#Lairs of Etharis

[raayllum]

Detective Rayla Theory

Otherwise known as: Why I think Rayla is Real in the Reunion Scene and Where I Think the Plot is Going, Subsequently. Discussion both for and against the Fake Rayla Theory here. Without further do, let’s get into it:

So I was having a good think on the bus today, turning it over and over in my head as to why Rayla would come back when she clearly hadn’t completed her mission - and trying to think up alternatives to 1) self worth development with Ethari in a flashback since that’d moot some of her natural S4 arc or 2) Aaravos somehow whipping up an illusion Viren for her to murder, as both seemed a bit more complicated than necessary. 

Which is to say: I think I’ve got it, and I think it explains more of the season this way, too. Basically: 

I think Rayla has come back to Katolis because the Dragon Queen, Zubeia, is there, and Rayla has information (based upon Claudia’s evil doings the past two years) that can’t wait to be shared, and she believes that the boys won’t get involved (because in her mind, why would they?)

Rayla has always been loyal to the Draconic royal family and would have been keeping an eye out for any dark magic-y stuff in Xadia because. I forget where it was said (an interview or AMA I believe) but Terry is more in tune with the minerals/earth side of Earthblood magic than flora or fauna, with possibly the ability to help make tunnels. We know he and Claudia have been running around Xadia collecting ingredients and doing dubious things to revive Viren. This means Rayla could’ve been somewhat tracking them, but ultimately foiled for obvious reasons, even if she could still find something clearly disturbing and worrying happening in the meantime. A trail of sorts.

There’s also the fact that with Zubeia is the only character we know of who’s 1) around prominently and 2) knows a shit ton about Aaravos. Avizandum is the one who imprisoned Aaravos in the first place (—3x06) and Zubeia would’ve seen the mirror in her lair every day for 300 years. Callum has no reason to think it was in the Dragon King and Queen’s chambers, but there’s a wealth of information at his finger tips if they can just make the connection.

But I’m getting ahead of myself: how and why does this relate to Rayla?

Well, mostly because of these three things: Rayla shows up in Katolis conveniently when the Dragon Queen and Zym are already there. While she wouldn’t want to drag the boys into everything, that’s also her queen and she wouldn’t keep information from Zubeia. And we know that the kids all end up in Xadia together, with Zubeia, later on in the season, and that the kids at are the Storm Spire before this too (since Callum already has Ibis’ staff).

— so whatever is going on is big enough and involves Zubeia enough, somehow, to have her travel with the kids and at least partially come on their adventure with them. And I don’t think Zubeia can know ahead of time that as much trouble is brewing in Xadia as it is, since I don’t think she’d be popping over to Katolis if she knew shit was about go down back home (she’d already been absent for one traumatic event at the Spire of her husband’s death, she’s not going to take any chances of something like that happening again)

We also get these lines from Zubeia (which given she only has one line in the whole show, no wonder I couldn’t place at first) and from Rayla, which have to factor into the season somehow:

which is all to say, I think Rayla, off sleuthing and doing detective work back in Xadia the past two years, has found something worrisome enough she has to tell the Dragon Queen right away, and has heard through the grapevine that Zubeia is in Katolis. Cue Rayla letting herself be indulgent (justify it to herself) to see the boys (and Callum) even though her mission isn’t over. To make sure he’s okay. Now that she’s reached what may be the final leg of her journey, she won’t be deterred by his presence — and she knows that the boys have been happy, busy, and safe in Katolis. Why would they get involved and leave now?

Only, the boys insist (or perhaps Zubeia asks), leaving Rayla to be upset and worried. This means she can go into full “protector” mode when they and Soren do accompany her and Zubeia back to Xadia / the Storm Spire, not realizing she’s just exacerbating her and Callum’s issues (i,e. “I don’t need to be protected” on his end and “Who’s protecting you?”). It also gives the group a reason to leave, a plot reason for her to come back so soon (just like Viren, her return is the plot catalyst) and to start hashing out the emotional consequences of her previous choices neither she nor Callum have fully dealt with.

Zubeia’s knowledge of Aaravos also gives Callum an opportunity to have room to mess with the mirror on his own before he fully knows what he’s dealing with. He (and the audience) can learn some of the reasons why and know enough that it would be a terrible awful thing for Aaravos to get out of his prison... because he’s getting out this season, and Callum likely has the Key.

However if Rayla comes back to kick off the Plot with Big Important Things and she’s right about Viren being alive (even if it’s not the way she thought), that means all her TTM decisions have been validated... and we can’t have that. Her first fuckup, perhaps, may be thinking she can see the boys without dragging them into her business, bringing back those good ol’ “I failed” feelings. The second fuck up will probably have to be far greater and given that we know aged up, scarfed Callum finds her blade later on this season, it is probably that she has been captured and then will be used against / to bait her loved ones.

This means that the Plot reason behind Rayla’s absence is because her paranoia about Viren and Claudia is the only character incentive we had for anyone to catch on, of the main cast, to what they were / are doing. The main S4 synopsis makes it sound like they know that Claudia is trying to free Aaravos (or at least something terrible and scary) and that they have to try to stop it. We know that whatever gets the kids out of Katolis with the political unrest Ezran is facing is big enough that Zubeia comes along for the partial ride. Rayla coming back out of a sense of duty also answers 1) why come back here and now specifically when she couldn’t have completed her mission and 2) leaves her emotional issues open and ripe for the picking.

It also means that the Narrative Weight awarded to her absence, at least in the most straightforward way with the information we have now, is to accentuate Callum’s love for her, as he has the other half of their post-TTM arc. Prior to this point, one of his main motivations was that he couldn’t / refused to lose her, such as when he did dark magic in 2x07, much of S3, the main climax of Arc 1 with him jumping off the Pinnacle, and all of TTM.

But post-TTM, he has lost her, and he’s had to live with that every day for two whole years. He hasn’t moved on, it’s still a deep core wound for him, Aaravos will likely be able to witness their reunion through the mirror, and Callum has his Key - and Aaravos will likely have Rayla.

Those who fail Tests of Love are simple animals.

And we also have this line from Rayla’s letter to Callum as well:

They said that, sometimes, we make sacrifices so that the ones we love don’t have to. It’s part of protecting them—part of protecting you. Taking on hard choices and going to dark places is an act of love.

Rayla made that decision back in TTM and then made an active choice to come back to Callum in a way, while he remained more passive. By the end of the season it’ll be his turn to go after her and make a choice — and pass the Test of Love Aaravos has set for him for her life, because re S4, he’s lost her once. He’s not going to go through that again, and that’s the Point of her absence from a Thematic standpoint, too.

Basically me trying to connect the Plot, Theme, and Characterization Dots together desperately with the endgame of Aaravos getting out of the mirror this season (because we already know) and I hope you enjoyed my latest two cents / probably the path I’m leaning the most towards with the info we have right now.

#detective rayla theory #tdp #tdp spoilers #rayllum #cube hostage exchange theory #the dragon queen #s4 #s4 spoilers #predictions #like depending on how the reunion goes we'll know right away if she's legit or not #but for now i'm leaning towards 'yes and' #arc 2 #trailer #the dragon prince #zubeia #aaravos #writing this wore me out tbh #analysis series

[mandaloriandragontrainer]

Snow White AU

This idea, as all wild ideas do, came to me in the shower. Mainly, I was thinking about how Kim’dael would get along great with other self-obsessed witches like the Evil Queen and Mother Gothel, and the concept came together. It’s mainly inspired by Disney’s adaptation of the fairy tale, since it’s the one I’m most familiar with (along with a smattering of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty), although I made some alterations so the story would fit the characters’ personalities.

I had a lot more fun than I thought I would than coming up with it, and maybe I’ll flesh it out into a full fic sometime! Special to thanks to @fandomsandflyingstingrays for all her awesome contributions!

In this world, the Bloodmoon Huntress Kim’dael conquered and now rules the Moonshadow Forest, now known as the Blood Forest or Wood of the Witch to outsiders. No one, human or elf, dares to enter for fear of the Blood Queen and her evil magic.

Many years ago, before conquering the Forest, Kim’dael stole an enchanted looking glass from the lair of the Dragon King himself, and the witch eventually made contact with Aarvaos. The Fallen Star helps her hone her blood magic in return for eventually freeing him, but both are so manipulative neither can ever seem to get the upper hand on the other.

Tiadrin, among many others, is killed during the initial conquest of the Silvergrove, and Kim’dael later chooses Lain to be her mate, threatening to kill his young daughter Rayla if he does not comply. Lain agrees not only to protect Rayla, but also in hopes of getting close enough to Kim’dael to kill her—when he tries and fails, he is killed for his treachery. Rayla is then raised by her parents’ friends Runaan and Ethari, though she is still considered the stepdaughter of the Queen.

