The Glittering Bones is the fifty-seventh episode of The Dragon Prince. It is the third chapter of the seventh book, "Dark".
Terry leads the group to the Garden of Innocence, where Aaravos and Claudia craft a Primal Stone. In Lux Aurea, Janai faces a tough decision about Karim.
Plot[]
At the Sunfire Elf camp, Amaya, Gren, and the Six Horns watch as Janai announces Karim's followers as traitors of Lux Aurea. Janai says that the old laws dictate treachery as punishable by death, but she and Amaya believe in second chances and that compassion will build a stronger and brighter future for the Sunfire Kingdom. Janai declares her decision to pardon Karim's followers and decrees the day as the Day of the Great Amnesty, and that the pardoned Sunfire Elves must earn back their trust, respect, and honor. The Sunfire Elves, shocked and grateful, declare Janai and Amaya as the Queens of Mercy.
Upon returning to the royal tent, Amaya hugs and tells Janai how proud she is before reminding that they cannot avoid deciding Karim's fate forever. Janai says she is not planning to pardon Karim, since he tried to usurp her, even though he is the only sibling and family member she has left.
In the Banther Lodge during a gathering with the High Council, Ezran, who was infuriated and embittered by Callum's betrayal, declares his brother a traitor to all of Katolis and tasks Corvus to track him down. Corvus had correctly figured out that Callum, Rayla, and Runaan are heading to the Silvergrove, and Ezran orders him to intercept them once they reached their destination. Zym tries to comfort Ezran, who angrily rejects it, prompting Aanya to ask him to speak privately. Ezran silently agrees and follows Aanya out of the Banther Lodge.
Within the forests of Katolis, Aaravos explains to Claudia and Terry that the Garden of Innocence is the unicorns' oldest secrets, for it is a beautiful place of rest and tranquility hidden from prying eyes. The confused Terry looks at the map and says that they should be on a bridge next to a tree and over a rainbow river. Claudia then finds a tree with hoof prints going up its trunk and to its canopy. Claudia starts to remember that the tree is the bridge to the Garden of Innocence before sprinting and leaping towards it, causing her to land and stand on the trunk horizontally. Aaravos and Terry soon join Claudia in landing on the tree.
Ezran and Aanya are feeding ducks berries at the Banther Lodge's bridge alongside Zym and Bait as the former reminisces how he and Callum used to feed the ducks together with plain bread and was told by the ducks that they like berries instead, but Callum refused to believe him. Aanya talks to Ezran about how painful it is that Callum chose to side with Rayla and Runaan before reminding him that their brotherhood is not broken and will heal one day, though he still feels depressed about it, Zym comforts him as Aanya says it is normal to be angry and sad. She asks Ezran to let the pain go temporarily since his people need him. Aanya then offers to show Ezran a secret place in Duren.
Janai is having drinks with Amaya and Gren when one of her generals wishes to inform her about Miyana. Janai refuses to grant Miyana amnesty since the latter willingly conspired with Karim and stole the Sun Seed. However, the general reveals that Miyana is pregnant, prompting the surprised Janai, Amaya, and Gren to silently and correctly guess that Karim is the father of Miyana's unborn child.
Claudia leads Aaravos and Terry up the tree as mist begins to surround them. They soon enter the Garden of Innocence, which is filled with colorful plants and a rainbow aurora swirling in the sky. Aaravos tasks Terry to find two key ingredients in the forest that will help them craft a Moon Primal Stone: two Shimmercrow feathers, one large and one small. Claudia kisses and encourages Terry to explore the garden together after they are finished. Terry soon runs off as Aaravos and Claudia head deeper into the garden.
