#bloodmoon huntress reference much?

[thedizzydinosaur]

I'm sure letting an assassin lose in a kitchen will turn out fine.

Just fine

[dragon-susceptible]

Underappreciated detail about Bloodmoon Huntress: The background elves all have such neat designs.

cut because long, image-heavy post.

Let's start with these two kids. Look at the little curleque on the one kid's cheek! And then the sharp stripes on the other! The other kid has a ponytail, too.

And then this guy! Who is definitely not Ram. This is Sam. He's entirely too tall to be Ram. Also, his tattoos don't match. The lines on his cheek are too long, and the one on his shoulder is also too big - it looks like it's a circle partially hidden under his sleeve, not the thin slash Ram has where you can see the tip of it in the sleeve window.

This set is also of Sam, with Skor (displaying how much taller Sam is than Skor, which is Not a trait Ram shares) and Callisto.

And then there's the Skywing elves! The first images are washed out because they're from Suroh's memory but look, it's so neat. Two of them have short hair. Vests seem to be a staple in Skywing fashion. Look at the cute bob haircut from the one closer to Suroh and his parents!

And then of course there's Suroh's unnamed parents. Look at them. His dad is so pretty. His mom is doing a fantastic job of looking fierce and disheveled.

And then there's the guards Rayla goes to for help after Runaan and Ethari investigate Suroh's location and find nothing there. Look at this dynamic duo. I need a whole buddy cop five minute episode about these two.

Look the tall one's even got the humor value. And there's so many background elves in this image! Also, none of the stands are manned at any point in this book, so I'm inclined to believe that Moonshadow "market stands" within the forest are basically just. where they drop off community supplies. But also look at this - most Moonshadow adults seem to have long hair, but it looks like most kids have theirs cut short. ALL Moonshadow elves have white hair though, even if their brows are darker.

And here, look, we get another better shot of some of the other kids here. Again, lots of short hair, but they all already have facial tattoos though none seem to have any marks on their hands. One kid has swirls on their shoulders already.

More of the kids! And the one mom we saw in the wide shot a minute ago. She has an upside down version of the curleque we saw on the little girl from earlier, so I bet they're related. All the kids cling to her so readily though, which supports the implication I got from the Mooncubs in season 7 that Moonshadow elflings are raised pretty communally. Also! The boy telling this story has the same facial tattoos as Runaan! No reference is made to them being related though. He's also one of the few kids that has marks on his arms already.

Look I just took pictures of all the unnamed elves in the book, and that included pretty much every shot in existence of the Skywing elves. I love this little detail of Suroh's mom ducking behind his dad in fear, it hurts my heart. Also I love their hair, his ponytail and how hers is as white as a Moonshadow elf.

His dad is just pretty and I love him, okay? Look at that jaw. The purple eyes. The subtle white stripes that draw the eye down his nose and highlight his cheekbones. Also Suroh's tattoos though, also white, highlighting how he's a little darker than his dad, the lines that highlight his cheekbones too but come to geometrical corners.

There's another elf that we never get a name for behind Rayla here too, there was at least three whose faces we never really saw. The one in this shot is dressed differently than the one we saw in Suroh's memories earlier (pale pants where that guy's were dark, and long sleeves where his were short).

Yeah another shot of the assassins, I regret nothing. Sam's tattoos definitely don't match Ram's. That line on his shoulder is too strong.

These last three images are literally just gonna be me droning about Suroh's parents, I regret nothing. The way Suroh's horns don't quite match either of them though. The way his eyes are the same color as his mom's. His skin is darker than his dad's, but not the same as his mom's. He's got his mom's nose, his dad's hair. His mother has dark brows like some of the Moonshadow though, despite her white hair. They both look so worried.

And then there's this one, where you can see how tall his dad is in comparison to his mom, where yes she's kneeling and he's standing but her head is level with his hips still. The way they're both looking almost fierce with how concerned they are, but Suroh just looks stiff and worried, not afraid of them, because they're fussing over him even as they scold him for coming back.

And then there's this shot, where they've clearly parted for a minute (presumably to talk to Runaan and Ethari) and are now reuniting to leave. Suroh's around Rayla's age, based on how they both look, so somewhere between 7 and 9, and he's almost as tall as his mother. She has a lovely waist.

I also thought of something else that I want to point out using a credits sketch from season 5.

Suroh's dad and Callum's wear their hair in a similar way, with the longer ponytail in the back and long bangs in the front.