Although she initially considered training Rayla in her dark craft, as she has no children of her own, Kim’dael grows increasingly jealous of Rayla’s grace and beauty as the girl grows. She orders Runaan to train Rayla as an assassin in spite of her tender age, in hopes she will get herself killed. However, the girl continues to survive due to her natural talent and wit.

When Rayla is 15, Aaravos answers Kim’dael’s daily question of “Who is the fairest of them all?” with the girl’s name. Furious, the vain queen decides to take a more direct approach in dealing with her.

Kim’dael orders Runaan to take Rayla into the woods and murder her, promising to kill Ethari if he refuses. As proof of her death, he is to bring the queen Rayla’s heart—which she also plans to use in a horrifying spell that will allow her to absorb the girl’s beauty. Runaan, however, cannot bring himself to kill the child of his best friends, and urges Rayla to flee the Forest and never return. He presents the Queen with an animal heart, but his deception is realized when the spell fails. Kim’dael imprisons Runaan in a coin as punishment.

Rayla runs for days upon days, terrified and alone, but still finds the strength to rescue an orphaned baby cuddlemonkey from predators. As a reward for her goodness and bravery, the magical animals of the wood look out for her and show her a safe path out the Blood Forest.

The human Kingdom of Katolis lies just outside the bounds of the Blood Forest (Xadian geography is altered for the sake of the AU). King Harrow forbids his sons Callum and Ezran from going near the woods, as their mother was murdered by the Witch living within. The boys, however, like to secretly play and explore the borders of the forest.

The princes encounter Rayla one day while exploring. Callum is initially suspicious of her, but Ezran learns her story from Stella and the other animals and convinces his brother to trust her. Due to the prejudice against Moonshadow elves (humans believe they all drink blood like their evil Queen), the boys decide to hide Rayla in an abandoned cottage near the forest where they like to play.

Over their time together, the three eventually become the best of friends, with Callum and Rayla in particular falling deeply in love. With Rayla’s encouragement, Callum pursues his interest in magic and develops skill as a mage. However, Kim’dael has been searching for the runaway…

One day, a visitor appears at the cottage while Rayla is alone. She is shocked to see that the stranger is actually her long dead mother, Tiadrin. Though initially wildly suspicious, Rayla is convinced when Tiadrin uses her childhood nickname, “moonberry.” However, “Tiadrin” is, in fact, Kim’dael in disguise. The witch absorbed Tiadrin’s beauty when she killed her years ago, allowing her to perfectly take on her form and access many of her memories.

“Tiadrin” explains that she was not killed, but instead fled the Forest as Rayla herself did. Mother and daughter go for a walk through the meadows together and stop to pick moonberries to make Rayla’s favorite dessert. “Tiadrin” offers Rayla a berry… and the girl drops dead the instant the juice touches her lips.

The poison moonberry spell was provided to Kim’dael by Aaravos, who warned that it could be undone by true love’s kiss. The Queen scoffed at the idea.

Stella, who witnessed the whole thing, scurries back to the cottage to find Callum and Ezran, who just arrived to see Rayla. Callum sends Ezran back to the palace for help and races after Rayla.

He finds Kim’dael in her true form, dragging Rayla’s lifeless body back toward the Blood Forest to harvest her heart for her evil spell. Heartbroken, the brave prince battles the witch with his sky magic. Though it’s a vicious fight, Callum triumphs in the end. But he was too late to save Rayla.

Ezran arrives with Harrow and his men, surprised to find Ethari and a group of Moonshadow elves at the cottage, having gone in search of the Blood Queen. The two bands are prevented from feuding by the sound of Callum weeping over Rayla.

As the humans and elves look on, Callum gently kisses his love goodbye… and she is immediately restored to life.

With the Blood Queen defeated, the Moonshadow Forest is at last free, its inhabitants now able to rejoin Xadian society. Callum and Rayla are formally betrothed, and marry when they come of age. Happily ever after!

#the dragon prince #the dragon prince au #tdp au #callum #rayla #rayllum #kim’dael #bloodmoon huntress #ezran #harrow #lain #tiadrin #runaan #ethari #moon fam #aaravos #stella #snow white #snow white au #mando writes #mando ramblo

[kaseyskat]

does anyone remember when i was tdp on main years ago... probably not... well with s4 around the corner i got an idea to write something that will most certainly not age well and be disproven in a week, please enjoy <3

~

The mission had to be secretive. 

Despite all of Ezran's bids for peace and a new friendship with the Dragon Queen, the human nations - and Katolis especially - were still... wary, of the idea of hosting elves. It was hard enough to lobby for the friendlier Earthblood and Skywing elves to come and trade goods, but the thought of hosting Moonshadow elves after the assassinations? 

Yeah, it wasn't happening anytime in the foreseeable future. 

But this mission was different, personal. It had come only a few months after Callum's birthday, when he had desperately sent off a letter, "d chatted with Soren and with Gren for the rest of the details, had been stupidly hopeful. Despite his naive hope, he hadn't actually expected anything to come out of it; he knows her too well for that, knows her sense of pride would have her avoid everything until it stands directly in front of her, but he had still hoped... 

...well, the fruits of his labor now stands in front of him, clearly uncomfortable in the stone of the palace. 

"I appreciate your cooperation in this," Callum says as he leads the way to his own chambers. "Most of the people of Katolis are still... hesitant around Moonshadow elves." 

"I cannot say I blame them," Ethari says, and his hood drops now that he's indoors. "I must admit, I feel the same, knowing tragedy has befallen us all in this very place." 

At the very least, he's... considerate. Callum admittedly hadn't gotten the greatest impression of Rayla's pseudo-father figure in the short time they had met, except that Ethari had humored his bad jokes and had, at the very least, seemed to love Rayla very much- that had to be enough for now. 

Even now though, he droops with the heavy weight of grief, and not for the first time, Callum is reminded of all he and Ezran have fought for since the day their lives changed. 

"You got my letter, so you know why I've invited you here," he says instead, choosing to ignore the heavier nature of their conversation. "Two of the finest people I know have both testified that the leader of the assassins was kept alive before our previous high mage vanished him, and though I can't tell you exactly what happened to him..." 

"...I understand," Ethari promises, and there's a visible slump to his shoulders as they finally reach Callum's room, where he's prepared what he has found. A bow, shining with elven magic, found in Viren's own lab along with the mirror that Callum has hidden away. It could only belong to one; in fact, Callum had seen its owner wielding it only moments before it had been used to fatally end his stepfather's life. 

Some part of him, bitter and vindictive, had wanted to destroy the bow in vengeance. Instead, he had polished it and kept it as a reminder that even his enemies have families and lives of their own. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you," he says as Ethari grasps at the bow, holds it like a long-lost friend, close and tight to his own heart. It reminds him of the way King Harrow had cherished everything of his mother's after she died; everything including Callum himself, though he only realizes this in the bittersweet ache of hindsight. 

And yet, as he remembers what he had seen in the lair of the Dragon Queen, remembers the fate that he just needs evidence to prove, he keeps quiet. No need for false hope, not yet, not when he doesn't even know if there's a cure. 

"What you have done is more than enough, I know what he took from you as well," Ethari says remorsefully, and he finally looks up at Callum once again. "But I know you did not draw me all the way from Xadia just to gift me Runaan's bow. What troubles you?" 

Callum hesitates, and then commits. "It's Rayla," he confesses. “She’s been gone for months now, and I… worry. She hasn’t talked to you?” 

He doesn’t know what he’s expecting. Somehow, he had hoped that maybe, just maybe, Rayla’s first stop after disappearing had been to drop by the Silvergrove. He doesn’t even know if she’s still Ghosted, and the way Ethari’s face falls seems to confirm what he had been fearing.  

“Rayla is… free-spirited,” Ethari says, and his lips curl in the barest form of a smile. “She loves hard, but she also has a sense of… righteousness and duty, the kind of person who’d risk everything on a whim for what she believes is right. She’s done this time and time again, and it seems this time, you were the casualty and not the cause. It’s hard being the one left behind, isn’t it?” 

Callum sighs, and his heart aches in his chest as he stares forlorn at the ground. “I just wish I had been enough for her to stay,” he admits, and it comes out wretched, hollow. It’s nothing he hasn’t thought before, but he’s kept them buried, not wanting to put the pressure of his own problems on Ezran or Soren, not this time. 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Ethari steps forwards, gently placing a hand on Callum’s shoulder. It draws Callum out of his self-inflicted stupor, and he can’t help but relax at the way Ethari looks at him; it feels strangely comforting. “One day, she will come right back to you as though nothing has changed and preaching about her goals and what she’s accomplished, just as you two did to me. When that day comes, make sure to stop by the Silvergrove again, will you? I’ll ensure that you two receive a safe welcome.” 

The implications - that maybe, Ethari will be able to remove Rayla’s ghost status in her town, has Callum breathing a sigh of relief. “Will do,” he grins, and a thought occurs to him. “You know, in some weird way, you’re probably the closest thing I have to a father figure left, too.” 

