#WHAT WILL HAPPEN BETWEEN EZ AND RAYLA. AND EZ AND CALLUM

[sasstrid-and-dorkcup]

Having confirmation that Ezran is going to totally snap in s7 when he sees Runaan has me rubbing my hands together menacingly in excitement for the potential broyals drama that will come with all of that

Like we've all been saying for months now that Callum will be torn between Rayla and facing justice for Harrows death but now that we're all the more closer to that giant broyals fallout I'm getting so so so excited

[1lovepeace]

I genuinely agree with your take. It's true that the trauma Rayla experienced doesn't excuse her actions, but it deeply explains the reasoning behind it. And in a way, you see Amaya soften up after seeing herself in Rayla in terms of being stoic, strong, and lonely in handing things alone. She's opened up more. Callum refuses to let Rayla push him away, that everything they do and face, they do it together, accepting his help and leaning on him for support. Little by little, she's growing and maturing, and I'm proud of her. There's still a long way to go for her, but she will get there.

With all the time that all four of Rayla's parents have spent self-reflecting, whether in the coins or while being alone and self-isolated from the community over the last two years, I sincerely hope that it can transition to all five of them reconciling, healing and repairing their broken, fractured family. No doubt that all 4 of her parents are incredibly scarred, haunted, devastated, and extremely hurt by the failures and negligence committed. Imagine the uncontrollable, horrifying nightmares they must be having of Rayla, being tormented by her memory every night. Their hurt, pain, heartbreak, emotional/psychological torture, and suffering are perhaps far worse than we imagined. I wouldn't even know where to begin with addressing Moonfam's family issues. But they deserve to have their family again after all they've been through.

But Rayla also has a right to feel and express her anger, resentment, disdain, animosity, and even her rage towards all four of her parents for what they put her through. Let her say what she needs to say. Let Rayla be angry and messy.

Seeing people crap on arc two Rayla genuinely makes me sad. I don't think many people truly realize the depth of Rayla's isolation. What happened to all the characters in arc one was horrible (I am not down playing that), Callum and Ezran lost their father, and Soren lost his family, but they all had Katolis to go back to. Their home. Rayla lost EVERYTHING. She lost the assassins who she grew up with and trained her, she lost her home, and worst of all she lost her parents. She lost Runaan and Ethari in one go, only months after her parents. And all she had to remember them by was what they taught her. And they taught her self sacrifice, they taught her to do questionable things in the name of protection and the greater good. Viren threatened everything she loved which WAS Callum and Ezran, and she thought he was still alive. She was stuck in fight or flight mode, she was bathed in trauma. And she had a point in TTM, everyone was just moving on, and didn't take or let her have anytime to truly grieve. She was in such a dark place in TTM and it influenced her decisions. She knows she did something wrong, she knows she hurt Callum. She hasn't brought herself to apologize yet, but why did we stop treating her as human? (Or elf, as it were)

Also hi, I've recently been liberated from TDP reddit

[raayllum]

Trailer Breakdown time

Important notice: There will be spoilers from 7x01 mentioned as well from NYCC as well as screencaps that were previously released. Read ahead at your own risk!

So what a trailer am I right?

For this meta I'm gonna divide into sections in terms of episode order (largely 7x01, 7x02, and speculation to the mid season point) and then also talk about voice overs / clip placement from previous seasons when I think it's relevant. Let's go!

What we know

These shots of Callum and then Ezran and co. touching down in Katolis, as well as the vision Ezran has of his parents (which the fact he's seeing like that rather than how they actually were, sitting on the thrones side by side, is life ruining let me tell you) are all from 7x01, "Death Alive".

We know thanks to 7x01 that Runaan is arrested and everyone goes to the Banther Lodge to set up a temporary camp / plan their next moves, hence a makeshift council meeting (which Ezran having the throne brought with him... baby boy really isn't doing well). So it seems the following screencaps are all from 7x02.

We can also place this Callum and Rayla handhold at the Banther Lodge by the bridge outside.

They are probably (for whatever reason) conspiring/deciding to free Runaan and leave, leading to this scene with matching sky / colours - Soren and Rayla squaring off before Ezran arrives with more guards.

He might let them go or try to hold on, but they successfully flee / get away. I could also see Rayla and/or Runaan stepping in like "I'll stay behind, you go to the Silvergrove" (and if Rayla offers, that might melt Ezran enough to let them leave). Either way, I think Ezran's conversation with Aanya on the Banther Lodge bridge will either influence the choice(s) he makes here if it's before, or reference this crossroads if it comes after before we leave the Banther Lodge for the season.

We also know from 7x01 that Aaravos wants a Moon primal stone and to likely corrupt the Moon Nexus in order to invert life and death, destroy the Cosmic Order, and bring about eternal night. It seems likely Claudia and human Aaravos will achieve these aims by the mid-season point-ish. After 7x01 they have to go to the Puzzle House to get the map to the Garden of Innocence with unicorns, and they will likely require Terry's Pure Heart (my interview with Aaron Ehasz) to read the map to get them there. If 7x02 is "pure heart" that could be a nice parallel between Callum-Rayla and Terry-Claudia about a willingness (or lack of) to help and why.

From there, it's all speculation, so let's get into it.

What we can speculate

So first things first, we get Claudia and Human Aaravos at the Moon Nexus doing the Nexus inversion, presumably, and bringing people / creatures back from the dead. One looks rather like Ziard and brings up a staff, which Aaravos takes.

We also know this is earlier on in the season because Claudia's har is more white. During the spell, we also see Soren, Terry, Allen, and what seems to be Aanya holding a dead / unconcious Lujanne on the ground. It seems both Soren and Terry are running to stop her, though I don't know what Allen is doing (maybe holding back Ezran for some reason, if Ez is there).

Then we have more of the dead coming out, including a dragon that almost squashes Soren but does not have a rider, so it's not the same (assumedly) as before.

Later on, we see more creatures crawling out of the water at what seems to be the Nexus, since it's bordered by the same walls as the lake.

We also see Aanya and Ezran surrounded by the dead at the Valley of Graves (hi Sol Regem skeleton), but the moon doesn't look as... corrupted / taken as it does at the Nexus shot, so this could be happening in the early stages of the spell. Then Ezran could send Soren, who gets there too late, and who knows how fast Aaravos can travel on his own.

There seems to be some kind of confrontation between Ez, Aanya (hi exploding fire arrows), and Aaravos at the Valley of the Graves either way.

Since like I said the Moon isn't in the right spot, I'd wager the Ez-Aanya fight here is from 7x03 or 7x04, with the Moon Nexus inversion in 7x04 or 7x05. In the same timeframe, Rayla (and Runaan + Callum?) is going back to the Silvergrove and being put on trial.

The little tiny mushrooms here and in the section with her and one of the fallen assassins makes me think that rather than just standing around and talking, there could be an underwater dream-like portion to the trial as well. Something like "You touch the assassin and get blood on your hands (literally)" because they love their on-the-nose symbolism.

So I don't think the screenshots here are Rayla getting injured... Yet.

Now onto the harder to speculate sections, or what I like to call

What the Fuck is Going On

It seems, since Callum and Ezran learn that, "Aaravos is back. He wants to bring about eternal night. He's unleashed the spirits of the dead" (Callum) that the kids regroup and plan for what to do next. This could be 7x05 or 7x06. The trio (broyals / Rayla and Ezran) reconcile maybe from the Runaan fall out, with Ezran asserting that, "We have to be ready. We have to build our defences." (This could also be where Callum's line as a "the three of us have been through a lot together. We'll get through this, too" comes in as a parting goodbye before the group splits, as well as Callum's heroic rallying speech that is very reminiscent of 3x08: "There is a way out of this. With good people doing courageous things. Doing what's right!").

This "building our defences" could mean that the trio splits up to go get allies from prior seasons, like Rex Igneous (Ezran and co. shot) and Akiyu. They could also be fetching sun crystals for Aanya's arrows.

We see Callum defending an unconscious Akiyu (by the water) and Runaan (just under his tunic flare). His ice spell seemingly responds to Claudia's fire spell, and she has more white hair and is standing likewise near water. So it seems we'll get a Callum Claudia duel face off sometime in the mid to late season!

It also seems that Claudia's Laurelion dragon-scale necklace is just a dragon-scale, but gives her the super armour / fire power-up.

At some point we also meet up with the Sunfire elves, not just at their ruins / make-shift camp, but at the Sunforge palace itself, since Khessa's throne is in the background in these shots with Rayla. The purple background and Phyrrah also indicates that Soren and Corvus are in the same area.

Presumably, they've gathered all their allies (end of 7x08?) and are preparing for their final attempt to defeat Aaravos (and free Callum?). And Callum is going to get possessed, so when do we think it's happening?

Well, if the gang is travelling to get allies, Callum (and Rayla - and maybe Ezran or others?) have gone to get Zubeia perhaps from the mushroom mage. While there, shit goes down, and we get this shot of Callum (presumably from 7x06-7x07):

While the cube is angled the way it was in Callum's dark magic dreams, I don't think this is a dream. The background doesn't match up with previous, we've never seen this form of corrupted face for him with his eyes not black, and he has a white streak, which was never present when dreaming of himself as Aaravos' puppet last season.

I also don't think Callum is going to do dark magic to coin Aaravos (at least not for the initial corruption). Not only is it a little wonky pacing wise, it's a bit too clean, as it takes away the #1 threat Callum is scared of when it comes to doing dark magic. While he of course doesn't want to be corrupted at all, it was primarily the fact the corruption would make him Aaravos' puppet that scared him. It's also a bit too thematically contradictory for Aaravos to be successfully defeated in a 'bad way' rather than in a good way (teamwork, etc) nor does it work with the 6x03 set up for him and Rayla, but that's just me.

That all said, the fact that the trailer highlights his parallels to Viren and Claudia not just once, but twice (god bless that "however dangerous, however vile" and another "I would do anything for you") and through Kosmo's 6x06 voice over ("If you ever do dark magic again, the darkness and corruption will overwhelm you") makes it pretty clear that even if it hasn't happened here, it will happen in the season eventually. I don't think i have much to say on this plot beat / characterization that I haven't been saying for, well, the past 4 years, cause if you know, you know! (And I'll probably do a post just screaming about this + the cube later anyway.)

We also have some misc screencaps that could go about anywhere (Terry running, him + Aaravos and Claudia in the woods with the flying primal stone? Seeker or guider?) even if I do think they continually point towards Terry defecting this season.

