Beneath the Surface

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**Beneath the Surface** is the thirty-fourth episode of *The Dragon Prince*. It is the seventh chapter of the fourth book, "**Earth**".

As N'than guides the heroes through the treacherous Path of Despair, Soren tries to convince Claudia to change her ways.

## Plot

N'than leads Team Zym into the mountain of Umber Tor and explains that they must go through three different stages that he refers to as the "Zones of Peril". Once all three of them would be conquered without dying, they could ask for an audience with Rex Igneous and present their gifts of sacrifice to the mighty Archdragon. They quickly reach the first stage, "The Crystal Labyrinth", a maze filled with magic gems of all Primal Sources except the Star Primal. N'than elaborates on the use of each magic gem associated with their source, and states that the Quasar Diamonds of the Stars are rarely seen, with only three of them rumored to still exist in the world. Callum takes a Moon Opal for himself to keep, while Stella snatches one for herself and pushes it into a portal she created. When asked how they would find their way out, N'than says that they would let music guide them, and introduces them to tuning crystals, which play music when tapped. Through happily tapping the crystals one by one, they find their way out of the first cave section.

Inside the Drakewood, Soren confronts Claudia, who first questions why he is wearing pajamas. Skipping ahead in topics quickly, Soren directly tells her to cease her plans of releasing great evil upon the world. This causes her to try and escape by using her dark magic wings, though her brother manages to catch up to her on the back of Squeaky. When her bag is caught by a branch, Claudia loses her balance mid-flight and falls, causing Soren to jump after her to shield her from the impact once they would reach the ground. Once Claudia regains consciousness, she finds herself tied up. Soren admits to having missed her and begs her to change sides just as he had, and reminds her that their father is dead and she no longer has to follow his ways.

In their camp, Terry makes Viren aware that Claudia has not returned, though her father does not worry about her, knowing she is capable enough to take care of herself. When more time passes, Terry grows more and more worried. To distract himself, he tells Viren that he has given thought to being told to "get a grip", and explains that he would rather feel all he can and face his own emotions with strength rather than to abandon them, even though he is aware that he may come off as weird and that he may overthink too much. Viren finds himself agreeing with Claudia, who had described Terry's philosophies as "wonderful". When Terry offers Viren a hug, he is denied quickly, though he respects his boundaries.

On the second stage called "The Bridge Through the Darkness", a bridge gaping over a deep abyss awaits the group, surrounded by utter darkness. Ezran suggests to use the glow of Bait to find their way across the obstacle, though N'than alerts them to earthen creatures that are anything but fond of light and may attack them if they are made aware of their presence. The group makes their way over the bridge in the dark, and Rayla even finds herself confident enough to do a few cartwheels. When Callum drops his Moon Opal and picks it back up, the Key of Aaravos emits a light as it responds to the Moon rune, and exposes them to the looming creatures crawling the cave walls. The creatures descend onto the bridge and are noticed by everyone when Bait faces one of their angler fish-like lures, as it prepares to strike him. Callum briefly manages to fend the creature off by casting "Fulminis", though when cornered by several of the creatures, Azymondias steps in and uses his electricity to lure the beasts away with his light. Zym dives into the dark abyss with the creatures, and is briefly believed to have perished when he does not emerge. However, seconds later he appears next to Ezran again, much to everyone's relief.

As Claudia refuses to talk to Soren, he tries to get her to talk by mentioning Aaravos directly and calling out how he wants the world to burn. Claudia retorts that he does not know anything about him and how the dragons and elves already hate humanity regardless. She insists that Soren's friends are taking advantage of him, and says how thousands of years ago, humans had nothing, referring to the struggle and famine that the citizens of Elarion had to face. She complains how the elves and dragons had abandoned their kind, and states that humans know suffering as they had endured it for so long. Claudia then goes on to say how Aaravos believed in humans and gifted them dark magic, unlike those who pitied them. When Soren remarks that the world may be better off without their magic, Claudia reminds him that he would be dead without it.

In the third stage called "Lavaland", N'than explains that the lava inside the room moves with ebbs and flows like the ocean tides. Forced to wait until the ebb arrives, the group settles down to rest inside a breeze-dome created by Callum by casting "Ventum Circulo" to shield off the heat. While everyone is sleeping, Callum wakes Rayla to talk to her, giving her the false impression that the conversation may be about the state of their relationship. To Rayla's shock, he requests from her to kill him should Aaravos manage to take a hold of him again, fearing that he may be used for awful things. Rayla refuses and scolds him for giving up on his own destiny, though Callum fears that he may be walking a path of darkness he has no control over. After Rayla leaves, Callum tries to bring himself to dispose of the Key of Aaravos in the lava, however, is unable to bring himself to commit. After a peaceful rest, the ebb arrives inside Lavaland and the group is safe to cross. They finally reach the gates of the lair of Rex Igneous.

As morning arrives, Viren finds himself plagued by nightmares, remembering how Aaravos had described Claudia as an asset to their cause. When Terry wakes him, he makes him aware that Claudia has still not returned and the two make their way into the forest to find her. While walking, Terry begins to share that he was raised inside the Uncharted Forest, though admits that he can not point Viren back to his home due to no map existing. Remembering his childhood, he explains that the other children had perceived him as a "doe", when he knew that he had always been a "buck". When admitting that he had chosen the name "Terrestrius" for himself, Viren comments that he has chosen a strong name. In this moment, the Being alarms them to Claudia's bag that is stuck in a tree.

When asked by Soren why she did not try to escape, Claudia notices a couple of leaves falling from the tree she sits under, and the Being drops down onto Soren from above. Just in time, Terry shows up and tethers Soren through vines, explaining to Claudia that he can depend on plants when necessary. To Soren's horror, he realizes his father is still alive when Viren walks up to them.

## Characters and Cast

* Callum (Jack De Sena)
* Rayla (Paula Burrows)
* Ezran (Sasha Rojen)
* Bait
* Stella
* Azymondias
* N'than (Dylan Schombing)
* Soren (Jesse Inocalla)
* Claudia (Racquel Belmonte)
* Viren (Jason Simpson)
* Terry (Benjamin Callins)
* The Being
* Squeaky
* Aaravos (Erik Dellums)

## Spells

Sky Spells

* Fulminis
* Ventum Circulo

Dark Magic

* Daed eht fo sgniw *(Wings of the dead)*

## Trivia

* Soren using the command "Yip yip" is a reference to Appa's flying command featured in the *Avatar: The Last Airbender*, a television show Aaron Ehasz worked on previously as a writer and co-executive.

### Credits

* The three Quasar Diamonds mentioned by N'than can be seen embedded into a crown that is known as the Corona of the Heavens.

## References

1. ↑ Book Four, Chapter 4: "Through the Looking Glass"
2. ↑ CartoonUniverse Interview - The Dragon Prince Creators Answer the BIGGEST Season 4 Questions! (8:37)