Book Two: Sky (Novel)

Information
Pages	304 pages
Author	Aaron Ehasz Melanie McGanney Ehasz
Published on	August 3, 2021
Publisher	SCHOLASTIC
Dimensions	14 x 19cm (5.5 x 7.5 inches)
ISBN-10	1338666401
ISBN-13	978-1338666403

Book Two: Sky (The Dragon Prince #2) is a core novel that elaborates on the events in Book Two of the animated series, with deeper characterizations and expanded plot lines. It is available for purchase as paperback, as well as Kindle file, and is a direct continuation of Book One: Moon (Novel). The book's story is continued in Book Three: Sun (Novel).

Publisher's description

This second canon novel expands on the events of Season 2 of the epic Netflix fantasy TV show, The Dragon Prince.

Rayla, Callum, and Ezran have their work cut out for them now that they have to take care of Zym, the newly hatched Dragon Prince. Things get even more complicated when Claudia and Soren finally track down the wayward princes, forcing Callum to pick a side -- should he trust Rayla or his old friends? All the while the High Mage Lord Viren plots and schemes, gaining shadowy new allies.

The trio race towards Xadia with the threat of a war between the humans and the dragons looming large. But as fiery battles erupt and hidden truths come to light, friendships are tested, plans are set into motion, and tough choices must be made.

Summary

Sky

The curious granddaughter of a famous inventor wishes to ascend to the skies, on wings made from wax, which had melted upon flying too close to the sun once before, resulting in her uncle's inevitable death. Despite the warnings of her family, she seeks out the old invention of her grandfather, knowing the wax would not be strong enough to hold onto the feathers attached to them if exposed to the heat of the sun. Warned over and over again, the girl ignores the risk and improves the invention through her own hands. She soon after soars the sky using the makeshift wings, realizing that she can do anything she sets her mind to.

Prologue

In a letter to Harrow, Callum tells his stepfather all about his journey to Xadia, his mission to return the egg of the Dragon Prince, and how he has even learned to cast magic. After retelling the events until the birth of Azymondias, he remembers that Ezran had wanted for him to refer to Harrow as his "dad", so he gives it a shot and restarts the letter, referring to him as "Dear Dad" instead. Telling him that he loves and misses him, Callum ends the letter to his stepfather by promising that the two brothers will take care of each other until they can see each other again.

Chapter One - A Few More Days

Callum is invited to a feast by Lujanne, together with Ezran, Ellis and Ava, along with their new companion, Azymondias. Although the food tastes delicious, Lujanne reveals all food to be part of her illusions, and that they are actually eating insect larvae. Rayla then joins them, asking to continue their journey. Lujanne agrees, informing the group that purple wisps that fell from the sky during Azymondias's birth were a sign of dark magic cast to track them. The princes plead Rayla for one more day at the Moon Nexus, wishing for some time to teach Azymondias how to fly, to which Rayla reluctantly agrees. When Callum reveals that he wrote a letter that lays out all the events of the journey so far, with the intention of sending it to Harrow, Rayla remembers that she has not told him the truth about the king's fate yet.

Chapter Two - The Breach

General Amaya patrols the human-controlled sector of the Breach alone, protecting the passageway from being exposed, and wondering if Gren found the princes. Not soon after, Amaya runs into three Sunfire Elves, successfully managing to best most of them, until she faces their female leader wielding a Sunforge blade. The weapon destroys Amaya's sword, but she manages to evade the female Sunfire Elf and race back to her base on her horse. Viren briefs the High Council of Katolis for a war meeting as reports of dragons flying overhead villages and insists they take action. One of the council members preaches patience, reminding that Xadia had already assassinated King Harrow and, despite Viren's insistence that they retaliate, Katolis had not dealt with even the slightest skirmish since then, and is convinced that the situation will de-escalate. Viren begs to differ, revealing that Amaya had reported Sunfire Elves gathering at the Breach. He insists they prepare for war and demands a summit for the Pentarchy, to unite the Human Kingdoms in a war against Xadia. Opeli restrains him from doing such an act, since only a monarch can issue a summit with a letter that must bear the ruler's seal. Opeli rules out Viren's call for war until they finally manage to find the princes. Viren decides to leave so the council can convene. He visits Harrow's bedroom with Pip inside and finds a painting of Harrow, Sarai, Callum, and Ezran. One of the drawers where Harrow always put sealed papers in had what Viren needed, he broke the lock with a spell, took it and left.

Chapter Three - A Secret and A Spark

Callum spends his time with Lujanne to gain knowledge about moon magic. Lujanne tours him to the ruins of Moonhenge where ancient Moonshadow Elves performed magic capable of sending them to another plane of existence beyond life and death. That all ceased when moon druids ultimately destroyed the temple and left as Xadia became divided, to prevent humans from exploiting it if the Nexus and Temple were discovered. Lujanne then tells Callum of how all six Primal energies can be at their strongest by being at a Nexus. Lujanne takes Callum to the heart of the Moon Nexus, where the large lake of the Caldera reflects the moon perfectly. Though Callum is interested in the lore, he asks if Lujanne can finally teach him actual Moon magic. But Lujanne lays the truth to Callum: humans are incapable of doing magic. Callum only did so with the help of a Primal Stone and she will not teach him dark magic, as she sees it as an atrocity. Callum becomes upset, realizing that being a mage is not what he was naturally capable of. Meanwhile, Ezran spends his time tutoring Zym in flying, as Bait looks on in envy. As the day ends, he makes little progress of teaching Zym to fly while Callum returns disappointed after learning he cannot do magic. But Ezran's words of not giving up motivates Callum to keep going. When Lujanne and Phoe-Phoe return a few hours later, Callum confronts her that she is mistaken as he will never give up learning to perform magic. Lujanne tries to dissuade Callum that it is not his destiny since humans are not born connected to a Primal Source unlike the creatures of Xadia. The connection is called an Arcanum, the secret meaning of a Primal Source. Callum asks to learn the Arcanum of the Moon. Lujanne tries her best to explain that the Arcanum of the Moon is understanding the relationship of appearances and reality, but it proves difficult for Callum to comprehend, to which Lujanne points out is because of his limitation as a human. Callum returns to their bedroom distraught, where he grabs and directs the cube to Zym and Bait, all bearing a Primal Source. But when Callum directs the cube to him, nothing glows. Rayla continues her perimeter patrol of the Nexus throughout the night. She gradually becomes fatigued by an ocarina playing in the distance. She grabs a blue flower before finally falling asleep. Claudia finishes playing the sleeping spell on her ocarina.