“Ah, is that so?” Ethari chuckles, and he slings the bow across his back, still holding it with gentle hands. “Ah, to be a single father at my age… might as well break my back now.” 

Callum laughs, and despite the circumstances, he’s finally feeling… not better, but maybe okay with the situation. 

Besides, he thinks as he sees Ethari off again, it probably won’t be too long before I see Rayla again. 

Right? 

#kasey writes stuff #the dragon prince #the dragon prince spoilers #ttm spoilers #callum #ethari #the rayllum and ruthari are both heavily implied but not technically enough to tag #i just needed them to have a conversation i apologize #this is the first thing ive written that WASNT amphibia in so long now it feels unnatural

[pitchmoss]

going to do a quick ramble about my prev oc edits + lore

So when i make characters, especially as part of something like an rpg, I like to work with them as if they're npcs/companions and not protagonists (even if they fulfill a protagonist role like tav or durge).

And so w the recent edits, I was kinda framing it like origin characters + their companion missions. and that's how I titled them.

Lament (he/him) has a big wild west vibe, and he's a redeemed durge character. but bc of his past, people have been affected by him and there is a bounty on his head, hence Wanted + the relationship section being wanted posters. "Wanted" would be a companion mission where you defend him from the bounty hunter or turn him in but get interrupted by Scleritas Fel, killing the bounty hunter himself, and revealing Lament's bhaalspawn origins. You can assist Lament or kill him. the flavor text is from red dead redemption, wild west game w themes of, you guessed it, redemption. felt very fitting.

Pearl (she/her, any) is my fun circus girlie. her title is a reference to an actual circus in forgotten realms (circus of wonders). her companion mission would involve her reuniting with her troupe in baldur's gate, and coming to their aid (or not) when they are attacked. her flavor text is from night circus, I never read it. I just don't know any circus media. but the quotes I pulled were weirdly fitting, so, slay.

Briar (she/they) was raised by hags which are, icky. her title is blair witch project + reference to the coven being from etharis, from "grim hollow: lairs of etharis". their companion mission would involve learning the truth about what her covens plans are, the player can kill them, or let them live and have Briar decide to go thru with their plans (bad ending) or gain independence (good ending). the quotes on her page are from practical magic which has such a homey, witchy vibe like. hags are creepy but they're still home (and they do love her in their twisted way. and their weird plotting). also they're the closest i have to a self insert in dnd/bg3.

Pom's (they/them) title and quotes are from the Swamp Thing comics. It's specifically about them, not the swamp they call home. Their companion mission would involve coming across their former teacher/guardian Ilex (a gatorlike dragonborn). Ilex would be interrogated (about the necromancy, the raid, etc), and then killed or left to her devices.

Zaleska's (she/they) title is directly about her, and her quotes are from the book Carmilla. her companion mission would be about her, since she's a kinda gray durge that can be swayed to be fully evil or more neutral/on your side. if it goes wrong she will fight you. I've toyed w the idea if you fight her, she summons her dad and you have to fight her And an arc vampire. but that's mean I should do that.

#ocs #not tagging all them lol. #baldur's gate #dungeons and dragons #wait i edited laments.

[ladyandherbooks]

I'm still extremely unconvinced. Claudia literally called them spirits, which means they're not technically dead, but without bodies to return to, they're pretty much done once they're released. It'll be an emotional and heartfelt reunion, but the Moon Nexus ritual Lujanne mentioned in TTM perfectly set up this moment: Rayla/Ethari get to say goodbye to their loved ones one last time.

Anon we're going to have to agree to disagree on this point. Once again I highly doubt that they'd have Rayla and Ethari lose their family again. It would be a legitimately terrible and tragic end for everyone involved, would resolve nothing and would not help anyone's character arc whatsoever. Plus there are literally too many clues pointing in the direction of a happy reunion rather than a tragic one. The 1 time that Claudia calls them spirits doesn't really trump all of the evidence pointing to them returning permanently. Plus we have no idea if she actually knows how these coins actually work.

And there is also the possibility that Viren used the coins to transport Aaravos' mirror and Zym back to Katolis. It would be the easiest and most discrete way for Viren to transport them back home without anyone knowing what he had. And given that Zym was 100% okay and unharmed in Viren's lair I'd say that the coin doesn't destroy a body (we also have no physical proof that a body is destroyed by that spell and they could easily just be sucked into the coin) it just entraps it in a small, magical prison, frozen in time until they are freed.

[rainwalker-dragonblade29]

Guys!!! I think Rayla's parents might be alive!!!!!

Remember that scene when Runaan is held prisoner, and Viren shows him the mirror asking him what he knows of it... and he doesn't answer... so viren comes up with something he will fear more than death and puts down a bunch of coins in front of him... and we never see those coins, but Runaan just says, "what have you done?"

Later after Viren is done giving him his punishment... we see him hold a coin trapping Runaan inside it. And in the final battle Viren brings up the same thing again in front of Rayla, "another moonshadow elf that would join his collection" which comprises mainly of assassins... but what if there's more.

Let me explain, Ethari, as we know, enchanted those gems on the floating lotus frame thingies which sank in the pond... but didn't sink all the way, they sink only when the person that is connected to them dies. So Runaan and the rest of the assassins are not dead, but we already knew that, being trapped in those coins. But there's no mention of Ethari making them for Rayla's parents. Those half floating gems prove the assassins are not dead. Maybe Rayla got the hint that her elven brotherin of hers are still alive when Viren showed her the bag of coins.... But none of these would help determine the fate of Rayla's parents.

However, Callum could. After Rayla gave him the moon opal (that Ethari had given her) he used it to see what happened in the past with Rayla's parents in the lair of the dragon queen using Lujainne's spell. He saw everything... and he told Rayla that too. Rayla's parents were heroes who fought till the very end, and did not flee as per the reputation that came from the other members of the dragon guard.

When Viren trapped them, her mother saved the egg by giving Viren the idea to keep it alive as it could be weapon even when they were frozen in ice. He said, "I have a far better fate for you..."

Callum tells her they fought till the end, but to think of it, we never really see the end of them... just a far better fate. If the spell only lasted till as much as the audience sees, then callum never really saw them being killed. And that could mean, a better fate was that they are alive, but trapped in Viren's collection. He did say he has plenty.

Viren had the chance to kill Runaan and the others, but he didn't, he must have kept them, for they are born connected to magic, the arcanums which he could take and use. So he could just have encased Rayla's parents too, he did extract and use her father's magic (he gave it back). Dark magic is after all made from extracting magic from creatures and things that have it, elves count.

But this begs the question, could Runaan have known that they are alive, when he saw the coins? Maybe, if this turns out to be true... he wasn't in his village and they were banished, just like Rayla so he should see them just fine. But that can't be surely said unless all of them are freed.

So to summarize, Viren could have Rayla's parents trapped like he has the rest of the elves to be harnessed for magical power. And if they are freed, Rayla could not just reunite with Runaan, but also her parents.

This series is so brilliant and I love it for its ingenuity

#I wish they are alive #I want the reunion so bad!!!! #Rayla's mom's fighting skills are so cool #the dragon prince #tdp #tdp headcanons #theory #tdp rayla #rayla the dragon prince #callum the dragon prince #runaan #tdp viren #moonshadow elves #netflix series #ingenuity #rayla's parents #long post #tdp theory

[medu-nefer]

Trauma™

Sometimes I think about the fact that when Callum performed the Historia Viventem spell, he apparently heard what happened in the Dragon Queen and King’s lair.

And then I think about Ethari getting his hands on another moon opal and travelling to Katolis to find out what happened to his beloved husband, only to hear those screams.

ow ow ow ow 

#tdp #the dragon prince #ethari #runaan #ruthari #angst #yeah those screams stayed with me #props to jonathan for producing them :) #alternatively: runaan comes back but has ptsd and screams like that when he has nightmares #why am i like this

[skyfireflight]

I was surprised at the lack of hostility and the non-reactions the elves had at a human being in Xadia when they met Callum. They didn't even seem shocked or do a double-take. They just accepted it.

I loved how Ethari just went along with Callum's "trees to meet you," and his pretending to be an Earthblood elf.

Nyx looked at Rayla and Callum for two seconds and went "I ship it." And when the two of them kissed, she just shrugged and walked away like, "Yeah, I figured." There was no, "You're in love with a human???" Though I don't know if that says more about how the majority of elves think, or if Nyx, with her life of freedom and crime, just thinks differently and doesn't care about her society's values.

And Nyx knew he was human from the start (just like Ethari), and playfully got him to stop pretending he was an elf. No reaction after that.

And Ibis didn't even blink at there being two human children at the sky dragons' lair. He was just like, "Okay, this is happening now." And he led them right to the dragon queen and let Ezran touch her.

I do wonder why he didn't question how they were breathing up there. Maybe he was just so used to being there and breathing, he didn't think about it? (And if he was up there regularly, and for a long time, he's probably gotten adjusted to it. He would have had to do the breathing spell for all those people who came up there after the battle, though.)