I just love this book so much, man. And the background characters are so neat. I want to know what happened to Suroh and his family after this. Did they ever find out that Rayla was the Last Dragonguard who saved the world? Will she ever get to see them again and be reminded of the first lives she ever saved? What did Suroh grow up to be like? What do his parents do for a living? What does he do, as an adult? Especially with Kim'dael back, I'd love to know what's going on with them. Did they hear that she'd returned? What was their reaction?

[saeki-rina]

Runaan is kinda out of character in season 7 of The Dragon Prince

I decided to start this thread because I haven't come across anything similar yet and the issue is bugging me. I would appreciate your thoughts and opinions because I'm very curious if anyone else has had a similar impression or has any other ideas about where it might come from.

My feelings after watching The Secret of Aaravos were like, "Runaan is out of character. He's not himself anymore, not completely. Man, he's become less believable to me as a character." I started to wonder why. Here's what I've come up with so far.

1. Runaan started looking out of character for his age.

In The Secret of Aaravos, Runaan looks younger to me than in The Dragon Prince. And much younger. What's the logical point of that? Even if we assume that while trapped in the coin the aging process stopped for him (which is not confirmed in any way, as far as I know), still - Runaan should look at least the same age as in Season 1. Not younger. Sure, maybe the team just decided they preferred a slightly changed/"new" character design, but still - it makes me as a viewer confused. Because I look at Runaan and just think "why did he suddenly get a decade younger?".

And I know Ethari also seems to look a bit younger with her new hair compared to Season 3, but not enough to be confusing. It's entirely possible that a new haircut or different clothing can make you look younger (I believe that's what Ethari is going for). But Runaan hasn't changed a bit in his appearance, and he still - looks much younger.

Credits - I know, the artstyle depends on artist, but still - chrologically younger Runaan looks more like in season 1 than 7

Bloodmoon Huntress

artbook

season 1

season 7

I noticed that Runaan already looks a bit younger in season 1, when he's not serious, irritated, angry, etc., but still, not as young as in season 7. There are limits.

2. Runaan behaves inconsistently with his character.

I don't mean like all the time, but in very situations. In my opinion, it comes down to a few things:

A) in season 7, Runaan's facial expressions are often inadequate to the original character creation.

I really understand the plot situation (2 years in the coin, regaining freedom, Rayla, a chance to return to Ethari) and the fact that Runaan could have changed - become more gentle. And it's no wonder that he's often sensitive this season, after all, he's in the company of Rayla or Ethari.

But I have the impression that the creators wanted to show how much is going on emotionally in Runaan so much that they overdid it. And there's nothing left of the ''COLD AND SHARP as steel'' assassin. His face is so expressive, he constantly seems lost and sad (but like a puppy, not an elf who after 2 years of absence might not keep up with the world).

I love the scene of returning to Ethari and the subtle smiles when she looks at him after picking mushrooms or during dinner, and the fact that he's also shown when he's grumpy [ ''Runaan's expression sheet is the only one to not feature a smile. This elf exclusively broods'' (The Art of the Dragon Prince), ‘’ our favorite broody assassin’’ (https://thedragonprince.com/runaan-birthday/)] . Very interesting, after seeing him only on duty or in prison in Season 1. But most of what is in Season 7 seems to me to be out of place for a serious, composed assassin.

In my opinion, the flashback from Season 3 did a very good job of balancing Runaan's standard seriousness of his expressionless face (or just neutral) with a situation where tenderness towards someone close to him creeps in. It looked natural and very believable.

B) some gestures do not fit Runaan's previous portrayal

Runaan's body language this season is strange to me. Even if he is lost after two years, hurt, tired - ok, I understand. But while in Season 1 his movements were decisive, confident, and - I really don't want to refer to stereotypes, but I can't find a better comparison, for which I apologize - "masculine", in The Secret of Aaravos Runaan sometimes moves strangely "softly". Maybe it's the animation, maybe the choice of shots, their fluidity, I don't know. But for me, even during the mission with Callum, Runaan no longer has the confidence in his movements that he had in season 1.

Unfortunately, I will refer to stereotypes again, sorry, but these are simply the only comparisons that came to my mind.

Two gestures in particular do not fit Runaan's creation so far. The first, when he looks at Silvergrove, putting his hands to his chest, and the second, when he tells Ezran "And yet with grace and strength, you have managed to lead with kindness". I know what the creators wanted to show, but I think the way they did it does not fit how Runaan was presented to us. In both situations, he looks more like the archetypal delicate and sensitive princess, not like a composed assassin who deals with many emotions and changes in mindset. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Runaan (or a man in general) can't be sensitive or delicate. I just think that it would be more consistent with Runaan's personality to show all of this in a more subtle way. For example, in the first situation Runaan might simply fall silent at the sight of Silvergrove, his gaze becoming softer and more thoughtful, camera focusing on his face (like when he saw a dragon egg or coins with Lain and Tiadrin in 1 season).

