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raayllum · 19 days

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Gift Giving & Primal vs First Elves :: Or Going Off Into the Deep Lore Deep End

Remember that meta I compiled about Greek mythology, deceptive gift giving, and TDP? Yeah it's time to talk about the gift motif properly as well as some other deep lore things because these excellent thoughts ( @spicyviren, @kradogsrats, and @its-leethee) got the wheels in my brain spinning.

AKA an unknown amount of sectioned word vomit into the nature of magic, where it comes from, how deep magic operates, some gifts and motifs, and Leola, just a little.

Let's go.

Gift Motif

The gift motif is one that's a bit of a slowburn in TDP. While characters will often pass and hand over objects — tools, artefacts, metaphorical responsibilities or trust (handing over the egg, for example) — to one another, there's not a big emphasis on gifts in the first three seasons.

There are some, such as Callum's letter from Harrow (that he's given by Claudia once again initially as a goodbye), Ezran giving Bait to Barius in S3, and Rayla's family pendant, but most of these, as you've might already noticed, are contextualized within Goodbyes. Whether the gift motif will amount in arc 2 to escaping this "final gift" context remains to be seen, but that's how it tends to work in interpersonal relationships.

There is an element of peace offering in hoping that returning Zym — a gift and/or gesture of good will — will help usher in peace, but I think (as of now at least) that ties further into the series' theme of Reciprocal Exchange (the assassin mission being an eye for an eye vs olive branch for olive branch) than outright gift giving. (Although we will probably talk about Exchange and gift giving at some point because there is also a thematic tether there.)

However, there is one other thing that is more and more often referred to as a gift in Arc 1, and that's Magic. Specifically, dark magic.

Now, this actually isn't that dissimilar from what the Goodbye gifts amount to, either. In Harrow's letter, he gifts Callum the Key of Aaravos believing it to be a powerful magical relic of some kind; Rayla's pendant makes its way from Ethari to her to Callum, who then uses it for magical purposes; and Bait, as a glow toad, is connected to an arcanum himself.

I do think it's noteworthy though that in Arc 1, (dark) magic being a gift is emphasized upon, specifically because of these lines for Khessa:

Upon first watching it back in 2019, it made sense that dark magic would be referred to this way, even when I just thought maybe it was that humans had been given 'nothing,' as Claudia says. Dark magic is closely tied to ideas of theft and thievery — stealing magic from others to harness its power for yourself — and the series is deeply interested in concepts of ownership or who has 'true' ownership over something, in magic, a throne/crown, a price to pay, etc. This follows neatly into Arc 2 (for ex: why Karim seeking to steal the Sun Seed is a metaphorical dark path even if it didn't outright involve dark magic through Kim'Dael), which we'll build on later.

That said, given the depth of the knowledge at the Great Bookery that is open to Sunfire elves more than any other type of elf, and the information that Tales of Xadia and Ripples gives us...

While elves warned that if humans were meant to wield magic they would have been born with it, [Leola] gifted the wisest humans with secrets: the language of the dragons and the runes that shaped spells. With the unicorn’s gift, the most determined minds among the humans could finally harness primal magic.

It happened long ago, when humans had only just learned to hold fire in their hands without burning. They nurtured their precious primal flames secretly—in the dark of night, beneath shadows and shrouds—as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters [...] Humanity had been given something it was never meant to have. And so there came a calamity.

It makes it more than likely than, unlike other elves such as Lujanne or Ibis, Khessa had reason to believe/know that there used to be primal human mages in the past... and that it wasn't 'enough' for them ultimately, because they still hungered and developed (and were given?) dark magic. "Your kind could not be satisfied with what you were given" was about the rejection of primal magic from Leola (the unicorns) in favour of a darker kind that involves theft and "dirtying yourself" (5x08) with dark magic.

But at the same time, this complicates the Gift Giving motif of including not just dark magic, but being also for primal magic — for humans, at least.

And also for elves. (Ignoring how "great orb" is very similar to "great one" for now.)

Janai: It was a gift. But there's more to it than that. The great orb began as this. Karim: This is... a sun seed?

Now, the Great Orb being grown from a Sun 'literal' seed makes sense. We've known for a long time that in Xadia, "magic is everywhere. It's just part of the vibrance or spirit of things" (1x05). Primal magic naturally occurring in plants, animals, and elves likewise makes sense on that note. Just as not "many could bear the gruelling path of a rune mage," Karim cannot bear to have patience and faith in something that will only come to fruition centuries later.

That said, I raise the question: how functionally different is the Great Orb from say, a sun primal stone would hypothetically be? If primal stones and primal magic were gifts to humanity from unicorns — from creatures connected to the Star arcanum, for lack of a better understanding — then why not magic from Startouch (?) elves to other elves.

How do we know that all magic isn't simply a gift that was given once upon a time?

From the First Elves to the Primal Elves.

Primal vs First Elves

So what's the difference between First Elves and Primal elves?

Well we have a few pieces of lore:

1) Zubeia's status as a "heavenly majesty" (which we'll come back to in the next section) gives her authority to speak in the name of the first elves, who are effectively gods to humankind and/or Xadians ("Have our Gods died? / Where do the fabled Great Ones hide?" —the Epic of the Void

2) It seems that the First Elves are, as of now and for a while, exclusively in reference to what would otherwise be called Startouch elves, although the latter is seemingly a name that came later given Rayla's affirmation of "ancient legends". This is reaffirmed in Tales of Xadia's two lone mention of First Elves:

No group of elves presents a greater mystery than the Startouch elves. Sometimes called the First Elves, those bound to the Star primal are rumored to have made great marks on Xadia’s ancient history—but beyond story and legend, little real evidence is left to us today [...] Among the few extant records of Startouch elves are the Scrolls of the First Elves, now kept in the Great Bookery of Lux Aurea.

3) At a post-S2 con in 2019 (how's that for a far reach?) we got a timeline of the events of Xadia laid out for us. The description of the very first piece of history and era we know of goes as follows, with the Rise of Elarion happening 2000 years ago re: the Dragon Prince era ("The Return of Aaravos"):

The Era of the First elves is the first recorded era 5,000 years prior to the current era. Dragons and elves were not allied during this period. There were no distinct primal elves. This is an era before all that. Humans suffered during this period.

