Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
Chapter 71
Overview
Raeve relives a brutal escape with Fallon, securing a key and promising to keep living despite exhaustion and grief. She wakes in a stone shelter with Kaan and sleeping Ahvi, confirms Ahvi is breathing well, and fears his parents are dead. Kaan urges rest and comforts Raeve, strengthening their bond before continuing through the Undercity.
Summary
In a freezing, wind-lashed wasteland, Raeve stumbles through snow after killing a guard for a key, bleeding and half-starved. She panics when she momentarily loses sight of Fallon, then collapses in relief as Fallon appears. Raeve tends an arrow wound and plans a snow shelter while clinging to the key that dampens the overwhelming cacophony of the world.
As they rest, Fallon gently guides Raeve through fear and exhaustion, reminding her to push pain aside to survive. They glimpse a distant silver dragon through torn clouds, echoing Fallon’s drawings and hopes. Sensing farewell, Fallon extracts a promise: Raeve must do whatever it takes to live and find color and love. Raeve vows, “I will live,” anchoring herself to that commitment.
Raeve wakes from the dream in a stone hut Kaan formed near an abandoned mineshaft, where the Book of Voyd provides light and snow drifts through a cleft. Ahvi sleeps under warming rune-lined cloaks; Kaan confirms the child’s breathing remains steady despite the mines’ dust, easing Raeve’s anxiety.
Seeking truth, Raeve asks if Kaan thinks Ahvi’s parents are alive; Kaan doubts it, noting Ahvi’s silence on them. When Kaan asks about her nightmare, Raeve deflects the details and instead asks him to hold her, needing reassurance of reality. Kaan embraces Raeve, offering strength and quiet solace as they prepare to rest before continuing through the Undercity’s treacherous roots.
Who Appears
- RaeveProtagonist; relives a desperate escape with Fallon, promises to live, wakes in the Undercity, worries for Ahvi, seeks Kaan’s comfort.
- FallonAppears in Raeve’s dream; fragile yet resolute, urges Raeve to survive and find love, secures a promise to keep living.
- KaanShapes a stone shelter, monitors Ahvi’s breathing, doubts Ahvi’s parents live, comforts Raeve and insists on rest.
- AhviSleeping child; breathing stable under runed cloaks, unspoken loss of parents implied.