating and releasing Viren so the 3 armies won't attack Katolis; Ezran gives Bait to Barius the Baker for safe keeping, and is put in prison

5. Rayla kisses Callum

6. Nyx kidnaps Zym; Rayla and Callum go after them

7. Callum's mount, Runaan's moonstrider, is killed by soulfangs

1 day later (eighteen days)

1. Viren declares himself king of Katolis

2. Soren sneaks Ezran and Bait out of the castle; Ezran and Bait head to Xadia on Phoe-Phoe the moon phoenix

3. Opeli, Corvus, and Barius leave Katolis to seek help from the kingdom of Duren

4. Viren declares war on Xadia

5. Marcos, and some other soldiers, refuse to fight; they are marked by a "broken link" insignia

6. Lujanne disguises herself as a human and goes to interact with human townspeople

7. Rayla and Callum rescue Zym; Rayla saves Nyx from soulfang serpents

8. Callum and Rayla share their first mutual kiss

1 day later (nineteen days)

1. Rayla, Callum, and Zym arrive at the Storm Spire, the royal sky dragons' lair

2. Ezran and Bait arrive in Xadia and reunite with Callum, Rayla, and Zym

3. Phoe-Phoe dies; Ezran keeps her feather so she can be reborn

4. The armies of Katolis, Del Bar, Evenere, and Neolandia cross the border into Xadia

5. Aaravos and Viren infiltrate Lux Aurea; the two corrupt the Sun Forge with dark magic, and Aaravos kills Sunfire Queen Khessa

6. Amaya is released from prison

7. With the stolen corrupted Sunfire staff, Viren changes the human soldiers into Dark Heat-being Mode

8. Soren leaves Viren and Claudia

9. The gang climbs to the top of the Storm Spire

Callum learns a new sky magic spell, Ezran learns about Rayla and Callum's relationship, the gang meets Ibis, and sees Zubeia and discover she is in a coma. Ezran tries to wake Zubeia, but to no avail.

10. Opeli, Corvus, and Barius meet with Aanya in Duren

1 day later (twenty days)

1. Soren arrives at the Storm Spire

2. Ibis scouts from the sky, and meets with Amaya and Janai

3. With the moon opal pendant that Rayla gave him, Callum uses a Moon spell to see the past; he and Rayla discover what really happened with Rayla's parents

4. Amaya and Janai arrive at the Storm Spire; Sunfire elf soldiers from Lux Aurea gather to defend Zubeia and Zym

1 day later (twenty-one days)

1. Viren's Dark Heat-being army arrive at the Storm Spire

2. The Battle at the Storm Spire

General Amaya, Soren, Janai, Callum, and Sunfire elf soldiers defend the base of the Storm Spire, while Rayla and Bait guard Zym and the dragon queen. Duren's army, led by Aanya, and Katolis's army of "deserters," led by Corvus, Gren, Opeli, and Barius, arrive as reinforcements. The Dark Heat-being army is subdued, and the elven and human allied forces win. Viren and Aaravos climb the Storm Spire and capture Zym, but are stopped by Rayla.

3. Callum learns the Mage Wing spell

To rescue Zym, Rayla tackles Viren off of the pinnacle of the Storm Spire. Callum jumps after her, and successfully casts the Mage Wing spell, catching Rayla and saving her life.

4. Viren dies

5. Zubeia wakes from her coma; she and Zym are reunited

6. Aaravos's caterpillar forms a cocoon

2 days later (twenty-three days)

1. Viren is resurrected by Claudia through dark magic

It is assumed she did so by killing a Dark Heat-being mode human soldier, but what other methods or ingredients she may have used are unknown.

* Depending on what day in May the current timeline started, Claudia might have turned 17 years old during season 3.

Total time of first 3 seasons: 24 days

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp timeline #it took me two and a half weeks to finish this

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theavengerfairy · 4 years

Text

One Step Closer - Chapter 5

Previously known as “Gravity”

"Rayla, it feels like my legs are about to fall off! Can we stop for a minute?"

"We need to get a little farther first to make sure we've lost them-"

"Rayla, please! I-I think I'm gonna be sick."

Rayla's heart wrenched at Callum's plea but she didn't falter in her gallop. He didn't understand. She couldn't slow down, for if she did, the adrenaline that was currently clouding her mind would dissipate, making room for the thoughts that she desperately wanted to keep at bay. Unfortunately, she hardly had time to register Anora's hand latching onto her arm before she was sharply jerked to a halt. Behind Anora, whose cheeks were flushed from the extensive sprint, Callum and Maddie fumbled clumsily over their own feet as they fought against their inertia and managed to stop just before colliding with the elf, and not a moment later, the two collapsed into panting piles of sweat and limbs on the grass.

The first thing that Rayla noticed when her mind cleared was the acute aching in the fingers and palm of her hand which was still clenched as tightly as possible around the coin, and she didn't have to look down to know that her knuckles had turned a shade other than their natural color. Next was the wobbling of her legs, her knees having locked of their own accord to keep her from crumpling like her comrades; she still, however, lacked a great deal of grace as she lowered herself down to ground to give her body a rest. Though it hurt even more to move them as to let them be, Rayla gradually unfurled her stiff fingers and stared down at the little gold disk that weighed as much as a boulder despite being no larger than the fluffiest adoraburr. Runaan gazed wordlessly up at her from the confines of his unusual prison, and while he tried his best to conceal it beneath his standard stoic mask, the dark bags beneath his dull eyes and the weary lines carved into his face told of restless nights and painfully long days of total isolation.

Before she knew it, a hot wetness had dampened Rayla's left cheek, followed by her left, and with utter horror, she realized she had begun to cry. In a flash, her fingers coiled back around the coin while her other hand flew to her mouth to muffle her whimpering in case Runaan could actually hear her from inside of the coin. He couldn't see her crying. Crying was a sign of weakness and she couldn't bear the thought of disappointing him further, even if it meant keeping her pain hidden away in the dark where it would grow and fester. Locking her lips to keep her sobs at bay, she began vigorously brushing away her tears, but no matter how hard and fast she wiped, the tear stains still gleamed on her face.

Unable to watch the heart-wrenching scene before her in silence for a moment longer, Anora knelt down beside Rayla and threw her arms around her, praying that the younger girl wouldn't pull away and potentially retaliate for her forwardness. To the relief of herself and Rayla, the latter surrendered herself into the embrace despite the avid protests of her mind and her pride, resting her head against Anora's shoulder while she in return rested her chin atop the girl's crown and comfortingly massaged the valley between her shoulder blades with her fingers. She knew it was petty, but nonetheless Anora scowled down at the fist concealing the coin, hoping that Runaan would sense her disapproving stare even if he couldn't see it. Her parents had taught her enough about Moonshadow elves for her to understand why Rayla wouldn't want a man she heralded as a father figure and mentor to see her upset, and while she understood and respected that the concealment of certain emotions to avoid appearing weak was part of their culture, she disagreed strongly with the notion to say the least.

"This is all my fault." Rayla managed to lament after enough air reached her lungs between shallow hiccups.

"Moondrop, how could this possibly be your fault?"

