Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
Chapter 42
Overview
Kaan keeps vigil during Siharna’s dangerous labor, spiraling between fear and old grief. He bargains with Borg, who forces him to relive Mah’s death and then reveals a moonshard hidden in Bhoggith and that Elluin returned to Arithia willingly. Shaken by these truths, Kaan is steadied when Raeve joins him and offers quiet companionship.
Summary
Kaan listens to Siharna’s screams from labor while checking on the sleeping Korie, praying both survive. Alone and rattled, he drinks and releases Borg, who fusses about being near The Fade and then dangles news of a moonshard to secure Kaan’s attention.
Pressed for updates, Kaan also asks Borg whether any waifs saw Elluin Neván’s return to Arithia before her binding to Tyroth. Borg demands his “favorite” price: consuming one of Kaan’s memories. As Siharna screams, Kaan relents.
Borg forces Kaan to relive Mah’s death during childbirth: the dragon Jógo circling, servants bloodied, Pah rejecting his newborn daughter with chilling contempt, and Kaan placing the infant—Veya—against Mah’s lifeless chest to offer a final, borrowed warmth.
Sated, Borg finally reveals two truths. First, a moonshard rests beneath a broody pink Moltenmaw’s sterile egg in central Bhoggith, guarded aloft by her orange mate. Second, Elluin went back to Arithia quietly and unrestrained—willingly—contradicting Kaan’s hope she was coerced.
Devastated by the implications and haunted by the past, Kaan struggles to steady himself. Raeve appears, concerned by the ongoing labor and Kaan’s pain. He admits Mah died birthing Veya, and Raeve offers to stay with him. Her presence calms him as the chapter closes on shared resolve amid fear.
Who Appears
- Kaan VaegorKeeps vigil during Siharna’s labor, bargains with Borg, relives Mah’s death, learns of a moonshard and Elluin’s willing return, and finds solace with Raeve.
- BorgMercurial waif; extorts a painful memory from Kaan, then reveals a Bhoggith moonshard and that Elluin returned to Arithia willingly.
- RaeveFinds Kaan during Siharna’s labor, offers comfort as he confronts traumatic memories and unsettling revelations.
- SiharnaIn active, perilous labor across the courtyard; her screams trigger Kaan’s fear and memories.
- KorieSiharna’s sleeping daughter; Kaan checks on her while praying for Siharna’s safety.
- MahKaan’s mother; dies in childbirth in Kaan’s memory, anchoring his grief and fear.
- PahKaan’s father; coldly rejects the newborn Veya after Mah’s death in the recalled scene.
- SheraMah’s handmaiden; presents the newborn and helps manage the bloody aftermath in the memory.
- VeyaKaan’s newborn sister in the memory; soothed briefly against Mah’s lifeless chest.