#and aaravos would absolutely do this

[jamieedlund]

Imagine reaching the absolute height of magic just to manifest a fifth finger to gesture 'I love you' in human finguistic back at your human student. 🤟😩✨

Bonus! When someone tells them "Happy Valentines day."

and also Happy (really late) Valentines day! I wouldn't miss this for the world and for the two of them 💗 Get you an elf who will manifest a fifth finger only for you 😔🤟(no innuendos intended everyone shut up-)

[malachitezmeyka]

I personally find it very funny that my sister and I are both obsessed with an unfairly attractive long-haired fictional man with a tendency to prance around without a shirt on who would do anything for his autistic daughter... and it's not even the same damn fictional man

"Oh we're so different we will never get along" Blatant lies, we're one in the same and completely incorrigible in what we are

[aviradasa]

PART 2 YOU SAD FOLKS!

Aaravos getting ready to propose to you with the help of leola Hc

Aaravos x reader Hc

{Fluff} @delusional-mushroom

Warnings: none

Sorry if this seems rushed it's really late at night 😭 but I think it's cute. This is not proofread whatsoever, so if there are spelling errors, I apologize. I will look it over in the morning and fix it up.

Check out the other parts to this string of oneshots

Masterlist

Aaravos introducing you to his daughter

Teenage!Leolas first partner is human how do you and Aaravos react

You and teenage!Leola sync up that time of month Aaravos is done

It's been a while since you moved in with Aaravos and leola, and things are going amazing.

Leola is fully attached to you at the hip. You are her second parent.

Anyways

It was an early morning.

AND I MEAN HELLA EARLY

The sun was hardly even up

Cause leola woke you up and dragged you out of bed. Reminding you that you promised to take her on a morning walk.

As you are forced from your slumber, you notice Aaravos isn't in bed, which you find odd. So you ask her

"Hey unicorn, where is your dad?" You ask

She just giggles and pulls you out the front door

" he's gone into town for a little bit he will be back soon, though!" She tells you with a cheeky giggle

You don't put much thought into it, though, as it's pretty normal for her. Though you are curious as to why Aaravos left for town before dawn even broke. Normally, he would tell you.

As the sun rises, you and leola walk. On your journey, you point out bits of nature that are absolutely gorgeous in the morning light, and she's just so happy to see everything.

She will sometimes run ahead a bit, pointing at animals and flowers and plants she finds interesting. Her little eyes practically glowed with happiness

It's absolutely adorable

On your way back, you notice Aaravose walking into the house.

As soon as you point at him, leola grabs your hand and pulls you off. Now walking through a field away from the direction of the house, and looking back, you swear you saw him shooing you both off from the window

You are hella confused

You try asking leola about this odd behavior, but once again, she just starts laughing and distracting you. Everything today is just odd, and you're starting to sense it.

This goes on all day.

You see Aaravos in the distance, and leola will just laugh and pull you away. Not dare letting you get close to him or telling you anything.

And you have noticed him just watching the two of you from afar. It's not that uncommon, but today it's just even more odd, and with leolas behavior today, everything is suspicious, and you just wanna know what's happening

Until you and leola were making little rock towers, Aaravos came up behind you. It honestly surprised you, making you jump and accidentally knock your rock tower over

He offers you his hand to help you stand up, and he shoos his daughter off with a wink. She jumps up from her seat and squeals with excitement, waving her hands in front of her with a bright smile, and she runs away

Once she's gone, he begins walking you through the field as the sun sets, you try to ask him what's been going on all day and why him and leola had been acting funny but he just dismisses it

"Don't mind that, you'll know in just a moment."

You roll your eyes but continue to follow him. The both of you chat, and you tell him all about what you and leola got up to today. As you talk to him about your little adventures, he just admires you. Sometimes, forgetting to respond or react. He almost seems nervous.

You both walk a little longer before stopping by a little stream that looks almost golden due to the light. A little blanket has been set out with flowers and little magic stones lining the edges as well as a little basket that has been placed in the middle.

"Oh my god this is beautiful!" You say as you look at the scene. Before you can sit down though he grabs you lightly

"Y/n I have a very important question for you." He says, taking your hands as you face him

As you are about to ask him what's going on you hear a little whisper from a nearby bush

"Did they say yes???"

You and Aaravos share a smile before you raise your eyebrow and look over to see leolas face sticking out of the leaves.

"I didn't even get to finish asking silly."

He says to her with a laugh. As she sighs impatiently and rolls her eyes.

"Whats taking so long. All you gotta say it 'will you marry me' its very simple" She says, tilting her head to the side before shaking her head. Her eyes suddenly go wide as her arm pops out of the bush to cover her mouth

"Oop! Sorry dad!" She says quickly

Both you and Aaravos are shocked, but you are quick to break the silence luckily.

"You're asking me to marry you?" You say with a smile as you look up at him. You are a bit shocked as you were not expecting this so soon, but you are overjoyed

"Yes, I was, but it seems our little unicorn decided to ask for me." He jokes, shaking his head from side to side with a grin a little embarrassed and worried about your response

" Yes."

"What?"

"Yes. Of I will marry you."

You say with a wide smile. Aaravos let's out a loud sigh of relief and quickly pulls you in for a hug.

As you both pull back, leola jumps out of the bush and hugs both you and Aaravos as hard as she can, not letting yall go for a minute.and you all share a laugh.

After a moment, Aaravos kisses you i celebration of your now engagement, and leola turns away and dramatically gags. While loudly saying "Ewww"

Making you roll your eyes at Aaravos. Before chuckling.

"Well, I guess that's the queue to sit down and eat then." You joke as you all sit down on the blanket and open the little basket of food.

It was a simple engagement. With a few hiccups, but it didn't matter to any of you. All that mattered is that you are all finally a family,and for all of you that's more that you could have ever asked for 🖤

[the-blaze-empress]

yes i love leola. yes i adore her with all my heart and yes i think what happened to her was an atrocity. yes i think the cosmic council went way too far with everything they did, yes i think aaravos' prison was uncalled for. no i do not forgive aaravos. no i do not think he was at all justified.

think about it, think about leola, who she was. she was kind and selfless and she didn't care about who or what other people were, she didn't care about arbitrary, unfair 'rules'. she was kind and her kindness got her murdered. aaravos chose to live to avenge her. to take out rage on those who wronged her. that wasnt her choice though, and i don't think it ever would have been. aaravos took it way too far way too fast, and it stopped being about leola a very long time ago for him. he did this in 'her name' despite the fact he should know better than anyone that this is the absolute last thing she'd ever want.

i love leola. i do not forgive her father.

