#project xadia

[winterstorm032802]

Claudia's voice line in Xadia being: "Elves are so rude! Not one of them will sell me their horn!" (It goes something like that)

So hear me out...

Tw for blood mention

Claudia... taking matters into her own hands on getting a piece... with Rayla... carving the horn out... Rayla is just screaming in violent pain as it happens. A piece of her horn soon carved off in such a brutal way with a dagger no less.

Then blood just rushes down Rayla's face, covering half of whichever horn is now a bloody stump. Callum finds her before or after Claudia leaves (if before he goes ballistic with the Sky Arcanum, but she escapes before he can do major damage.) Then he's left with Rayla who is in shock and unable to say a word as he cups her face and stains his hands with her blood as she numbly asks why she can't feel her horn. He undoes the cuffs on her wrists, and she just drops, unable to fully comprehend what happened. It isn't until they are in Katolis and Callum is giving Rayla a bath that the shock finally wears off and Callum has to comfort her.

...just a thought. Off a voice line... I might write about it if I get the time and motivation.

[jal-the-jinxed]

wondering if I want to keep Sailor Moonaan a one shot or be unhinged and make it a deadass series

[raayllum]

Arc 3 Predictions Electric Boogaloo

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

Aaravos and the Cosmic Order / Claudia

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

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

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

Aanya + the Fire Ruby Project / Ezran & Zym

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

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

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

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

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

Evrkynd and Elarion

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

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

Callum, Corruption, and the Cube (+ Rayla)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Misc Predictions / Ideas

that didn't belong anywhere else!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aaravos making the Cosmic Council mortal, etc etc.

Sol Regem lore and backstory

[zuppizup]

The amazingly talented Kisa Seira drew this stunning image of Dragon Guard Rayla from my fic Out of Time and was kind enough to let me share it here.

Please check out the original, as well as their wonderful work on AO3

Twitter Link to the original

[fandom-susceptible]

TDP Rewatch: S1 E3, "Moonrise"

It's interesting that they zoomed on Soren's face as the procession crossed the courtyard, not Harrow's - and that he didn't look nervous, just determined. He was right, too.

God, Harrow cuddling with his bird is the cutest thing. That bird adores him. Also, (who gives the best birdie kisses) "Pip Does." was said so fiercely and then the face he made after, I just. Ah, that hit me in the chest.

How is "hard-headed" more acceptable in your vernacular than "stubborn", Viren? Or are you just the only one you want to be insulting Harrow in public?

It's interesting how Viren's smiling in the coronation portrait, but Harrow isn't. Viren says Harrow insisted on doing the portrait together, but I . . . have my doubts, now.

Yeah honestly Claudia we're on the same page about the persimmon jelly.

Something about how Ezran doesn't hesitate to trust Rayla, and when she kneels in front of the egg she looks at him so softly even though ten minutes ago she was convinced he had to die - and then Claudia, whom Ezran has known his entire life, threatens violence immediately and just keeps spouting threats while trying to get him to cooperate with her. They showed us who these girls were from the very beginning; Claudia acts sweet but in the moment of truth will turn cruel, and Rayla projects coldness but in the moment of truth will offer love instead. It's a neat mirror. And I love the way Rayla smiles at Ezran when he looks to her for reassurance in that very first moment in Viren's dungeon. That moment of yes, I'm with you.

They really sell being teenagers in this first season, and I love it. "NOT THAT WAY!" "WHY?" *runs into wall* "Is this a guessing game? Just do it!" "I'M A MAGE!" *shushes him* "Nobody likes a loud mage."

Also, can we talk about how the first time Rayla actually touched Callum was to shush him in that moment? And how she was the first person to call him a mage? And how she then proceeded to tell him something she's clearly said before, which when I first watched I assumed was just a common saying/joke in Xadia, but after finding out Ethari is a mage might be a family in-joke? Yeah I've got Rayllum feelings why

"What's in the basket? A bigger moth?" omg Soren is SUCH a sarcastic little shit around Viren and I love that for him????

Also, "When all of your swords have failed." is such a clear attempt to undermine Soren's personal confidence, and the worst part is I bet Viren didn't even do it consciously. He's just so used to tearing Soren down that he doesn't have to think about it anymore, it's become automatic. It's a really common trait of abusive parents and I hate him so much for it. (obligatory acknowledgement that I actually love it as a writing choice, it's great. He is a bad guy! I am supposed to dislike him! They did a good job!) But also, Soren responding to it with a spiteful defense of his soldiers was a good moment for him.

"We go way back! Like that one time, ten minutes ago, when you chased me through the castle trying to stab me!" Bless Jack De Sena for Callum's voice acting and also bless whoever animated his and Rayla's expressions in that exchange because I am fucking wheezing

Can we talk about how Harrow's tone was coldly neutral until Viren walked in and sat in Harrow's marriage bed, uninvited, and then the next thing he said - "Your friend?" sounded venomous? Or that fucking single eyebrow raised when Viren said "brother". Harrow is WELL aware that his best friend has a weird gay thing about him, and he regrets not nipping that in the bud before it became this unhealthy obsession.

