Moonless Night is the fiftieth episode of The Dragon Prince. It is the fifth chapter of the sixth book, "Stars".
To prove themselves as the Chosen Two, Rayla and Callum set out to end the storms swirling around the Star Scraper. Viren tries to right past wrongs.
Plot[]
The Ice Behemoth continues to wander the frozen north and create a massive blizzard as Astrid and Kosmo bring Rayla, Callum, Stella, and Sneezles to their sleeping quarters within the Star Scraper. Rayla and Callum politely decline Astrid and Kosmo's offer of needing anything else before Rayla asks Callum whether they are sneaking out soon or in the morning. Callum reminds Rayla of the prophecy of the Chosen Two that the Elder told them, which will result in the heavens adorning them if they fulfill it. Rayla tells Callum that they are not the Chosen Two, but Callum believes they can pierce the Ice Behemoth's heart and melt the threat forever.
In Katolis, Ezran is staring at the moon from his chambers' balcony while holding the invitation to Amaya and Janai's wedding when Soren enters to check in on him. He reveals that while he is excited about the wedding, he is anxious about leaving Katolis since Callum's group has not yet returned from the Star Scraper, Zubeia has not fully recovered from her infection, and Viren is still imprisoned in the dungeon. Soren encourages Ezran to not worry about Viren, have fun at the wedding, and give Amaya a friendly punch in the arm. Ezran promises to give Amaya both a friendly punch in the arm and a hug before embracing Soren. Soren and Ezran exchange good nights as Soren leaves and prepares to confront his father.
Inside the dungeon, a fly is trapped in a spider's web as Viren is chained to the floor and sulking inside his cell. He becomes happy when Soren arrives to deliver dinner. When Viren tries to confess how much he has changed after everything he experienced, Soren chooses to ignore his father's pleas and leaves.
Back in the Star Scraper, Callum tells Rayla they can defeat a monster that has been terrorizing the Celestial Elves for generations and return the moonless nights. Rayla says that Callum kept calling the Ice Behemoth a monster even though they know nothing about the creature. She then goes on about him being the last person she would ever expect to buy into some prophecy before reminding him of his belief on destiny being a book a person must write themselves. Callum responds by saying they can use "Terminus ad Glacium", the spell he used to counter Finnegrin's "Venus Frigoris", to melt the Ice Behemoth. Callum casts "Terminus ad Glacium" on the icicles inside the sleeping quarters, but nothing happens. Frustrated, Callum slams his book against the sleeping quarters' desk, causing the icicles to fall and frightens Stella into scurrying towards Rayla. Rayla calms Stella down before revealing her plans of going to bed so they can return to Katolis in the morning. She then cuddles and sings a lullaby to Stella as Callum reconsiders his plan.
Viren wakes up from his sleep to find Soren delivering breakfast to him. He thanks Soren before asking him why he keeps coming back since as a Crownguard, he could have asked anyone else to deliver meals, and that he would not have come down to the dungeon if he did not want to speak with his father. Soren claims that he simply wants to see him suffer. Viren confesses he was cold to him during their reunion in the Drakewood because no father should be cruel towards their children. He knows that he is to blame for setting Claudia down a dark path, and he reveals that he has found a new path before saying how proud he is of seeing Soren becoming a strong person who is true to his heart. However, Soren does not believe any of Viren's words and angrily interjects as he yells and rants about not being manipulated again before slamming his fist against the bars of the cell in a fit of rage. He eventually regains his composure and storms off, leaving Viren shaken as he sank to his knees.
Rayla is sleeping on her hammock alongside Stella and Sneezles as Callum drags a large block of ice into the sleeping quarters. Callum explains that for "Terminus ad Glacium" to melt actual ice, the spell's rune must be carved into the ice, which fits the words of the prophecy of the Chosen Two. He then uses one of Rayla's butterfly blades to carve the rune into the ice block before casting the spell, which succeeds in melting it. Callum reveals his plan to have Rayla carve the rune into the Ice Behemoth's heart before he can destroy the beast by casting the spell, fulfilling the role of the warrior and the mage. Rayla finally agrees to help Callum in slaying the Ice Behemoth.