—2019 con timeline

4) Justin and Aaron reaffirm this at the 2:30 ish minute mark of this video (a couple of months before even S3 was released) by reaffirming distinctly to Primal elves. Later (7:40-ish mark) we see this distinction reaffirmed again through the statement of, "The patterns have been that these primal based elves have grown cultures and civilizations that have become separate and differentiated from kind of whatever the early days were with the First elves were."

Okay, so there was 100% a time where there were only First Elves, and humans, and Primal elves as we knew them (maybe still with the hands and horns, but no arcanum? Or no singular, distinct arcanum) didn't exist. Why does this matter?

This is where the deep lore timeline gets tricky, as we don't know precisely when 1) humans received magic and 2) at what stage the First Elves / Great Ones / Startouch elves 'left' Xadia, only that they did, apparently, when Elarion (the human city) needed help: "Elarion, unworthy whelp / Wept as the stars turned black the sky / They donned their masks / They turned their backs / And left Elarion to die". Why abandon the city (beyond indifference/cruelty as Aaravos would likely claim), who knows.

However, we can assume the timeline looks something like this:

Era of the First Elves

Primal elves (and presumably archdragons *) are crafted / develop into being, whatever that means

Humans are magic-less and are having a bad time

Unicorns / Leola extend sympathy despite the fact that the First Elves tell her not to (Book One: Novelization / Tales of Xadia)

Humans have primal magic (Ripples / Tales of Xadia)

This attracts negative attention, consolidated in Elarion ("the stars she asked their light to cast / and stop the dragons’ fiery might" / "as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters. Eventually, for the audacity of their fire, they were hunted")

Elarion asks for help and the Stars leave

Aaravos, the last star — presumably already Fallen from the First Elves — gives them dark magic under the guise of protection even though it will inevitably help him (i.e. give him the ability to possess people)

Dark magic replaces primal magic as the primary form for humans

Tension and violence escalates (unicorns are hunted to near extinction). Sol Regem is removed as King of the Dragons

Under Dragon Queen Luna Tenebris, the daughter of an elven leader suggests the Judgement of the Half-Moon, causing for humans to be banished rather than eradicated, and the continent split in two

Again, nothing too crazy / not too much we haven't already known or guessed at for a while.

But like I said, I'm gonna propose two theories, so bear with me:

Theory #1: What is Deep Magic?

The First Elves engaged with what we're gonna call Deep or Old Magic, for lack of a better term. There can be an assumption at times that this magic would be more 'pure' or less 'diluted' than dark magic or even the primal magic we've seen on screen. However, I think that's less than likely. Dark magic is often times a bad path for good outcomes, and primal magic can be a 'good' magic for bad outcomes (the blood freezing spell, for example).

While dark magic is a more textually malevolent magic system and primal magic is more true neutral — able to be used as a tool and a source of connection for the user — I don't think this necessarily means that Deep Magic is inherently enlightening (we see with the Ocean arcanum and S5 that knowledge can be an immense burden) or that it's on the opposite end of the spectrum and is outright benevolent.

What, then, am I suggesting Deep Magic to be? Well, we have some clues likewise from the same old interview post-s2 that we haven't had much basis to (potentially) understand until now, in which it's stated:

Deeper magic and deeper gifts that the original beings received [...] practical, usable, powerful magic is drawn from the six primal sources, right? But there is this idea that there's this earlier, less differentiated power kind of magic that's deeper and more - I don't kind of want to say what all of them are. It's not that important now, it has more to do with the history of beings and their interactions with each other. But Aaravos cares about some of this stuff. The best I can say is that one of them's Power — but well, what does that mean?

The six primal sources — potentially just five (hence why only 5 gemstones seem to occur naturally in nature, and Star seemingly doesn't) — are all based around physical, somewhat tangible principles. Earth, Ocean, Sun (fire/light), Sky (wind/weather) are perhaps the most tangible, with only Moon dipping into something into something more metaphysical: illusions and questioning the nature of reality, the nature of death, etc. However, I'd argue that the Moon arcanum's emphasis on death still makes it something that is particularly important to creatures who are mortal (but more on that later).

What I am arguing for is then, therefore, that Deep Magic is magic drawn from Concepts and Ideas > tangible things found in nature or parts of other magical creatures.

Three concepts, to be exact: (translated dark magic screenshot from Cartoon Universe spells reversed).

Zubeia: He chose as his instruments those who had strong hearts and strong minds, but who had an insatiable thirst and fascination with magic (power).

Three quasar diamonds, three deep magic concepts. Heart, Mind, Power.

("To know something truly and deeply, you must know it with your head, hand, and heart. Mind, body, and spirit." / "She laid before me her scales, her blindfold, and her sword, and told me to choose.")

Now, I don't know if it's these three concepts exactly — I could Truth, or Justice, or something like that — or even if it's three. But given what little we know about Deep magic thus far and how much the series' likes its threes, I think that's the likeliest number and combination.

We've known for a while that there's something weird with the connection between dark magic, spells that use blood, and 'star' magic. We know it's unlikely that Aaravos being able to possess people who have used dark magic was just a happy accident discovered after humans started using it. We know that when Callum is offered the dark magic version of the cube in his dreams, the symbol is blood red: "You can have unlimited power." And that dark magic "became the key that unlocked a place of power for humans in Xadia" (Tales of Xadia).

So what if dark magic stems from the vein of Deep magic that's taken from the concept of Power? What if when Aaravos offered his pawns "unlimited" Power, or when Kpp'Ar accused Viren of (potentially using star magic) "making the same choice you always made: the one that gives you Power," they meant it?

Alternatively, this could mean that most other Startouch elves — their longevity, their indifference — comes from the vein of Mind and subsequent intellectual detachment? Enough intelligence and reason not to hunger for more (Power), but not enough compassion and empathy to sympathize with others (Heart).

And it would also tie into Leola being unique among her own kind for her heart taking pity on the humans, and giving them primal magic — perhaps in the vein of Heart, if we're keeping things consistent — and why love ("To know something truly and deeply [...] I love you with all of myself, and I always will" / "To love is simply to know this: the tides are true as the ocean is deep") has been consistently tied to Callum unlocking arcanums. The "Narrative of Strength (power)" vs "Narrative of Love" being even more literal than we thought.

