Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
Chapter 65
Overview
Raeve confesses she is blood bound and that her binder can torture her. Kaan reveals a waif informed him and vows to end the bind and hunt Arkyn. Ahvi claims he can dissolve the bind but only at the site it was made—an abandoned mineshaft by Gore’s Undercity. Despite Raeve’s fears and obligations, they resolve to go there.
Summary
In the tree refuge, Roan extracts shrapnel from Pyrok while Raeve broods over an order to kill Ahvi. Kaan returns, bruised and silent, then asks to talk. Raeve blurts that she is blood bound and her binder uses pain to control her. Kaan admits he already suspected this from a pet waif who trades information for sips of his memories.
Kaan presses about the healing runes she hides; Raeve denies any link between Sereme and those runes, and, under strain, reveals Arkyn as the monster from her past. Kaan vows to free her from the bind and hunt Arkyn, promising to break him or deliver him for Raeve’s blade.
As Kaan readies to leave, Ahvi interrupts: he insists he can dissolve the blood bind. He explains it requires returning to where it was made. Raeve resists, citing the danger and her looming delivery deadline, but Ahvi asserts it is their only chance and the only place he will allow her to take him.
Pressed by Ahvi’s resolve and Kaan’s support, Raeve relives the site’s trauma. Ahvi identifies the location: an abandoned mineshaft south of Gore, on the outskirts of the Undercity. Despite dread and misgivings, the group’s course shifts toward Gore to attempt breaking the bind.
Who Appears
- RaeveProtagonist; admits she is blood bound and reveals Arkyn’s role in her past; resists but concedes to go to Gore.
- KaanDetermined ally; confirms Raeve’s bind via a waif, vows to free her and hunt Arkyn; pushes for a solution.
- AhviYoungling with a hatchling; claims he can dissolve Raeve’s bind only at its origin near Gore; insists on going.
- PyrokInjured companion; banters with Roan while removing a pin; reacts to plans and revelations.
- RoanHealer-alchemist; treats injuries, prepares tinctures; is offered instructions to etch in Ahvi’s stead.
- GruffinAhvi’s hatchling dragon; newly hatched, feeding clumsily, symbolizing Ahvi’s new responsibilities.
- The waifKaan’s informant; trades information for sips of Kaan’s memories, confirming Raeve’s blood bind.
- SeremeOff-page antagonist; Raeve’s binder who tortures her through the blood bind and issued the kill order.
- ArkynFeared adversary from Raeve’s past; named as the monster Kaan vows to hunt.
- RygunDragon bonded to Raeve; referenced as a source of power and presence during tense moments.