Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
Chapter 2
Overview
Kyzari languishes in a mountain cell, regretting a secret call to arms hidden in her signature that could endanger Uncle Kaan. Haunted by silence from Caelis and memories of abuse, she tries and fails to pry off her diadem. A battered lark returns with a terse reply—“No you don’t”—spurring Kyzari to reclaim her will, stomach the foul rations, and plan escape.
Summary
Kyzari lies chained in a damp cell, replaying her bargain with the Scavenger King and cursing herself for hiding a call to arms within her signature. She fears the lark she sent will reach Uncle Kaan and implicate him, or reach her father, Pah, instead. Suffocated by the mountain and silence, she wavers between apathy and the urge to fight.
She clings to the hope that aid might come from Arithia, yet dreads only a prettier prison. Hunger gnaws while she rejects the filthy rations. Longing for connection, she tries to reach Caelis, the entity bound in her diadem, and drifts into a half dream where Caelis is whole and her dragon Surí flies free, a vision of the life denied to her.
A lark—her messenger—appears and vanishes, making Kyzari doubt her senses until it persistently returns, battered and bloodstained. She attempts to pry off the diadem, drawing blood and pain, then notices crude letters and moons scratched on the cell walls, hinting a child once occupied this place. The lark repeatedly strikes her brow until she unfolds it.
Inside, Kyzari finds a short response written in a childlike hand that matches the crude carvings: “No you don’t.” Initially stung, she rereads it and feels the words settle as encouragement rather than reproach. Remembering her history of surviving cages, she reframes her mistake with the Scavenger King as correctable—if she escapes and acts decisively.
Cradling the lark, Kyzari apologizes to it and vows to live, even if that means eating the vile food to regain strength. Reignited by this small defiance and the stranger’s message, she commits to finding a way out and undoing the danger her hidden note may have set in motion.
Who Appears
- KyzariProtagonist imprisoned in a mountain cell; regrets a hidden message, fails to remove her diadem, and resolves to escape.
- The Scavenger KingOff-page instigator whose deal led Kyzari to hide a call to arms in her signature.
- KaanKyzari’s uncle; potential target of the lark’s message, whose safety she fears she’s endangered.
- PahKyzari’s abusive father; remembered for harsh discipline and feared as a possible recipient of the lark.
- CaelisEntity bound in Kyzari’s diadem; silent presence she tries to reach for comfort and strength.
- SuríKyzari’s dragon; appears in a dream of freedom, underscoring Kyzari’s longing to fly and be unbound.
- Unknown child prisonerLikely author of the lark’s reply; handwriting matches crude carvings on Kyzari’s cell walls.
- Paper larkBattered messenger that returns with a terse response, relentlessly prompting Kyzari to read it.