Raya and the Last Dragon
Raya and the Last Dragon Plot
The Druun, wicked, dark-colored spirits who transform everything living in their path to stone, ruin the calm and affluent sub-continent of Kumandra five hundred years ago. Sisu, the lone surviving dragon, is handed a diamond containing her siblings’ magic. She focuses her energy into the jewel and extinguishes the Druun, resurrecting Kumandra’s people but not its dragons. Due to a power struggle over the gem, Kumandra’s people are divided into five kingdoms: Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon, and Tail, which correspond to their positions along a massive dragon-shaped river. [3]
Five hundred years later, Chief Benja of the Heart tribe, who manages to keep the dragon gem, educates his daughter, young warrior Princess Raya, to guard it. Benja hosts a feast for the leaders of all five tribes, believing that Kumandra can be reunited. During the feast, Raya meets Namaari, the princess of the Fang tribe and the daughter of Chief Virana. Namaari presents Raya a dragon pendant and tells her about a tale that the dragon Sisu still exists and can be called. Raya shows Namaari the gem’s chamber since she has faith in her. As part of a plot to assist Fang in stealing the diamond, Namaari betrays Raya. Benja and the other tribes arrive after being alerted to the attack and begin fighting over the gem, smashing it into five pieces in the process. The destruction of the jewel causes a fissure, allowing the Druun to return and rapidly overtake the Land of Heart. Benja notices that the Druun are repulsed by water and sacrifices himself to rescue Raya’s life by throwing her in the river before being turned to stone by the Druun.
Raya goes across Kumandra six years later in quest of Sisu in order to have her manufacture another diamond and expel the Druun once more. She summons her to a shipwreck in Tail, where Sisu explains that she did not create the gem, but rather wielded it on behalf of her four siblings, each of whom added their own power to it. Raya and Sisu decide to reunite the gem, return the four stolen pieces, and use it to expel the Druun and restore Raya’s father and those who have been turned to stone.
Raya and Sisu journey around the tribes, regaining fragments of the gem and meeting new friends, including the young restaurateur Boun from Tail, the newborn con artist Little Noi and her three ongis from Talon, and the warrior Tong from Spine, who have all lost loved ones to the Druun. Namaari goes after Raya in the hopes of obtaining the gem shards for the Fang tribe. Each gem shard they find bestows one of Sisu’s siblings’ magical abilities on her. Raya, wary of their new companions, asks that Sisu stay human, but Sisu reveals herself at Spine to save Raya from Namaari.
Sisu persuades Raya to form an alliance with Namaari instead of stealing the final piece of the jewel at Fang. Raya returns the pendant Namaari gave her years ago as a sign of trust. Namaari, torn between her duty to Fang and her desire to aid in the Druun’s downfall, threatens them with a crossbow. Sisu tries to calm Namaari with her sword, but Raya attacks with hers, forcing Namaari’s crossbow to fire, killing Sisu.
Sisu’s death depletes Kumandra’s water supply, allowing the Druun to take control of the realm. Raya is enraged by Namaari’s actions and pursues her, finding her grieving her mother’s petrification. They fight while Raya’s allies use the gem pieces to evacuate the inhabitants of Fang. Raya beats Namaari and is about to murder her when Namaari reminds her of her role in Sisu’s death as a result of her reluctance to trust others. Raya and Namaari are dispatched to assist the others.
Raya recalls how faith enabled Sisu to save the world as the Druun close in on her group. She encourages the others to reassemble the gem, demonstrating her trust in Namaari by handing over her gem piece and allowing the Druun to transform her into stone. Namaari reassembles the gem before the Druun petrifies her as well, and Boun, Tong, Noi, and the ongis follow suit. When the dragon gem is reassembled, it sends a huge shockwave through Kumandra, defeating all of the Druun and conjuring up a magical rainfall that revives everyone, including all of the dragons who eventually resuscitate Sisu. The gang, including Raya and her father, reunites with their long-lost loved ones, and the tribes and dragons meet at Heart to re-unite as Kumandra.