Conclusion

If I missed any screencaps or you have any questions feel free to send them my way in my askbox! What do you think is going to happen and what are you most excited for this season?

[fujosh1dreamer]

It was a little underwhelming...

I have a lot of thoughts, some good, and some bad.

Good things: loved everything that was going on between callum and rayla and the rest of the moonfam. They were all so cute and funny together. Enjoyed the stuff with Terry, Aaravos, and Claudia at first but it got pretty stale towards the end. There were some really great animation sequences, and the voice acting was on point. Loved seeing more of queen Aanya. Finally sorvus... I know they're not technically Canon but I felt the unspoken implications when Soren almost fell off the cliff and Corvus grabbed him.

Onto the stuff I didn't like... there's a lot:

I hated every scene with karim... like I seriously wanted to turn my TV off when he showed up, which means that I also didn't like the janai and Amaya story line either because they were connected. Loved seeing Aanya but she deserved a stronger impact on the story, if felt like she was just there to have Ez not be alone. Like we went to her kingdom and didn't even get to see any of it, just some red rocks. I was happy that Terry left, but I was annoyed that Claudia didn't seem to care... she didn't care about anyone or anything this last season her motivations changed on a dime. I don't understand her wants or motivations at all. Barely any soren he felt like he should've had more stroy.

Ezran really annoyed me this season, he was willing to let Aanya shoot Rayla and he hesitated to stop her when she was about the shoot callum. He was wildly out of character and inconsistent. Also literally no one even attempted to mention to him that king Harrow killed Zyms dad first. Like what??? It's not a matter of him being a child and not being able to handle his emotions his response to Ruunan was fine, but him being swayed by aaravos and being mad at callum made for an exhausting watch.

Don't get me started on Aaravos we don't even get to see the other startouched elves. It looks also felt like he got nerfed, he doesn't use magic at all when he's in his normal giant form he just gets knocked around. Also I understand the final sacrifice of the old dragon dying to create an opportunity for happiness for the young generation, but the story didn't feel like it was leading up to that. The story never depicted the humans, elves, and dragons who helped seal Aaravos aways as in the wrong and needing to atone. That was setup for the startouched elves the ones playing god. The finally just doesn't really make any sense. Also what's the deal with callum and dark magic? Can he teach others to use primal magic? What's gonna happen in seven years?

My disappointment stems from wanting more and the story feeling very rushed, I'll probably give it another watch through but these are my initial thoughts.

One final point, and the thing that kinda pissed me off the most...

This!?!?!?!!? Really!?!?!?!? No thanks!?!

[sorinethemastermind]

Deepest Depths (1/4)

In which Callum hatches a plan that will save them all, but doom himself. And Soren decides to save him from that doom at his own expense. Blame @adashulaz for this angsty mess of a fic.

 “There is another option.” Callum says, and hopeful faces turn to him from every corner of the table. But the optimism in their eyes dies as soon as he brings out the unicorn’s horn and sets it on the table. Soren himself shivers, knowing now what those can do. And the blood that was spilled to wrest it from Aaravos’ grasp.

 “Callum.” Rayla says, voice hollow. “People died.”

 “And that’s exactly why we should use it.” he says, earnest. Desperate. “So that their sacrifices mean something. We all know what Aaravos is capable of now. What he’s really capable of. With this-” he hefts the horn again, offering it to the table. Several people flinch away. “-I could cast a spell to get rid of him. For good, this time.”

 “The spell that killed Avizandum.” Ezran says, voice ringing through the silence that had descended as soon as Callum finished speaking. “That’s how this started. It’s not how we’re going to end it. That spell is evil.”

 “It could kill Aaravos, permanently. Isn’t that what we’re trying to do?” Callum argued, turning on his brother. Soren hated to see them fight like this, especially when they needed each other most.

 “Yes, but I’m not going to let us become monsters to do it.” Ezran told his brother.

 “So you’re calling King Harrow a monster?”

 It was like a slap in the face to the young king, and Soren knew that Callum would regret it later. He stepped forward, putting himself physically between them before things could escalate anymore than they already had. 

 “Let’s all just cool it.” he said, arms out, forcing them both to step back.

 Rayla backed him up, placing a gentle hand on Callum’s shoulder. “This isn’t going to help anything.” she murmured in his ear, quiet enough that Soren only barely heard her. The mage deflated somewhat, shoving the unicorn horn back into his satchel.

 “I’m just saying we should consider it.”

 “No.” Ezran said with a shake of his head. “I won’t.”

 “Fine.” Callum snapped. He turned and stalked off, and after a moment Rayla followed, casting an apologetic glance over her shoulder at Ezran. The young king turned away, unable to look at either of them. Things had been strained between them since Runaan, even without this.

 Once the pair of them had gone, Ezran resumed the meeting; acting as though the conversation had never happened. Everyone followed his lead, unable to do much else, though Soren caught a few anxious glances passing around the room. More than the castle was crumbling, he thought. Their resolve was too. They could only take so much more of this before it broke entirely. Callum and Ezran needed to be working together instead of against each other.

 To that end, he went to find the High Mage once the meeting had adjourned; no more fruitful than any of the others they had held over the last couple weeks. Thankfully Callum and Rayla weren't hard to find; Soren could hear their voices trailing out of the library from all the way down the hall.

 "-he'd thank me later." Callum was saying. Soren could hear the distinct clip of his stride as he paced back and forth as he spoke. "They all would. I'd be doing them a favor."

 "Callum, even if it wasn't that spell in particular, it wouldn't work."

 "I know that dark magic is bad-"

 "Not just that." Rayla cut in. "Callum. You would die."

 Soren stopped short, hand hovering over the doorknob. He let it fall to his side, instead peering through the small crack in the door they had left, the door not entirely closed. Rayla was leaning against a bookshelf only a few feet away, arms crossed over her chest. Callum had stopped his pacing to turn to her, eyes determined.

 "Rayla, you made me promise to do the right thing. To make the sacrifice. If this is what it takes to win, to protect you and Ez, then it's what I have to do."

 "That's not what I-"

 "You're not the only one who's willing to sacrifice everything, Rayla. You know if things were different you'd make the same call."

 She couldn't argue and Callum knew it. "So it's settled then. Tomorrow morning you and I set out. I'll cast the spell, and you'll make sure it hits it's mark. For Katolis. For the world." his determination wavered. "For Ez."

 "What if-" Rayla began, but Callum cut her off with a shake of his head. 

 "It won't work, I already thought of that." he said, frustrated. "The Dark Magic, it hits you almost immediately after the spell is cast. If you do it, then you won't be able to make sure the weapon finds it's mark. You're the warrior, Rayla. So let me be the mage. Remember?"

 "Callum-" she tried to protest, but his voice just climbed higher to drown her out, rising in pitch and anger.

 "The warrior and the mage, Rayla. This was always how it was meant to be. The warrior and the mage will pierce of the heart-"

 "I know the dumb prophecy, Callum." Rayla snapped, voice rising to meet his.

 "-and melt the threat forever." he finished, putting extra emphasis on the last word. "Forever, Rayla."

 "That's not what it was about, Callum." Rayla argued. Soren, still glued to the door, could almost hear their voices morphing into those of his mother and father. Saw their shadows moving under the door like he'd seen theirs; angry and arguing, and him, outside, looking in and unable to fix it. Unable to understand. If they loved each other, then why…

 But he understood now. It was because they had loved each other. But Dark Magic had driven them apart. Pain had driven them apart; grief, fear. 

 It was all that filled the halls, now. You could feel it all around you; fear and pain and loss. And darkness. Not Dark Magic, maybe. Not yet. But soon that would make it's home here as well. His own name called Soren back to the present and made him lean against the door again, peering through the crack at the pair of them.

 "Soren... do you think he still loves Viren?" Callum was asking, turning to Rayla. He was holding a book now, one that Soren remembered well. It was one of his father's. 

 Rayla, she'd stepped away from the bookcase during the heat of the argument and now paced across the opposite side of the room, turned to look at him. "Callum?"

 "It's for the spell." he explained. "We need blood filled with hatred, but not just any blood, the blood of someone who loved the victim. And after what Astrid told us about the pearl being here, well, Viren is the closest we have to a victim right now. I already managed to find the rest."

 Rayla's back was to the door, so Soren couldn't see her expression, but she hunched her shoulders in as she answered; "Even after Runaan tried to kill me, even after Ethari made me a ghost, I still loved them, Callum. It made that love hurt, but it didn't go away. They're my family. I'll always love them. No matter what they've done."

 Callum let the book fall shut, turning to her. They shared a long glance until, finally, Rayla looked away first.

 "It's settled then." Callum said, voice final. "We go in the morning. At first light, so Ezran can't stop us. I'll ask Soren right before we go, in case he sides with Ez. If he says no, then we'll figure something else out."

 Callum tucked the book into his satchel as he crossed the floor to Rayla then, taking her hands in his. "I love you, Rayla. Nothing will ever change that. Not even tomorrow. Just know that, somewhere in me, I’ll always love you."

 A small, stifled sound like a sob escaped Rayla's lips and Callum pressed his forehead to hers. Soren stepped away from the door, feeling even more like an intruder. But not before he caught the next thing Callum said.

 "If we succeed and he’s gone, and I mean really gone, then he won't be able to use me; even if I do use Dark Magic again. Maybe... maybe I can find my way back to you. I'll fight to get back to you with everything I have, Rayla. I promise."

 Soren left them to their grief. 

 He couldn't sleep that night, or more, he could; but every time he closed his eyes, half-formed visions played behind his eyelids. Rayla, crouched over Callum's fallen form, shaking him and begging him to wake up. Ezran, tears gathering in his eyes, the horrible surety filling them as he realized that Callum had gone before he awoke. The statue that would stand in the Valley of Graves long after all of them were dead and buried. 

 Soren had known Callum for most of his life; grown up with him and watched him become the man he was today. He was proud of the mage, who was like a brother to him. But with that knowledge came recognition; he had seen that look in Callum's eyes a thousand times before and knew what it meant. When Callum set his mind to something, really set his mind to it, there was no stopping him; even if that thing he'd chosen was his own death. Soren figured that was why Rayla hadn't argued any more than she had; they both knew Callum well enough to know it would be pointless. 

 But the same way that Soren knew he couldn't stop Callum, he also knew what he had to do. He had known when he followed them to the library, he now realized. Before he even heard the first whisperings of their plan. But there was one problem with Soren's new solution; Callum was right. If he cast the spell, then the dark magic would make him go all wobbly long before he could get it to Aaravos. Unless...

