70 pages • 2-hour read
Dragonslayer
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Part 2, Chapters 10-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, animal death, and graphic violence.
Part 2, Chapter 10 Summary: “Wren”
Over seven years living with Sky, Wren creates a detailed map of the continent, exploring regions most humans have never seen. The summer after meeting Undauntable, she and Sky travel to the northern peninsula, discovering hidden villages where people live in relative safety. Wren distrusts human settlements and only visits them to trade old books for new ones.
As they explore the coast, Sky becomes enchanted by hermit crabs and a baby turtle, camping for days to ensure the turtle reaches the ocean safely. Wren observes ocean dragons hunting sharks and notes another large human city on a distant peninsula. When they reach the swamplands, Sky suggests carrying Wren on his back to fly over the difficult terrain, though he has only recently learned to fly and is not very good at it yet. Their first attempt ends in a crash, but the next year, a larger Sky successfully flies her over the swamps. They map the southern coast and rainforest but label the dense jungle “HERE BE TREES” and avoid exploring it further.
Sky becomes an excellent flier. They avoid only the desert and Arctic tundra, where Wren fears the exposure. To obtain supplies, they return periodically to their valley, and Wren trades dragon scales to Undauntable at the Indestructible City. When Wren is 12, Undauntable invites her to visit his manor, but she refuses, fearing entrapment. He expresses his frustration that she will not visit but adds that he hopes she will return soon because he finds her interesting. Two years later, he proposes marriage.
Part 2, Chapter 11 Summary: “Leaf”
Leaf presents his hand-copied blueprint of the mountain dragons’ palace to his friends, telling Rowan he did it for Wren. Grove, Rowan, Thyme, and Cranberry praise his work, but Mushroom, Thyme’s brother, expresses skepticism about the map’s accuracy and the plan’s feasibility before storming out angrily.
Two days later, Rowan appears at Master Trout’s garden in distress. She reveals that the blueprint has been stolen and that Mushroom has disappeared. Two other dragonmancers, Crow and Gorge, confront them, having overheard their conversation. Leaf admits that they believe Mushroom has gone to steal treasure from the palace. The dragonmancers warn that if Mushroom is caught, the dragons might destroy the entire village in retaliation.
Crow and Gorge reveal they want treasure for themselves and hint at past missions in which previous apprentices were killed. They state that if the expedition fails, the dragons will demand a sacrifice, specifically targeting Grove, an “outsider.” They order Grove seized and held hostage in their council hut until treasure is delivered.
Rowan and Leaf meet Cranberry and Thyme at the schoolhouse and inform them that Grove has been taken hostage; the four set out together. Leaf, armed with a sword and daggers, leads them north using his memory of the map. After traveling for days through the mountains, they finally reach the massive dragon palace. The sight overwhelms Leaf; hundreds of dragons swarm the fortress. Using the blueprint to orient himself, Leaf spots Mushroom climbing toward a trash chute entrance. They watch helplessly as Mushroom enters the palace. Leaf resolves to follow and kill at least one dragon to avenge Wren.
Part 2, Chapter 12 Summary: “Ivy”
Foxglove leaves 14-year-old Ivy and her friends Daffodil and Violet alone to skywatch from a tree while she escorts a fruit-gathering party. Violet asks for updates on their secret investigations into Uncle Stone’s disappearance and a suspected Wingwatcher conspiracy. Ivy reports that her mother still refuses to discuss Stone, and she has made no progress on the conspiracy investigation because she doubts anyone would trust her with such information.
Ivy spots an ice dragon flying erratically. The dragon crashes into the forest about half a mile away. When Violet and Daffodil want to investigate, Ivy insists they keep their promise to Foxglove and stay put. Squirrel returns to keep them company and ensure they follow orders.
They hear something approaching through the undergrowth. An invisible figure collapses below their tree. After Daffodil drops a pinecone on it, the figure yelps in a human voice. Squirrel challenges the stranger, who recognizes them as Wingwatchers. Uncle Stone becomes visible, appearing disheveled and injured.
Stone explains that he rode an ice dragon using a silvery-black chain that grants invisibility, treasure he obtained from the sand queen’s hoard. He left Valor following a dream that his sister Rose might still be alive, but after searching and ending up in a dragon city, he concludes she has been dead for 20 years. When Ivy asks who Rose is, Stone begins to explain.
Part 2, Chapter 13 Summary: “Wren”
Wren, now 14, meets Undauntable at the trading line. He proposes marriage, arguing it would provide her security and allow him to keep her close. Wren rejects him firmly, stating she already has a family and no interest in marriage or city life. When he persists, she rebukes him for treating her like a possession rather than a person.
