#tdp andromeda

[dragon-susceptible]

Different Path Taken Ch15: The Cave P1

I don't know exactly how many parts this will be before they get out of the cave. I've been debating the order of a couple of the next story points and think that Important Discussion between Runaan and Rayla might need to happen before he lets her out of his sight again, and I'll need her down in the village. For now, there's this little bit though from the night after they make it to the cave to warm up, and before that discussion is had.

They didn’t erect the tents properly in the cave that night.  Instead, Runaan and Skor had spread the walls up around the edges of the cave, making nests out of their combined blankets and settling Andromeda, Ezran, and the egg close together to get warm.  Callum cuddled with his brother for the body heat until Callisto deemed him well enough to be left alone.

Without their separate bedrolls, all of the elves seemed to settle readily enough to cuddling up with each other.  Skor lay apart from the others with Callisto in the curve of his body.  Ram remained near enough to Andromeda to touch, sharing his heat with her.  Rayla found herself wrapped in Runaan’s blanket and under his arm like she was a child again. 

She woke up halfway through the night to the sounds of the others shifting around, a low growl from Ram as the human man - Corvus - moved too much and settled back down in his bedroll.  He’d been placed where Skor and Callisto were between him and the entrance to the cave, and the rest of them were between him and the human princes.  Though everything settled quickly, she was aware Runaan wasn’t asleep by the way he shifted in response to the noise, as if getting ready to sit up.

“Runaan?” She whispered.

He settled back down in the blanket and petted her hair with the hand that had been across her shoulders. “I’m here, little blade.” He murmured.

“You said we needed to talk later.” She said hesitantly. 

He sighed through his nose and tucked her more carefully under the blanket. “We  do, but . . . I don’t quite know how to say it all yet.”

Rayla grimaced. “That bad?”

Runaan shifted to press a kiss to the top of her head, nudging her horns gently, leaving his scent in her hair, and she felt very small suddenly beside him. “Yes.  I owe you an apology, Rayla, for so many things, and there are other things you deserve to know that I . . . had not figured out for myself yet.  I’m not angry with you, little blade.  I’m furious with myself.”

The news took her by surprise and she frowned, pulling away to look up at him. “But you didn’t do anything wrong.  I’m the one who messed up.”

Runaan just gave her a very soft look and shook his head. “You’ve made mistakes,” He allowed. “But I have made choices that harmed you, and all of us, and you deserve an apology and some honesty about that.  Right now I am just . . . worried.”

“About Andromeda?  Or the egg?” Rayla asked, still concerned, but she settled back down a little.  Runaan was just as stubborn as she was and she wasn’t likely to make any progress arguing with him directly. 

“Both.” he admitted. “Callisto is optimistic, I think she’ll be all right eventually, but being forced to rely on a human for her rescue . . .” He shook his head. “Perhaps it won’t bother her as much as it would bother me.  As for the egg . . .” He grimaced. “We will talk about that in the morning.  The stakes are so high, everyone should be aware of them.  Get some sleep, little blade.  I’m here.”

Rayla bit her lip and settled herself back down cuddled up to his side. “You should get some sleep too.” She reminded him, and he huffed softly as he curled towards her in response.

“I will try, Rayla.  Now close your eyes, elfling, hush.” He hummed softly and despite her automatic rebellion when he called her an elfling, the soothing noise soon brought her persistent sleepiness back to the present and she fell asleep.

[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.

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

Moonshadow Elves characters 🌙

Here is a list of all the Moonshadow elves characters I found, if I missed someone please let me know.

Agricultural workers:

Biffy (she/her)

Maive (she/her)

Somma (she/her)

Vankan (she/her)

Artisans:

Ethari (he/him)

Perris (he/him)

Assassins:

Andromeda (she/her)

Callisto (he/him)

Eljaal (they/them)

Fayln (she/her)

Pandyne (she/her)

Ram (he/him)

Runaan (he/him)

Rayla (she/her)

Skor (he/him)

Dragonguards:

Lain (he/him)

Tiadrin (she/her)

Mages:

Draylenn (she/her)

Lujanne (she/her)

Tylluan/Feathershawl (they/them)

Others:

Fara

Fentheth (he/him)

Gwenyn (she/her)

Kim'dael (she/her)

Laaner (he/him)

Redfeather (she/her)

Lira (she/her)

Maggs (she/her)

Shiv

Rangers:

Neva

Remmi

Daav

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

Congrats on 300 followers, Ray!!! For a request, how about something extra fluffy…

Callum meeting Rayla’s parents (and Runaan, of course) and accidentally lets slip that he wants to marry her

Mando this is perfect thank you so much, I've been itching to write some rayllum since season 5 dropped but haven't had any idea which direction to take. I hope you like it!!

When Rayla poked her head out of the makeshift tent, she looked almost as terrified as Callum was. Maybe it should have made him feel better to know that he wasn’t alone, but instead, his nerves skyrocketed, his heart doubling its already-too-fast pace in his chest.

He should have gone somewhere else, anywhere else in the makeshift camp they’d set up after the battle at the Starscraper. But he hadn’t been able to shake the idea that Rayla might need him. The last time she’d seen Runaan, after all, he’d threatened to kill her. But this was pointless, wasn’t it? None of the people in Rayla’s tent had so much as raised their voices, and Callum’s pacing had probably interrupted their reunion, and he’d made a bad impression without them even needing to see him—

“Do you want to meet them?” Rayla asked.

Callum blinked. It took a second for the words to sink in through his panic, and even then, he opened his mouth and closed it several times before he could find his voice. “Sure?”

Rayla gave him a small, nervous smile and extended her hand. Callum reached out to take it, then hesitated.

“Are you… are you sure?”

Rayla smacked his arm. “They know everything already, dummy.”

“Oh!” Just when he thought he couldn’t get any more terrified. “Okay.”

He slipped his hand into Rayla’s, gripping it tightly, and she pulled him through the opening. 

All three of her parents were armed. That did not seem like a good sign.

Runaan’s arms were folded, a steely glare on his face. Lain and Tiadrin were a little more relaxed, standing with their arms around each other’s waists, but their faces were devoid of any discernible emotion. Callum swallowed hard.

To his shock, it was Runaan who broke the silence. The older man’s glare deepened into something sadder, and he bowed his head. 

“I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me again, after… what transpired since we last met. I thought I knew the weight of your stepfather’s life, that I had factored the place he held in the hearts of those who loved him against the harm he dealt my people and found the scales tipped against him. But I have committed actions just as cruel against you, and you still chose to spare me. I’m grateful for that— and more importantly, I’m grateful that you kept Rayla safe when I could— when I would not.”

Callum swallowed again, this time holding back grief instead of fear. He had made his peace with Rayla loving Runaan— but peace with what happened to his dad was a long way off.

More than anything, he wished it didn’t have to be this way. That meeting the three people who meant so much to the girl he loved wouldn’t have to be tainted by so much loss. 

“We’re all grateful,” Tiadrin said, her cool expression breaking into an understanding smile. Lain gave him a similar look.

Their warmth thawed Callum enough to find the right words. “You raised an incredible daughter. Being with her has been the most incredible privilege of my life.”