[kradogsrats]

look I'm just absolutely feral over the possibilities of Claudia as a reflection/inversion of Leola as Aaravos's "daughter" like

Claudia as malicious and guilty where Leola was compassionate and innocent, also Claudia's love as selfish where Leola's was selfless

if Rayla were to spare Claudia at some point, it would be an elf offering mercy to someone who did actual deliberate harm to her and her loved ones, versus Leola being condemned by a dragon and the Cosmic Council for something that didn't actually do them (or anyone) harm

(that would also be a culmination of Rayla's "mercy for monsters" arc)

the "mercy" Aaravos was offered as the choice to die with Leola or go on without her being inverted as a choice for Claudia to die with him or go on without him (we saw a glimmer of this in "I will not watch another daughter die")

(that would also be a culmination of Claudia's parental abandonment coping arc)

Aaravos setting out to destroy the world for one daughter possibly turning around to save it for another

Leola opening Aaravos's story of revenge, and Claudia closing it

[redr0sewrites]

How do you think Aaravos would act when his a s/o is on their period? (Can you tell I'm on my period and need comfort)

OOOOOO!!!! i feel SO bad i haven't written for aaravos (or tdp in general) for wayyyyyy too long tdp is still my main hyperfixation yall

🥀Cw: mostly fluff with a bit of suggestiveness/mentions of how orgasms help cramps, afab reader

🥀minors dni with the nsfw portion

sfw:

listen, aaravos is SOOO attentive. he probably has your cycle memorized better than YOU. he's always prepared for when you're on your period, and will approach you about it a few days before it starts

aaravos is amazing when your on your period as he never undermines you, and while he doesn't relate to your experience he definitely sympathizes with you and supports you any way he can

his powers come in handy a lot, and whenever your having bad cramps he can very easily heat up his hands or cool them down and become your own personal heating/cooling pad. he also gives wonderful massages and can also attempt spells/potions that may work as painkillers for you

aaravos is a FANTASTIC cuddler, he's 6,9 ft of pure warmth and loves holding you when you're on your period. if you're feeling emotional or sad in general aaravos is genuinely always willing to comfort you, as he hates seeing you in distress

he may tease you a little to help lighten the mood, but if you get upset or annoyed he'll stop

speaking of when you're annoyed, if you are especially irritable on your period, aaravos takes it surprisingly well. if you snap at him he'll just brush it off or roll his eyes, he knows your feeling shitty and that you'll feel bad later. he might get a little pouty though, and will be clingy when you two are trying to sleep

if you get headaches on your period aaravos is more than willing to accommodate you. he'll gently cup your face, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead before getting a damp towel to lay across your eyes

as much as you want to rot in bed while you're on your period, aaravos will encourage you to be at least a little active. he might take you for calming walks where you won't run into others, or even just slow dance with you in the comfort of your own home while lofty music plays in the background

aaravos will run lavish baths for you om your period with bubbles and fancy soaps and anything your heart desires. he really does love pampering you at heart and will gladly sit at the edge of the tub and wash your hair or massage your scalp while you bathe and relax

nsfw:

during his research on how to help comfort you, aaravos stumbled upon the fact that orgasms can help relieve period cramps. he was quick to bring it up to you, for "research purposes" kinky bitch.

he'll be gentle ofc, laying a towel beneath you both and treating you with the utmost care (unless... u tell him not to.... then thats a different story)

period sex soon becomes a pretty common occurrence as its a great experience for you both. aaravos adores how sensitive you are and loves seeing how easy it is to stimulate you. he'll tease you a lot and then overstimulate you, relishing in every noise you make

it's obviously wonderful for you as well bc??? duh???? it feels amazing and aaravos always makes you feel divine

he's a lot more into praising you during period sex rather than degrading, he thinks that your something to be worshipped and absolutely loves showering you with all the praise you deserve

aaravos enjoys mirror sex in general, but especially during your period. je likes showing you how gorgeous you are during this time of the month and is not afraid to be a little mean with his praise. if theres a trait you have that your particularly anxious or insecure about, aaravos looveessss praising you over and over about it until you can't help but agree.

aaravos always does great aftercare as well when your on your period. you both often get pretty messy, so the first thing he does is conjure a wet towel to wipe you both down. then he'll run you a bath and let you relax while he changes the sheets/bedding before joining you in the bath.

yk that audio that's like "HEEEEE'SSSS BAAAACK" on tiktok? thats what i feel like rn when im posting something for tdp for the first time in like months. (i don't have tiktok but i keep seeing tiktoks on pinterest 💀) ANYWAYSSSSSS HOPE U WNJOYED!!! ive been falling back into some of my old fandoms (tdp, acotar, etc) along w some new ones so feel free to send in requests!!! i am VERY anxiously awaiting tdp s6 hehe

[raayllum]

Moon Arcanum Callum + Sun Arcanum Claudia in S7?

Callum getting the Moon arcanum has been a fandom... not theory, but shall we say, prospect, since even before S4. Some of this was because of the seeming set up in previous seasons, such as:

Callum having a hunch that the cube wasn't glowing due to the Moon, and being our first hint at illusions on the Cursed Caldera (1x09)

Lujanne explaining the secret of the arcanum (as she understands it) to him in 2x02

Callum doing moon arcanum spells (3x08, Through the Moon) much the way he did Sky spells before unlocking that arcanum

Callum employing aspects of the Moon arcanum in his plans (3x01 with tricking Sol Regem, creating the illusion pearl in 6x01)

His growing relationship and understanding with Rayla, and potential involvement with her family/village

But especially:

This is of course already reflected in spades in his arc as a mage. Everyone, Lujanne included, believes that humans can't do magic. She treats this as absolute fact and destiny, but Callum perceives it as subjective truth; why can't he just make his own connection and do magic anyway? And in doing so, he changes the world. He creates a radically new, better reality.

With season seven's synopsis on sacrifice and life and death, both things we see tied heavily to Moonshadow culture and the Moon itself, I could see Callum connecting to the Moon arcanum next season for a few reasons (and potentially Claudia with the Sun arcanum, which I'll get to after). So let's get into it.

Precursor

Previously, if Callum was going to connect to the Moon arcanum, I'd speculated it'd mostly be around ideas of the consistency of Love (light or dark, the moon is always the moon) and his love for Rayla being his light in the darkness / the one constant truth of his life. I don't think this anymore, obviously, because we got all those things through the Star truth light ritual beat for beat and we're not going to be repeating, but I did think it'd be worthwhile then to revisit what a Moon arcanum could mean for Callum under new context / emotional epiphanies. I've also always thought either Earth or Sun would suit Claudia, but leaned more towards the latter, so we're gonna talk about that, too.

Truth and Lies and Aaravos

As Lujanne explains in 2x02, the Moon arcanum is understanding the true nature of the relationship between appearances and reality, and we can only understand the appearance itself. This feels like a very fitting idea to come back to with Aaravos, who ostensibly never lies but routinely withholds or presents not entirely correct information. "How may I serve you?" when you're just going to be a pawn. Not telling a mourning Claudia that he was indeed the one who killed Viren so that she'll continue to do his bidding, with Claudia asserting that Aaravos "didn't lie" about the ritual in 6x01, and he didn't. We also see him wield the truth as a weapon with people like Khessa ("would you like to know the truth of her fate before you meet yours?") and Sol Regem (more on that here.)

Everything that he says is truth to him, and then he lifts it up as being objectively true (i.e. you're destined to play into my hands) even when it isn't necessarily true. We can also see Callum veering into mindsets that Claudia and Viren have had, where he believes he's past the point of saving ("I'm ruined, it's too late for me" "Promise me you'll kill me") or removing his own agency by admission ("Finnegrin was going to kill you, I didn't have a choice" / "Every step forward is a choice").

Callum understanding Aaravos' or others' actual truths versus their lies and the ones he's believing could be very fitting in S6, especially if he might be learning more about the existence of the Cosmic Council and who made their world the way it is. I think his existence may help lead to that "slow spiral of chaos" but that it won't be just or even Bad at all the way they'd feared, etc.

Claudia is also linked to lies and truth. She lies to others, but Aaravos notes that "If you tell the truth you will lose her," and she goes looking for her own deep truth in S6, but doesn't seem to fully find it. Terry asks her "What do you need to find your one deep truth?" and Claudia says that she needs her dad, but she and her mother have also made it clear that she "needed to stay with Soren" and her family (vs Viren telling her to pick the egg over Soren). With Viren gone and Aaravos manipulating her, Soren could easily be one of her guiding lights next season or in future seasons.

