Get Nerdy With Me No. 15
Dragons never die, plus all the dragon lore I annotated in Bloodmarked
Dragon lore ripples through the pages of Bloodmarked, and frankly, it doesn’t get hyped up enough.
Since there’s so much dragon lore to chew on and we are officially one week away from Oathbound’s release, I’m dedicating today’s Get Nerdy With Me to documenting all the dragon tidbits I’ve annotated in Bloodmarked — 7 tidbits in total.
Plus, here’s my dragon-related Oathbound prediction:
I think dragon imagery, dragon armor, and flight with dragon wings (made of a purple aether-root combo) will be a huge component of Bree’s character journey in Book 3.
Please let me know what you think about all this dragon imagery!
All the Dragon Lore I Annotated in Bloodmarked
(1) Sel & Bree are both depicted as fire-breathing dragons
While channeling Bree’s power to fight Erebus, Sel looks like a fire-breathing dragon:
“SEL’S EYES GLOW the color of my root. Not demon-dark irises, red streaked with black, but the shade of fresh blood, pulsing and alive. We inhale together as one, and exhale as one. Inhale again, deeper. Exhale—and this time, he breathes out two streams of smoke. A dragon in the night.”
Bloodmarked, Chapter 41, page 396
At The Crossroads Lounge, Bree tries to stop Sel’s and Alonzo’s fight. She erupts in root mage flames. The flames stream out of her mouth and eyes, like a fire-breathing dragon:
“All at once, my hands and arms erupt in flames. Activated by the threat of Alonzo, my root appears at a full, roaring burn. […] power bursts from my mouth and eyes, blazing bright against the warlock’s face.”
Bloodmarked, Chapter 33, page 320
Bree has an early vision of herself as a dragon, and that vision comes true when she is trapped in Arthur’s dream world of Camelot. In fact, she tries to escape in the form of a fire-breathing dragon:
“Tears blur the way, but I know the direction. I feel the buzz of the barrier—and then I’m on the other side, crashing through the forest that surrounds Volition, red flames streaking from my fist and mouth.”
Bloodmarked, Chapter 49, page 452
Bree’s root furnace & Arthur’s pendragon are both located on her chest. To have the source of her fire right by her heart and lungs feels very dragon-esque to me. 🐉
“Just as the mantra rises in my mind, a gold light shines from my chest. I look down to see the dragon rampant stitched into the tunic of Arthur’s body—pulsing in time with my heartbeat.
My heart. Not his.”
Bloodmarked, Chapter 12, page 131
(2) The first magical armor Bree forms successfully is fashioned after dragon scales and features!
To escape Arthur’s dream of Camelot, Bree casts root armor. She covers her body in scales, forges clawed gauntlets, and creates dragon wings for herself!
Root flows over my chest and down my legs, hardening as it goes until I am covered with flat, iridescent rubies layered on top of one another that look like—
“Scales,” Lancelot hisses.
Merlin shakes his head. “It cannot be. They are extinct—”
Bloodmarked, Chapter 58, page 531
(3) Hugely important dragon catch phrases.
“Only a dragon may meet a dragon, Briana. Only a king can teach a king….”
Bloodmarked, Chapter 13, page 141
“Dragons never die.”
Bloodmarked, Chapter 38, page 3721
Bloodmarked, Chapter 58, page 5312
(4) I think there is foreshadowing for Bree’s decision to burn her ancestral streams, and this foreshadowing is couched in dragon imagery.
On my reread of Bloodmarked, Arthur’s provocative statement below hit differently. It immediately made me think of Chapter 60 when Bree, after escaping Arthur’s possession, severs all her connections to her ancestral steams.
I’m particularly struck by Bree’s question about learning from Arthur’s memory in the quote below. Withheld information about how to wield her powers — whether it’s how to wield root from her foremothers or aether from Arthur— gives Bree a huge feeling of betrayal. Not learning from her ancestors drives Bree’s decision to strike out completely on her own in Chapter 60.
“What was I supposed to learn from the memory anyway?”
He chuckles. “That dragons are fiercely loyal, and never forget what was taken from us. That eventually, we decide to protect what is ours… and burn the rest.”3
Bloodmarked, Chapter 22, page 213
(5) Detail: The Crossroads Lounge’s rooftop-mounted dragon skull decor
Dragons are/were real! William says so.
“Are dragons real?”
He shrugs, his hands in his pockets. “They were real in Wales, at some point.”
Bloodmarked, Chapter 31, page 300
(6) Detail: “ogof y ddraig” translates to “the cave of the dragon”
I found this information on Chapter 1, page 10.
(7) Shapeshifting Consideration
We already know that shapeshifting is possible in The Legendborn Cycle universe, so my question is: Will Bree dragon-shift in Oathbound?
Sel can shift into an owl. Humans can shift into warlocks. Goruchel’s can shift into human form. The Shadow King can take on dozens of different forms. I don’t see why Bree couldn’t shift into a dragon!
Other Oathbound News
Spoiler Sensitivity & Community Care
Traci Deonn (and a resounding chorus of Legenborn Cycle fans, including me) are calling for no spoilers on social media after Oathbound releases. Please, please, please! Try to keep spoiler topics inside group chats, buddy reads, and read alongs!
I really like Bookbaddiebri’s suggestion to wait until April 4. 👇🏻
2 non-social-media places to discuss Oathbound!
- is hosting a read along with their substack community with lots of chat check-ins on the substack app, plus a zoom at the end!
- is hosting an Oathbound read along on Storygraph from March 4 - April 30. Click here to check it out.
“‘YOU ARE ANGRY, my Scion. In pain.’ “Yes.” ‘Good. Then I will show you why dragons never die.’” Bloodmarked, Chapter 38, page 372
“Dragons never die,” I whisper, and rush them both, moving like a blade through liquid—and pivot at the last second to lash out at Lancelot with a clawed gauntlet, cleaving the mail in two. My claws bite into his shoulder down to the muscle, then I dart back.” Bloodmarked, Chapter 58, page 531
Bree repeats these words in Chapter 29, page 280
Doesn't Bree also breathe fire in the ogof y ddraig at the end of Legendborn? I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure that happens at some point!