As Wren walks away, a large sand dragon attacks the crowd. While the Indestructible City deploys defensive weapons, Undauntable’s female bodyguard tackles Wren to protect her on the prince’s orders. Instead of seeking shelter with Undauntable, Wren rescues four children and pushes them into his hiding spot. The dragon circles overhead, taunting the city and threatening to return with an army to reclaim the queen’s treasure. Undauntable reveals that this is the fifth time that same dragon has attacked the city in recent months.
Wren concludes that the dragon is scouting the city’s defenses for a future large-scale assault. Undauntable dismisses her theory, claiming that dragons cannot plan strategically. Wren scoffs, telling him about warring dragon armies, then urges him to warn his father before departing.
That evening, an excited Sky tells Wren he has discovered something. He carries her northwest into the desert, where they spot a massive dragon city near a river inhabited by sand, red, orange, and brown dragons living together. Sky begs to visit the city. Despite her anxiety that he might prefer other dragons to her, Wren reluctantly agrees to camp nearby and investigate in the morning.
Part 2, Chapter 14 Summary: “Leaf”
The next morning, a furious roar from the palace wakes Leaf and his companions. Dragons pour from the fortress in formations, appearing agitated. Rowan spots Mushroom fleeing through the trees below with a sack of treasure. Thyme runs to intercept his brother, but Mushroom threatens them with his sword and refuses to share the treasure.
Rowan explains that they need the treasure to save Grove from being sacrificed by the dragonmancers, but Mushroom does not care about Grove and plans to use the wealth to gain power. As a crimson dragon dives toward them, Mushroom throws a shiny, mirrored gold disk at Thyme, drawing the dragon’s attention while he escapes down a ravine.
The dragon knocks Thyme down. Leaf seizes his chance to become a dragonslayer and charges, driving his sword toward the dragon’s heart. The blade bounces harmlessly off the dragon’s scales, sending Leaf flying backward. More dragons, including a queen wearing a crown and chain mail, land and surround them. The queen retrieves the disk and flies after Mushroom while another dragon easily disarms Leaf.
Leaf is seized in a dragon’s talons and lifted into the air. Before losing consciousness, he glimpses his friends being captured below. His desperate attempt to kill even one dragon has failed completely.
Part 2, Chapter 15 Summary: “Ivy”
In his cave, Ivy’s uncle Stone shows Ivy, Violet, and Daffodil a sketch of his sister Rose, who is Ivy’s previously unknown aunt. Stone explains that Rose entered the sand dragon palace to steal treasure and was killed during the attempt. Heath claimed to witness her death but never provided details. Stone reveals that he let Heath keep all the treasure except the invisibility chain.
Stone states bitterly that he and Heath destroyed the world by killing the sand queen, triggering decades of dragon retaliation that forced humans underground. He explains that older storybooks, which told the complete history, are no longer taught in schools. In Valor, questioning the official Dragonslayer narrative is considered treason punishable by banishment. Ivy realizes this explains the many banishments she has witnessed over the years.
Devastated, Ivy acknowledges that her father is a liar responsible for Rose’s death and the deaths of countless others. Her friends comfort her, insisting she bears no blame for his actions. Violet points out that Heath did not mean to kill the queen and that it was an accident, a fact Stone confirms.
Daffodil proposes returning the stolen treasure to the dragons as an apology. Ivy enthusiastically agrees despite Violet’s objections about the plan’s dangers. Stone adds that Heath would never willingly surrender his treasure. Ivy declares they will not ask permission; instead, they will steal the treasure back from her father.
Part 2, Chapter 16 Summary: “Wren”
At sunrise, Wren observes the dragon city from a tree, impressed by its size and organization. She is surprised to see sand, red, orange, and brown dragons coexisting peacefully, which eliminates her excuse for keeping Sky away.
Sky, excited on the ground below, hopes to find dragon books in the city. Wren voices concerns for his safety since he looks different, lacks fire, and might be clumsy. Sky counters that she is also different from other humans. Wren provides extensive warnings: be careful, do not speak Human, and leave if threatened. She gives him a cover story claiming he is from a northern mountain dragon outpost and tells him to avoid discussing snails or vegetarianism. She instructs him to return by midday.
Wren watches anxiously as Sky enters a market square and disappears from view. She waits in the tree as hours pass. Midday comes and goes. Night falls, but Sky does not return. Wren observes the city’s normal evening routines continuing below.
She concludes that Sky would notice the difference between midday and nightfall unless something prevented his return. Since he lacks fire and has only her for protection, she determines he must be in danger. Wiping away tears, Wren resolves to enter the dragon city and rescue her friend.
