“Dragonwatch” finale soars off the shelves

Photo Courtesy of FableHaven Wiki

“Dragonwatch: Return of the Dragon Slayers” is the fifth and final book of the sequel series “Fablehaven” by Brandon Mull. The original series, “Fablehaven,” released in 2006 and concluded in 2010. The sequel series that continues the story started in 2017 and concluded on Tuesday, Oct. 26. In this finale of “Dragonwatch,” the story of siblings Kendra and Seth Sorenson gets its proper ending.

This magical world of Fablehaven and others is hidden from human eyes unless a human ingests magical milk or butter to allow them to see the magical creatures living around them. To keep the creatures and humans safe, the magical world created hidden sanctuaries to house all magical creatures. Fablehaven is one of these magical sanctuaries.

In “Dragonwatch,” there are seven dragon sanctuaries that house all the dragons in the world. The Dragon King, Celebrant, no longer wants to live in these sanctuaries and wishes to wreak havoc on humanity, but because of the magic keeping humans from seeing the dragons, they cannot attack people until they destroy the Sovereign Skull. The Sovereign Skull is what keeps humans from noticing the magical world and its creatures, and it makes the dragons unable to touch or harm humans. With the Skull destroyed, the dragons would be able to kill any human they desired, whether they know of the magical world or not.

Kendra and Seth, with the help of their friends, family, allies and some frenemies, work together to stop King Celebrant and his dragon horde from accomplishing this. 

In “Dragonwatch: Return of the Dragon Slayers,” the final pieces of the war come together for the last battle of the Sovereign Skull in Selona, a hidden sanctuary dimension in Poland where the Fair Folk keep the Sovereign Skull protected, along with many unknown artifacts. Other side quests and stories finally come together to potentially aid the characters in the final battle against the dragons. Will Dragonwatch prevail and stop the dragons? Will Seth find himself and be forgiven? Will the Fairy Realm forever be lost to the dark unicorn?

Throughout this final book, there is a recurring theme of forgiveness. Mull wrote as Konrad, one of the legendary Dragon Slayers, and shared with Seth this powerful piece of wisdom when Seth was having a hard time forgiving himself for things he did in the past: “‘Though we may not deserve forgiveness, we all have a right to it,’ Konrad said. ‘Just for having the courage to live in this difficult world, where fallible people do imperfect things. The supply of forgiveness is unlimited.’”

“Fablehaven” and “Dragonwatch” are middle-grade books, but Brandon Mull gives great life advice throughout the series. The books are an incredible show of resilience, love and strength in a magical world beyond the known. It is an incredible story for people of all ages to enjoy. Both series are must-reads, and “Return of the Dragon Slayers” gives the series a conclusion to remember.