 Soren sat up, looking down at his hands; clenching and unclenching them. Felt the air filling his lungs with every breath. This wasn't the first time he'd been exposed to dark magic. It was a part of him. He was a dead man walking. None of the others knew that, of course. How did you bring it up in casual conversation? But maybe if Callum had known, he would have changed his plan. Maybe Soren could cast the spell and deliver the killing blow, all on his own.

 It was too late to ask Callum that now, though. He'd become suspicious immediately. And it was too late to know if the twisted, horrible feeling in his chest was love for his father or hate. He would just have to hope it would work. 

 Soren donned his armor with newfound purpose, or more, a purpose that had always been there, but he had only now accepted. He was a Crownguard. This was what he did. My heart for Katolis, he thought. My life for the royal family. 

 His footfalls were quiet, quieter than they’d ever had to be before, as he crept down the hall and into Callum's study. Thankfully he had gone to sleep with Rayla tonight, so Soren was able to disregard stealth in favor of speed as he searched for the satchel and it's contents. He found it hanging off the back of a chair; and upon opening it, was relieved to see that everything he would need was already there. He picked the book up just in case, flipping through until he found the spell that had, as Ezran had put it, started this all. 

 A unicorn horn, blood filled with hatred, and-

 Soren stopped. lifting the small, empty appearing glass jar from the satchel even as he read the words. A dying breath.

 His own breath caught in his throat at the realization of what must be contained right behind that glass. Soren knew that Callum's mastery of the sky arcanum had only grown in recent years, and that, he supposed, meant mastery over air itself. But to think that he had found the place it happened and- 

 Soren squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to feel anything. Not to admit that maybe this was too far, too dark a spell. After all, what choice did they have?

 He tucked the jar back into the satchel alongside the other components, marking which page held the incantation. Then he slung it over his shoulder and he left.

[zuppizup]

Circumstance

“You didn’t have to put him in the dungeon, Ez!” Rayla fumed, struggling to keep her temper in check. “In chains!”

“Rayla, Callum freed Aaravos!” Soren grabbed her by the upper arm, attempting to pull her back.

“He didn’t feel like he had a choice!” Rayla wrenched her arm back, glaring at the crown guard.

“He admitted to it in front of Janai and Zubeia. He made no excuses. What else could I do there and then?” Ezran sighed, tears in his eyes. “He’s my brother, Rayla, but I still have to consider my people. He’s put more than Katolis in danger.”

Rayla tried to gather her thoughts, swallowing past the thick lump in her throat. The weight of it all hung heavy upon her. Callum had done it for her after all, traded the Cube for her life. The guilt of it all felt like a dark heavy cloak smothering her, wearing her down. She hated the thought that Callum was in the position he was in because of her.

Sighing, she shook her head. “What would you have done, Ez? In that moment, what would you have done?”

“You think you’re a good judge of that?”

Rayla turned to look at Soren, having almost forgotten he was there.

“You had an opening, didn’t you? Back when Aaravos possessed him again. You could have ended it all, there and then.” Soren raised his chin, his eyes piercing. “You could have stopped things before we ever got here, but you didn’t. You really think we can trust your judgement on any of this?”

“You think I should have killed him?” Her voice caught as she glared at Soren defiantly.

“I think neither of you has the high ground when it comes to considering the greater good.”

“I’d do anything to keep him safe.” Rayla swallowed, biting her lip. “He’d have done the same for Ezran. He wanted to protect us.”

“I know.” Soren held her gaze. “And that’s the sort of reasoning my father used to come up with.”

Rayla clenched her fists, glaring at him. “Callum is nothing like Viren.” How dare he-

“Isn’t he?” Soren raised an eyebrow, clearly challenging her. “He didn’t even attempt to excuse what he’d done.”

Rayla took deep breaths, trying desperately to think of some way to counter this.

Ezran stepped forward, taking her hands, soothing her tight fists. “They’re afraid of him, Rayla. They’ve seen what Viren did-”

Her breath caught in her throat, as she blinked back tears. “Ezran, he’s not Viren.”

“Rayla, I-” Ezran looked between her and Soren, his brow furrowed. “I understand why he did it. I do, I think most people would but... if it came down to it. If something similar happened again, if its Katolis or, or the Pentarchy? Xadia. Do you- What do you think he’d do?”

Ezran stared at her, his eyes wide. Challenging. Begging her to counter. To insist Callum wouldn’t falter again. Wouldn’t put either of them before everyone else.. everything else.

Before the world.

She tried to look him in the eye, to hold his gaze... but she couldn’t... because, well, she already knew the answer.

Circumstance II

———

Mayhaps in the continuity of Borrowed Time, I dunno

[cantpickonefandoms]

I feel like there’s a lot of interesting plot lines this season, but there was either unsatisfactory conclusion to the plot line or not no resolution at all. I actually like Ezran’s plot line this season, I didn’t see his reaction to Runaan at the start of the season as out of character, more so I saw a twelve year old who was already dealing with a lot emotions after seeing the distraction of his kingdom and home, and of course seeing the man who murdered his father after all these years brought a lot of other emotions up, and frankly Ez has a right to be upset with the man who killed his father, but I still had some issues, like Rayla was frankly also being a jerk face when Ez decided to have Runaan arrested, I know it’s hard for her because she finally got him back and now she can take him back to Ethari, but I felt like she was being weirdly unsympathetic towards Ez, and they both basically forced Callum to make a choice between the two of them, also once Callum and Rayla are in the Silvergrove neither of them bring up what happened with Ezran? It felt like neither of them cared they just actively put this large gap between them and Ez, which was weird, especially for Callum, at least that plot line did have a nice resolution, I liked Runaan’s speech to Ezran. Callum’s plot line didn’t really kick off until he found that Aaravos was back, and for all that there was all this build up and teasing in the trailer that Callum would have to do dark magic, by the time we got to that point Callum was just… Standing there monologuing, why did he announce himself??? He could’ve just gone through with it without saying a word while Aaravos was distracted by the arch dragons, also the arch dragons just felt like a plot device to keep Callum from making any choice at all which felt very lame. Claudia is another character who got the short stick this season, Terry leaving felt like it should’ve had a bigger impact considering all of Claudia’s issues stem from her being left by her loved ones, like Claudia asks Aaravos if all of this is worth it, and then she never brings up Terry again or shows any signs of regretting or questioning her choices, and her ending was just… Nothing, no resolution with Terry/Soren, no redemption, she’s just going to sit around waiting for Aaravos to come back? For seven years? Ok, whatever. Also that tease at the end that Harrow has been alive this entire time… That’s dumb, all the emotional impact Harrow’s death had on Ezran and Callum, the bitterness Ezran had towards Runaan this season, you’re telling me that’s all been for nothing? That’s fucking stupid.

[jelzorz]

156.

Villads is kind enough to give them a lift back to Katolis, which is nice, thinks Rayla, because it's quicker and safer and ultimately more convenient, but also horrible, because it's an extra week of sailing, and Rayla's had enough of the nausea and the vomitting and the world bobbing up and down on the waves.

It does give them a lot of downtime though.

It's weird. They had downtime while they were waiting for Ez and Soren and Corvus to come back from their meeting with Domina Profundus too, but it was a different sort of downtime—one fraught with tension and the itch to move, to do something instead of wait for the end of the world. There's a sense of completion this time, which makes sense, supposes Rayla. They have Aaravos' prison and they need to decide on their next move together, which is easier done in the castle after a little rest and recuperation. But until then, they are sailing, and waiting, and the bruises on Callum's face fade with every passing day, and the split in his lip heals little by little until he barely flinches anymore when he eats or smiles.

"It's not that bad," he promises her when she asks. "I reckon I've had worse."

Rayla clucks her tongue at him. "Have you?"

Callum shrugs. "I dunno. But it's what I'm telling myself until something worse does happen." He grins then, but Rayla catches the waver in the corner of his lip, and she knows it stings to put up such a front but can't be mad at him for it because... Well. She'd do the same.

"Forget about it, okay?" His smile softens into something a bit more genuine, and he touches her face, his fingers gentle against her skin. "We're okay now. That's all that matters."

Rayla supposes he's right, but forgetting about it is not as easy as he makes it sound. Twice now, she's woken up frantic and terrified, her hands numb with cold, and her mind filled with images of him, desperate to help her, him drawing his fist back and slamming it into Finnegrin's jaw, him crumpling onto the deck under the force of Elmer's blow. The steady rocking of Sea Legs beneath her doesn't help—if anything, it makes it worse, and she stumbles on her own feet as she gets up, seeking Callum in the dark, just to make sure he's here, and he's safe.

And he is. Of course he is. How could he not be? He's Callum, and he's looked at every challenge so far and laughed in its face. She breathes out when she finds him in the hammock next to her, his breathing steady, his skin warm beneath her fingers, his pulse drumming stubbornly in his wrist.

He stirs under her touch, and Rayla draws back, her breath caught in her throat. She hadn't meant to wake him, but relief floods her anyway when his eyes flicker open and land on hers, green against lilac, his brow furrowed in concern.

"You okay?"

Rayla hesitates, then swallows, then nods. "Yeah," she mumbles. "I—erm—" She coughs. "I just... wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Why would I not be?"

The ship rocks and moonlight flashes over Callum's lip, still swollen, still split. Rayla flinches at the sight of it, the image of him splayed unconscious on the deck suddenly fresh in her mind once more.

"Oh," says Callum.

Rayla looks away.

There's a pause. It's long and it feels like an ocean between them, so many things still unsaid, so many feelings still unaddressed. Callum shifts, finding her fingers in the dark and resting his forehead against hers, his breath warm and comforting against her lips.

"I'd do it again," he mumbled at last. "I'd take it all again if it meant you'd be safe."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

Another pause. Another breath. And then the press of lips against hers, gentle, tentative, barely passing for a kiss at all, but a kiss all the same. Rayla tastes the metallic tang of blood on his lips, the split not quite healed all the way just yet, and Callum breathes out, his nose against hers, his breath light on her skin. "I'd do anything for you," he murmurs.

Rayla squeezes her eyes shut, her throat tight, her fingers tighter around his. "I know," she says at last. "That's what I'm scared of."