The Pearl

The moon is analogous, framing/appearance wise, to the prison. This is alluded to in 5x09 through framing, and then made even more direct in 6x09: Aaravos escapes his prison thanks to Claudia and (unbeknownst to her) she has become the prisoner, much like how Callum may physically free himself from chains in 5x08 but magically/emotionally chains himself further to Aaravos, or Viren shouting while in chains that he's finally free of the dark puppetmaster.

Basically, when Callum says in 6x01 that he's inside the pearl, I don't think (as of S6 / probably first half of S7 at least) that he's ever gotten out of it. Aaravos uses him even after his nightmare, and we know thanks to the pawn intro that Aaravos' final machinations for Callum also haven't yet come to play. I've been wondering if the Aaravos intro is going to change in S7, since he's out of his prison — and it still may — but if we look at it from the angle of Callum and Claudia both being stuck within the moon/pearl rather than just Aaravos himself, maybe it could stay.

And if Callum is stuck inside the moon-pearl, shattering it by understanding the arcanum ("the whole world is like a giant primal stone, and we're inside of it, and it's also in us") and/or with Claudia moving to the opposite of the moon could be useful, especially since Karim is a corrupted sun in his own way. Speaking of which let's talk about

Light and Dark

We know thanks to Claudia that black and white, or light and dark, are not always clear cut. Her hair thanks to her dark magic use changes like phases of the moon, with the light being bad and the dark being good. Conversely, her path is a dark one with the path of truth and light being withheld from her. In a similar manner, we see Callum's light (Rayla) being what led him into dark magic use and what led him out of it, and will likely see this pattern play out again. Aaravos is a representation of a path of darkness, but we also see the cube flashing a bright light in the pawn intro, tying light and darkness together for him as well.

Callum's understanding of himself that he gained through the Ocean arcanum can not simply become untrue or disappear, so I think recognizing that darkness isn't all he is ("I'm ruined" / "your heart's not full of darkness" "Neither is yours") even if there are dark parts of him and of his life would be fitting. It also seems that could be helpful with Claudia as well, and even characters like Ezran, who will have to wrestle with darker parts of his emotions/personality next season as well with Runaan. They've all got light and dark inside them, and learning how to walk in that balance and still break away from the Cycle / Aaravos is useful. As Ezran said in 4x03:

I just want to yell stop. But that’s not enough. It won’t work. I think about a positive vision, a faith we can all share, that we might build a future together in hope. A future where we can be safe with each other.  But… It’s not that easy or simple. Because people are still hurting and they are still angry. We can’t ignore that, or pretend it will go away. Somehow, we have to hold it all in our hearts at the same time. We have to acknowledge the weight of the pain and loss, but open up our eyes and allow ourselves to hope and maybe forgive and love again. We have to give today’s children a chance to inherit a future filled with peace. To give them that, we have to hold pain and love in our hearts at the same time.

Claudia's love for her family led her to ruin, but it can also save her through Soren. Callum's love for Rayla led him to ruin, but it has also saved him (and again, we'll likely repeat this pattern). Ezran's love for his father will lead him to anger but also pull him out of it, just as Viren's love for his son caused him to begin his journey of terrible things, but also guided him to do one final, truly right thing by the end.

Love is light and dark. Claudia, who's been walking in shadow, needs the full light - the sun, in the form of her brother. She needs to accept and see the truth of what's happening and step fully into the light. Callum, who has been routinely worried of the dark within him, needs to the reminder that he's not all he is, that he has light of his own inside. In doing so, he can break Aaravos' control over him and give hope to any other dark mages / humans in general that no level of corruption is too late to come back from, and that there is always light amid the darkness.

Life and Death

The stakes have never been higher as Aaravos and Claudia are on the warpath, determined to destroy the Cosmic Order and invert life and death. With the world’s fate on the line, our heroes must be ready to sacrifice everything to save it.

In Bloodmoon Huntress, we get a very different peek into how the secret of the Moon arcanum can be thought of through Runaan, who is peak Moonshadow-sacrifice elf man:

Moonshadow form is only achieved when we understand the balance of life against death. Balance is weight against weight, and to understand the weight of death you must feel the weight and value of another's life. Think of those you love, of who you hold most dear. Now think of the souls who have touched your life. Understand that each time your weapon meets its target, each time we fulfil our duty, the potential for that soul to change a life—to love another—is gone. We may remove hate, but we remove the potential for love as well. Moonshadow form is only achieved when we reconcile this balance between life and death.

While Claudia with her hair and dark mage-assassin parallels could unlock the Moon arcanum—especially if her perspectives continue to change—I think Callum as the Protagonist is better placed at this time to be the one to understand the balance between life and death in a season where the antagonists are trying to invert/destroy it. Him therefore understanding appearances and changes, how to control his own and see through others', understanding that balance between life and death, feels very fitting.

Callum's fear of Aaravos and dark magic comes from the fear that he's changing—"I hope you're careful, cause [magic] can change people" / "the corruption takes innocent creatures and changed them"—and that death would be better for him than life if he goes too far. Learning these things aren't the case and that he can get back to the middle (and indeed, "real trust is about accepting even the dark parts we will never know" could be about Rayla accepting he may not entirely swear off dark magic again, the same way Viren kept that door open to do Good) would be useful.

It would also mean the two mage characters most drawn into Aaravos' darkness get the Moon and Sun—the arcanums most associated with light—to banish said darkness as well. Claudia finally being an uncorrupted light and chasing life, not death, and Callum, learning how to be balanced and that he can maintain his identity / use Aaravos' book and key without fearing that he'll lose control.

The fact that Claudia's eclipse imagery only started the same episode she lost her brother, and that her Laurelion dragon-scale necklace is very Sunfire-y looking...

Conclusion

TDP for Callum and Claudia has always felt like a parallel coming-of-age mage story between the two of them, leading to the amount of similarities and diverging plot beats the two have, down to doing the same spell at the same time but in different locations in S6. The Sun arcanum is associated with truth, light, and healing, whereas the Moon arcanum is associated with change, life + death, and secrets/love. All of these things could be nicely brought to a head with Callum and Claudia each unlocking an arcanum of Moon and Sun respectively, showcasing their differences, their continued room to grow, and light amid the darkness.

While I could see alternatives like Sun for Callum and Moon for Claudia, Stars for Callum or no arcanum for either of them, I think these are the ones that fit best at this time / Stars will likely get saved for arc 3 given that arc 3 will probably focus more on rewriting destinies and the Cosmic Order as antagonists.

As always hope you enjoy and Dragons out!

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

I've been working on this fic on and off since I saw season 7 and at last I got it finished!! The idea has been haunting me since I saw the finale... what if Callum actually completed the spell that trapped Aaravos in the coin?

“The second it’s done, he’ll kill me. You won’t have anywhere to go. No ‘vessel’ to control. You’ll be trapped again… forever. That’s the destiny I choose. The one I write for myself!”

Callum squeezed his eyes shut, and when they opened, they locked on Rayla. Tears blurred her vision, but she blinked them away, not wanting to miss an instant of seeing his face. Not wanting a single second where he couldn’t see the plea in her gaze.

“I would have stayed with you forever.” His voice was a whisper now, only for her. “I would have spent thousands of peaceful days with you, and it would have been the greatest joy I could ask for.” He drew a shuddering breath and managed a smile. “But this way, you’ll still get thousands of peaceful days. And that makes me happy enough. I love you, Rayla. Be brave.”

“Callum!”

Her scream was drowned out by the sound of his voice as it rose with the words to the spell. A purple beam poured from the staff in his hands, and as soon as it touched Aaravos, he began to dissolve. Wisps of green melted from his body, stretching his form, pulling him apart until he was nothing but smoke.

As the last of Aaravos was absorbed into the coin, there was another bust of light— but not from Callum. In a streak of energy in every color of the rainbow, Ezran appeared on Zym’s back, a blade in his hand.