Chapter Four - Old Friends, New Enemies

Viren makes his way through the rookery and enters the keep of the Crow Lord, carrying four letters that bear the king's seal. But he finds only the assistant, the Crow Master, present. Nonetheless, he assures Viren that he can send the letters but nervously tries to refuse the since the seal belongs to a deceased king. Viren intimidates him, threatening his position if he fails to send the letters to the four rulers of the Pentarchy immediately. The Crow Master complies in fear. Claudia gives Soren the clear to kill Rayla. But he hesitates as he finds it to be not sporting, so he asks Claudia to wake her for a few seconds. To their surprise, Rayla was already awake because of the thorn that was poking into her from the rose she grabbed before she fell. A swordfight between Rayla and Soren ensues, but with Claudia's help he gains the upper hand. Callum intervenes and ceases their battle by telling Soren and Claudia that Rayla poses no threat and he and Ezran were never kidnapped. Callum manages to settle for a temporary truce, asking that if the siblings still did not see Rayla as a friend, they could resume the fight in the morning.

Chapter Five - The Power of Pancakes

In preparation to once again attempt in unveiling the mysterious mirror's purpose, Viren heads through the secret passage behind the painting into Runaan's former cell where the mirror is still kept. Throughout the day, Viren concocts a true-sight serum that he pours in his eyes that will finally break the mirror's mystery. But even with the serum in his eyes, Viren only sees his reflection in the mirror. Tired and frustrated, Viren lashes out by tearing up his equipment and even pushing aside the candles, causing fire to erupt before ultimately being absorbed by Viren's magic, leaving the room in darkness. The mirror suddenly begins glowing, revealing an unknown library.

At dawn, Soren suggests that to fulfill their mission, they should take the princes by force and stuff them in sacks. Claudia strongly objects, suggesting instead that they first make a soft approach that will persuade them to come home to Katolis. To start, Claudia prepares pancakes for the entire group at breakfast. Claudia then asks Callum about the dragon egg, to which he reveals that it is no more. Claudia quickly becomes worried but when she learns that the egg hatched, she becomes awestruck by the cuteness of Zym, though she still thinks that the dragon will someday be a powerful weapon against humanity. Rayla makes it clear to Claudia that she and the princes intend to continue their mission in returning Zym to Xadia. Seeing that the princes are not convinced to return, Soren resorts to lying about how King Harrow longs for their return, much to Claudia's objection. Nonetheless, Claudia asks for Soren one more day to persuade the princes to return before they are left with no choice but to force them to. Claudia heads over to where the princes are staying, interrupting Rayla when she was about to break Harrow's death to Callum, by asking for a walk. As they converse, Callum confesses that he destroyed her primal stone, but to earn his trust, Claudia understands and does not get angry by his actions. Callum then offers Claudia by being his escort on a tour around the caldera.

As they tour the temple, Callum expresses his sorrow after learning that his race is incapable of performing primal magic. But Claudia insists that he still can perform magic if he wishes with dark magic since its source is to consume a creature containing magic. Callum wishes to learn primal magic since he dislikes how dark magic is practiced, despite Claudia's view that dark magic gave humans a chance to do amazing things in the absence of primal magic. Afterward, Claudia becomes euphoric when they visit the ruins of Moonhenge. Callum then asks Claudia on a date later tonight to visit the full beauty of the Moon Nexus, to which Claudia is delighted.

Chapter Six - The Slidey-Sling Go-Fast Rope of Terror

Meanwhile, Soren proceeds to fulfill his father's secret order of killing the princes by inviting Ezran for a ride in his own makeshift zip line, that covers a rapidly flowing river in the middle. To ensure its safety, Soren confidently tests out the rope's strength himself with only his sword and makes it to the end. Ezran and Zym finally ride the zip line on their own and makes it to the end, though Ezran is disappointed that Zym did not open his wings during the whole trip, so Soren suggests they go again, but this time, they ride it first. After returning to the top, Ezran and Zym begin their second descent on the zip line, leaving Soren alone and proceeds to loosen the single peg securing the entire rope to finally stage an accident. However, Rayla jumps in front of him sees through his scheme and forces him to take a ride if he thinks the ride is secure. Soren fearfully does so but not before tightly securing the peg for his descent. Rayla returns to the princes' chambers to try and convince Callum again to distrust Soren and Claudia by accusing Soren of setting a trap for Ezran with the zip line. But Callum was not there, he was probably with Claudia. Dejected, Rayla leaves and proceeds to seek Lujanne's advice at her temple. Lujanne's advice is the opposite of what Rayla believes what is right, and this is where she realizes that she must be honest with Callum by finally revealing King Harrow's death to gain his full trust.

Chapter Seven - Shadows Holding Hands

Callum and Claudia walk hand-in-hand together towards the Moon Nexus, where the caldera's lake beautifully reflects half of the moon. Callum and Claudia then begin to share an intimate moment as both begin to lean in and kiss, but Claudia stops, having the urge to reveal something to Callum.

Chapter Eight - Weep-ridden

Meanwhile, Rayla wanders around Moonhenge and spots Callum nearby, finally having a chance to tell the truth about his stepfather but she is too late as Callum emerges with his face in tears, revealing that Claudia finally told Callum about King Harrow's death. Rayla keeps apologizing to Callum of how she never told the truth about King Harrow before Claudia did, but Callum can only worry about how he can pass on the news for Ezran. Callum returns to their bedroom and finds a resting Ezran, but could not bear to tell Ezran the truth also and decides to sit beside him awake throughout the night. Meanwhile, a saddened Claudia returns to Soren, who quickly becomes worried for her, but Claudia reassures Soren she will turn out fine and will not mess up their mission.

