The Ballad of Falling Dragons

The Ballad of Falling Dragons unfolds across a richly detailed world divided into three kingdoms—The Burn (ruled by Kaan Vaegor), The Fade (wild and untamed), and The Shade (Tyroth's dark domain)—where humans bond with dragons and magic flows from the songs of ancient Creators. At the story's heart lies an apocalyptic threat: multiple moons are falling from the sky in a cascade that will destroy civilization unless humanity finds shelter in underground bunkers or discovers a way to halt the catastrophe. The novel opens with a mysterious female emerging from the wreckage of the silver moon Slátra, her origin hidden and her power immense, captured and tortured by those who fear her. Simultaneously, Kaan receives word of the coming disaster and begins preparations to save his people, unaware that the imprisoned female is Elluin Neván, the woman he loved and believed dead, reborn without her memories and hardened by captivity.

The narrative weaves together multiple interconnected storylines: Kyzari, a young woman imprisoned in darkness, works methodically to escape her cage; Veya, Kaan's sister, suffers under the weight of recovered memories revealing she committed atrocities under magical compulsion; Raeve, a brilliant and lethal fae warrior, battles her own inner darkness while bound by blood magic to Sereme, an operative of the mysterious Elding organization; and Ahvi, a young silver-haired child with extraordinary psychic abilities, holds the key to breaking blood bonds and understanding the Book of Voyd—an artifact of godly origin that contains the world's most powerful runes. At the center of the chaos is Arkyn, the Scavenger King living beneath the mountains, who orchestrates a campaign of vengeance against Kaan for being the favored son while he was cast out. His machinations force the kingdoms toward war even as the sky falls, creating a situation where political survival and physical survival have become impossible to separate.

The story explores themes of love as the most powerful force in existence—more potent than the will of Creators themselves—through the bonds between riders and dragons, between parents and children, and between lovers separated by circumstance and memory. Dragons are not mere beasts but conscious beings capable of grief, loyalty, and sacrifice; the relationship between human and dragon forms the emotional core of the narrative. The novel culminates in a series of devastating confrontations: Kaan faces his brother Arkyn in a gladiatorial arena while forced to combat Raeve; the protagonist confronts her own identity while hunting Arkyn across a frozen wasteland; and Kyzari's emotional awakening, bonded to a Creator god, triggers the very apocalypse she was meant to prevent. The ending is bittersweet and incomplete: victory comes at enormous cost, with beloved characters sacrificed and the world still threatened by falling moons. The survivors—Kaan, Raeve, Kyzari, and the resurrected Elluin—must now navigate a world transformed by love, magic, and sacrifice, while darker forces remain at work in the shadows.

The novel begins with a catastrophic silence falling upon the world as the Creators withdraw their attention. A female screams in anguish, her words raw with desperation, and in response, the silver moon Slátra falls from the sky, burning as it descends. When it strikes, a female fae with glitter-and-ink eyes emerges from the wreckage, bleeding and feral. She is captured, tortured, and imprisoned beneath a mountain—her identity a mystery, though the Creators recognize what has begun: the end of an age they themselves set in motion.

Kaan Vaegor, King of The Burn, receives news that the moons are falling—not one, but many—within seventeen to twenty cycles. He begins preparations to shelter his people in underground bunkers while simultaneously learning that Rekk Zharos, a notorious abuser, is being transported to Bothaim for execution. Kaan is also tormented by recovered memories of Elluin, the woman he loved, who was taken from him and bound to his brother Tyroth. Below the Citadel in Bothaim, the imprisoned protagonist works frantically to escape, drawing strength from messages delivered by a lark named Nee, while she hides a small bird companion and fashions escape tools from bone.

Raeve, a warrior bonded to the ancient Moonplume Slátra, kills Rekk Zharos in a violent act of vengeance. She learns from Kaan of the impending moonfalls and suppresses her fear while planning to feed Rekk's corpse to the anthe—a lethal execution creature dwelling in the Citadel's depths. Veya, Kaan's sister, is discovered by Tyroth in a magma cavern. Tyroth forces his way into her mind, shattering her mental walls and recovering memories she has suppressed: she was magically compelled to poison the Neván family, sparing only Elluin, and she murdered Mior, a Mindweft, under compulsion. Devastated, she is rescued by Bharon, Tyroth's own Sabersythe, who carries her north to The Burn.

Roan is put on trial before the Tri-Council for allegedly stealing the Book of Voyd. He maintains his claim that the book evaporated and reveals that protective runes on the Citadel's arches match those within the book's pages—a revelation that causes panic throughout Bothaim as word spreads of the Citadel's secret defenses. Roan is convicted and sentenced to death by anthe. The narrator—revealed to be Kaan's brother—watches helplessly from the mezzanine but resolves to save Roan's life at any cost.