This wouldn't be too out of line since Moon arcanum philosophy already borrows heavily from Plato's idea of the forms/reality (Plato's allegory of the cave, anyone?) and the forms basically mean "your imagined ideal of the object in your mind is going to be more perfect than any tangible, 'real' version of the object could ever be." That being applied to living beings who are literally in the sky would track a certain amount, in addition to the idea that however primal magic is set up in Xadia right is "the whole world is like a giant primal stone; sky magic is all around us, and it's also in me, with every breath we take." But I digress.

With the distinction of Deep Magic as 1) separate and a sea that flows into the primal as well as 2) older and earlier than primal magic, now onto the next theory:

Theory #2: First elves and the Archdragons?

Now admittedly this one is more speculative since beyond knowing 1) the First elves = what we'd call Startouch elves, 2) the rest of them except Aaravos 'left' Xadia a while ago, and 3) the aforementioned possible 'Mind' deep magic thing, we very quickly run out of set knowledge into full blown speculation. Beyond

With that in mind, I wanna talk about the... weirdness, I suppose, between the Archdragons / draconic royal family and the First Elves.

There's a few notes to this: we know that Ancient Draconic is the language of primal magic, indicating that dragons existed and presumably had primal magic before elves did, and that elves had to be given that linguistic knowledge at least to a certain degree.

Then we also have the way Zubeia is referred to being mirrored with the way she describes Aaravos later:

Likewise, the one person/creature we've seen referred to as a god outside the Epic of the Void poem is Avizandum by Harrow (bonus points for the game motif of "entire armies have fallen like toys" because of him):

Bloodmoon Huntress also asserts that from an elven point of view (or at least Lain and Tiadrin, and presumably Runaan, too) that "Dragons are the lifeblood, the very core of Xadia" and generally assumed that dragons have the most powerful connection to their individual primal sources.

So I'd be willing to wager (esp since Sol Regem is at least 1,2000+ years old) that Archdragons at least once upon a time had been contemporaries of the First Elves if not peers. What and why that connection exists and how relevant it is for today, I don't know, but I do think there's something there, especially since the one example we have of a First Elf-Dragon relationship in Aaravos, Avizandum, and Zubeia, was perceived to be positive somewhat on all sides — a matter of trust on his end (in order to be "betrayed") and a matter of reverence and importance on theirs; "admired and loved by all" / "you meant something to him".

There is also something to be said for the Archdragons being the most powerful embodiment of the primal sources (alongside maybe some rare and noteworthy elves, like Queen Aditi) still being "unable to risk a direct confrontation" with only one singular and Fallen Startouch elf. What would a whole slew of them at the height of their power look like? (And yet it is implied that the Nova Blade is "ivory draconic" so... maybe you just have to get a First Elf close enough to the mouth to be consumed / bitten? Or perhaps the Nova Blade is made from the tooth/claw of a 'Star' arcanum dragon.)

TLDR; it's looking more and more like Startouch elves as we understand them and First Elves in generally are — while emotive and feeling the way humans and elves are — something very different from anything else we've seen thus far in terms of knowledge and power skill, and that distinction is only going to be made more and more apparent as the story goes on.

Theory #3: Where do we go from here?

So if Deep Magic is distinct from Primal, and is distinct from 2/3 kinds of Deep Magic in dark magic (derived from 5-primal and Power deep magic thoughts)... where do we go from here, magically speaking?

Well, the important thing to note is that the story has given us some thematic clues. Aaravos is concerned with exile and power, both things we see thematically most represented by human characters (with some elven exceptions like Karim and Kim'Dael). The other Star touch elves are very on brand for "Xadian exile" as their favourite punishment as well as extreme isolationism ("I knew I had to be strong alone" etc). Therefore, whatever answer we give Magically also has to reconcile these issues from a thematic and character based standpoint.

It seems like a switch of where people are concentrating energy — for Startouch elves and humans — needs to have a drastic shift to one of the other veins/concepts of deep magic that will hopefully heal the rifts. If Aaravos is Power (humans) and the others are 'Mind' (Xadian indifference/isolation and banishment) for lack of a better idea, then subverting that binary and shifting more to a third 'Love' path seems to be very on brand for TDP. Holding both at the same time but being guided by a higher principle of peace and harm reduction is what Ezran's 4x03 speech is all about, after all.

Something something both Xadia and magic and the First Elves being reunited with Xadia / humanity and elvenkind as TDP's endgame, something something.

Other Gift Giving Thoughts

The other thing I wanna talk about now that everything else is laid out is how gifts are Given, in TDP. We see time and time again relationships and magic systems being framed on the idea of whether they are giving, taking, both in a bad way or in a good way. There seems to be two main indicators for gift giving, therefore, either that in the receiver is worthy, or that the exchange is going to be reciprocal.

At its best, a gift works as intended.

Humans (and elves?) are given primal magic and generally use it for exploration and to care for themselves / one another The sun seed is given to the Sunfire elves, but they must nurture it. Callum gives Rayla her father's bow and she uses it to protect them. Callum achieves enlightenment and understanding of him and is rewarded with primal magic twice, even if the Ocean in particular is a bit murkier than he'd probably like. Gifts and belongings are relinquished or restored for freedom, for hope, for peace.

Here we have to wonder if Leola's Last Wish reconciles both the Goodbye gift motif and the gift of Magic motif, possibly resulting in the gift of the sun seed or more likely something to do with primal magic / alleviate the fallout of dark magic's consequences.

For example, to get an answer from Rex Igneous — a seeming wealth of knowledge — you have to give him a worthy gift that is also a sacrifice of some kind, according to Nath'an.

However, Ezran points out the major flaw in this line of thinking, as "We offered gifts that meant a lot to us, but the truth is, they don't mean anything to you." Not everyone is going to value the same thing or think the same thing is worth the price that was paid.

We see this interpersonally most with the mage fam ("Maybe the world would be better off without magic" from Soren, whose life was saved with it) and with Rayla and Callum (as Rayla's gift of sacrifice by leaving is something Callum did not want and rightfully did not receive well, alongside her moonstone pendant). Again: what is defined as worthy, or worthiness, is in the eye of the beholder.

