The Sound of Nothing – Recap

Main characters:

  • Shaya Navi – Drakon keeper, hunters guild. Shy and timid but learns to break out of her shell
  • Makai Farin – Falcon keeper, hunters guild. Birdbrain who doesn’t think through his actions. Shaya’s crush
  • Kota Ryn – Drakon keeper, member of the Drak Clan that invades the valley. Befriends Shaya
  • Ayla – Fox keeper, healers guild. Shaya’s sister
  • Adann – Cougar keeper, hunters guild. Ayla’s partner, like a big brother to Shaya
  • Caldin – Eagle keeper, hunter guildmaster. One of Shaya’s few allies, sister to Shaya’s biggest dissenter
  • Rajik – Drakon keeper, the clan’s chief

Main Plot Points:

  • On her Crossing, Shaya bonds with a young lost drakon, Navi. As he is the first drakon the village has ever seen, their return is met with mistrust and fear.
  • When Shaya and Caldin discover strangers camped on Mount Tyir, Shaya’s father (the chief) decides to send a party to investigate the strangers camped in the valley. Adann is chosen to lead it. Shaya volunteers to come, despite her father’s protests, because she can lead the others to the camp. The group learns that the clan intends to conquer the valley.
  • The village is attacked by the clan. Makai goes after a warrior after the retreat was sounded, resulting in Shaya’s mother getting shot with a poisoned arrow. In an attempt to make up for his mistake, Makai tries to sneak into the clan’s camp to find an antidote. Luckily, Shaya and Adann catch up with him and stop him from getting himself killed.
  • On their way back, Shaya almost gets captured by Kota, but they crash and end up in underground tunnels. Shaya convinces Kota she needs Shaya alive because Shaya knows the way out (which she doesn’t). When an earthquake results in Kota’s keeper getting knocked out, Shaya goes back to rescue them instead of saving herself.
  • After they get back to the surface, Kota takes Shaya prisoner, insisting she’s trying to save her life. She convinces the clan chief that Shaya could be useful and is tasked with training her to fight/turning her loyalties. Kota fails (on both counts), but the two do bond.
  • Shaya is released with the ultimatum that she must get the village to surrender or the clan will attack. She tries instead to convince her people to leave the valley and find a new home, but her father refuses. The next morning, her father is found murdered by Shaya’s own knife. This is enough proof for the Konota to banish her from the valley.
  • Makai, having declared his love for her, follows her into exile. Thanks to Adann giving her back her puzzle box (where the murder weapon was previously kept) before he pushed her over the Falls, she figures out he was the one who took it and murdered her father. She doesn’t know his goals, but she knows she needs to go back.
  • With Navi still unable to fly, Shaya and Makai have to pass through the plains to reach the valley, and they encounter a group of people who claim Shaya is the reincarnation of an ancient hero, Tammae Lakki.
  • Due to Makai falling ill, Shaya is forced to leave him in the plains and return to the valley alone. She learns Caldin was chosen as the new chief and that Adann wants the village to surrender to the clan. When he finds her hiding in the forest, she learns he was working with the clan the whole time. He claims he wanted to save the Konota from being slaughtered.
  • Shaya finally gets through to her sister, convincing her of Adann’s lies. He flees with some drakon warriors, and the Konota return to the village to prepare for battle.
  • During the final battle, Kota agrees to help Shaya kill Rajik and end the war. They’re attacked by Adann, and Shaya accidentally kills his cougar, rendering him no longer a threat (later, she kills him as well to save his soul from soulstealers instead of letting him get banished).
  • Makai returns from the plains with the mythical Eleir flower he learned about through a story Shaya told him. It cures Shaya’s mother of her illness, saving her life.
  • After successfully killing the former chief, Kota takes his place by their customs, and decides to lead the clan home to the Far North. Shaya decides she wants to come with, and invites Makai to come along. The three leave the valley with the clan, headed to the North to face the enemy that drove the clan away in the first place.