Really, the only time an elf in Xadia (besides Rayla) mentioned that Callum was human, was when Ibis was telling Callum he couldn't teach him magic, and when Nyx was like "You're an elf, too? That's strange. The message said an elf was traveling with a human."

On a side note: I really enjoyed the look on Ibis's face when Callum showed him that he could do sky magic. I want to see his reaction to Callum having mage wings. And Lujanne's reaction to Callum being able to do magic without a primal stone.

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #tdp s3 spoilers #tdp thoughts #tdp humans #tdp elves #callum #rayla #nyx #ethari #ibis #ezran #lujanne

[kuno-chan]

Sides of the Moon - Ch. 23, The Nexus

Summary: Runaan and his team of assassins discovers that Rayla has defied him. Again. But when they find her, she’s bleeding out in the woods with precious cargo under her arm and face to face with the princes of Katolis running away from their own castle. They find that, upon this meeting, the die has already been cast.

Rating: T

–

Please consider reviewing on AO3

--

Every now and again, Callum checked Rayla’s face. He knew better than to talk about her feelings again. The first time, she snapped at him.

So, he chose a different approach.

“You’re upset. And you’re angry at yourself,” he said. “I get that. You should be.”

Rayla turned her head sharply. She frowned and looked away. He pressed her a little more.

“I would be. I do, actually.” he said. “I nearly got us both killed more than once at this point.”

“Those times weren’t your fault,” she said. Her frown lessened as she turned her attention back on him. “You did what you thought was right.”

Callum raised his brows slightly.

She crossed her arms and pouted.

“Rayla, that--”

“Don’t say it.”

He made a face at her. “That wasn’t your fault. You were only trying to do the right thing.”

“And now we can’t go to any town even if we run out of supplies. I’ve just essentially cut us off.”

“We probably couldn’t risk it much more, anyway. Obviously, Anarr and Morgan are hunting us and aren’t above hurting others. If you didn’t defend those people, then who would?”

She didn’t answer him. He didn’t push, but he knew he’d won in some small way when she uncrossed her arms. She didn’t look entirely convinced she hadn’t done a terrible thing from the expression on her face, though.

Not that Runaan’s disapproval helped. And he could admit that perhaps they could have formulated a plan or she shouldn’t have gone in by herself.

But then Callum wondered if that was the rational part of him or the part that hated to see Rayla in any more danger than she needed to be in.

Whatever the case, nothing good would come of her dwelling over any past mistakes. He took her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, okay? I thought you were brave.”

Rayla stared. Then, she smiled weakly and squeezed his hand back before letting go. It wouldn’t be so bad if she were happy. It would be nice if Rayla was happy.

That being said, neither of them knew what destination Runaan had in mind. He had been tight lipped about it for one reason or another and didn’t seem inclined to tell either of them where they were going. They couldn’t deviate west anymore. That was not an option. Stopping for too long was also not a possibility now that they knew how closely Morgan and Anarr were following them.

No, they had to keep going east, to Xadia, but they had to stop somewhere, right?

Then there was the issue with the egg. It was still glowing dimly and dimmer still as the day passed. What would happen to it? Would it die? Nobody had an answer. Nobody had time for an answer.

“In order to be born, storm dragons must be born during a storm,” Ram was telling Ezran at one point. “I don’t know what will happen from here on out.”

None of them did. The sky was clear for miles.

When Callum got stressed, he turned to either his sketchbook or, as of late, the rune book. He wondered about this book. It had notes in it. From Lord Viren, no doubt. But he was curious how special this book could be, considering it was in his lair. There were things in here that made him think and spells he wasn’t sure if he could try.

Maybe one day, he might.

-:-:-:-

Rayla hated that he was right.

Even if it didn’t feel like it.

There were some things Callum didn’t understand. What it meant to be an assassin and what it meant about her actions, right or not.

Or what it felt like to have Runaan’s disapproval.

They would speak later on all of this when their lives weren’t in danger, but that also meant putting it off and living with how he felt about her choices right now. Just like back when she didn’t kill that human.

Thinking of Callum, she’s not entirely sure she regrets not killing that human.

This was the part Callum didn’t understand. Her duties to her people as an assassin . To her team as one, too.

Then again, who knew what part of her was telling her that? So much had happened in the past few weeks. There was a time not too long ago where Callum was only the son of her enemy.

Now, that was so far from the truth.

When he squeezed her hand, she’d smiled, and it’d been so easy to just squeeze it back. They didn’t question it.

She wasn’t sure if she’d ever had someone like that.

Someone who wasn’t Ethari or Runaan, anyway.

They continued to travel east, stopping only when they had to, but otherwise leaving as soon as light came. Travelling at night might have been something they would have considered if not for Ezran and, to a lesser extent, Callum. At night, Runaan had two people on lookout at all times.

Morning came with nobody feeling entirely rested. Even Ezran was still rubbing his eyes halfway through the morning as they continued their trek. Perhaps they had gotten spoiled, sleeping in whatever inns they could find disguised as humans.

That wasn’t an option anymore. Anarr had taken the pendant Rayla had on her person and there were no extras. Granted, it’d been dangerous at best to be in those human places, especially considering Herna figured out who they actually were.

Rayla didn’t ask questions. She followed, but noticed more than once that Callisto and Runaan would talk amongst themselves.

Rayla found Callisto while they were resting that afternoon.

“Is he going to tell the rest of us where we’re going?”

“I doubt it’s a place you’ve been before,” he told her.

“Have you?” She sat next to him. “Where is it?”

Callisto fixed her with a look, deciding if he was going to tell her or not.

He sighed.

“The Moon Nexus is a place where moon magic is at its most powerful. And it’s the only safe place for us at the moment.” She winced. He continued. “There’s a moon mage who lives there and guards the nexus. She’s a bit… eccentric, but doubtless she won’t mind the company as long as we all behave.”

“I can behave,” Rayla said, looking away.

“I know you can. And you will. It’s a sacred place. Runaan would not be happy about your misadventures with the prince there.”

“He’s already not happy with me.”

To her surprise, Callisto took on a gentler tone. “For now. But, remember, you rarely ever see him in this kind of light. Here, he is not the man that raised you. And yet, that’s a difficult thing for him to put aside. He doesn’t think you’re incompetent. Just green.”

Rayla looked at him. “That’s a little better, I guess.”

“A lot better. It’s harder to teach incompetence than it is to teach inexperience. This is your first mission, and it’s already grown into quite the ordeal. Which isn’t necessarily all your fault, either. Be a little easier on yourself.”

She cracked a smile. “Thanks, Callisto.”

He hummed a response.

At least that part was still normal.

-:-:-:-

It took another day to reach a small town at the base of a caldera, but they didn’t deviate toward the town, but rather kept moving toward the caldera.

“The Cursed Caldera they call it,” Ram said.

Ezran didn’t even seem bothered. “It’s cursed?”

“No. Not at all. It’s just the illusions the moon mage puts up to keep humans away, but it’s just a normal caldera otherwise. Well, except for it being the Moon Nexus.”

Andromeda and Rayla took up the rear for a while, leaving Callum with Callisto.

“What will happen to the egg?” Callum asked. It was getting dimmer still.

“I don’t know,” Callisto said honestly. “I won’t know until we get there. Hopefully, Lujanne can help, but I’m not sure… she’s a moon mage and they only deal in illusions.”

“Lujanne?”

“The moon mage that lives on the nexus. She’ll know what needs to be done, but if she can do it will be another story. Storm dragons are only hatched in the eye of a storm. And I don’t know any storm magic that could help.”

Callum gulped. None of it sounded promising.

It took another day to reach the top of the caldera.

The trek up was an experience Callum did not want to live again. Giant spiders, strange creatures and voices. It didn’t seem to faze anyone else, but himself -- even if he tried not to let anyone know. Well, maybe it was obvious. When he looked back at Rayla, she had that little smirk on her face.

None of it seemed to scare her. Rayla was fearless. Callum was decidedly… not. Not faced with giant spiders, anyway. That was for sure.

Near the very top, they finally met this enigmatic moon mage.

“Runaan. As good as it is to see you again, I’m surprised that it’s you who’s up here making a fuss with my illusions.” Lujanne was a dark-skinned elf with the signature white hair of her kind. She wore a set of light green-blue tunics and robes. “What brings you to the nexus?”

Runaan approached her with an air of respect Callum hadn’t seen since coming to know him. “Shelter, if you can provide it. We’re being hunted by a dark mage and someone I used to know. We could use a reprieve from them if you’re willing to provide.”

Lujanne made a face. Worry slipped over her features. “A short reprieve? Too much attention to the nexus could endanger my ability to guard it. I’m a capable mage, but a dark mage and anybody you used to know must make for a formidable match.”

“No longer than a week. We need time to regroup. Gather ourselves. And we have nowhere else to go.”