Just like one of the initial thoughts that inspired this meta, Khessa asserts that dark magic is a magic that "takes" > being reciprocal for both parties, nevermind a gift. The irony, however, runs a bit deeper, as Aaravos thinks the same of his fellow stars:

But the stars kept from them one secret still: that their first lesson—patience—was not a gift of the stars at all. You see, patience is a lesson the humans taught themselves. No, the stars do not know patience, for they have no need for it. The stars want for nothing, and take all to their liking.

And we see this idea of a 'false gift' show up time and time again in the series. Nyx pretends to offer passage but actually wants to steal Zym; Rayla's act of love in leaving is a curse upon Callum's heart and wellbeing; dark magic itself is a false trade of sorts, given how unevenly it tips scales in Aaravos' favour and how much it ruins both the environment and body of its caster.

[The elven thief Lasair] never saw the precious blossoms fade and turn to cold ashes when exposed to the dawn. They never learned their gift was perceived as a curse, not a trade.

—Tales of Xadia

Kim'Dael goes to Queen Aditi under false pretences ("The Queen's Mercy") but the gift that Aditi gives her is nothing good at all:

What pretty bauble, she wondered, had she tricked the queen into forging as a token of protection? What could be powerful enough to ward away the wrath of dragons?

Just as humans sought the stars' help to protect them from the ire of the dragons, Kim'Dael sought Aditi's. And just as Aaravos offered them a false magic that would protect and ultimately trap/destroy then, so does Aditi, with magic that doesn't seem to be entirely dark or primal:

“But know this: the binding around your neck—it is made with magic not unlike your own. It is a magic that demands, that takes."

A form of magic even maybe that demands sacrifice for that kind of Power.

You could almost say it's something Deeper.

Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed going completely off the rails with me, and that this long (winded) post got you thinking! I'll probably do a followup discussing the implications of what we have here for potential Laurelion-Aaravos later. In the meantime, take the fruits of my labour, and spin your own hamster wheels if you'd like.

#the dragon prince #tdp #tdp meta #gift motif #analysis series #dark magic #primal magic #worldbuilding #analysis #deep lore dive #i'm also pretty sure aaravos or someone got cast out bc of the primal magic thing too #stars wanted a punishment of some kind. yeah #but more on that later #something something 'but this isn't true strength. it's only power'

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domxmarvel · 10 months

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Curiosity

Masterlist

Pairing: Aaravos x Gender neutral!Reader

Slot:“Why should I trust you?” “You shouldn’t” @v009hj

“Y/N I need you to gather these items for me” Viren handed you a list.

“New spell?”

“Yes”

“What’s it for?”

“It’s a long story,just bring these items to the room with the mirror” He walked off before you could ask anymore questions.

The items were relatively easy to find: a piece of fabric along with a needle and thread,a wine glass, a pestle and mortar. The only thing that was somewhat difficult to find was a geode,but thanks to a few connections you got it very quickly.

You made your way back to the castle only to find out that Viren already left and didn’t tell anyone where he was going. You made your way to the room where he kept that mirror,there was already a table set up so you just put the items there. A sudden draft caused the door to slam shut and everything turned dark. Before you could even use your light spell the mirror suddenly lit up. Carefully you stepped closer,leaning in as if something could jump out,which considering the mirror was originally from Xadia it could be possible. The mirror was like a portal into a beautiful cozy library,you didn’t have time to look closer, you were interrupted by someone walking in. Immediately their head turned towards you,you could move or even look away from them. They stepped closer to the mirror before removing their hood,a star touched elf. You had heard a lot about them but never seen even a painting or picture of one let alone in the flesh. He was beautiful and he could tell,based on how he smirked at you. You noticed how his eyes darted around the room,stopping when he noticed the small table and gestures to it. Before you could even think it through you were following his instructions.

The reality of it all struck you when he asked you to add some of your blood. You quickly grabbed a pen and paper,since you couldn’t hear him.

“Why should I trust you?” You held up the paper,he moved his hand like he was writing on the air. Letters forming as he wrote them,glowing brightly.

“You shouldn’t” There was a brief pause before he continued “But I know you will,because your curiosity’s already gotten you this far” He was completely right,you wanted to know more. He smirked as he noticed the blood dripping down your hand and into the small dow,blue dust and smoke coming out as your blood went in. He did the same,drawing some of his own blood. Suddenly you felt a chill down your spine before you heard. “Humans so predictable,you always let your curiosity get the better of you”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Aaravos”

#aaravos x reader #aaravos #tdp bingo #tdp x reader #tdp Aaravos #tdp #the dragon prince x reader #the dragon prince

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random-fandom-ramble · 1 year

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Who is Rayla talking to?

We’ve all been blessed with the first peeks at season 5 of the dragon prince, which included this above pic right here.

Now what do we see?

Raylas kneeling in front of something or someone and smirking (with Stella matching her cuddle mamas look).

Zym is giving this something or someone the stink-eye.

Callum is looking at Ezran with a look that is doubtful at best, and Ezran is matching that look with even more doubtfulness.

And Soren doesn’t seem to have much of a reaction to whatever is happening here.

What does this tell us?

What this shows us is that whatever or WHOever Rayla is talking to is

Distrusted by Callum, enough so that Ezran distrusts them as well

Disliked by Zym, enough so that he’s giving this person the stinky eye instead of looking elsewhere

Unknown to Soren, which is why he’s looking to Callum and Ezran for a reaction

Someone Rayla would enjoy giving some sass to

Who do we know that matches all of these criteria? It’s someone that at least Rayla, Callum and Zym have met before, so likely a character from season two or three.

Another clue to who it might be is to see where they are

It’s cloudy, that’s for sure.

In the background, right in between Callum and Ezrans heads, you can see some wooden construct with a rope on it.

Now, I’ve heard some people refer to this as a gallows, and that they must be interrupting an execution or something. But if you look real closely, you are just about able to see not just a rope, but a wheel attached to the wooden construct.

So a rope on a wheel on a wooden construct, with a grey cloudy sky as a backdrop. You know where you’d have a grey cloudy sky?

At sea, during a storm

We already know that they must be going to sea this season, because another one of the sneak peek images shows Ezran in front of a stormy ocean while it rains, and we saw them on a boat in the first teaser poster for season 5

But there was something else that we saw on that poster. And that was

Nyx, the criminal skywing elf from season 3

For those who don’t remember:

Nyx was the elf who intercepted the Lighthawk arrow with the letter that Ethari sent to the dragon queen, to inform her of Zym being alive.

