Rise Again

Information
Author	Kris James
Illustrator	Caleb Thomas
Published on	25th October 2022
Publisher	The Dragon Prince Official Website (Rise Again)

Rise Again is a side story published through the official website of The Dragon Prince. It revolves around Claudia learning her first dark magic spell. It is part of a short story series called "Reflections" and is the final one of the first volume.

Summary

The eight year old Claudia attempts her first dark magic spell inside an attic, a smoky resurrection spell that uses a Shadowlife Candle. After casting, she at first believes to have failed, only to realize seconds later that she has succeeded. Before her stands a smoky image of her deceased pet cat Biscuit, although the magic appears to fade. To solidify her creation, Claudia recalls the memory of her beloved cat, which stabilizes the spell once again. Biscuit purrs and meows, but her sounds appear as sour and twanging.

When Claudia hears a sneeze, she calls out her brother Soren, who had been hiding near the doorway. When called out, Soren reminds his sister that he has to protect her from the spiders up in the attic, though Claudia reassures him that there is no need to. Upon noticing the cat and becoming startled, Claudia tries to calm Soren by letting him know that it was merely Biscuit in the room with them. Soren tries to explain that Biscuit had died and that they had held a funeral for her. Claudia remembers how Biscuit had been one of Barius's stray cats and died before she could take care of all her kittens, her favorite of all that she could not let go.

Claudia orders Biscuit to move around and jokes that they could call her reincarnation "Burnt Biscuit", though Soren seems to hold no joy for the actions of his sister. He refuses to pet her despite Claudia's insistence for being soft and warm, then questions if their father knows about what she has done. When learning that he does not, Soren scolds his sister and reminds him that Viren had said not to try out spells without him until she would be older. Despite deciding to tell on her, he gives up pretty quickly and instead wonders how long Biscuit will stay, visibly sick from his dislike for magic. Claudia comments that Soren simply does not understand dark magic, and how it can do anything.

Trivia

• Claudia uses the spell "Niaga esir, nellaf fo hsa!", which means "Ash of fallen, rise again!", a spell used to summon a shadow image of a deceased creature to do a mage's bidding. It uses the ashes of the creature in combination with a Shadowlife Candle. However, a part of the spell is missing, in which a mage would usually add "smoky (creature)" to finish their cast.