"The humans knew we were coming and had a chance to prepare because of me. I tried not to think about the attack or what might have happened after the king was killed, but I never could've imagined-Oh gods, there were more coins back there! Some of the other assassins could be trapped in them as well and we just left without trying to help them too! Ugh, I'm such an idiot-"

"Rayla, that's enough!" Cupping the younger girl's face in her hands, Anora raised it up so that their eyes met, her own glittering with maternal fire while Rayla's widened in surprise at her sudden ferocity. You told me how you tried to call off the assasination; the responsibility for your team's choice and the consequences of that call are not your burdens to bear. If you think we have a chance, I'll go back with you to get the other coins while Maddie and Callum keep an eye on Zym and rest."

At the mention of his name, Zym thrust his head upward and knocked basket cover loose again, and with the lid perched on his head like a hat, he sprang up onto Anora's shoulder and curiously surveyed his surroundings. It didn't take the dragonling long to notice Rayla's sad expression and moist cheeks, and with a concerned yip, he started licking her face until she laughed, earning himself a reward of gentle scratches on the nape from Anora.

"I want to go back, but their keeper is bound to be on the lookout for us now. Getting captured is something we can't afford, but to just leave them seems..."

Anora understood that this decision was a hard one, and gently folding her hands overtop of Rayla's, she gave them a reassuring squeeze. "There is nothing to say we won't get another chance to free your comrades."

"There's nothing to say we will either."

"Well, that's just where we are going to need to have a little faith. For now, let's see what we can do to help your friend."

Turning her fist over in Anora's lap, Rayla opened it as the other elf leaned forward to get a better look at the coin. Runaan's expression hardened at the sight of a new face, his eyes darting up and down her form multiple times while he sized her up as was typical behavior for him given his occupation. His keen focus visibly shattered, however, when Anora started tapping the face of the coin without warning.

"Magic is obviously what got your mentor into this mess and it's what is going to get him back out. We just need to figure out what kind of spell we're dealing with here." Anora remarked with several more hardy taps. "Hmm, no ripples; that rules out a reflection spell then. I suppose that's a good thing."

Rayla's brow curved into a high arch. "You never said anything about being an Ocean mage."

"I'm not; my parents were though. I know bits and pieces about some different spells, but I was too busy chasing otters or racing hippocampi to study the art myself while growing up." Taking the coin between her forefinger and thumb, Anora gently shook it a little and then squinted down at it again, ignoring the sour glare Runaan was aiming at her as she searched for something else in the coin's face. "No bubbles either. I don't really recall my parents ever mentioning a spell capable of trapping someone inside any kind of object, so my hunch is this isn't an Ocean spell. Callum, can you come here please? We need your expertise on Sky magic."

"Um, I've only been a mage for about two weeks, so I don't think I'll be of much help." Even as he spoke, however, Callum was already staggering back to his feet and dragging himself over to Rayla's side. The minute he came into Runaan's line of sight, the latter shrank back, his features contorting into a feral snarl of wariness that was, in all honesty, a little comical given his current state.

Anora sent Callum a sidelong glance. "He doesn't seem to be too fond of you."

"Yeah well, our first meeting wasn't exactly on...friendly terms." Ignoring the phantom daggers Runaan was shooting up at him, Callum studied the coin in silence for a moment before voicing his thoughts. "The last time we saw Runaan, he was leading the attack against my dad...I took the Primal Stone, and I don't think Viren had another...That leaves one other explanation."

Rayla's heart dropped into her stomach. "You think it's dark magic."

"It's gotta be. Maybe a Sky spell will still be able to break him out though. Rayla, set the coin down and I'll try zapping-"

"No!" Clutching the coin to her chest, Rayla scooted back a little, leaving Callum to stare at her with confusion and hurt swirling in his wide eyes. He had hardly blinked, however, before Anora was beside him, her arm slung around his shoulders in a reassuring side hug.

"That's very kind of you, Callum, but I agree with Rayla that that's not a good idea. There's a chance of the coin being damaged or destroyed if we don't use the right counterspell, which would leave Runaan trapped forever. You understand?" Relieved when she sensed the tension dissipating, which meant she had successfully averted the tricky situation, Anora slung both Zym's basket and the satchel of rations off of her back, setting them down by her feet. "Why don't we take this moment to fill our bellies and replenish our strength before we continue on our way? Maddie, you think you can manage to drag yourself over here or do I need to come carry you?"

Rather than snickering mixed with a few choice words from the little redhead, her taunt was met by the snapping of a lone twig as it was trampled underfoot. The sickening crunch shot out among the trees, whose leaves rustled slightly as though they too were plagued with unease at the sound, and as their anxious whispers echoed overhead, Rayla leaped to her feet after tucking Runaan safely in her pocket and assumed a combative stance alongside Callum, who also stood at the ready. Anora, meanwhile, scooped a squirmy, chittering Zym up with one arm and beckoned Madeleine to her side with the other all while watching the brush for any signs of movement.

"I would say I told ya so, but I'm gonna wait on gloating until we're out of immediate danger." Rayla's face bore no sneer nor even a trace of a smirk, but the potent smugness in her voice more than made up for it.

Just as Madeleine finally slipped into the safety of her comrades' shadows, an idea struck Anora. "Maddie, you have any more of those celebration starters in your bag?"

"Ya know, I'm not so sure I want to call them celebration starters anymore. The name's too wordy and doesn't roll off the tongue-"

"It doesn't matter what they're called-" Before Rayla could finish, Anora swiftly cut in, her reprimand firm but gentle.

"Maddie, priorities."

"Right, right, sorry. I've got something even better for the occasion." Rifling through her bag, Madeleine produced two items while beaming with pride: a metallic, simply decorated cylinder the length of her arm and the wristbow with which they had already been acquainted. After strapping the latter onto her dominant hand, she handed the former to a perplexed Anora, "There's a couple of kinks that I still need to tinker out, but it should work well enough for now."

Noticing a little knob on the side of the device, Anora gave it a gentle twist. With some clangs and clicks, the cylinder shot outwards on both sides, causing Anora and Zym to jump, until it stood at a height of just a hair taller than Anora. Reaching over, Maddie jiggled the staff slightly followed by tugging on it with all her strength.

"Good, looks like all the interior bolts are secure. Just don't smack anyone too hard or they might get knocked loose."

"Maddie, when...why..."

"Well, your folks taught you to use a bo staff, right? You said yours got turned to cinders in the attack; now you have one that can't burn!"

Tears pricked Anora's eyes as she swept Madeleine into a tight hug, which the latter readily returned. "Thank you..."

"Um, sorry not sorry about ruining the moment, but could ya save the sappiness for later? We're kind of in the middle of a situation!" Rayla called over her shoulder, not daring to look back for even a moment and thus give the enemy an opportunity to strike.

Callum shot her a look of disapproval. "Rayla!"

"What?! There's a time and a place, and this is not the time or the place!"

As though on cue, aggressive rustling rang out from some bushes off to their left which shuddered as their unwelcome contact drew closer.

"Wait a minute," Maddie interjected out of the blue. "We came running from the other direction. How'd the merchant get ahead of us without being noticed?"

Instead of the round, angry merchant, the shrubbery spat out a disheveled Corvus, who ceased muttering to himself when he perceived the faces before him.

"Rayla! Prince Callum!"

"Corvus? Oh thank the gods! We thought you were-" Callum's relief was cut short when he noticed the apprehension lurking in Corvus's face, from the bags beneath his eyes to his tightly drawn lips, along with the absence of his brother and the grumpy glowtoad from his side, "-Wait, where are Ezran and Bait?"