Yeah that whole "On. Your. Knees." does not get less gay with subsequent rewatches. Like bruh. They showed this to kids. Harrow. I stg. But also, Harrow sees Viren's weird gay obsession and meets his freak by putting him down about it, in a way that they both know he wouldn't if he actually returned it with any kind of affection. Oh, I think all Harrow's dialogue about Viren's arrogance and self-importance was very much also what he meant, I don't think he was talking around anything, but yeah, that was. Wow.

Also ngl Harrow can tell me to do anything he goddamn wants if he talks in that tone, jesus

Interesting. Okay so Runaan does say that humans are liars - he doesn't say there's nothing worth sparing, as Rayla seemed to imply. He's been tricked before. That said, for all he talks a big game about his ruthlessness, he doesn't just shoot Callum outright. He warns him that he's made a mistake and he very much takes his time nocking that arrow. He doesn't want to kill this kid if he doesn't have to.

I also love that one moment where his eyes go wide after Rayla tells him again he needs to call off the mission, in the middle of "You know it doesn't work that way." He glances down at his own bindings and he looks panicked for half a second before covering it in this sudden anger that doesn't quite fit with how he reacted to the egg's appearance. He's scared. He knows she's right, but he's much older, more set in his ways, and doesn't see a way out. He's fucked up. So he just tries to fall back on what he's Supposed to do - just finish the mission, worry about the egg later, because those are the rules.

And then Rayla sends the boys away and forces him to confront those values instead of just falling back on them. Now he doesn't get to separate himself and his feelings from reality. And I don't think she actually believes he'll kill her here, even though he threatens to and she smirks and says "Probably" - if he was willing to do that, he would have done it already, and they both know it. She's just forcing him to confront the conflict between his moral values and his cultural ones.

oh, god, I forgot that Ezran brought up Callum calling him Dad in the very first episode.

I think it's interesting how Runaan accuses Rayla of being "Better than this" while very obviously holding back. He keeps pausing. Rayla's constantly in motion in this fight, whether attacking or defending or just trying to catch her breath, but he attacks once and then waits for her to recover, defends once and freezes up. He can't do this. Now he's the one hesitating and he can't stop doing it. Rayla has to know this too - that's why she sasses him when he realizes she's just stalling, because she knows she's gotten into his head. She knows he can't stop her because he can't bring himself to hurt her. So if she can just call on the fatherly part of him a little more, maybe she can get him on her side. It just doesn't quite work, because he's too set in his ways and his teenage daughter's wild idea is not enough to convince him that turning the entire world upside down is possible.

Do you think Viren had a moment of abject panic when Callum said "I know what you did!" after he came out of Harrow's chambers after switching the king's soul out with Pip's? Like HOW THE FUCK DOES THE KID KNOW, I LITERALLY JUST DID - "You stole the egg of the Dragon Pricne!" oh nvm. wait, what. why does he know that, who - what the fuck is happening right now?

Soren insisting Callum is the prince and refusing to arrest him is another good moment for him. Bless that young man for trying so hard. But also, Viren taking Callum's voice was awful on so many levels, and Soren's lack of surprise makes that one hurt??? Because. Viren had that spell just right there in his sleeve. He constantly undermines and dismisses Soren. Now he's using it so casually on the prince. Has he done this to Soren before? Is that why Soren's face just went so stony and he refused to say anything else after that? Viren is just such a fundamentally awful person and I love to hate him.

Knowing more about the assassins has me watching this scene with so much interest now. It's Runaan's arrow that hits Soren first, but Skor's the first through the door - two blades and brute strength. Ram hits the ground next, going low with no visible weapons, with Callisto and Andromeda flanking him with Callisto's glaive and Andromeda's sickles. Runaan brings up the rear with a bow, and honestly? He's walking in with his horns already at heights Ram and Andromeda leaped to get to, moving the slowest of any of them, not curling in or dodging or anything. He's just strode in leaving himself wide open because fuck you, I guess, what does this bitch have to worry about? That's terrifying.

The fucking "DA!" He does does undercut the intimidation as a viewer tho now I'm just laughing at him because his actor clearly was not out of breath or stressed when delivering that.

I've never noticed before that the elves reacted to Viren's spell releasing Callum's voice. Or that Soren moved between Viren and recovering control of the spell. Skor stepped back from a fight and glanced towards the spell, got distracted by it. Callisto ducked as if he thought it was coming towards him. Ram and Andromeda didn't twitch but Runaan bridled at it too.

Callisto was the first to reach the door but couldn't break it open and Soren went for him. The assassins converge on the door and Soren manages to hold off Callisto, Ram, and Andromeda all at once for a moment before Skor and Runaan step in. Runaan just wholly grabs a guard by the face and throws them to the ground with his bare hands (well, gloved, but weaponless). As in like. Picks them up off the floor and slams them back down one-handed by the face. I know he's an antagonist right now and like we like the guards in Katolis they're fine but also the sheer ability to do that is hot I'm so sorry.

When the elves press the door again after Callum calls for "Dad!" it's Skor to the left, Runaan, and Callisto to the right, and Runaan has zeroed in on Soren as the greatest obstacle to their goals. He's bigger than Soren, has an advantage in height, weight, strength, and experience, and he's bearing down on him but losing time, and Ram ends up lunging in to try and take Soren out while Runaan has him distracted. And it doesn't work, Soren manages to block them both at once. He's genuinely very good at his fucking job and I hate that Viren tore him down so much he doesn't see it.