“A mage and a poet. You picked a good one, moonberry,” Lain said, winking at Rayla. She ducked her head, but not enough to hide her smile. 

“You’re under no obligation, of course, but I can assure you you’ll always be welcome in the Silvergrove,” Tiadrin added to Callum.

A grimace chased Rayla’s grin away. “Actually… he won’t. Neither of us will. I’m a ghost.” She turned to Runaan. “They banished me for botching our mission.”

“But you saved the dragon prince!” Runaan bellowed, outrage pouring from every word. It raised Callum’s opinion of him, just slightly.

“And that won’t bring Ram, Skor, Callisto, and Andromeda back to life,” Rayla replied quietly. 

The names cast a silence over the tent. Callum looked down, giving the others a moment to mourn, letting them break it on their own terms.

“But where will you go?” Tiadrin asked.

Callum raised his head. “She can come back to Katolis with me.”

Lain raised an eyebrow. “A lone elf in a human castle?”

“She won’t be alone. I would stay with her for the rest of my life— and so she’ll have a home there for the rest of her life, too.”

A split second later, he realized what he said, and fought the urge to clamp his hands over his mouth. 

He meant it. Of course he did. He’d faced enough with Rayla to understand how deeply he loved her— and he’d faced enough without her to understand how much it ached to be away from her. But there was a difference between knowing she was the only person he wanted to spend his life with and admitting that to her parents within five minutes of introducing himself.

He risked a glance at them to find that Tiadrin’s smile had only widened, and he allowed himself a single, relieved exhale.

“Then let’s talk about that,” she said, waving him over to her corner of the tent. Taking her hint, Lain and Runaan motioned Rayla over to the other end. 

Callum glanced at Rayla, tense, only to find her beaming, her eyes shining with tears. She raised their entwined hands and kissed the back of his before letting him go, lightly pushing him over to where her mother stood waiting.

“I’m sorry,” Callum blurted, before she could even get a word out, directing the words more to the wall of the tent than to her. “I never meant to imply that I wanted to— to take Rayla away from you, or make any decisions for her. I know I shouldn’t have said that, but—"

“I’m glad you did.”

Callum finally met her eyes.

“A prince who ran away with an assassin. A human who can do primal magic. A dragonguard who never once abandoned his post.”

Tiadrin’s beaming face blurred as Callum found his own eyes brimming with tears. He blinked rapidly, trying to dispel them, and only succeeded in pushing them onto his cheeks. Tiadrin gently reached out, wiping them away, and placed her hands on his shoulders.

“I can think of no one better to entrust with my daughter’s future than you.”

She let go of his shoulders and reached up, removing one of the silver bands that encircled her horns. “Ethari made this for Lain when he told him he wanted to ask me to marry him. I got this—" she tapped the matching silver band on her other horn— “on my wedding day. I suppose I could have taken the old one off then, but I’ve been too attached to it. But I’m ready to let it go.” Carefully, she placed the band in Callum’s hands.

“You’re so young, Callum. Take some time to be with Rayla now, to understand who you are in peace. If you decide, at the end of that, to give this back to me, I won’t judge you.”

She stepped back and gave him a wink. “But if you decide you want to pass it on to a new owner… well, I have a hunch that she’ll be ready.”

[fwitolei]

Warrior's Honor Chapter 2: Building the Barriers

Summary: Tensions rise as midnight approaches.

Word Count: 3k

Previous // Masterlist // Next

Join the Taglist

Iris scratched her discolored face as she rushed through Katolis castle, hurrying to her next post. Emelyn and Soren had returned from their mission a few hours ago, and co-Crownguard had informed her of orders circulating throughout the castle, warning of the impending arrival of the elves. The orders were clear: Prepare for sundown.

"I want every soldier we have present and prepared for combat by sundown, got it?" 

Iris stopped, her ears alert for the source of the commanding voice.

"Even those who are off-duty?" someone else asked.

"Yes, even them. Everyone has to be posted and looking for those elves by sundown. Everyone." As the voice continued barking orders, Iris followed it around the corner to find a young woman with auburn hair conversing with an anxious-looking soldier. Emelyn.

"There you are," Iris called as the other soldier saluted Emelyn and dashed off. Emelyn turned to see Iris, then smiled softly. Her eyes were dull with fatigue, and her usually shiny armor tarnished with dust and dirt. "I take it you failed?" Iris asked, joining Emelyn as they walked down the hall together.

Emleyn sighed deeply, rubbing her temples. "Unfortunately, yes. All we did was chase a stupid bug Soren brought."

Iris scoffed. "So Soren found out about your little fear of bugs, huh?" "I'm not afraid of them!" Emelyn burst out. "Just because I think they're a little creepy doesn't mean they scare me!" 

"Right," Iris said, unconvinced. "And what about you? You look like you haven’t slept in a week."

"Don't get me started," Emelyn grumbled. "I've been sending soldiers in all kinds of directions. It's a mess." Emelyn crossed her arms, begrudgingly adding, "And the stupid High Mage won't let me report to King Harrow."

Iris threw her head back and barked in laughter. "I'm pretty sure lectures from the High Mage are the least of your problems. Besides, if we fend off the elves--"

"When, Iris," Emelyn interrupted, stepping aside as a group of Crownguard carrying halberds hurried by. "We need to be as optimistic as possible."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Iris dismissed. "When we fend off the elves, you'll have time to talk to Harrow tomorrow morning."

Emelyn didn't answer. As the two Crownguard entered the castle courtyard, Iris saw Millie flying overhead.

"It's almost sundown," Emelyn mumbled. "What would you think if Ezran became king? Like, by tomorrow?"

Iris scoffed. "That little kid? Please. He wouldn't last a week."

"What?" Emelyn asked, sounding almost astonished. "You really think he can't do it?"

"Sure he could, but for how long?" Iris said. "He's, what, nine? There's no way a kid like him could rule. Not without a regent, at least."

Emelyn hummed thoughtfully. "Who do you think would end up as regent? Maybe Cleric Opeli?"

"Nah, she's too by the book," Iris answered. "Lord Viren's pretty sharp, he would know what he's doing."

Emelyn sighed. The day was almost done, and there was still so much to prepare for. Moonshadow elves could be in the kingdom already, waiting for the right moment to strike. Emelyn couldn’t give up now. Not when King Harrow’s life was at stake.

Emelyn looked up and whistled loudly. Millie changed course and flew toward the two Crownguard, landing on Emelyn’s outstretched forearm. She fed the Golden Eagle a small handful of food from the pocket on her hip, speed-walking across the courtyard and leaving a confused Iris behind.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Iris called.

"I’m going to make sure the elves don’t kill Harrow!" Emelyn called back, releasing Millie back into the sky and brushing her hands off before running back into the castle. Iris watched her disappear from sight, then crossed her arms and scoffed.

"Try-hard.”

A beautiful evening light cast a warm glow over the castle courtyard, highlighting the intricate details of the stonework. Soren's gaze drifted across the scene, eyes lingering on the shadows. Shadows. They were long and inviting, reminiscent of the stolen exchanges he and Emelyn shared in their youth. But not today. Today, those very same shadows were cold and secretive. They were hiding something… evil.