[catcherwrites]

TDP S7E3 Rewatch (feat. my commentary)

Janai and Amaya! It’s been a while and I missed you queens <3

You think the soldiers wanted to prank the traitors? They looked so serious

Queens of Mercy, Janai must really take after her grandmother (SIDE NOTE, THIS REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING ELSE I’LL TALK ABOUT IT AT THE END)

I feel like we’re in a weird grey area with Janaya + Gren. Janai seems confident reading sign language in private conversations with Amaya, so why does Gren interpret when it’s just the three of them? I know it’s for the audience’s sake but I have to wonder if they’ll change things up for Arc 3

Oof the smash cut to Ezran slamming that elf figurine on the table. The first time I saw this scene I was blown away by the return of the bloodthirsty elf imagery from S1

Ez seems far angrier about Callum’s betrayal than Rayla’s, likely because he understands they’re both choosing to prioritise their own dads

“You’re the bread” oh my god the way Soren pouts when Corvus glares

Claudia’s nose-finger-move! Her glee is infectious! I love character quirks in animation!

Aanya and Ezran’s friendship is so important in this season <3

When I watched S7 the first time, I got to this scene and immediately picked up on Miyana’s pregnancy, but I need to shoutout Gren for his reaction because, same buddy

The whole Garden of Innocents is GORGEOUS

Terry having the same reaction to dark magic as S1-2 Soren was a big hint as to what direction his arc would go

The Mage Wars backstory was nice to see!

Claudia and Aaravos’ dynamic is so…intriguing this season. I’m very torn between finding it endearing and disturbing how quickly they grew attached to each other

“My child will avenge me” a not-so-subtle parallel to Harrow and Viren in S2 (“it’s name will be vengeance!”)

God Rena’s voice acting in this scene was really great

Soren shielding Ezran alert!

I can’t help but wonder if a fire ruby would’ve contained enough sun magic to fuel the spell Viren cast to save Duren/Katolis? If there’s another world where Aanya’s parents were honest about Duren’s secret, and none of the queens died?

Janai laying down the law was brutal, but reasonable considering what’s happened

Overall thoughts:

This was one of my ‘meh’ episodes from my first S7 viewing, and honestly? My opinion hasn’t changed much since. It feels like a middle child caught between True Heart and Unfinished Business. There’s a lot of really interesting lore developments and character interactions that left me theorising and analysing previous seasons. It’s still a good episode, but it’s just…good (if that makes sense).

Now, the thing I was reminded of, was a theory I’d had in the lead up to S7 regarding Aaravos, Aditi, and Kim’dael. Basically, I had this idea that 300 years ago, Kim’dael offered her loyalty to Aaravos if he could kill Aditi as revenge for her mercy bind (since she couldn't do it herself). For Aaravos, taking Aditi off the board and gaining Kim'dael's services was a two birds-one stone situation, so he did it, not realising that choice would cost him his freedom. I was going into this season imagining Kim’dael making an appearance as a lieutenant for Aaravos and a mentor figure to Claudia.

I don’t know, it felt like a cool idea and I can’t believe I forgot about it until I heard the soldiers calling Janaya the Queens of Mercy

[thedeadsun]

WARNING, SPOILERS FOR THE DRAGON PRINCE SEASON SEVEN

IF YOU HAVENT WATCHED IT ALL, I WOULD RECOMMENT NOT READING ON

tw: spoilers, my opinion

So, in general it was really awesome. i loved seeing our girl queen aanya, more jamaya, ruthari reunion, rayllum, etc.

however, i have quite a few more negative thoughts than i usually would with this show. so here:

-i really like that ezran got mad at runaan for murdering(?) king harrow. it felt real, and im glad we got to see ez's more aggressive side. i also like how callum got stuck between choosing his BROTHER or the LOVE OF HIS LIFE. what i didn't like is that callum really quickly decided to go with rayla. it doesnt make sense, thats his little brother who - in the very first season - he was willing to risk his life for so that ez didn't get murdered by assassins. it felt wrong and i think there should've been more of cal's inner conflict.

-the moonberry surprise scene? yeah, it was funny but also kinda js wtf. it felt like they were meming just for the sake of having more jokes, but idk maybe its js me

-aaravos. you guys dont understand how much i dislike this guy. i swear everyone in the fandom has a crush on him or smth, but i dont. he's a manipulator who targets vulnerable people. im so glad terry ran away from them. on that note tho, claudia didn't seem nearly as affected by his leaving as i thought she would be.

-on the topic of claudia, i really liked her dragon-form thingy. it's a really cool concept! however i think it shhould've gotten more attention the first time it happened, like we get a transformation sequence or something and the other characters getting really shocked and stuff

-now, i love my girl aanya, she's criminally underrated imo. however, i feel like her character was kind of awkwardly implemented into the season. like she was there just for ez, which isnt a problem, because i think they could be great friends. but when she shows him the gems... like, yeah, i think its awesome that she's trying to help ezran, but we only see that cave and absolutely nothing of the rest of duren which i think sucks and makes it feel kinda rushed. i've seen some people say that they think aanya has a crush on ez because she's always trying to get closer to him or wtvr but i disagree. i think she just really wants to be a good friend and she's also not super used to talking to kids her age. so, yk, it might seem like that, but imo shes just reaching out for someone who understands her struggles. im ngl i really hope they dont end up together in arc three because i'd like them both to be friends and have a sibling like relationship. but maybe js me idk

-janai and amaya were just absolutely amazing as always. i really liked how they had to return to lux aurea to stop aaravos. i feel like we shouldve seen some of janai's inner conflict w that tho bc she losf her sister there and now she's bringing her little brother there.

-speaking of karim. dont get me wrong, i hate him, but his death was so... bad. aaravos just got bored of him and smushed him? like... im not too mad bc i hate karim, but i js think that was a quick way to get rid of a character.

-again, i wish we got to see more of janai being upset because now she's lost both if her siblings, to the same person and in the same place. its deja vu and she's probably going to refuse to ever return to lux aurea.

-speaking of getting to lux aurea, i loved astrid little scene, asking everyone if they were aunt amaya. i love astrid sm and i love that she refused not help ray and cal. however, i feel like it would've been interesting to see her deal with consequences for taking off her blindfold. also, i think it would've been nice for astrid and kosmo to have had a really sweet goodbye-hugging moment before astrid left. also, more of kosmo's visions would be interesting.

-i think the part where we see that akiyu was killed. that was really sad and i liked that claudia was there to confront cal. also runaan being protective of callum was so sweet.

-zym. specifically, zym speaking. what the fuck. that was funny, but also super uncalled for. also, no hate bc i love dante, but i think a different voice actor wouldve been better. idk, i always thought that if zym spoke then he'd sound kinda more like walker scobell in the adam project. idk its kinda specific but yeah. also, i wish that zym had spoken during the actual fight during aaravos. like, maybe he goes "you're not gonna hurt anyone else as long as im around" then blasts lightning at him.

-speaking of that scene, im annoyed we didn't get to see the novablade in use, i think that would've been awesome.

-also did domina profundis die? bc i swear we never saw that happen. or maybe i just have bad memory lol.

-harrow and pip. what. what do you MEAN he's in the bird. that- what the shit??? he- what?? i was never a big fan of that theory... but. what. also it kinda felt like they added that just so there would be more cliffhangers but maybe thats just me.

thanks for reading my rant! let me know what you thought about all this!

-Evrkynd is so cool tho ngl. i mean how much building they did in a few months is kinda crazy but go them ig.

All in all, this season didn't really feel like how tdp normall feels. i wish it didn't feel so fast apced and i wish we got more in depths of characters. also, sm felt like it was there just for comedic value which felt kinda stupid tbh.

[brynnsasha191]

(Tldr at the end) Okay here goes.

People really misunderstood Callum in episode two, s7 (that's okay, the writers didn't do a great job of conveying what I'm about to say, no hate to them though) Callum did not betray Ezran

I see a lot of people criticizing Callum for prioritizing Rayla instead of Ez and saying Rayllum is toxic because it got in the way of familial relationships. But that's not what Callum's actions were really about, they weren't about "oh rayla is upset so I'm going to burn down all bridges for her" like a lot of people seem to think. His actions had a lot to do with Rayla but they also had a lot to do with the fact that Callum genuinely believed what Ezran was doing wasn't right.

(btw I'm writing this with Callum's opinions in mind, I'm not just projecting mine on Callum. I believe Runaan did something wrong and deserved punishment for it, and I believe both Rayla and Ez were both right and wrong. I am on everyone's side)

In the beginning of the episode, we see Callum trying to reason with Rayla and defend Ezran by telling her to give him a minute to process what recently happened to him. And he says "he [runaan] did kill it's king" but he never actually said he agreed with Ezran, he was just trying to get Rayla to see Ezran's side.

Ezran and Rayla's fight during the council meeting was understandable upsetting for Callum, his two favorite people were fighting. And when he tried to follow Rayla to get her to come back, Ezran commanded him to do otherwise, as the king, Ezran has a right to do that. But that moment probably felt uncomfortable and belittling and frustrating for Callum, it's the same unhealthy push and pull dynamic that I talked about in my 'why Callum shouldn't be high mage' meta. It made Callum disinterested in the council meeting, and while that's not Ezran's fault, it is the same corner that the broyals keep walking themselves into.

Callum goes outside and sees Rayla crying, that is also understandably distressing for him, but he doesn't blame Ezran at all. He apologizes for his choice in that moment, he says he should've gone after her, not "Ezran shouldn't have done that or said that", if Callum was completely choosing Rayla over Ez, he easily could've deflected the blame to him, but he didn't, he apologized for his own actions which to me shows that Callum isn't the type to blame Ezran unnecessarily.

When Callum goes to Ezran and calls him a jerk face (very uncool thing of him to say to Ezran, Ezran didn't deserve that) Rayla and Callum already finished their conversation where Rayla decided to secretly get Runaan out, there wasn't a point to try to convince Ezran to let Runaan out then. He went to Ezran, not to convince him to free Runaan, but to convince Ez he wasn't doing the right thing. As the scene progresses, Callum's voice gets softer and he starts speaking sensibly and reasonably without ad hominem attacks. He acknowledges Ezran's feelings about Katolis being destroyed but also acknowledges that that particular part of Ezran's pain isn't connected to Runaan. And Ezran has no problem sharing his true feelings with Callum, Callum doesn't dismiss them once. He puts his hand on Ezran's shoulder and validates his feelings, also not to mention he apologizes immediately after calling Ez a jerk face. And when Ezran says "he killed our father" Callum doesn't know how to respond because he isn't completely siding with R&R. He knows Ez has a point.