That blade, Rayla thought wildly, it looks like—

“Ezran?”

Rayla’s eyes snapped to Callum just in time to see him fall to his knees, the black in his eyes receding— only to be replaced a second later by searing white.

“Runaan,” Callum gasped as the white faded again. “Do it— do it now—" He doubled over, convulsing in time to the flickers of light in his eyes.

Panic seized Rayla, forcing her half out of her saddle with absolutely no plan for what to do after she fell. Could she throw her own body in the path of Runaan’s arrow? Could she help Callum fight the possession back?

“Runaan, please,” Callum wheezed.

Runaan’s eyes flicked from Callum to Rayla before coming to rest on Ezran. A tear fell from his eye.

“I’m so sorry,” he told Callum, his voice breaking. “I can’t.” And then, in a tone so quiet Rayla almost wondered if she imagined it: “Not again.”

Callum let out a piercing yell that distorted halfway through, deepening into Aaravos’s cry of triumph as light beamed from his eyes once more. Callum— Aaravos— laughed with enough unbridled, malicious delight that it took him two tries to get to his feet and grab Viren’s staff.

“Oh, this is too good! I thought your soft heart was all your own, Rayla, but it turns out it’s a family trait!” All at once, the glee dropped from his face. “Your parents would have done well to raise you better. In this world, all a soft heart is good for is getting you killed.”

He moved the staff so quickly that Rayla didn’t realize he was drawing a rune until its blast was speeding towards her. She leapt on instinct, pain shooting up her ankles as her feet made contact with the ground. It was nothing compared to the ache in her chest when she turned around. Her mount hadn’t been as lucky as she was.

Runaan sent an arrow shooting at Aaravos’s shoulder, but he dodged neatly, drawing one of Stella’s portals in the air with his staff and leaping through it. It deposited him directly in front of Rayla, who barely dodged the stream of fire he conjured. Pressing a hand to her singed hair, she rolled to her feet and whirled around to face him.

“You’re stronger than him, Callum, I know you are!” she cried. “Fight him off! Please!”

Aaravos laughed, bolts of lightning splitting from his staff. “Foolish child. Your beloved was warned of the consequences of performing my magic again.” A fork of electricity struck Rayla’s leg, and she fell to the ground with a scream. “He! Is! Mine!”

“Callum, come back to me!” Rayla barely recognized her voice, the words high and fractured. “You said you’d do anything for me!”

Aaravos inclined his head. “Did he? How sweet. You know, I can’t feel any stirrings of his will inside me at all. What do you think— should we give him some proper motivation? Venus frigoris!”

Cold, burning cold, blinding, agonizing cold. Rayla’s spine convulsed, her body contorting as a scream ripped from her throat. Other screams reached her ears, Ezran, and Runaan, but they were so far away—

The relief came all at once, her muscles relaxing, the cold fleeing, and she collapsed into sobs.

“Hmmm… no. I still can’t feel any resistance from him. Do you believe me now, assassin?”

Last time, Callum had screamed for her, had run for her, had held her face while her blood froze and taken on Finnegrin with nothing but his bare hands to make it stop. Now he stood over her with his lips curled in amusement.

There was nothing left of Callum anymore. He would never have hurt her if he had any power to stop it.

Assassin. Aaravos had formed the word carefully, mockery infused into every syllable. He would never expect her to go through with it. She could take him by surprise. She could end this.

She would never be able to live with herself. But the world would live on.

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut, curling her hands around her blades behind her back.

“My heart for Xadia,” she whispered.

Aaravos inclined his head. “You’ll have to speak up if you want your final words to be remembered. Go on; I’m listening.”

Rayla flicked open her blades— and the tip of a sword appeared in Aaravos’s chest.

In Callum’s chest.

The white light in his eyes receded, leaving the beautiful green Rayla loved so well. They locked on hers for a second before fluttering closed as he dropped to the ground, sliding free of the sword to reveal Ezran with his hands on its hilt.

There was an eternity within a second in which everyone stood frozen. Rayla, paralyzed on the ground. Callum, dead at her feet. Ezran, a horror in his eyes that defied description or comprehension.

Then the blade fell from his hands, clattering against the stone, and the world woke up.

“I’m sorry.” The words were almost unintelligible through Ezran’s sobs as he fell to his knees. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry— I’m so— I’m sorry, I’m so—"

At last, Rayla managed a single breath, one that rattled in her broken chest, and managed a single, hoarse word. “Why?”

Ezran raised his ravaged face to hers. “Rayla, I’m sorry, I’m so—“

“Why didn’t you let me do it? I was going to do it. He’s your brother, and I’m—"

“You’re not a killer, Rayla.”

The words lacked the hysteria of his apologies. But Rayla had never imagined hearing that kind of absolute despair in the voice of a child.

“Neither are you!”

“No. But I am a king. And my first duty is to my people.” Finally, his voice broke again. “All but one.”

Rayla took his hot, soaked face in one hand and Callum’s stiff, cool hand in the other. She pulled both of them close, holding the three of them together one last time, even as they shattered.

…

“I’m going to kill you!” Callum roared.

He lunged for Aaravos, who was too stunned by his sudden movement to dodge his punch in time. Callum drove another fist into his jaw, and another, before Aaravos recovered enough to kick him in the stomach, sending him sprawling backwards. Callum drew a breath, then another, heedless of the pain, and forced himself back to his feet—

Only to find himself paralyzed, mid-lunge.

“That is enough, human.”

Callum screamed through his locked teeth as a head appeared in the stars above him— one whose nose was roughly the size of Callum’s whole body, and who glowed so brightly that it hurt to look at him.

What the…?

Frozen as he was, Callum was able to take in his surroundings for the first time. Both he and Aaravos stood on a transparent platform that floated in an endless night sky.

The head in front of him disappeared, and another appeared to his left. “You have accomplished many impossible feats,” she told him. “But even you cannot kill one who is already dead.”

Aaravos scoffed. “You can’t kill me. No one can. I will merely return to the stars, where I will bide my time for a paltry seven years.”

“No, Aaravos.” That came from a head on Callum’s right. “Had you been fatally wounded in a vessel, you would merely have returned to your true form. Had your true form been pierced by the fangs of an archdragon or the blade the humans call Nova, you would have returned to the stars. But you were mortally wounded by the Novablade in a mortal form. As such, you have forfeited your immortality.”

For the first time, Callum saw true fear in Aaravos’s eyes.

“No— no! That is not possible!”

“It does not matter whether or not you believe it,” the first head who had spoken told him. “You will know the truth of it soon enough.”

“But we are prepared to offer a compromise.” This came from the head to Callum’s left. “We will return you to the stars, if you return your key.”

“Key?”

Callum hadn’t realized he was able to move again until the word fell from his lips.

“Indeed, human. A key to all the magical secrets of the Startouch elves. It was given to Aaravos for safekeeping, long ago, but he has hidden it from us for millennia.”

“With good reason.” Aaravos locked eyes with Callum, his terror replaced by an equally unimaginable expression: pleading. “They call themselves dealers of cosmic justice, but they are little more than tyrants. They killed my daughter— a little girl with only the best of intentions— for giving magic to humans. The order they want to protect would leave your race powerless! If they have access to the knowledge they seek, the whole world will feel the consequences!”

“That is our offer, Aaravos,” the first head said, his voice emotionless. “Give us the key and return to the stars. Or keep it, and be erased along with it.”

“He doesn’t have it. As I do.”

As one, the full attention of the heads turned to Callum. It was… disconcerting.

Callum pulled the Key of Aaravos from his belt and held it out to them.

“That does not belong with you,” a head that had not yet spoken said sharply. “Return it to us, human.”