He clenched his fingers around the hilt of the king's sword, adorned with beautiful Katolian engravings. The weight of the blade served as a reminder of tonight's mission— failure was not an option.

The doors to the Throne Room opened, revealing a fully-armored King Harrow flanked by four Crownguard. Soren stepped away from the window and presented the king with his sword, which Harrow accepted solemnly. As Harrow and his guards made their way to the courtyard toward his chambers, Soren felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked back to see Iris posted behind him.

"Iris!" Soren murmured. "Where's Red-- I mean, Emelyn? She was supposed to be here."

"She went to recheck defenses and do, like, 15 more perimeter checks," Iris said with an exasperated sigh. "I'm sure she'll meet us at the tower."

As Harrow and the Crownguard approached the tower, they spotted Emelyn at the base of the stairs, her helmet in hand. Her face was set with determination, yet her eyes betrayed an underlying sense of anxiety.

"Your Majesty," she said, nodding in acknowledgment. "I've bolstered defenses to four times the usual. If the elves are in the kingdom, we'll find them."

"Thank you, Emelyn," Harrow acknowledged, and the other members of the Crownguard began to move past him and ascend the stairs. Soren hung back, hesitating.

"Emelyn," Harrow started, then sighed heavily. "I'm sure we both know how this will end."

"Of course," Emelyn said promptly. "With your survival."

Harrow smiled ruefully. For just a moment, Soren saw Emelyn's face flicker with emotion. Sadness. Anger. Respect. Before Soren could figure out which, she had gathered her composure once more.

Harrow opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't seem to find the right words. After a moment, he rested his hand on her shoulder and said, "You always did have that blind determination. Don't lose it."

Soren saw the emotion in Emelyn's face again and figured it out. She was on the verge of tears.

Emelyn pressed her lips together, not daring to cry in front of the king. She breathed deeply, looked Harrow in the eye, and answered, "Yes, sir!"

Harrow smiled, patting her shoulder, then turned to the stairs leading up to his chambers. As he passed her by, Harrow glanced back, speaking softly.

"Please, Emelyn. Take care of my sons."

Soren watched as Harrow disappeared behind the staircase before glancing at Emelyn. Her grip tightened around her helmet, her eyes lowering as she grimaced.

"Is Millie still on watch?" Emelyn asked, pushing her emotions down. Soren closed the distance between them and crossed his arms.

"Yeah. I saw her flying around a few minutes ago."

Emelyn nodded. A moment of silence passed.

"...You okay?" Soren asked. Emelyn sighed. The sky turned orange as the sun set, turning the clouds pink.

"I'm fine. It's just… I'm afraid of what could happen if we fail."

"We're not going to fail," Soren said confidently, uncrossing his arms and placing a hand on her shoulder. Emelyn looked up at him. "You got it? We're gonna beat those elves, and that'll be the end of it."

Emelyn chuckled. "Yeah. And then a dragon will swoop down from the sky, and you'll somehow figure out how to slay it so you can brag to Claudia."

"Exactly," Soren replied with a grin.

Emelyn laughed. As the moon rose behind the tower, it sent a massive shadow on the castle grounds, causing a glow on the Crownguards' faces. Two Crownguard appeared on the opposite side of the courtyard, approaching their posts.

Finally, Soren said, "I better… head to my post."

"Yeah," Emelyn answered absentmindedly. Soren glanced at her for a moment longer, then turned to leave. Emelyn listened as his heavy boots receded up the stairs. Just then, She inhaled sharply and turned toward him.

"Soren?"

Soren halted upon hearing his name and looked back to see Emelyn staring at him, her hand slightly extended towards him. She had tied her auburn hair into a low bun, a change from her usual ponytail. Her side-swept bangs fluttered slightly in the breeze, highlighting the bright red streaks of dye framing her honey-brown eyes.

"...Be careful, okay?" Emelyn said.

"I should be saying that to you. They'll attack you first, after all," Soren answered. Emelyn chuckled.

"Still, though."

Soren grinned. He nodded, saluted her with two fingers, and continued up the stairs.

"Don't die, Red," he mumbled as he climbed out of Emelyn's sight.

Emelyn noticed the moon shining brightly overhead and realized it was likely nearing midnight. Her eyes were becoming heavy, her body longing for sleep. She yawned, bringing a hand to her mouth, but the sound of footsteps made her freeze. She peered out to see a shadowy figure approaching. Her hand shot to her sheathed sword, her heart pounding, her mind racing. Was it the Moonshadow elves? Why was there only one? Or were the others–

"Sir!" the male soldier on her right hissed, eyes wide. "It's Lord Viren!"

"What?!" Emelyn narrowed her eyes, focusing on the figure. Sure enough, the High Mage's gray robes illuminated in the moonlight overhead, his relic staff gleaming. Emelyn's stomach dropped at the sight of the mysterious woven basket in his hands.

"Move aside," Viren ordered, his brows furrowing in irritation at the mere sight of the auburn Crownguard. Emelyn crossed her arms.

"What's in the basket?" she asked suspiciously, looking the High Mage up and down. Viren glanced down at the basket's woven lid and pulled it further away from her.

"I have found a solution to the problem we are facing. It will ensure the safety of Harrow, unlike your sword-fighting abilities," stated Viren, with a slight inclination of his head. Emelyn felt the urge to draw her sword and prove her skills to the High Mage but decided against it. She was about to reply when a disturbing thought crossed her mind, causing her to freeze. Viren noticed her sudden change in demeanor and looked at her with a puzzled expression as she stepped back, glowering at him.

Emelyn swallowed hard, her hand moving to her sword as she said slowly, "...How do I know you're not a Moonshadow elf in disguise?"

Both Crownguard behind Emelyn snapped to attention. The female on her right gripped her weapon, ready for an attack. The other soldier had been dozing against his halberd and almost dropped it as he was startled by the mention of Moonshadow elves. 

"I beg your pardon?" Viren snarled, stepping menacingly toward Emelyn. "Do you really think a Moonshadow elf would simply walk into Katolis, assuming we wouldn't have put counter-measures in place? I apologize," he continued, his lip curling as he addressed the soldiers flanking Emelyn. The male soldier to her left turned beet red. "if your squadron was not informed of the code we implemented to alleviate your concerns. Rather, that issue falls under your responsibility, further revealing your incompetence as a captain and proper Crownguard."

Emelyn swelled with anger. How could he-- how dare he-- in the darkest hours of Katolis, when the kingdom was on the brink of a royal crisis, have the time to insult her as if mentioning the weather? Emelyn shook with rage, her mind racing for something to say, but she was speechless. Despite the frustration, she took a deep breath and composed herself, reminding herself of the bigger picture. At least she knew the man standing before her was indeed Lord Viren.

"...Fine," Emelyn muttered, stepping aside as she glared at the violet jewel adorning the front of the High Mage's robes. Viren stepped past her, only curtly replying, "Thank you."

