Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
Chapter 17
Overview
In Gondragh’s smog-choked tunnels, the narrator completes a magma nest, then helps Kilíth save a hatching Sabersythe egg. Warned of a rabid Great Silver Sabersythe guarding the Vihn Peaks, the narrator still plans a perilous raid to claim an egg. Grief over Inkah underscores the resolve driving this quest.
Summary
The narrator works in Gondragh’s lava tunnels, carving molten stone to perfect a Sabersythe nest while relying on air-purifying runes taught by Roan. With water and tools dwindling, the narrator prepares for the smog to clear, intent on securing an egg despite the cutthroat, secretive hatching grounds.
A frantic fae, Kilíth, arrives with a golden, rocking egg and no nest after his southwestern hut is destroyed. The narrator leads him to the prepared bowl, and together they layer magma over the egg, then wait in tense silence, both fearing a failed hatch and its ruinous grief.
As they keep vigil, Kilíth reveals severe burns from a rampage by a rabid Great Silver Sabersythe and warns the narrator that scaling the Vihn Peaks is likely fatal. The narrator, fashioning a blade from a silver scale, remains silent but undeterred, signaling a plan to raid the dragon’s burrow.
When the cooling crust bulges and splits, shards of golden shell surface and a thorny, golden hatchling breaks free with a strong cry. Leaving Kilíth to bond in private, the narrator withdraws, reaffirming the resolve to seek a second bond and to face the peril of the Vihn Peaks despite the abiding grief for Inkah.
Who Appears
- NarratorA solitary seeker in Gondragh; builds a magma nest, aids a hatch, determined to raid Vihn Peaks.
- KilíthFae who flees a destroyed hut with a golden egg; aided to a successful hatch; badly burned.
- Great Silver SabersytheRabid dragon at the Vihn Peaks; recently destroyed huts and burned Kilíth; target of planned raid.
- InkahDeceased former bond; her loss deepens the narrator’s grief and drive to seek another egg.
- RoanTaught the narrator air-purifying runes; mentioned as past help amid toxic Gondragh air.