She’s also the one who abandoned Callum and Rayla at the midnight dessert oasis, which is probably a good reason why Callum would distrust her

She also tried to kidnap Zym, which would make it likely that Zym dislikes her

And yet, after causing all that trouble (which includes the part where she’s basically the reason one of Raylas mounts, and Runaans dog pet moonstrider DIED), Rayla saves her life, which probably means Rayla might feel entitled to being a bit sassy towards Nyx.

And since this all happened while Rayla, Callum and Zym were in Xadia, neither Ezran nor Soren have met her before.

So in conclusion, seeing as that Nyx will be with them anyways (poster), and she’s the only one who fits to all the criteria named above, it seems as though she is the one Rayla is smiling to in that sneak peek image.

Now, why is she talking to Nyx? Might it be because she’s telling Nyx to join the dragon gang on their next endeavor? (In return for having saved her life from the soulfang serpents in season 3)? And if so, why Nyx of all people?

Alas, that may be a theory for another day ;)

But one thing’s for certain: Nyx is making a comeback in season 5, and I for one cannot wait to see her again!

✨✨Thanks for reading ✨✨✨

And as always, feel free to share your thoughts in the reblogs or comments below

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp theory #tdp rayla #rayla #tdp nyx #tdp theorist #tdp theorists #tdp headcanons #tdp s5 #tdp callum #tdp zym

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self-spaghettification · 9 months

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tdp overarching themes (redemption etc)

What will happen when Ezran/Harrow’s narrative of love and Aaravos/Viren’s narrative strength meet, who wins?

Will it be possible for Ezran to win the dark mages over to let go of pain and end the cycle of violence? Or is death the only way to protect the world and his loved ones? Will Ezran have to learn to become stronger himself?

is it even possible to kill a startouch elf? oor to convince him to maybe not, like, conquer xadia?

i don’t have these answers but i diiiid compile a bunch of relevant shit

I kind of went through Harrow’s letter to Callum and added related quotes or moments that seemed relevant to the overarching themes discussed and how they stand on opposing sides

orange is harrow’s letter, read in 1x06

red is ezran’s speech, given in 4x03

these are the main voices but there’s also

pink is ibis in 4x03

black is zubeia in 4x04

purple is various aaravos quotes

pink is various viren quotes

both from 2x09, 3x05, 3x07, and 4x04

green is soren, janai, amaya and rayla briefly (4x03 & 4x08 & tdp trailer respectively)

“Soon you will both face a lie. The great lie of history.

“His name was Aaravos, and yes, he was a star. One of the great ones, respected and loved by all. Until we uncovered a long hidden treachery.”

Advisors and scholars will tell you that history is a narrative of strength.

“Search your heart. There’s something that you want very badly. But something or someone stands in your way.”

They will recount stories of the rise and fall of nations and empires. They will be stories of armies, battles and decisive victories.

“And this bright future will require us to conquer Xadia?”

But this isn't true strength. It's merely power.

“I can destroy them all! I have all the power I need!”

“If you want to say something to the Dragon Queen, you should say it to her face. her real face, that can bite you in two!”

“It hurts! I feel pain about this and I am angry!”

I now believe true strength is found in vulnerability...in forgiveness, in love.

“We all want peace and we all want love. But violence tests us!

In a twisted way it converts us to their cause.”

“You tried to win them over with loyalty and friendship but they ignored you. those who fail tests of love are simple creatures who deserve to be motivated by fear.”

“Because pain and loss feel so terrible inside. You want to hate. You want to hurt someone else. so what do we do?”

So, what is the plan? To fulfill your wishes, of course. Is your wish to rule Xadia? I wish for humanity to flourish. And it cannot flourish with a knife forever at its throat.

There is a beautiful upside down truth, which is that….

These moments of purest strength appear as weakness to those who don't know better.

“These are the champions you’ve gathered to try to stop me? They’re nothing but pathetic children!”

“How can we stop this cycle?”

Violence.

Loss.

Pain.

For a long time, I didn't know better.

“In the name of love, you may perform acts so unforgivable that you may never forgive yourself.”

Violence,

“You must take down the Dragon Queen and capture the baby dragon. Then you will have the attention of all the world, and the power to do what you want.”

“Bring terror to Del Bar, to Neolandia, to Evenere, and to Duren!”

Loss,

As I write this, the sun is setting while Moonshadow assassins prepare to end my life. A few months ago, I took my revenge on Xadia. Tonight, it is their turn.

“I am going to destroy it, before it can be used to do any more harm!”

Pain,

“Every great crisis the world faced seemed the work of some ingenious and powerful leader, but in each case, it was secretly Aaravos, whispering in their ear.”

“Aaravos. A startouch elf responsible for more pain, death, and suffering than anyone else in history.”

“I am not a killer.

But if you seek to return that staff to its true owner, you pose a greater danger to this world than I can allow.”

You must die.”

stop! i just want to yell stop. but that’s not enough. it won’t work.”

“I do not mean to be cruel. But we must be ready to sacrifice. Even the things we love.”

“Well played. She will be a valuable asset.”“She is not an asset. She is my daughter.”

I ask you and your brother to reject history as a narrative of strength and instead have faith that it can be a narrative of love.

“I think about a positive vision. a faith we can all share, that we might build a future together in hope. a future where we can be safe with each other. but… it’s not that easy. or simple.”

“Everything I do, and everything I ask of you, is for the future of humanity.”

“The whining child king, in over his head and he knows it.”

because people are still hurting and they are still angry. we can’t ignore that, or pretend it will go away.

“Oh, my time is inevitable.”

somehow, we have to hold it all in our hearts at the same time. we have to acknowledge the weight of the pain and loss, but open our eyes and allow ourselves to hope and maybe forgive and love again.

“You cannot have your cake and eat it too.”

We have to give today’s children a chance to inherit a future filled with peace.

“I've tried to be selfless as a king, but as a father, I have a selfish wish. And that is for you and Ezran to be...free. Reject the chains of history. Do not let the past define your future, as I did. Free yourself from the past. Learn from it, understand it, then let it go. Create a brighter future from your own hearts and imagination.”

Destiny is a book you write yourself.

To give them that, we have to hold pain and love in our hearts at the same time.