Rayla and Runaan could have been seriously injured during the fight with Soren and the soldiers. Aanya was going to shoot them, and Ezran was going to let her. It's really weird that this fandom seems to think Callum should've sat by and not stood up for them. Callum absolutely shouldn't have condoned Rayla breaking Runaan out without permission, he should've told her to stop and stay put until he had a chance to talk to Ezran's more. But that's not what happened, what happened was a messy game of tug-o-war between two people who love each other that nearly killed people and almost destroyed relationships. Callum didn't choose Rayla, he chose what he thought was right, and that was not Ezran at the time. People get so mad at him for not standing by Ezran's side but he wanted to, but standing by someone's side doesn't mean sitting back and letting them do something that you believe is wrong.

He gave up his role as High Mage because he knew he couldn't continue to play that role after this, for him and Ezran's sake. He can't be his High Mage but he'll always be his brother.

TLDR: Callum actually did handle this situation maturely. The problem didn't lie with Callum or anyone else. This situation was an ugly and messy one that anyone would have a hard time navigating especially a kid who the people closest to him in the entire world were actively hurting each other. He's willing to do anything for Rayla, but this isn't about choosing Rayla, it's about what he thought was right.

[obsessedwiththedragonprince]

Se4 ep6 thoughts

I love how Soren sees the dragon and is immediately like: ✨️friends✨️? Big puppy energy. Looks so innocent!! Well that didn't go well.

No-one looking for Soren? Yikes. Wow Rayla took you long enough lmao. Not like he didn't come home last night!

Whatcha doing? while Ezran's discovering he's the new spiderman.

Zubeia will not be pleased.

Finally some thought to the freaking anonymous elf!! Did i mention how much i am loving the accent? Because yes.

Lmao Raylaa

What is this????

Like ig there was a different light source and they changed it later but does no-one watch this like, I dunno, a thousand times before it's released??

My distracted ass had to go make these gifs mid episode because why not. And this was my first time making one so when i clicked the tick and it didn't appear as an option in my videos from gallery i tried again. And again. And again. Then realised i had four of them in the gallery. So yeah. That happened.

Anyway continuing my watch. Lmaoo not even 6 minutes. Oops...

Poor Bait getting knocked overr. And again why can Ez see through Zym's eyes? Will we ever know?

Amaya it is not just a fricking candlee. Like I love you but show some respect please. Okay that escalated quickly. Is there no way to like, give the elf some comfort or something that doesn't involve killing? Like yes i actually get why death would be an appropriate punishment cause in their eyes extinguishing that candle is prolly worse than killing someone cause if u kill they still get to the afterlife but. I think the focus should also be on the elf and doing sth for his benefit?

Um i guess earthblood elves don't know he's the dragon prince? Cause otherwise they have some serious trouble coming. Is Callum going to save the day? This blackout transition was a bit unusual. Looked fine but not really their style?

Are we getting some info on elven politics? Masked guys? This little smile thing between Karim and one of Six Horns... he did some bribing? Hope not cause this could turn ugly. It prolly will who am i lying to.

'Don't u remember who u are' felt a little forced to me. They often have those inspiring speeches that don't feel like they belong there. Why isn't Callum flying around looking for Zym? And why wasn't he their 'eyes' to begin with?

The kiddo is back again! Kinda didn't like that was all we saw of him so welcome back!

Karim u little shit. I don't yet know what he's planning but i feel it in my bones it ain't nothing good. Best case he just wants them gone from Xadia. Hopefully.

Why did that elf go after Rayla? Because they are so-called protectors? That little Bait smile lmaooo. Another gif incoming.

I am a pro now.

Anyway.

Amaya on the side of the elves yes please. But i think she'll do the same Karim did with some kind of I dunno. Not clearing her of guilt completely but sth. Yess compassionate justice pleasee. I feel like they won't listen cause it'd be too good to be true but still. Prolly Karim bribing people won't help. Still not sure if he did.

This catching dragons really reminds me of HTTYD. This boy is the next Hiccup. N'than i love youuu.

Damn for a moment i really thought she'll cut her hands off. Ig that wouldn't really belong on screen but i thought the same for blood so...

this was so good!! I loved it! I actually cried Just hope Janai didn't undermine herself and look weak in the eyes of other elves. I feel like this was also more realistic so they didn't escalate things for no reason. Just show them all trying to get along. Sometimes successfully, other times less so. In love with how Janai said compassion

This entire scene was a masterpiece idc. How the architect broke down crying from relief and stress, the shrine idea, how the elf subtly accepted this as retribution, how it drove a divide between Karim and Janai, how logical the punishment was, it will be the greatest work of my life... just. Peak animation.

I knew it! The Pit of Despair, answer to all our prayers.

Will Karim and Janai fix things or will Karim not be understanding? Again a pretty scene, and Karim doesn't look hostile so far so yayy

I wanted to ask before but how long did Rayla and Soren actually knew each other? Cause i was under the impression that Rayla left practically at the end of se3 but Soren acted like they were kinda close earlier and now Rayla sounds really distressed?

Ohh Karimm lover boyy! Is he going to usurper her? Really?

Lmaoo Soren late to the party😂😂 omgg they're so cuteeee! ✨️friends✨️ for real now

The happiness on his face🥹

OMGG SIBLINGS REUNIONN!!!!

[raayllum]

Arc 3 Predictions Electric Boogaloo

Because there's certain stuff that makes a Lot more sense now even as we're left with more questions, so let's talk about it.

Aaravos and the Cosmic Order / Claudia

So Aaravos wanted to take down the elves and dragons. Now the archdragons are all gone circa S7, which means he can hit the ground running upon his return in seven years. This means that the next target can fully be the Cosmic Council outright, and more recontextualization about how creating Eternal Night would make them suffer (though I don't think he'll repeat plans).

I could see him giving instructions / ideas to Claudia through dreams or visions, and she's armed with her amulet in the meantime and will maybe track down a replacement staff since she doesn't have one anymore. (Or she'll want to steal it back from Callum since it was a product of both her 'fathers'.) Other antagonists such as Finnegrin (maybe) and Kim'Dael (more definitely) will likely be interwoven.

That said, I think there'll be plenty of conflict already for our protagonists to deal with even before any of our old foes show up again.

Aanya + the Fire Ruby Project / Ezran & Zym

With the arrows temporarily able to dispose of Aaravos (even if I mandate he let himself get chained down in 7x07 in order to manipulate Ezran) and his imminent return, Ez and Aanya have an incentive to keep going with Project Ruby Fire. However, we also know thanks to interviews that Aanya has an adoptive brother, and from Tales of Xadia that:

The city is more fortified of late, as there are rumours of internal treason. The farmers worry that young Queen Aanya isn’t old enough or wise enough to protect what’s been built over the centuries.

So what I'm thinking is that adoptive brother Grark may pull a Karim and work on the project behind his sister's back or stage a coup. This could also put Ezran at odds with Zym, as Project Ruby Fire was designed specifically to be good at defeating dragons and to be so destructive that the mere threat of them would be enough (but, of course like the Mage Wars, someone's gonna use it). Having deeper, more politically / personally driven conflicts between Ezran and Zym (he had conflict with one brother, and now another) is also possible now that Zym can speak, and I think they'll take full advantage of it.

Ez and Zym together have always represented Hope the most (3x06), as Ezran found the egg, they're the two young princes turned kings, and are spearheading things forward.

So what happens if/when they start to crack? This could also provide a contrast to Janai and Amaya, as their new nieces/nephews through Miyana and Karim could provide a conflict. Even though the kids themselves will be too young and Miyana convinced to walk a different path, that doesn't mean they won't be used or treated as symbols by somebody else to sow more conflict.

Evrkynd and Elarion

The choice to establish a new city to show the growing unity between elves and dragons makes sense, but it made me wonder why do it now and not as an end-of-arc 3 idea. Then I considered that perhaps it's to set up Everkynd as an Elarion parallel: a glistening, shining city, where after it fell the land was divided and more chaos ensued.

Only Evrkynd will emerge and stand the test of time, of course, with the connection between the two halves being maintained and strengthened. But still, a thought I'll probably have something more eloquent for later.

Callum, Corruption, and the Cube (+ Rayla)

Was thinking over 6x06's "the darkness and corruption will overwhelm you" in addition to the choice in S6 to establish that Callum's father died of a chronic illness / the consistent comparison to dark magic as a plague/infection/sickness (2x08, 5x01, 5x03, 5x04, 5x09, etc). The options I'd considered for how the corruption would manifest post usage usually fell into two camps: instantaneous and complete, or gradual and ongoing. I'd thought the second one would be interesting for a mid-season dark magic use, speculating it'd be like the shadowmonsters in taking a few days or longer for something to take.

I certainly didn't think it'd be a process over Years, but given the seven year timeskip...

I'm picturing something like Callum still taking mushroom salves or potions regularly from Muhko (hence that inclusion for Zubeia) to stave off corruption overwhelm, and giving him parallels to Damian. This would also potentially enhance the feeling of "living on borrowed time" he and everyone, but him and Rayla in particular, are bound to feel as they know they have Limited Time before Aaravos comes back.

I'm also curious as to how openly or how much Callum will be studying dark magic, even in comparison to before ("Well, I've read a lot about it"). He has Viren-Claudia's relic staff, and the corrupted sun stone within it, so there could be interesting ideas or experiments there. The fact that Callum has the Staff and the Cube and the white streak does not bode well for him.

An additional assumption is that Callum will go to Elarion offscreen (cause that is a Long skip) but be unable to find what he's unknowingly looking for (the primal magic book?). I also don't think at this point I have to go into much more detail about CHET given that we've been here with the theory for 4 years, and pieces of evidence at the time that felt like a stretch are now being incorporated, such as:

The Cube pointing to Elarion, which was incredibly important to ancient humanity and Aaravos

Elarion poem is associated with nature (flowers of elarion) and dark-light motif

Rayla is Callum's light in the darkness and his destructive path. She was prepared to destroy him (7x09) and will likely save him in the future.

The flowers of Elarion were involved in a story where they were seen as gifts / "fair exchanges of beloved for beloved". Then Rayla, by Aaravos' own word, was described as Callum's "beloved" (7x09).

The entire conversation with Dark!Callum and the cube in the woods in 7x06 but especially "If you love her, you'll be the you that can save her" and "I have always been a part of you."

Basically: it's not over till the cube is plot relevant and all the foreshadowing / lines of dialogue surrounding it have come full circle in some manner. In Arc 3 we trust.

Misc Predictions / Ideas

that didn't belong anywhere else!

Given that we know Aanya has her older brother and Prince Kasef has a younger sibling, I think it'd be interesting if they teamed up to try and stage mutual coups or something.

Since the archdragons are gone, I'm curious what project ruby fire would be used against. Maybe just other dragons? Or invoking stuff from the past mage wars.