Chapter Nine - King Harrow's Letter

At dawn, Ezran wakes up, quickly telling his brother Callum about his bizarre dream. Afterward, Callum asks Ezran for a walk for an important discussion for Callum to finally reveal their father's death, but Ezran interprets what Callum is trying to say as reminding Ezran to take up the responsibility of teaching Zym to fly in the absence of his father, the King of the Dragons. Callum goes along and reassures Ezran that he and the rest of the group will support him. But Ezran suddenly brings up his father, wishing to be with him again and that he would know what to do. Callum tries to suppress his tears and embraces Ezran, still not having the will to tell his father's death to his brother. Afterward, Callum approaches Rayla, forgiving her as he understands why it was so difficult for Rayla to tell the truth since he could not to his own brother also. Callum breaks in tears with Rayla hugging him as he grieves. After Callum regains composure, Rayla tries to persuade Callum that they resume their journey without telling Soren and Claudia after Callum realizing that Soren lied about his father. But Callum still has faith in Claudia since she never lied but told the truth about King Harrow. Soren and Claudia then emerge, overhearing their plans to leave, which Callum confirms as their final decision. Still unaware that Callum knows, Soren lies again that King Harrow will be disappointed if they leave, but Claudia angrily scolds him to stop for being insensitive and so Soren leaves it to Claudia to dissuade the princes of leaving. Claudia invites Callum for a private audience in her room, where she gives Callum the letter from his father that he left in the castle, still sealed and unopened. Claudia insists he should open it but Callum believes that it is still not the right time. Callum gives thanks and Claudia bids goodbye to Callum by hugging him, seemingly accepting his decision to leave. Callum returns to his room to help pack up for their journey. Rayla is surprised that Claudia did not attempt to manipulate Callum to return to Katolis but is shocked to learn that Callum accepted Claudia's request that she and Soren should join them, seeing it as a trap. So Callum asks Rayla what their plan of action should be to figure out if Soren and Claudia are helping them or trapping them. Rayla heads out alone to the temple and disrespectfully interrupts Lujanne's peaceful meditation, asking for her assistance to find out if Soren and Claudia are not to be trusted.

Chapter Ten - The Mage in the Mirror

Ever since the mirror's awakening, Viren observes and waits for events to unfold on the other side of the mirror's reflection. But the night passes with Viren falling asleep. But during dawn, he spots activity at the library, where a mysterious mage enters and briefly inspects his books before leaving the room again. Viren can only wonder his identity since he is unable to make contact from the other side.

Chapter Eleven - The Trap

Rayla and Lujanne meet up with Soren, Claudia, Ellis, and Ava all ready to leave. Lujanne says her final goodbyes to all and returns the moonstone collar to Ava that reactivates the illusion of her restored front paw. Once Callum and Ezran arrive, Rayla signals to leave. While the original group stays ahead in their journey, Claudia and Soren stay behind revealing that Claudia had no choice but to accept Soren's forceful way of taking the princes back. Soren informs Claudia that the signal would be his attack on Rayla; He finally has an opportunity to do so once Rayla decides to separate and gather food for their trip. But even though Rayla expected his attack, Soren nonetheless forces her to seek higher ground in a tree. Claudia conjures up a spell that suddenly traps the unprotected princes before bagging Zym. Viren finds the mysterious figure again returning to the Library, studying his appearance, Viren realizes that he is a Startouch Elf. The elf suddenly looks toward him and approaches the mirror. Thinking that the elf sees him, Viren attempts to make contact but realizes that the elf is just looking at his own reflection, deducing that the mirror is just ordinary. Throughout the night, Viren continues to observe the elf studying a book. Suddenly, the elf darkens the library by snuffing out all the fire, appearing to perform the same actions Viren did before the mirror finally glowed. The library's image disappears and, for a brief moment, Viren's reflection is only seen; until the elf's hand reaches out to touch his side of the mirror.

Chapter Twelve - The Trick

Claudia finally secures the princes and the Dragon Prince and emotionally apologizes to Callum for her betrayal, asking to say anything in anger against her. The princes remain frozen in their places, leading Claudia to realize in horror they have been set up. Overhearing this, Rayla signals Ellis, where she reveals their trickery by removing the Moon Collar from Ava where Callum and Ezran disappear as illusions. The real Callum and Ezran emerge riding Lujanne's Moon Phoenix, Phoe-Phoe, and grabs Rayla to escape. Claudia casts a grasping spell that manages to gradually pull Phoe-Phoe back to the ground. But her spell gets wasted when a sudden chain is thrown by Corvus and pulls her arm away in an attempt to protect them, letting the princes and Rayla escape. However, Corvus gets knocked out by Soren. Ellis and Ava voice their goodbyes before returning to her village. Callum looks back at Claudia, disheartened that Rayla was right about her betraying them.

Corvus is tied up and gagged as Soren and Claudia deem him as a traitor despite his strong objections that they were attempting to kidnap the princes while he was ordered to protect them by General Amaya. Claudia believes their betrayal was all in vain, but Soren notices that the sack Claudia used to trap Zym is still moving. Soren rushes to unveil the dragon prince, only to find that it was also an illusion and filled with Moon moths.

Ezran tells Zym it is okay to come out of hiding from his backpack, but Zym becomes frightened once he realizes he is high up in the sky. But Ezran reassures him that it is safe and lets him spread out his wings to feel the winds, in which Zym happily enjoys. Callum still looks on, upset of how events turned out but Rayla gestures him to cherish this moment with Ezran and Zym happily bonding, as Phoe-Phoe flies them throughout the night sky.

Chapter Thirteen - Crashing and Learning

Phoe-Phoe, feeling exhausted, makes a rough landing on the ground. Nonetheless, Ezran expresses his gratitude for the flight before she returns to the Moon Nexus. Rayla points out they now need to get across a vast bay to resume their journey to Xadia. The princes offer to walk around it in respect for her fear of water, but Rayla is willing to venture the waters to get Zym back to her mother as soon as possible. Viren continues to observe the elf mage, where he finally acknowledges Viren. The elf returns with several items. Viren realizes that the elf is asking him to find the items he gathered.

