The Dagger and the Wolf is the seventh episode of The Dragon Prince and seventh chapter of the first book, "Moon".
The trio ventures into a snow-covered mountain villiage. Callum and Ezran seek help for the egg while Rayla tries to disguise herself as a human and hunts down a magic blade, hoping to use it to cut off her binding. Claudia collects ingredients for a tracking spell.
Plot[]
Callum, Ezran, and Rayla rest at a cave in the mountains for the night. They grow worried about the Dragon Prince egg's worsening condition as its light continues to dim. The next day, they try to seek help from a nearby town. To cast off attention, Rayla uses a cloak and gloves to hide her elf features and disguise herself as a human. As they enter the town, they turn to a large crowd gathered where a mercenary named Tristan brags that he can defeat anyone with his weapon. He faces a large challenger named Allen carrying an enormous sword, and soon all the villagers bet that the challenger would win. But Tristan's special blade cuts through Allen's sword, rendering it useless. Rayla identifies the weapon as a Sunforge blade, a magical blade created by Sunfire Elves that stays incredibly hot for hundreds of years. Callum deduces that if the blade can cut through any material, it might be able to break Rayla's wrist binding. The trio separate as Rayla attempts to find a way to get the blade while the princes continue to seek help for the egg.
Soren and Claudia arrive at the Banther Lodge along with the best tracking hounds. Soren lets the hounds sniff Callum's shirt to track down his scent. The hounds found a trail but they quickly fall short when they realize they lost his scent at a nearby river. The siblings are forced to find another way to search them. Claudia is unable to use dark magic to find them if they do not obtain any biological substances from the princes. Soren notices an arrow stuck to a tree, with a small cut of Rayla's hair attached to it. This proves useful for Claudia since they know the princes are traveling with a Moonshadow Elf.
Callum and Ezran manage to find a doctor for animals. They try their best to explain their problem without revealing too much that it is the egg of the Dragon Prince. However, the doctor sees that they are hiding details and insists that they tell everything, promising to abide by their secrecy. The princes finally decide to trust the doctor and he gasps in awe once they revealed the dragon egg. The doctor inspects the egg's condition and finds that the egg is slowly dying, sadly having no remedy for its condition. Saddened, the princes prepare to leave to look for another way. But they are halted when the doctor reveals to them a miracle he heard that happened on a feared place known as the Cursed Caldera and they should meet the one who witnessed it.
Meanwhile, Rayla follows Tristan, but he eventually realizes that he is being followed and makes a run for it. When he faces a dead-end, Rayla tries not to appear hostile as she approaches the man and asks for his help to cut the binding. He complies but accidentally burns Rayla's hand that causes her to drop the glove. Tristan realizes she is an elf. With no time to explain, Rayla forcefully takes the Sunforge blade and attempts to cut the binding herself. But even the blade proves useless, angrily frustrating Rayla. Tristan pleads for her mercy, in which she replies that she is not going to hurt him and is not going to steal the blade either. She then throws the blade to the ground in front of the fearful human before leaving.
The princes meet a young girl named Ellis, who confirms that the miracle is true because it happened to her pet wolf Ava. Two years ago, Ellis found Ava when she was a pup, orphaned as her front paw got caught in a hunter's animal trap. Ava decided to release her and take her to the village to seek treatment for her injury. Unfortunately, the doctor found her paw too damaged to be fixed and decided it must be amputated. Afterwards, Ellis decided to adopt the crippled pup but her parents could barely sustain Ava with their limited food. Ellis begged her father to let the pup stay for a few weeks before they let her go to the woods, but her father knew the other wolves will not accept her condition and asked Ellis to end the pup's life. Ellis ran away in refusal and took Ava to the Cursed Caldera. They struggled as they kept encountering horrifying creatures in their way, but managed to find a cave for shelter. Suddenly, they were approached by a mysterious female who was awed by Ava. When Ava was taken to her arms, she magically healed Ava by restoring her amputated leg. The miracle healer vanished afterward. With this information, Callum and Ezran are set to find the miracle healer at the Cursed Caldera. However, Ellis is surprised when the princes reveal that they possess a dragon egg.
To cast her tracking spell, Claudia searches for one last item in which they have to travel through a small crack that leads to a hidden tunnel system. She finds a cavern glowing in the dark, and stumbles upon an enormous grotto housing thousands of wisps. She takes a jar full of the wisps that complete her items for the spell. But Claudia tells Soren they need to climb the peak of the highest mountain of Katolis for the spell to succeed.
The princes reunite with Rayla at the town's statue. Rayla is upset that she may be forced to wait until the binding finally cuts her hand, but she becomes hopeful when both princes learned of a miracle healer living in the Cursed Caldera that can help fix the dragon egg and maybe her binding. Suddenly, Tristan gathers the townsfolk after spreading the news of an elf present in their town. The mob drives Rayla and the princes to flee the town. The mob halts their pursuit, unwilling to follow them since they acknowledge their fate is sealed as they begin traveling towards the Cursed Caldera.
Characters and Cast[]
- Callum (Jack De Sena)
- Rayla (Paula Burrows)
- Ezran (Sasha Rojen)
- Bait
- Claudia (Racquel Belmonte)
- Soren (Jesse Inocalla)
- Ellis (Nahanni Mitchell)
- Ava
- Tristan (Sam Vincent)
- Doctor (Jay Brazeau)
- Ellis's Father (Michael Daingerfield)
- Allen (Sam Vincent)
- Lujanne
Trivia[]
- Allen, the man who challenges Tristan, the wielder of the Sunforge dagger, can be seen in the credits of "Heroes and Masterminds" and "Dragonguard", where he courts Lujanne while she is in her human disguise.
- In the first script, the doctor was taking care of a house cat that had run up the Cursed Caldera. This was later changed as horses had been already modeled.[1]
- The homes in Ellis's village were inspired by old alpine villages in both northern Europe and North America.[2]
Credits[]
- In the credit images that shows Rayla high-fiving Callum, the markings underneath her eyes are missing.
- The image of Bait leaving footprints in the snow besides a snowman is followed in the following episode's credits, where Corvus tracks these footprints.
- Janai's sword is pictured in reference to the Sunforge dagger, foreshadowing her debut in "A Secret and a Spark".
- Claudia replaces Bait's spot from "An Empty Throne" on Soren's back.