Ezran, Bait, Zym, Soren, Corvus, Aanya, Embertail, and Aegis fly over the destroyed Katolis as they soar towards Duren. Aanya asks Ezran how much he knows about the Mage Wars and Ezran answers that the tutors taught him and Callum about how humans found that the western half of the continent was almost completely barren of magic after the dragons and the elves banished them from Xadia. However, Aanya reveals that the West was just as magical as all of Xadia, until magical mages rose into powerful warlords and waged terrible wars against each other for resources, hunting magical creatures to extinction and bleeding the lands dry of magic as they dethroned one another in a vicious cycle. The wars finally stopped when magic disappeared from the West. Aanya talks about history having a way of burying the ugly truths of those who write it, though there are few places in the Human Kingdoms where magic remains hidden.
Aaravos notices that something is bothering Claudia before she talks about how bad it is to lie about the Garden of Innocence being a beautiful, peaceful place of rest. Claudia states it is only half the truth, for the Garden of Innocence is actually a graveyard where unicorns come to die and rest peacefully forever. She casts "Ossa Revelare" to reassemble and reanimate the skeleton of a dead unicorn, though the sight disturbs her. Aaravos assures Claudia that the dead unicorn is merely bones that cannot harm them before he commends her skills.
Claudia grinds the unicorn bones into fine powder before melting them into goo. The goo is then shaped into a sphere, though Claudia playfully molds it into a jelly tart and a mustache. The amused Aaravos tells Claudia that the goo must be a sphere before saying that she reminds him of Leola and what she would have been like if she lived to be Claudia's age. Claudia ponders about being friends with Leola before molding the goo back into a sphere and tossing it to the laughing Aaravos.
Karim has been chained and imprisoned for high treason, and he has special gloves that prevent him from performing casting spells. Janai visits Karim and wishes to bring him an offer of mercy. Karim scoffs at the idea, believing that Janai will show weakness just like how she granted his soldiers amnesty. Janai tells Karim that he will earn his amnesty when he relinquishes his name before going on about how there is power in a name. Karim soon sees through what Janai is implying and correctly guesses that Miyana is carrying his child. He then confronts Janai for being afraid to execute him since such action will make him a martyr and that his child will avenge him. Karim falls when his restraint reaches its limit as the weeping Janai berates him for still looking at her with contempt and trying to scheme against her and squander all his chances to reform. Karim, however, remains unmoved by his sister’s outburst and compassion, and only watches in silence and disgust as Janai tearfully leaves his prison.
Terry whistles as he returns to the Garden of Innocence with a large and a small Shimmercrow feather. He accidentally overhears Aaravos talking to Claudia about restless spirits unable to survive in the sunlight and that they must bring forth an "Eternal Night" to the world. Terry pretends to remain oblivious to the conversation as he brings the feathers to Claudia and Aaravos, before marveling at the sphere Claudia created.
Ezran and his group eventually arrive at a secret cave guarded by Durenian soldiers as Aanya reveals that her arrows are tipped with Fire Rubies and demonstrates how they detonate and create fiery explosions on impact before leading the group inside the cave, which is filled with giant Fire Rubies. Ezran thanks Aanya for bringing him to the cave, since the Fire Rubies can help in protecting them from future threats.
Janai informs the Six Horns that Miyana will be given amnesty under the condition that she is stripped of her title and lives a humble life. When one of the generals asks if Karim will share the same mercy, Janai declares that Karim has been sentenced to die and commands them to set a date for his execution.
Aaravos explains to Claudia and Terry that the final step of creating a Moon Primal Stone involves carrying the sphere around the world, which is a dangerous task because many mages perished after spending years traversing deserts, mountains, and oceans in doing so. However, Aaravos casts "Potentia Fugae" to imbue the sphere with wings created from the large Shimmercrow feather, allowing it to circle the world by morning. Terry asks what the small feather is for, but Aaravos tells him to be patient before commanding the winged sphere to fly.
Characters and Cast[]
Spells[]
| Star Spells | Corrupted Sun Spells |
Trivia[]
- Excluding the episode recap and end credit artworks, this is the only episode in the entire series in which Callum is absent.