Chapter Fourteen - The Ruthless

Callum and Ezran soon find a suitable captain that can offer his ship for a ride and will not suspect Rayla as an elf and notice Zym. The princes introduce Rayla to Villads, a blind ship captain wearing two eye-patches. Villads takes them to his ship, The Ruthless, suggesting that they wait a few days since a storm is approaching. But since they need to hurry, Villads insists that they depart now and hopefully race the storm or get caught by the storm in the middle of the bay and likely get killed.

Viren returns to the mirror with the items. The elf asks him to imitate his actions by first knitting an unfamiliar rune that gets hit by a spell from the elf, then placing the cloth on a stone before breaking it in half; Viren must then pour the stone's contents with water into the chalice. The elf then drinks his chalice, nodding to Viren to drink his also. Viren hesitates but drinks his chalice. Lastly, the elf takes a dagger and tasks Viren to slash his palm and drip his blood on the chalice to finish the ritual. But Viren does not trust the mage since he will not reveal his identity and decides to contemplate his choices and leaves the room.

General Amaya leads the patrol and reaches the outpost, only to find it seemingly abandoned. A lone soldier of the outpost walks up to them, nervously reporting his failure after sending a late signal to his superior. The commander and the rest of the soldiers think the base is secure, so they lower their guard and prepare to leave. General Amaya notices the guard shakily pointing someone behind him. Amaya realizes the guard is targeted with an arrow and manages to rescue the soldier from getting hit. Sunfire Elves emerge to surround Amaya's forces, trapping the humans within the outpost.

Chapter Fifteen - Change of Plans

Villads unfortunately realizes the storm has reached them and eventually grows too strong that they need to find land for safety. Villads, with the help of his talking parrot, Berto, guides the ship toward a nearby island amidst large waves and deadly sea stacks, managing to port the ship on the island's pier. Villads asks the group to wait out the storm below deck. Rayla notices Callum is forming an idea. Callum believes that to make a connection with the Sky Arcanum, heading out and facing the storm will finally establish the connection. Rayla is reluctant, especially since Callum asks to take Zym with him. Ezran allows it since Zym is a storm dragon. Callum takes Zym with him to venture the island. But Callum makes no progress with the Sky Arcanum, getting frustrated as he desires to practice magic again. Callum spots a windmill getting repeatedly struck by lightning and believes that it is where he needs to be. When Callum and Zym reach the windmill's roof, Callum is desperate to learn sky magic that he holds the rod and waits to get hit by a lightning strike, but he eventually let go, unwilling to risk his life for the sake of learning magic. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning finally strikes Callum and Zym.

Chapter Sixteen - Into the Storm

Ezran and Rayla spot Callum carrying Zym after the storm has cleared. Fortunately, Zym absorbed the lightning strike's energy allowing both to survive. However, Rayla finds Callum still upset, apologizing how he was wrong and not brave enough to face the storm if he so desired to learn sky magic, but Rayla believes he made the right decision and embraces Callum.

Chapter Seventeen - Summit of the Pentarchy

Villads resume their sailing, estimating about a day until the group finally reaches the other side of the Bay. Meanwhile, Callum remains below deck, pondering whether to finally open the letter King Harrow gave him before leaving the castle. When the door is opened, Callum angrily asks anyone who entered to leave him in private but realizing it was Bait, who sadly begins going back after being rejected to rest with Ezran. Callum pitifully invites him back to stay. Callum fears that once he finishes reading his stepfather's words then he would be officially dead. But after a long struggle, Callum finds the strength to finally break open the letter's seal and begin reading the letter. Viren arrives at the meeting point of the Pentarchy at a temple on top of Allhaven Hill in Duren. He greets King Ahling of Neolandia, King Florian of Del Bar, and Queen Fareeda of Evenere, who believe that Viren was made regent of Katolis by Prince Ezran. The last member of the Pentarchy, the young girl, Queen Aanya of Duren arrives. Viren politely tries to dismiss Aanya to send an adult substitute since he views her incapable to understand their discussion due to her age. Aanya remains adamant, asking Viren to proceed already. Viren uses his magic for a horrifying and grim presentation of the Xadian threat based on the Moonshadow assassination of King Harrow, the Sunfire Elves attack on the Breach, and reports of dragons looming above villages, requesting the rulers to rally behind Katolis in an alliance to fight back Xadia's forces. The three adult rulers are convinced to join Katolis in the war but only if all members are united. Aanya is the only one who remains unconvinced and undecided, not willing to send in her army based on Viren's claims. Viren is repulsed by Aanya's answer, convinced that Duren needs an adult ruler to make the right decisions. Aanya pushes back by recalling how ever since she took the throne, she was always threatened by usurpers and coups and survived, but those threats may be considered mild compared to Viren's "sweet words". To persuade Queen Aanya, Viren shares a story of how Duren and Katolis achieved a miracle years ago.

Chapter Eighteen - Champion of Love and Justice

Viren's story takes place nine years ago; Harrow has just been crowned the new King of Katolis, beside his wife, Queen Sarai. Harrow, Sarai and their children, Ezran and Callum all pose for the family portrait for some time until Viren finally telling them it is finished and they are allowed to leave. However, Viren reminds Harrow he must pose for his royal portrait. Harrow invites Viren to stand beside him and be in the portrait, as a gesture of appreciation of how Viren will stand with him through anything. Sometime later, while Harrow had an audience with his people in the throne room, the rulers of Duren made an unexpected visit, Queens Annika and Neha, Aanya's parents. The queens humble themselves as they plead Harrow for aid in Duren's famine since the coming winter will wipe out all their resources and consequently starve 100,000 of Duren's people to death. Without hesitation, Harrow decrees that Katolis will share their food supply with Duren. Viren confronts King Harrow in private, reminding him that Katolis has barely any food supplies to spare and asks that Harrow take back his decision. Instead, Harrow accepts to share the terrible fate with Duren of having 50,000 people of Katolis starve with the other half from Duren, not willing to abandon his decision. As winter nears, Viren approaches King Harrow with a solution. He shows King Harrow a relic, a small stone emanating heat that belongs to a Magma Titan. Since the creature lives near the Breach, Viren believes if they slay the monster, he can use the creature's heart to magically warm the land, allowing the kingdoms to have the time and the conditions to grow more food and feed the two kingdoms tenfold. However, Queen Sarai strongly disapproves of this solution, viewing it as immoral to slay a creature for their own gain with dark magic, but her husband is unconvinced, much to Sarai's dismay.