Kyzari, imprisoned in a cell beneath ice by her Other self, works to escape through sheer determination and cunning. She receives messages from a lark and realizes she possesses resilience born from a lifetime of cages. The protagonist discovers Ayda, the princess she impersonated, hiding in a locked cupboard. Rather than betray her, Ayda offers silence and understanding—both recognizing that Tyroth, their shared enemy, caused Elluin's death. The protagonist gives Ayda bloodstone and a chance to escape before departing with Elluin's diary, a document containing explosive truths about power, paternity, and murder.

The Other, a powerful alternate consciousness within Kaan's body, bonds with a young silver-haired Moonplume in a moment of profound connection. The Other experiences the fae's moral strength and fierce love through the bond, understanding for the first time what it means to yield to another being. This bonding will have consequences that ripple throughout the narrative.

The narrator escapes Arithia through a hidden passage, using Bulder's intervention to survive a treacherous cliff descent. They reach a burrow where Rasha waits, but Thorns—armored soldiers bearing the Tri-Council's insignia—launch an ambush. Rasha is killed before the narrator's eyes. The narrator uses Bulder to collapse the ceiling, killing three soldiers, and escapes with an iron arrow embedded in their body, vowing that the rightful queen will one day force the Tri-Council to bow.

Kaan and his companions descend to the anthe's lair to rescue Roan. Raeve uses magical intervention and the touch of Rayne, one of the Creators, to calm the lethal creature and save the drowning men. In the process, Raeve channels a melody so powerful and alien that it awakens something primal within her—a fierce protective rage for Kaan that transcends her own survival. They escape through a hole carved in the Citadel, killing several Wardens in the process.

Inside the High Treasury, the protagonist discovers the Book of Voyd—a small silver artifact supposedly written by the God of Aether—sitting on a black plinth surrounded by lethal runes. Despite warnings that the book is deadly to touch bare-handed, the protagonist wraps it in cloth and steals it, driven by a need to protect Kaan and spite the Tri-Council. As they flee Bothaim, Rygun—Kaan's Sabersythe—merges consciousness with Kaan to grant him extraordinary power. The protagonist's Other awakens within her, and she recognizes a desperate need to keep Kaan alive at any cost. They escape the city through a massive explosion that injures Kaan severely and exposes them to Citadel forces.

Kaan and Raeve travel to Beluhn, a village hidden in the mountains and ruled by Kaan's cousin Siharna. There, Raeve encounters Líri, a Moonplume traumatized by years of abuse under Rekk's control. Raeve abandons Líri after showing her kindness, and the dragon spirals into despair. Raeve realizes that true love means offering choice, not control, and she climbs to Líri's icy pillar to bond with the dragon. During the bonding, Raeve removes Líri's saddle—the last symbol of Rekk's ownership—and falls into the clouds. Líri catches her, and together they form a bond that will define the remainder of the narrative.

The protagonist, now bonded to Líri, experiences a profound communion with the dragon as they grieve together on a snowy mountain. The protagonist sings a calming song, and their heartbeats synchronize. However, the bonding triggers overwhelming memories that the protagonist cannot bear—she retreats into her internal landscape and violently removes a luminous splinter from her inner shore, pushing away the emotional weight of connection.

Kyzari, still imprisoned, discovers the Scavenger King has destroyed her companion Nee—a small lark—and the diary she hid from her captors. She is forced to surrender her escape tools, realizing desperation is both key and weapon in surviving impossible circumstances.

Kaan establishes underground bunkers across The Burn and works tirelessly to prepare his people for the moonfalls. He struggles with sleep as memories of Elluin plague him—specifically, a recovered truth that she loved him with her whole heart despite returning to bind herself to Tyroth. Siharna goes into labor, and Kaan releases Borg, a spirit-being he keeps imprisoned, to gain information in exchange for painful memories of his mother's death in childbirth.

Raeve and Kaan share intensely intimate moments at a spring in a meadow, but Raeve's fear of loss causes her to construct emotional barriers. She watches Líri fly toward the moons and panics, believing she is losing the dragon again. Raeve buries her grief beneath mental stones, masking her devastation from Kaan.

The party travels toward Bhoggith to retrieve a moonshard—a fragment of Slátra—that may hold protective power. Roan reveals the Book of Voyd contains vastly more complex runes than previously documented and that a young protégé in Bhoggith successfully studied its pages. During the journey through a bog filled with nesting Moltenmaws, the group is ambushed by Fade soldiers. Raeve uses forbidden magic—commanding both Bulder and Rayne simultaneously—to liquefy the ground and swallow all attacking soldiers, entombing them alive. The protagonist realizes this display of power marks a turning point: Raeve is no longer hiding her capabilities.

The protagonist infiltrates a white-stone tower overlooking the nesting grounds and discovers a trap: soldiers were stationed specifically to capture Kaan. Inside the tower, the protagonist engages in brutal combat, killing nearly every soldier in the fortress. They discover Ahvi, a small silver-haired fae child with extraordinary psychic abilities, cradling a powder-blue dragon egg. Ahvi reveals he was imprisoned by the Tri-Council and that his previous escape attempt was aided by someone named Kurth. Rather than kill Ahvi as ordered, the protagonist rescues both the child and the hatching dragon.