Emelyn stared hard at the other side of the courtyard, lost in thought. The soldier to her right shifted her halberd to her other hand and stepped forward, gently placing a hand on Emelyn's shoulder. "Sir? Everything alright?"

"I'm fine," Emelyn answered after a moment. "Keep your eyes peeled for the elves." The soldier gazed at Emelyn, then glanced at the other soldier to Emelyn's right. He shrugged.

The female soldier glared at him, then turned to Emelyn. "Don't think too much about it, Sir. You were right to assume. Honestly, I would've done the same."

Emelyn sighed, ruminating. The full moon's light beamed down on the three soldiers, reminding them of the attack yet to come.

If only I had thought of something to say, Emelyn thought bitterly. Gritting her teeth, she groaned and put a hand over her face, covering one eye.

Then she heard hurried footsteps. She froze, then glanced behind her at the other Crownguard. Judging by their wary eyes darting along the grounds, they had also heard it. Emelyn started to pull her sword out but stopped when she saw only a young boy running toward her. She squinted, then exclaimed when she realized who it was.

"Prince Callum?!"

Callum tried to run past without a word, but she grabbed his sleeve and quickly pulled him before her. 

"Callum, what in the world are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the Banther Lodge!" Emelyn said, wrestling with him as he tried to pull away.

"Sorry, but I can't talk. I need to see the king!" Callum shouted, struggling to pull her hand away from his jacket. 

"What in the world could be so important that you have to walk up to his chambers when the elves could arrive at any minute-- CALLUM!"

Callum slammed his body into Emelyn, causing her to loosen her grip on his sleeve. Callum yanked his arm away and raced up the stairs two at a time.

"IRIS! STOP HIM!" Emelyn screamed. 

Halfway up the staircase, Iris heard the commotion. She looked to see Callum running past the confused Crownguard. Iris started to step out and stop him, but Callum saw it coming. He ducked under her arm, but she grabbed his scarf. The force of Callum running pulled Iris forward, and she tripped on a star. He pulled his scarf out of her hand, continuing up the stairs. 

Iris swore to herself, turning around. The other Crownguards started talking amongst themselves, trying to figure out what had happened. 

Emelyn listened to the commotion, groaning in frustration. She started to climb the stairs three at a time to catch up to Callum, but one of the Crownguard stopped her. 

"Sir!" she said urgently. 

"What, what?!"

"Look!" she whispered.

Emelyn froze. She whipped around, her eyes darting along the terrain. A whirl in the wind. A crack of a boot on bricks. Sure, she heard it, but the question was where it came from.

Emelyn pulled her sword out, her eyes darting along the perimeter to figure out where the elves could've been if they were even there. She shifted her blade to one hand and used her other to readjust her helmet. 

"This is the last time I'll ever wear a helmet," Emelyn said, her voice barely above a whisper. Just then, an arrow shot out of nowhere and hit the Crownguard on Emelyn's left. 

"What the…?" Emelyn started, staring as he collapsed with a hiss of pain. Desperately now, Emelyn's eyes returned to the setting, straining them to find the source of the arrow. Her hands trembled, her sword vibrating with excitement, and she tightened her grip around its hilt.

She then noticed a shimmer in the distance, moving toward her. Another appeared, then another. As they came closer, Emelyn watched as they became five translucent figures with pointy ears, horns, and weapons sprinting toward them.

"Keep it quick, Andromeda," Runaan reminded her. 

"Of course," Andromeda answered, gripping her curved blade as she clashed with Emelyn's sword. She kept the lead Crownguard occupied as Runaan and Skor passed by. Callisto quickly finished the other Crownguard with a sweep of his double-bladed naginata. Ram hung back as backup.

Emelyn glanced behind her to see three wisps of figures running up the staircase. She averted her attention back to her battle just in time to see Andromeda jump back and Ram charge at her with his daggers. She raised her sword to block one blade, then grabbed at what she guessed was his other wrist. She slammed her knee into his torso, and Ram pushed her away, gripping his abdomen. Emelyn stepped back, watching her opponents like a hawk.

I can barely see them, Emelyn thought nervously. I have to finish them before they can inflict any more damage.

"Are you alright?" Andromeda asked Ram, raising her blade and glaring at Emelyn. 

"Yes. She's more skilled than I thought," Ram answered. "But I have an idea."

Ram muttered something, and Andromeda nodded with a smirk. Emelyn twirled her sword, readying herself as Ram ran toward her. Ram raised his daggers to attack but jumped over Emelyn at the last second, throwing her off guard.

Emelyn spun around, expecting to see Ram before her, but he ran up the staircase after the other three elves. Emelyn stared after him momentarily, confused, then thought about Andromeda. She started to turn, realizing that the elf was already standing before her.

Emelyn froze as a flash of silver slashed by her. As her eyes came in and out of focus, she noticed the last remaining elf standing before Emelyn, the end of her blade dripping in blood. Her blood.

"Humans," Andromeda sneered. Emelyn looked down at her chest to see the giant blood stain growing on her tunic, starting on her right hip and cutting through to her left shoulder. Emelyn staggered momentarily, her hands raising to the wound before she fell to her knees, gasping for air. 

Andromeda knelt in front of Emelyn and raised her hand. She gently lifted the Crownguard's pained face, then grabbed her jaw, further constricting her breath. "Pathetic," Andromeda scoffed. Emelyn yanked her face away.

"You-" Emelyn gasped, glaring at Andromeda. "You won't win."

Andromeda chuckled, then stood. She raised her foot and placed it on Emelyn's chest.

"We already have," Andromeda gibed, kicking Emelyn. Emelyn lay sprawled on the ground, writhing in pain. Andromeda turned, glanced back at Emelyn in pure hatred, then followed her comrades up to Harrow's chambers.

"No…!" Emelyn gasped, trying to climb to her feet. She looked up at the staircase as her vision blurred and watched Andromeda climb out of her sight

"Soren…" Emelyn murmured, wincing, before everything faded to black.

[dragon-susceptible]

Okay, I'm coming in with the screenshots fam because I have So Many Theories about this event. I also am going to reference the flashback from Runaan's story in Season 7 to cover some of the time we don't see after Callum runs away, but we'll start with 1x03 Moonrise. This also ended up being Really Long, so I'm putting it under a cut.

So Runaan's arrow flies around the corner into Soren's shoulder armor and doesn't pierce it, but announces their presence after the moon magic takes all the lights out.

Skor flips into the room first, backflipping this guard over his head like he weighs nothing. This is interesting because we see in Harrow's narration of their approach later that Ram was the one leading the approach to the castle.

So two down in about three seconds, and this screenshot is mostly because Skor is pretty and I like looking at him and their Moonshadow forms in general.

Ram is next, followed by Callisto and Andromeda.

Their weapons styles seem to inform how they approach. Skor is the only one with a mid-range weapon, dual wielding swords that aren't as long as Runaan's, and he comes in first dealing heavy damage with his feet as much as his blades. Ram and Andromeda, with their close-range weapons, come in and stay low to the ground. Callisto, with their glaive's reach, stays upright on approach, but is confident enough to hold it one-handed in a block position.