Apologetic but still self-aware worrior talks to king like that? It's hard to believe for me.

3. Runaan seems more like Rayla's brother than father

Because of his younger appearance, some indecisiveness in body language and a strange impression of "girliness" (again, sorry), as well as some plot situations, I stopped seeing Runaan as Rayla's father. At most an older brother, but it was really hard for me to convince myself that he was the same elf as in Season 1 or Bloodmoon Huntress.

And sure, I understand that maybe they wanted to show that now Rayla is taking care of him, that they are more equal, that Runaan allows her to take responsibility and prove herself. Still, the probably intentionally comical scene of Runaan resting and setting off to Ethari came across to me as if Rayla was scolding her siblings, not the adult elf who raised her. I understand that Runaan is impatient here and could have acted unwisely, but in my opinion it was a bit over the top.

In my language version, Runaan's voice actor changed - from someone with a ''typically male" voice to someone who sounds very "young". I know that this definitely affected my perception of Runaan, but then I watched all the scenes in English for comparison. It was better - now Runaan JUST LOOKED younger. But it still wasn't the Runaan from Season 1 or 3.

Summary

The more I think about it, the more I feel that Runaan's character in Season 7 is not consistent with what the creators presented in Season 1, 3 or the books (art book, Callum's Spellbook, Bloodmood Huntress).

I am deeply disappointed, because I followed this series mainly because of the Runaan, Viren and Aaravos storylines. And in each of them I see certain clashes and puzzling decisions of the writers. But nothing persecutes as much as the "new" Runaan - younger, more delicate (at times "girlish"), who says that he is Rayla's father, but somehow does not give that impression (cause he seems to be too young for that).

I do not understand these methods of the creators. I know what they wanted to show (maybe the confusion, the more delicate side of Runaan, his uncertainty, the change of previous beliefs about himself and his profession), but the way it was done does not convince me.

And although there are moments that I absolutely love and consider credible in the context of Runaan's personality (and the only problem is his younger appearance) - for me his character is no longer consistent with what we have seen and could read about him so far. In season 7 he's so often just looks like a lost, uncertain, delicate pretty princess to me.

I do not see in him that mature, determined warrior with the aura of a protector.

I feel more like I've met his twin brother - very similar in appearance, but very different overall.

season 1

season 7

[fandom-susceptible]

What Is Done (TDP Rewatch Liveblog, S1E2)

Having the Book One context of "the other assassins wanted to kill Rayla outright for her mistake" adds something to this opening scene. I find it interesting that Callisto insists they should bring Rayla anyway, with that bit of canon, though, and Runaan is the one who refuses. Makes me wonder if Callisto wasn't on board with killing her - or if Runaan believed they would kill her anyway in the confusion of the attack no matter what he said, if he listened to the suggestion.

We never do get any information on who Andromeda left behind. Ram's dad comes up in Season 7 (Ram's background is also interesting since he's shown with a bow in this preparation scene, but is shown using knives everywhere else), but Andromeda wears the same sort of wedding cuffs as Runaan does, and her family is never addressed. Andromeda was also the first of these assassins to befriend Rayla seven years before (Bloodmoon Huntress), so this must sit really heavy for her.

"The Crazy Jerkface Dance" "A dance of stupitude and sorriness!" god this is such good sibling writing.

I'm. Gonna just watch this whole scene with Runaan and Rayla and then go back over it because hooo boy.

"I thought you could do it, Rayla. But I was wrong." The way his voice just drops when he says he was wrong. This is why I'm convinced he's already feeling guilty about this, because he doesn't blame her for her mistake. Even in the middle of this scene where he's pulling her from the mission, he is taking all of the responsibility for what she did, and that's something I kinda missed when I was watching it as a kid. He admits he knows she's never taken before, that he brought her for her physical ability (I think he's obfuscating a bit here; Tiadrin and Lain were his friends, not just her parents, and I'm sure he knows very well that her success here will go farther towards redeeming Rayla in the eyes of the village than anything he could do for her), but he knows this isn't something she can do. Her heart is too soft for it. I had forgotten that he directly refers to her as a child here, though, which is an interesting story note. So she is still a minor, or close enough to it that he feels guilty for expecting her to act as an adult.