Oh, fuck. Andromeda was the first elf to fall. We don't see her after the first clash at the door breaks free. Ram disappears briefly but returns at Runaan's side, everyone's converging on the door again, but she's gone.

Rayla's so quickly ride or die for these boys and this mission, and I love her so much for it. "Say the word, and I'll go back into that tower with ye." And she meant it. But she'll also guard them on their way out, when that's what they choose to do instead.

Can we also address that Soren's losing guards left and right to the clash in this tower, and Viren is RIGHT THERE, able to do random magic like stealing the voice from a kid, but he doesn't do a thing to assist in the actual battle? Absolutely nothing to help his son in their alleged shared goal of defending the king?

Runaan stumbles through clutching his side, and given the wounds we see later, I'm guessing Soren kicked him in the ribs to get out of one of their sword locks and broke them. He also can't breathe right. There's a bruise on his jaw and we saw from how Soren fought with Ram (and how he fights later) that he's willing to just punch people with his other hand while he's got them distracted with his sword. I'm betting most of his injuries are from Soren, including the broken horn. We don't see that part happen. I'm actually gonna, once this episode is over, skip ahead to the season 7 finale briefly to see Runaan's retelling of this scene, because I'm curious about those moments between that we missed here.

the binding also doesn't fall off until he reaches the balcony. Pip/Harrow wasn't killed instantly; he just succumbed quickly to what I'm betting was the poison on Runaan's arrow.

The face he gives after releasing the arrow hits, though, because he's reporting a failure. I'm also very interested in like, what he thought would happen for Rayla here. I would have guessed initially that his "Your justice will come later." was meant as him realizing if she stops them, if they fail, she'll suffer becoming a Ghost, but he's surprised by the news in season 7. Did he just assume there wouldn't be a unanimous vote to ghost her? It would sort of make sense; there's a certain amount of arrogance he clearly has regarding his own place in the Silvergrove, and a lot of it's justified by how the community treats him and Ethari. It wouldn't be unreasonable for him to guess that as his daughter and a clearly talented and relatively respectable warrior in her own right, there would be at least a few voices who were reluctant to abandon her entirely, even if she'd have to live with the same of losing her hand to her failure. That's a thing I don't think we give enough credit to, either, is the fact that Ghosting has to be a unanimous decision and therefore, not everyone in Rayla's position ends up ghosted. That's why the bindings are there. She'd have had to sacrifice her hand, but if she was respected enough to begin with to escape a ghosting, that would have been it. She'd pay her price and still get to go home.

Claudia appearing just to insist "we can find more practical uses for this one" gives me the creeps. Like "she sees Runaan and sees spell parts, not a person" kind of creeps.

I'm so very fond of this credits sketch, because it shows just how long Runaan has been in her life. Rayla was 8 when she moved in with him and Ethari - she's clearly younger than that here, and he's already there teaching her things, so clearly fond of her.

It also shows how her facial markings have changed over time; in this sketch we can see that the slash mark used to go both above her brow and below her eye, presumably unbroken (Lain's across the eye markings also cover his eyelids, so stands to reason hers would too). The curve below her eye is also different, where Runaan's remains consistent in this sketch to the show.

I could comment on her reaction to losing Harrow's binding but honestly like. That's been analyzed to death for six years straight. I don't really feel the need to go over something that's been addressed repeatedly in the show already.

Addition after checking the story in Season 7, so don't read further if you haven't seen that yet:

Runaan's horn was not broken yet when he broke into the room. Skor was the only one who made it in after him. So the other assassins may never have seen Harrow at all, and the fighting after the poisoned arrow hit Pip could have lasted for a while, justifying Runaan's ability to vault into the room initially but also barely being able to stumble out onto the balcony in the end.

So Andromeda died before they even got the door open. Skor followed Runaan through the door, but we don't see Callisto or Ram after that point, so they may or may not have made it that far. I would guess that Runaan's grievous injuries were likely due to fighting virtually on his own for an extended period of time, and the brief time he got to send off the shadowhawk was Skor's last sacrifice, keeping them busy for long enough to do that.

[aria-bun]

Was still outside of reach of him

Seven years later, Rayla and Callum arrive at the town of Redwater to meet with Amaya and Ezran. Read on ao3!

The trip to the town of Redwater went about as smooth as it could’ve, to Rayla’s contemptment.  

Especially with two squirming toddlers in tow on the back of Ethari’s shadowpaw, Eclipse, while her husband flew beside them. After months and months, they’d be seeing Ez and Amaya again. They tried to make it a yearly tradition, going to each other, but this year, they found the Redwater, which lived on the border of Xadia and The Five Kingdoms.

It made travel a lot easier on all of them, being a more reachable distance for all parties.

She knew the twins would enjoy the new environment, too.

Callum scooped Juno up into his arms after they landed, blowing a raspberry against her cheek and causing the two-year-old to giggle.

Rayla smiled at the two of them, shifting Scout to balance on her hip. He sneezed, his eyes squinty due to the sun.