Chapter Nineteen - Heart of the Titan

Afterward, Harrow gathers Viren, Amaya, Annika, and Neha for their journey to the Breach. Before they leave, Sarai unexpectedly joins her husband in their mission as well, despite disagreeing earlier. They enter the Xadian side of the Border at sundown with ballistae, where they only have until sunrise to return to the Breach with the Magma Titan's heart before Avizandum, the King of the Dragons, discovers them. They manage to find the titan but appears to be dead. Queen Neha and General Amaya decide to approach the body and take the heart out. Once Amaya starts breaking the tough rock skin of the titan, its whole body lights up with lava and awakens. The return to the Breach was slower as expected by Viren, as dawn finally came. But Harrow signals that they near the entrance to the Breach's safety and so muster all their strength to get there quicker. However, the King of the Dragons has caught up to them. Knowing they will never make it if the Dragon King is not hold off, Queen Annika and Neha choose to willingly sacrifice themselves to buy King Harrow's forces time to take the titan's heart in the Breach's safety. Viren decides to assist the queens. He uses the Sky Primal Stone to cast a spell that freezes the Dragon King's head, rendering him immobile. Annika and Neha use the opportunity to strike back at the dragon. However, the Dragon King manages to break free before they can do so. With not enough time to scatter, Queen Annika and Neha are both crushed by the whip of Dragon King's large tail. Meanwhile, Harrow has made it to the Breach but Sarai notices Viren is left behind to face the Dragon King, without him to perform the spell the heart is worthless, so she decides to rescue Viren alone telling Harrow to "see him on the other side" as her last words to her husband before departing. Sarai comes to Viren's rescue as she offers her hand and helps him ride on her horse as they rush to escape the Dragon King. But the Dragon King manages to land a fatal strike, violently separating them. Viren manages to stand back up and rushes to aid Sarai, but he finds her in critical condition, as she exhales one last time and dies.

Chapter Twenty - Life and Growing Up

King Harrow and Viren return to Katolis with the titan's heart. Viren manages to perform the spell where it alters the human lands' weather, miraculously offering Katolis and Duren enough food to feed their people. Katolis and Duren erect monuments in honor of the three queens who gave their lives to save both kingdoms from starvation. Harrow enters the throne room with a heavy heart for a private discussion with Callum as he starts about "life, growing up, and unexpected changes" before breaking the news of his mother's death.

Chapter Twenty-One - Like a River

Viren finishes his story by reassuring Queen Aanya that her mothers would be proud of her today even if she never knew them closely. Aanya tearfully opens up her necklace containing the ring Annika left to Harrow before they sacrificed themselves. By this story, Viren believes her mothers would join his cause if they were still alive. Regardless, Aanya still stands aside, unwilling to repay the debt of one hundred thousand lives by sending a million of her own people to die in violence. Viren angrily asks King Ahling or the other rulers to persuade Queen Aanya, but Ahling now appears hesitant to join the war against Xadia leading Viren to lash out against them, labeling them as cowards and traitors before leaving the summit.

Chapter Twenty-Two - Last Words

Meanwhile, Callum remains below deck, pondering whether to finally open the letter King Harrow gave him before leaving the castle. When the door is opened, Callum angrily asks anyone who entered to leave him in private but realizing it was Bait, who sadly begins going back after being rejected to rest with Ezran. Callum pitifully invites him back to stay. Callum fears that once he finishes reading his stepfather's words then he would be officially dead. But after a long struggle, Callum finds the strength to finally break open the letter's seal and begin reading the letter.

Callum starts reading his father's letter, apologizing to how he did not offer more time to spend with Callum after his birth father passed away but will always regard him as his son. As he recalls his decision to take revenge against the Dragon King a few months ago that led to his impending assassination as he writes the letter, he will share Callum a lie, a wish, and a secret. The lie they will face is the narrative of history, where many people of knowledge will project to them as a narrative of strength but from Harrow's experience, he implores Callum to reject that narrative but instead read history as a narrative of love.

As Callum reads on, Harrow recalls the last words of Sarai before her death and his selfless wish to have Ezran and Callum be free from the past and not repeat the same mistakes Harrow did. For the secret Harrow intends to share, it is revealed that he originally instructs Callum to enter the game room in the Banther Lodge and acquire the cube with primal symbols that they already possess. He explains that the cube is actually a precious relic known as the Key of Aaravos, from Xadia belonging to a powerful elven Archmage named Aaravos, a master of all six Primal Sources. Legends tell that the cube unlocks great power which is why it is called the Key of Aaravos, and Harrow says that Callum could be the one to unlock it. And as a bonus secret, Harrow reveals that Bait loves belly rubs.

After finishing to read the letter, Callum emerges from below deck to give his brother, Ezran, a hug to show his brotherly affection. Villads informs the group that they are finally near the shore. Suddenly, a shadow momentarily obstructs their view. They look up to find the silhouette of a dragon flying above the clouds.

Chapter Twenty-Three - Facing the Threat

At night, Callum wonders about the Key of Aaravos when Rayla joins him on the cliff's edge. Upon being asked about her connection to the Moon, Rayla explains the feeling of connecting with her source, despite the explanation not really helping Callum to learn more about magic.

Soren and Claudia reach the border of a town, where they plan to drop off their captive. When Claudia wonders if they could still catch up to the princes, Corvus offers to help them track the two in return for being untied. Although he almost manages to trick Soren into doing so, Claudia gets in the way of his success.

When Callum worries about their safe entrance into Xadia, Rayla reassures him that the entry only requires them to locate the secret Moonstone Path. They proceed to go to sleep in a cave, barely missing a dragon passing by in the sky.

