#dadbird

Dadbird Theory goes canon! I always liked this one, and I got back on board with it a few years ago even after they strongly hinted (Aaravos style) that it wasn't true, because I had a separate theory that backed it up. And still, I cannot believe we get this one for real, lads. What a day!

Dadbird being canon means my theory on Moonshadows and hearts is probably accurate - Runaan's bloodribbon fell off back in S1 because the heart in Harrow's body stopped. The soul inside was irrelevant to the binding spell. That's what matters to Moonshadow magic: hearts, and heartbeats.

Lujanne sensed Zym was dying, that his heartbeat was slowing down. That's how fetal heartbeat monitors work.

Ethari and Runaan both called Runaan Ethari's heart. It's the core of life in their philosophy - Ethari didn't feel alive without Runaan there with him. And Runaan died in more than one way without Ethari.

The creators said ere ago that Moonshadow assassins have ways of locating hiding targets, that Harrow could not have hidden from Runaan if he'd tried. If Runaan can track the heartbeat of his victim anywhere, then Harrow couldn't hide without dying - or vacating his body. This is why Claudia's swapping spell idea would work, and Viren knew it. The heart in Harrow's chest was going to die, because Runaan was always going to locate it. But Harrow didn't have to be home when it did.

So, Viren used the two-headed soulfang to swap Harrow with his bird in a pinch because the assassins were closing in.

Four people Harrow has a conversation with when he's released from the bird.

Chapter 1: The Future’s So Bright It’s Burning

Harrow opened his eyes to a dull world. A sunrise of pink and orange painted the sky, brilliant but not as gorgeous as it had been– how long ago was it?

He staggered to his feet–actual feet, not thin, clawed ones–staggering and gasping, trying to take in more of his surroundings. Tall, mossy rocks stretched in the distance, and he stood on a smooth stone slab with swooping circles and swirls engraved. Birds chirped in the background–he blinked for a moment, confused at suddenly not being able to understand the usual swears and bickering over worms–and–

His breath caught. His boys. A young boy, maybe up to his shoulders in height, strikingly handsome in tailored red and a gleaming silver crown on his head. A taller one, too, a young man in blue, a fluttering red scarf flapping in the breeze, a streak of white a stark contrast in his hair, leaning on the shoulder of–

“Boys, get back,” he commanded, nevermind how tall they both were, how broad Callum suddenly was. They were still his sons, and this was still an elf. A Moonshadow one, the worst kind. “She’s dangerous.”

Harrow reached for his sword as the elf only tensed–maybe this one was still in training? Any other would have knocked him senseless by now–only to not find it at his waist.

That night. Watching his body die, Pip's soul–

“Dad, hold on,” Callum said, moving between them firmly, and he was too taken aback by a warmth at the fact that he'd called him Dad to do much else. “This is Rayla.”

The elf offered an awkward smile, relaxing and looking at him when he took her hand.

“Our friend.”

Clearly more than friends, he realized dizzily. It was impossible for them to be anything other than lovers, not with the way he was looking at her.

“And Zym,” Ezran piped up. It was only then that Harrow noticed the dragon at his side, a stunning pale blue reaching up to his shoulder in height. “Technically Azymondias, if you want to be formal. The Dragon Prince– Uh, King.” He offered an apologetic smile to the dragon and patted his head.

His head spun– The Dragon Prince–now King –alive and well? Ezran King? His sons close friends with their supposed enemies?

“Ezran? Callum?” How long had it been since he'd said his sons’ names properly, like this, to their faces and conveying all the love in the world for them that his heart seemed to burst with?

Ezran hurled himself at him, throwing his arms around him, Callum joining a mere second after.

“I missed you so much!”

“My boys,” he whispered, knees buckling.

As a followup to this post where I muse about Moonshadow assassins being able to sense all life, I offer a more specific theory borne of recently rereading "Lunabloom" for the first time in a while. It always helps to let things sit for awhile and then return to them.

Heartbeats. I think Moonshadow elves can sense heartbeats.