She was thinking about it. But Lujanne’s face was kind and warm. “Very well. I would not turn you away in your time of need.”

“In return, we will protect you while we are here. Thank you, Lujanne.”

“You’re a good man, Runaan. I know you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t feel you had to.” She nodded. “Will you introduce me to the rest of your team?”

Lujanne knew Callisto and Andromeda, but not Ram or Skor. Then, they came to Callum and Rayla.

“The youngest of the assassins. I knew of you the first time I met Runaan. He mentioned you even all those years ago.”

Rayla’s ears pricked. She glanced at Runaan, then back to Lujanne. “Thank you for letting us stay here.”

Lujanne laughed. “Oh, it’s not a problem. Sorry about the giant spiders. I know they can be a bit of a surprise.”

“I wasn’t scared,” Rayla insisted. She nudged Callum. “But I think this guy was.”

Looking at Callum and Ezran, Lujanne cocked her head. “And you are--”

“A human, I know, but I promise we won’t cause any trouble,” Callum said with hunched shoulders, holding Ezran to him. “I know you’re supposed to guard this place from humans, but we’re not--”

“I was going to ask you for your names, but I appreciate that you won’t desecrate these sacred grounds during your stay,” Lujanne laughed again.

“I’m Callum,” Callum said. “And this is Ezran.”

“The Princes of Katolis.”

Runaan’s voice was hard to read even after all this time. Lujanne’s brows rose. Her face relaxed into that kindness that set Callum at ease. Then again, he was surrounded by assassins who’d been helping them this far. She wouldn’t be a danger to Ezran. He hoped.

“It’s good to meet you,” she said. Her gaze found the ever dimming dragon egg as Ram pulled it out. “It appears you have other things to discuss.”

Runaan nodded. “We do.”

-:-:-:-

Runaan warned Rayla not to eat anything without critical scrutiny. It wasn’t that Lujanne would poison them, he told her when she asked, it was just that Lujanne was… different. Rayla decided to believe him.

While Runaan and Ram met with Lujanne about the egg, Rayla found a place to be alone, just for a little while. She was sharpening her swords under a tree, enjoying the relative peace as brief or false as it was. Callum was taking a well deserved nap and Ezran had taken to Skor as well. Skor was teaching the boy how to defend himself, claiming he was too antsy to rest properly.

Callisto, not wanting to eat something his stomach wasn’t up for after a long journey, took it upon himself to mind dinner.

It gave Rayla time to think.

She thought about everything that had happened. She thought about her parents.

She thought about the guard she hadn’t told Callum about. That nagged at her. Did she have to tell him? Perhaps she didn’t. He might never know. Though she would know.

And she would know that he didn’t know because of what she refused to admit.

Was it wrong? If she was an assassin, then no. She killed in times of necessity. He was going to kill her what was more…

Then, she’d stuffed him in a box. Surely, someone discovered him by now. The body would have started to smell and people were going to notice he was missing. No doubt they’d combed the place through after what happened that night.

She was an assassin. It was her job.

Then, why did it feel so wrong?

When she thought about it, it wasn’t like she was thinking about her part in the mission. All she could think of was Callum asking her not to kill anyone if she could avoid it.

The lie she told .

Maybe this could have been avoided if she just explained it to him, but the idea of him looking at her with disgust. Disapproval. That scared her more than anything.

What would Ezran think? Would he be scared of her? Would he wake up and realize that the people he’d come to care about are all assassins who’d done what she’d done many times over?

Rayla never really had friends. Not really.

The life of an assassin dictated as such. It required her to keep people at arm’s length. But Runaan had Ethari. And he had had her parents.

In the back of her mind, she even knew he had her.

Skor had his wife and daughters. Andromeda had her family. Ram had his. Only Callisto seemed to be a loner, but even he had them. And perhaps some secret partner on the side. Ethari suspected as much, anyway, he mentioned it a while before this mission.

But Rayla’s parents were gone. She doubted they would ever show their faces again.

She only had Runaan, Ethari and this team

She had Ezran, now.

She also had Callum. Losing that… it left an ache in her chest.

Rayla kept on sharpening her blades under the tree. She would talk to Callisto again later.

-:-:-:-

Callum took a decent nap, but not a long one. He couldn’t sleep.

Perhaps because he wasn’t truly safe from Anarr and Morgan. And Viren.

Lord Viren was always there in the back of his mind. The man was like a black cloud since they left Katolis, and Callum couldn’t shake the feeling off of him. Anxiety, dense and numb, coated him like a blanket. It buried itself in the hollow of his chest.

He didn’t know where he’d be without the elves.

Or Rayla.

She always made him feel like everything would work out.

Even in the moments where he thought of Lady Eveline. The woman stayed in the back of his mind as did the sound her death made. Somehow, that was worse than seeing her splat on the ground.

Callum’s imagination played with the image in the back of his mind. Perhaps it was his artistic brain that was too curious. He kept getting flashes of what it could have looked like and each one made him sick. Once, it even made him get up in the middle of the night to go throw up. He didn’t know if Ezran heard him. Ezran never asked and Callum didn’t tell him.

Callum always considered himself fairly open with his feelings. He tried to be, anyway. As a child, his parents would take time to help him understand how he was feeling, and it had always served him well. Especially after the death of his mother.

But this… this was different. His feelings were too raw, his mind too averse to the image set before him by that sickening sound of Lady Eveline crashing to the ground. It was all too much.

All of this was too much sometimes. His life was too different. His friends now were different too. He felt bad for the thought, sometimes, but the way he lived his life these days was too different. When did he become okay with stealing?

When did he make friends with assassins?

But then he thought of Rayla. There was no denying that he was glad she was in his life. At what point did he stop being able to imagine a life without her in it? He didn’t know. He honestly hadn’t thought about it until now.

He also appreciated Andromeda’s affection for Ezran. Even Ram’s. It comforted him and made it a little easier to feel like his baby brother had the support he needed. Different as it all was.

Sometimes, Callum thought of Rayla in the dress from Meraxia and… truly, that had been the highlight of their journey thus far. She enjoyed herself that night. Somehow, that meant more and more to him these days.

Unable to nap properly, Callum went to go find her. Maybe she could show him how she gets her blades so sharp.

-:-:-:-

“Don’t agonize over this.”

“Callisto, but… don’t you ever want to tell someone about the things you’ve done? Even if they’re not…”

“Not good?” Silence. “I don��t have many people to tell or not to tell. The people who are here know. That is enough for me.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Rayla frowned. She wanted to ease her conscience.

“Rayla, Callum will understand. In his own time.”

She sat down on the bed. Callisto was gathering a small set of spices he’d managed to grab from the human town. Bland food was its own kind of demoralization, he told her.

She ducked her head. “How long will that be?”

Callisto sighed. “Telling him is your own choice. But if you choose to, this is all new to him. All of it. You must understand the pain that comes with being forced to adapt to a new life you never asked for. As much as he cares for you, he is still himself and you are still you.”

Rayla opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. He said nothing else. She sat on the bed, her chest somehow hollow and heavy at the same time. The truth ate away at her, gnawing like a termite. It was becoming harder to look at Callum and not be afraid now that they were in a relatively “safe” place where their lives weren’t inherently in danger.

“Rayla?”

Rayla jumped. How had she not heard him? Callum watched her worriedly.

“Callum, what’s wrong?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” He walked into the room, ready to comfort her like he always did. That broke her.

“Callum, wait.” She stood up and put her hands up to stop him. A question formed on his lips, but she stopped him. “I have something to tell you about what happened in Meraxia.”

--

Hi, everyone! Sorry that my chapters have been slower coming. I've been rather busy with the RAYLLUM ZINE. Falling For You: A Rayllum Zine is the first fanzine and I'm one of the mods on the project! I'm the designer mod and I'm putting the book together. We're in full swing with it now, but you can still get it right now! IMPORTANT: Relevant to this fic, I've written a ZINE EXCLUSIVE chapter for Sides of the Moon that you'll be able to read in the zine if you get it! Also, Hanna Hofer, an OFFICIAL character designer who actually worked on The Dragon Prince show has drawn art for a special double-sided standee featuring Rayla and Callum in their formal wear from the Meraxia arc! That's right, you can get Rayla and Callum dancing in their ball gown and suit and have it sitting right on your desk!

Check out all the links you need on Twitter @modxadia and Tumblr @falling-for-you-a-rayllum-zine. Open for a limited time! So go check it out right now!

As for the chapter, we're about to get some fun emotions. This entire arc is important!

As always, thank you guys for commenting and reviewing. You know I love it and it really keeps me motivated to write! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!