Runaan doesn't hesitate to shoot over his companions' heads, trusting that Andromeda (whose path he is aiming directly towards) will be low enough to stay out of his way.

So in the first wide shot we get, we see all of them. Skor made it closest to the door first, and is attempting to engage Viren. Callisto is on his heels, and Andromeda isn't being engaged yet. Ram appears to be trying to distract two different guards, and has just noticed Soren coming for him and needs to disengage Fast.

It's hard to get screenshots of it, but Andromeda attempts to move around the edge of the battlefield to get to the doors, as their goal is an assassination, not a skirmish. Skor engages with the group bearing down on Ram instead of successfully getting to Viren, and Callisto gets their attacker off them and then dives for them. Skor throws one of the guards at Viren and he loses control of the spell holding Callum's voice.

The elves react to Callum's voice returning to him.

Skor fully disengages from the fight he's in to look at it, and it's fascinating to me that his eyes have gone completely black with Moonshadow form here. That's part of why I headcanon him as having a pretty strong connection to the darker parts of moon magic.

Callisto also turns to look at it, and they clearly didn't expect us to be scrubbing through this frame by frame because they didn't bother animating a face or even the tattoos in their head to indicate a look over the shoulder lol

Ram isn't in frame enough to tell if he reacted, we really just got a second-long ass shot of him, but Andromeda appears to be too busy to notice the spell. She's already lost one of her sickles at this point, so she's down a weapon.

But also look at her she's so pretty in Moonshadow form my goodness

Runaan also pulls back and looks at it as he flips his swords around, and he's the only one who witnesses the spell reach Callum. I have to wonder what he's thinking right here. This boy who he saw a few minutes ago, who alleges he wants to help them save the dragon egg, is clearly being attacked by dark magic by the same people that Runaan is fighting. What the hell is going on? I think this is the moment where he realizes that it wasn't just a mistake of thinking the egg was destroyed when it wasn't, there's something Very Wrong within the castle itself that they didn't know about, because even the people he's striking against are divided.

Now there's three different presses towards the door, and here we have the first one - it's just Callisto, alone, and they can't break through it.

Soren fends them off, they're forced to retreat, and Soren falls back against the door himself to defend it since none of his soldiers have managed to do so.

Ram he bats aside like a gnat. Like it literally takes him less than a second. It took me so goddamn long to get that screenshot because Ram is in frame at all for like a total of one second.

He gets Callisto on the backstroke, and goddamn, knowing how strong Soren is, Callisto might spend the rest of this fight with a broken jaw ngl. They also clearly lose hold of their glaive for a second from the impact - you see it fall to the ground in the next frame as they're thrown out. Runaan backs towards Soren without seeming worried at all about him, and interestingly, is not using his bowblade at all - he may have temporarily lost it.

He throws down the guard in front of him with nothing but his hands, and Skor is approaching from the other side now to join him in the push against the door.

Ram fights like a wolf, actually - he keeps dashing in and falling back to tire them out, flitting in and out of frame so quickly it's hard to tell who it is. He also uses throwing knives, so his weapon isn't as distinctive as the others.

Second press towards the door.

Skor is down a weapon too, fighting with just one sword. Runaan's recovered his weapon and is using the full length of his bowblade as a single melee weapon now. Callisto hasn't regained their glaive and is just pressing forward with their hands, but they've successfully disarmed the guard they're fighting too.

Skor gains ground as Callisto loses it, and Ram dashes in to strike at Runaan's opponent, who they've now identified as the biggest threat to the mission. Soren is monstrously strong, apparently, and fends them both off at once, despite Runaan's superior height, weight, and reach.

Soren successfully fended off the second press towards the door while Callum was distracted at the window, and Skor and Callisto have traded sides. Runaan displays the "coming down on the enemy" technique is just A Thing Moonshadow Do on Soren, which (nerd lore moment) makes sense for their ancestral history being associated with cliffsides around the Moon Nexus. It'd be a very traditional fighting style. Callisto has recovered half of their glaive - so either it splits and folds like Runaan's and Rayla's blades, or it's been broken in half. Considering Tiadrin and Lain's weapons also convert, and Skor's and Andromeda's also fold, I'm inclined to say it probably can split for easier transport and that's what's happened here, it's just detached from the other half.

At the third press to the door, it's once again down to Skor, Runaan, Ram, and Callisto.

So Andromeda was likely the first to fall, because she was left defending the others from the entire hallway of guards during that second press towards the door. That said, given the fact that Soren kicks like a goddamn horse, Callisto and Ram might be effective deaf elf fighting long before she dies, from internal injuries. Horrifying as it is, continuing to fight after being mortally wounded is a very real thing that happens sometimes even to humans, and it's very much a thing for the night elves of Warcraft that the Moonshadow are blatantly based on. (Runaan is even named after the writer Devon's night elf hunter)

So that's all we really see in Moonrise, until Runaan stumbles out to the balcony alone.

Someone else pointed out in the comments of my Moonrise rewatch that you can see one of the other assassins' legs in this scene, and yeah, confirming.

It's a more reddish purple, which means it's either Callisto or Ram, and the lines come to a point down towards the knee instead of up towards the thigh, so it's Ram. He also made it into Harrow's room.

However! There's a bit more that we get to see in Season 7.

Holy fuck wait a second I'm wrong!!! Andromeda made it past the doors!!

She's only in frame for like a second and a half, but she burst through on Runaan's right as Skor came in on his left! So the only one who didn't make it through the door for certain is Callisto, because we see Ram's body in there in Moonrise.

Holy shit I have to revise my whole theory now.

So Andromeda made it past fending off the entire hallway by herself, not once, but twice at LEAST, while being partially disarmed. Holy fuck what a badass.

She, Skor, Ram, and Runaan were all in fighting shape when they burst into the king's chamber, as she and Skor leap in with Skor also doing the Anime Jump to come down on his enemies. Runaan had not broken his horn yet.

Callisto is the only one we see try to take Soren on alone, and they get pretty decisively bodied repeatedly, including being disarmed and likely having their weapon broken (even if it can split, there's no reason for them to do that on purpose mid-battle, so Im inclined to believe Soren broke the locking mechanism so it split into its halves). They took some serious trauma to the jaw - a blow to the chin with an armored elbow strong enough to throw them backwards - so actually, I said when watching Moonrise that Andromeda likely died first, but nah, Callisto was the first to fall, based on the information Runaan drops in Season 7.

After that, it's unclear. We know from where Ram's body is that he made it the furthest towards the balcony, but the room is a complete mess and it's been hours of fighting after the breakthrough before we see that. Based on his strategy of striking quickly and retreating, he may have lasted quite a while, but being in an enclosed space is going to fuck him up; it was only a matter of time before he hit a wall in the hallway, and there's furniture in the room. If I have the layout right, he fell because he backed into Harrow's table and couldn't retreat like he usually does.

Andromeda has a habit of going low, striking at legs with her sickles. There's a lot of ways that could have gone badly for her, but based on how long she lasted in the hallway, my guess is that she went under someone's sword and didn't see a pikeman coming at her from behind from too far away to fend off.