“There is an aching pain mixed with love that you feel in these moments.”

“Just have two cakes.”

“This is called A Song of Love and Loss.”

I'm proud of you. And I love you unconditionally.

“If the fallen star is a danger the whole world will face, this is a chance to solve our problems together.”

“How do you kill a startouch elf?”

idk man. what if aaravos doesn’t have to die? what if it’s not too late for him to be redeemed? this is kind of a guilty pleasure hope of mine but still. the dragon prince is a story of letting go of generational trauma and past pain, of letting go of pain and differences, most importantly, of letting go of a narrative of strength, of a strong katolis, a strong lux aurea, a strong empire over xadia, and believing in a story of love and hope. if there’s anything that could drastically change things its the guy with a lot of power and a lot of ambition and pain ready to cause a whole cycle of pain all over again. if there’s anything that would drastically change things it would be changing his heart. and if theres anyone who can change it, it’s the kid who feels the most for him.

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xadian-daydreams · 8 months

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Key of Aaravos

This has definitely been discussed before, but most of what I see relates the Key to the prison or helping Callum/humans learn arcanum, so here's my 2 cents.

In short, it's how and why Aaravos is an archmage of all six Primals - when he shouldn't be an archmage at all. Full explanation below the cut.

Arcanum Theory

This is my understanding of how this works.

Xadians are gifted at birth with arcanum, which connects them to facet(s) of a Primal Source. Arcanums vary between species, with elves being the only ones where arcanum varies between individual members. They can choose to explore and fulfill their potential with it, but they can't ever exceed it. You can only become an archmage if you were born with an arcanum with archmage potential. If you weren't, no amount of effort, learning, philosophising etc can make you become an archmage - you simply weren't born with that destiny. Another example, if you were born a Moonshadow elf with an arcanum related to appearance and perception, then you can study to become an illusionist, but you couldn't become life/death moon druid.

Humans have no born connection to any Primal Source, but they also have no limits placed on their potential if they manage a connection, beyond time dedicated to exploring the Primal concepts and their capacity to understand. If a human connects to Moon and wants to learn illusions, and druid magic, and shadow magic and... you get the gist, well, they totally can with enough effort.

The way around arcanum limits (or having no Primal connection) is using magic gems and Primal Stones - which artificially gives you temporary access to archmage grade arcanum and a bunch of primal energy to channel into rune spells.

(Alternatively, there's also the Bloodmoon cult, who used dark magic to alter their inborn arcanum to liberate themselves from the restriction of the moon cycle.)

The Exception to the Rule

Then there's Aaravos, who's so unique and special the rules didn't apply, and he managed become an archmage in all six Primals. (Did you know the six stars on his face are astral tattoos? Man wanted to make a point).

But what if Aaravos isn't exceptional and has the same limits every other Xadian has - one arcanum related to a single Primal, probably not even archmage potential, that he is confined and limited by - he just figured out how to cheat better than Primal Stones.

If Aaravos held a Primal Stone for each Primal, he could fake his abilities. But Primal Stones have to be in contact and can break. There's no evidence Stars Primal Stones are even possible. Plus, he clearly isn't doing that. But... some way to make a bridge to channel the artificial arcanums without needing to even be near the source. An artefact that can hold something of himself to act as the link. There's a theory of Raayllum's that the Key of Aaravos contains his chest piece (white heart/star core), which helped inspired this theory. Aaravos' chest piece glows when he's accessing the artificial arcanums to cast magic, as he's reconnecting to the missing piece held in the Key.

Why does the Key glow in proximity to magical creatures/active primal magic- maybe a password system. You need archmage/archdragon grade arcanum for each Primal touching the cube simultaneously to open it - which would mean currently only Aaravos could open his Key to retrieve his core.

A Source of Great Power

But there's the hang up of where Aaravos got the full arcanum for Stars to make this Key theory work.

Harrow's letter says the Key unlocks a great power in Xadia, with the Key itself being slightly pulled towards this Source. Conversely, this means the Key is also part of what locked away this great power in the first place.

Running with the theory, this Source would need to contain the full arcanum of all six Primals - the only thing I can think of that would do that is Deep magic - the ancient mashup precursor to Primal magic. So, Aaravos placed some sort of syphon on the Deep Source/Nexus itself, and connected it to himself via the Key.

The bigger question is - does this tie into Aaravos' gift of dark magic to humanity as a whole? Dark magic is intrinsically linked to Aaravos, using it forms a connection to him personally. Is there Deep Nexus being augmented to artificially allow the casting of dark magic. Which would mean this Key could be used to access a means to the source of dark magic - which could be disabled.

Also, it's probably not a coincidence the dark magic symbol has the diamond shape of Aaravos' Star chest piece in it.

And a final question - if the Key is giving Aaravos arcanum, could it be used to remove his arcanum, giving him the same unlimited potential as a human. Presumably, his long experience with using the Primals would translate into reconnecting, human style, fairly easily. (And I have another theory which would mean Aaravos would have access to a backup arch potential Stars connection he could use to reconnect, if that's the one Primal you can't force). Just saying this because of the alternate Callum opening which indicates Callum's going to do something with the Key that Aaravos wants to happen - and Callum thinking he's defeating Aaravos when he's actually making his power independent... Seems like something Aaravos would find hilarious. (Edit: I also just noticed Callum is staring at the Stars symbol on the Key in the opening, which is more evidence that the person who will be holding it has Stars Primal. And after discussing, Callum could just be after putting the chest piece back in so he can stab it with the Novablade, but I'm still convinced there's more of an angle then that, 'cause where does Aaravos benefit?)

Sorry if something like this has come up before, not trying to tread on toes, but there's quite a few theories about the Key out there...

Thanks for reading.

#aaravos #tdp theory #the dragon prince #tdp #key of aaravos

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baatarthefirst · 3 months

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4. A and B finally move in together

Pretty pls

The plans for reclaiming Lux Aurea were a failure. Janai couldn't bring her people back to their glory, but she promised to rebuild. She'd sent Amaya back to Katolis for supplies, builders, iron workers, and visionaries to put the pieces together.

King Ezran was nothing if not generous, sending his aunt back with more than requested. Her people hated accepting more help from the humans, but the promise of a true home made them swallow their pride.