More info on the relic staffs and self-eating I think for sure can be expected, as well as what happened to make Kpp'Ar completely change his mind.

I'm expecting S8 to be catch up and set up much the way that S1 and S4 were.

There are river pirates between Duren and Neolandia (Tales of Xadia) so I could see Finnegrin being woven back in there, although I'd love to go back to Scumport and see any changes Elmer has made.

Kim'Dael feels like a 2 season antagonist to me, in order to reintroduce her (maybe Aaravos inverting the Moon Nexus set her free) and then to draw on her history with the Moon Fam (Bloodmoon Huntress graphic novel).

A lot more lore on the Startouch elves / I'm fairly certain Shiruakh was a star devourer dragon

Aaravos making the Cosmic Council mortal, etc etc.

Sol Regem lore and backstory

[newtthetranswriter]

Soulmates? Soulmates Pt. 8

Word count: 2400

Summary: It’s the final stretch up the Cursed Caldera, will the egg be saved or will the journey have been for nothing.

Warnings: none for this chapter i think, but let me know if I missed any

A/n: Hello, welcome to part 8. There isn’t any Soren content in this chapter but trust that there will be a tone in the next couple. Anyways I want to thank you all for reading and I hope you are enjoying it. Alright with that out of the way, enjoy and remember to hydrate or diedrate.

Part 1 - Series Masterlist

    I watched as Callum, Rayla, and Ellis looked at Ezran in disbelief. It made sense because to them there had to be a miracle healer on the cursed caldera, otherwise how would Ava be there. But I knew the truth and it seemed like now Ezran did as well.

    “There is no miracle healer. I’m Sorry.” Ezran said again, setting Bait on the ground while taking off his back pack.

    “Stop being mysterious. If you’re gonna make a claim like that, you owe everyone an explanation.” Callum said, clearly not in the mood for what he would deem to be Ezran’s childish behavior.

    While holding his backpack Ezran nodded. “Okay. Ava told me-” He began to explain but was cut off by Callum groaning.

    “Ugh, here we go!” Callum said. He never believed Ezran could speak to animals.

    “No, it’s true!” Ezran defended. “I can understand animals.” He explained clueing in Rayla and Ellis who looked confused by the brothers’ argument.

    The girls and I watched as Callum went on a mini rant about asking for Bait’s opinion or finding a squirrel. Seeing the defeated look on Ezran’s face I moved to kneel next to him and the egg.

    “Callum, you should really be more trusting of Ez. Just because on time it caused you to get wet for no reason, does not mean he’s lying about his gift.” I said earning an eye roll from the mage. “I trust you Ez.” I placed my hand on Ezran’s shoulder, earning a gentle smile from the boy.

    When the rest of the group didn’t make any acknowledgement of believing him, Ezran tried to explain again. “I've always been different. It's hard for me to make friends with other kids. I just feel like I don't fit in.” He said, earning a sympathetic smile from Rayla.

    “That’s okay. Fitting in is boring anyway.” Rayla said as she kneeled close to Ezran as well.

    He smiled at her understanding before continuing. “But with animals? Somehow, I have this connection. And a few years ago, I realized I could understand what they were saying.” Ezran finished while scratching Baits head.

    I watched as Callum sighed before once again voicing his disbelief. “Can you believe this?” He asked Rayla.

    “Why would he lie?” She asked confused as to what Ezran could possibly gain from lying about such a harmless thing.

    “Because he's a kid? Because it's fun? Because he's afraid to go up the mountain?” Callum exclaimed.

    “I’m not afraid!” Ezran defended himself.

    Callum rolled his eyes. “Come on, Ez, tell the truth.” He said, sounding upset. “The first time he did this, I asked him to prove it, so Ezran said that a group of raccoons had told him there was a treasure hidden behind a waterfall.” He began explaining what happened the first time Ezran talked about speaking to animals. “But when I went through the waterfall, did I find a treasure?” Callum asked with a pointed look at Ezran.

     Ezran bowed his head. “No.” He answered sadly.

     “But did my underwear get soaked?” Callum asked.

     “Yes.” Ezran answered.

     Callum smiled slightly triumphantly. “Case closed.” He said matter of factly. 

     Ezran looked up and began defending himself again. “The raccoons were being mischievous. I have since learned you cannot trust raccoons.” He explained that raccoons live up to their playful image.

    “This is ridiculous! See, this is why you can't make friends.” Callum shouted.

    Surprised by his outburst I stood up, moving to stand between my brothers. “Callum! Back off.” Rayla said, coming to Ezran’s defence before I could.

    “Do you believe me, Rayla?” Ezran asked, sounding hopeful.

    I stepped back waiting to see if Rayla would believe Ezran or brush him off like most people did. “Does it matter?” She asked in return, causing the prince to deflate slightly at the lack of trust his friend was giving him.

   Rested my hand on Ezran’s head to offer my silent support as Ellis started talking. “I believe you, Ez. But I also know the miracle healer is real.” She said hugging Ava. “Because I have my Ava.”

   “I already said this but I know you’re telling the truth Ez. We’ll figure it out I promise.” I said helping him stand and position his bag back on his shoulders. 

   Not wanting to waste time, Callum declared we were moving forward. I decided to stay closer to the back of the group. I never liked it when my brothers fought and seeing Callum be so harsh with Ezran really upset me. I just needed some time to clear my head.

   As we got closer to the tree that Ellis had pointed out, the forest got spookier. Our path was lined with spider webs and in the distance there was an ominous moaning sound. After sending Rayla to check it out and her returning looking terrified, we pushed further up the mountain.

   Shortly after we began cutting through the webs that blocked our path, we encountered the creature that seemingly created the webs. A giant purple and green spider. And even though I tried to tell them all it was an illusion after Callum’s lightning spell made it vanish, the group remained terrified. They only relaxed and accepted that it was fake after Ezran explained that it didn’t make noise like a spider and began screaming at it.

   With the spider and Callum’s jerkface dance out of the way, we finally reached the tree where Ellis and Ava presumably met this miracle healer.

    “So, now what? Do we just Uh, Miracle Healer? Hello! We're here!” Callum shouted as he spun around inside the hollow tree.

    Ellis shrugged. “I don’t know. I just showed up, then she showed up.” She explained.

    “Yeah, I don’t see why that shouldn’t work.” I said, rolling my eyes at the idea of the miracle healer once again. 

      After a few seconds, a light began to glow from outside of the tree. “Actually, I think it is working.” Rayla said as she stepped out of the tree looking up at the sky. 

      We all watched as a large black and blue bird flew down from the sky. After it landed, it bowed its head and let its rider off. No longer obscured by the bird's head or the bright glow of the moon, I immediately recognised the ‘miracle healer’. Standing next to the moon phoenix, was none other than Lujanne.

      “Oh, no! Ez and Y/n were right about everything.” Rayla said, connecting the dots after seeing the Moonshadow elf. “That's no miracle healer. She's a fake.” Rayla announced.

     Callum looked confused for a second. “What? How do you know?” He asked, not having the knowledge to understand what his elf friend was saying.

     “Like I said earlier, she’s an illusionist. A moon mage.” I answered his question. 

     Rayla nodded. “She can’t heal anything.” She said in agreement. After she finished she glanced at me apologetically, as if to say sorry for not believing me earlier.

     “It's true. I am no healer. I am Lujanne. Guardian of the Moon Nexus.” Lujanne introduced herself to the group.

      Rayla groaned. “Ugh, I'm such an idiot, I should have figured it out. None of those monsters were real, they were all illusions.” She explained to the group. “Wait, You knew they were illusions. Why didn’t you say anything about it instead of letting us fight those things?” Rayla asked, turning to look at me.

      “Would you guys have listened to me if I did?” I asked with a shrug. “Plus, it was quite amusing to watch you all freak out like that.” I said with a smile.

      Lujanne smiled at our conversation before speaking again. “But yes they were all illusions. They were just to scare you. That's how I protect the Nexus.” She explained.

      It was Ellis’s turn to be confused by the situation. “But I don't understand. If you're not a healer, how did you save Ava's leg?” She asked the mage, not understanding how it was possible.

      She approached Ava before kneeling down and explaining how she gave Ava an illusion to make humans accept her. “She never needed that fourth leg to be happy. Everyone else did.” Lujanne finished her explanation by removing the moon stone collar, lifting the illusion. Everyone looked amazed as Ava stood strong on only three legs, not hindered in the slightest by her missing limb. 

     “But the help we need is real.” Ezran said approaching Lujanne. “An illusion won’t help us.” He finished opening his back pack to reveal the almost completely dark dragon egg.

     Lujanne gasped in surprise. “It's the egg of the Dragon Prince. It was stolen, but we saved it.” Rayla began to explain. “I mean, we were trying to save it and return it to its mother. But there was a terrible accident. You see, I -” As she was about to tell the story of how it was dropped through the ice, Lujanne raised her hand, silencing the younger elf.

     “Its life is fading quickly.” She announced placing her hand close to the egg. “The only chance of saving it now would be to hatch it. But that won't be possible. Sky dragons can only be born in the eye of a storm.” Lujanne explained looking at the sky sadly.

     We all looked up as well. “The sky is clear for miles.” I said, knowing that at this point it really would take a miracle to save the dragon prince. It was hopeless, there was no way we could reach a storm fast enough to save the egg. We had failed and now the world would be plunged into a devastating war.

     As we all sat taking in the reality of the situation, Ezran tried to console Rayla as she began to blame herself for us failing to save the egg. Everyone fell into silence but it was quickly interrupted by Callum mumbling to himself.

    “I know what I have to do.” He finally said. We all turned to look at Callum as he held his primal stone in his hand. Before anyone could ask what he ment or what he was going to do, Callum raised his arm above his head before throwing the stone at the ground as hard as he could.

    Almost instantly, lightning began to crackle from the ground as wind began to blow around us. Dark clouds began to cover the sky, and thunder began to boom overhead. With the force of the wind, everyone was left clutching the ground in hopes of not being blown away. 

    As the wind continued to speed past, it knocked the egg out Ezran’s bag, sending the egg rolling towards the edge of the cliff. Right before the egg tumbled off the side of the mountain, Rayla jumped into action, barely catching it with her bad arm. We all watched as she struggled to carry the egg back to the group, with debris being thrown at her by the violent storm.

    In desperation Rayla plunged one of her blades into the ground and held on for dear life. Just as the wind began to pull her off the handle, the clouds overhead began to separate. The winds died down only slightly, and as we all stood to look in wonder at the eye of the storm lightning began crackling from the egg. 

