This lore breakdown is a helpful resource for understanding the Moonfall series! This lore guide includes spoilers, so please read AFTER you’ve finished When the Moon Hatched.
Includes info from When the Moon Hatched, so this guide is spoiler in nature.
If you would like to listen to this lore breakdown, check out the Infiltrating the Tri-council section here.
Or if you’d prefer to hear our complete beat-by-beat coverage, please check out our Moonfall Series playlist.
You can listen to Fantasy Fangirls coverage on your favorite podcast platform, including Youtube.
Overview
Dragons are the beloved beasts of the Creators. They have eternal lives, but they are not immortal, they can still be killed or even decide to end their own eternity by flying up into the sky to calcify and become a moon.
All dragons have the ability to breathe fire. Their dragon flame doesn’t abide by the rules of nature. Ignos’s language can’t deter it from blistering skin or melting flesh and bone and it has the ability to show everyone traces of old runes like those can with Dragonsight but using the light of dragon flame instead.
Dragon Bloodstone is very valuable – it is the currency in the Fade and the Shade. Mined from the ground in areas where dragon blood has been spilled and has medicinal properties if ground up and consumed.
The Three Breeds
Sabersythe
These are dragons that live in The Burn, they are heat-loving creatures and cannot survive for long in the extreme cold of The Shade.
Description:
- They are large and bulky with scales, spikes, and heavily tusked faces
- They come in colors like rust, bronze, red, brown, black, and gold
- Their flames are bloodred
Temperament:
They are known to be very boisterous and aggressive with ferocious aptitudes that cannot be matched and are almost as hard to charm or steal an egg from as the Moonplumes.
Nesting Grounds:
The Sabersythe nesting grounds are in Gondrath. Gondrath is directly beneath the sun where it is very hot and uninhabitable for most folk.
Those who do find themselves attempting to raid a nest and snatch an egg are considered either extremely brave or stupid. This part of the world is very rocky, with lots of volcanoes and rivers of lava.
The Sabersythes nest within the nooks and hollows in these volcanoes. Once their eggs begin to rock, they either scoop lava from the volcanoes and spit it into the nests or douse the nests in dragonflame . This step is vital to the hatching process, without it the egg will either not hatch or the hatchling will struggle to hatch properly.
Sabersythe Tusks:
Sabersythes drop their tusks every shed, and while they are an expensive but sought after ingredient they’re remarkably hard to find. They don’t dislodge until the beast is well into its spurt of growth, often swallowed by Gondragh’s volcanoes since that’s where Sabersythes flock to complete their shed, burrowed away from anything that might harm their delicate state. They are used as a bonding agent most Runi’s use for their etchings and worth ten times their weight in dragon bloodstone.
Known Sabersythes:
- Rygun – Kaan’s Dragon
- The largest Sabersythe Raeve has ever seen, he’s the color of an old puddle of blood and appears black in the places where light doesn’t touch his scales
- Ahra aka The Great Silver Sabersythe
- This is the Dragon that scale that Kaan made into his málmr is from and it’s rumored she has laid a trio of eggs
- Grihm is also on a mission to try to steal one of her eggs
- Other Sabersythes
- Nevut – Lane’s Dragon
- Blóm – Chief Thron’s Dragon
- Jógo – Kaan’s Mah’s Dragon
Moltenmaw
The dragons that live in The Fade and can comfortably travel anywhere in the world. Most major cities having a reserve of charmed, generally placid Moltenmaws trained enough to cart paying passengers to their chosen destination, escorted by the one who charmed the beast.
They are used as a form of execution for traitors of the Fade. When the prisoners are chained in the coliseum, a feeding bell is rung to alert nearby moltenmaws for a free dinner. Sometimes instead of eating the prisoner, they take the prisoner to Bhoggith to their nesting grounds to feed the dragon’s young.
They are also used in the Fade as part of their military.