“You think Ez and Aunt Amaya are here yet?” He asked her, glancing around. They were just outside the town, and a few people were milling about, minding their own.

“They might be.” She stroked Eclipse’ forehead, who purred deeply in response. “Ez said he was leaving earlier than us in his last letter, so he might be. New Lux Aurea isn’t all that far from here, either.”

“True.” Callum looked at the dirt path, which slowly transitioned into stone as it got closer to the town. “And we have everything?”

Rayla laughed. “Yes, Callum. We have everything. You checked. Twice.” She looked back at Eclipse “I’ll call you back when we have to leave.” She gave the shadowpaw one last pet before he snorted and flew off.

“He go bye-bye.” Juno giggled, pointing at Eclipse as he soared off.

“Into sky!” Scout splayed his arms out and joined in on the giggling, making Rayla and Callum smile. Their laughs were very cute, and very contagious.

They started walking down the dirt path to the village. People walked the streets, both human and elf.

It was wonderful to see. Even though humans and elves were mostly at peace now, their communities hadn’t really merged.

Except here.

They quickly located the inn, which had a wooden sign out front that read Blauders Hometown Inn and Pub. The inside was bustling and welcome, with wooden floors and walls with half-finished murals filling them. The man behind the bar greeted them kindly and provided them with a room for a few coins.

“What’s going on with the murals?” Rayla asked him.

“One of the classes from the school is doing an art project. Happens every year around town.” The man, who they found out was Blauder, grinned. “Brightens Redwater every year.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Callum looked back at the murals.

“Well, I hope you guys enjoy yer stay. Plenty of wonderful things here. You should check out The Dragonfly.”

She raised her eyebrows, a bit intrigued. “What’s that?”

“Local bakery. My bud runs it. Great guy. Wonderful daughter, too.”

“Do they have jelly tarts?” Callum grinned.

“Jelly tarts, croissants, cupcakes, and these things he called Banther Claws that are filled with peanut butter. My wife loves ‘em.”

“We’ll have to check that out with Ez.” He nudged Rayla with his arm.

“Jelly tarts!” Scout exclaimed, smiling widely.

Blauder grinned. “Alright, you folks have a good one.”

“You too.” Rayla nodded, and the four of them headed up the wooden stairs to the second floor of the inn. The room was a few doors down the hall, and inside was tastefully decorated, with a baby blue quilt on a queen sized bed, two wooden side tables with a lamp on each, and a small dresser.

“Alright, so we’re putting these chaos monkeys down first?” Callum flipped Juno upside down, causing the toddler to laugh hysterically. “Daddyyyyy!”

“Yeah. I might hang back for a bit, make sure they’re settled.” In reality, Rayla was exhausted, and was hoping to get a bit of shut-eye with Juno and Scout.

If they actually decided to sleep was a whole different situation.

He kissed the side of her head, putting Juno on the bed. “I’ll go and find Ez and Aunt Amaya. You sure you want to stay?”

“Yeah.” She ruffled his hair before kissing him on the cheek. “I’ll catch up with you guys after they nap.”

“Alright. Love you.” He smiled at her

“Love you too, dork.”

“I’m your dork.”

[moon-sky-sun-earth-ocean-stars]

Dargon prince writing prompts

I decided to do a post to ideas and prompts I have or recieved of the dragon prince, so people might decide to write them. Feel free to use them. It would be nice to get credit or message if you do use them but it's not necessary. If you have other ideas write me in the comments or in a message and I might add them to this list. If you do write a fic for one of this prompts and you'll send it to me I'll add a link to it in the post. The ideas are plot based and not shipping based and that the point of all the prompts.

Sunfire elves royal family

Rayla and Suroh meet again

Trenda and Pozili (because they both scholars skywing elves)

Runaan's thoughts when he sees Tiadrin and Lain in the coins

Eltha and Somma meet and talk about botanics or has a special botanic project together

Soren in camp Katolis

Terry coming out as trans

Astrid coming out as trans

Villads adventures

Why Darys was in Scumport (ideas: could be because he lost sunforge dagger, or maybe he was undercover, or he has a hobby of going to fighting pits, or he started to trade goods from the human kingdoms after the border was opened and that why he went to Scumport)

Rayla meets Tressal in Chasing Shadows

Viren coping with Lissa leaving

In the lore book of tales of xadia there are many short folk stories, each of them can be idea for a fanfic.

Lira and Somma in bun bun fire night in Silvergrove

[anantplayingdnd]

well, i’m gonna largely be on my own for this project, it would seem. aside from the one person who wrote a blog article about making Curse of Strahd in Tales of Xadia…. It truly seems like that’s it. From what I can tell, ToX is a pretty niche system as is.

But I will persist! And I’m gonna mod this game to fit my needs if it kills me.

[tillimatis]

Carving for You

“Shut up, you dumb little human. You know it looks bad.” Rayla looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment of messing up the carving.

Word count: 728

Author's note: Rayllum headcanon fanfic written in September 2020 on Rayla trying to carve something for Callum. Idea originally from here and discussion between a friend of mine and her friends. Story takes place after S3 and before the events of Through the Moon :D

Something’s off. 