    Figuring that it was a sign Rayla set the egg on the ground and stepped back. We all continued to watch silently as the sparks grew bigger and eventually began to glow a rainbow of colors. The egg began to lift off the ground as the rainbow volts began to spark faster before releasing an almost blinding flash of light. When the light faded we watched as the egg creaked before falling to the ground and sessing to glow all together.

    As the storm suddenly cleared we all stared at the egg hoping for a sign that it had worked. Just as we were about to give up hope, the egg creaked again before rumbling slightly and busting open. Out of the once glowing shell, popped a small light blue dragon with a white cloud of hair on its head. 

    It yawned before stumbling out of the egg tripping over its own feet in front of Ezran. “Come on Bait, help him! His eyes are stuck. You need to lick them open!” Ezran said, placing the glow toad down in front of the baby dragon.

   After giving Ezran a look that said ‘that’s fucking nasty’, Bait begrudgingly complied cleaning the baby dragon’s eyes. Almost immediately after opening its eyes, the dragon pounced on bait before stumbling over to Ezran.

   The dragonling let out a few chirps that Ezran seemed to understand. “You know your own name! Azymondias. We'll call you ‘Zym.’” Ezran announced, informing everyone of the dragon prince’s name.

    After Ezran pointed out Rayla to Zym, the Dragon Prince hopped over to her. Zym inspected her wrist binding before pulling on it. To everyone’s surprise it came right off, freeing Rayla from the fate of losing her hand.

    With Zym now safe and Rayla no longer at risk of losing her hand, we all took a moment to relax. I chose to sit and watch as Ezran played with the baby dragon, while avoiding the questioning glance I kept getting from Lujanne. I knew she would be curious as to why I was traveling with two human princes, missing my necklace she enchanted for me, and why I was so far from my family's home close to Xadian border. Focusing on my brothers I chose to also postpone the inevitable conversation I would have to have with her later.

    As Zym tried to chase his own tail, my attention was drawn to the sky. A bright purple light began to illuminate the Caldera, before long everyone else noticed it. What looked like a purple shooting star flew overhead before exploding, sending hundreds of little glowing wisps raining down on us.

    While the younger members of the group laughed and enjoyed the purple light show, I noticed Lujanne looking off into the distance. Following her gaze I noticed the trail from the purple wisps lead directly to Mount Kalik.  I immediately knew that Caludia had succeeded in her plan to cast a tracking spell and sooner or later her and Soren would be her for the princes and Zym.

(dividers by @/cafekitsune)

[zuppizup]

Work in Progress Wednesday - Life is what happens…

A sudden gust of wind buffeted them, making Rayla grimace as she crouched down and shielded Tio’s body with her own. She squinted into the breeze, trying to fix her eyes on Callum. He had clearly conjured this gale, using it to help propel him home.

A dark figure alighted on the battlements, stumbling onto the rough sandstone beside her. The wind dropped as suddenly as it appeared and Rayla looked up to find Callum swaying and looking pale, his wings hanging heavy by his sides.

“Callum!” Rayla dropped Tio’s hand as she ran to him, cushioning his fall as he stumbled to his knees. “You pushed yourself too hard,” she admonished, frowning at his sweaty brow and heaving chest.

Callum merely shook his head, smiling softly at her and then Tio behind her, clearly too out of breath to protest verbally.

Tio ran up to him, a bright grin in her little face as she threw her arms around his shoulders. “Dada!” She squealed loudly, hanging off his neck.

Laughing, Callum plonked onto his rear, wrapping his still winged arms around her as he struggled to slow his breathing.

Ezran sighed, stepping closer to them all, a frown on his face. “Well, did you find anything?”

“Oh, for the-” Rayla jumped to her feet, putting herself between Callum and Ezran as she struggled to control her temper. She rarely got upset with Ez, but after the stress of the past few days, her patience with everything asked of Callum was wearing thin. “Can’t you see he can barely speak, Ez. Give him a minute to catch his breath.”

- Excerpt from current multi-chapter fic in my Life is what happens… series, featuring Callum, Rayla and their daughter, Tio.

[fandom-susceptible]

I've had a lot of thoughts of my own on this topic and I've posted about it just a few minutes ago, but yeah, I'll add onto this because I have thoughts specifically about this analysis too.

So, I do have one small disagreement, which is that I don't think Ezran was burying the hurt when he found the shadowhawk arrow. He says he'd bandaged it and let it heal, and I really think they meant it that way, because that's a narrative statement, not in his thoughts or dialogue. Grief never goes away, obviously, and the pain of losing Harrow will never be gone, but the wound can heal, and I think that's all they meant there. It's not raw and open anymore; finding the arrow just scraped at it. I will come back to this in a minute though.

As far as Rayla's perspective goes, I do agree with what you said, but I also think an important part that keeps getting left out of this conversation is that she is not human. I keep seeing people applying human values and human perspectives to her character, and it happens within the show too (Callum calling her prideful for wanting to stay at the Storm Spire in Season 3 is a prime example of this), because she's so sympathetic to the humans that they forget that she isn't one of them. She is coming at this situation from a very different cultural background.

Her culture, for one, does not see death as an end. Harrow has just moved on to the next phase of his spirit's cycle. Death is a more merciful end than what she was granted for helping Ezran, so while she knows Ezran is human and doesn't outright accuse him of betraying their friendship, it does sort of make sense that her instinct would be to feel betrayed. In her culture, standing by her family and her people are more important than life itself. She's already betrayed those values once to save Ezran and Zym, in a way that resulted in her banishment and, according to Chasing Shadows, her death, culturally speaking. Ghosts aren't just banished, literally her identity as a Moonshadow elf is considered to be worse than dead by her own people, even her name is banned, and she's been grappling with that for years. Now, she has the chance to stand by her father, to finally do something that aligns with both her wider world values and her cultural ones, and Ezran has become an obstacle. She's also well-established as being less than careful with her words when she's distressed.

Callum's role in this also rings very true to me. I see the point about how he maybe shouldn't have led with calling his brother a jerkface - but as an older sibling, yeah, that tends to be how you get the little shit's attention if they're being particularly assholish. Heavens know my brothers and I have said far worse. Whether it's the best approach is highly debatable, but as a writing choice, it felt really good to me because it made the brotherly relationship feel very real in that moment, especially since that's a word we've already seen them use.

Overall, I agree with pretty much all of the OP's points about Callum's arc here, but I'd like to point out that he's falling prey to the same thinking as what's left the fandom startled by Ezran this season. He describes Ez as "not himself" and is convinced the anger will cool with time, and I just don't know if it would have. I'll get back to what I think Ezran actually needed in a moment, too. Callum has tried to talk Ezran down and make peace between them at every turn, even promising Rayla he wouldn't drive a wedge between them to help her, and I do think that people who call him a doormat for Rayla are missing that bit. He didn't just betray Ezran, he betrayed Rayla's trust as well, even if it was to help her in the immediate moment.

Callum also explicitly makes sure to tell Ezran, even while he's defending the elves' retreat, that he will always be there for him as a brother. All Ezran has to do is ask. He is leaving because he cannot stand by Ezran's actions as a king, which I think is a really important distinction to make, and I think it's a driving force of what helps Ezran forgive him later. It's one of the bits of evidence that will eventually build into Ezran realizing he's working towards a mutually assured destruction plan rather than one of peace, and I just don't think Callum could have gotten that message across with a less drastic reaction. He's also not abandoning Ezran on his own; Ez is a fully realized king with Soren, Corvus, the Council, Zym (who he also identifies as a brother) and more to support him emotionally.

Speaking of, I do actually want to point that out about this whole situation as well, is Soren's role. He mentions that he wishes he hadn't seen the elves escaping, but his loyalty outweighs his sympathy. I think it's also very important to why Callum was willing to leave; because he and Soren have come a long way, and Callum knows he's leaving his younger brother in very capable hands. Soren is also an older brother, and one who takes a very personal joy in being one and helping Ezran have moments of just being a kid. Callum knows that.

Finally, to circle back around to Ezran, I don't think that he buried his feelings about Harrow's death. That said, I do think that his background including his father's death and taking the throne far too young heavily affects his reaction to having his home destroyed. What happened in Katolis was terrorism, a mass murder and destruction that would shake anyone, and it challenges everything Ezran has been fighting for since Harrow's death. From Ezran's thesis of forgiveness and how all violence spirals, the attack on Katolis is senseless, because there was nothing recent to trigger Sol Regem's revenge - which is why his anger gets turned on Runaan, because Runaan also challenges Ezran's beliefs about violence.

Rayla defends Runaan in the early seasons by saying "It's a job" about assassination, and Runaan himself in Bloodmoon Huntress says "I kill people. I don't judge them." That puts him in a very different category than say, Zubeia, who acted out of grief and rage, or Pyrrah, who retaliated against an attack on her, or Harrow, who acted out of personal grief, or even Avizandum, who acted in defense of his people, or even further back, Viren and Harrow and Sarai and Annika and Neha who acted to save theirs. All of them made choices driven by emotion, by some variation of love, whether it be living love or grief and anger. Runaan isn't like that. Runaan just takes without personal bias, which challenges Ezran's whole worldview and puts him in the same category of senseless violence as Sol Regem.

And that's why I think Runaan's tearful apology and confession in the end actually got through to Ezran, and why I don't think anything less than the breakdown with Callum and that confrontation would have done it. Ezran needed to see that Runaan has values and reasons, even if they're not good ones, and that he's willing to lay them aside to prevent further bloodshed. Rayla knew, of course, but she's been making a point to avoid the topic of their fathers since Season 1, and we've seen no evidence she broke that habit, so Ezran doesn't know Runaan the way we do even through her. I think it was less about Ezran needing Runaan to take accountability (we certainly haven't seen that from Zubeia) and more that he needed to know that Runaan wasn't the exact sort of threat he's supposedly meant to combat. Andromeda, one of the other assassins, explains in Bloodmoon Huntress that sometimes they know, without a shadow of a doubt, that a person brings more pain and violence into the world than they do love, and that's when their death becomes more valuable than their life. Ezran made his peace with that very concept during this season because of Aaravos. He imprisoned Runaan at first due to his own values against murder, but he still didn't understand why Runaan could do what he does. I think the final confrontation with Aaravos, coming after him with the Nova Blade, was Ezran's turning point and why he's able to understand Runaan's choices in the end. I don't think a confrontation earlier than that would have worked out - not with Callum as a mediator. (Soren or Amaya, with their backgrounds a soldiers, might have better luck.)