I think they probably made him so much larger than her in this scene for effect, but then they made his sheer size canonical, and now there's a very adult part of me that very much appreciates this character design.

"You will wait here, quietly!" we didn't even know he was her dad yet but this fucking moment was such intense dad energy, this is why no one was surprised. That said . . . Runaan, when has this girl EVER just waited somewhere quietly when you told her to? She literally unlocked Moonshadow form at eight years old to disobey that exact order like two months after moving in with you.

His instruction to go home is also a loaded one. He has to know that if they're not back by sunrise and the mission isn't done, and she leaves alive, she'll be ghosted. My best theory as to why he does this is this: if they succeed in getting their targets but can't escape, and she does home, she'll just be a lone survivor, not a ghost, and while there might be some shame associated with it if she tells the village the truth, she won't be ghosted because she was obeying his direct orders. If they die before taking out their targets, but Rayla is alive, she won't be immediately ghosted because he'll never get the shadowhawk out, so they won't know what's going on until she returns, and again, she'll be acting under his orders. At this point, provided she listens to him, those are the most likely results. The problem is that she doesn't listen to him.

I do also appreciate how all of the assassins have eyeliner on. Runaan and Rayla's visual designs change slightly around the eyes when they're not actively on this mission, which I think is neat. Dark makeup around the eyes is a pretty well-known method of helping to reduce glare, which would make sense for moon-aligned elves used to working at night or in the shadows of an extremely dense forest.

See I don't know why everyone liked Claudia so much at first. Her teasing Callum in the library about his crush really just gave me creepy vibes from the very beginning. No judgment, I guess she is cute, but like. I don't get it.

I love Harrow in this episode. That low, dangerous "Call it, what it is." and then the venom in "Dark magic." Viren was so unsettled he pulled his hand off of Harrow's shoulder having it directed at him. The "I don't understand." "I know you don't." exchange hits though, because that tells me that Harrow is facing both his death and the realization of just what kind of person his best friend is at the same time, and he doesn't like it.

I don't like Viren or Claudia as people, but they're very well-written characters and I adore how well-written the family dynamics are. "Not everyone speaks CLAUDIA, Claudia" is such a genuinely dad moment.

Oooh the crossing the river moment was so much harder than we knew for Rayla here.

Oh, this scene with Harrow and Callum fucking hurts. I love that Harrow doesn't try to dodge responsibility for what he did. He calls them choices, not mistakes, when he talks to Callum. There's genuine love in it from both of them, and neither of them will say it even when Callum turns back to hug him.

Honestly what if some guard had seen Rayla climbing up the side of the castle or clambering all the way over the ramparts. This could have gone real badly for you sweetheart. Baby. Honey. Moonberry. There is a reason your dad is waiting for nightfall.

I predicted Rayllum in the very first scene they met when she goes "Oh, ye don't like my ears?" All smug and Callum stammers "no, I - I do!" I'm not complaining but that was obvious. Also this whole chase and all the tricks Callum pulls only worked because they're both teenagers and I love that.

Harrow just sassing Viren constantly gives me the life Harrow won't have in two episodes. Also though, "Moonshadow elves are dangerous, elite fighters." All this buildup to how they're unstoppable and I've said it before and I'll say it again, even with having virtually no time to prepare, Soren's Crownguard did in fact manage to stop them. They would only have been able to eliminate one target regardless, and if Soren had had more time to prepare or more forces to prepare with, they might not have gotten through to Harrow either. Also though, where is this reputation coming from? I'm genuinely curious if there's been that many assassinations across the border that we just haven't been told about, or if it's stories filtering over from Xadia through maritime trade (Tidebound elves interact with humans fairly regularly, apparently, even during the worst of the tension, out at sea). It sort of paints a picture of the cultural place of Moonshadow elves post-Mage Wars, hidden in the perilous Moonshadow Forest with even other elves telling stories like this about how they're all killers.

Mmm. Stories filtering from maritime trade or just Viren's expeditions into Xadia. He has way too many magical creatures - and their parts - in his fucking dungeon later, and I frankly suspect he didn't get the serpent on his and Harrow's trip to kill Avizandum. If he'd done it then, I feel like Harrow would have noticed a LIVE TWO HEADED SOUL EATING SNAKE IN A BASKET at some point during their return trip. That'd be kinda tough to miss. He wouldn't even have to be overly observant.

"Because you're with a girl?" I love Ezran so much. He barely even acknowledges the swords being pointed at them.