Gazing at the wooden piece she’s carving, Rayla is aware that she isn’t entirely herself after having her assassin binder bitten off by Zym. Her left hand may feel a bit more relaxed now, but she knows she could no longer swiftly move it like how she used to. After all, it was squeezed and (almost) broken by the ever-tightening binder when the Moonshadow elves failed to kill off Prince Ezran, who is now, ironically, one of her companions in bringing Zym back to his mother in Xadia. Not to mention, being in a relationship with his half-brother, Callum.

Befriending humans was way out of her context, and getting into a relationship with one? Rayla never knew how she did so, but if she had to choose again, she would still go for her dumb human. For as long as Rayla can remember, she is told that their nemesis are nothing but pure evil living beings who should never be trusted. Callum is, at least, not the typical type, even if he had told his aunt they were kidnapped by a “bloodthirsty” elf. 

“Never mind the rocky start, he... he did his best to prove a few humans are genuinely kind.” Rayla murmured. “The countless times when he tries to make me feel better with his silly jokes?” Creeek. “The times when he tries to make me assured with his pep talks? The times he tries to help me realize it’s acceptable to be imperfect?” Creeeek. “The times when he supports and aids me regardless the situation, even if he physically can’t do much?” Creeeeek.

Yes, Rayla loves Callum. Yes, she intended to carve a drawing for him. Yes, she isn’t as artistic as Callum. Yet her dominant hand, once fatally injured, trembles in pain from time to time, and made matters worse by wobbling imperfect lines, one after one onto the wooden piece. “Miserable” is a harsh criticism for the drawing, but the envision of the two lovebirds holding hands together just looks unsatisfactory when projected onto the wooden board.

Callum peeked behind the door only to see her struggling through her carving. Even if the drawing looks nowhere near the simple word “good”, he knows his fierce girlfriend tried her very best to give him a (now not really surprising) surprise. “Might as well take it as a little piece of abstract work. I still love it.” Callum told himself.

That’s when Callum caught himself off guard and accidentally pushed the door forward, giving out a tremendous cracking sound, followed by a loud thud for losing his balance and fell over.

“Callum!” Rayla turned around, furiously responded to Callum’s clumsiness, while trying to keep the crafting out of his sight. “How di’ you get in ‘ere? Didn’t I tell you to stay away from me for a while?”

“Ouch! This hurts.” Callum got back onto his feet, and walked towards Rayla, embracing her in his arms. “I just miss you, even in separate rooms.” “Fine, you dummy. And next time watch your steps.” Rayla scoffed, gradually melting into the warm, loving hug. Callum just never fails to comfort and make her smile. Indeed she needed a bit more of these little moments after going through so much in Xadia.

Softly playing with her hair, Callum brought up the wooden carving. “Would you like to tell me a bit more on the woo-“ “Nonono it’s nothin’. Really.” 

“Come on Rayla. I saw you working on it.” 

Getting shot at a face of annoyance, Rayla unwillingly succumbed and uncovered the crafting hidden under her pillow for Callum. It may not be perfect, but Callum loved the idea of having this simple moment of them hanging out, engraved forever onto a surface.

Leaning near Rayla, Callum held her left hand, gently brushing her fingers with his thumb, trying to assure her the crafting isn’t really as miserable as it seems. 

“You know what Rayla, I love it.”

“Shut up, you dumb little human. You know it looks bad.” Rayla looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment of messing up the carving.

Callum carefully lifted up her hand, and planted a soft kiss on Rayla’s wound, as if curing her pain and insecurity away with one gentle act.

“Rayla, I really do love it.”

Little did she know, Rayla’s face is once again boiling with tints of red.

[spicyviren]

Oh let me meditate on the beast of devouring that feeds on the stars, that star devourer dragon Let me repel this Star dragon and banish it from the light of my Sun

- Ancient Sunfire chant, Tales of Xadia

I'm thinking about the sun and the stars and how Laurelion is, probably, both.

(Reposted because I’m a damn fool!!)

The Big Bang, in real life

The majority of atoms which make up us, our earth, and even our very own sun, were formed in the hearts of the very first stars in the universe.

These stars were made of lighter elements, mostly Hydrogen, Helium, and Lithium. But under the immense pressure at the core of those first stars, heavier atoms like Carbon, Oxygen and Nitrogen were formed. The stars eventually died - exploded - and released those heavier elements into the universe to be crafted into other forms.

As Carl Sagan famously put it, "We are made of star stuff."

And so Aaravos's quote in the teaser for season six - We are, all of us, stardust - is a blatant nod to the Sagan quote as well as, I am assuming, that aspect of the universe in some shape or form. Allegorically, it speaks to the idea of the universality of existence in the basest sense. But also, it acknowledges that the stars, like everything else, operate generationally.

So in this way, if we are to assume the TDP cosmos operates at least somewhat similar to our own, Xadia's sun is a younger (but still old as balls) star, from a different generation than the stars which are far more distant and ancient.

(As a side note, the very first stars in the universe did not last very long. Though certain stars in existence right now have "lifetimes" which are projected to last longer than the universe has currently been in existence.)

So if Xadia's sun is technically a star, even by Xadia's own admission (see Sunfire chant), then by this metric I have to ask...

