The Forbidden Power

## *Publication order*

***The Forbidden Power*** is the first and only installment in the *Knights' Academy* series, written by Max Brallier and released on January 31, 2017. It follows new students Fletcher Bowman and Izzy Richmond during their first year of the Knights' Academy. The book comes with a scan for the Forbidden Power Vicious Voltage.

## Official description

*An all-new, original series from the mind of New York Times bestselling author Max Brallier! Life is tough for Fletcher Bowman. He's an orphan from the countryside who's just arrived at the prestigious Knights Academy, where he doesn't know anyone or anything about being a knight. Lucky for Fletcher he quickly makes one friend - the excitable Izzy Richmond. But when Fletcher and Izzy venture off-campus, they awaken a long-sleeping threat to Knighton that threatens to destroy the kingdom. They'll have to work together to defeat the threat -and avoid their principal's wrath- in the start of an action-packed, epic middle grade series that will delight both seasoned fans and readers new to the world of LEGO(R) NEXO KNIGHTS(TM). Featuring original artwork, and a rare Forbidden Power!*

## Plot

Fletcher Bowman, an orphan from an orphanage outside of Salty Town, is sent to study at the prestigious Knights' Academy. Immediately after arriving in Knightonia, he starts feeling lonely and homesick. At the Academy, he meets Ethan Zilgo, an arrogant rich kid, Beak, Zilgo's friend, and Isabella, Lance Richmond's sister, who were also sent to study. Fletcher and Isabella quite quickly get along and agree to call each other by nicknames, "Fletch" and "Izzy" respectively.

In the Academy, the first-year students meet King Halbert and Swordmore Brickland, and the latter of the two sends them on a field-quest, tasking them with finding Ned Knightley's Silver Sword of Silverness on the academy grounds. Fletch and Izzy partner up for the quest and start searching for clues. After overhearing Chef Munch admitting to Zilgo and Beak that he saw Brickland on the training grounds the night before, the kids decide to search there. On the grounds, they get another clue from Brutzle, an Academy handywoman, and head for the Hall of Knights, but once they are there, Fletcher has "the feeling", the unexplained phenomenon that had occurred to him at random times throughout his life, overcome him again. Fletch admits it to Izzy, and she suggests that they follow "the feeling" together.

By doing so, the two end up in the catacombs beneath the academy. There, they find a Rogul statue holding the Forbidden Power of Vicious Voltage, which Izzy mistakes for a Nexo Power. Fletch unwittingly and uncontrollably uses magic for the first time and brings the statue to life. Elsewhere, Baron von Bludgeonous, an ancient warlord, senses the awakening of the Rogul and sends his skeletal minions to retrieve its Forbidden Power. As Fletch and Izzy try to escape the Rogul with the Forbidden Power, they encounter the baron's minions, only for the Rogul to destroy them before they can hurt the kids. One of the skeletons avoids getting crushed and returns to the baron to tell him what happened, making Bludgeonous aware that the Forbidden Power is in Fletcher's hands.

Eventually, Fletch and Izzy find their way out of the catacombs and discover that in their absence, Ethan Zilgo and Beak had found Ned Knightley's sword himself. While bitter about their loss, the two wonder what they should do with the Forbidden Power, as they can't let the principal know they left academy grounds, so until they can figure it out, the power and the Rogul are left in Fletch's room. Fletcher is so exhausted by everything that happened that day that he soon after falls asleep until morning. The next day he and Izzy start studying at the academy and become familiar with its teachers - Captain Clash, Professor Relik and Professor Ottofae - as well as two second-year students - Robin and Ava. During the Overview of Digital Magic class, Fletch notices the Rogul in the halls and goes out to hide it. While trying to do so, he meets Brickland, who reveals his aversion to magic, believing it would turn anyone evil like it did with the members of the Wizards' Council, and that anyone other than Merlok who performs magic would be locked up. This revelation makes Fletch even more nervous.

The next day, first-year students take part in the Combatition. Bowman is put up against Zilgo, but can hardly fight back with his bow. Seeing this, Izzy runs to his room, takes Vicious Voltage and puts it into the Novix machine. The power gets uploaded into Fletcher's shield, allowing him to defeat Ethan, but proves too much for him to control and causes a blackout in the academy. When Merlok 2.0 reveals that Vicious Voltage was not a Nexo Power, but rather a Forbidden Power, and tells the whole story behind those to the kids, Brickland grows mad at Fletcher, revealing that he had put the lives of everyone in the academy in jeopardy with his actions. As Fletch and Izzy try to remove the power from the Novix machine, von Bludgeonous breaks into the academy and takes it for himself. When Brickland arrives to confront the undead knight, he reveals his plans to destroy the Knights' Academy and conquer Knighton before leaving. Brickland commands Ava to call the Nexo Knights for help and tells Bowman that he is expelled.