The shouting match between Viren and Harrow over the serpent had to be so goddamn awkward for the guards. I love that they were animated exchanging glances and fidgeting while it was happening because this would be an awful moment to be in the room, it's got me giggling so much.

I love Harrow quoting Sarai when he tries to make Viren see the problem. Viren just refuses to hear him, he's being so stubborn and full on gaslighting Harrow trying to get the king to turn it around on himself. He's angry because he's confused that it's not working this time like it always has before. Props to Harrow for overcoming this emotional abuse and turning it back around on him. "Would you, Viren?" "I - hm." "Get out."

Once again, brotherly dynamic, nailed it. These writers have siblings.

Walking into Viren's workshop would really just be like walking into an absolute horror show for Rayla here, huh? She looks up at a shelf and sees a collection of horns she would recognize as belonging to elves - Moonshadow, Earthblood, Skywing, possibly Tidebound, Sunfire, all of them, plus possibly dragon or drake. One set is still attached to a skull. The jar next to it holds the preserved corpse of a small dragon. The preserved bodies of other animals litter the shelves. No wonder she's so intensely disturbed.

"Runaan's right - there's nothin' in humans worth sparing." is an interesting line, considering that's not an opinion we ever see him actually spout. Even when he talks about what they do in Bloodmoon Huntress, he never says anything about humans specifically, and he also doesn't make judgments on his victims. As Rayla said earlier, assassins don't decide right and wrong - just life and death. They take their targets and eliminate them, choices made based on the judgments of others. So, I'm wondering if in Rayla's mind these were two separate statements. "Runaan's right." meaning he was right, she can't afford to hesitate, and then her own opinion, "There's nothin' in humans worth sparin'." That statement originally had me bracing for Runaan to be as racist as Viren, actually, but with how we see his character play out later (and earlier, in the graphic novel) it doesn't really make sense that way. Of course, it could also be a retcon like Aditi showing up in the intro of Echoes of Thunder, the writers deciding to make Runaan more sympathetic later on. Either way, interesting line.

Also, can't help but point out, he was right. She insisted she could do this. She's determined, she's decided that Ezran deserves his fate. But when it comes down to it, again and again in this episode, she has chance after chance to kill the boys - and she keeps hesitating. Which is a good thing! Sets off the whole plot! Just also adds depth to her family's development later on, because . . . yeah, Ethari was right. So was Runaan, when he came around to that opinion. And it turned out to be the best thing for this situation.

[random-fandom-ramble]

Is Redfeather Etharis mother?

I just read the new short story about Rayla in Scumport, where we were introduced to this wonderful new MILF character, Redfeather:

Some things we learned about her:

She’s a moonshadow elf

She has matted messy hair

She has pale markings and likely has a darker complexion (“like shining leather”)

She was ghosted about 15+ years ago

She doesn’t regret the thing(s) she was ghosted for

Now 15+ years ago doesn’t place her at any important events that we know of yet. Rayla would’ve been 0-2 years old at the time, so it probably doesn’t connect to her. The whole ordeal with Sarai getting killed by Avizandum happened about 10-12 years prior, so it couldn’t be connected to that.

But you know who would’ve been in a very interesting age back then?

Ethari and Runaan

Ethari and Runaan were once referred to as “uncle-ish” age, which the show runners have clarified means somewhere between 30-35 years old. That means Ethari and Runaan would’ve been 15-20 years old at the time when Redfeather got ghosted by her village. And as we all know, 15-20 is the perfect age for fictional characters to get traumatized✨

One theory I had was that she was somehow involved with the assassins (target? Former assassin? Who knows) and that her crime, which somehow affected a younger Runaan, got her ghosted. But that is a theory for another time.

What caught my attention first was the specifics of her description.

Pale markings and “leather colored”(darker) skin

When it comes to the colors of markings, moonshadow elves tend to have very deep or even dark blue/purple markings. Ethari is the only moonshadow elf we’ve encountered till now who has significantly lighter, or paler, lavender colored markings amongst moonshadow elves.

This means that Redfeather having specifically PALE markings would be significant, if the paleness is referring to the color.

Another point is the eyes

While Redfeathers and Etharis face’s aren’t THAT similar, the eyes very much ARE

Look at that shape! Look at the lashes! Look at the curved lower lids! If this doesn’t mean anything, then this would be one heck of a coincidence for eyes to be drawn THAT similarly.

Another reason I like this theory isn’t just because of looks and appearances, but also because it could explain a bit about Etharis behavior regarding ghosting family members and strong feelings about abandonment.