They could begin to reclaim their livelihood, and maybe within a year they could have the materials and tools to start construction. Soon after, people could go to a place that would be a permeant home. One where they would not have to rely on humans for survival.

Of course that meant that their guests could return to their own home, as one of Amaya's colonel's reminded them at a meeting. Janai and Amaya's night had a melancholy tone to it. It got worse when the humans started making plans to return home after the elves got settled, even as the general reminded them that they still had a good twenty months before they could leave Xadia for good.

It was hard for Janai to think about, because then she had to face the fact that she would be in that big royal bed, alone. The woman she'd come to love would return to Katolis and then what? Would they stay together through letters and supply deliveries until they drifted apart?

The distant, but inventible separation weighed on her, and she believed it weighed on Amaya as well, judging by dramatic increase of nights clinging to each other. Worse, every step she made to better her people's living situation was a pushing Amaya that much closer to Katolis.

One morning, as Amaya got dressed to leave before the crack of dawn, Janai grabbed her hand from the bed and pulled her back in. The human laughed and wrestled to get back up. Janai grabbed her hand more gently this time,

"Stay." She ordered softly. Amaya's playful look faded into a gentle one, and she let herself be guided back to bed. Janai held her, losing all track of time until the servants surprised them by delivering breakfast right on schedule.

Of course word got out, then the challenges came. Her people tried to run Amaya off by duels to first blood. They'd talked about it, decided that these people couldn't tell them what to do, and accepted the challenges on the condition that after six days, there would be no more argument.

There wasn't. Whether it was because her people were honoring the deal or they just had a newfound respect and/or fear of Amaya, she didn't know; or care. She and Amaya were finally officially courting, and they could sleep till dawn in the same bed without worry.

Weeks passed plans for a hospital crossed her desk. She had a meeting with the architects, the builders, physicians, and the human general before signing off on them.

"One step closer to begin on Nova Aurora. Katolis for you." Janai said with false joy when they were alone. Amaya didn't say anything, but pulled her into a tight hug. The human seemed distracted and distant after that.

Three weeks later, Amaya got an official letter from Katolis. It was not addressed to her, so she left it alone and went about her day. That night, Amaya was sleeping in her bed...with all of her pillows. Janai was lovingly-cursing humans and their inherent need to take what didn't belong to them when she noticed something off. The normally immaculate tent had something out of place. A single letter had been left open on the table.

Assuming it was something important for, Janai huffed and picked it up, only to read Amaya's discharge notice. She shouldn't read the whole thing without permission, but she couldn't help it. Apparently, this was Amaya's last deployment, then she was to be honorably discharged and retired.

She decided to wait till morning to speak with her lover about this, just to lose her patience and wake Amaya up. The human wasn't surprised to be roused, and left it for her to find. She'd apparently thought long and hard and asked the king for the release.

"Why?" It was all Janai could think off.

-Because I have someone worth staying here for.-

Janai helped Amaya move her things into her -their- tent the next day.

#tdp #the dragon prince #amaya #janai #janaya

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randompoetemogirl · 9 months

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Part one: https://www.tumblr.com/randompoetemogirl/726226415712927744/okay-so-everyones-talking-about-the-reaction?source=share

Part two of why Runaan deserves no punishment when he gets out of the coin:

So in the comic, Runaan discusses how he only kills to protect life and how in order to take a life one has to value life because that’s the balance of things.

This contradicts show Runaan. Even though he still has a high sense of honor, he was still willing to kill Ezran after finding out there was a more peaceful alternative. You could argue that he would still want Harrow dead, considering all that he had done, but Ezran is a CHILD.

I feel like Wonderstorm wasn’t planning for us to become so attached to Ruthari. I also feel like they didn’t properly flush out Runaan’s character until much later, and so they came out with The Bloodmoon Huntress. I feel like they did the same thing with Ethari, but I’ll discuss this in a later post.

It honestly would have been more interesting for Runaan to try and call off the mission, only for the other assassins to be too afraid of going back home disgraced and kill King Harrow anyways. Forcing Runaan to go with Rayla, Callum, Ezran, and Bait to return Zym. Or Runaan tries to call off the mission but when the other elves don’t listen, he has to fight his own comrades to stop them from killing Ezran, letting the gang escape and causing him to be captured and King Harrow is still killed. This way, we still have the plot of Runaan being stuck in the coin, but Ezran and Callum have a reason to forgive him. Because not only he fought against those he cared for and trusted to do what was right, he was also willing to let his binding take off his arm. This is more like the Runaan Wonderstorm wants us to see, a Runaan willing to do what is right and honorable.

This is just one of the examples of how season four wasn’t the only season with bad writing, it’s just that it wasn’t as bad. Like for instance, Moonshadow elves become near invisible on a full moon, yet everyone BUT Runaan died. How were the guards even able to see what they were fighting? Why did everyone assume that Rayla was a traitor and that she wasn’t just the sole survivor? People already knew that Rayla was like a daughter to Runaan, so it’s not unreasonable to assume that he would have died to keep her safe. Also, it just proves that if Rayla had listened to Runaan, sat on that rock, and they had all died, she would have been ghosted anyways. Runaan should KNOW THIS. He’s been in this line of work for years, so why in the world would he make her sit this one out? Actually, why would he send her alone to kill that guard knowing full well that Rayla had never killed anyone? Wouldn’t it make more sense to make Rayla prove herself capable of killing someone before she goes on a mission that dictates the future of Xadia?

This isn’t Runaan being a bad person, this is Runaan falling victim to bad writing. And it’s not just Runaan. Why would King Harrow have the cube with all primal sources on it at a winter lodge? What if one of the boys had gotten careless and lost it? Why wouldn’t he have someone retrieve and give it to Callum when he gave him the letter? Why was Viren just able to say that the princes were killed even though there’s definitely guards to contradict his story and he’s not even having a funeral for them? How come Callum and Ezran didn’t hear about King Harrow’s death sooner? Aunt Amaya didn’t tell them for some reason, and you’re telling me that not once they didn’t hear a passing comment about the king of Katolis not getting a proper funeral? Why are we in season five and Rayla STILL hasn’t killed anyone despite having to fend for herself for two years? Why is Zubeia happy to see elves and humans together after she ordered the death of King Harrow and his son? Why is nobody talking about how she wanted Ezran dead? Why are so many people willing to give Zubeia a pass and not Runaan?