Feeling guilty over what happened, Fletcher prepares to leave despite Izzy's insistence not to, but changes his mind once the Rogul starts showing him the way to the Forbidden Power. On their way, the kids decide to take Ned Knightley's Silver Sword of Silverness to have a fighting chance, only to find Zilgo admiring it. As he refuses to let them take the sword and mocks them, the Rogul arrives and scares him away. After journeying through the catacombs for the second time, the kids discover von Bludgeonous's mansion. While looking for a way to break in, they accidentally break the roof and land right in the baron's throne room. He shares his story with the children, revealing that he was a knight and a graduate of the Knights' Academy in times of peace. Searching for an enemy to fight, he had joined Monstrox's army and discovered Forbidden Powers that left him undead and dependent on them to keep himself alive. Knowing that Fletcher was the one to discover the power of Vicious Voltage, he decides to let him and Izzy live for the time being and has them locked in a dungeon.

While close to despair at first, having lost their sword and Rogul, Fletch and Izzy manage to break out of the dungeon by distracting the guards with a picture of Lance. As Fletcher fights the undead knights, Izzy manages to convince the Rogul to help him. While searching for the baron and the Forbidden Power, Izzy gets separated from Fletch and the Rogul. The latter two eventually encounter the undead baron, who is attempting to absorb the power. Von Bludgeonous defeats the Rogul and attempts to kill Fletcher, but Izzy finally catches up and distracts the villain with the light of the rediscovered Sword of Silverness. Fletch and the baron fight over Vicious Voltage, only for Fletcher's arrow to start interacting with it. When he connects the two, it causes an explosion that destroys the entire mansion, with both Bludgeonous and the Forbidden Power disappearing. Just then, Nexo Knights arrive, and the kids tell them the entire story.

Eventually, Principal Brickland decides to let Fletcher stay at the academy. The Rogul would also stay in his room. However, Fletch and Izzy are convinced that Baron von Bludgeonous is still at large, and wonder if they can defeat him once and for all.

## Characters

* Fletcher Bowman: A shy orphan from Salty Town.
* Izzy Richmond: An excitable young girl and Lance's younger sister.
* Orphanage headmaster: Head of the orphanage Fletcher comes from and the one responsible for the boy ending up in the Knights' Academy.
* Ethan Zilgo: A high-class first-year student, fan of the Richmond family and Fletch's bully. Sees himself as better than the other students.
* Beak: A tall, wiry, redheaded boy. A friend of Ethan, usually following him around. He is a bit dimwitted.
* Baron von Bludgeonous: A skeletal warlord from the Golden Age of Knighting. Once a highly respected student at the Academy, he has been left a shadow of his former self by the Forbidden Powers and he needs the Powers to keep himself alive.
* Rogul: Rogul for the Forbidden Power of Vicious Voltage. Having been brought to life by Fletcher, he follows and obeys him.
* Robin Underwood: A second-year apprentice and general Teacher's Assistant. Teaches students the usage of Nexo Powers and explains students use only the Novix System until they graduate and gain their shields.
* Ava Prentis: A second-year student who teaches the class An Overview of Digital Magic. Unlike Robin, Ava isn't an assistant despite still going to the school.
* Principal Brickland: An old-school swordman and principal of Knight's Academy. Close friends with Griffiths.
* Captain Clash: First-year teacher for Combat Skills, the man has an appearance of belonging in a different era. A passionate battle instructor.
* Chef Munch: One of the cooks at the Academy.
* Brutzle: Says that she is a jack-of-all-trades within the Academy. Works/lives in a shed on the far edge of the Training Grounds. Seems close towards Izzy.
* Professor Scapeland: Teaches Geography. A perpetually sleepy-looking woman and finds the subject of study with heavy disinterest, more so than her students.
* Professor Relik: The History teacher.
* Professor Ottofae: Teaches the more advanced Nexo Power usage in the Combo Power Class despite it not being perfected yet. Constantly makes a mess in the class.

## Continuity

* This is the first appearance of Fletcher Bowman, Izzy Richmond, Ethan Zilgo, Beak, Baron von Bludgeonous, Captain Clash, Chef Munch, Brutzle, Professor Scapeland, Professor Relik and Professor Ottofae, and the first in-universe mention of Robin's father.
* The book takes place around a year after the events of "The Book of Monsters - Part 2", as Jestro's first attack is said to have happened "a year earlier".
* Due to the appearance of Combo Nexo Powers, the mention of Grimrocs as an active threat and Clay Moorington having not yet turned into stone, it's likely that the book takes place sometime during the second half of Season 3, between the episodes "Storm Over Rock Wood" and "Rock Bottom".

## References

1. ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Forbidden-Power-LEGO-NEXO-KNIGHTS/dp/1338041835

view **·** talk **·** edit **Books**