See, when Rayla first comes back to the Silvergrove, one of the first things he says to is:

“They’re gone Rayla. He’s gone. Because you abandoned them.”

And later on, when he briefly lifted the ghosting spell to talk to Rayla, he says again:

“But I don’t understand, how could you abandon them like that?”

On a similar note, in the novel the bloodmoon huntress, when Runaan realizes that Kim’Dael is out there, there isn’t even a question about wether or not Ethari is coming along; he said right away “I’m coming with you”. He was NOT gonna stay- or be left behind. It’s like he has some very deep rooted issues surrounding abandonment, and being left behind. Maybe because his mother had to leave him when he was young? Or maybe pertaining to the crime she committed, where she left someone behind and surrendered them to their doom? Who knows…

And yet, for someone who has such strong feelings about someone being left behind, he was very quick to ghost Rayla. Yes he regrets it, and yes it was a decision made with feelings and grief and not his sound and sensible mind. But regardless of how much he regrets it now, he still ghosted her for “abandoning her team (and Runaan)”, and he seemed very sure of that choice at first.

If we looked at him as a regular person, a godfather who loved and cherished his goddaughter, and had raised her since the age of 8, this behavior doesn’t make any sense!

But if we look at him as someone who’s had to do it before, someone who had to learn long ago that family ties don’t excuse crimes, and that sometimes you need to cut out and ghost those closest to you - like say, your own mother-, well then it makes sense why he was able to do that to his goddaughter, even if he regretted it later…

——

And a final point close this whole theory off, though it is more of a meta textual point:

Ethari rarely gets talked about by the creators of the show. He was maybe mentioned here and there in the past, and on Twitter Aaron Ehazs promised that they hadn’t forgotten about Ruthari. So any mention of him that actually includes his name and something other than „he’s Runaans husband/Raylas substitute dad“ is pretty special and rare to find outside of the graphic novel Bloodmoon huntress . But in this new short story, he wasn’t just mentioned by name; he was specifically described along with his profession, his crafting.

And the first time that Ethari gets mentioned again outside of the bloodmoon huntress is when a new Moonshadow elf with eyes almost identical to his gets introduced.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

✨Thanks for reading!✨

Feel free to add your own thoughts to this theory in the comments or in reblogs!

@beautifulterriblequeen @sunstone-nerding @hoothalcyon @legend-of-the-fandoms @anybody-else-who-wants-to-join-the-fun

[raayllum]

Do you truly believe that Callum is the only best thing that's happened to Rayla?

I don't think Callum is the only good thing in Rayla's life, but I do absolutely agree with her sentiment that he's the best thing she's ever had / that's ever happened to her. This is for a few reasons (mostly only talking about arc 1 as that's the time she's referring to, but I'm also gonna be touching on S4/S5):

In Bloodmoon Huntress, the long time headcanon of post-s1-s3 fans that Rayla was a relatively friendless / lonely child was confirmed. This makes Callum and Ezran her first real friends, and while she's more likely to lean on Ezran for support (in arc 1 at least) initially than Callum is, Callum is still more so her peer (due to being similar ages) and is her first and main Best Friend. For that alone, I'd buy her statement.

Then there's the other ways Callum has changed her life. He is:

The person who inspired her to actively work towards breaking the cycle past the point of 1) believing it was right for Zym to return home and 2) to make up for her parents' perceived/failures mistakes, as seen most prominently in 2x07. This is something she is willing to die for, and while Rayla is (unfortunately) willing to die for many things, this is the cause she believes in and feels centred in: "Every fibre in my body is telling me that [leaving her] is wrong [...] It doesn't just feel like the right thing to do, it feels like the right thing for me to do. It's where I'm meant to be." ("Look at yourself, Rayla. Who are you? What do you stand for? Once you know that, you'll end up where you were always meant to be.") Someone giving you a much more positive worldview that aligns with your values and sense of rightness is certainly a big deal (and a positive one, particularly for someone who's struggled with hesitating over what feels right for so much of her life.

Callum is the first person in Rayla's life to love her wholly unconditionally. While Rayla is deeply loved by all four of her parents, and I've gone on record saying that Tiadrin and Lain didn't do anything wrong, arc 1 sees Rayla brush up against the lingering cultural hangups and choices that make her family's love for her feel if not outright be somewhat conditional. She is shunned by her village (condition 1), while Ethari says goodbye to her and embraces her he still turned his back on her (condition 2), Runaan was heavily disappointed in her betrayal of him/the mission and left her (condition 3), and her parents put their duty over her / being her parents (condition 4). Callum says fuck all that shit. He refuses to leave even when she's pushing him away. He loves and admires her for the exact things she's been punished or shamed for ("You have true courage and a big heart" -> "Even when her own people might misunderstand and turn against her"). He says she doesn't deserve to be Ghosted, she doesn't deserve to be unjustly turned away for a mistake she didn't even make, he says and shows that it's okay for her to be scared and that she can (and should) rely on him.