Skor is fighting with the same type of weapon as the majority of the guards, with the same type of reach, but a stupid amount of strength for his size, like Rayla does, and the ability to be partially intangible. This is the same playing field that Runaan is dealing with, and Runaan survives to make it to the balcony, so I'm inclined to say Skor likely lasted the longest - especially if those black eyes were an indication of his connection to the darker moon magic, in which case, I would theorize he cleared the room with it as a last act of sacrifice to ensure Runaan could get out. There are no soldiers in the room behind Runaan when he leaves, but Soren is still alive, so something must have driven them back out and made them hesitate to return.

I'm really not sure about who would have died first between Andromeda and Ram, since the fight clearly lasted for hours (Rayla and the princes are miles away from the castle by the time her binding falls and dawn breaks). Callisto may have been dead or dying before they made it over the river away from the castle, though.

If the assassins were soldiers, I would say it's possible that Callisto stayed back to guard the door to bottleneck the other soldiers from entering, but we see from how Andromeda moves around the battlefield in the hall that that's not really how it works. Their goal is the king's death - they're engaging with the soldiers only to get past them. They're not defending their flanks because minimizing their own casualties isn't a concern for them, only getting to Harrow is. They're not trained to bail each other out - Andromeda could have beheaded the soldier Callisto was fighting and chose to step around instead to try and get to the door. Ram could have gone low to kill Soren while Runaan had him distracted and he didn't, he pushed high to try and help get through the door. This is an offensive-only assault.

The one exception that I really see to this is as I'm going back over it, in the first group press toward the door, Callisto is still disarmed. In the wide shot, we see Callisto and Skor trade sides of the door, with Callisto ending up further from any opponents, but getting half their glaive back in hand. So Skor covered Callisto's retreat to get their weapon once. That's the only moment of mercy we see from the assassins towards each other. Otherwise, it's fully just trusting each other to take care of themselves and prioritizing getting to Harrow over everything else.

So, with the information from Season 7, my revised mental theory, consolidated:

Callisto was dead elf walking from brain trauma when they took Soren's elbow to the chin, but kept fighting because it took a while for the problem to get catastrophic. Skor covered their retreat Once, but they never actually made it through the door; Andromeda had to take their place to help break it open because their coordination and strength was starting to fail first.

It took Skor, Andromeda, and Runaan all together slamming the door to get it to break open, which is what happens in canon. Ram came in on their heels. Callisto fell outside, never saw the king.

Runaan got an arrow into "Harrow" right away, but the soldiers pressed through the door after them, and there was nowhere to retreat to anymore since they were bottlenecked in the room. Ram fights closest to him, but his strike and retreat tactic is fucked up by the furniture, and he's killed by the table where the king was shot and dying.

Andromeda keeps going low, trying to fight past the swords, and she holds her own for a while as she did in the hallway, but eventually is taken out by a pike as she tries to go under the guards' swords to strike from below.

Skor lasts the longest, striking from above with as much brute strength as blades, as Runaan does. He's mortally wounded near dawn, and as a last act of desperation, uses the last of his strength to send out the sort of dark illusion/death magic that Lujanne warns about, that the bloodmoon cult is derived from, which causes Soren to pull his surviving soldiers back from the room. Runaan stumbles to the balcony as they're chased down by the mind-melting illusion, only for it to fade out as Skor dies, and they return to Runaan having sent the shadowhawk to Zubeia and the other elves all dead.

All this with the caveat that we don't know for sure, except that Callisto didn't enter the king's chamber, and so likely died first.

How'd I do, @flaming-thing? XD

Watching tdp rn, I'm on 1×03. The episode harrow 'dies'

And I was watching the scene where the assassins come into the tower and are fighting the guards and stuff and? There's a scene where they all go to the door to try and break it down? But? Andromeda's not there? Like they're all there? But her? Is she dead? 😭

But now I'm curious, I wonder what order they all died in, and how? Like, they all seemed to be ok up to reaching the door (apart from andromeda 😔), and then we see only runaan survived? I would like to know

( @dragon-susceptible theorise with me, please 🙏🙏)

[ace-artemis-fanartist]

Some of The Dragon Prince ladies that I wish we saw more of.

[amazingfandommomarch]

*Everyone is standing around the broken coffee maker*

Runaan : So. Who broke it? I'm not mad, I just wanna know.

Everyone:

Callisto: ...I did. I broke it.

Runaan : No. No you didn't. Rayla?

Rayla: Don't look at me. Look at Skor.

Skor: What?! I didn't break it.

Rayla: Huh, that's weird. How'd you even know it was broken?

Skor: Because it's sitting right in front of us and it's broken.

Rayla: Suspicious.

Skor: No, it's not!

Ram: If it matters, probably not, but Andromeda was the last one to use it.

Andromeda : Liar! I don't even drink that crap!

Ram: Oh really? Then what were you doing by the coffee cart earlier?

Andromeda : I use the wooden stirrers to push back my cuticles. Everyone knows that, Ram!

Callisto: Okay let's not fight. I broke it. Let me pay for it, Runaan .

Runaan : No! Who broke it!?

Everyone:

Ram: Runaan ... Rayla's been awfully quiet.

Rayla: rEALLY?!

*Everyone starts arguing*

Runaan , being interviewed: I broke it. I burned my hand so I punched it.

Runaan : I predict 10 minutes from now they'll be at each other's throats with warpaint on their faces and a pig head on a stick.

Runaan :

Runaan : Good. It was getting a little chummy around here.

[dragon-susceptible]

Different Path Taken Ch18 P1: Lord Virus

Am I embracing the old fandom meme of refusing to use Lord Viagra's actual name because I think it's funny? Yes. Is it actually at least partially because I couldn't fucking spell it for a second in that title? Absolutely yes. Here have a section from the next chapter featuring the remaining adult elves (as Ram's with the kids) questioning Corvus about Lord Villain.

“It was a position King Harrow invented for him - as I understand it they were friends in their youth.” Corvus recited, and Andromeda tilted her head as she watched him go over the information.  He’d tried to bargain a little, but he caved the moment Runaan had pressed him about it. “He wasn’t highborn, but most of King Harrow’s Council aren’t.  Neither was Queen Sarai.  Lord Viren was a mage before he took the position, but I don’t know who he studied with or where.”

Interesting.  So dark magic wasn’t something readily found in Katolis, or at least wasn’t prominent enough to guess where a master studied.  That made sense with the relatively few dark mages they encountered near the border.  Andromeda glanced over at Skor for his reaction, and caught him scowling at the human’s shoulder.

Ah, yes.  Corvus was sent by General Amaya, so Skor’s hackles would be up automatically.  She didn’t know exactly what had happened to him, but the loss of his voice was a scar not easily forgotten.

“He’s - he was one of the king’s closest advisors.” Corvus continued. “He was said to be the closest, before Prince Harrow married Crownguard Sarai, and after she was killed in Xadia by Thunder.”

“Avizandum.” Runaan interrupted, arms folded, face darkening in response to the name.  Andromeda winced at it too.  When Corvus paused, Runaan said coolly, “The dragon king.  His name was Avizandum.”