“I want the same deal you offered to Aaravos. I’ll give it to you if you return me to life.”

From beside Callum, Aaravos actually growled. “Are you really so selfish, mage? Would you allow these despots to strip you of everything just to buy yourself a few more years?”

“Not for me. For Rayla.” Callum closed her eyes, but her devastated face remained. Her screams still rang in his ears. “She’s lost enough. I won’t let her lose me too. I won’t let her suffer any more.”

“You fool!”

Callum opened his eyes again, looking past Aaravos and up to the heads once more. “Do we have a deal?”

They were silent, seeming to have some kind of mental debate. Then the first head spoke.

“We accept your terms. Give us the key, and we will return you to life.”

“But do not think you can escape cosmic justice,” said the head on his right. “You have not bought yourself a life. Merely extra time.”

“I’ll take what I can get.”

Callum tried to sound respectful, contrite. Inside, he burned. Whatever time he’d borrowed would be enough— he’d make it so. After all, as one of the judges herself had said, he’d done many impossible things. What was one more?

He released the key, and it floated up to the head above him, where it disappeared into light.

“It is done,” the head announced. “You will be returned to your mortal form. And you—” he turned to Aaravos— “will be reunited with your daughter at last.”

Aaravos rose into the air as if yanked by invisible strings, writing all the while. “You have no idea what you’ve done!” he screamed at Callum. “No idea what I’ve sacrificed to save you from this future! You have doomed—“

But he didn’t get to finish before he burst into light.

When the searing glow receded, the stars and the heads and Aaravos were all gone. In their place was the most beautiful face Callum had ever laid eyes on, even as it was swollen and tearstained in a way that drove spikes of pain through his chest.

“Rayla,” he rasped.

The word was almost inaudible by the time he pushed it past the emotion choking his throat, but her eyes still snapped to his.

“Callum!” she shrieked, throwing herself at him with enough force to send him sprawling back against the ground. He could only manage a wheeze as he hugged her back, and she pulled away quickly.

“Your wound— did I make it worse? How are you even— you got stabbed— you were dead—"

“Yeah. I know. Luckily, even the cosmic judges couldn’t resist my charms.”

Ezran appeared beside Rayla, his eyes as red as his tunic. “You talked them into letting you come back?”

“More or less.” Callum’s fingers brushed the pouch in his belt where he had kept the Key of Aaravos, now decidedly empty. “Turns out I still had a bargaining chip they wanted.”

“What…?” Rayla started, but Callum shook his head.

“I’ll explain later.”

“Callum…” Twin tears squeezed their way out of Ezran’s swollen eyes. “I’m sorry— I’m so sorry—"

“Hey, hey, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Callum reached out, wiping the tears from his brother’s cheeks. “You did the right thing. I’m so proud of you.”

Ezran managed a wet laugh. “That’s so messed up.”

“Yeah, well, so are we.” Callum reached for Rayla’s hand with his free one, and she entwined her fingers with his. “But you know what else we are? Still here. We’re here, and Aaravos isn’t.”

“We saw a shooting star,” Rayla rasped. “Janai said it crashed in the Midnight Desert. Does that mean… is Aaravos…”

“Aaravos isn’t a threat anymore. Not now, not ever. Apparently, the Novablade was enough to kill him if he was bound to a mortal form.” Callum glanced at Ezran. “You see what I mean? You did it!”

Ezran wiped his eyes with shaking hands and managed a small laugh. “We did it. The three of us.”

“Oh, not this again. I know I spent part of our first trip as an egg, but I still counted. And who do you think flew Ezran here in time to kill Callum? The four of us made a difference. Actually, the six of us, since Bait and Stella deserve just as much credit—"

Callum leapt into Rayla’s lap and Ezran ducked behind them, all three of them whirling to face Zym. He stared back at them, perfectly straight-faced.

“Zym,” Ezran said slowly, “did you just…”

“Talk? Yeah. I figured it out a while ago, but I was just… waiting for the right moment. Was that not it?”

“Since you were bragging about how you helped kill me, I’m going to go with no,” Callum said drily.

“Come on, Callum.” Rayla dropped a kiss on his head, then beamed at Zym. “There’s no time like the present.”

“All right, all right.” Callum held out an arm to Zym. “Come here, you.”

Somewhere among the stars was an all-powerful, immortal race of elves with the knowledge they needed to force their will upon all of humanity. Somewhere in the future was a day when Callum would face the end of the time he’d borrowed. Somewhere beyond this tower were cities that needed to rebuilt, bodies that needed to be buried, alliances that needed to be made.

But there was no time like the present. And right here, right now, was the last of the dragonguard and the king of Katolis, the prince of the dragons and the first human primal mage, all clustered together in a knot of limbs and tears and laughter, holding each other together with their love.

And it was all they needed to make a difference, come what may.

[thejosiebird]

I really am hoping that Leola might come back in season 7. Not just because she’s an autistic cutie who didn’t deserve what happened to her, but also because think of the potential her character could have! Especially if arc three gets green lit and we get another time skip?!

Leola could still be adjusting to a world that’s changed in the last thousand years, she’s also still coming to grips with the fact that she was freaking dead for that whole time, and that her father lost himself in his grief and became someone she wouldn’t even recognize.

And unlike Claudia, who follows in her father’s footsteps, Leola is afraid of, and trying her absolute damndest to avoid going down the same path her father did. And whereas Aaravos excelled at creating rifts between entire nations, Leola works towards building bridges between people. Hell, she might have already gotten a head start on doing just that if she hadn’t been executed for trying to help humans! Aaravos said so himself that she befriended people regardless of their race of species.

And think of the intersections Leola could have with the main cast members as well!!! She could be like a little sister to Callum and Ezran, and be the mischievous youngest sibling using her magic to try and help them keep in touch with their inner children. Same with queen Aanya. If she can’t take their royal duties away from them, she figures she can at least make them easier to handle with harmless shenanigans. And if she ever comes in contact with Claudia (assuming she lives to see the timeskip) I could see Leola trying to guide her towards a path of healing and recovery from the dark path she’s followed up to that point, if that’s even possible. Even if it’s not, Leola strikes me as the type of person that would try to help Claudia at least, even after learning about her history with the Katolis royal family and how it fell apart.

Like I said, Leola’s character has some juicy potential if she’s revived next season. Here’s hoping!🤞🏼

[doriansquest]

dragon prince season 7 refuses to be good and I'm so disappointed

i've been putting off finishing the season since it came out and i watched the first three episodes and absolutely hated it, but i finally decided to pull off the bandaid and wow was it so much more worse than i expected. like, i didn't really expect it to be good or anything, since everything has just been going downhill since season 4, but at the very least expected a proper conclusion, but nope, they couldn't even end the show in the finale.

this show just refuses to take the least logical path to the conclusion all the fucking time. like did there need to be so much subversion? follow through on your obvious foreshadowing. let callum be possessed by aaravos after he uses dark magic. that was set up all the way back in season 4. is he good? is he any different than as viren and claudia now, if he's willing to do the wrong thing for the greater good ("however dangerous, however vile")? hell, force rayla to reckon with that difficult choice. put her in the same situation she was in the pilot; is she willing to kill for the greater good, especially now when the stakes are so much higher and the victim is the love of her life?

let claudia kill terry and/or soren. that was bound to happen, she's far past the point of redemption now, she revived aaravos. stop tiptoeing around it. ("i'm still nice! i'm still me" what the fuck, no you're not. you made that decision ages ago, hell when you chose viren over soren all the way back in season 3). arguably, terry, as much as i love him, should have died all the way back in season 5, when viren was revived. it would have cemented claudia's conversion completed to aaravos if there was absolutely no one who loved her around anymore.