Part 2, Chapters 10-16 Analysis
This section dismantles foundational myths underlying official power in Valor and Talisman, illustrating the theme of Deception as a Tool of Power. The parallel storylines of Ivy and Leaf feature revelations that shatter their understanding of the world. Ivy’s identity is predicated on the heroic image of her father, the Dragonslayer. Stone’s testimony reframes this official history as a tragedy born of recklessness, revealing that the “Dragonslayer” narrative omits the death of his sister, Rose, and recasts the killing of the sand queen as the catalyst for decades of retaliatory dragon attacks. Stone’s statement, “My brother destroyed the world […] [a]nd I helped him do it” (192), directly refutes Valor’s founding myth. This revelation explains the city’s political climate, where questioning the official story is an act of treason, exposing Heath’s heroic persona as a tool for maintaining authoritarian control. Simultaneously, Leaf’s personal quest to avenge his sister collapses. His mission is based on the false belief that Wren is dead, a premise the reader knows to be untrue. This use of dramatic irony underscores the futility of Leaf’s mission before it fails. His attempt to kill a dragon ends with his sword bouncing harmlessly off the creature’s scales. The failure is symbolic, representing the collapse of a personal narrative built on a falsehood. Leaf’s worldview, which posits a moral binary between heroic humans and monstrous dragons, is invalidated by the complexity of the dragons’ society and the corruption of his own leaders.
The theme of Greed as a Source of Corruption is explored through the actions of the dragonmancers and the character of Mushroom. The dragonmancers, Talisman’s ostensible spiritual guardians, are revealed to be extortionists. Their decision to hold Grove hostage unless they are brought treasure exposes their hypocrisy; they enforce prohibitions against treasure hunting while demanding treasure for themselves. This manipulation demonstrates how institutions can use fear to perpetuate their power. This institutional decay is mirrored on an individual level by Mushroom’s betrayal. His declaration that he will use the treasure to gain power and “own [his] own village” where “[e]veryone will do everything for [him], like they do for the dragonmancers” (185) explicitly links his personal greed to the systemic corruption he seeks to emulate. His willingness to sacrifice his brother and friends for wealth illustrates how the pursuit of treasure can sever communal and familial bonds.
The protagonists’ divergent paths highlight their roles as narrative foils, each exploring a different response to a world built on lies. Ivy’s journey is primarily intellectual and ethical. Confronted with the truth about her father, she seeks restorative justice rather than revenge. Her decision to return the stolen treasure is an attempt to atone for a historical crime, positioning her as a diplomat seeking to repair a broken world. In contrast, Leaf’s journey is physical and ideological. His identity is tied to the performance of martial heroism, and his failure to kill a dragon precipitates an existential crisis, leaving him disillusioned with his capabilities and the integrity of his community. Wren represents a third path of self-sufficiency and interspecies kinship. She rejects Undauntable’s marriage proposal and points out that he treats her like “a rare dragon scale to add to your collection” (174), refusing to be objectified. Her subsequent decision to rescue Sky demonstrates that her loyalty lies with her chosen family, modeling a future where relationships are defined by empathy rather than by group identity.
The motif of hiding and secrets is central to the maintenance of corrupt power structures. Heath’s rule in Valor depends on concealing the true story of Rose’s death and the origins of the dragon conflict. This foundational secret necessitates further secrets, such as the reasons for banishments, creating a society where truth is a liability. Stone’s invisibility chain, a piece of the original treasure, serves as a symbol of this dynamic—an object that allows him to move unseen and uncover hidden truths. Similarly, the dragonmancers’ power is contingent on keeping past failures secret, such as the deaths of previous apprentices on treasure missions and their willingness to sacrifice villagers to appease the dragons. The blueprint Leaf copies represents a tangible secret that, once revealed, threatens to destabilize the established order. The protagonists’ quests are therefore not just for treasure or revenge, but for the revelation of these secrets as a necessary precondition for justice.
The narrative explores Empathy as a Bridge Across Cultural Divides by contrasting Wren and Sky’s relationship with the wider human-dragon conflict. Wren’s anxiety over Sky’s visit to the dragon city reveals a bond that transcends cultural differences: Though Wren and Sky still struggle to understand each other’s languages and belong to cultures that have learned to view each other as adversaries, they recognize each other as family. Wren’s detailed, cautious instructions to Sky reflect a deep understanding of his vulnerability. This empathetic connection stands in stark opposition to the attitudes of other human characters. Undauntable dismisses Wren’s prediction of an organized dragon attack by asserting that dragons are driven solely by impulse, a common prejudice that underestimates them. Leaf’s initial goal is to kill any dragon, a desire born from grief and a lack of understanding. Wren and Sky’s relationship thus functions as a microcosm of potential peace between humans and dragons, suggesting that coexistence is possible only when humans abandon prejudice and engage with dragons as complex, intelligent beings.
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