In the bog, Kaan and the narrator are ambushed again by iron pins. The protagonist breaks free in a rage when Raeve is struck down and nearly killed. Together, the trio—Kaan, the protagonist, and Raeve—turn the tide using forbidden magic. Raeve summons stone spears using Bulder's language, creating weapons of varying quality but lethal intent. After slaughtering over a hundred soldiers, the group recovers and pushes forward.

The protagonist's memories and identity grow increasingly fragmented. She accesses internal lakes in her consciousness and discovers her Other has reorganized memory stones, forcing her to absorb painful experiences in exchange for knowledge of Bulder's destructive language—a trade her Other is orchestrating to forge connection between them.

The Other's perspective reveals her bonding with a young Moonplume and her protective love for the rider. She holds both her young close—the Moonplume Allume and the rider—and understands the precious, fleeting nature of connection. She grieves that her brother, bonded to her and broken by his experiences, wished to be left for dead.

Raeve discovers Sereme's manipulation: she is blood-bound to an Elding operative who has controlled her through torture and pain. Sereme sends orders for Raeve to kill Ahvi, claiming he is a threat to The Flourish. When Raeve refuses, Sereme activates the blood bind, causing excruciating agony. Raeve yields under torture and agrees to complete the mission. However, Líri suddenly attacks the Elding Squire, tearing him apart mid-air. Siharna witnesses the violence and warns Raeve that keeping secrets from Kaan will doom them both, recounting how her own partner Zior disappeared without telling her where he was going.

Ahvi explains that he can untangle Raeve's blood bind by accessing the moment it was sewn. He insists they travel to an abandoned mineshaft on the outskirts of Gore, south of Bothaim, where the bind was originally created. Raeve resists with deep dread, but Ahvi manipulates her by claiming she has already nearly died twice from the bind and invoking their life debt. Raeve agrees, though dread fills her at the prospect of returning to Gore.

In Gore, the group discovers the city nearly empty—the gates to the Undercity are now open, and white-armored soldiers have hanged all those bearing the null mark. Raeve searches The Curly Quill, her former refuge, and finds it ransacked. Upstairs in Sereme's chambers, she discovers notes and a message revealing Sereme's plans have changed. Raeve finds her secret safe house—an abandoned wind tunnel with hidden quarters—accessible only through a treacherous trash chute. Pyrok volunteers to stay behind with Gruffin, the young hatchling, while Raeve leads them deeper into Gore's tunnels.

Pyrok awakens to find a striking fae woman with red hair unconscious in Raeve's quarters. The woman, Essi, reveals she knew Raeve was alive, carried by Rygun. When she learns Raeve survived, she collapses from emotional shock. Pyrok introduces himself, and they bond over butter-laden bread. When Essi produces a fresh crowl leg torn apart by hand—revealing extraordinary strength—she mentions working blood-runes for Queen Dothea Vaegor. Pyrok realizes his missing sister is alive and safe in an underground cavern city designed to withstand moonfalls.

In a collapsed chamber with moonlight streaming through fractured ceiling, Raeve leads Kaan and Ahvi to the hidden location where Sereme once tortured her. Ahvi performs a binding ritual to untread the blood bind by pulling a temporal thread back to the moment before Raeve first gave blood to Sereme. The ritual reverts Raeve's body to that near-death state, making her vulnerable and physically dependent on the replacement anchor—the Book of Voyd. Despite Raeve's anguished resistance, Ahvi completes the final rune as the blood bind activates in devastating agony.

Raeve convulses on the ground as the runes consume her, her physical form grotesquely altered—hands skeletal, face hollowed, blood pouring from wounds. Ahvi works frantically with the Book of Voyd while Kaan watches helplessly. Raeve places her bloody hand on the book, declaring her will to live. A burst of glacial light erupts, and both Raeve and Ahvi collapse. Kaan's pulse vanishes for a moment that stretches into eternity before gradually returning. Just as relief sets in, over thirty masked warriors emerge from invisibility, surrounding them with weapons drawn. Sereme herself steps forward, revealing she orchestrated everything. She holds Kyzari hostage and threatens to poison her unless Kaan comes willingly. The protagonist learns that Raeve was hired to deliver Kaan to Sereme and the Ath. Forced to comply, Kaan is given a numbing potion that severs his connection to magical flame, shackled, and knocked unconscious before being taken away.

In The Burn's interior, the protagonist undertakes a solo climb up a smoking cliff in Gondragh. She discovers a burrow containing three crushed eggs and decomposed hatchlings destroyed by a boulder. When Ahra, the mother dragon, returns and finds the intruder, she crushes the protagonist beneath her claw, then tosses them aside. Instead of accepting the death offered as penance for desecrating the sacred space, the protagonist attacks Ahra in fury. Ahra takes flight, carrying them skyward toward the sun, and their consciousness merges as they plunge into a volcano's crater together—emerging skyward as a bonded pair.