Call of the Dragon

The story is set in the Kingdom of Kwa, a land shaped by two dragon gods: Yida, goddess of the earth, and Dam, god of the sky. Every decade, when Dam's constellation aligns with Yida's sacred stone henge, the gods descend for the Dírágónì ceremony, choosing devout worshippers to channel their magic, called idan, and cleansing the land of emi buburu, or shadow spirits.

Moremi is an iyalawo (priestess) at Yida's subterranean earth temple inside Mandara Mountain. Though she is the daughter of Iya Nana, the principal iyalawo, Moremi feels like a disappointment: she is tall, clumsy, and has never mastered the rhythmic prayer dances priestesses use to channel Yida's idan, though she can sense the goddess's magic through her soles. She compensates by excelling with herbs and medicinal knowledge. Her father, Baba Niyi, was banished by Oba Ojaja, the king of Kwa, for advocating that priests and priestesses combine the idan of both gods.

As the Dírágónì ceremony approaches, Moremi's closest friend, Nox, the son of Baba Bannu, the principal babalawo (priest) of Dam's sky temple, is eager to be chosen by the sky god. When Zaye, a fellow iyalawo who has tormented Moremi for years, provokes her by insulting her father, a scuffle ensues and Zaye's leg breaks. Because the ceremony requires the same number of girls as stones in the henge, Iya Nana forces Moremi to take Zaye's place. Before the ceremony, Oba Ojaja arrives with Addaf, a pale, red-haired ambassador from the Kingdom of Carew, and Iya Nana suspects Addaf has a hidden purpose.

During the initiation, the blindfolded priestesses must navigate to Yida's henge by sensing her idan through their feet. Moremi stumbles, but a different sensation, sharp pricks of ice from above, guides her to the stones faster than any other girl. Yida chooses Moremi, marking a tiny dragon around her ankle. When Nox nearly falls during Dam's portion of the ceremony, Moremi rushes to help and finds herself before the sky god, who marks her right wrist with a matching dragon, an unprecedented event.

Ojaja interrupts the closing prayer, claiming that Addaf's counsel revealed the ceremony's true purpose: to unite both gods' power in himself. He sings an invocation in the Carew language, but the gods respond with rage. Without the closing prayer, emi buburu seep from the ground and attack the crowd, draining life through their touch. The wounded gods drive the shadow spirits back but cannot fully cleanse them because the ceremony remains incomplete, and both dragons depart. Addaf orders guards to arrest Iya Nana and Bannu; Moremi's mother is wounded. Jagun, the oba's son, admits he knew nothing of his father's plan and blames Addaf's influence; he lets Moremi, Nox, and the injured Iya escape. Inside the temple, Addaf demonstrates his ability to channel the emi buburu's dark essence by killing a young iyalawo, and Zaye confronts him to cover Moremi's escape. Iya gives Moremi her mission: find the dragon gods, unite them within five days, and complete the ceremony. She instructs Moremi to take Yida's tear, a crystal orb from the altar said to be a tear of the goddess.

Moremi, Nox, and Zaye set out on guiamalas (large, three-humped riding beasts) toward Akyem, a Dam-only village in the Sambisa Forest that may have maps to the sky monastery in the Adamawa Mountains. At Akyem, a treetop village led by Tayo, they search the archives but find no specific directions. When Addaf arrives with shadow spirits, the group escapes on the Glide, a zipline system. Before leaving, Tayo gives Moremi a dagger made from one of Dam's scales, left by her father years ago, and hints she should remember the map-like markings on his skin.

The group descends into one of Yida's ancient burrows, where they find Iya Eneh, the previous principal iyalawo. Moremi reveals Dam's mark to Nox and Zaye for the first time. Eneh confirms that the dual marks are purposeful but warns that wielding two types of idan could break a mind that is not strong. Directions encoded on Eneh's scarified back reveal the earth monastery beneath the smallest Adamawa peak, and Moremi realizes Tayo's markings indicate the sky monastery is in the adjacent peak. Eneh explains that Yida's tear is a connection between the gods: If offered to Dam, he will recognize his wife's grief and return to her.

As they travel, Moremi learns to channel both gods' idan. She and Nox share a kiss, though she remains uncertain about changing their friendship. Zaye teaches Moremi healing prayers, and Moremi masters a prayer dance for the first time. Zaye warns that her own mother, an iyalawo who overused idan, lost her mind and died by suicide. Moremi notices that channeling idan fills her with righteous anger and a craving for power.

Addaf attacks repeatedly. In one encounter, Moremi uses Dam's dagger alongside a Yida blade that Jagun inherited from his late mother, channeling both gods' idan simultaneously to kill an eloko, a forest predator. She brings the injured Jagun along despite Nox's objections. Jagun reveals that Addaf lost his wife and daughter to a blight in Carew that Ojaja refused to let the priestesses treat; the ambassador believes the emi buburu can restore his family. After channeling a massive storm to escape Addaf's possessed warriors, Moremi collapses and privately craves more power. Her overconfidence leads her to guide the group through an izulu (lightning bird) nesting area. The spooked birds attack, and while fleeing, Zaye's guiamala plunges over a cliff. Jagun falls into the river with Zaye. Moremi believes both are dead and is consumed by guilt.

At the sky monastery, Moremi discovers her father alive, serving as a respected elder whose prophecies foretold the gods uniting in one person. The monastery's scriptures describe a bonding ritual: A newly marked priest can press the mark against Dam's scales to communicate with the god, but the bond risks permanently consuming the priest's mind. Nox volunteers, but Moremi secretly bonds with Dam at dawn. The god floods her mind with visions revealing that Yida's tear is not a tear but an egg, the gods' spawn.

Dam carries Moremi and Nox to the earth monastery, where a battle rages. Jagun is alive, having survived the fall and found Zaye's body, but he was recaptured and could not prevent Addaf from taking the egg. Moremi calls on Dam, and the dragon's appearance causes most guards to surrender. She pursues Addaf into Yida's inner sanctum, where the goddess lies coiled among gold offerings. Addaf intends to destroy the egg before Yida to drive the goddess to abandon the world. Yida destroys his emi buburu, but Addaf stabs Moremi twice before she drives both daggers into his back, killing him. The egg cracks but does not shatter. Mortally wounded, Moremi presses her ankle mark against Yida's scales, and the goddess accepts the bonding and heals her. The egg hatches, revealing Maha, a tiny dragon with iridescent scales and gold-and-silver eyes whose idan is entirely new.

Outside, Ojaja kills Baba Niyi. Maha responds to Moremi's grief by drawing the life force from everyone nearby, including Nox and Jagun. Moremi nearly lets it happen but remembers that iyalawos heal rather than kill and commands Maha to stop. She banishes Ojaja and, despite her feelings for Jagun, banishes him as well, declaring the royal line ended per the gods' decree. Moremi announces herself as oloori (leader) of Kwa and performs a combined prayer dance to initiate the Dírágónì ceremony. Dam and Yida reunite, declare Maha the new god to be worshipped, and depart to cleanse the remaining emi buburu.

Weeks later, Moremi presides over Kwa with Maha on her shoulders. She learns that Jagun has been betrothed to a daughter of the Kingdom of Carew and that Ojaja may use the alliance to reclaim power. Devastated but resolute, Moremi retreats to the palace herb garden, acknowledging the idan inside her that promises retribution but choosing, for now, restraint.