In this prequel to The Tea Dragon Society, Rinn finds themself helping dragon protector, Aedhan, who recently awoke from a decades long slumber. With some help from their uncle Erik and his partner Hesekiel, they investigate the mystery behind Aedhan’s sleep and recover what he lost.
Tropes Relating to the plot:
- All There in the Manual: There’s a brief description explaining the differences between dragons and tea dragons.
- Ambiguously Brown: Rinn and their family, along with a number of villagers.
- Audience Surrogate: Rinn when they and Aedhan meet.
- Contrasting Prequel Main Character: Unlike Greta, Rinn grew up taking care of tea dragons, though in their village the tea dragons belong to everybody.
- Forced Sleep: Aedhan slept for eighty years before Rinn found him.
- Mr. Exposition: Aedhan fills Rinn in on what dragons are capable of.
- No Antagonist: The forest guardian that enchanted Aedhan to sleep for eighty years wasn’t motivated by ill intent, just a desire to show others the forest in its prime. Hesekiel and Erik convince the beast to bestow enchanted sleep for no more than an hour or two.
- Our Dragons Are Different:
- Tea dragons and dragons like Aedhan share a common ancestor.
- Wild dragons are capable of shifting into human-like shapes.
- Dragons are capable of rapid healing
- Dragons have a language that sounds like human humming.
- Prequel: Takes place before Hesekiel and Erik join their tea dragon society.
- Shown Their Work: Kay O’Neill did a lot of research into the sign language used by their characters.
- Winged Humanoid: Aedhan keeps his wings when he assumes human form.
Tropes Relating to Tea Dragon Species:
- All Animals Are Cats: Fennel dragons are highly curious, and are prone to knocking things over on purpose.
- Master of the Mixed Message: Mountain Chamomile dragons aren’t very good at expressing when they want attention and when they want to be left alone.