This is even more intrinsically tethered given Chasing Shadows and the canon fact that Callum and his love for her 1) kept her from throwing what little remained of her life away entirely and 2) literally kept her from forsaking her name/identity/everything else that makes her Rayla and 3) gave her the courage to try and come home to somewhere she'd be safe and loved, even if she knew/felt she didn't deserve to. There's an underlying belief in Chasing Shadows we see carry through into S4 where Rayla truly believes Callum can do and overcome just about anything, and if he can do the impossible, then maybe so can she:

She backed away, close to the pit’s edge. The crowd shouted and screamed at her ears, their spittle landing on her neck. It rattled her. The human kicked dirt at her, and Rayla scraped at her eyes, angry—infuriated, even. Humans were frustrating. Humans were clever. Humans could do anything, they could be anything, they could take their own fates and change them—

It is for all these reasons that Rayla clearly considers him to be her family and the love of her life. She gives him the pendant (from Ethari to Runaan, then Ethari to her, and then her to Callum) as a symbol of both familial and romantic love. He seems to be the first person she's had serious feelings for and certainly the first person she's fallen in love with.

She was originally going to confess first (2x09) back when she clearly didn't have any thought or inclination he'd ever love her back, either. Then he did, and it elevated an already very steady and safe relationship to one that was good natured, even more incredibly supportive, and wholly unconditional.

And given how he supports and loves her in S4 and S5, I am even more inclined to think she's Right <3

[dragonprincequotesimadeup]

Question and answers from the Offical Q&A’s in The Dragon Prince Discord Server: Questions about elves

Q: “Are elves vegetarians or do they have similar diets to humans”

AE: Vegetarianism is very common in elven culture. Some elves even see meat-eating as akin to using dark magic.

Q: “Are the marks on Rayla’s eyes birthmarks or makeup? Or, are they tattoos?”

AE: They are like henna tattoos, but much longer lasting.

EM: Elves officially have the STRONGEST eyeliner game ever.

Q: “How long does each type of elf lives? Aaravos is thousands of years old, but what about moon shadow elves for exemple?”

AE: There’s no clear or consistent answer here. Average life spans appear to vary, though in general elves live longer than humans.

Q: “i’m curious how do sunfire elves age work? we know they live longer but aditi looked young when she disappeared didn’t exactly look grandma age and it seems janai and khessa remember her and in callums spellbook it says khessa was the one who took the throne after she died”

DG: Khessa, Janai, and Karim refer to Queen Aditi as their “grandmother” even though she’s several generations back from them. She is an extremely important figure in their lineage!

Q: “Does Moonshadow elves have special powers or is there a group of elves who uses the bloodmoon or lunar eclipse? (Of Course I mean the future)"

EM: Not all Moonshadow elves have the ability to connect to their primal and turn practically invisible in the way that Runaan and the other assassins can during a full moon—it's an ability one typically has to work and train for (although some have natural talent for it, like Rayla). Though it is said that, like the phases of the moon, there are absolutely different ways for Moonshadow abilities to present or be enhanced. The Bloodmoon Huntress, for example, consumes literal blood to magnify her powers…and perhaps also her connection to the veil between life and death itself.

AE: Kim’dael uses a dark ritual to infuse blood with the light of the full moon… allowing her to do unusual things.

Q: “what happened to the startouch elves? and why are the star eleves considered "heavenly beings" when they're also capable of evil?”

AE: To answer your first question, you’ll learn more about Startouch elves in the coming seasons! To answer your second: I am not sure if we have ever used the term “heavenly beings” in the show or in the novels to describe Startouch elves. Zubeia did say that Aaravos was “literally a being from the heavens,” but we used the term “heavens” here to describe the vast cosmos above, not necessarily “heaven” like a place where good people go after death to play harps with angels, if that makes sense…

Q: “Are we going to see a tidebound elf in the near future of tdp content?”

AE: We will see more than one Tidebound elf in Season 5!

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Want more TDP canon goodies? Tales of Xadia has got your back!

Today's Role and Keep Twitch stream covered the Table of Contents from Tales of Xadia's upcoming rules handbook, which is scheduled for release in the first 3 months of 2022, before Bloodmoon Huntress comes out. Take a look!

