Ruggie’s Dream

Malleus sends all of Sage’s Island to sleep in Book 7 so that they might enjoy “unending happiness,” and for Ruggie this seems to manifest as a dream world where he still comes from poverty, as in the real world, but his father has returned from a job away from home after becoming rich.

His father has bought his grandmother a new car and she now lives in comfortable retirement. Thanks to his background, even in his dream he takes it seriously when he sees other people who are hungry.

Ruggie is a beloved member of his community and a model student at Ivorycliff Academy, a hyaena-majority school built by Leona that provides free food both to its students and to the local community. 

Ruggie explains that Leona returned home from studying abroad at an arcane academy and proceeded to establish schools, spelldrive teams and more all over the country, saying, “The younger generation here likes Second Prince Leona way more than First Prince Falena,” but he has never met Leona in person.

Ruggie’s dream begins with him being almost late to school, as he overslept after staying up late studying the night before.

Vendors in Raintree Market offer him free hibiscus juice, steamed bananas and more, which he shares with his fellow students at school.

In order to wake Ruggie up Azul begins dropping coins in larger and larger denominations, successfully separating Ruggie from the darkness NPCs.

Ruggie nearly wakes up due to his own confusion at why he is so excited about finding spare change. When Azul throws a 500-madol (EN: 5 thaumark) coin into a fountain Ruggie dives in after it, and as Azul goads him to admit he wants the money more than anything, Ruggie wakes up.

The students of darkness ask why he would betray his connection to their king and Ruggie responds, “I’d rather decide for myself who my king is. Who needs a make-believe monarch!?”