What makes the Sun arcanum different from the Star arcanum?

While those first, most ancient of stars produced the materials which would become life, only a sun can sustain life and is therefore inextricably linked with the earth and all the life on it. It's this connection which I imagine is responsible for the change in the nature of the magic.

In Callum's Spellbook, Callum makes some word-association lists for the different types of magic. He associates "truth" with both Sun and Star (perhaps a trait of their shared stardom). No other words match up completely, but it feels like they are referencing similar things within different contexts.

The Sun teaches while the Stars are simply intelligent; the Sun is a "guiding light" while the Stars are associated with "destiny." Further, many of the other words Callum associates with the sun are about being in positive community with others (optimism, warmth, charisma, leadership). The nature of the sun is more giving, nurturing, and dare I say loving than that of your average star. Sun is revealing and honesty, Star is mysterious and reality-altering. Further, there is a dynamism in the words for Sun Magic that is absent from Star Magic - sharing knowledge vs simply having knowledge, guiding vs prescribing a set path.

(Another side note: Callum also mentions that Star mages are born, which, Callum's limited understanding aside, is perhaps a hint about what it will take to connect to the Star Arcanum. I have thoughts, but.... I'll just leave that there, winky face)

Obviously, these word associations can only go so far. Some of the most hostile and arrogant (eh eh!!) figures we've met have been Sun-aligned. But it does make me wonder about the beginning of Sun magic and what that introduction may have looked like.

Ever wonder what those sparkly dots are up there?*

Okay, so big question for me. Is Aaravos a star, like, literally a personification of a ball of gas burning billions of miles away, or is he just like, a very special elf? The same goes for all Startouch elves.

Zubeia refers to Aaravos as both a star and as an elf, and it's one of those things which I can't decide is real or simply a more poetic way of speaking of him. Is "Startouch elf" simply another type of star? Official art also sometimes depicts him and others as constellations. Are they the formed consciousness of a collection stars?

But it also makes me think of how often Sunfire elves personify the sun/the sun orb.

JANAI: You are a student of history, yes? Do you know where the Great Orb of the Sunforge came from? KARIM: Legends say it was a gift from the Sun herself. The gift of a millenium. - "The Drakewood," S4E6

In "The Queen's Mercy," we have...

Aditi nodded. “[...]and so, as the Sun’s daughter, I will lead you into her embrace.”

...and earlier, there is this:

Queen Aditi the Merciful, they called her. Queen Aditi the Kind. The Light of the Sun Incarnate. Kim’dael had thought it all an insufferable exaggeration. Sunfire elves gilded everything they could touch, of course they would do the same to their beloved leader.

Karim personifies the corrupted sun orb in "After Darkness":

He could still see it: the top of the Sunforge Tower, upside-down from where he lay, shrouded in inky corruption. It looked ill, its sickness weeping red and crowning the spire in a haze of blood. [...] We will come back, he promised his beloved, tainted city, his lost home. We will not abandon you. The orb pulsed mutely, a cry for help he could not answer.

TDP uses personification a lot, so it is kind of hard to parse out when it's being literal and when it's being lyrical. Perhaps in the examples cited it's simply the ostentatious way of the Sunfire elves like Kim'dael thinks. But if Aaravos, a known person, can be a star, then I can easily reason vice versa.

In the Book 1 novelization, Aaravos refers to himself as "of the First Elves." And if that is true, it follows that there must have been "Second Elves."

So who is Laurelion?

The significance of the laurel in the Western canon goes back to the myth of Daphne and Apollo.

There are various versions of the story, but essentially, Apollo (popularly associated with the sun), falls helplessly in love with Daphne. Though her reasons vary in different iterations, Daphne turns away from Apollo's affections. She runs and Apollo pursues. Just as Apollo is about to catch her, she begs for help - sometimes from her father, a river god, and sometimes from her mother, a nymph or Gaia - and she is saved by being turned into the laurel tree. In Ovid's Metamorphosis, when Apollo reaches Daphne post-transfiguration, he can still feel her heart beating below the bark. From that point on, the laurel wreath was associated with Apollo, achievement, and victory.

Gold, the element, takes the symbol Au from its Latin word, Aurum, which has etymological ties to 'aurora' (dawn). Names likes Aurelio or Aurelius similarly mean "golden" or "guilded."

So, taken together, I of course think immediately of this:

THAT BEING SAID, this looks more like a weeping willow or a wisteria than it does a laurel, which has bushy foliage rather than hanging. The closest I can maybe get is a mountain laurel, which does have blooms that hang kinda sorta like a wisteria, though not nearly in such a dramatic fashion. But anyway!

The golden laurel...⋆｡°✩Laurelion✩°｡⋆

Interestingly, in Ovid's retelling of Apollo and Daphne, Apollo's love is the result of being struck by Cupid's golden arrow, while Daphne's disgust of Apollo's advances are the result of being struck by a lead-tipped arrow. And so, there is an association there with gold and love. And within the context of the myth - Cupid is getting petty revenge on Apollo after Apollo is boastful and arrogant about his own prowess with a bow and arrow - it's also an instance of weaponizing love.

Which brings us to that which is known everforth as...