#the dragon prince #rayllum #rayla #callum #tdp

[uneryx]

Swap AU for Bliss-Bud

Aaaand another gift for the TDP Exchange! This is my gift for @bliss-bud​, who said they liked elf-human swap and role swap AUs. So I figure why not go for broke and SWAP THE WHOLE CAST! Last winter’s turn, humans slew the Dragon Queen and destroyed her only egg. Now, Queen Zubeia of Katolis has received the dire news that the Dragon King, known only as Harrow for the harrowing terror he causes, has sent Moonshadow elf assassins after her in retaliation. Zubeia knows her time is nigh, so she summons her adoptive daughter, the Princess Rayla, and charges her with watching over the crown prince, Azymondias. But Rayla encounters one of the assassins, a young mage named Callum, who gives chase before discovering Zym and pursuing both humans. They find the egg of the Dragon Prince in the secret lab of Zubeia’s advisor, the high mage Aaravos, and the three kids team up to return the Dragon Prince to his father. In doing so, Callum defies the wishes of his commander, Soren, and flees into the night. Soren is captured by Aaravos, and imprisoned.  At the royal winter lodge, where Rayla insists they go to gather supplies for the journey, they run into the Standing Batallion, where General Khessa has been sent to watch over the royal family. Rayla convinces Khessa, and her lieutenant Janai, that Callum will hurt both prince and princess if they don’t let the kids go, and so it is in great anger that Khessa storms to the royal palace and demands Aaravos convince the council to form a search party. Janai is sent to the border, for Khessa insists that she herself will lead the party. However, Aaravos has other plans, and Khessa mysteriously vanishes. In her place, Aaravos sends Runaan, the leader of a shadowy force of royal assassins, and his husband Ethari, a skilled dark mage and castle blacksmith. Aaravos then tortures Soren, attempting to extract information from the elf about a mysterious mirror he found in the Dragon Queen’s lair. Soren, horrified, refuses, and Aaravos imprisons him in a coin.  It isn’t long, however, that Aaravos discovers that within the mirror is a mysterious Startouch elf that only gives him the name “Viren”... After dropping the egg of the Dragon Prince in an icy lake, Rayla, Zym and Callum travel to the Cursed Caldera in search of a miracle healer. There, they only find Opeli, a moon mage, who lets them know they must hatch the egg. But the egg of an earth dragon can only hatch in an earthquake. She takes the primal stone (an earth magic stone that Callum had stolen from Aaravos’s lab) and smashes it, causing a colossal earthquake. The egg hatches, and out emerges the newly hatched prince - Ezran.  And at the border, Janai begins to face off with a new adversary - a Sunfire elf with a scar on her cheek...

And back in the Silvergrove, Claudia weeps as her brother’s heartbloom sinks. -- Hope you like it, Bliss! I put a lot of thought into how to make this story work without compromising who the characters are, and it was a lot of fun to design human versions of the elves and elf versions of the humans!

#swap AU #the dragon prince #tdp art #i drew this #tdp callum #tdp rayla #tdp claudia #tdp soren #tdp runaan #tdp ethari #tdp viren #tdp aravaos #tdp ezran #tdp zym #zubeia #khessa #tdp janai #tdp amaya #sure i'll just tag the whole dang cast why not

[lairofsentinel]

Moonshadow society is ruthless, no wonder their elves are, most of them, ruthless too in a way or another.

So far we saw, they have a lot of impractical traditions to emphasise the concept of "accomplish the goal quickly, or die in the process/live in shame forever."

As facts:

The binding ribbon to accomplish an assassination is ridiculous. A mission could go wrong for a lot of reasons and let the target live for another time to kill. That kind of situation is considered a brutal failure for them since the ribbon will amputate the elf. So, not accomplishing a mission in the expected time and form is reason enough for a big punishment.

Considering Rayla's parents as fugitives is another. The fugitive part could be understood that, because their bodies were not found in the lair and probably everyone knew the Skywing Elves also flee from the battlefield, they assumed they followed them [since they failed in protecting the egg]. Either way, dead or alive, they became almost pariahs of the Moonshadows because they failed their mission [the only thing that it’s important in any moonshadow’s life]. The egg was "destroyed", everyone thought at that time, and as long as it comes to results [which is the only thing that matters in their society] they were big, big failures. It’s noteworthy that Rayla would have preferred her parents dead than fugitive. That speaks volumes about how moonshadows see dishonour.

Then, we have Rayla’s banishment. The mission was to kill the King and the Prince of Katolis. Period. There is no place for any other result. Period. When the flowers started to sink, the Moonshadows may have imagined that the assassins were facing big problems. The accomplishment of the mission remained in suspense as long as  Rayla's and Runaan's flowers floated. They got a message of the King’s death, so half of the mission was done already, and there were still two assassins alive to kill the prince. Then, Runaan's flower sank and Rayla's remained floating. They awaited for her to come and give some explanations, but she had "half-failed" already.  She was not going to be considered a "decent elf who accomplishes her duty according to the orders". If she was going to come back, she was going to do it as a failure already [with her amputated hand as punishment]. When time passed by, her absence in combination with her "lineage" [her supposed fugitive parents] turned things obvious for the Moonshadow elves: the results were accomplished partially, which meant for them “not accomplished at all”;  the prince was still alive and Rayla was nowhere to be found. She had failed, and therefore her banishment.

The last symbol is Rayla choosing to die at the Storm Spire while telling Callum to leave with Zym. She knows she will die but that will mean finally “paying” the honor that was not paid before by her parents [she still thinks they ran away]. This is pretty close to the situation of Runaan sending the message of Death and waiting for the soldiers to come and kill him, because he “failed” in completing the mission. Moonshadows chose death over failure or dishonour, and put aside loved ones. She never changed her mind in that scene, not even later. It was Callum who ended up staying and fighting.

No wonder Runaan is so ruthless and highly focused. No wonder Rayla is what she is, a heavy degree of ruthless too for being so young. No wonder Ethari says that line about not being as strong as the others with almost shame [I headcanon him as probably one of the few moonshadow elves with high criticism to their own costumes since he can’t fulfil them as a warrior]. 

Duty and accomplishing results is all what matter in their lives. That seems to explain why Moonshadows seem to accept so easily the fact that Rayla’s parents leave her as a child to fulfil their duty, or why Runaan would always choose death / be loyal to his own duty over Ethari [because Runaan could have escaped after sending the message, but he awaited the Katolis soldiers. He knew he did not accomplished the mission and therefore it was better to die, breaking Ethari’s promise], and why Ethari let Rayla leave the Village without following her. 

Moonshadow elves are all about a ruthless way of living, fulfilling their duties in impractical ways, maintaining traditions and “apperances”=rituals that may put them in extra danger, and obtaining results in the expected time and form, no matter the cost. Every little crook in the process is punished. There is no room for individual or creative resolutions or more complex ways to think things. Once again, no wonder they are the perfect toy soldiers for the Dragon family.

Also, I found quite interesting that a lot of the death around the Moonshadow elves has always draconic orders and nobody started to resent the Dragon family for it. 

#the dragon prince #runaan #rayla #ethari #moonshadow elves #this comes to me while writing the fic... #the best way to analyse a serie/game is to write a fic... always XD

[pokeblader3]

TDP Meta: rewriting some flaws and missed opportunities

(I won't be talking about anything related to a. Viren, b. Dark Magic, or c. the history of Elven supremacy and oppression and the show’s wack conception of morality sometimes) because those are a can of worms larger than the scope of this small rewrite, and also we don't know how the show will portray them fully in the future.

I would say that in Books 1-3, Claudia and Rayla are the best written characters, with Soren having a good arc muddied by a few poor writing decisions, and Callum and Ezran being rather bland and uninteresting(and also having a few poor writing moments).

-Claudia is the golden child of Viren, and was raised almost as a pawn to him, with her having an unhealthy view of family coming before all else, including morality, and when her family is threatened, she does horrible things in order to keep it together. 

-Rayla was groomed to be an assassin, something she just didn't have the heart to do, and spent her life internalizing shame from her parents being deserters and her own inability to be a good assassin to her adoptive father, and how she "failed" her mission and was ghosted by even Ethari. She puts on a facade of aggressiveness and being hot-tempered to distance herself from being emotionally open(which assassins can't be), and when that mask comes off with Callum we see just how little she thinks of herself. 

-Soren was the one Viren took out his anger on, yet Soren always wanted to prove himself to him and get his approval like Claudia did. He eventually sees that Viren is gaslighting and manipulating everyone, and doesn't let Claudia stop him from leaving Viren before their final battle. 

-Callum and Ezran are... interesting, but they don't have real apparent flaws or weaknesses to their character like the others do. They have some good moments and strong characterization, but aren’t as interesting as the others in my opinion.

1. Callum's arc

Callum has a fairly generic arc about bravery and learning magic, but he also has an important character trait in valuing his family and trying to be a good older brother for Ezran.

Callum is someone who was(or should have been) greatly effected by the conflicts between Katolis and Xadia. He never knew his birth father, lost his mother at a young age, and lived with a distant but loving relationship to his step-dad and his younger brother, his only family left, only to see his home attacked in an attack that killed his father and intended to kill Ezran and him as well.