Corvus’ eyes flickered to her and to Callisto, and Andromeda wasn’t sure what he saw in their faces when he nodded carefully. “Avizandum.  I’m sorry, I just - we don’t know.”

Callisto’s lip curled. “You don’t even know his name, but your people killed him at the foot of his own den.” They sneered softly. 

“He killed Queen Sarai,” Corvus countered, frowning back bravely. “Did you expect that act of violence to go unanswered?”

“He killed your queen after an unprovoked attack on the border!” Callisto said incredulously. “What were you expectin’ the reaction to be?”

“It wasn’t -” Corvus grimaced. “I can’t say that the mission was provoked by Xadia, but it wasn’t reasonless.  Katolis and Duren had been suffering a drought that had left our kingdoms starving.”

“And your solution was to kill some innocent creature on the border?” Callisto challenged.

Corvus took a deep breath and met their gaze evenly. “Lord Viren found a spell he could use to bring warmth and rain back to the kingdoms, allowing us to grow enough food to save a hundred thousand souls that would otherwise have starved to death that winter.  It . . . required the heart of the magma titan to cast it.  It was dark magic, and Queen Sarai disliked the idea, but . . . it saved the lives it was meant to save.” He looked up at Runaan bravely. “As assassins I imagine you understand the logic of taking one life in defense of many.”

Runaan tilted his head at him, and Andromeda’s eyes widened at the daring.  Privately, she had to concede he had a point, but . . . dark magic wasn’t as clean as a simple killing.

“Dark magic is not the same as death itself.” Runaan put her thoughts into words with a voice that was deadly soft. “It is a poison that eats away at the users and drains the lives of those around them, sacrificing innocents for power that isn’t yours to take.  It spreads like a plague wherever it touches and all bleeds back to its original source, feeding an evil much deeper, much darker than you know.  So no, what we do is not the same, and Katolis of all the human kingdoms should know this.  But if you have forgotten your own history, that is likely the fault of recordkeepers generations behind you who have failed you.” 

Corvus frowned deeper as he sat back in his seat. “Why would Katolis know better than the other human kingdoms?  What deeper evil gave rise to dark magic?” He wanted to know.

Runaan did not answer him. “Lord Viren, tracker.  You were saying he found this spell that prompted the attack?”

Though the human looked somewhat frustrated by Runaan’s refusal to answer his questions, he sat deeper in his place and nodded. “Queen Sarai was . . . displeased by the idea.  She and General Amaya have never agreed with the use of dark magic.”

Skor scoffed loudly from the other side of the cave, but when they all looked at him he waved a hand dismissively rather than bothering to answer.  He sneered in silence at the tracker. 

Corvus pursed his lips and kept talking. “They’ve always said that it’s a shortcut, and shortcuts are bound to have consequences.” He shrugged. “I guess they were right.  General Amaya - no one knows what exactly happened across the border, except the soldiers who were there.  I wasn’t, I was - too young.  But ever since Queen Sarai’s death, the general has said Lord Viren isn’t to be trusted.  That no matter how helpful he seems, and he may be helpful for years on end, he will one day stab you in the back.  I’ve never properly spoken to him myself, I’ve only met him a handful of times and kept my distance per her advice.”

“So why does the king trust him so?” Runaan asked, brows furrowing, as a thought began to take root in Andromeda’s mind.

Corvus shrugged helplessly. “He is the king’s oldest friend.  Why wouldn’t he?  As far as he is aware, Lord Viren’s never betrayed him.  The queen died in rescuing him from the - the dragon king.”

“You said he was the king’s closest advisor both before his marriage and after the death of his wife?” Andromeda asked thoughtfully, tapping the fingers of her good hand against her own lips as her thoughts came to a full theory.

Corvus nodded. “Yes.  At one time he was friends with both the queen and the general, but after the queen’s death . . .”

“No one else witnessed the queen’s death?”

“. . . No.”

Andromeda looked at Runaan. “Perhaps the dragon king isn’t the one who killed their queen at all.”

Runaan frowned, sitting back on his heels. “Why stop there, then?” He asked. “If he seeks power, why wait until his friend married, and then only kill the wife, if he was the closest thing the king had to family before this?”

“He wasn’t in line for the throne directly,” Corvus said quickly. “And he never will be.  That claim is hereditary, tracked through the bloodline.  King Harrow married Crownguard Sarai when he was still a prince, anyway, and he only took the throne shortly after Prince Ezran was born ten years ago.”

“Still, why wait ten years?” Runaan pointed out. “If he was likely to be chosen as regent for the boy, once he was born . . . ?”

“Unless it wasn’t just power he wanted,” Andromeda pointed out, and all of the men looked at her in confusion.  Dawning realization spread across Runaan’s face first. “What if it wasn’t just about the throne?  If he was so close to the king . . .” Skor and Corvus’ eyes widened next.

Callisto was still squinting in confusion. “What exactly are you gettin’ at?”

She resisted the urge to taunt them about it. “Perhaps his interests in the king weren’t strictly political, is all I mean.”

“They were both married at different points,” Corvus said hesitantly. “And Lord Viren was married first, as I understand it.  I don’t know exactly what happened to his wife, all the general ever says is that she vanished many years ago when their children were very small.”

“Vanished?” Andromeda echoed, grimacing as her stomach twisted unpleasantly at the implications of that. 

“Voluntarily,” Corvus said quickly. “At least from what we know, she just left without much of a warning or an explanation.”

“Doesn’t disprove my point, then,” She said, though she still grimaced at the very concept of being willing to abandon her children entirely, even with their father. “They both sought other relationships, but he wanted his control over the king, and his wife eventually realized she could not compete with that desire.  She leaves, the king marries and starts to drift away from his influence.  Perhaps he didn’t orchestrate the attack to get the queen killed, specifically, but when he sees a chance to get rid of her without suspicion, he takes it.”

Runaan grunted. “Seems he didn’t quite manage without suspicion, if what Corvus says about his general’s thoughts is true.”

Andromeda nodded to concede the point. “Still, the king is fooled.  So he regains his influence over the king for a few years . . .”

“So why is the king dead now?” Callisto asked, frowning. “If we follow that reasoning, there’s no reason for him to have died that night if we didn’t do it.”

Andromeda shook her head. “I don’t know.  It has to have something to do with the death of the dragon king and the egg.  Something about those events a few moons ago changed things on both sides of the border.  And if the attack was meant to be vengeance for the queen, why wait as long as they did for that?  The attack that led to her death was years ago.”

“Only King Harrow and Lord Viren crossed the border for that.” Corvus said carefully. “It wasn’t a mission known to most of the kingdom until it was too late to stop them.  Assistance from the Standing Battalion was turned away.”

“So he whipped the king up into a vengeful fury again.” Andromeda said, dread settling deep in her stomach as it all fell into place with Ram’s suspicions. “He leads the king across the border to respond with sudden vitriol to a death that happened years in the past, and they use the chance to steal the egg of the dragon prince and leave the dragons believing it was dead.”

Runaan’s hand was over his mouth with deep thought and he moved it to rumble, “The egg was not all that was stolen.” He glanced over them all seriously. “The queen did not give me a list, but she mentioned many things from her nest and her hoard were missing.  The dragons do not keep many artifacts that are not of great power or significance in their den.”

