Moon Rising

Moon Rising is set on the continent of Pyrrhia, where seven tribes of dragons coexist. Following the War of SandWing Succession, five young dragons known as the dragonets of destiny have founded Jade Mountain Academy, a school designed to bring dragonets from every tribe together and prevent future conflict.

A prologue set four years earlier shows a NightWing named Secretkeeper sneaking from her tribe's volcanic island to the rainforest, where she has hidden a secret egg. She finds it has rolled into a moonlit clearing under two full moons and turned silver. It hatches into a tiny black dragonet with unusual silver teardrop scales beside each eye. Secretkeeper names her Moonwatcher, hides the newborn when another NightWing comes searching, and flies away, leaving the two-hour-old dragonet alone in the dark.

Four years later, Secretkeeper brings Moon to Jade Mountain Academy, insisting the school will be good for her but warning Moon to keep her mind-reading ability absolutely secret. While watching arrivals, Moon notices Turtle, a quiet SeaWing prince whose mind she cannot read at all. Inside the school, Moon is assigned a sleeping cave with two clawmates, fellow students who share her quarters. While alone, a mysterious telepathic voice speaks into her mind, addressing her by name and claiming they are destined for a great friendship.

Moon's clawmates are Kinkajou, a cheerful RainWing, and Carnelian, a resentful SkyWing soldier. In the prey center, Moon senses wordless terror from a scavenger, a small humanlike creature, being chased by Winter, an aggressive IceWing prince. Moon snatches the scavenger to save it; Winter's clawmate Qibli, a quick-witted SandWing, intervenes and explains the creature is Winter's pet, Bandit. Moon blurts that Bandit is hungry, deducing this from its emotions, and both Winter and Qibli grow suspicious of how she knew.

Moon's assigned mixed-tribe student group, the Jade Winglet, meets for its first class. That night, Moon has a recurring nightmare of Jade Mountain collapsing. The mysterious voice rescues her by pulling her mind into a calm space and reveals it was trained by its father. When Moon tells it the current year, the voice reacts with shock. Later, Moon overhears a telepathic conversation conducted through a dreamvisitor, a magical sapphire that allows its holder to enter another dragon's dreams: One voice agrees to kill specific targets, while a deeper, slithery voice sets a deadline and threatens consequences.

Moon reads The Animus Histories and learns about Darkstalker, a NightWing from two thousand years ago who possessed mind reading, prophecy, and animus magic, the rare ability to enchant objects. He grew too powerful, killed his father, and was trapped by a scheme involving his beloved Clearsight and an enchanted bracelet made by the SeaWing animus Fathom. The mysterious voice reveals itself as Darkstalker, explaining the bracelet broke six months ago during earthquakes caused by a comet, coinciding with the start of Moon's nightmares. Buried in stone and unable to move, he can only project his thoughts. He asks Moon to find his talisman, an enchanted scroll that stores his animus power, so he can free himself.

Moon deduces that the NightWings deliberately stopped hatching eggs under moonlight to prevent creating another dragon like Darkstalker, sacrificing the tribe's powers out of fear. Darkstalker teaches Moon to manage her telepathy by imagining rain and sorting each dragon's thoughts into individual raindrops, alleviating the headaches that overwhelm her in crowds.

While walking to history class, Moon is struck by a violent vision of flames engulfing the cave. Darkstalker confirms the explosion is minutes away. Moon collapses and begs her winglet members not to enter, but Carnelian dismisses the warning and walks in. Seconds later, the cave explodes. Peril, a SkyWing whose scales burn anything she touches, drags out Carnelian and Bigtail, a NightWing student, both dead. Clay, a MudWing dragonet of destiny, carries out Tamarin, a blind RainWing, severely burned but alive. That night, Moon overhears a second dreamvisitor conversation: The slithery voice learns the bombing killed the wrong targets and demands that one of the dragonets of destiny die by the following day. Winter demands Moon explain how she knew, threatening to accuse her of setting the fire.

Turtle guesses Moon had a vision. Moon confirms this and, despite her mother's warnings, admits she can also read minds. Qibli recoils, horrified she has heard his private thoughts, and flees. Kinkajou is hurt Moon kept such a secret. Turtle, whose thoughts Moon cannot read, stays calm. He pulls a thorny seed pod from Moon's wounded shoulder and identifies it as coming from a dragonflame cactus, a SkyWing weapon that explodes on contact with fire, confirming the explosion was deliberate.

Qibli returns and helps Moon investigate by selecting suspects at a school assembly while Moon reads their minds. None of the obvious candidates set the bomb. While investigating Onyx, a mysterious SandWing student, Moon discovers that a black rock from the comet, which Onyx calls skyfire, blocks telepathy entirely. Moon realizes skyfire also explains why she cannot read Turtle, who wears pieces of it in an armband. Darkstalker panics when Moon briefly disappears from his awareness and forbids her from revealing skyfire's existence.

A sabotaged stalactite nearly kills Winter's sister Icicle, and claw marks prove it was deliberate. Icicle declares she was the bomb's intended target: She had planned to arrive at the history cave early, and only her clawmate Sora knew. Moon, Qibli, and Umber, a MudWing student, find Sora in the infirmary, sobbing. Sora and Umber are Clay's siblings. Sora confesses she recognized Icicle as the IceWing who killed their sister Crane in battle and used a dragonflame cactus to try to assassinate her. Devastated by the collateral deaths, Sora flees the school with Umber.

Moon connects Icicle to the dreamvisitor conversations, realizing Icicle is Queen Scarlet's agent, tasked with killing the dragonets of destiny in exchange for the return of Hailstorm, Winter and Icicle's brother whom Scarlet has secretly kept alive. Moon and Qibli race to the library, where Icicle has seized Starflight, a blind NightWing dragonet of destiny, as a hostage. Winter arrives, torn when Icicle reveals Hailstorm lives. Icicle fires frostbreath, a blast of freezing air unique to IceWings, at Qibli. Moon shoves him clear and is grazed on her wing. Darkstalker mentally forces Moon to the ground, saving her life. Winter strikes Icicle, choosing to defend Moon and Starflight. Icicle escapes through a window, vowing to complete her mission.

Moon confesses her powers to Sunny, a SandWing dragonet of destiny, who is receptive. She gives skyfire stones from Turtle's armband to Kinkajou, Qibli, and Winter so they can shield their thoughts from her. Kinkajou forgives Moon. Qibli reveals Winter has left the school with Bandit, heading to find Hailstorm.

The remaining Jade Winglet members fly through a storm and find Winter preparing to travel alone. Qibli warns that Icicle has likely gone to the rainforest to kill Queen Glory, a RainWing dragonet of destiny. As Moon prepares to fly beyond Darkstalker's telepathic range, he releases a vision he has been suppressing. A prophecy pours from Moon in verse, warning of darkness, a "stalker of dreams," "talons of power and fire," and the fall of Jade Mountain, "unless the lost city of night can be found." Darkstalker also shows her a hopeful alternate future of the school thriving. Moon gives Winter skyfire and prepares to tell him the full truth. She silently promises Darkstalker she will search for his talisman.

In the epilogue, Queen Scarlet hides in the mountains with an unnamed companion, curses Icicle's failure, and debates whether to kill Hailstorm or use him as leverage over Winter. Her companion holds an ancient scroll between his talons. When Scarlet demands to know what it is, he smiles and dismisses it as "nothing," implying he possesses Darkstalker's talisman, the most dangerous enchanted object in Pyrrhia.