When the Moon Hatched

While Elluin is sleeping, guards from The Burn, The Fade, and the Tri-Council pull her from her bed, shoot her with an iron pin to nullify her abilities, and shackle her. She is placed on a Moltenmaw dragon and taken to Dhomm while followed by her Moonplume, Slátra. She is to spend her next three years living in Dhomm while her kingdom is watched over by Tyroth, son of King Cadok Vaegor of The Burn. In three years, when she comes of coronation age, she will wed Tyroth. King Cadok’s wife apologizes for the actions of her husband, and Elluin believes that the woman regrets their marriage. Elluin begs the woman to tell Slátra to leave the next morning and return to Arithia, where she must wait for Elluin’s return. Moonplumes can’t survive in the sun of The Burn, and Elluin can’t bear to lose Slátra, too.

Raeve regains consciousness on a log floating down the rapid river. When the log catches on a pile of debris and comes to a stop, she is greeted by two male warriors who speak another language. They display tattoos like the ones Kaan possesses, and Raeve believes that she might have crossed paths with the Johkull Clan that Kaan said resided in the nearby Botanic Plains. Though Raeve wishes to take another log further down the river, this desire is hindered by the appearance of a beast capable of going translucent called the Fate Herder. The Fate Herder is a creature “more legend than reality” known for nudging people to “make a different decision from the one they’d intended” (335). The creature bars Raeve’s path to the water and forces her to go where the two warriors plan to take her.

The warriors lead Raeve to their home—a community of domed tents made of stitched, smooth animal hides. Many of the people call out to Raeve using the word “Kholu” as the warriors did near the river and drop to their knees as if thanking Bulder for something. Raeve is brought before twin bloodstone thrones occupied by the man and woman who lead the clan. Two large men with backs littered in inked dots are brought forward, and a small creature is sacrificed before them. The men are painted in the animal’s blood. A woman named Saiza can understand some of Raeve’s language. She explains that they don’t intend to hurt her: They believe that Raeve is Kholu—a woman with ebony hair who, according to their prophecies, will appear on the River Ahgt, brought to them by the Fate Herder. The Kholu’s offspring will supposedly tether the moons to the sky forever and prevent another moonfall. The women of the clan wash Raeve clean and dress her lavishly for the impending Tookah Trial.

Raeve is brought to a large crater where the clan is gathered to watch a fight between the two hulking men from before, Hock and Zaran. She is seated upon a dais and watches their fight unfold. Raeve is soon told by Saiza that the men are fighting to the death for her hand and for the honor of producing offspring that will pin the moons to the sky. Hock wins the battle by beheading Zaran and throwing the head at Raeve’s feet. Raeve vehemently rejects the trial’s outcome and insists that she fight for herself. The leaders, Oah and Oah-ee, discuss and decide to allow Raeve to fight for herself as long as the Fate Herder allows her to enter the ring.

Saiza paints Raeve in blood for her own battle as she explains the rules. All Hock must do is get Raeve to submit to win the trial, whereas she must behead Hock to be the victor. During the fight, Raeve manages to nick Hock a few times before he removes a serpent from his pocket and throws it at Raeve. The serpent bites her, spiking her with its venom before slithering off. Raeve begins to waver and her movements slow as the poison takes quick effect. Eventually, Raeve becomes so disjointed that she is hit by Hock’s blows and falls to his mercy. Just as he prepares to land the final punch, a roar sounds through the cavern, and Kaan emerges on Rygun’s back.

Kaan is angry with the clan, especially Hock, who claims victory in his battle with Raeve even though she never surrendered. Kaan argues that the difference in Raeve’s native culture ensures that she’s not free to be claimed by anyone and demands that the trial be nullified. At this, Hock challenges Kaan to a battle; if Hock wins, he will have earned many more dots for his tattoo, which keeps record of his victories in battle. When Raeve asks how one can challenge the King of The Burn, Saiza says that the clan recognizes no crowns. Raeve asks why Kaan isn’t Oah—the leader—if he is the strongest warrior of the clan, as Saiza has previously implied. Saiza answers that he was, but when his father died, he offered the position to the second-greatest warrior—the current Oah Knok.