and for god's sake, don't try to make your main villain with absolutely no redeeming qualities sympathetic. don't give him a fucking daughter. not every villain is made to be redeemable, they can be just be evil! that's what i loved about aaravos. viren was morally grey from the start, but aaravos was always the dark voice whispering in his ear. he was conniving, manipulative, a force of pure evil! there was absolutely no reason to reduce him to this stupid thing that's so easy to defeat. why was it the dragons that killed him? why not the protagonists of the series instead of some side characters who haven't been in the story for multiple seasons?

like, there is no reason to constantly be adding new plot points? you can take a predictable solution. hell, it should be done in a final season. a story can still be interesting even if it's not the most twisty turvy thing in the world. it would have been so satisfying if the finale went exactly as expected: callum uses dark magic, gets possessed by aaravos and has to fight him out of his head while the other characters have to decide whether to hurt callum or risk aaravos escaping or whatever. we did not need the unicorns, nor the new archdragons, nor the fucking godforsaken sun elf plotline that never connected back to the main plot (and absolutely wasted amaya as a character). and we did not need evyrkind, nor bird harrow who never bothered to contact his sons, nor the seven fucking years. it was so easy to make a satisfying conclusion. why the fuck did the writers decide to take this route?

i don't know, i feel like i've put so much of my investment into this show for the past six years and somehow they manage to fumble it over and over again since season 4, and i keep telling myself that it's going to improve, that they're setting up something good, and they just don't, over and over for seasons. if you somehow enjoyed this season, please explain to me why. i want something good out of the time i spent.

[an-actual-attack-helicopter]

Alright. In the q&a viv said some of the fan theories were spot on and I think we know which ones. Lilith is suspicious as fuck, the hotel finally has proof that sinners can go to heaven, we lost sir pentious kind of, Al and Vox used to have somewhat cordial relations, and tons of other shit. So what can we expect for season 2?

Well, let’s look at what plot points and characters are left open.

1. First thing that comes to mind is that Cherri Bomb is gonna join the main cast to fill the hole Sir Pentious created. Despite what she says, I don’t think she’s doing “just fine” so we’ll get to see some development for her. The Addict MV says it all but who knows if that’s still canon so idk.

2. And what about Alastor? He’s the big mystery of the show. The Aaravos of Hazbin Hotel, for my TDP followers. Well I think we will see who’s controlling him. Furthermore, I think at some point he could be forced to choose between the hotel and his freedom. It’s a bit specific but if I’m right that would be wild. Calling it now! 🗣️‼️ I don’t think we are gonna see anything about his human life yet in s2 though but who knows.

3. Emily is definitely gonna try and help Charlie from a distance and I think there might be a heaven sideplot with her and Sir Pentious and shit

4. Lute is gonna be out for vengeance yall. Brace yourselves.

5. The deals Vaggie and Charlie both made with Alastor are absolutely gonna come back to bite them in the ass. They will probably need Alastor to do television shit and Al will probably make Charlie do something bad.

6. The plot between Vox and Al thickens? Right now it’s just kind of a pathetic rivalry and a onesided boycrush (/j) with the best song in the show keeping it going. I’m loving it though.

7. We finally get to see Molly and Baxter and Arakniss hopefully lmao

8. We get to see Lucifer’s backstory a little more perhaps

9. Angel breaks free from Val’s clutches? It will probably involve a deal with Al honestly.

10. And finally, Alastor has spent this season setting the board and now it’s time to play. We need to see his plans in action, we need the payoff. What’s he gonna do with the power and assets he’s gained?

I also REALLY hope season 2 gets more episodes. The pacing in season 1 was fucked.

[sorinethemastermind]

After the End of the World

They stopped the end of the world. Callum doesn't know why he's having a panic attack now. #Rayllum @endergriffin444 thank you for participating in the Review Fic-Athon! I hope you like it :)

 They had stopped the end of the world. Callum didn’t know why he was having a panic attack now.

 Lack of logic didn’t seem to be stopping it, though.

 His knuckles were white as he gripped the edge of the table, breath coming in short, shallow gasps. He knew he shouldn’t have hung that mirror there. It had been stupid. A stupid idea.

 Why was he always so stupid?

 He made the mistake of glancing up, spotting the white streak in his hair again before jerking his head back down to stare at the desk. He tried to focus on the positives; he wasn’t horribly scarred, the way Viren and Claudia had been.

 Maybe that would come later. After Aaravos came back and possessed him and he did who knows what to his friends and everyone he loved in the world and they all died because of him and it was all his fault because he was that horrible, twisted version of himself he’d seen in the forest and that was his destiny and-

 The door opened, almost as silently as the footsteps that followed.

 “Callum? Are you okay?” Rayla’s voice was low, concerned. He didn’t turn to face her.

 “I’m fine!” he forced out, voice oddly high pitched as he tried to sound cheery. The footsteps grew closer.

 “Oh, Callum.” she stopped beside him, reaching out a hand to cup the side of his face and tilt it towards her’s. He didn’t meet her eyes. “It’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay.”

 “It’s nothing.” Callum said, trying to look away even as she attempted to meet his gaze. He didn’t want to see the way she looked at him now that he was-

 She brushed the hair out of his face, tucking the white streak away. She didn’t flinch as her hand touched it, just smiled at him a little sadly.

 “Do you want to talk about it?”

 She wiped a tear from his cheek. He hadn’t realized he’d started to cry.

 “I did Dark Magic, and for what?” he asked, bitterly. “It didn’t even do anything. And now- now…”

 She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his scarf. He could feel her hair tickling his neck as she held him. “It’s going to be okay.”

 “How could it be okay!? It is not going to be okay.” Callum maintained. “I couldn’t stop him then, and when he comes back, I won’t be able to stop him then. We only have seven years, Rayla. Seven years and fifteen days! I know it sounds like a lot, but it’s not. It’s really not and-”

 “We’ll be ready this time.” Rayla assured him, giving him a squeeze before pulling back to look him in the eyes. The corner of her lip twitched upward into a small smile. “And we’ll have each other.”

 “No, we won’t.” Callum pressed his palms to his eyes. “Everything I did, I only played right into his hands. I’m so stupid. Stupid.”

 “Callum-”

 He threw his hands into the air, gesturing wildly at everything and nothing. “I did Dark Magic again! What did I promise you? That I wouldn’t do Dark Magic again. And now look at me! Corrupted forever, ruined all over again. And what did I get for it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And now when he comes back…”

 “We’ll figure it out, Callum. We can… we can banish the darkness inside you again!”

 “No, we can’t.” he shook his head. “I already asked Astrid. It’s a one time thing. One second chance! No third chances. No third chances for Dark Mages who can’t learn from their mistakes.”

 He slumped into the chair behind him. “I screwed up. I screwed up again. You all should have left the first time.”

 “We’re not leaving you.” Rayla said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m right here with you.”

 “Maybe I should leave, before one of you gets hurt. Before I hurt you. Ez probably won’t even miss me and-”

 “Ezran would definitely miss you.” Rayla cut him off. “And then he’d have to send Soren and Corvus to go and track you down instead of finding King Harrow.”

 Callum groaned. “Our Dad. What am I going to say to him? How am I supposed to tell him that I abandoned Ezran when he needed me most and-”

 “Callum, stop this! You and Ez made up. Your Dad loves you. He’ll love you no matter what.” she knelt down, throwing her arms around him again. “Just like I love you.”

 Callum wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

 “I love you, Callum.” she said again, voice muffled by his scarf. “And I’m here for you. Just like you’ve always been there for me. And for Ezran. We’ve got you. But we need you to trust us to help carry this burden.”