Later on, Callum, Rayla, and Stella journey to the blizzard to confront the Ice Behemoth. Callum believes that the glowing light on the creature's chest and tells Rayla to climb towards it so she can carve the rune. Stella hides inside Rayla's bag as Callum casts "Fulminis Ruina" to distract the Ice Behemoth, allowing Rayla to use her butterfly blades to climb towards the beast's chest. Callum then casts "Vento Tempestas" to protect Rayla from falling ice. As Rayla leaps onto the Ice Behemoth's chest and prepares to carve the rune, Rayla realizes that the glowing light on its chest is actually a cracked collar pendant and recognizes the creature's identity. The Ice Behemoth shakes Rayla off, and Callum stops her fall by casting "Levare Ventum". When Callum asks Rayla why she did not carve the rune, she reveals that the Ice Behemoth is a pet instead of a threat.
Viren sits in his cell when he hears someone entering the dungeon. Viren believes it is Soren and wishes to apologize, only to be disappointed to find the person being Fen delivering lunch.
Rayla explains to Callum that the Ice Behemoth is not a rampaging monster, but rather a sad and lonely pet that misses its master. He does not believe her words, but she knows that the beast is not dangerous and asks him to trust her. Callum and Stella then witness Rayla walking towards the Ice Behemoth and slowly pacifies it with the lullaby she sang earlier. The creature slowly calms down upon listening to Rayla's lullaby, with its eyes turning from pink to yellow and its blizzard to die down. Rayla recognizes the Ice Behemoth as Esmeray, the loyal and beloved companion of Luna Tenebris, the Archdragon of the Moon and the former Queen of the Dragons. Rayla realizes that Esmeray had been grieving Luna's death for centuries and created blizzards during moonless nights because the moon's absence reminded her of the day her master's passing. Callum and Stella approach Rayla before the Cuddlemonkey creates a portal to retrieve the Moon Opal she collected from Umber Tor. Rayla understands what Esmeray is feeling because she lost loved ones as as well, but she also knows that her loved ones never truly left her. She then places the Moon Opal into Esmeray's cracked pendant, which helps the latter in clearing the skies. Rayla soothes Esmeray by telling her that Luna Tenebris is still with her even when the moon is not in the sky. She then kisses Esmeray's nose as the latter departs peacefully. Callum praises Rayla for fulfilling the prophecy, for it is her kindness pierced Esmeray's heart and melted the threat.
Callum, Rayla, and Stella enter the Star Scraper's Rotunda, where the Celestial Elves thank them for giving the stars back. As promised, the Celestial Elves adorn Callum and Rayla with the heavens by giving them the Corona of the Heavens, which houses the three Quasar Diamonds needed to free Rayla's family from Viren's enchanted coins. Rayla realizes Callum that he knew that the Corona of the Heavens is the reward for fulfilling the prophecy and asks him why he did not tell her. Callum tells Rayla because he knows her and he wants to do something for herself for her. Rayla then hugs Callum to thank him before they follow the Celestial Elves in ascending to the Zenith to witness the moonless night. The Elder says that he was only a child when he last beheld the heavens and allows the Celestial Elves to remove their blindfolds to witness the stars after the Zenith's ceiling opened. Astrid and Kosmo embrace as they view each other for the first time, and Kosmo becomes Timeblind when the stars touch his eyes. Kosmo praises Astrid and Rayla's true selves, but faints upon seeing dark magic within Callum.
Viren wakes up in his sleep to find Soren sitting next to his cell. He explains he does not expect forgiveness and knows that he does not deserve any kind of redemption or mercy. He then says that the pain he caused was never Soren's fault. As a tearful Soren leaves, Viren tells him that he wants him to have his words in the future when he might need them.
Inside their sleeping quarters, Callum listens to Rayla telling the coined Runaan, Tiadrin, and Lain that she never forgot about them and prepares to keep her sacred promise. As Rayla tells her family to wait a little bit longer, the solemn Callum heads to the Star Scraper's Rotunda with Aaravos's prison. Callum places the prison on one of the steps and gazes at it as he remembers Kosmo's reaction.
Viren wakes up after dreaming about Aaravos before furiously telling the Startouch Elf that he is no longer afraid and will never be used again as a spider approaches the fly trapped in its web.
Characters and Cast[]
Spells[]
| Sky Spells | Ocean Spells |
Trivia[]
- Justin Richmond and Aaron Ehasz posted clues to this episode's title on Twitter with pictures of a starry night sky and director M. Night Shyamalan.[1]
- When Astrid comes back to reconfirm if Callum and Rayla were settled for the night, the rest of her line was cut from the scene in which she would have asked if they wanted Yodelyak's milk.[2]