Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
Chapter 60
Overview
Raeve storms the garrison, wielding Clode and Bulder to obliterate defenders and survive elemental counterattacks. She interrogates a young Bothaimian guard and discovers the ambush targeted Kaan Vaegor. Raeve spares the guard, warns her intent to destroy the Citadel if Kaan is harmed, and learns of Kaan’s protégé, Ahvi.
Summary
Raeve bursts into the bastion and instantly turns a hail of arrows with Clode’s winds, sending the bolts back through the archers. As Bulder’s stony commands rock the hall, she seizes control with precise counterwords, shattering the mezzanine and shielding herself within Clode’s cocoon while debris and soldiers crash down.
Breaking cover, Raeve methodically drops surviving Fade soldiers with thrown blades. She outmaneuvers a Bothaimian guard wielding ore blades and neutralizes an opening chasm by snapping the earth shut mid-leap. Using the fallen guard as a shield, she snuffs a gout of summoned flame with suffocating words, ignoring a strange, yearning voice amid the dying fire.
Among the wreckage, Raeve revives a gasping Bothaimian youth with Clode’s breath and interrogates him. He reveals the garrison acted on Tri‑Council orders, and the Fade captain had been commanded to capture the king expected here: Kaan Vaegor, the Burn King and alleged traitor.
Realizing the trap targeted Kaan, not her, Raeve issues an ultimatum: the guard must return to Bothaim and warn the Tri‑Council that if they touch Kaan, she will reduce the Citadel to rubble. When the youth begs mercy for Ahvi, a “good kid,” Raeve promises not to harm him and recognizes the name as Kaan’s sought protégé. She departs, identifying herself as Prisoner Seventy‑Three and leaving a blood-soaked warning behind.
Who Appears
- RaeveProtagonist; storms the bastion, massacres defenders, learns Kaan was the target, and delivers a lethal threat to the Tri‑Council.
- ClodeWind-bound power or entity Raeve commands; deflects arrows, shields her, and breathes air into the wounded guard.
- BulderStone/earth power whose precise language Raeve exploits to shatter the mezzanine and counter earth attacks.
- Young Bothaimian guardTerrified survivor; reveals orders to capture Kaan and carries Raeve’s ultimatum to the Tri‑Council.
- Kaan VaegorOff-page target of the ambush; his endangerment triggers Raeve’s vow to destroy the Citadel if harmed.
- AhviMentioned as a ‘good kid’ and likely Kaan’s protégé; Raeve vows not to harm him.
- The OtherRaeve’s inner presence; rises during her threat, then recedes as she spares the guard.