"Don't tell me ya lost 'em again? What kind of tracker are you?" Rayla jeered only for dread's icy claws to seize her innards when she received no reaction, not even an indignant huff, from the man. "Hey, I was just joking. Corvus?"

Corvus slumped to his knees, his body collapsing in on itself, and if he hadn't thrown his arm out in front of him to cushion his head as he fell into a repentant bow, he would've fullblown face-planted into the dirt. "Please forgive me, my prince. I have failed in my duties and do not deserve to call myself a soldier of Katolis."

The color drained from Callum's face, leaving him paler than a specter shrouded in moonlight. "Where is my brother?!"

Corvus swallowed thickly, hardly able to speak as shame and terror nearly swelled his throat shut. "King Ezran has been captured and is being held for ransom. I have a week to fulfill his captor's demands or he will be killed."

Rayla and Anora both threw out their arms to catch Callum as he stumbled back, eyes wide with terror while his breath puffed from his lips in short, rapid bursts. Memories of Callum's frightening delirium from not even an entire week earlier engulfed Rayla's mind, so with her heart taking the lead while her head was incapacitated, she squeezed Callum's shoulder and shook him a little to loosen the hold of the spiraling panic which fought to drag him down into its dark, gaping maw.

"Callum, breathe! You need to breathe! We'll get Ez back, I swear it!"

The words tumbled from her lips without much thought, but as though they were magic, Callum's body started to relax, his breathing regulating. Once the last traces of the trance lost their grip and disappeared, his hand slipped overtop of Rayla's, which was still tightly clasping his shoulder, and returned her firm squeeze in a silent expression of thanks and reassurance.

"How much do they want for him? I'll go back to Katolis with you and we can take whatever we need from the palace treasury." It was almost certain that Callum wouldn't be allowed to leave again if he returned home now, which meant saying goodbye to seeing Xadia with his own eyes and, even worse, to Rayla. However, if that was the sacrifice necessary to save his brother's life, he would not hesitate to pay it along with the ransom.

"That is the problem, my prince. This monster doesn't want riches. He asked for something very specific in exchange for your brother: a stolen Xadian mirror decorated with runes."

Something about Corvus's intonation stuck out to both Anora and Rayla, with the former eventually voicing their shared question, "When you say monster, do you mean that figuratively or literally?"

"Literally." Corvus, either just noticing Anora entirely or realizing what she was, paused and took a moment to analyze her intently as he had been trained to do. Apparently finding nothing about her which troubled him, he then continued, "I didn't think creatures like him lived anywhere other than Xadia."

"Creatures like him?"

"Merfolk."

A guttural groan of loathing and dismay reverberated from the depths of Anora's core. She had started to have her suspicions about the identity of this gutsy assailant at the mention of the desired magic mirror, but part of her had fixated on the lack of interest in treasure as proof that it couldn't be who she suspected. There was no denying it now however, even though she oh so desperately wanted to.

"Of course it's him. It's always him."

Corvus sat up a little straighter with obvious interest. "You know this creature?!"

"Blue tail, gold eyes, and irritatingly cheeky?"

"Yes, that's him!"

"I do, unfortunately. His name is Castel, and he's the acolyte of a dangerous archmage, a choice which got him banished from Xadia many years ago. My parents kept an eye on him in his exile to ensure he didn't cause any major trouble, and they had their work cut out for them to say the least." Her usually relaxed nature steadily succumbing to nervous agitation, Anora wrung her hands a few times while she mulled over the facts of the current dilemma. "The only thing that snake loves more than treasure is magic, so this mirror he wants must be some kind of powerful relic. Did he give you any clue about where this mirror is being kept?"

"No, he didn't."

"Uh, are you two serious right now? You're just gonna hand a mysterious magical artifact over to a banished mage? We have no idea what he plans to use it for!" Rayla barked fiercely, although she spared conflicted glances down at Callum as she spoke. She knew her protest might come across as somewhat callous, but attached to the thought of giving this bully exactly what he wanted was a stifling foreboding that left her hair standing on end. "Archmage acolyte or not, there's five of us and one of him. Even if we can't defeat him, we can distract him long enough for one of us to grab Ez and get him to safety!"

"Moondrop, your heart is in the right place, but the risk is just too great. I don't like it any more than you do, but our best option is to just give Castel what he wants."

"Assuming we can even find this mirror in time. I was given a week, but that isn't enough time to search all of the human kingdoms for one object." Gritting his teeth, Corvus pounded his fist against the dirt. "Damn that bastard! Damn him to hell!"

"Hey! Language! There are little ears listening!" Madeleine snapped, throwing her hands over the sides of Zym's head as he perched cutely on her shoulder.

This entire time, Callum had remained deathly quiet, his brows drawn together in critical thought. Reaching into his satchel, he rummaged through it for something. "What if I-"

"No!" Rayla exclaimed, grabbing his arm. "I know exactly what you're thinking! You want to try that tracking spell that Claudia explained she used to find us, but I won't let you!"

"What? No! No dark magic ever again, I promise! I was just wondering if maybe Castel would accept a different magical item in exchange for Ez." From his bag Callum withdrew the Key of Aaravos and set it in his lap, and Rayla's hard features soon softened significantly.

"Callum, are you sure?"

"If it'll get Ez back, absolutely."

"There is no time to waste then. I will take you to him and we can-" Corvus' voice abruptly broke off and he raised his hand to signal for silence. Both Rayla's and Anora's ears also picked up what had caught his attention: the murmuring of wind despite the air being completely still. Sliding his kaginawa off of his belt, Corvus slowly tilted his head from side to side, listening carefully; then in an instant, he whirled around and lashed out with the weapon, slicing the tops off of several bushes before the blade at the end of the chain sunk into a tree trunk with a thud. The whispering echoed on somewhere nearby, but the surrounding foliage remained completely motionless and devoid of any signs of life. Perhaps their frayed nerves were playing tricks on them; perhaps there was truly nothing there after all.

There was a glint of silver followed by Corvus giving a ghastly howl, his knees hitting the dirt and a throwing knife's hilt protruding from the back of one of his thighs. Though she didn't see it, Rayla heard the whistling of a second knife as it sliced through the air, and she swung her own blade just in time to deflect the projectile from embedding itself in the tracker's neck.

"Everybody circle up around Corvus! Now!"

Standing shoulder to shoulder with their backs to their wounded comrade, Rayla, Callum, Maddie, and Anora watched and listened, muscles twitching in anticipation of the next attack.

"There!" Glimpsing a deep purple flicker in her right peripheral, Maddie took aim and shot off an arrow, but to her amazement, the projectile passed harmlessly through the smoky body of the humanoid creature, falling instead among the shrubs and tree roots behind it. "Um, guys? We have a problem."

A dark shadow blanketed Anora, prompting her to raise her staff just in time as another ghostly figure sprang from the shadows and swung at her with its naginata. Their weapons colliding with the grating shriek of metal against metal, they struggled against one another before Anora surged forward with all of her weight, shoving her attacker back. Meanwhile, the two other dark assailants darted into the light, heading straight for Callum and Rayla who countered their attack with a lightning spell and a few slashes of the latter's blades.

"It's those smoke creatures again! Which dark mage did we tick off this time?!" Rayla lamented, swinging at one of the shadows when it took a few steps too close. "Callum, use your wind spell!"