The Nova Blade

It is actually quite common for stars to have companions and to exist in what is called a binary star system. In this system, two stars are gravitationally locked in orbit and can appear as a single object when observed by the naked eye. Sometimes, the proximity between these two stars results in what is called a nova - a sudden brightness which appears to be a new star. Novas are not associated with stellar "death" (you'd be thinking of supernova, in that case).

Now in our universe, novas are not actually stars. They are events, momentary bursts of brightness under specific circumstances between two stars. But the name "nova" originally came from the term "stella nova" which means new star.

…and though undying, took last breath, immortal Laurelion was no more. - "The Death of the Immortal"

Did Laurelion just...die? You know, it was really unclear...

I do not think the Nova Blade killed Laurelion in the moment described in the poem. Kazi is so doubtful and Callum is so sure - Callum you fool! - surely that would be too easy (quote quote easy)?

I will grant that "Supernova Blade" would sound kind of hokey, and even originally I had thought, "Oh cool, 'nova,' like 'SUPERnova!'" And then I thought to look up just 'nova' and it turns out it was actually its own thing. But even without all that, the 'though-undying' of it all haunts me.

And so I hold to the idea that the Nova Blade makes an immortal mortal. It does bring death's bite, but in a way in which Laurelion becomes something else, reborn with death's promise like all other mortal beings are.

I have two point five ideas.

The Light of the Sun Incarnate

My first hypothesis is, of course, that Laurelion became the tree with the Sunseed with a name that's a nod to Daphne and Apollo. Of course, I'm assuming here that the tree in which the Sunseed is kept is responsible for producing/sustaining the Sunseed, which may not be true.

Now the drawback of this idea is the legend that the Sunseed was a gift from the Sun herself. So here, it would have to be within the context of the Sun sacrificing Laurelion in some way for this purpose. There's obvious Jesus parallels here which, full disclosure, is not really my bag, baby, but there are plenty of elements in TDP that very easily slot in with Christian canon. But also, in the laurel myth Daphne begs a parent to save her, which puts the sacrifice of it all in a different light. It makes me wonder if the event with the Nova Blade is self-inflicted and, mayhaps, an act of love. So in this sense, the Sun "gifted" the world (or just the Sunfire elves, I dunno) her child by simply letting her child go.

My second hypothesis is that Laurelion became the first Sunfire elf, of the second elves. We are, all of us, stardust. It would not come as a shock to me if all elves were ultimately descended from the Startouch elves of old.

AND THEN we've got Aaron Ehasz talking about how the red dragon scale amulet (...and look, this show does color coding, that's SUN) is somehow related to Laurelion?

Sunfire elf, I say! SUNFIRE ELF!

Combining both of these scenarios, I could see Laurelion being the child of the Sun (again IF we are to assume each star is a living entity). Or maybe Startouch elves are born OF stars while not, technically, being the same thing, like an egg hatching the next evolution of its mother.

And so, perhaps Laurelion chose to become mortal, to become the first Sunfire Elf. And all of Laurelion's children, and their children's children, and their children's children's children, they were all of them children of the sun, the light of the sun incarnate, bringing the hope and optimism of something new to the world; destined to return in death to the embrace of their very first mother. And as a symbol of her love, the Sun gifted Laurelion the Sunseed, golden and cradled within a tree.

*oddly relevant Lion King reference

[finding-the-secrets-of-xadia]

Welcome to the Secrets of Xadia Blog!

Do you have young kids who love Netflix’s The Dragon Prince? Do you want them to keep thinking about it before you watch it again? We’ve written a whole host of questions to help with that!

Why are we giving you questions to answer?

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Suggest a question here.

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Ready for the questions? Check out the Questions Masterlist.

Wanting more information? Visit our FAQ!

[more-than-just-her-light]

Single mother Rayla is struggling to provide for herself and her three children in the sleepy village of Elk Cove, known for being one of the few elf-human settlements in Xadia. When she is hired to do repair work for a group of human travelers who cheat her out of her hard-earned money, a unique opportunity for revenge presents itself. It doesn't take long, however, for her chance at payback to become a chance at love. (Or; when Callum is stranded in Elk Cove with amnesia, circumstances force a reluctant Rayla to pretend he is her husband. Domesticity ensues.)

[thrandilf]

do you have a guide as to the extra materials for The Dragon Prince? i keep seeing stuff about comics or books but idk where to start

Not on hand but I can make one here! :D

There are two, soon to be three, canon graphic novels.

Through the Moon takes place between seasons 3 and 4, like a little season 3.5 It isn't Necessary to read it before watching S4 but the story is cool and the extra information is neat. It feels like we might get more info regarding what happened to Rayla while she was gone later in the show

Bloodmoon Huntress takes place when Rayla is a child around when her parents leave. Lots of Runaan and Ethari, also introduces Kim'dael who will be in S5. Again, not Required reading but a fun extra story.

Puzzle House is coming out August 1st and is about Claudia and Soren as children, and we also get a look at younger Viren and other people. Harrow's father, King Atticus is still king in this one so interesting Katolis lore, SUPER hyped for when we get to read all of this one. The Scholastic link has a 15 pages preview if you wanna take a peek.