In "Lunabloom," Runaan hops up a tree to fetch a star plum for Ethari's birthday, and while he's up there, he senses Rayla's pounding little heart.

He does have big ears, and I bet he also has great hearing, but I think something else is going on here, because there's a lot of evidence in Moonshadow culture that hearts are very important to them in many ways.

When pregnant people visit their doctors, one of the simplest and most reliable diagnostic tests is listening to the baby's heart with a stethoscope. Heartbeats alone can tell someone a lot about their current condition.

Lujanne does something similar with Zym's egg. She reaches toward it and holds her hand there for a while, clearly doing something that gives her the understanding that Zym isn't going to make it unless he can be freed from his egg very soon.

Which is what the Dragaang already knew, thanks to the animal doctor down in the village. Science and magic agreeing? What kind of progressive show is this? Ahaha, seriously that's pretty cool.

Then we've got Rayla sensing Runaan's presence on the castle battlement. She's absolutely certain he's there, and she's right.

It seems plausible at this point that an ability to sense a living creature's heartbeat might explain all of this.

But I'm nowhere near done, and here's where it gets angsty.

The real kicker for me isn't whether I think Moonshadow elves can sense heartbeats or not. It's that Viren believes they do!

When a clever antagonist who does his research believes something about a protagonist, they're probably onto something.

Viren's plan to swap Harrow's soul for another came from Claudia, so I assume she knows whatever he knows about how the Moonshadow assassins track targets. And Viren went to Harrow with Claudia's idea. He wouldn't do that unless he was confident in its success! He must know exactly how the Moonshadow assassins track their targets, and he must know that the soul-swap idea will stymie that sense of theirs.

I hadn't really put my finger on this specific detail before. I used to wonder if Moonshadow elves could sense souls. But if they could, and Viren successfully swapped Harrow's soul with someone else's, the assassins would know something was up with who was in whose body when they got close enough to the king, and Viren's swapping idea wouldn't fool them at all. He knows better than to use mere surprise on an enemy. He needs solid tactics.

But if the Moonshadow assassins could sense their target's heartbeat no matter where it was, they could indeed track it wherever their target tried to hide.

If the assassins burst into Harrow's chamber, tracking the king's physical heart by its beat and then Runaan stopped that heart, then it doesn't matter whose soul is inside Harrow's body. Not to the binding ribbon, and not to the assassins' oath. Once that specific heart stops beating, then the binding ribbon believes the assassins oath has been fulfilled and the targeted life has been taken. It turns red and releases the assassin.

Runaan, honey, what is that now, four ways to release? Come on.

If this mission had gone "perfectly," the assassins might have yeeted back home to Xadia and never been the wiser that Viren's soul-swap had spared King Harrow from death by putting his soul into someone else's body--a body with a different heartbeat! Viren's plan would have succeeded. He really could've saved Harrow's soul, and therefore his consciousness and personality. But there was no way to save his body from the assassins' blades. He never bothered to try that. He knew it was fruitless from the start.

If heartbeats are what matter to the oath and the ribbon, then, plotwise, it doesn't matter whether Viren meddled with Harrow's soul with a swap or not. The heart in King Harrow's chest stopped either way.

Runaan may believe that he killed Harrow properly. And maybe he actually did. Or maybe he saw something in that chamber that told him dark magic had messed with his target, and yet his binding and his vaunted honor compelled him to stop that particular heart anyway. Maybe Runaan realized exactly what he had to do to an innocent soul and how wrong it was. Maybe he realized it and still really wanted to stab Harrow's body for what he'd done to Avizandum. One day, one day, I believe we'll finally know what really went down in that royal chamber, and it's all I'm gonna talk about for the next week. Can't wait, man.

Until then, though, we're all getting the Moonshadow treatment regarding whether Harrow's soul is in Pip or not. Because, once again, it doesn't matter either way to the binding ribbon, and that binding ribbon has a plot-critical job to do. It's telling elves, humans, and dragons alike that Harrow is dead, and the plot is moving forward accordingly. If that's what really happened, then it's a straightforward development. If it's not what happened, then the more consistently everyone has reacted to the misdirection, the more exciting it's gonna be when Suddenly Boom, Harrow!