Callum was already halfway done drawing the Aspiro rune, but when he uttered the incantation which transformed his exhaled breath into a mighty gale, the two closest elves darted to either side out of the spell's path.

"They're too fast! I need something to keep them in place long enough for me to hit them!"

"Leave that to me. Cover your ears!" Anora remarked before clamping her hands over the sides of Callum's head. Once the others had heeded her warning, she let loose her ear-piercing shriek, sending all the nearby wildlife fleeing in terror. The smoky apparitions recoiled at the sound, and in their moment of vulnerability, Callum's traced the rune out once more while uttering the incantation, the gust from his lips swiftly sweeping the four figures out of sight.

"We need to move. Even if those things don't come back, their master could send someone or something else after us." Kneeling beside Corvus, Rayla looped one of his arms over her shoulder while Anora took the other. "Maddie, you carry Zym and scout up ahead. Callum, you guard the rear."

"I'm just going to slow you down like this. Leave me here and go help the king; I'll be fine." Corvus grunted, doing his best to hide his pain behind a brave mask.

"We are not leaving you here. There's a town nearby; we can set you up along its outskirts near the main road so you can flag down a ride into town and get some help." Anora refuted as their little group started to limp along.

"But King Ezran-"

"We will free the king from Castel. I give you my word."

As they walked, Rayla stayed completely silent, and although she was typically the quiet type, the way her head hung low between her shoulders and her eyes stared uncomprehendingly at the ground told Callum that something was on her mind as he followed along behind her.

"Rayla, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Rayla was not fine, but Callum had enough to worry about at the moment. Retreating back into her thoughts, images of those four figures played over and over in her mind, taunting her as she struggled to make sense of what they were. Unlike the wolves Claudia had sent after them, these beings had been more humanlike. They hadn't fought like humans though, and the longer she mulled over what she had seen, the more familiar the ghostly creatures started to seem. However, her mind refused to delve any deeper for one reason or another, and perhaps that was best for the time being.

#THE DRAGON PRINCE #the dragon prince fanfic #tdp fanfic #tdp fanfiction #tdp oc #the dragon prince oc #runaan #tdp runaan #runaan x oc #Runaan

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dragonprincequotesimadeup · 5 years

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I made an AI write about tdp

Sky: Three of the six magical sources are Earth, Ocean and Sky. 7First, the magician draws a rune that matches the desired effect. 7To project it, the magician must speak the word in the dragon's tongue. 7Callum knows the magic of the wind because Claudia is acting in front of him, but he has problems with the lightning spell because he cut it off before she could finish the summon. 7

Dark magic, because they lack the direct connection to the primeval sources that elves and magical creatures have. 7The Sunfire Elves are known for making blades that store the forge's heat. 7After realizing his vision of using Dark Magic, he realizes that the entire planet itself is like a single giant heavenly foundation. 7He understands everything there is about Sky, and this allows him to use Sky magic without a primitive stone. 7

The refugees and Ellis, being hunted out of town, seek the healer on the accursed caldera.A monster leech chases them onto a rock, but together they manage to defeat him.Viruses can not take information from the captured Runaan about his magic mirror and capture it in a coin with dark magic.

When he overstretches, his body looks sicker and he becomes much crueler and sadistic. 7When Ellis talks about how she crossed the damn Caldera, she says she was very young at the time. 7The fact that the accursed caldera is indeed safe and the monsters are just illusions is suggested by the fact that a small child has easily made it through. 7In Season 2 Callum finds out how to cast without the foundation stone. 7

Callum wants to make peace, Ezran sees it as a big misunderstanding, and even Rayla clearly believes that her mission will end things once and for all, and as soon as she sees the dragon egg, she strives to find the truth and the things between them to do peoples. 7After King Harrow was killed, Rayla is concerned not to tell Callum and Ezran. 7Claudia and Soren do the same once they find the princes. 7Once Callum finds out, he also tries to avoid telling Ezran to spare him the pain of losing. 7

Soren is thrown around a bit during a fight and then thrown by a dragon into a rock. 7After the pentachute's meeting, it is determined that the virus has lied to get Lord Regent's position so he can call them all together to start a war with Xadia. 7When the Council of Katolis finds out, viruses are deprived of all power and arrested. 7

In the past, King Egge and Virene decided to kill a Magma Titan so that the Virene could cast a spell to ensure the supply of food over the winter. 7If they actually get to Titan, it's much harder to kill than they believe, and before they can retreat to their territory with their hearts, Thunder catches them. 7The Queens of Duren and Queen Sarai die to save time for the others, and their intrusion triggers a war with Xadia. 7

Choice of the Virene, where she must choose between the rescue of her brother and the rescue of the dragon prince's egg. 7Although Claudia joked, Viren replies that she should save the egg. 7Rock Monster: Magma Titans are gigantic humanoids made of rock and lava. 7The one in Book 2 spares the most attacks, which are harmlessly deflected against the rocky plates covering it, and attacks with powerful crushing blows of his stony hands. 7

Avizandum was eventually killed four months before the show by dark magic that was exercised by humans. 5After Avizandum was killed, people searched his hiding place and stole many of his possessions, destroying his only egg. 5In reality, the egg was not destroyed, but secretly stolen by the human magician viruses and hidden in the castle Katolis. 5

A prologue sets the scene: Long ago people used dark magic and were driven away by dragons and elves.Now, after humans have killed the Dragon King and his egg, a war threatens.Elven assassins gather to kill human King Harrow and his heir Ezran.

Racism: Elves and humans are deeply suspicious and unprejudiced, which is a recurring theme in the series. 7People believe that the elves are dangerous, literally bloodthirsty monsters who will kill innocent people without provocation, and the mere sight of an elf is usually enough to send human characters in different panic states. 7The elves believe that all human beings are lies, corrupt, dishonorable and untrustworthy, and in the past have banished the entire human species from their homelands in response to a single human being who creates dark magic. 7

With the increasing pace of the story, many characters jump too often from place to place. 2I had some real flashbacks to the last season of Game of Thrones and a certain dragon queen crossing the kingdom in record time. 2There are a few scenes in which the beauty of the Elven kingdom is brought to bear. Some absolutely adorable creatures are contrasted by truly fearsome snakes, but on the whole, it was disappointing how little time was spent on depicting the magic of Xadia. 2

Ezran and Zym imitate each other while both are sleeping. This suggests that they have a psychic connection that will be useful in the second season finale. 7

#tdp #dragon prince #the dragon prince #netflix #fanfiction #ai #aistory #aistories

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galaxywolfqueen13 · 4 years

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The Reunion of a Lifetime (Chapter 1)

Creators: TheGoldenAtlas (Head-writer) GalaxyWolfQueen13 (editor) someboredloser (Beta reader)

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 1660

AO3 Link: Chapter 1

Fanfiction Link: Chapter 1

Wattpad Link: Chapter 1

༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻

It's been six years, six years since the day Viren attacked the storm spire, four years since he and Claudia attacked again with the help of a Startouched elf. The day Viren attacked the spire he had told Rayla of a collection showing a small pouch, the next time he attacked she asked where it was, telling her in his last breath that they will suffer forever. Rayla searched. She had parties sent out for days to search near the spire but to no avail, she had given up, maybe it was a lie to scare her, she wondered but had to move on. Years passed and she forgot about the pouch. Now that pouch will bring back something she thought to never see again…

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Present-day…

Hidden in the dirt near where Viren had fallen, missed by search parties, covered in leaves and left forgotten lies a small pouch. The small pouch began to vibrate as though it pulsed like a heart, slowly the vibrations and pulses became a more distinct one, two, no three distinct heartbeats could be heard from the pouch before it was shredded to reveal four coins, three of which were pulsing with dark magic before exploding with a force of what seemed like hundreds of powder kegs, of dark energy. Several nearby Dragonguard who were on patrol hear this explosion fearing they were under attack, they draw their weapons and rush to the source to find three elves struggling to stand.