He should have been allowed to make mistakes or hold flawed beliefs, such as expressing anger or grief to Xadians for being involved in the killing of his parents(especially since he's traveling with the daughter of his parent's killer), but this is only ever addressed in one near throwaway line when he sees Avizandum's statue in Xadia.

It would also have made sense for Callum to be overprotective of Ezran, and stop at nothing to make sure that he won't lose his only family left.

For example, in Book 1 when the egg falls into the lake, it's uncharacteristic that Callum let's Ezran, his tiny 10 year old brother, dive into a frozen lake when he could have done it instead(especially given he's likely still emotionally turbulent and on-edge from having just watched his family get attacked and living on the run). In a rewrite, Callum should be unable to dive into the lake for some reason, but also freak out when Ezran says he’ll dive into the frozen lake, because he doesn’t want to lose him. When Ezran does go into the lake and isn't heard from for a few seconds, Callum would begin to freak out thinking his brother might be in danger and he just let him do it.

Come Book 2, when Callum decides to trust Ezran to return home alone, this decision would hold a lot more weight, as it's a change Callum went through as he overcame a flaw he developed from his past. Also in Book 2, this would add a deeper context to Callum's talk with Ezran about how life sometimes hits you hard unexpectedly, since he is older than Ezran and would be speaking with the experience of someone who's dealt with the war for longer than Ezran, and want to shelter and guide him through growing up in such a tumultuous time.

It makes sense that Book 3 would be about Rayla in Xadia, but there should have been at least a few scenes about how Callum is doing now that Ezran is gone and he truly is alone, far away from family and home. As is, Callum doesn't really have an arc outside of Rayla in Book 3. Callum should have been allowed to hold grievances or react "wrongly" to his parents being killed by Xadians, especially when visiting Avizandum's lair, meeting Zubeia(the one who ordered the hit on his father), and the home of the Moonshadow elves that killed his father. 

2. Soren's arc

Soren's character and arc is complicated and built on a moral dilemma: he is told by his father(who we later learn is abusive) to kill Callum and Ezran, for his father's own personal gain. The problem is that the most important parts of this arc, his debating over and “attempting” to kill Ezran, are completely played as a joke. Because of this, we never get to see how he could have convinced himself that murdering children(who are also his friends) could be justified by himself, because that is not something any normal good-hearted person would even “haphazardly” try, and a considerable amount of his arc falls flat because they made a joke out of what should have been a key character moment.

To a lesser extent, Viren isn’t shown as abusive to Soren until Book 3, which makes his actions and why he’s so on board with killing children confusing and not make sense until we learn how he was gaslit and manipulated by Viren an entire season later, with little to no foreshadowing in the 2 seasons beforehand.

3. Ezran, Zubeia and the ending to Book 3

Ezran's arc is about the burden of ruling and navigating conflict with pacifism. Ezran believes that every death in a war, even if fighting for the wrong side, is still a father, son, lover, family member, etc., who just had their life taken from them. But then by the end, the entire army the protagonists fight against are dehumanized and turned into literal monsters, with it being portrayed as heroic when they kill thousands of them. The show also treats Kasef as a generic bad guy needing to be killed, instead of a tragic figure who chose poorly when his family was killed and his country was threatened(like, say, Claudia and Harrow are).

And now, for the worst part of Book 3: Zubeia. Zubeia is a huge sour note to end what's otherwise an amazing season on.

She ordered the hit against Harrow. She tried to kill the royal family of Katolis, after her husband killed Ezran and Callum's mom. She is over 1000 years old and was the regent of Xadia for the last 300 years along with her husband, and the two of them no doubt committed horrible acts against the humans. It is a complete asspull that she gave a "humans and elves? together :0? how beautiful :0:0:0" speech at the end of the season, and on a larger scale, how fast elf-human relationships instantly heal. Amaya's sister was killed by Zubeia's husband. Zubeia ordered her niece and nephew to be killed. Ezran and Callum were staring at the dragon who ordered their parents(and THEM) to be killed, and then was acting like humans and elves together was the most beautiful thing in the world. Amaya and Janai getting together also should have happened in Season 4, Katolis and the Sunfire Elves were at war literally a day prior, and Amaya was being kept as a prisoner by Janai and put through a torturous pain by her sister a week ago, and all that time she was worried about whether or not her niece and nephew were alive and the war that was going on they were embroiled in. Janaya and Rayllum are my favorite ships but they could have been handled better.

And now for the massive missed opportunity that would have also solved that issue above: Zubeia should have died(aka, what I thought was happening before the final scene when she suddenly recovered). It's thematically consistent with how the other 3 families of main characters experience a tragedy because of the Human-Xadian war, lose their parents at the hands of other families' parents, and have to work past it and choose forgiveness over vengeance. It would have given Zym and the Xadians a more tenuous relationship with the humans since Zym lost his mother to the war, and provide drama for Books 4 and 5, and it would also have shown how sometimes, relations between groups are not easy to heal, and history is not easy to right.

#tdp #the dragon prince #meta #rewrite #ezran #callum #soren #claudia #rayla

[tenspontaneite]

#8 and #12! What’s something you hope for in season 4? What are some of your favourite headcanons?

Forgot I still had asks left sorry 😂

8) something I hope for...

I want more moonfam stuff. News on the coins, and how they might be released. Ethari finding out his husband isn't exactly dead.

I want more elf and dragon types shown. More culture worldbuilding, too.

12) favourite headcanons. Hmmm.

One I've not seen elsewhere: I think that when Viren was telling Aaravos the thunderfall story, he was fudging a bit. Specifically when it comes to Harrow's acceptance of draconian infanticide. I think Harrow never agreed to Azymondias' death, and certainly not as explicitly as Viren told it.

Reasons I think this:

- it's pretty uncharacteristic of Harrow to accept the killing of an innocent child, even if he is afraid of said child growing up to be vengeance personified

- in s1 it is heavily implied that Harrow didn't sign off on the decision. He says things like 'am I supposed to be grateful you broke that dragon's egg?' In a very blame-assigning and angry sort of way. Now this could have been Harrow trying to absolve himself of guilt in the situation, but

a) that would be super uncharacteristic of Harrow. Man makes mistakes, but when he does, he damn well owns up to them. He's too damn noble to shift off the blame like that.

b) it would be super uncharacteristic of Viren to then not immediately say 'excuse me bitch you signed off on this decision, this is on your head too!'

So I'm thinking it makes much more sense for Viren to have actually said something to Harrow more along the lines of 'okay but while we're here I want to raid the royal lair, they probably have some sweet magical loot we could use' And Harrow was like 'seems legit'.

#tdp headcanon #tdp #ask meme #note: i am absolutely using this headcanon in my piaj background

[corvus-raven-hunter]

Ethari had rushed to the spire as soon as he received word of the battle that had occured there. He had no reason to go, all he had was a feeling that he should. Taking a lunar Stalia, a brilliant horse with feathery, glowing hair, he rode around the midnight desert, through the trees, then toward's the mountain of the dragon queen. He stopped as soon as he saw someone. The horse reared in alarm at the sudden stop, but Ethari eased it, before looking at Corvus. "Where are your leaders?" He asked

Corvus looking a bit worse for wear and battle-weary as he looked up at the tall Moonshadow elf. “Our King is with Azymondias and the rest in the Dragon Queens lair.”

[galaxywolfqueen13]

The Reunion of a Lifetime (Chapter 1)

Creators: TheGoldenAtlas (Head-writer) GalaxyWolfQueen13 (editor) someboredloser (Beta reader)

Rating: General Audiences 

Word Count: 1660

AO3 Link: Chapter 1

Fanfiction Link: Chapter 1

Wattpad Link: Chapter 1

༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻

It's been six years, six years since the day Viren attacked the storm spire, four years since he and Claudia attacked again with the help of a Startouched elf. The day Viren attacked the spire he had told Rayla of a collection showing a small pouch, the next time he attacked she asked where it was, telling her in his last breath that they will suffer forever. Rayla searched. She had parties sent out for days to search near the spire but to no avail, she had given up, maybe it was a lie to scare her, she wondered but had to move on. Years passed and she forgot about the pouch. Now that pouch will bring back something she thought to never see again…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                              ------------------------

Present-day…

Hidden in the dirt near where Viren had fallen, missed by search parties, covered in leaves and left forgotten lies a small pouch. The small pouch began to vibrate as though it pulsed like a heart, slowly the vibrations and pulses became a more distinct one, two, no three distinct heartbeats could be heard from the pouch before it was shredded to reveal four coins, three of which were pulsing with dark magic before exploding with a force of what seemed like hundreds of powder kegs, of dark energy. Several nearby Dragonguard who were on patrol hear this explosion fearing they were under attack, they draw their weapons and rush to the source to find three elves struggling to stand. 

The Dragonguard already confused yelled out to them asking who they are, coughing one responded “what… where are we”, The guard pressed on “Speak, what is your name!” 