You know I'm voting for Dadbird, right? Dadbird. It's angstily delicious.

part 2, because image limit

Runaan

sweetie

no

There are at least three ways to release a binding ribbon! Actually killing your target, having Zym take it off (whether because that ribbon is supposed to avenge his murder and he’s clearly still alive, or because the dragon throne can order the assassins around and undo that honorbound oath, or something else), and believing that someone else equally bound has done it for you.

Oh man, @solitae, do you know what that kinda feels like? I’ve seen a lot of headcanoning about Ezran connecting to the Earth arcanum, but seeing through illusions is straight up Sun magic stuff.

How cute would their brotherly rivalry be if Ezran connected to the Sun arcanum while Callum finally found his Moon arcanum?

Ezran is another autistic-coded character in TDP, and his empathy is off the charts. That’s the basis for how he can understand animals so well, and people too--even if they don’t understand him in return. He’s intuitive and gentle, and his empathy leaves little room for deceit--though there is room for untrustworthy raccoons! 

I’m hoping that someone in the show find Pip again and somehow connects him with Ezran, so that Ezran can get to talk to his dad again. Ethari, Corvus? Nyx? A new character? Berto, it’s Berto isn’t it. Anyway, I really hope for multiple reasons that Ezran’s gift will bring him and Harrow together again. 

And yes, showing that Ezran can detect, uhhhh, soul anomalies?? in that way would be a great setup for any future detections he might manage as he grows up some more and gets to know himself better. He’s talked with Saleer and had him nearby for several days without picking up anything from him, but he’s young and stressed during those scenes, and he can’t do everything at once. Also, maybe Aaravos has sussed Ezran’s ability from Viren and waited to possess Saleer until Ezran was in jail.

I always wondered why Aaravos didn’t even want to stand anywhere near Ezran when he and Viren swapped out of that cell. It’s not like Ezran could possibly know he was there... right...?

Maybe, possibly, Aaravos has a weakness?

That might’ve been my theory post? I remember the feeling of my head exploding when I realized that maybe there was an in-universe reason why Runaan sauntered in the front door, in plain sight (ish), and shot Harrow’s door full of arrows from 15 feet away. 

And he says he likes order. 

Look at this chaos. Tsk.

Runaan took on all the guards in the entire castle so Rayla could escape with her human princes. It makes me so dang soft.

I really would love to get the full story of what went down inside Harrow’s chambers that night, with Harrow, Viren, Runaan, Soren, and Claudia. And Pip! They were all in there at some point. When did Claudia show up? Why wasn’t Viren on the balcony? Where did the soulfang basket go before the fight started?

Did Harrow and Runaan talk? I want them to have talked. But maybe Viren made that impossible. In the novel version of S1, Viren definitely cast a dark magic spell before Callum approached the doors to tell Harrow about the egg. If it was the soulfang switching spell, then Dadbird Theory is Go again. But we weren’t in the room. There’s a chance, until we learn otherwise, that something else happened.

I can see Harrow being that selfless in his last moments. He was feeling very angry at himself for years of unneeded harshness, but he balanced that by being very soft with his boys, even Callum, his Cinderfella child. He admitted to Viren, his own partner in crime, that he was off the dark magic sauce and regretted the things he’d used it for--many things, he said, not just avenging Sarai and taking the heart of the magma titan. He accepted his fate--not fully enough not to stand with a sword in his hands, though.

If he got to a point where he’d been bitten and Viren was planning some kind of swapperoonie with Runaan, and he somehow picked up on the fact that Runaan was loudly stalling, I can see Harrow being on board with saving someone else. That’s exactly what he was trying to do, too. Their kids ran to safety together! If their dads could reach an understanding on that, at least, I think that would be a very deep step, and it’s really sweet to think that in the middle of all the chaos and destruction surrounding them, these two dads might find a single moment to remember to fight for life instead.