Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
Chapter 84
Overview
Raeve reaches a wounded, bleeding Essi and defends her from a growing pack of crowls. Forced to escalate, Raeve summons Ignos to incinerate the attackers, drawing a Moltenmaw that snatches a burning crowl. As Raeve moves to extract Essi, Essi steps into the flames and disappears, deepening the mystery around her.
Summary
Raeve sprints across snowy plains toward Essi, who is wounded and bleeding, her arm bound to her abdomen. As the Mists close in and crowls circle, Raeve cuts down the first attackers, shielding Essi and counting the pack swelling around them.
Realizing they will be overrun, Raeve orders Essi to run when possible but is forced to impale another crowl at her side. With options exhausted, Raeve plants her sword, retrieves her weald, and calls on Ignos, the God of Fire, apologizing to Essi before unleashing him.
Ignos erupts in a torrent, forming a vortex of flame that panics and incinerates the crowls. The air fills with screams and the stench of burning, while Essi leans on Raeve for support. Raeve decapitates a flaming crowl that charges blindly through the blaze.
The chaos draws a ruddy Moltenmaw, which cleaves through the smoke and snatches a burning crowl from the inferno, escalating the danger and urgency. Raeve resolves to carry Essi to the wall and flee.
Before Raeve can act, Essi steps away, moves toward the barricade of fire, and disappears into the flames. Raeve is left amid the burning field, confronted with Essi’s inexplicable vanishing as the dragon prowls the skies.
Who Appears
- RaeveProtagonist; battles crowls to protect Essi, summons Ignos, kills multiple beasts, and witnesses Essi vanish into the flames.
- EssiWounded and bleeding; supported by Raeve, then steps into the fire and mysteriously disappears.
- IgnosGod of Fire; released from Raeve’s weald to incinerate the surrounding crowl pack.
- MoltenmawRuddy dragon drawn by the carnage; dives through smoke to seize a flaming crowl.
- CrowlsPack of predatory creatures from the Mists; surround Raeve and Essi; many are burned or slain.