One of the other elves, coughing, responds “I.. am Tiadrin of the Dragonguard.” 

The Dragonguards all look at each other for a moment before one tells the others to help them to the spire. One elf though, in particular, was confused by the name he heard 

“Taidrin?” he said questioningly as he managed to stand to look to her and look around to see Lain also there. Taidrin recognising the voice turns to see Runaan standing there 

“RUNAAN?!” She yells out and rushes to him “How are you here!” She started shaking him as he tried to respond “ugh some dark mage….”, Lain recognising what he meant “Say no more how he got you I don't want to know, for now, let's just follow the Dragonguards to the queen...” Runaan, reluctant to see the Queen of the Dragons, agrees to follow up the mountain with the guards.

As they walk up the stairs to the queen's lair, Lain looks back at Runaan seeing how bad of condition he's in

“Lord Runaan what happened to you? Why do you have a binding on your arm?! What happened to your horn!” 

Runaan realizing the binding was still on him and hasn't cut off his arm yet responds “I was on a mission…. To kill the King of Katolis and his son.” 

Taidrin, hearing Runaan already knowing why he was on a mission like that, “The egg…. So we failed to save it ...” 

Runaan not wanting her to feel bad tries to correct her. “No, you saved it…. I just wonder what happened after...” 

They continued to walk in silence for a bit and reach the top of the mountain and the entrance of the lair. A guard walked to the Queen and spoke to her telling her the names of those who had been found, even outside the lair a great roar could be heard from the lair as if surprise and joy overtook the dragon inside, Lain and Taidrin looked at each other confused as to what had just been heard.

“Why would she be happy? we failed ...”

The three of them stood there waiting until they saw a guard rushing back to them, 

“Queen Zubiea wishes to speak with you three”, 

“Very well...” Said Lain, seeming accustomed to that behaviour. It didn't take long for them to get to the entrance of the lair but once they got to the entrance Runaan was tackled to the ground from behind 

“AGH”, “Azimondias get off him!” the Queen spoke in a kind but commanding voice that shook the mountain and the lair residing within. Lain and Taidrin meanwhile were looking awestruck at what was before them, the dragon prince, they immediately bowed to both the Queen and her son. Taidrin was the first to speak up as the young prince got off Runaan, 

“My Queen what has transpired in the time we have been gone… we thought the prince was attacked when we blacked out...”

The Queen stood for a moment seemingly looking for the words to say until she spoke with a low rumble of the ground 

“My guards, you two have been thought dead for nearly six years now...” Lain and Taidrin stood there gobsmacked by what they had heard, six years…. Six years we’ve been missing they thought to themselves as they looked at one another, then they turned to Runaan who seemed just as amazed by the statement made by the Queen and Lain asked him 

“Is this true have we been gone for six years!?” Runaan looked dazed at first before responding “well for me you've been gone a few months so I guess it is true'', “How have we been gone so long where have we been….” The queen waited a moment to let them process what she just said before continuing, 

“In the time you were gone my son has been returned to me, the mage that had taken him has been killed by human hands and peace has come, to be exact your daughter, Rayla brought my son back to me, she's a good girl, well, was a girl now she's a strong woman,” Lain, Tiadrin and Runaan all looked at each other all of them were happy at what they heard but also coming to realize that they missed so much. How could they miss such an important thing as this, they wondered. Taidrin and Lain then turned to the queen, 

“Wheres Rayla!?, How is she!?” said Lain dropping the formalities, the Queen, however, laughed a little, shaking the lair as she did “you wouldn't believe me if I said it, but last time I spoke with her she was going to Katolis with a surprise for someone there,” she said with what they could only assume to be a dragon’s smile. 

“Why would she go to Katolis?!” Lain responded in a panic “We have to go after her!”, the Queen, however, laughed again 

“oh, you have no idea all the things that you three have missed…. She became my guard captain after returning my son to me and I gave her leave until her surprise was old enough,” Lain and Taidrin looked at each other processing what she said “Until her surprise was… old enough...” they said to each other realizing what she meant 

“RAYLA HAS A CHILD!” they exclaimed at the top of their lungs, 

“I hope you like the boy as much as I do, he’s a good man… Now I think you three should rest here for a day or two then go to her,” the Queen said to the three before her. 

“Ah yes, Runaan was it? Step forward.” Zubeia knew that his binding was no longer needed but was impressed at how it hadn't removed his arm yet, Runaan nervously walked forward 

“My queen what is it?”, “Runaan calm down. I'm only going to remove your binding,” and as she said that she brought her claw to his arm and pulled the binding off with ease. Runaan staggered for a second feeling blood rush back into his arm again, he had forgotten that it was even going to be lost to the binding.

They stood there for a moment before a guard came in and showed them to an empty room for them to rest in and talk. The room was decorated in traditional Moonshadow decor most likely to put them at ease. Lain and Taidrin sat down while Runaan paced in the room, unable to calm down, then Lain spoke up 

“Runnan, what happened after we went missing?” Runaan startled to reality again by the question grimaced at the months that transpired after the egg was presumed destroyed. 

“Well...Everyone assumed the Dragonguard to have fled, they were all labelled traitors, both of you are ghosts to the Silvergrove….”, 

“That… makes sense, we failed our duty anyway….” said Lain not happy at his own statement but Runaan continued, 

“Rayla… didn't take it well, to say the least, she grew to hate you two… later when I was sent on a mission to kill the King of Katolis and his son as revenge for their actions she begged for me to take her...”, “ but then she ruined the mission, she let a human go, everyone was killed and I was taken prisoner but Rayla and the princes of Katolis found the egg. I guess she managed to get it here…” Lain and Taidrin sat there processing everything, what hell has Rayla gone through to keep the egg safe? Is she alright now? Does she still hate us? Questions ran through their minds until Lain spoke, 

“We need rest, let's just rest here and then head out to find Rayla...”, “What about Ethari?'' asked Taidrin “He probably thought you were dead too! We should send word to him and have him come here. We need someone who knows this new world we are in...” 

Runaan didn't like the idea but also missed Ethari so he relented and agreed to send a shadowhawk letter to tell him where they were. They sent the letter then went to sleep each of them wanting to know more of what has happened but still overwhelmed by what they know already.

Hey! I hope you like this little fanfic my friends and I worked on. If you have any constructive criticism please let us know! Any feedback is appreciated 

#The Dragon Prince #tdp #Fanfic #Family Reunion #Runaan #Rayla #lain and tiadrin

[ladyandherbooks]

Rescuing Runaan and Rayla's parents: A theory

In between season 3 and season 4 there is meant to be a time skip/jump to allow the teen and child characters grow up a bit.

So at the beginning of season 4 we get a flashback episode that deals with the days after reuniting Zym with his mother.

After learning that Viren had captured Moonshadow elves Rayla goes to talk to Soren and ask him about any Moonshadow elves he's seen his dad capture. She shows him Callum's picture of her parents and asks if he recognises them. Soren says that he doesn't and Rayla is disappointed until Soren adds that his dad did prevent him from killing the last Moonshadow assassin left alive on the night that King Harrow was killed. Rayla immediately asks him what the elf looked like and Soren, in his own way describes Runaan and Rayla's face floods with joy and hope. She asks what happened to Runaan but Soren says he doesn't know, he didn't venture down into Viren's private lair after they took Runaan there that night.

Rayla is worried and afraid but then Soren brings up that Gren might know as he was also kept in the secret dungeon and Rayla quickly thanks him beforw rushing off to find Gren.

When she finds him she asks him if he saw an elf while during his imprisonment and Gren tells her that while he never saw the elf he knew that he was there and brings up Viren's meetings with the elf. He also brings up that he tried to talk to the elf but got no response. Gren then gets serious and tells her about Viren's last meeting with the elf, that he heard the elf scream out as if he was being tortured and then seeing Viren emerge with a coin in his hand, talking about the expressions he always seemed to capture.

Rayla realises that Viren must have had Runaan and her parents in the coin purse during their fight and that she needs to go to the Silver Grove and tell Ethari that Runaan is still alive.

By this time her banishment has been reversed and she rushes back home with at least Callum in tow and we skip to her arrival. She rushes to see Ethari and tells him what she has learnt about Runaan's fate and Ethari is shocked but is sceptical. They go to the pool and it is then that they finally see that Runaan's flower hasn't completely sunk and it is with this confiemation that they both truly know that Runaan is alive. They rejoice and Rayla tells Ethari that they are going to get their family back soon and they can all be together again.

Flash forward to the present and a couple of years have passed since this moment and yet they still haven't found their loved ones and we can see the toll this is taking on the pair of them. We might even get a scene of Viren examining the coins to reinforce the severity of the situation that they are now in.

At some point during this arc Terry the Earthblood elf gets introduced as he has a connection to metals, especially precious ones and Rayla and Ethari hire him to locate Viren's magic coins for them.

#tdp spoilers #Runaan #Ethari #Rayla #Rayla's parents #Ruthari #Runaari