Viren's Coins

The coins that hold Runaan, Tiadrin, and Lain

These coins are unique, magical containers created when a dark mage steals and imprisons the soul of a living being. People known to have been trapped in the coins are the former dark mage Kpp'Ar, the Moonshadow Elf assassin, Runaan, and the members of the Dragonguard, Tiadrin and Lain.

Viren is currently the only one known to have used the spell to trap souls in coins. He kept them stashed away inside a coin pouch, which he carried with him at all times until they came into the possession of Claudia. They were eventually passed over to Rayla after Terry convinced Claudia that keeping the coins after revealing them to Rayla would be unnecessarily cruel. With Callum's aid, Rayla was able to free Runaan from his coin.

See also: Dark Magic / Magical Artifacts

Information

The enchanted coins appear as thick, golden coins engraved with magical runes on their edges. The face of the trapped victim will appear on the head side of the coin, while the backside remains blank. Imprisoning a soul is achieved by casting a dark magic spell using the relic staff and reciting the incantation "Erusaert ym si luos ruoy" ("Your soul is my treasure"), which slowly drains a person's soul from their body when spoken in repetition.

According to Lujanne, the coin only contains a fragment of the victim's soul. The rest of the soul is in the plane between life and death, as it cannot pass on incomplete. Since the soul longs to be whole again, the coins will be drawn to their missing pieces. The coins can either be given away so that the reunited soul can pass, or the soul can be taken back to the living world with said coin.

The only known way to restore the trapped soul to their body is by casting the Star spell "Amor Stella Vitae". However, the missing part of the soul must be retrieved and brought back to the living world first.

Once a soul is inside a coin, its life force is trapped between life and death and can no longer be fully detected by other magic, such as Ethari's metal lotuses, which sunk partway after Runaan was trapped. Although Runaan was able to move inside his coin upon being captured, the coins later appeared in a permanent stasis, capturing a single expression of their victims. Viren described this expression as "defiance, giving way to absolute fear".

It is unknown what would happen to the soul if the coin is destroyed. Claudia suggested that it might free the victim, or it might cause them eternal agony with no hope of escape.

History

The circumstances of the creation of Viren's coins remain currently unknown. Viren first trapped Kpp'Ar inside one of the coins after claiming the relic staff to cure his son Soren from a life-threatening illness. Viren then used the coins after carrying the pouch into the Storm Spire, after he and Harrow had slain the Dragon King Avizandum. Inside the lair of the Storm Spire, Viren faced the two remaining elven warriors of the Dragonguard, Tiadrin and Lain, whom he captured inside his coins after Tiadrin convinced Viren to not destroy the egg of Azymondias, the Dragon Prince.

Viren later used the coins as a threat against Runaan, who he knew to be apathetic to the idea of death due to the honor-driven Moonshadow Elf culture he abided. Although Runaan recognized the faces inside the coins and called Viren a monster, he refused to cooperate further, and was captured inside a coin as a result of his refusal to enlighten Viren about the meaning of the magic mirror.

During the rampage of the enraged Rex Igneous, which forced Team Zym and Claudia's group to flee from the Archdragon's lair inside Umber Tor, Rayla managed to hold Claudia's boyfriend, Terry, hostage, forcing Claudia to make a deal with her by offering the coins that contained her family. When Rayla refused to accept the deal, Claudia proceeded to throw the three coins into the boiling lava stream of the cave, prompting Rayla to let go off Terry to save her family with the help of the portal ability of Rayla's pet Cuddlemonkey, Stella. Unfortunately, however, the coins turned out to be pieces of coal that had made use of an illusion to trick Rayla, causing her to let out a cry of sorrow. After Terry called Claudia out for her cruelty, she eventually tossed the real coins to Rayla, who kept them in her possession from then on. The fourth coin that contained Kpp'Ar remained inside Viren's chambers where it was discovered by Rayla and Stella.

When Rayla showed the coins containing her family to Callum to show that they are still alive but trapped, he searched through the Great Bookery of Lux Aurea for a way to free them. He was eventually successful in finding a spell that is capable of restoring bodies to separated souls, but that he needed three Quasar Diamonds, magical gems that are connected to the Stars.

The coins only contained a fragment of the victims' spirits. The missing pieces of their spirits have to be found and retrieved so they can be freed through the casting of "Amor Stella Vitae". Rayla used the Moon Nexus to enter the plane between life and death in search of her family, whose incomplete spirits could not pass on to the afterlife without their missing pieces. Rayla returned the coins to her parents so they could pass on peacefully and was able to retrieve the missing part of Runaan and brought it back to the living world. Callum was able to cast the spell to free Runaan from his coin.

Trivia

• The novel version of "Book One: Moon" had first hinted at Tiadrin's and Lain's captivity when the victims of the coins Runaan recognized were described as "anguished faces captured on the surfaces of the coins, the faces of people he knew and loved, brave elves whose disappearances had made no sense to him, until now."
• The coins were originally appeared forged from a bronze metal, featuring a mirror-like surface that allowed a victim to move inside the coins. This was later changed in "Book Four: Earth", where the coins were pictured as golden coins with a static, single expression of their victim engraved onto their surface. However, "Book Five: Ocean" shows that Kpp'Ar is able to move inside his coin.
• In a scrapped end credit sketch of the episode "Cursed Caldera", Runaan's position inside the coin changed from a face of fear to banging his fist against the coin's surface.
• There are a number of parallels between the cursed coins and the Horcruxes from Harry Potter.
  • The soul being inside an object.
  • The condition of the soul being fragmented into separate pieces.
  • The soul not being able to fully cross over into death while incomplete.

Gallery

Runaan's soul is drained

The four coins stacked

Runaan is captured inside a coin

Rayla comes into the possession of the coins containing her family

The coins that hold Runaan, Tiadrin, and Lain.

The coin that holds Kpp'Ar.