The Dragonguard already confused yelled out to them asking who they are, coughing one responded “what… where are we”, The guard pressed on “Speak, what is your name!”

One of the other elves, coughing, responds “I.. am Tiadrin of the Dragonguard.”

The Dragonguards all look at each other for a moment before one tells the others to help them to the spire. One elf though, in particular, was confused by the name he heard

“Taidrin?” he said questioningly as he managed to stand to look to her and look around to see Lain also there. Taidrin recognising the voice turns to see Runaan standing there

“RUNAAN?!” She yells out and rushes to him “How are you here!” She started shaking him as he tried to respond “ugh some dark mage….”, Lain recognising what he meant “Say no more how he got you I don't want to know, for now, let's just follow the Dragonguards to the queen...” Runaan, reluctant to see the Queen of the Dragons, agrees to follow up the mountain with the guards.

As they walk up the stairs to the queen's lair, Lain looks back at Runaan seeing how bad of condition he's in

“Lord Runaan what happened to you? Why do you have a binding on your arm?! What happened to your horn!”

Runaan realizing the binding was still on him and hasn't cut off his arm yet responds “I was on a mission…. To kill the King of Katolis and his son.”

Taidrin, hearing Runaan already knowing why he was on a mission like that, “The egg…. So we failed to save it ...”

Runaan not wanting her to feel bad tries to correct her. “No, you saved it…. I just wonder what happened after...”

They continued to walk in silence for a bit and reach the top of the mountain and the entrance of the lair. A guard walked to the Queen and spoke to her telling her the names of those who had been found, even outside the lair a great roar could be heard from the lair as if surprise and joy overtook the dragon inside, Lain and Taidrin looked at each other confused as to what had just been heard.

“Why would she be happy? we failed ...”

The three of them stood there waiting until they saw a guard rushing back to them,

“Queen Zubiea wishes to speak with you three”,

“Very well...” Said Lain, seeming accustomed to that behaviour. It didn't take long for them to get to the entrance of the lair but once they got to the entrance Runaan was tackled to the ground from behind

“AGH”, “Azimondias get off him!” the Queen spoke in a kind but commanding voice that shook the mountain and the lair residing within. Lain and Taidrin meanwhile were looking awestruck at what was before them, the dragon prince, they immediately bowed to both the Queen and her son. Taidrin was the first to speak up as the young prince got off Runaan,

“My Queen what has transpired in the time we have been gone… we thought the prince was attacked when we blacked out...”

The Queen stood for a moment seemingly looking for the words to say until she spoke with a low rumble of the ground

“My guards, you two have been thought dead for nearly six years now...” Lain and Taidrin stood there gobsmacked by what they had heard, six years…. Six years we’ve been missing they thought to themselves as they looked at one another, then they turned to Runaan who seemed just as amazed by the statement made by the Queen and Lain asked him

“Is this true have we been gone for six years!?” Runaan looked dazed at first before responding “well for me you've been gone a few months so I guess it is true'', “How have we been gone so long where have we been….” The queen waited a moment to let them process what she just said before continuing,

“In the time you were gone my son has been returned to me, the mage that had taken him has been killed by human hands and peace has come, to be exact your daughter, Rayla brought my son back to me, she's a good girl, well, was a girl now she's a strong woman,” Lain, Tiadrin and Runaan all looked at each other all of them were happy at what they heard but also coming to realize that they missed so much. How could they miss such an important thing as this, they wondered. Taidrin and Lain then turned to the queen,

“Wheres Rayla!?, How is she!?” said Lain dropping the formalities, the Queen, however, laughed a little, shaking the lair as she did “you wouldn't believe me if I said it, but last time I spoke with her she was going to Katolis with a surprise for someone there,” she said with what they could only assume to be a dragon’s smile.

“Why would she go to Katolis?!” Lain responded in a panic “We have to go after her!”, the Queen, however, laughed again

“oh, you have no idea all the things that you three have missed…. She became my guard captain after returning my son to me and I gave her leave until her surprise was old enough,” Lain and Taidrin looked at each other processing what she said “Until her surprise was… old enough...” they said to each other realizing what she meant

“RAYLA HAS A CHILD!” they exclaimed at the top of their lungs,

“I hope you like the boy as much as I do, he’s a good man… Now I think you three should rest here for a day or two then go to her,” the Queen said to the three before her.

“Ah yes, Runaan was it? Step forward.” Zubeia knew that his binding was no longer needed but was impressed at how it hadn't removed his arm yet, Runaan nervously walked forward

“My queen what is it?”, “Runaan calm down. I'm only going to remove your binding,” and as she said that she brought her claw to his arm and pulled the binding off with ease. Runaan staggered for a second feeling blood rush back into his arm again, he had forgotten that it was even going to be lost to the binding.

They stood there for a moment before a guard came in and showed them to an empty room for them to rest in and talk. The room was decorated in traditional Moonshadow decor most likely to put them at ease. Lain and Taidrin sat down while Runaan paced in the room, unable to calm down, then Lain spoke up

“Runnan, what happened after we went missing?” Runaan startled to reality again by the question grimaced at the months that transpired after the egg was presumed destroyed.

“Well...Everyone assumed the Dragonguard to have fled, they were all labelled traitors, both of you are ghosts to the Silvergrove….”,

“That… makes sense, we failed our duty anyway….” said Lain not happy at his own statement but Runaan continued,

“Rayla… didn't take it well, to say the least, she grew to hate you two… later when I was sent on a mission to kill the King of Katolis and his son as revenge for their actions she begged for me to take her...”, “ but then she ruined the mission, she let a human go, everyone was killed and I was taken prisoner but Rayla and the princes of Katolis found the egg. I guess she managed to get it here…” Lain and Taidrin sat there processing everything, what hell has Rayla gone through to keep the egg safe? Is she alright now? Does she still hate us? Questions ran through their minds until Lain spoke,

“We need rest, let's just rest here and then head out to find Rayla...”, “What about Ethari?'' asked Taidrin “He probably thought you were dead too! We should send word to him and have him come here. We need someone who knows this new world we are in...”

Runaan didn't like the idea but also missed Ethari so he relented and agreed to send a shadowhawk letter to tell him where they were. They sent the letter then went to sleep each of them wanting to know more of what has happened but still overwhelmed by what they know already.