Soren and Claudia try to deliver Corvus as a prisoner in a nearby town jail, though the townsfolk seems to be focusing on something else. When the dragon Pyrrah comes into view, they are informed that the town they had entered has been plagued by the lone dragon flying overhead for three days now. Though it continues to fly unprovoked and a guard informs them that it has not attacked them, Soren assumes command over the town's defenders and prepares to attack the dragon by using the ballistics mounted on a tower. Corvus repeats that the dragon is not here to attack, but rather to intimidate them. Although he begs him not to start a fight he cannot finish, Soren launches the first attack and misses. Although Soren initially thinks it has been scared off, the dragon returns soon after, letting out a loud roar.

Chapter Twenty-Four - Crashing Dragon

Hearing the roar, Rayla jolts awake, as she recognizes the sound too well. Team Zym rushes to investigate the situation, only leaving Azymondias behind with Bait, as Ezran deems the situation potentially too dangerous for the newborn dragonling.

Pyrrah finally strikes back as she hits the ballistics with a direct hit, before descending onto the town and setting fire to the rooftops, sparking chaos. Far out, Team Zym watches the scene in horror, when Rayla expresses in shock that she has no idea why a dragon would attack a town. Soren frees Corvus to help out in evacuating the villagers to safety and finally realizes that his impulsive actions have led to a terrible outcome that may have been avoidable. Claudia proposes an idea that could fix the chaos by using the eye of a gryphon, which would allow a bolt to land a direct hit on their target. As Pyrrah circles back, Claudia enchants the bolt and fires, causing it to pursue Pyrrah before ultimately landing a fatal hit. Pyrrah cries out in pain and crashes in the town's outskirts, near where Rayla and the princes are resting. Realizing the dragon has crashed, Ezran rushes to its aid, followed by his friends. He then approaches to inspect the dragon's condition and finds her still conscious, yet severely injured.

Callum and Rayla assist Ezran as he manages to pull out the ballista bolt that hit Pyrrah's wing. Unfortunately, they hear Soren and his men closing in. Rayla reluctantly has to retreat with the princes and leave Pyrrah to be chained up, where Soren and Claudia plan to have her torn apart for her body parts and fluids to be used in dark magic spells. Team Zym returns to their cave and reunites with Azymondias and Bait. Feeling as if she should have helped the defenseless dragon, Rayla begins to worry that fleeing may have been the wrong choice.

Chapter Twenty-Five - Going Home in Pieces

When Callum wonders why Rayla is so worried about a dragon that just attacked a town, Rayla reminds him that he had once said that if someone hurts another, the hurt person would have no choice but to defend themselves. To break the cycle of hatred, Rayla wishes to return to Pyrrah to help her, which leaves Callum feeling useless, due to no longer being a mage. Rayla reassures Callum that this is her fight and bids farewell to the princes to continue their journey if she does not return. Rayla stealthily gets past the soldiers guarding the dragon and tries to cut off her restraints, but gets discovered by Soren. The two end up in combat while she is surrounded by Soren's men. Meanwhile, Callum goes through his sketchbook and notices Claudia's spellbook, causing him to realize that he still has one option left to help. When Azymondias chases after him in worry, Ezran tries to distract the dragonling with a game. Inside the castle of Katolis, Viren enters the courtyard where Opeli confronts him about using the king's seal to call for a Pentarchy meeting without approval from the High Council. She asks what he gained from committing treason, to which Viren responds that he had gained nothing. Opeli proceeds to banish him from the High Council. Viren then descends into the dungeon undisturbed, despite being stripped of his authority in the council and Opeli's warning that he still awaits judgment. He is greeted by the chained Gren, who seems to still be cheerful despite his position as a prisoner. Having lost all options to seize power, Viren decides to finish the ritual with the mysterious elven mage in the mirror.

Chapter Twenty-Six - Your Kind of Magic

Rayla finds herself overpowered and unable to break loose the chains securing Pyrrah. Claudia heeds Soren to not kill her as Rayla can help them to locate the lost princes. Just then, Callum enters the scene, armed with Claudia's dark magic spellbook and a snake's rattle in his hand. Claudia realizes Callum is attempting his first dark magic spell and pleads him to stop since he has not been taught properly. However, Callum refuses to listen and recites the "Snake Binding" spell that Claudia had used before, causing all the chains to turn into snakes that drive off the human soldiers in fear. Unfortunately, the spell takes a toll on Callum's body and renders him unconscious. Pyrrah remains unresponsive, even as Rayla pushes her head. Soren uses this opportunity to finally seize Rayla, however, Pyrrah finally awakens and towers over the two. While Soren is busy with Pyrrah, Rayla rushes towards Callum to pick him up. Soren and Pyrrah engage in combat, where he manages to cut off one of her horns, but in return is being slammed into a nearby rock. Suddenly, Pyrrah's focus shifts from her opponent as she spots Azymondias nearby, who had walked into the scene. She seems to recognize the Dragon Prince and flies off, sparing her enemy. Azymondias's presence finally gives Claudia a chance to take back the Dragon Prince and she begins reciting a spell to trap him but is halted by Soren's cry for help. Claudia faces a dilemma but ultimately chooses to rush back and help her injured brother, allowing Azymondias and Ezran to escape. To her shock, Claudia realizes Soren's entire body has been paralyzed.

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Dark Consequences

Inside the dungeon, Viren awaits the return of the elf inside the mirror. When he finally returns, the elf quickly notices that Viren is ready to finish the ritual. The elf proceeds to slit the palm of his hand as the blood pours into a bowl. Viren mimics the gesture. The elf opens his mouth where a caterpillar-like creature emerges and is dropped into the elf's bowl, causing it to teleport into Viren's. The creature proceeds to crawl up Viren's body, placing itself on the mage's ear, where the elf's words echo through it. The shocked Viren realizes he can now speak directly with the elven mage, who is relieved to finally speak with another person. Viren interrogates the elf but reveals little knowledge of his significance so Viren demands his identity. The elf pulls back his hood and reveals that his name is Aaravos, then inquiring how he may serve him. But Viren subsequently breaks contact with him by sealing the caterpillar in a jar and leaves the room.

Rayla and Ezran help a worsening Callum back to their cave. When Callum is lied down, he falls into slumber and is taken to a dream as a result of his use of dark magic. Meanwhile, Claudia conjures up a dark magic spell to heal her brother's paralysis. However, the spell does not work and Claudia finds no other ingredients for healing so she rushes Soren for medical treatment back to the village. She takes him to a healer and waits to hear his brother's condition.