The Sól—or religious leader—of the clan announces that Raeve must not leave unclaimed, for blood has already spilled in her honor, and if she does, more moons will fall and the Johkull Clan will lose their place of sanctuary. Kaan offers his málmr—his Sabersythe and Moonplume necklace—to Raeve to announce his intention of battling for her hand. He goes further than tradition dictates, however, and asks her to “place [her] print upon his réidi” tattoo (383). In doing so, he’s announced Raeve as his greater—the heir to his title should he fall in the battle. Therefore, if Kaan loses, her decision will not be challenged; she can leave alone and receive no dishonor because she will be perceived as Hock’s greater. Raeve coats her hand in the blood of her own injuries and lays a hand on Kaan’s back, just over the moon tattoo, accepting his offer.

Kaan orders Rygun to stand down regardless of the battle’s outcome. Rygun roars a blast of dragonfire out of frustration. Raeve ducks to avoid the fire, but not before its revealing light illuminates the “remnants of a million wilted runes […] sketched across [her] skin […] layers upon layers of tiny etchings used to stitch [her] together more times than there are moons in the sky to count” (387). Only Saiza sees it, but she is shocked at the pain and suffering that Raeve must have endured to obtain them.

As Kaan and Hock battle, Raeve becomes increasingly worried over Kaan’s safety. Eventually, Kaan beheads Hock and lays the head at Raeve’s feet. Raeve places his málmr around her neck, and he carries her to Rygun. As they lift off, he asks her to never scare him like that again. Raeve is flattered by his request but tells him to save such lovely words for someone special to him.

Slátra ignores Elluin’s request to return home and instead follows Elluin as close to Dhomm as she is able before her skin burns and bubbles. Slátra suffers in the heat. Her skin bubbles and blisters with burns, and her eyes go milky with lost vision from staring at the sun. Despite this, she makes it to Dhomm and stays with Elluin.

Kaan flies for three days to reach Dhomm. When he enters the Imperial Stronghold with Raeve in his arms, he is immediately greeted by his younger sister, Veya. Veya is shocked at the sight of Raeve’s face, as she looks exactly like Elluin, whom they all knew well. She is equally shocked to note Raeve’s Tookah Trial garb and Kaan’s málmr around her neck. Upon seeing her extensive wounds and unstable condition, Veya swiftly leads Kaan to their Runi healer, Agni. A member of Kaan’s Imperial Court, Pyrok, helps the process. All are shocked to discover that Raeve is Elluin, though she has no memories of anything prior to the past 23 years. Veya believes that some form of memory must still exist, as Raeve is Elluin’s middle name.

When Veya asks about Raeve’s ability to hear the Creators, Kaan admits that she can hear Clode and Bulder but is unsure about the other two. When Veya asks if Kaan is afraid that Raeve will see Tyroth and remember him—“leave [him] again […] that the note was true” (405)—Khan responds that the only important fact is that there is someone who needs her much more than they all do. As Kaan prepares to leave while Agni works, Veya warns him that no one can go through what Raeve has been through and not possess a destructive well of dragonflame within her.

Kaan spars with his second-in-command, Grihm, to dispel his frustration at recent events. When Grihm strips his shirt and prepares to brawl, Kaan sees that his back is a puckered mess of melted flesh.

Veya situates Raeve in a guest suite after Agni finishes her procedures. Agni mentions in private that her Dragonsight gift allowed her to see many layered runes everywhere on Raeve. She mentions one wound in particular that wasn’t mended by runes—a silver scar over Raeve’s heart. Such a killing wound is not survivable by the folk, as healing it takes longer than a patient usually has. Veya orders her not to tell the King about her discovery until they discover why or how Raeve survived.

Afterward, Veya plays a card game with Pyrok in which the winner obtains a favor from the loser. As they play, their conversation reveals Vera’s intense dislike for her father and her other brothers, Cadok and Tyroth; her back is covered in 78 fire-lash marks for soiling the family name by winning her own Tookah Trial years ago. Veya also mentions to Pyrok that Elluin used to keep a diary that she’d tucked in a hole in the wall—in the room Raeve currently sleeps in. She believes that Elluin took it back to Arithia over 100 years ago, but it’s likely been preserved by the cold atmosphere there.

When Veya wins the hand of cards, she intends to save the favor for a later date. Veya invites Pyrok to visit The Shade with her, but he declines. She hopes that Elluin’s diary will shed light on what happened leading up to her last unforgivable actions—“when she left without a word to [Veya] and a single pathetic note to the male she supposedly loved” (418).