Hey! I hope you like this little fanfic my friends and I worked on. If you have any constructive criticism please let us know! Any feedback is appreciated

#The Dragon Prince #tdp #Fanfic #Family Reunion #Runaan #Rayla #lain and tiadrin

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lesbian-janai · 5 years

Text

Gold

written for @ask-aaravos-anything for startouch sunday. the prompt for this week is runaavos. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I've now succumbed fully to this ship. I hope you enjoy!

summary: aaravos wakes runaan up from a nightmare

runaan was trapped in an endless golden abyss. he tried to remain calm at first, but the further he walked the more the panic swelled up within him. he started running, hoping that he would find a way to escape this golden wasteland, but the gold stretched on and on. finally, he collapsed from exhaustion and he gulped down air. he tried to even out his breathing, but every breath he took felt like it wasn't enough. he fell forward, tears steaming down his face as he clawed against the cold ground as if he could dig his way out of the void. "LET ME OUT!" he screamed, his voice raw with panic and desperation. "PLEASE! PLEASE LET ME OUT!" suddenly, the golden prison evaporated into darkness, and runaan felt a warm hand shaking his shoulder.

runaan's eyes snapped open, and he threw his head forward and gasped for air. the hand left his shoulder and moved to rub soothing circles against his back. "breathe with me," a deep voice sounded next to him, "you're safe now, runaan. breathe with me." runaan closed his eyes as he tried to match the voices' exaggerated breaths, in and out, in and out. when he got to the point where he no longer had to focus on breathing, he let out a shaky breath and opened his eyes again. aaravos sat next to him, and he smiled softly as he brought his free hand up to cradle runaan's cheek. "are you alright?" he asked.

runaan didn't answer, still out of breath. instead, he let his eyes wonder across aaravos' face, taking in his soft smile, his sparkling freckles, his beautiful cheek markings, and finally they landed on his eyes. gold, just like the wasteland he just returned from, and they were just as endless and soul-sucking as the prison, but there was something different about those eyes. they were warm, unlike the cold hard ground of the coin, and they were full of emotion, unlike the emptiness that consumed him in his dreams. runaan found himself lost in the deep gold of aaravos' eyes, and unlike the coin, he welcomed it. the gold that haunted his dreams now comforted him.

runaan felt his heart swell at that thought, it was simply poetic, and he let out a single pathetic sob as tears slipped past his eyes and down his cheeks. "it's alright, my little moonshadow," aaravos said as he wiped a tear away with his thumb. he then brought runaan's face forward to plant a soft kiss against his forehead. aaravos' affection only made runaan cry more, and he fell forward into the startouch elf's chest, bringing his arms up to cling to him as more sobs wracked his body.

aaravos ran his fingers through runaan's messy hair as he sobbed against his chest. his heart ached at the state of his beloved assassin and he blinked back tears of his own. he could do nothing but hold the moonshadow elf and make soft cooing noises to comfort him. there was no spell he knew that could end this, the tears would have to run their course. after what seemed like an hour, runaan's sobs subsided into heavy breathing. aaravos tightened his arms around the assassin and then kissed the top of his head.

runaan let out an exasperated sigh and twisted his head to rest his cheek against the startouch elf. "I'm sorry you had to see my like this," runaan said, now embarrassed by losing control of his emotions. "there's no need to apologize, my gentle runes." aaravos' voice was a deep whisper that instantly soothed the assassin, and he closed his eyes as the calming words washed over him. he took a moment to take in his current state: messy hair, sticky cheeks, reddened eyes and a slightly runny nose. he sniffed once and then chuckled at how rediculous he must look. "I'm a mess," he said simply, voice hoarse from his sobbing.

aaravos gently pushed runaan back and lifted his chin to face him. "you're my mess," he said, and he wiped the remaining tears from runaan's cheeks. the moonshadow was once again overcome by emotion, his chest fluttering at aaravos' affection, and he lunged forward to claim aaravos' lips with his own. the archmage returned the kiss, tangling his fingers in runaan's hair and turning his head to deepen the kiss. when runaan couldn't stand the lack of oxygen any longer, he pulled back and rested his forehead against aaravos' while he regained his breath. he stared into the startouch elf's deep golden eyes once again, and after a moment a smile spread across his face.

"has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?" runaan asked. a deep chuckle was his reply. "yes, I've heard. is that what has you so worked up, runes?" aaravos teased. runaan chuckled again. "actually yes, that is why I'm such a mess." aaravos looked at him, confusion sparking in those golden eyes, and runaan pulled back and plopped down on the bed with a heavy sigh. aaravos lay down next to him, his cheek resting on his fist so he could look down at runaan. after a moment, runaan began to talk, and aaravos listened intently.

"i was in the coin again," the assassin explained, "i was running and running but i couldn't get out. all there was was an empty golden abyss swallowing me whole. I couldn't get out, aaravos," his voice started shaking and aaravos placed his free hand on runaan's chest. "you're out now, runes. you're not trapped in the coin anymore, you're here." runaan stared up at him, adoration clear in his turquoise eyes. he smiled once again at the archmage, and he brought his hand up to cover the star-covered one on his chest.

"you know, your eyes are a lot like the coin," runaan said, and the archmage flashed him a quizzical look before he continued, "your eyes; they're like an endless golden abyss. I find myself lost in them, unable to escape," he took a moment to stare at those beautiful eyes once again, taking in their beauty and depth, "the only difference is that I want to be lost in your eyes. your eyes are nothing like that prison, they're warm and soft and welcoming, they're full of love and wonder, and every time I look at them I feel my heart flutter in my chest." he trailed off and simply smiled at the archmage. he squeezed his hand over his chest and continued, "I love your eyes."

aaravos looked down to hide his blush, a big goofy smile spreading across his face. sure, he gets complimented on his eyes quite often, but nobody has ever spoken about them in such a way. he looked back up at the assassin, locking his eyes with his own and giving him a mischievous smirk. "so what you're saying is you find me compelling," he teased. runaan's head fell against the pillows in a fit of laughter. "I pour my heart out to you and that's your response?" aaravos joined him in his laughing. "no taking that back later, runes," the archmage said, "I just discovered a new weapon to use against you."

once runaan's laughter subsided, he yawned. his panic attack and sobbing left him exhausted and he had to force his eyelids to stay open. "well, no using anything against me right now, I'm still tired and I want to go back to sleep." he turned his body onto his side and tugged on aaravos' hand to force it to wrap around his waist. "do you think you will have another nightmare?" the archmage asked, concern evident in his voice, "I might know a spell that could help." runaan snuggled deeper into aaravos' arms before he hummed a reply. "I think I'm okay," he said, and with that he closed his eyes and let sleep consume him. this time, he didn't dream of that wretched coin, he only dreamed of the endless abyss of aaravos' golden eyes.

#jade speaks #the dragon prince #tdp #runaan #aaravos #runaavos #jade's writing #my last little drabble gave me confidence to write more #anyways runaan loves aaravos' eyes because they're the opposite of the coin #i don't know why i wrote this at 2 in the morning but there's no backing out now #startouch sunday

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beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years

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Heart tests: Runaan and Amaya

Runaan meets his fate in S1E8 when Viren magics him into a cursed coin. We see half a blink of him in S2 and that’s it. So he’s very out of sight/out of mind as far as the main plot goes by the time S3E3 “Ghost” rolls around. That’s the episode where we visit the Silvergrove with Rayla, meet Ethari, and learn of Rayla’s ghosting, though. So TDP takes some time to paint us a lovely parallel as we’re meeting Runaan’s husband, by reminding us of Runaan’s fate via Amaya’s treatment at Khessa’s hands.

And it offers some fascinating insights into both Runaan’s and Amaya’s characters, as well as those around them in these scenes.