Also, I want to briefly touch on Runaan's behavior during all this too, because he surrendered himself to this consequence. He took one look at Soren, most likely recognized him, and knew it wasn't a fight he could win, so he didn't bother trying. He also is notably nervous about their escape, but goes along with it because like Rayla, he isn't human, and his cultural values drive him home more strongly than his personal choice to take the punishment he's being given, because he's only just begun the mental deconstruction that continues to drive him throughout the season. His cultural values got challenged by his love for Rayla in Season 1, and seeing the consequences of those actions in Katolis started his whole worldview to crumbling. But that's only just happened at this point, so when given the chance by Rayla, he goes for it, clutching at his dedication to his home and family as a shred of stability in the worldview he's just had broken apart. But he never once defends himself, physically or verbally, against Ezran's accusations or the soldiers, which is pretty telling.

So all in all, I agree that it was a complicated situation, and none of them were wholly right or wholly wrong morally. I do think it was actually pretty well in-character for all of them individually.

Season 7 Conflict between Ezran, Callum, and Rayla: Who’s Right and who’s wrong?

Or perhaps...

I feel like this has been a topic of heavy debate across the fandom and I guess I wanted to share my own perspective on this as well. I wanted to try to dive in and explore each of these characters’ stances on things, since in my opinion, each of them had valid points. Long post ahead!

Starting with Ezran, we’re all mostly used to him being an innocent, kind and sweet cinnamon roll that’s so quick to forgive others who have wronged him. And it’s not just us, but even the characters in the show too, which in some cases can be used against him (which I won’t get to here since this isn’t the point of this post). But I’m mentioning this here because this is major trait of his that we saw being challenged this season.

Well, I would argue maybe even since season 6:

Which not gonna lie, that was both surprising but also very satisfying, especially after all Viren has done in arc 1, especially in season 3, you could argue it was well deserved, and even Viren himself saw that. But getting back on topic, I feel like we start to see a more vengeful side of Ezran this season, especially after the trauma of having his whole kingdom that he’s ruling, his own home, be completely destroyed.

This itself was traumatic enough to change Ezran completely, especially after finding out that it was Sol Regem that destroyed it in a matter of minutes. And not only that, but also seeing Runaan, the very assassin who ‘killed’ his father that same day, lead him to push all the blame onto him. That everything changed since the night Harrow was ‘killed’ by him and Ezran was eventually forced to pick up the burden of being king and live through all of this.

Now I get that there’s alot of people in the fandom pointing out the hypocrisy of “how come he forgave Zubeia, who was the one that sent Runaan to kill Harrow, but he couldn’t forgive Runaan?” Which I would argue narratively, that is the point and it was something called out by Callum. I do personally think that perhaps, if Ezran may have crossed paths with Runaan at some point before the destruction of Katolis, he could have had a different response? Not necessarily saying it would be positive but perhaps, not as vengeful or angry?

I also wanted to point to something interesting in the short story Deep Below, which is set right before season 5 in the storm spire when he went to get the siren stone:

The screenshots above are on Ezran’s reaction to seeing the shadowhawk with the red blood ribbon that confirmed Harrow’s ‘death’ and the emotions he felt. But not only that, it also felt like he chose not to let himself properly deal with that anger and instead bottled it up for the sake of keeping the peace that he fought so hard to keep. But of course all of that came tumbling down after the destruction of Katolis leading up to the immense change in Ezran’s behavior. We see him letting out all of bottled up anger once he saw the assassin who was involved in the direct killing of his father that lead to the complete change of his life.

Now moving onto Rayla, I think it’s important to remember that for over two years, she had no idea what happened to her birth parents or Runaan but only that Viren had something to do with their disappearances. Then by the end of season 4, she received the coins that contained their spirits and since then, it’s become one of her primary goals to free them, even if she had to set that goal aside for the sake of saving the world. Then getting to the end of season 6, she was forced to let go of her birth parents after she finally reunited with them after many years, just so that she would let them be together in the afterlife, while choosing to bring back Runaan so that she can finally reunite him with Ethari.

Now I know that ideally, she shouldn’t have brought Runaan with her to Katolis, but because she made a promise to Callum that she wouldn’t leave without him again and Runaan was still recovering and more desperate than ever to reunite with Ethari, she couldn’t leave him on his own. I also think it wasn’t the best idea to let Runaan walk around freely in Katolis but I’m guessing none of the characters were expecting Ezran react in anger since they were mostly used to him being so forgiving.

Now we get to the next episode where Rayla, who was finally able to bring back one of her parents, has had that parent taken away from her once again. We see Callum trying hard to convince her to be patient and give Ezran some time to process everything that’s happened and that he would eventually forgive Runaan. But then we get to the council meeting where things get especially heated.

While I do think that Rayla didn’t bring it up or address this in the best way, I do think she made some really valid points:

And I know many people in the fandom have been arguing that Rayla was 'unsympathetic' towards Ezran but honestly, I think an argument can also be made that no one was sympathetic towards Rayla wanting to bring her family back together except for Callum, and I will talk more about him in detail later.

I also think another important detail we need to remember is that when it comes to this conflict, there’s a major power imbalance here. While yes, Ezran is a traumatized 12 year old kid dealing with the destruction of his kingdom and seeing the face of his father’s killer, he’s also the king who has the final say in everything. It’s his words and his orders against anyone else’s objections that get followed. He also has the backing and loyalty of the council, crownguard and all of the Katolis guards too, while Rayla only had the support of Callum in this situation.

And because of how things went at the meeting and seeing how Ezran wouldn’t listen to her and forgive Runaan right away, she decided to break Runaan out, despite Callum trying to convince her to be patient and give Ezran more time, to which then she responds:

Which then Callum fully accepts her decision and even offered to help (which again, I’ll talk more about later). But while the ideal thing for Rayla to do was to be more patient give Ezran time to do the right thing, which he eventually did at the end of the season, it’s also understandable why she couldn’t stay patient. Because after years, she finally has the opportunity to reunite what remains of her own family again.

Now I get to my last point, Callum. Despite seeing a lot of hate being directed towards Rayla and Ezran for their different stances, from what I’ve seen, I feel like Callum has been getting savaged a whole lot by different parts of the fandom, despite being caught in between both sides and torn between two people he loves. I feel like more people are willing to look at the complexity of the situation when it comes to Ezran or Rayla, but when it comes to Callum, his stance is more often reduced to: “he’s a terrible brother who betrayed Ezran because he doesn’t sympathize with him” or “he’s a doormat for Rayla who unconditionally worships her even at the expense of others or the greater good” while leaving out so many details, events and aspects of his overall character. Now I’m not saying that Callum handled things perfectly with Ezran and nor am I saying that he wouldn’t do reckless and crazy things for Rayla, but I feel like there’s so much more to him that just gets heavily ignored.

So as I’ve said before, Callum was caught in between rising tensions between Ezran and Rayla. While he did support Rayla and wanted to help her reunite her family, I just think it’s wrong to say he was “unsympathetic” towards Ezran because:

And that to me isn’t what unsympathetic looks like. Not to mention he kept trying to convince Rayla to be patient and give Ezran time, and even when Rayla went to break out Runaan, Callum still went and made an attempt to talk to Ezran. And like I don’t think it was right of him to call his traumatized brother a jerk face when he went to talk to him lol, but we know how Callum can be when he gets frustrated, and he even apologized immediately and changed his tone afterwards. We then see Ezran open up to Callum about how his life completely changed after Harrow was ‘killed’ and he was forced to take up a heavy burden at a young age. While ideally I do think that Callum could’ve verbally expressed more understanding towards what Ezran was feeling and dealing with, I do think he made a valid point when he brought up that Ezran forgave Zubeia despite her being the one who sent Runaan after Harrow. Now getting to my next point, this scene in particular:

What he said here made me think back a lot to arc 1, particularly, some of the stuff Harrow said in his last conversation with Callum:

And some things he told Rayla when she told him about her mission to avenge Avizandum and the dragon egg that was initially believed to be destroyed:

I also thought of some of the things Harrow told Callum in his letter:

And lastly something he said to Rayla in season 3 in their conversation after looking at Avizandum's stoned body:

I think it’s important to remember that yes, even Callum himself is aware of the violent cycle between the humans and Xadia and actually wants to end it. And while yes, Ezran grieving Harrow’s death and feeling so much anger towards Runaan was completely valid, I truly believe that Callum was also motivated in trying to convince Ezran to not take part in this cycle of vengeance. The very cycle that killed their mother, that lead Harrow to kill Avizandum in vengeance, which he himself even regretted and recognized was a mistake that lead to Zubeia sending the moonshadow assassins to kill him. And this was something that he brought up to Callum in both his last conversation and his letter, hoping that Callum and Ezran would break this cycle and not repeat his mistakes. And this was what Callum was attempting to do with Ezran, having even reminded him that this was the cycle of violence he was fighting so hard to end. And it did seem that Callum was getting through to him, and I do think that if their conversation didn’t get interrupted by Soren calling out and maybe in a short amount of time, Callum would’ve succeeded.

Of course next thing we see after Rayla and Soren’s duel along with Corvus’s intervention, was Ezran approaching them with a bunch of guards and he had no hesitation in ordering them to attack an outnumbered Rayla and Runaan. It was only in this situation, when literal violence was about to escalate, that we see Callum fully take Rayla’s side and go against Ezran. Not having succeeded in getting through to his brother and seeing that he was still set on getting his revenge, was when Callum decided to step down as high mage and leave with Rayla and Runaan.

Now I’ve seen a lot of people criticizing Callum for leaving his traumatized brother in this situation, which like, yes it was a betrayal at a bad time and it hurt Ezran a great deal. But I also think it’s important to keep in mind that if Callum were to have stayed behind, he would’ve been arrested and have not been able to do anything or even help Ezran in any way, especially with Ezran later becoming hellbent on building weapons of mass destruction, even with Zym becoming increasingly uncomfortable, and hardly listening to anyone aside from Aanya. In fact, I think this would’ve lead to a far bigger strain on their relationship and less of a likelihood to reconcile and repair the rift created between them.

But anyways, this is my opinion on this whole topic. I personally think there wasn’t one person in this that was entirely right or wrong in this situation, each of them had valid stances that just all came clashing together and lead to this massive fallout. But I’m glad that in the end, they were all able to work it out and be able to reconcile things between them. And I know I made this super long but I guess I just wanted to dump out all my thought here.

Anyways, what do you think? Anything you wanted to add on to this?