Through the Ice is the sixth episode of The Dragon Prince and sixth chapter of the first book, "Moon".
After a run-in with a soldier, Rayla leads the princes to high ground. Viren gives Soren and Claudia secret orders as they set out on their mission.
Plot[]
As dawn approaches, Callum and Ezran continue to rest peacefully while Rayla's wrist worsens as her assassin's binding further constricts it. Woken by her injury, she notices a noise in the woods and chooses to investigate it, running into a deer on her way. When the deer flees and a net hurls towards the young elf she makes notice of Corvus, who is attempting to trap her. The two engage in combat.
At the same time, Ezran wakes up in camp and wakes his brother upon noticing Rayla's absence. Callum instantly panics, worrying that she may have taken the egg, though his brother reassures him that it is still safely stashed away in his bag. When Callum expresses his distrust for their companion, Ezran briefly accuses him of being wrongly prejudiced about elves, which Callum quickly denies, though voices that he believes her to be keeping secrets.
While engaged in combat, Rayla realizes how close their camp lies to the attacker. In an attempt to lure Corvus away, she scales a tree, but is captured by the man's weapon and immobilized when hung from a branch. Corvus demands to have her prisoners freed, and despite Rayla's attempts to inform him that they have become friends, he makes her responsible for the actions of her leader. The chase continues when she manages to free herself and Corvus quickly realizes that the princes are unaware what the Moonshadow Elves have done to King Harrow. He insists that the boys will hate her upon finding out, though instead of furthering the conversation, Rayla pulls Corvus down a cliff with her and successfully manages to get rid of him for the time being. Shortly after, Rayla reunites with the princes in a panicked state, ordering them to move out without explaining their situation. Callum and Ezran reluctantly follow her lead, but leave their bread behind in their hurry.
At Katolis castle, Soren meets up with his father for an important discussion on their mission to find the princes. Although confident that his son would have no issue locating the princes, Viren gives him the direct order to return with the news that the princes have "perished".
During their travel, Rayla refuses to take the path with easier, flatter terrain, secretly worried about Corvus's return. Ezran complains that it will be harder to carry the egg on a path with difficult terrain, but Rayla counters that she would oblige to carry it if they only trusted her to do so. Seeing as they refuse based on their lack of trust, the princes have no choice but to follow her orders.
Back at the castle, Soren asks Viren for clarification on what he is being told. Viren explains that the future of humanity rests on the princes' fate, fearing that making Ezran the king of Katolis would cause their kingdom to endure weak choices and sabotage their chances of claiming Xadia for themselves. When Soren asks what to do if he finds the princes alive, his father encourages him to finish the job and to make it look like they had ran into an accident. If he were to succeed, Viren promises Soren that he one day would become the new king.
When the realization of having left behind their food hits, Rayla offers the princes her bottle of moonberry juice, only to discover that it has already been consumed. The culprit is quickly found in Bait, who has taken on an unusual color and is eventually given away by his own breath. Now without food entirely, Rayla storms off angrily to continue their way.
Inside Viren's chambers, Claudia unveils the magic mirror and attempts to cast a dark magic spell to reveal its secrets, without success. Viren catches her, revealing he already tried eight different reveal spells and continues to claim that this artifact must harbor great significance, as it was kept where the Dragon King and Dragon Queen slept. Nonetheless, Viren puts that objective to rest as he brings up an important discussion about the mission to his daughter. Viren tasks her with the safe retrieval of the dragon egg throughout any incidents, including the potential death of her own brother.
Team Zym meanwhile has reached a mountain peak covered in snow that significantly worsens the exhaustion of the princes. Rayla once again suggests that they hand over the egg so she can carry it herself, entering a loud argument with Callum about his lack of trust, emphasizing that the princes need to be the ones to return the egg to Xadia to achieve peace, making it impossible for her to steal the egg. Realizing that their volume could trigger an avalanche, Ezran urges his friends to be quiet. This effort is for naught, however, when Bait releases a loud burp and triggers the feared avalanche, which they are then forced to flee from. Realizing that they are unable to outrun it, Callum creates a safety pocket by casting "Aspiro", though they are inevitably swept away when he runs out of breath. Fortunately they all survive and find themselves at a frozen lake. Ezran notices the egg nearby and rushes to retrieve it, but the added weight causes the ice sheet of the lake to weaken.
Meanwhile, Claudia meets up with Soren, who is visibly stress eating. Soren asks if their father told Claudia anything strange, which she confirms he has, though Soren remembers his promise made to keep his mission a secret from his sister, thus pretending that nothing strange had occurred in his own conversation. The two brush the tense situation off with a laugh before they part again.
On the cracking lake surface, Callum carefully approaches Ezran and has the egg passed to him. Left with no choice, Callum apologizes and finally entrusts the egg to Rayla. Struck by his sympathy, Rayla feels guilty and refuses to take the egg until she finally opens up to the princes. Rayla discloses her earlier attack by Corvus as the reason why they had to move out in a rush and finally reveals the true nature of the ribbon in her left wrist. She reveals that before the assassination, she took part in a Moonshadow Assassin's ritual that serves as insurance to the oath they swore to fulfill to kill Prince Ezran. As long as Ezran lives and breathes, the binding will continue to gradually tighten until her hand is eventually severed entirely, but she is prepared to face that consequence now that she knows they're friends. She also tries to confess the truth about Harrow's death, but Callum pleads her to take the egg as the crack worsens. When Rayla finally grabs it, pain in her left hand strikes her and she accidentally drops the egg, and it breaks through the ice. Acting quickly, Ezran decides to dive for the egg. Despite Callum's objections, Rayla convinces him to stay put and have faith that Ezran will return with the egg. A few moments pass without a sign of Ezran, but Rayla still feels her binding to sit tight, meaning Ezran remains alive. When locating Ezran underneath the ice with the egg in his hands, Rayla hurriedly uses her blade's pommel to break the ice and assists the two to safety. Callum and Rayla embrace Ezran, but the egg seems to have been damaged by the freezing water.
Characters and Cast[]
Spells[]
Sky Spells
Dark Magic
- Cigam rouy laever (Reveal your magic)
Trivia[]
- An animation error can be spotted after the avalanche has passed. While Ezran is visible on the open field of ice together with an empty bag, the dragon egg is nowhere to be seen. However, in the following frame, Ezran picks it up from the frozen lake just a couple of steps away from him.[1]
- The title of this episode is a reference to what happened after Team Zym fell and landed on a frozen lake to avoid the avalanche. When Ezran tried to surface from the lake, Callum and Rayla saw "through the ice", causing Rayla to use her blades to crack a hole for Ezran.
References[]
- ↑ Spotted by Lily-lilou