Holy long post, Batman! Have a cut.

For setup: Amaya’s and Runaan’s sides initiated an attack, but the enemy foiled their Plan A. So they took matters into their own hands, trying to spare as many lives as possible, even though they knew it would cost their own to do so. And then, fate intervened, and though they were captured by the enemy, their lives were spared.

As far as their holding situation goes, both Runaan and Amaya are held below surface level in isolation and extremity, chained, and held in one specific spot--Runaan’s by the wall and Amaya’s in the center, furthest from all the flames.

They both face an antagonist with a magic staff at their disposal. Said antagonist only cares for their prisoner’s usefulness, and once the prisoner refuses to share their knowledge, they are deemed useless. The magic staff is used maliciously against them, breaking them down.

That’s what we have so far. What’s going to be living rent-free in my head for the foreseeable future is seeing what possibilities exist for Runaan’s upcoming future based on what happens to Amaya after her magic staff experience.

What if Claudia or Viren frees Runaan for some purpose, paralleling Janai freeing Amaya after Khessa’s staff torture? Amaya jumped into battle soon after being freed. What would a dark mage use Runaan for? Similar, except worse? Something very different--an exchange, a bargain?

Is there a concrete clue regarding Runaan’s heart in Amaya being shown to have a pure heart according to the truth magic of the Sun? Moon reflects Sun, after all. How pure can an angsty, broody assassin with serious suspicion and prejudice issues really be? Is he hard with one soft spot for Ethari, or soft with one hard spot for humans?

Will Runaan’s future arc take place at Ethari’s side, since Amaya sticks with Janai? Are we... are we going to get the long awaited Battle Husbands?

Please, all the gay battle couples!

#ruthari #janaya #tdp parallels #tdp #tdp theory #tdp headcanons #runaan #amaya #janai #ethari #viren #claudia #gren #it's been a million years since i made one of these #feels good man #long post

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beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years

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Viren, Ruiner of Birthdays

I don't think he means to, but Viren's actions have led him to ruin several characters' birthdays that we know of. I gotta wonder if this started out early in his character creation, where someone described him as "the kind of guy who ruins birthdays," and that became a deep thread in his character development, informing various plot points--such as "Callum's Miserable Sad Birthday," which the creators were quick to confirm the timing of during a TTM Reddit AMA.

I bet there are several birthday connections we can't even guess at yet. But there are some we can guess at, and some we know for sure.

December 23 (deductive guess) Viren ruined Tiadrin's birthday--and the first attempt at Zym's birthday--by attacking the Storm Spire on the Eve of Winter's Turn and trapping her and her husband Lain in dark magic coins

December 3 (deductive guess) Viren ruined Sarai's birthday by getting Harrow to agree to hunt the Magma Titan for its heart, leading to Sarai's death at Avizandum's hand (paw?) and her last breath being trapped for 9 years in Viren's jar

May 17 (canon) Viren ruined Runaan's birthday by magically experimenting on him out of frustration when he was already chained up in a cell, after Amaya thwarted his coronation plans

June 16 (deductive guess) Viren ruined Claudia's birthday by dying as a consequence of his own actions and giving her the knowledge to resurrect him by killing someone after he restored Soren using a big powerful dark magic spell that Claudia copied from him in order to bring him back

July 15 (canon) Viren ruined Callum's birthday by taking most of Rayla's parents away from her and by becoming Rayla's nemesis, so she felt she had to make sure he was dead and no longer a threat, and that led to her seek him out to finish the job of protecting Xadia from him--and finding out her family's true fate--beginning early the very next day after she found out they weren't dead, leaving Callum behind at the Moonhenge

So who else's birthdays are going to get ruined, and who else's birthdays have already been ruined? Aside from Soren, poor bby, but that's angst for a different post.

You know what I really want to see?

Viren ruining Aaravos's birthday.

pspspspsps Viren it's on November 14, don't forget

#tdp #tdp speculation #tdp meta #viren #tdp claudia #runaan #rayla #sarai #tiadrin #tdp angst #tdp birthdays

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beautifulterriblequeen · 4 years

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It’s discussed a lot about how Callum will react to Runaan when he gets out of the coin, but how do you think some of the other human characters would react to him? Like Soren, Amaya and Gren (it’s unclear if Gren ever actually *saw* Runaan, but for argument’s sake, let’s say he did.)

Ooh what a fun question, anon!

Let’s see, Soren. Well, by the time Runaan is freed, Soren will probably have had months or years as Rayla’s ally, even if he spends all his time with Ezran as his Crownguard. I also hope that Soren gets some real-world experience and education at the Storm Spire and in Lux Aurea before he returns to Katolis, if Ezran’s going to return to being king (which, idk, technically I think Soren’s king now, actually, as VIren’s heir, but that’s a whole ‘nother post).

Soren is a genuinely warm guy. If he gets some time to learn about what Avizandum and Zubeia’s side of the war has been like, as well as Khessa and Janai’s, he’ll have a pretty balanced viewpoint on the conflict as a whole, which will make him a really solid adviser for Ezran, considering the training and actual battle experience he already has.

He may even contribute to the chain of events that frees Runaan, since he’s the one who put Runaan in the dungeon in the first place. His piece of the puzzle is that Runaan isn’t dead, and was imprisoned instead of being killed, and he knows exactly where and how, and also what Runaan looks like. He got a fistful of that long white hair, which is Runaan’s most distinctive physical trait (out of several, okay), so if anyone ever brings up that hair–Soren included–it’ll be obvious who’s being referred to, and that could direct various characters in their hunt/quest to free/locate him.

But what would he do upon seeing Runaan again? They’ll definitely remember each other. I think the key element will be this: time has passed eventfully for Soren, but it won’t have passed in the same way for Runaan. He’ll be stuck, trapped out of the world, alone with the same thoughts over and over again and no new input to help him grow and change. So Soren will probably have come a long way in his personal development, while Runaan won’t have done much more than spin in circles and rethink his choices.

I think the first thing Runaan would do is go on the defensive–or the offensive–with any weapon he can possibly get his hands on, and the first thing Soren would do is to hold up his hands and say, “Whoa there, Rayla’s Pointy Dad Number Two, I’m not gonna pull your hair this time. Promise.

“And uhh, look. I wanna apologize on behalf of my dad. Viren. The old High Mage who kept you prisoner? I made some bad choices when I listened to him. And what he did to you was wrong. And I was wrong to help him. I thought I was helping my country when I did what he and my sister told me to do. But I ended up hurting people who didn’t deserve it.

“And Rayla–she’s great, by the way, taught me how to sweep the leg and everything–she’s helped me understand a lot about myself.. Because she and I, we have a lot in common. Trying to do the best we can for our dads being one of those things, and all.

“So, what I’m trying to say while you’re still deciding if you’re gonna stab me is this: I’m sorry. I’ve been to the Storm Spire, I’ve lived in Lux Aurea, and I, I get it now. The whole war thing. And, who we are inside it. People like you and me. Warriors, fighting to protect people we love. I’ve learned to see more than I ever thought I could. More than my dad wanted me to.