Description:
- They are covered in feathers, their faces sharp and beaked
- Both their beaks and claws are sharp enough to do some serious damage
- Their feathers are a vibrant mix of colors with no two Moltenmaws having the same color palette
Temperament:
Moltenmaws are less volatile than Sabersythe’s are the easiest dragons to charm/steal an egg from
Nesting Grounds:
The Moltenmaw nesting grounds are in Bhoggith. Bhoggith is a vast stretch of boggy wasteland that is described as a foggy scrap of marshland that gobbles almost everything in muddy, sulfuric burps.
There are stable mounds that the Moltenmaws form their nests atop of, building great circular globes from trees and branches and laying their eggs within. Once their eggs begin to rock, the paternal Moltenmaw blows flame upon the structure.
Moonplume
The dragons that live in The Shade. They are cold-loving creatures, and they cannot handle the sun or their skin burns, nor can their eyes adapt to the harsh light.
Description:
- They have leathery, luminous skin that comes in shades of gray, pearl, iridescent, and white and is cold to the touch
- Their eyes are big black and glittery, their faces rounded, necks long, bodies elegant
- Their tails are long silky brushes
- Their flames are aqua
Temperament:
They are very cunning and are therefore the hardest dragons to charm or steal an egg from.
Nesting Grounds:
The Moonplume nesting grounds are in Netheryn. Netheryn is the southernmost pole of the world and is a bitterly cold environment that is inhospitable to most and almost impossible to raid. The cold chills Fae so deep it is said to turn the blood of most common folk slow and sludgy.
The Moonplumes nest on giant hexagon pillars of ice. Once their eggs begin to rock, the paternal Moonplume will either blow its icy flames upon the eggs or pack ice and snow atop them—a vital part of the hatching process. Typically only those as unhinged as Clode or bearing enough power to protect themselves attempt to steal a Moonplume egg. Most fail and are consumed by either the beasts or the hostile land
Known Moonplumes:
- Slátra – Elluin’s dragon and the biggest one she had even seen
- She’s the mother of Allume
- She was silver and fully mature when 9 phase old Elluin charmed her
- When Elluin died, Slátra scooped her up and calcified around her where they stayed for a hundred phases before Slátra’s moon fell
- Líri – Rekk Zharos’ Dragon
- Rumors state that he charmed his Moonplumes after slaughtering its former rider
- She’s under Raeve’s care now
- She’s just shy of adolescence, based on the length of the tendrils dangling from her jowls, but she’s very small for her age
- Rumors state that he charmed his Moonplumes after slaughtering its former rider
- Allume – Haedeon’s dragon
- She’s silver like her mother, Slátra
- her wing was damaged during the hatching process, when the egg was brought into the hatching hut warming the egg before she could hatch properly
- She was very young when Haedeon was murdered and she decided to scoop him up and become a moon
- Náthae – Elluin and Haedeon’s mother Eudora’s Dragon
- She was thought to be broody around the time that Allume took her first flight and shortly before [mother’s] murder
- Burned Eudora’s body on her Pyre
- Akkeri – Elluin and Haedeon’s Father Ahdrik’s Dragon
- Burned Ahdrik’s body on his Pyre
How to Claim a Dragon
There are two options to get a dragon.
You can steal a dragon egg from their nesting grounds and hatch according to the conditions of each dragon type.
OR you can charm an adult dragon which is a fairly simple but dangerous process. Thanks to Elluin, we know that one way to charm a dragon is to climb on its back and hold on for dear life while singing The Creator songs.
Bonds
There is a deeper bond between dragon and person that can form called Daga-Mórrk. This is when someone is so bonded with their dragon that they can harness its strength and fire. This type of bond is rare enough that it is known to be more myth than reality.
Sarah A. Parker hinted during our interview with her that there is another type of bond between dragons and their riders that is deeper than Daga-Mórrk.
The Great Flurrt
The Great Flurrt is a phenomenon where the aurora “duplicates” and ribbons of light spill all over the sky. This does not happen often, but when it does, the dragons will dance together and mate. After a Great Flurrt, there is often an influx of fertilized eggs.
In Dhomm, the capital city of The Burn, there’s a big celebration when this happens. Where they sing and dance in the streets.
Need More?
We’ve got over 10 hours of podcast episodes deep diving chapter by chapter of the Moonfall series! Including answers to some of our burning questions from Sarah A. Parker herself!