There are novelizations for Dragon Prince Season 1 and Season 2, they add a bit of introspection and small extra details. Viren in particular gets more of his internal thought processes laid out and for me it just Confirmed a lot of things. Season 3's novelization is coming out April 2nd, 2024. I'm sure all 7 seasons will eventually have novelizations.

Tales of Xadia is the ttrpg book and it's gorgeous and is probably the most lore heavy supplemental material as far as world building goes. The system also looks fun! The website has a character builder too for OC making. As a writer, it's been a great help as far as seeing some aspects of the world laid out. The system looks fun and there are videos of some of the cortex(?) team playing ToX official tales/campaigns but I haven't watched them yet. The campaigns are also available to look at online too.

I think that ToX is getting an expansion at some point since the base game doesn't touch much on Ocean or Star magic, I imagine due to spoilers for the seasons we're coming up on.

There's also a tabletop game called Battlecharged which I haven't personally played and I don't think it Adds lore but I've heard it's fun.

Also, it will likely be a long time before we see it, but there's a video game in the works as well that's in alpha testing right now called Project Arcanum. Wonderstorm is pretty busy!

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

The Free Stuff:

Reflections are official short stories hosted on TDP's website and all of them are excellent and provide little extra scenes. Some of them are quite impactful, and the ones in this second batch are promising an absolutely wild S5. The first batch was released pre S4 and the second batch is being released now pre S5 as we count down to the new season. They aren't Required reading since the most key information from them will be in the show (going by the S4 ones) but I highly HIGHLY rec reading them all. Banger after banger. As of posting this there may be one more coming.

There's also little 4 panel comics called Everyday Xadia that have been also released during countdown mode and they're just fun/cute. Volume One and Volume 2 (still coming out). Sometimes when people say comics they might mean these, or the graphic novels lol.

Thank you for the ask, I'm always happy to share the TDP love and I hope this was helpful to you and anyone else who'd like a ref!

[raayllum]

summary: A prominent mage and on the cusp of his thirtieth birthday, Callum thinks he’s finally starting to truly leave the past behind. Until a kid claiming to be Rayla’s shows up on his doorstep, that is, asking for his help. co-written by me and @thosefiveadoraburrs word count: 5.4k

CHAPTER TWO:

It’s about as awkward as Ryn expected and not nearly as much, somehow.

He’s only heard bits and pieces about his mother’s past, and even less about Callum himself. He’s never even had a very good idea of what he’d looked like, before, just that he had green eyes. The distant look his mother would get whenever she’d briefly mentioned him told him more than her words themselves, though she’d always said he was kind, and smart, and a good man.

If anything ever happens, moonbeam, she’d said, brushing back his hair, you go right to him in Katolis. He’ll help you. 

Which made Ryn want to ask why they didn’t just go there right now, sometimes, when weather made travelling hard, or when things got a little dicey on the road, but... His mother always looked so sad when she spoke about either of the human boys she’d saved the world with; Ryn had only been able to bring himself to push so much.

Maybe he should’ve pushed harder, and they wouldn’t be out here in this mess now.

“It’ll take about three days by horseback to reach the Border,” Callum tells him, Ryn finally getting used to their horse’s gait. It’s not that different from a shadowpaw. “From there we’ll see whether we need to head further into Xadia or double back, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled on the way there in case.”

Ryn puffs out his chest. “It’s a good thing you brought me, then. Mum taught me how to look for dark mages from miles away. Their tells.”

Callum’s voice flattens. “Did she now?”

“Well, yeah.” Ryn’s not sure why that would bother him. He only did primal magic; he was a special human like that. “You gotta know how to steer clear. Better to evade and avoid, even if that means taking the tougher terrain.” His chest tightens. “Guess we didn’t evade or avoid enough.”

[zuppizup]

Sweet Dreams

Rayllum Month 2024

July 11th: Dream/Nightmare

She dreams about it when she’s going about her day.

Callum, complimenting her.

Telling her she looks pretty or gushing about how smart and talented she is or, well, he speaks to her at all.

It’s not like he ignores her, either. He’s busy, which she understands. Being the crown prince and the high mage. He has the king to support and magic to study and she knows he likes drawing too, though she heard he hasn’t done as much of that since that big trip to Xadia to return the dragon prince.

She’s going about her duties when she sees him again, hurrying down the halls early one morning, not long after coming back from another trip to Xadia. The king is away on some dragon mission, so Callum’s technically in charge of the country, something she imagines he won’t like because he doesn’t care about things like that. Callum isn’t like the tyrant princes she’s heard about in other nations. In fact, he’s a little awkward and out of place as a person even. She likes that about him though. He doesn’t put on airs or graces with people. He treats the palace staff and nobles with the same respect and dignity.

Perhaps even if he wasn’t quite so handsome, she’d have liked him for just that aspect of his personality, though the fact he’s tall and broad and very attractive does help…

Read More on AO3: Sweet Dreams

[moon-sky-sun-earth-ocean-stars]

Tales of Xadia characters-Perris

Name: Perris Pronounce: He/him Race: Moonshadow Elf Profession: Carpenter Information: Most of his career he did furnitures and upholstered them for the upper class but he needed more projects so he decided to become the town carpenter but he really hates it. He should probably focus on his artistic side.