“So… really please don’t stab me, because I’m just trying to do what my king says: we don’t have to fight back. We don’t have to continue the cycle. You killed my last king, and I couldn’t stop you. And, yeah, that still hurts, not gonna lie. But Ezran’s my king now. And I’d follow him to the ends of the earth. If… the earth… has ends. Geometry wasn’t my best class. Anyway. So how about we talk, you and me, okay, just a couple of badasses, and we’ll try not to fall back on old habits, yeah? Cool. And… how many pushups do you think you can do?”

And Runaan hasn’t said a single word the whole time. He’s just let Soren go on and on and on. But Soren’s been paying attention to Rayla, trying to understand his new ally whenever he can. So he’s been very slowly stepping closer to Runaan, keeping his hands in sight and open, using Rayla’s mannerisms. And that whole message hits Runaan just as hard as hearing Rayla’s name on Soren’s lips. Soren does know Rayla. Knows her well. Things have changed. And he’s going to need to go slow so he doesn’t make a mistake. He’ll never let Soren into his blind spot, but he’ll play along after that show of information. He’ll look Soren up and down and say, “More than you can,” and Soren will grin like a little kid, because he’s just made peace instead of war, and he’s so proud of himself!

Aww, Soren is like hay. He’s great.

Amaya: afawk she hasn’t met Runaan directly, so unless they have some clashy backstory, Amaya’s attitude toward him will be a combination of “This dude killed my brother-in-law/king” and “this dude is my nephew’s girlfriend’s dad”.

By the time Amaya meets Runaan, she’ll know about Rayllum and how strong and steady it’s become. She’ll have Janai by her side. She’ll know about the power of love, and that overt aggression toward Runaan for taking Harrow won’t go over well with Rayla, and maybe not with Callum either. Plus, they’re all trying to move forward in peace, and her relationship with Janai is a big symbol of that. So on one hand, she’s a walking symbol of peace through love. And on the other, she can offer Runaan an olive branch to achieve peace through forgiveness.

A big influence is going to be how well Amaya and Rayla get along. I’d love to see Amaya teaching Rayla ASL because Rayla wants to be able to send silent messages. It’s a very Moonshadow form of communication, and Runaan talks a lot with his hands already, so Rayla’s primed for a new language there, I think. And the more time they spend bonding, the more Amaya’s tolerance will rise.

She may have the hardest time forgiving Runaan, out of everyone. Callum has a huge heart. Ezran is a soft boy through and through. Soren would identify with Rayla pretty strongly, with their dark dads. Gren’s too nice not to feel for Runaan. But Amaya’s whole job has been defending Katolis from elves. And she failed, and her brother-in-law died at Runaan’s hands. So part of her hangup with him will be her own guilt. I’m not sure they’ll ever be friendly.

Callum has more reason to hate Runaan than Amaya, but he’s young and in love with Runaan’s daughter, so he’s got motive and ability to be emotionally flexible. Amaya, for all her love of Janai, might not be quite as flexible toward a Moonshadow assassin whose actions put her nephew on the throne and destabilized Katolis, leaving it vulnerable to a coup and warmongering at Viren’s hands.

So, I think their meeting might go a bit like this: Amaya sees Runaan for the first time after he’s freed. It’s probably not immediately after. He’ll have a chance to find some shirts and eat something, probably heal up as much as he’s going to. And then they’ll come face to face. They’ll warily study each other for a long moment. And then Amaya will shrug and smirk, and Runaan will narrow his eyes, and she’ll punch him as hard as she can, and he’ll let her. Everyone will get caught off guard. Janai and Ethari, if they’re there, will step forward immediately to see to their partners and eye each other warily. But it’ll be Amaya and Runaan who tell them to calm down. Everything just got worked out, as much as it’s ever going to be.

Unless someone attacks Rayllum. Then I’ll get my cherished hc of Runaan and Amaya fighting back to back. It won’t matter what they’re fighting against. They’ll both be all in. Trusting Rayllum’s other stabby parent would definitely bond them more than anything else ever could.

And now for my sweet boy Gren: Gren is really empathetic, and he knows what Runaan’s last days before the coin were like. Gren had it easy--food, water, light, getting to stand up, not having to endure the odd magical experiment. Runaan wasn’t so lucky. We all saw the level of concern Gren had for his fellow prisoner down the hallway when Runaan started screaming. We saw his horror as he realized what Viren had done and how Runaan was still alive inside that creepy tiny prison coin.

Gren probably didn’t get a very good look at Runaan in the coin, but he’s very good with voices, and he’d recognize Runaan’s in a heartbeat. He could hear everything he and Viren said down the hall. He knew to ask about Xadian fruit, which means he overheard the “Moonshadow elf thing” comment. He knew darn well that Runaan was a Moonshadow--could easily guess that he was one of the assassins--and he was still horrified at his fate. Gren doesn’t carry a weapon--he prefers to talk. And talk and talk and talk. I bet there are plenty of things Gren wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy, and getting coined is one of them now.

So this poor soft dungeon boy, who called down the hall trying to get Runaan to chat and never got an answer, only heard him talking to Viren, what would his reaction be upon seeing Runaan again? Upon hearing him?

Gren would wait for all the “more important” people to speak to Runaan first. Janai, Amaya, Rayla and Callum. And then he’d step forward when Runaan was available and try to have a quick word. He’d stand mirroring Runaan, trying to use Moonshadow body language as best he could. Maybe he picked some of it up from Rayla. And he’d want to speak, but have no real idea what to say.

“Hey. I’m glad you’re okay. What Viren did to you was... wrong. Really wrong. No one should have to go through that, no matter what. I... just wanted you to know that I’m sorry. I... would’ve helped you out... but...” And here Gren gets caught up in his own memories. He’d tried to stay positive in the dungeon, and he could help himself all day long, but he couldn’t help the guy screaming down the hall. Gren’s no pushover, but that whole experience was really hard for him. The walls of that dungeon start to close in around him again.

“You did,” Runaan says. Reluctantly, but not unkindly. He was too busy trying to hunger strike to appreciate Gren’s overtures of friendliness, but once in the coin, Runaan had ages to contemplate every tiny detail of his imprisonment and what led to it. And Gren would be a bafflingly bright spot. No discernible motive. Just a soft, genuine human who tried to cheer Runaan up despite knowing who he was and what he had done.

And that’s all the encouragement Gren needs. He got to be helpful and communicate and do something good, and that’s all he’s ever wanted to do. He’ll glue himself to Runaan’s side for as long as the elf will put up with him, trying to learn as much as he can about Moonshadows. And Runaan will let him, for the most part, because the true measure of a person is how they treat someone who can do nothing for them. And when Runaan could offer Gren absolutely nothing in the dungeon, Gren offered him kindness and consideration. That’s worth a little bit of Moonshadow trust, and Gren will eagerly use what he leans from Runaan to aid in his ability to make peaceful overtures between Xadia and Katolis.

I think that in general, human reactions to Runaan will be muted by the existence of Rayllum. If Rayla weren’t his daughter, and if Callum weren’t her boyfriend, then I do think some characters would react more angrily to him. But Rayllum is bringing peace and holding it together as the first link, and no one wants to challenge that and cause war again over an enemy combatant who was doing his job by taking out a kingkiller. In the face of Rayllum’s peace and love, Runaan will probably get a bit softer of a landing than he deserves. The humans will get a chance to do what Ezran did: to forgive instead of striking back.

#soren #amaya #gren #runaan #tdp speculation #tdp #asks #janai #ethari #callum #rayla #ezran #viren

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