 “I do trust you.” Callum sighed, taking a deep breath. “And I love you. So much.” 

“Then we’ll figure it out. It’s like you said. So long as we love each other, no one can control us. We write our own destinies.”

 Callum tried to take a deep breath. To focus on that. On the fact that, even when Aaravos did return, they would have each other. They would write their own destinies. He didn't know how, but he would make sure that Rayla was safe. That all of them were.

 They would carry their burdens together.

[aviradasa]

Maybe an Aaravos x reader where reader is Leola’s step parent? Like maybe mr. Aara-dilf introduces the two when Leola was she was slightly older — maybe like 9 or 10 (or the star touched elf equivalent idk bro). How would their relationship and dynamic play out? 🤔

Omg hey mootie! I absolutely love this and I hope it's alright that I decided to write this in a headcannon format instead! It's just a little blurb bit if you like it I would be happy to write more!

Aaravos introducing you to his daughter

Aaravos x reader HC

Requests are open in my inbox!

{Pure Fluff <3}

warnings: none <3

Check out the other parts in this string of oneshots!

Masterlist

Aaravos getting ready to propose to you with the help of leola

Teenage!Leolas fist partner is human how do you and Aaravos react?

You and Teenage!Leola sync up during that time of month. Aaravos is done

You and Aaravos had been seeing each other for a while now, and it was going amazing

One day, you both were walking about on a little date if you would, when he decided to ask you one of the most horrifying questions known to mankind

"Would you be inclined to meet my daughter?"

It's not that it was scary because of who she was but mostly because you had never been with a man who had a child. And you did not know how his daughter would react.

What if he had brought another before you to her and she liked his previous lover better?

What if she just hated you for some reason?

You were terrified. But seeing the look of joy and excitement on his face when you agreed gave you a bit of hope.

When the day comes that you are to meet her Aaravos is pretty convinced his little girl will love you. He had spoken about her many times leading up to this day, like how she was very smart and loved making friends with everybody. It was really sweet

When you first meet Leola, she's curious about you; she even looks at her dad and says, "What is this?" And you weren't sure if she was talking about you or the situation.

But as the day goes on leola warms up to you really fast. Like within a couple hours you have become her best friend.

And as your relationship with Aaravos and leola grows and you start coming around more often she just gets more attached.

She asks her dad about you all the time

"When's y/n coming over again?"

"Is y/n coming over today?

"Y/n would love this!"

"I wanna see y/n"

Like she asks about you so much Aaravos starts low-key getting jealous,but he finds it adorable that leola loves you so much.

If at one point you move in with them leola is fucking ecstatic.

She is so happy her best friend is now living with her and her dad

Like she's probably happier then Aaravos about it.

After awhile though she slowly starts giving you a parental title

When it happened the first time, you thought it was a slip-up, but as time went on, Leola just adopted you as her second parent, and neither you nor Aaravos corrected her.

As a matter of fact, it makes Aaravos love you even more. He is so happy he has found someone that he loves and cares for who is not only amazing with his little unicorn, but that she also loves enough to start deeming you a parental figure

It honestly makes him want to marry you. 🤭 (I will make a part two with proposal HC / oneshot if yall want me to)

[amber-in-the-rough]

why would Aaravos want a mortal vessel?

alright, so

I've watched the new season. I've already screamed and cried and rolled under the table and I have one final question left.

Why would Aaravos want a mortal vessel? Especially now, when the Archdragons are gone. He is supposed to be infinitely stronger than any other being on Xadia. Supposed to, yeah. Did you see the so called 'master of all six primal sources' show off his mastery more than once? Because I didn't. And it pisses me off beyond measure because it really seems like bad writing to me. He just fucking didn't do anything, just stood there, waiting for his enemies to charge at him. He was easily overcome by fucking human chains and ballistas- and one archdragon- when we were said that in the past he could easily hold off against all of them! Damn. Imo, Aaravos was seriously downplayed this season.

I know, perhaps this was his plan- to get himself killed and take all of the archdragons with him. Even so, he should've put up more of a fight. NOT JUST STAND THERE WAITING TO BE SMACKED!

And still why? Why want Callum as a mortal vessel? It doesn't make any sense. Maybe the Star Council or what's they're called- maybe they have a restriction prohibiting them to hurt mortals? Which sounds rather stupid but it's the only explanation I can think of.

The creators tried to do the build-up for arc 3 and in doing so they rushed and blurred the arc 2 finale. Putting together the archdragon drama, killing Aaravos drama and Rayllum drama was a mistake. Neither got fully developed. And were they seriously trying to tell us that the main cast would have survived the nuclear burst explosion of a star while being protected only by Domina's wings??? What are the wicked things even made of?? Oceanic mithril???

The final showdown felt like a series of Chekhov's guns which never fired. They just made a lot of drama around them, then showed them to us and- that's it. I suppose, Aaravos's plan was to get stabbed by the Nova blade, then take over Callum's body (for whatever reason) as his giant form was being destroyed. But then- we return to the question of why move to another body when there's nothing stopping Ezran from stabbing Aaravos in Callum's body (aside from their brotherly bond but that's no big deal, he just needs to ask Soren or whatever-).

As a result, we got Ezran with a Nova blade which never got to be used- Callum with his coin spell which was interrupted halfway because Aaravos got charged at by a dragon and Callum's gunsight was broken??? ??? That's- I'll be honest, this is so dumb. No Nova, no dark magic. Why even bring that at all?

And finally, what did Aaravos even die from? He did not sustain any lethal damage. When Zubeia and Avizandum were lifting him up (and yes, why didn't he stop them? did he forget all of his spells and telekinesis as well??), what were they thinking?.. What were they gonna do? It looked like they were about to drop him but- this is also so dumb. I don't think that would have worked because if Aaravos is so easy to kill- Why the fuck didn't they kill him 300 years ago??? "Didn't want to?". God damn.

I won't believe that Aaravos didn't have the power to take down the archdragons and that's why he simply decided it would be easier to go boom and set off the rebirth cycle. I refuse to believe that he is so weak. After all, one, he already killed two archdragons and that went fine. And two, even humans managed to kill one! They even survived!

Overall, I am absolutely in love with the first half of the season. I loved all the conflict everywhere, the part in Silvergrove was wonderful, felt like a real holiday- The adventures of Claudia and Co were also very exciting to watch!

But after that... It got rushed, blurred and very, very odd.

At least we got a white streak Callum. And a whole lot of 1 (one) interaction between Aaravos and Callum. That's an achievement, yeah. I love when the main protagonist and the main antagonist only have two interactions throughout all of the seasons (no, I don't, I fucking hate it).

That would be all. This is entirely my humble and angry opinion so- you are welcome to disagree. But I will stand my ground. This went very oddly and some parts I unfortunately didn't like. But I am all in for arc 3. Even angry and a little disappointed, I still fucking love this show and would be more than excited to see how it all goes from here. We still have so much to learn and see. The cube, Claudia, Rayllum, Elarion, grown up and talking Zym (it was such a twist!), Harrow in a bird... Please let us see this! Please, Netflix! Aaravos is not defeated, he merely retreated, please let us see how they'll deal with him in seven years!

[kradogsrats]

So I just wanna talk about this and the Sea of the Castout for a sec:

Here's the Sea of the Castout and its surroundings on the map:

We have the Sparklepuff Squad coming from the north down one of the rivers (red arrows), and the Dragang coming from either the east... or there is a slight possibility that Finnegrin, not having any particular urgency about getting there, chose to go all the way around the Far Reaches to give Callum some time to think things over.

