Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
Chapter 63
Overview
Kaan and Pyrok blunder into an ambush in the misted bog and are netted with iron-laced traps as Fade soldiers close in. Raeve arrives with Líri, carrying Ahvi and the newborn dragon, and savages the attackers while muting sound with wind. Cornered by overwhelming numbers, Raeve invokes a risky blend of Bulder and Rayne, using the teardrop stone to liquefy the ground and drown the force. The rescue preserves Ahvi and the hatchling and demonstrates Raeve’s escalating, perilous command of divine tongues.
Summary
Moving through a fog-choked bog guided by a caged parchment lark, Kaan and Pyrok realize too late they’ve entered a prepared kill zone. Stone spears rip from the mud, iron pins strike, and iron-laced nets snap them into the air, nullifying Kaan’s options and threatening to draw Moltenmaws if a loud fight erupts.
Líri knifes through the mist with a small, robed rider—Ahvi—while clutching something to her chest, likely the newborn dragon. Raeve drops beneath the nets, seals sound with wind-speech, and slaughters advancing Fade soldiers in a suffocating pocket of silence. Kaan hacks at his net, finally drops onto a stalking soldier, and kills him brutally, then shoves Raeve out of a volley of pins as they regroup with a fallen Pyrok.
Surrounded by over a hundred soldiers, Kaan resists calling Rygun; Raeve proposes a dangerous alternative. Warning them to stay on their mound, she weaves Bulder’s and Rayne’s tongues through the teardrop stone, demanding the earth soften. Tears streak Raeve’s face as pressure and mist peel away, revealing confused ranks frozen on unstable ground.
In an instant, the bog liquefies and swallows the encircling force without a scream, entombing the attackers below. The maneuver saves Kaan, Pyrok, Ahvi, and the hatchling, and confirms Raeve’s willingness to wield volatile, combined divine power despite its toll.
Who Appears
- RaeveArrives with Líri, shields sound, cuts through soldiers, then fuses earth and water magic to liquefy the bog and save the group.
- KaanPOV; ambushed and trapped in iron-laced net, frees himself, kills a soldier, protects Raeve, and coordinates defense with Pyrok.
- PyrokCompanion to Kaan; netted and injured by iron pins, escapes and fights alongside Kaan and Raeve during the encirclement.
- LíriRaeve’s dragon; streaks through the mist carrying Ahvi and likely the hatchling, enabling Raeve to enter the fight.
- AhviThe Mindweft child; rides with Líri during the ambush, a key rescue priority protected by Raeve.
- Fade soldiersAmbushing force using stone spears, iron pins, and iron-laced nets; over a hundred are drowned when the bog is liquefied.