At Katolis, Opeli and the Council have ordered Marcos and the other castle guards to search and apprehend Viren. While Ezran and Rayla worry about Callum, he suddenly finds himself on a stage in a dream.

Chapter Twenty-Eight - In Darkness

In his dreams, Callum encounters a doppelganger of himself holding the key of Aaravos but bearing the dark magic symbol. His copy tries to tempt Callum into accepting the practice of dark magic, claiming to be his written destiny as a mage. But before Callum can make a decision, King Harrow appears, chained in his throne, arguing that he can freely make his own choice and that his fate is a lie. Seeing glimpses of his copy in a horrifying form due to dark magic, Callum refuses to accept the corrupted cube as he believes destiny is in his own hands. As a result, his copy drops the cube which disappears and he dissolves into ashes. Callum is relieved and refers to the experience as horrifying, which causes Harrow to comment that it is Callum's dream before sliding away.

Chapter Twenty-Nine - King Ezran

As Ezran and Rayla take care of a struggling Callum, they encounter Corvus. Rayla prepares for battle but Corvus disarms himself in the presence of Ezran, as he discloses that he was sent by General Amaya. Rayla allows him to speak with Ezran. Corvus kneels to him as he announces to serve the new king, making Ezran realize his father's death. Rayla tearfully apologizes to Ezran for not confessing his death sooner. Angry and upset, Ezran decides to wander the woods alone, refusing to be watched over by anyone. The healer then approaches Claudia informing her that Soren will live but never be able to walk due to his injuries. Claudia volunteers to tell Soren herself this news since the healer has not told Soren yet. Shortly after, Claudia enters Soren's room and softly tries to break the truth about his permanent paralysis but Soren stops her as he already knows, but is glad to be. He finally reveals to Claudia that their father secretly ordered him to kill the princes and him being rendered motionless, frees him from doing the terrible deed.

Chapter Thirty - Dragon Smash Boy

Viren quietly makes his way to the castle library and gathers all the textbooks that will let him know more about Aaravos. But to his confusion, all the information regarding Aaravos begins to fade before entirely blacking out. Viren returns to the mirror, angrily voicing his struggle to find any paper about Aaravos where the text will not disappear. Aaravos looks on calmly, gesturing he is unable hear Viren since he removed and sealed the caterpillar, his only communicator. Viren puts it back in his ear and asks Aaravos as to why he should trust him, to which he replies that he should not do so just yet. Viren threatens to throw the mirror in the river and cut off Aaravos forever, however, it does not seem to unnerve the elf, as Aaravos is willing to offer his service to Viren. Viren expresses his desire to persuade the other rulers to join Katolis's war against Xadia, so Aaravos suggests that they must somehow get their attention. Claudia asks what Soren will do with his "freedom" to which Soren announces he will be a poet. He gives a sample of his haiku but comes out terrible. Unable to bear his brother to remain in this state, Claudia tears the room apart as she desperately searches for a remedy, causing her to get kicked out of the hospital.

Chapter Thirty-One - Changes You Don't Expect

After some time of waiting, the anxious Corvus decides to check on Ezran picking up the young king's footprints. However, when Corvus discovers that Ezran's trail overlaps with that of a Banther, the former becomes terrified and concludes to Rayla that a Banther has devoured the King of Katolis. Upon hearing this, Rayla simply laughs at the idea and informs Corvus about Ezran's ability to communicate with animals, even joking that Ezran must have caught a ride on the Banther instead of in the Banther. To calm herself, Claudia takes a walk around town where she encounters Ezran riding a large Banther in an alley. As Claudia fears Ezran and the Banther, she apologizes for her hostility towards him. Ezran accepts and lets the Banther roam back to the wild, reassuring it that Claudia will not harm him. The two go for a walk in town and end up sitting at the top of the ruined guard tower. Ezran tells Claudia how he recently found out about his father's death. To avoid upsetting him, Claudia instead tearfully retells the time her mother Lissa decided to separate with Viren by moving back to her home kingdom, Del Bar. This resulted in Soren and Claudia to choose which parent to remain with. Soren chose to remain with Viren, but Claudia is told by her mother to stay with her brother as they need each other before finally leaving. The two share an embrace as they admire to have a sibling to be with. Claudia then realizes Ezran can talk to animals, so she asks a favor for Ezran to help her seek milkfruit that could potentially heal her brother. Thanks to the help of animals, Ezran and Claudia finally find a milkfruit bush where a family of deer emerges to feast on it. Claudia now asks Ezran to return to his brother and apologizes again for her actions. Ezran makes his way back while Claudia remains, with her eyes fixated on the deer.

Chapter Thirty-Two - Head, Hand, and Heart

In his dream, Callum is taken to a ship ride with Villads where they venture the sea in a brutal storm to the one point when Callum becomes the ship's sail. Callum then finds himself steering the ship alone as the view pans out into the Sky Primal Stone that he shattered. The ship eventually gets destroyed and Callum is left alone as Villads gets a lift from his giant parrot Berto after commenting about the former's conscience being a messy place. Callum then drowns and continuously sinks. Then, Callum suddenly hears the whispers of his mother, Sarai, telling him to breathe before she takes and comforts him to a bedroom. Sarai sees her son struggling to focus his thoughts, so she advises him to take things slowly and breathe so that his mind, body, and spirit can finally unlock the truth. Sarai embraces his son to remind him of her love.

Chapter Thirty-Three - I Am the Wing

In the real world, Rayla hugs Callum's body in an attempt to ease his suffering, but he finally awakens; declaring that he finally understands the Sky Arcanum. Ecstatic Callum attempts to perform Aspiro without the help of a Primal Stone; he manages to draw the rune and unleash a strong breath of wind. Ezran and Corvus arrive in time to see Callum perform the spell. When Corvus brings up his service to the young king, Callum realizes Ezran already knows their father's death. Callum and Ezran embrace each other to mourn their loss. It is revealed that Claudia was not seeking out milkfruit, but a lone deer instead. Back in the hospital, Claudia enters Soren's room in her dark magic form as she unleashes a spell that spreads all over Soren's body before falling from exhaustion. Her magic heals Soren's body, allowing him to feel and move his body again. Soren checks on her sister breathing heavily on the floor, before lifting her face relieved of her brother's recovery, as the black covering her eyes fades.

