Chapter 97

The protagonist, grievously wounded and searching for Rygun, discovers his dragon dying in a crater after a brutal battle. The Elding Bird—revealed to be a shapeshifted fae—collapses beside Arkyn's body before perishing. Unable to save Rygun despite attempting to transfer his own life force, the protagonist accepts that they will die together, curling up against his dragon's chest as another large winged figure appears in the sky above.

After the convulsions stop, the protagonist realizes the tremors have ceased and assesses their condition: two stab wounds are bleeding steadily, and they are weakening. They tear strips from Arkyn's cloak to cover their face against the smog, then begin searching desperately for Rygun through the gloom, sensing through their bond that the dragon is dying. A shape emerges—the Elding Bird, mortally wounded and using its wing as a foreclaw. The creature ignores the protagonist and collapses beside Arkyn's body, keening softly. The protagonist watches in shock as the Elding Bird transforms, its form compacting and shifting until a shapely fae woman lies coiled against Arkyn's chest with the protagonist's sword lodged in her back. Realizing this connection too late, the protagonist stumbles toward a crater and scrambles down to find Rygun severely injured—one eye pecked away, covered in frost, barely alive. The protagonist attempts to commune with the Creators for help but receives only silence. Desperate, they offer to transfer their own life force back to Rygun, only for the dragon to reject the gift by sharing a memory of their mutual refusal to abandon each other. Unable to lift them both skyward, Rygun bundles himself into a protective knot around the protagonist, sweeping a wing overhead to frame a view of the sky. The protagonist hums a song from Mah's past to mask the sounds of Rygun's failing breath, trying to believe they will pass together. As darkness claims them, a massive silver-scaled shadow appears in the sky above.