Speaking of giving people a pass, Callum let Rayla off way too easy. I’ll talk about that more in part three.

#Runaan #Ethari #Ruthari #tdp season 5 #the dragon prince season 5 #the dragon prince #Rayla #Callum #Ezran #Harrow #JusticeForRuthari

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beautifulterriblequeen · 4 months

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Are Rayla's grandparents alive since elves live longer than humans?

I guess they sure could be, but I don't know what that has to do with them all being elves?

Let's dig a bit and see what we get:

Rayla is still a teenager. She was 15 during arc 1 (S1-S3), and has her 18th birthday somewhere during S4-S5. Her parents were described as 35-40-ish during arc 1, making them 20-25 years older than she is, and only a few years older than Runaan and Ethari.

This is purely a guess, but just for reference, if Rayla's grandparents were similarly young when they had Lain and Tiadrin, that would put them around 55-65 right now. Which is a normal grandparent age even for humans. Many people will live to this age if nothing dangerous happens to them.

The real question is, how dangerous is it to be a Moonshadow elf? And that's what we don't know. We don't know what it's like to just live in Xadia all your life, and to know its daily ins and outs. But considering there are plenty of elves in Xadia, all of whom have ancestors that survived the last 1000 years without human ingenuity and just relied on their magic, I'd say it's probably no more dangerous overall than living in the human lands is for humans.

Our world has everyday dangers, and we just learn to avoid them when we can. Car crashes and pandemics and sporting accidents do exist here. But we take steps to be as safe as we can, and most of us are fine most of the time. I imagine that, even with magic, the same sort of vibes work in Xadia, because Xadians want to live too.

We don't know a lot about family traditions as far as career choices are concerned, either. Rayla's parents were some kind of guards when we saw them in BH. Runaan, Lain's BFF, is an assassin. Does this mean they used to be assassins? Maybe their family are assassins? Maybe they're just guards, with a more boring and safe kind of pace in their work. Maybe Rayla's grandparents are nothing of the sort and they live quietly in their village getting nice letters every month from the Storm Spire until- oop- never mind.

I'm sure they're fine! Maybe they've retired to somewhere with a shady coast? Or a nice tropical valley full of giant palm trees?

Alternately, Lujanne really is Rayla's grandma and we've known where she is all along. Which husband could be Rayla's grandpa is another matter, though!

#asks #thanks for the ask!#moonshadow elves #rayla #moonfam #lain #tiadrin #runaan #elves of xadia #lujanne is grandma aged why did they call her that hmmm

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zuppizup · 2 years

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Continued from a previous ficlet

Dear Callum,

I didn’t think this could get harder than the first night on the road but somehow it has.

I’m trying to go the shortest way to Xadia, but I still have to pass by some of the places we went to together. They all remind me of you, which is good and bad, I guess. It’s not that I don’t want to think of you but, well, it hurts to and thinking about boring things like where to sleep for the night or if this place looks good for foraging make it easier to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I’m sitting in that cave we stayed in after the whole dark magic thing. It’s weird being back here. We never really talked much about that whole thing, did we? I hope it’s not because you think I was mad at you.

Well, I guess I was at first. Like.. straight away, but then you got so sick and it was hard to stay mad at you. Then I was just worried. And scared. And I’m not really good at being worried and scared.

I guess it’s how I ended up here.

I know you did dark magic to help me. (You’re good and kind and loyal like that. It’s one of the many things I love about you.) You didn’t see what it was like though. You were gasping for air and crying for help and I thought you were going to die. And it was my fault. If I hadn’t gone after that dragon you wouldn’t have come to help and you wouldn’t have ended up like that. I thought I was going to lose you, Callum, and I was so afraid. The most afraid I’ve ever been I think. Up until that point at least.

I know lying to you and sneaking off was awful. Unforgivable really. But I can live with you being alive and angry at me. Hating me even. I don’t know what I would do if you died for me. For this.

I couldn’t let that happen. And I know you. I know you’d do everything you could to help me. You went to a dark place for me then so maybe you can understand a little of what I’m doing now?

Maybe not.

I never asked you what you remembered about that whole thing. You woke up so suddenly and scared the life out of me and then you were just so gooey eyed about being able to do magic so it never really came up.

Do you know I nearly said that I loved you?

Here, in this cave?

I kind of didn’t realise I did love you until I nearly said it. It’s dumb, I know. I knew I had a crush on you at that point, but I think I was in denial about the rest.

Maybe if I’d actually said it then we’d have had more time together? Not much but I still feel like anything more would have been lovely. Extra time to hold your hand and be close to you. A few more kisses.

But maybe telling you I loved you then would have been too much. Too weird. Maybe we would never have become a thing if I’d said it out of the blue like that.

Maybe it’s better that things happened the way they did.

Unspeakably embarrassing things from the Midnight Desert included.

Maybe if we see each other again I’ll tell you about the whole cave thing? I feel like there’s so many things I should have told you that I never got the chance to. Little things I love about you that you don’t know about. Like how I think you secretly like the Human Rayla thing even if you pretend you don’t or how I really appreciated you trying to take my mind off the water when we were in the wee boat.

How I kinda did think your Mount Monotonous joke was funny…

I hope you let me tell you these things and more if I ever make it back. I miss chatting to you, hearing your voice.

I hope I dream about you again tonight. I know it’ll hurt in the morning, but for a little while it feels like were back together and it’s worth the hurt to feel that.

I love you and miss you.

So much,

Rayla

- This letter she tears into tiny pieces to start tonight’s fire.

#the dragon prince #tdp #rayllum #rayla #callum #rayllum fanfic #rayla x callum #callum x rayla #the dragon prince fanfic #tdp fanfic #zuppi fanfic #fic: dear callum #zup tumblr ficlets

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lettersfromxadia · 2 years

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I will say this— Ezran’s speech being played over Claudia and Ibis’s deadly fight has to be the most powerful scene of this season, and one of the most powerful animated scenes I’ve seen in general.

The music, the expression on Ezran’s face as he was overlayed onto the scene of the conflict: oh, it was beautiful.

#the dragon prince #dragon prince #tdp #ezran #king ezran #tdp spoilers #tdp s4 #tdp season 4 #netflix #letters from xadia

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kaseyskat · 2 years

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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

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