The first chapter, Welcome to Xadia, is for those who don't know The Dragon Prince at all. It covers the basics, and there probably won't be too much in the way of stuff the TDP fandom doesn't know in there.

Chapter II, Welcome to Cortex, covers the gaming system. If you know D&D, try to ignore it. Cortex doesn't run terribly similarly, and the focus of the gameplay in ToX is very different, in a more intuitive way that really embraces cooperative storytelling.

Chapter III, Gazeteer of Xadia, is - ohoho fams - this is the good stuff, this is the grand prize! This chapter is the deep dive into all kinds of lore, culture, locations, myths, and other worldbuilding that we have not learned anywhere else before - and it's all canon, created in collaboration with Wonderstorm.

And there's art in this book. Glorious art. I am so excited!

Chapter IV, Player's Guide, is the meat of the handbook, containing a complete guide to creating a character from scratch and learning how to interact with the tale you're playing. I've participated in one of ToX's online character creation workshops and created a dozen or so catalyst and narrator characters, and it's very simple once you get the pattern.

Chapter V, Mage's Guide, goes more in depth on how magic works in ToX - and it's going to give us shiny new details on how Ocean and Earth magic work! Aah! It sounds like we should be getting a full explanation for dark magic as well as all the primal magics, except for Stars. Because someone has to be a mysterious drama queen in his mirror.

Chapter VI, Narrator's Guide, is all about how to be the person spinning the tale for your friends, and what you'll need to do it. I've been writing and running original tales for a few months, and it's still a bit wibbly without the full ruleset, but the online tools on the ToX website are really helpful and I always have them open for reference.

Also of note: I asked a question in the stream about whether we'd be getting any new pre-gen characters, or perhaps if there were character sheets out there for canon show characters that players might want to interact with or play. Cam Banks (Cortex's creator) responded to say that there are some characters from the show that are available as catalyst characters - I assume that's in this chapter, under Featured Catalysts - and that it's very easy to shift a character from narrator-character to catalyst-character to playable-character. Which, yes, it should be, because there are only so many stats you need for each of those three roles. So I guess we'll see who got into the book as a featured catalyst!

Chapter VII, The Tale of the Corrupted Core, is, I expect, the long-awaited playable tale set in Lux Aurea between S3 and S4. It's been a long time since anyone mentioned this specific setting, but I have been waiting for this for a while, and Cam confirmed that this tale is very much a Sun tale, just like Gloaming Glade was a Moon tale and Lost Oasis was a Sky tale.

The Appendix is where all the glorious lists are, for the good details like Distinctions and SFX, which will be so much fun to delve deep into for nosy nuggets on our favorite characters from the show! See, Cortex's first ever game was based on the TV show Firefly, (which has a Cortex) and its character distinctions were pulled from characters on the show itself. I have been assuming that ToX will do the same, from the few distinctions I've have seen so far - because Cortex has been delightfully coy with sharing these. I'm expecting that all the available character distinctions and SFX will have been created and included in the handbook because they belong to a character we know or will meet eventually. So if you want to piece together a playable version of Nyx, or Callum, or Amaya, or Corvus, or Ethari, or Claudia, or literally any canon character at all, and there isn't a character sheet for them yet, you won't have too much trouble crafting something that feels very much like them!

Also: ToX has released 12 pre-gen characters, thus far, for people to just jump into gameplay with. They're amazing, with humans and elves as mages and fighters and diplomats and adventurers and rogues and more. But in the Appendix, that little section there says a Baker's Dozen. That means 13, guys. Looks like we're gonna get blessed with one more secret playable pre-gen character! OMG WHO IS IT??

I am SO HYPE for this book, I have had it pre-ordered forever! But there's more canon fun to come, and it's just around the corner.

Every Wednesday at 3PT, Role and Keep has a live Twitch stream. And on December 2, 9, and 16, Cam Banks will be running a 3-part ToX holiday celebration ttrpg which will include new canon details straight from Wonderstorm about how various cultures and/or characters around Xadia celebrate - or don't - during the holiday season! That's right, Wonderstorm is gonna dump all the fun fluffy cuteness (and angst? maybe? I gotta go find out) we need for our upcoming holiday fics, right into our arms. Oh, I'll definitely be taking notes while I watch.

Hmmm. Maybe I can write up a tale that starts out as a perfectly innocent travelers' visit to one of the newly revealed locations in the handbook... until......... Bahaha. Whatever you do, don't touch anything.