Chapter Thirty-Four - Smoke and Moonshadows

At sunset, the group is ready to resume their journey to Xadia. But Ezran makes a difficult decision; he plans to return to Katolis and assume the throne as his responsibility now as King, accompanied by Corvus. Ezran bids farewell to Rayla and his brother. This decision deeply saddens Zym as he cries out for Ezran to return. At night, Viren makes his way atop a tower gathering the weapons of the fallen Moonshadow Elf Assassins. With the help of Aaravos, Viren uses dark magic to resurrect four smoke forms of the assassins. He orders them to terrorize the four Human Kingdoms in a scheme to have them mobilize against Xadia. Afterward, Viren goes to his chambers but is alerted by Aaravos that he has been spotted. Viren blasts open the door and engage the castle guards, assisted by Aaravos's magic. Viren and Aaravos continue to fight until they are outnumbered and surrounded. Opeli enters and demands Viren to surrender or face death by the archers surrounding him. Viren initially refuses but Aaravos orders him to cease as he takes his magic away. The guards apprehend Viren, leading the mage to feel betrayed by Aaravos. Aaravos refutes as he promises to remain by Viren's side. After being taken away, the guards discover the entrance to the hidden tunnels behind a painting.

Chapter Thirty-Five - The Moonstone Path

Hours later, Callum and Rayla arrive at the Border, where they have to cross the river of lava. Rayla asks Callum to wait for moonlight to reveal rocks marked with runes that serve as the Moonstone Path. This allows them to safely cross the river, but each rock they step will eventually sink. Rayla realizes the sun is rising, and the runes on the rocks ahead of them are beginning to fade out. They make a run to the other side but stop short as sunlight has covered a portion of the crossing. The rocks sinking behind them slowly begin to catch up, distressing Zym. Meanwhile, Ezran begins to see a vision of Rayla and Callum through Zym's eyes. Realizing they're in trouble, Ezran telepathically communicates with Zym to fly up and block out the sunlight; By demonstrating the action with Corvus, Zym is finally able to fly on his own but struggles to keep up. Callum uses Aspiro again, where the strong winds help Zym land on the arch. Zym spreads his wings as his shadow blocks out sunlight, allowing Callum and Rayla to make it to the other side. Corvus also commented that Ezran is a weird king and Ezran acknowledges.

Chapter Thirty-Six - Into Xadia

Back at the Border, Lieutenant Fen suggests to Amaya to gather their battalion and to abandon the fortress, as he fears an inevitable attack of the Sunfire Elves, which they could not withstand due to the lack of numbers in available men. A solider informs Amaya that the enemy has taken over the outpost on the Xadian side of the Breach. Amaya, overwhelmed with frustration over the situation, punches into the bridge's wall, when another soldier informs her that "someone" has arrived, it turns out to be Gren, who has been freed from imprisonment and is finally returning to his battalion. Overjoyed, Amaya rushes towards her dear friend, lifting and twirling him in a tight embrace. After saluting to one another, Amaya quickly takes notice of Gren's new beard, which she questions with a smug expression. The two swiftly engage in a sign language conversation to catch up but are interrupted by Lieutenant Fen who wishes to learn where their requested reinforcements are, as he had sent many requests to Katolis to receive aid. Gren lets his comrades know that Lord Viren has been arrested for treason, meaning no reinforcements will arrive. Amaya finally admits that they have no chance of defending the bridge, but refuses to abandon her position, instead choosing to destroy the bridge entirely.

Meanwhile, back at the town Soren and Claudia exited the healing area. Soren is worried what Viren would say. Claudia replied that they are alive and Claudia shows to Soren a dragon horn that which he cut and said that they never leave empty-handed. Soren said that they failed their missions meaning Viren will be mad and he will never be mad with the Dragon horn means its magic. Claudia cheers but Soren falls on the ground giving Claudia a mild shock.

Finally, Rayla and Callum are in Xadian lands. But as they emerge from the Border, Callum and Rayla find to be in trouble as they spot Sol Regem awakening from his slumber.

Gallery

Notable Differences

• Some scenes from the series have been left out of the novel. This includes the scene where Rayla tries to tell Callum about Soren's possible ill intentions and some scenes between the flashbacks.
• An additional scene is added, in which Claudia reveals to Soren that she has told Callum the truth about Harrow's death.
• Aaravos's and Viren's dark magic ritual plays out somewhat differently. Instead of pouring their blood into mortars, Aaravos and Viren let them drip into their respective geodes. Aaravos then drinks the blood from his geode, which also empties Viren's, before he lets his caterpillar familiar crawl into the geode to be transported to Viren's side of the mirror.
• The color of Pyrrah's eyes is described as yellow instead of blue.
• The magic streaks that Callum uses to free Pyrrah are described as purple instead of green.
• Saleer's name is spelled as "Salir".
• Callum has a vision of dead animals in his dark magic induced nightmare, which includes a butterfly, a deer, and a unicorn.
• The book includes Amaya's story arc that is shown in "Sol Regem".
• Pip is not mentioned to escape his cage before Opeli and the Crownguard apprehend Viren.

Trivia

• The "Sky" chapter of the novel is inspired by the Greek Mythology legend of Icarus, in which the son of master craftsman Daedalus uses wings constructed from feathers and wax to ascend to the sky. Like in the novel, Icarus meets his death when flying too close to the sun causes the wax in his wings to melt.
• The book introduces Viren's former mentor Kpp'Ar. It is also revealed that Viren modeled the secret entrance to the castle chambers after Kpp'Ar's puzzle architecture.
• It is revealed that Kpp'Ar owned a chest identical to the one Aaravos used during his dark magic ritual.
• The book reveals the spell that Claudia used to heal Soren's paralysis, which required her to kill a deer in "Breathe", with the incantation being "Nekorb eht laeh dna wolf, evila dna gnuoy eliga tserof fo doolbefil" (Lifeblood of forest agile young and alive, flow and heal the broken").