Heroes and Masterminds

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**Heroes and Masterminds** is the twenty-third episode of *The Dragon Prince* and fifth chapter of the third book, "**Sun**".

Rayla and Callum race across the desert to find Nyx. As Katolis prepares for war, Ezran gets help from an unlikely source.

## Plot

Inside the dungeon of Katolis, Ezran attempts to get some sleep as he hears something at the iron bar opening above him. He happily realizes his visitor to be his loyal friend Bait and wishes he could escape but shows the Glow Toad his chained arms. Bait proceeds to rain a bunch of jelly tarts into Ezran's cell, so he would at least not go hungry, then squishes inside to join him.

Panicked about Zym's disappearance, Rayla and Callum search for their missing mounts, which are found on a sand dune near the oasis. Though Rayla's Shadowpaw quickly joins their side after being whistled for, Callum's Moonstrider seems distracted and disturbed. Several Soulfang Serpents emerge, leaving Rayla to warn Callum to be still before she engages in a fight with the snake-like creatures. Although she is able to kill one of the Soulfang Serpents, Rayla fails to hinder another from biting the Moonstrider, which leaves it as an empty husk before it dashes off. When another Soulfang Serpent decides to bite down on Callum, Rayla rushes to his aid and pulls him back behind the oasis' barrier, disintegrating the snake. The two are left no choice but to wait until sunrise.

In Katolis, Viren enters the throne room to claim the crown, against the approval of Opeli, who reminds him that Katolian law demands an orphan to become the new ruler. Viren jokingly states that his parents are dead, then takes the crown while stating that he is the law himself. Satisfied, Saleer motivates the crowd to cheer for their new king, when Corvus pulls Opeli aside, urging her to flee to Duren if the two of them intend to live. Soren notices their escape and cuts them off in a hallway.

While riding across the Midnight Desert to find Nyx, Callum bounces around wildly on the Shadowpaw, seeing as he is unused to its movements. Rayla suggests holding onto her, which Callum agrees to if it would not be weird for her. She questions why it would be weird, not understanding his awkwardness after their previous kiss, but allows him to hug her from the back regardless. When Callum asks Rayla on how they would find their target, she tells him that she has learned some tracking tips from Corvus by following the Ambler's massive footprints.

While Ezran and Bait fill up on jelly tarts, someone approaches, so Ezran tells Bait to hide, which he does - underneath three jelly tarts. When the visitor turns out to be Soren, he frees Ezran and escorts him through the dungeon. He explains to Ezran that he is helping him as he failed to protect Ezran's father King Harrow and wants to assure that nothing happens to his new king, as it is his duty as a member of the Crownguard. Ezran thanks him.

Upon finally spotting the Ambler, Rayla and Callum realize it is stuck again, so they hurry towards it in hopes to catch up.

Ezran, Bait, and Soren make their way out up a well in the castle's courtyard. Soren plans in stuffing Ezran and Bait into a sack so that no one will notice them leaving, but Ezran suggests a more beneficial idea of hiding in a cart of hay. Soren brings the hay cart into a nearby forest, where Opeli, Corvus, and Barius are waiting for him. Ezran thanks the group for working together to save him, when Soren has to part with them again as not to raise his father's suspicions, while the rest would bring him to his rendezvous point to travel to Xadia.

In the castle, Claudia checks on Viren and notices the caterpillar on her father's ear. When she reaches for it, Viren stops her from doing so. Viren quickly apologizes and asks Claudia if she understands about Ezran's removal from the throne. She understands and believes that her father seizes the throne to help everyone and hugs him. When Claudia leaves, Aaravos compliments Viren in cementing Claudia's trust, telling him that she will be a valuable asset. When Viren states that he sees Claudia as his daughter instead of an asset, Aaravos merely smirks.

Although the Ambler manages to free its foot and continue its journey, Callum and Rayla manage to climb onto it to confront Nyx who plans to bring Zym to Zubeia herself with hopes for a massive reward. Callum and Rayla believe that they have Nyx cornered until the Skywing Elf unfurls her wings and fly away. However, Zym starts to electrocute Nyx until he finally causes her to crash land in the sand. Now hurt and unable to fly, Nyx is exposed to the Soulfang Serpents circling her. Taking this chance, Rayla grabs Callum and jumps off the Ambler with him while holding onto a rope, where Zym rejoins them gleefully while Nyx pleads for help.

Corvus equips Ezran with a backpack while telling him to find his brother, when Phoe-Phoe suddenly descends from the sky, accompanied by Lujanne. The Moonshadow Elf explains that she was surprised to receive a message from Katolis and comments on Soren's clumsy way to express himself, but is happy to assist. After sharing a heartfelt goodbye with his friends and almost getting crushed by the hug Barius gives them, Ezran and Bait mount Phoe-Phoe and fly off. Corvus then wonders how Lujanne would return to the Moon Nexus, but she says that she wants to travel around some and mess with humans, then transforms her appearance to look more human, much to the confusion of the group.

Later that night, Viren presents himself to the army of Katolis as he prepares the march on Xadia. He reveals Ezran's last decree as king, which is allowing those who do not wish to fight to lay down their arms. But in doing so, the soldiers will receive a badge of broken chain to represent their weak link and cowardice. Some of the soldiers, including Marcos, proudly renounce their loyalty to Viren before leaving and walking through the jeering crowd.

As Nyx desperately dodges the advancing Soulfang Serpents, Rayla reluctantly rushes to the Skywing Elf's aid by swiftly slicing each snake in half, opening a path for escape. Callum offers Nyx his hand to climb up a nearby dune into safety as Rayla finishes off the remaining Soulfang Serpents. The group is able to escape back onto the Ambler, where Nyx wonders why she had been rescued, blaming it on her undeniable charms. Callum interrupts and exclaims that Rayla is a hero, one who is brave and selfless, without worrying what others may think of her, as long as she does what is right. Callum goes on to pour out heartfelt compliments as he finds himself get carried away by locking his lips with Rayla's. Realizing what he did, he tries to apologize, but Rayla orders him to shut up before she pulls him by his scarf and gives him a passionate kiss. The two lean their foreheads against each other, sharing more affectionate gestures while the Ambler strides into the night.

## Characters and Cast

* Callum (Jack De Sena)
* Rayla (Paula Burrows)
* Ezran (Sasha Rojen)
* Bait
* Azymondias
* Viren (Jason Simpson)
* Claudia (Racquel Belmonte)
* Soren (Jesse Inocalla)
* Aaravos (Erik Todd Dellums)
* Nyx (Rhona Rees)
* Corvus (Omari Newton)
* Opeli (Paula Burrows)
* Marcos
* Kasef
* Saleer (Jonathan Holmes)
* Barius (Jason Simpson)
* Lujanne (Ellie King)
* Phoe-Phoe

## Trivia

* Lujanne's sequence of changing into a disguise is a reference to the transformation animation of the *Sailor Moon* franchise.
* A continuity error can be spotted when Lujanne transforms into a human, as she features only four fingers after transforming, yet the credit art shows her with five fingers.
* Nyx's line "Soulfangs, why did it have to be Soulfangs?" is a reference to the famous line "Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?" from the first Indiana Jones film *Raiders of the Lost Ark*.
* Despite its popularity, "Rayllum" was originally not planned to happen in the series and was later added due to the crews' fondness of the pairing.

#### Credits

* An illustration shows Callum with a gourd and posing identical to Sokka from the *Avatar: The Last Airbender* episode *"The Desert"* where he first drank cactus juice.
* An illustration shows Allen, the man who challenged Tristan in "The Dagger and the Wolf", courting Lujanne with a flower.