“So this all was a power grab.” Andromeda said softly. “Get the dragon king out of the way using the human king’s rage, get the egg, get whatever other power he can gather up . . . but why not reveal he has the egg?  Why keep that a secret?”

“King Harrow was usually a kind man,” Corvus said carefully. “It’s . . . he wanted revenge, but no one knew about the egg being stolen until now.  No one, I swear on my mother’s life, no one on this side of the border that I know of knew that the egg was here.  I somehow don’t think King Harrow was on the short list that did know.  He wouldn’t have approved of taking a child - or, close enough to one - from its mother, for no reason.”

Runaan narrowed his eyes. “But you could think of a reason he might justify it.”

“If he thought the mother was harming them.” Corvus replied immediately, and shrugged when they all looked at him.

Andromeda cut off the tangent before it could get further, outlining the theory once again as it took place in her mind. “So something triggers the mage to want more power from Xadia - dark magic alone could do that.  He whips the king up into a rage, comes to the dragons for another power grab.  The king grows suspicious in the wake of the attack, presumably realizing he’s taken more than just the life of the dragon king that they attacked for.  The mage loses influence over the king, we come to kill him . . .” She trailed off with a frustrated scoff. “It still doesn’t make sense that he would kill the king if he’s kept him alive this long, unless something else happened that we don’t know about.”

“It could be as simple as you say,” Runaan pointed out. “He lost control, the general’s distrust filtered through the king’s freshened grief and Harrow grew suspicious of the mage.  On top of that, we know Ezran fears him.  He won’t be able to manipulate the boy the way he can the father, if Ezran takes the throne.  So he has to take control now, before Ezran is old enough to take it from him.”

It was true.  Ezran had confessed before that he disliked Lord Viren, and was intimidated even by his ‘friend’, Claudia, the other dark mage like her father.  Animals were unsettled by the air of dark magic and that made the boy just as unsettled, and Lord Viren had been rather openly cruel to his own son. 

“There’s still something missing,” Callisto said slowly. “We’re theorizin’ things to fill in the blank of why the king is dead now.  But as for everything that led up to that night . . . it all does fall a little too well into place if the mage is playin’ us all for fools.”

Runaan hummed an agreement. “What about you, Corvus?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at the tracker. “Where do you fall in your loyalties, and why?”

[fandom-susceptible]

AU where the Moonshadow assassins' bindings were specifically bound to avenge the death of the dragon prince, and when Rayla confronts Runaan on the ramparts he realizes the egg being alive renders their mission impossible, and he ends up rallying the other assassins to help bring the egg back to Xadia. They send an illusion to keep the guards distracted while they slip the boys out with the egg.

Everyone still ends up thinking Harrow is dead because the illusions aren't real so they aren't getting hurt by the guards, and it gives Viren an excuse. He realizes they're illusions but uses them to kill Harrow's body anyways, and pin the blame on the elves.

Rayla's cases to the other assassins for allowing her to return after being Ghosted are essentially their reasons for going along with this

Runaan didn't sign up for two more goddamn kids but here he is he guesses

I just started the rewatch so like, a lot would change because of this, but idk where to start. I think the boys would find out Harrow is dead way earlier, because all six assassins would notice their ribbon drop, and Runaan would just tell them the truth. Ez wouldn't head back immediately though, because there's legal processes to go through after a king's death and it should have taken longer to move on. They won't know about Viren moving up the timetable or Corvus trying to find them until the same time they do in the show.

For some reason I also keep imagining Corvus and Callisto with similar personalities so the idea of Corvus chasing six Moonshadow assassins and two little kids across Xadia, and one of the assassins clearly gets his vibe, is very entertaining to me at the moment.

One or two of the elves may even return with Corvus and Ezran when he does go back. Zym's forgiveness of Rayla would cause all of their bindings to fall off (based on Runaan's binding disappearing in the show), and they'd go back to Katolis at the new king's side. Ram and Callisto, maybe. And then we have a whole new plot with new stakes as Viren whips up animosity against them when they've appeared in allegiance with Ezran.

I might have more thoughts on this later.

[greenmoons]

Andromeda's age

So because of what Runaan said here I thought Andromeda is the youngest besides Rayla. She and Ram looks pretty young and they were at least teens when Rayla was a child. But look at her horns cuffs, she is already married. So she got married when she was sixteen or seventeen? She is not fully trained yet because she can't access the moonshadow form yet, so she is young. It might not be weird in their race to marry at a young age.

By the way and it's not related but my headcanon is that she was married with Eljaal from Tales of Xadia. He is also assassin and he left because he was afraid their partner won't agree with their action, because they didn't kill their target so it's make sense their partner is assassin as well. They are married because of their horn cuffs so it's nice to think they are married to each other.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Updating my various headcanons on Runaan and Lujanne being related and Runaan and Andromeda being related to include Runaan and Kim'dael being related. I've got an old headcanon that she used to be an assassin back in the day, but this is juuuust a half step closer.

They all have British accents. And they're currently the only Moonshadow elves who do.

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

Tales of Xadia characters-Eljaal

Name: Eljaal Pronounce: They/them Race: Moonshadow Elf Profession: Assassin Information: Eljaal travelled to Del Bar to assassinate a human target. They were unable to fulfill their mission because their target fell to death in a climbing accident. Since then, they've been wandering in human lands trying to find a new purpose in life, knowing their beloved onces might not accept their failure.

*They have horn cuffs so they probably married.

On a personal note: I'm writing a fanfic about them and here are my headcanons about them. 1. I think they are from Hollow Wood 2. I think they are in relationship with Andromeda.

[fwitolei]

Warrior's Honor - Masterlist

Status: On-Going

Ultimate Masterlist

Description: Ten years ago, a mother and daughter walked into the throne room of Katolis' castle in search of aid. The daughter peeked out from behind her mother's skirt at the others, feeling overwhelmed by the grandeur of the space. Suddenly, a woman named Sarai approached the mother, speaking with her briefly before turning her attention to the child. Sarai kneeled before the little girl, asking her what she wanted to learn. The girl replied that she wished to learn how to fight. Now, Emelyn works hard in the Katolis Crownguard, protecting her beloved kingdom from the wretched elves and dragons of Xadia. But when a band of Moonshadow elves invade Katolis and kill King Harrow, she and her companions are thrown on a journey to take the Dragon Prince, who was presumed dead, back to his mother. As they embark on this perilous quest, Emelyn begins to question the true intentions of those around her and wonders who her allies really are.

a/n: i'm gonna try and finish posting everything that I have already written and then do some major edits while waiting for the s3 novelization so pls bear with me :P you can expect all of s1 and 2 <333

Season 1

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

[raayllum]

perseus callum and andromeda rayla i think

[m4rs-ex3]

i saw someone say andromeda's mom.......... and i see it...

New Moonshadow elf! And this one has a face!

their clothing actually looks really similar to the assassins uniform Rayla and Runaan wore; she might be a replacement if they haven't decided to do out with shadowy murder people yet.