(Could he have taken it even slower and gone all the way around to enter past the ruins of Elarion, thereby putting the statues of Aaravos and the Merciful One there? My opinion is that at that point Sea Legs would have to be going fast enough that the speed would be hard to ignore. The Ruthless is similar to a sloop and so would probably have a normal cruising speed of around 6-8 mph. Sea Legs can supposedly go faster than that, but sailing around to approach the Sea of the Castout from the southwest would add like... rough estimate 100 miles or more to the trip, so either they take an entire day or more doing only that or Sea Legs is going at constant top speed and that speed is really fucking fast.)

As the Dragang make their way into the Sea, we can still see the rocky horizon behind them, but not ahead:

Claudia and Terry, however, can see the shoreline in at least three directions from the center:

We also cannot see the opposite shore when Claudia enters the water:

Assuming you can see the same distance in Xadia as you can here on earth (which is a big assumption, but also a reasonable one to make), that's about 3 miles—as in, the furthest away you can see something as tall as you are before the curvature of the earth obscures it is about 3 miles. However, the rocky sides of the Sea of the Castout are a lot taller than any of the characters, so they can be seen from further away. Based on extremely unscientific googling, the Sea of the Castout is probably in the range of 20-30 miles-ish across, which is consistent with the fact that it's around the same size on the map as the distance between Katolis castle and the Moon Nexus, and that's a reasonable distance for the trio to have gone in the time it takes them to get there.

We also have a shore that looks like this oh god don't look too closely at it, that's a horrible render:

Now, you may consider how much of the edges of the Sea of the Castout appears to be mountainous, then look at the map again and wonder what the hell is going on. Well, first of all, those aren't mountains.

The basin of the Sea of the Castout was presumably created by a catastrophic impact. If it's based visually on a real place, I'd bet it's somewhere like Crater Lake in Oregon:

Crater Lake is a volcanic crater, not an impact crater, but same concept applies: instead of being a natural point of low elevation in the landscape, it's a reservoir that was violently punched out of the ground. That elevated rocky horizon isn't mountains, it's the edge of the hole. Crater Lake is quite a bit smaller than the Sea of the Castout probably is (only 5-6 miles across), but the elevation between its surface and the caldera rim is about 1,000 feet, which looks plenty high.

Impact crater lakes do exist, of course, but they tend to be either a lot smaller or a lot older. On earth, all the impact craters the size of the Sea of the Castout are hundreds of millions of years old. Lakes formed in older craters are also more likely to have connected with the surrounding water features, similar to the Sea of the Castout. Crater Lake is less than 10,000 years old and not connected to any rivers or other lakes (unsurprising, given that it used to be the top of a mountain).

So yeah, it's absolutely possible that Aaravos is at the Sea of the Castout. But let's take a look at the opening:

Yes, that's definitely the same place as Aaravos. Is it literally the Sea of the Castout? Well, the thing is that every other time we see this place, it's in a very... metaphorical or symbolic context. Like the opening. Or here:

Or here:

We also have that Aaravos is kneeling practically on the surface:

Which suggests that either the "OG Aaravos was gigantic" theory is correct, or this is not a normal place where water and lakes behave normally. I'm not a huge (ha) fan of the giant Aaravos theory, but as I've said before... if I had a nickel for every Aaravos-related thing we all assumed was metaphorical but turned out to be literal, I'd have etc.

Basically, this is definitely a place that is connected to the Sea of the Castout thematically and possibly magically, but I don't think Aaravos is literally kneeling in the literal Sea of the Castout on the mortal plane of Xadia.

After all, where do the fabled Great Ones hide?

[xadianglyphs]

The Dragonscale Amulet: Theory

And finally... literally the reason I made this entire blog. Basically, back in March we had this:

Anyway, I dropped literally everything to catalog the entire breadth of writing, runes, glyphs, etc. in the series so far, all in order to figure out what the hell this means. One theory that has evolved in the meantime is that the symbol on the amulet represents an acorn or seed, but I would like to propose another.

First, let's look at the amulet and symbol, themselves.

The amulet is composed of a dragon scale (allegedly, at least... we haven't seen dragon scales separated from dragons anywhere else) that is red, highly reflective (whether naturally or polished after the fact), and about palm-sized. By that scale, it probably comes from a dragon about Pyrrah's size or a little larger, unless it was carved down to a smaller size when crafted into an amulet. The scale is anchored in a gold setting, with a shape and decorations that have a fair amount of similarity to the Staff of Ziard. (Maybe we should have anticipated an Aaravos/Startouch association.)

As for the symbol, accounting for perspective (to the best of my abilities), we have this:

The symbol is etched directly into the scale's surface. Its lines are less smooth than the ones decorating the setting, which could indicate that it was added at another time (earlier/later) with a less precise tool, or just that gouging designs into dragon scales is hard.

In terms of similarity to other symbols we've seen so far, it could come from a similar system as the symbols in Infantis Sanguine. It also has similarities to a primal rune, though the sharp, wide corners are unusual. Either way, I think this is a pictographic symbol representing an item or concept as a whole, not an alphabetic character—this isn't Laurelion personally going around with a blinged-out "L" necklace.

So what could it be? Well, I propose that it's a heart. Like so:

My initial impression had the horizontal top "crossbar" as the pulmonary arteries, and the vertical center line as the aorta/vena cava, but you could also look at the crossing vertical and diagonal lines as dividing the space into the four chambers of the heart. However, I think there's another direction to go with that diagonal, so let's put a pin in that for a moment.

Why a heart? Because there has a sizeable amount of fairly convincing speculation post-s4 that the dark space in Aaravos's chest is either figuratively or literally representing his heart having been removed. @raayllum's are a lot more coherent, but I've also done my share.

I'm sure someone had this thought before I did, if only because I was super late to the fandom. But I had it!

... okay right, back to the amulet.

Aaravos's heart is also a key part of the "Laurelion and Aaravos are the same person" theory, in part because Laurelion's heart is the center of everything we currently know about them.

Laurelion's heart was pierced by either the as-yet-unnamed Novablade itself or a piece of draconic ivory (i.e. a dragon's tooth) that was later forged into the Novablade, after which "immortal Laurelion was no more."

Aside from creating an additional connection between Laurelion and dragons, making the dragon scale of the amulet even more interesting, let's go back to the symbol in light of the whole "pierced" thing.

Now, TDP has a fair amount of Christian symbolism and imagery to it, some purely because of how deeply Christianity is embedded in western culture but some also definitely intentional. Aaravos was initially framed as a Prometheus figure, but it became progressively more clear that he's a Lucifer one—a tempter, a rebel angel, out to destroy creation. They absolutely know what they're doing with things like the *checks watch* 2019 Aaravos birthday post:

So don't think it's completely insane to take that, Laurelion's death[citation needed], and the amulet symbol, and think of this:

Depictions of the Sacred Heart don't seem to usually show the spear, just the wound, but I wasn't raised Catholic so work with me here. (If you want to get even more Catholic, there's also the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which is almost always depicted with a sword piercing it diagonally all the way through because she's... sad? Look, I don't know.) The idea is that it represents the boundless and fervent love of God expressed through the suffering of Jesus, which... whatever.

I do think it's interesting, however, that we are primed to question Laurelion's "death" and concepts of mortality/immortality, death of identity, etc. in the context of Startouch elves because while there's definitely a possibility that an immortal being stripped of their immortality is a punishment, there's also... a lot of cultural precedent for that as a willing gift of love to a mortal/mortals, whether you're looking at Jesus, Castor and Pollux, or Arwen and Aragorn. So we'll see how that plays out.

Anyway, that's my weird fringe theory: the amulet symbol represents Laurelion's pierced heart.

Probably time to worry about Claudia. (As if we weren't, already.)

Bonus: