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The Two Balls is the fifteenth episode of season 5, A Crown of Candy.
Recap[]
"Last we left our heroes, they were descending from the Mountain of the Ice Cream Temple, far in the reaches of the Great Stone Candy Mountains. They had learned of a terrible conspiracy by the devious Lord Cruller to assemble your family's greatest villains to broker an unholy alliance of all the forces bent on the destruction of your family, your people, and your homeland. Appeasing the desire for crusade by the Pontifex Belizabeth Brassica, the desire for conquest by the Imperator Ciabatta of Ceresia, and the desire for presiding over whatever the new Concord shall be from Lady Plumbeline Uvano, Calroy Cruller, de facto ruler of Candia, in the absence of its royal court, and Marquis of Muffinfield announces his desire to be baptized to welcome the crusade of people coming to slaughter those remaining devotees of the Sweetening Path and destroy the holy places of Candy and welcome the conquest of Imperator Ciabatta. A meeting of these great forces to occur in neutral ground, neither in Vegetania, Fructera, nor Ceresia, but in Calroy's held and occupied Castle Candy.
You all, having rescued the Duke Joren Jawbreaker, have provided a potential to slow the machinations of war and give Candia just enough time to save itself by recognizing Saccharina Frostwhip as queen and sovereign ruler of Candia. Journeying to the Ice Cream Temple in the far northern mountains, you've found the Sugar-Plum Fairy, the greatest and most powerful spirit of the Sweetening Path left in Candia whose mystical ambitions had been a part of your life ever since her first meeting with Lapin Cadbury many years before. Finally reaching the Ice Cream Temple, you discover her offer to reunite you with those you had lost and to save Candia was an offer to journey into mist, to turn your back on the world of Calorum, to live in a sickly sweet paradise beyond dreaming and to belong to the Sugar-Plum Fairy. After pitched combat in a giant chamber, discovering the Armory, a secret library of lost Candian lore, and the Dracoria Azucar, which was heated with fire and hatched by the Queen Saccharina, Ruby of the House of Rocks plunged her sister's sword into the heart of the Sugar-Plum Fairy, destroying her forever, banishing the mist, and the illusions of this place and revealing a hord of Candian weaponry. Words were shared and Saccharina descends the mountain, flanked by her loyal followers. Gooey's hand touches your back, as you descend the mountain ahead the rest of the Candians behind you, the wind kicks up. Snow flurries around you and you remember another cold night a very long time ago."
Synopsis[]
As Saccharina descends the mountain - flanked by her loyal followers and the rest of the Candians behind her - she remembers another snowy night from her past, when she was 5 years old and lived in an abbey, abused because of her sweetening path abilities and separated from the orphans. Behind her at the top of the steps, Ruby walks back into the library and passes Cumulous and Theo as they descend the stairs. She meets up with her father and they both realize Liam is nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, Liam is falling through endless fire and swirling red cinnamon and smoke. A voice tries speaking to him. Liam is in pain as his skin melts and he is ripped into ruins of ice cream stone that is flying away. The 'hand' is not a hand but is actually a paw. Lapin stands in front of him, disintegrating slowly with three spinning eggs of magic in his translucent chest. He tells Liam that the place is disintegrating and everyone and everything the Sugar-Plum Fairy was keeping in her “afterlife” must go to the Hungry One - but that that's not necessarily a bad thing. A small Preston runs to Liam. Liam asks Lapin for help on what to do, and he tells Liam the truth of The Hungry One and The Bulb: that they are just two cosmic forces of destruction and creation that do not care about what humans do. Neither of them are gods, and the other beings (like the Sugar-Plum Fairy) were simply akin to living spells. The three eggs appear from a spinning triangle. One is the red cinnamon hue of the hungry one, another is the bright golden luminous hue of the bulb, and the last is a many-colored foil-wrapped wish and is the energy of change. Lapin offers one egg wish to Liam and he chooses the many-colored egg which combines with one of Preston’s hearts and becomes a seed. Cinnamon the dragon is like the fairy; a living spell. As they share one last laugh, he wakes up in an old dragon’s nest with Amethar and Ruby over him.
Liam tells them everything and then shows them the seed he got from Lapin. They go to the third room where Liam sees stories in the ice crystal disappearing. Liam see memories of huge cinnamon dragons as well as a small Lapin at a monastery breaking in to steal a tome with a ritual to summon the Sugar-Plum Fairy. He performs the ritual and she shows up, but instead of being bound she tells Lapin he will be giving her wishes instead. He is provided with magic in order to fulfill them: how he became a warlock. Amethar looks and see memories of his sisters from when he was young. Sapphria taking care of him, Rococoa training him, Citrina helping him with his prayers and studies, and Lazuli making a first cola concoction for him to go into rage. He remembers when Rococoa died, and Gustavo held him back from rage and wept. Ruby looks to see their enemies, and discovers that they are everywhere - even amongst the marauders, but not Saccharina herself or her closest, nor her mother, nor Jawbreaker. She also sees her aunts in their glory and weakness, and it is confirmed that none of them betrayed Candia. Amethar also sees his father, King Jadain, along with his mother and four sisters who had despised each other. Uncomfortable with the arguing and oblivious to his son's presence, King Jadain steps out. Sitting on the steps, he shakes in his place. Amethar and his father talk and he is reminded that there is "strength in sweetness", and Candians do best in peace, as well as being advised that by acting too fast they can make more enemies. The best path is that of kindness. He also remarks that the crown is heavy. Amethar tells him he never wants to wear it, saying Rococoa would be better, plus he is a war guy. King Jadain laments he never asked to be king. Amethar tells him "you are a king though, so you must be a king". Those words echo in his head as the stories disappear.
At the base of the mountain, they rejoin the rest of the group. From a nearby village they get wagons and load them with items from the temple. Gooey suggests that with the incoming Bulbians they should destroy the temple to cover their footsteps and hide the treasures. Saccharina consults the others, and they agree to blow up the entrance. With a single slam of the Winterscoop, the door collapses. The group has three wagons pulled by hardy, frost covered meeps, filled with weapons and the most dangerous tomes they could find.
When they are done, they journey to Castle Manylicks where Jawbreaker has retaken the castle. The banner of House Rocks is flying above. Trumpets blare as they approach. They arrive and Liam leads and see his older brother, Grash, who approaches to harass him, but Liam is a changed man who shoots him in the shoulder. Everyone screams but Jawbreaker does not care, telling Grash to keep the arrow in or else. Saccharina is toasted as the Queen of Candia. Within the first week of being at the Castle, it is Liam's 18th Saint's Day. Jawbreaker gifts Liam armor and a magic peppermint breastplate. Liam is ecstatic that his father even remembers his birthday. They talk, with Liam saying he hopes to get married, but he will not be returning. When Jawbreaker starts talking about his partners Liam comes out as asexual and tells his father he wants to go back to being a seed guy. His father accepts it, and they hug it out before he returns to his partners.
The Crusaders have been driven out but are still in the South and the Ceresian forces backed out of Candia alongside the Imperial forces after Primsy Coldbottle wrote a letter to all lords and ladies and nobles of the Concord that the rumors of an heir other than Joren Jawbreaker are true, that the princess is the rightful claimant to the throne of Candia which means all nations invading Candia have broken the Concord and trials must be administered and a meeting in Comida of the Cornucopian Council must be held and people must be held accountable. However, the Crusade still stands because that is not a matter of nations.
Shortly after Saccharina has an official coronation and an envoy from the Dairy Islands arrives along with a diplomat from the Meatlands to witness the coronation and see the claims of the heir are true. Instead of the party at a barn, Saccharina has a lavish show where she walks down the aisle regally and is sworn in by Spearia Mentha who performs a Sweetening Path ceremony with no mention of the Bulb. The witnesses from the Dairy Islands and the Meat Lands sign off on it as legal since Spearia is technically an ordained part of the Bulbian Church. Things get rowdier and Bulbian bibles are lit on fire. Ruby wonders if they are the bad guys since burning books is a slippery slope. Caramelinda, a devotee Bulbian, is also uncomfortable. The Duchess Primsy Coldbottle greets Saccharina excitedly as she is somewhat a cousin. She brings up that things will need to be sorted with the Concord. She also goes up to Liam and flirts with him, in a roundabout way proposing to him. They bond over both wanting political marriages and not wanting to be slammed down big style. When she asks to hold hands and go for a walk Liam gladly accepts. Ruby goes to find her father and they both get Jet’s name on a dagger over their hearts. Saccharina and Cumulous also get tattoos of axes on their backs.
After the festivities they hold a war council, the advisors do not hold hope that the job will be done with the Duchess Primsy Coldbottle's letters alone, due to the continuing lack of a Concordant Emperor. The Crusader armies are pinned down at the mountains. Over the course of a few weeks the Witch Queen of Candia sends flocks of ravens out and gazes into a pool of milkshake and Liam leads a group of contingent of peppermint rangers and assassinate couriers, shoot down messenger owls and intercept supply lines. Cumulous uses the order to get the teleportation grids back online and are ghosts in the night through Candia, Ceresia, and Fructera. They arrive at a village where the lowlands start again and see fire rising around them after Crusaders killed and drove out people. They see the doors of the church are open and marauders are dragging clergy outside. All around are dead crusaders. One priest hands over a letter from the Pontifex. Cinnamon snarls at the Bulbian holy symbol. Saccharina burns the symbol, and the priest's heart begins to glow as Cinnamon trains his eyes on it. Saccharina gives Cinnamon the okay to kill and eat the priest. Marauders kill the remaining priest and are told to leave the villagers along. As Cinnamon devours the priest’s heart, they see that he grows just a little bigger than before. Saccharina uses the Winterscoop to put out the fires. The villagers are horrified by the dead priest but also at their village that was raided by crusaders the priests let in. Cinnamon eats the remaining clergy as the villagers watch. The letter is word from the Pontifex to Sir Keradin to arrive and protect her at Castle Candy. The meeting will take place on the 13th day of Highharvest which is a little over two weeks away. Saccharina tells Liam of the letter’s contents.
Before the war council afterwards, Gooey tells Saccharina that there are rumors of crusaders heading to Port Syrup for extraction and she is dispatched. She offers to take Cinnamon who is about the size of a horse along with to Port Syrup. Saccharina at first declines but after a sad look from Cinnamon caves and lets her rambunctious son go with Gooey. His chains are removed and with a screech takes off into the sky flying west to Port Syrup. Gooey takes the teleportation circles with her group. At war council, they theorize a distraction conflicts with Meat Landers, Jawbreaker, and Ceresians. They plan to get back to Castle Candy but cannot use the standing stones to get there. Manta Ray informs the group of a few incoming Dairy ships that could be utilised to sneak in. Saccharina sends ravens to survey the castle surrounding and the armies occupying there. She sees many there but nothing unified, realising they could take it back if they were fast enough. Theo suggests sending a slow army to draw forces away from the castle. Primsy speaks up, saying she will write Lord Cruller to tell him she is ready to come and officially recognize House Cruller to hide the true reason that three Dairy Island ships are headed for Candia.
The next day they head out with Annabelle to Port Syrup. When they arrive on the 10th day of Highharvest, they see the city reduced to rubble, the Bulbian Churches destroyed, and the city still surviving in the shadow of war. Gooey approaches Queen Saccharina with the marauders. A shadow casts over the buildings. Cinnamon, who is now the size of a house, approaches and slinks his head on the ground like a dog in front of Saccharina. Amethar walks around the city looking at the ruined churches, the scent of death and cinnamon in the air. There is a body outside the church that looks like it was fused to the door as though in their last moments, they had tried to keep something out. Upon further investigation Amethar sees that it was Sir Morris Brie. Amethar picks up the body and mourns him.
Privately, Saccharina talks to Theobald about her love for Cinnamon and how he has quickly become her weakness. She needs him to look out for her because her love is not stable or rational. Theobald points out that Cinnamon seems to have destroyed rather than saved Port Syrup. Saccharina agrees and it scares her because she cannot control him. They agree that if they are to use Cinnamon as their advantage it cannot be taken lightly. Theobald suggest that as his mother she may need to ground him and discipline him. Moments later this reminds Saccharina of her own discipline as a child in the nunnery.
Ruby goes to Annabelle seeks wisdom about her situation to which Annabelle tells her the things she did not decide are as much her choice as the things she did, and what she turned her back on was her responsibility too. She took her freedom and had to reckon with the cost. Annabelle goes to speak with Amethar who is standing on the prow. She tells him that they found Catherine Ghee and where she was buried (in a small grave on the Isle of Crumble in the west at a Bulbian Church graveyard). They confirmed it was her and reveal she passed away on the 12th day of Harvestdusk, 1196. From notes left by Father Belford Buttercream, they had found out that she took ill after having Saccharina and was afraid of retribution from his family and had become quite religious. Annabelle offers her condolences. Amethar thanks her and goes to tell Saccharina. Saccharina asks who sent people to threaten her and Amethar is dumbfounded and tells Saccharina that he only sent people to find her after the world because he loved her and could not leave Castle Candy himself after his sister’s death. They mourn their loss together.
Amethar goes to his quarters and sits with Caramelinda. He tells her of Catherine Ghee’s death 20 years ago. Caramelinda panics over the date of her death upon hearing it as it discovered that Amethar is in fact not an adulterer - because they had in fact wed 5 days after Catherine Ghee's death on the 17th of Harvestdusk. Caramelinda tells him that he is not an oath breaker. He is the rightful King of Candia.
Locations[]
Featured Characters[]
The Taste Buds[]
- King Amethar of House Rocks
- Princess Ruby Rocks
- Sir Theobald Gumbar
- Liam Wilhelmina of House Jawbreaker
- Cumulous Rocks
- Queen Saccharina of House Frostwhip
- Chancellor Lapin Cadbury (†)
- Princess Jet Rocks (†) [mentioned]
New[]
- Mother Superior Edam (flashback)
- Grash
Returning[]
- Archmage Lazuli of House Rocks (†) (flashback)
- Cinnamon
- Gooey
- Jon Bon
- Swifty
- Peppermint Preston (†)
- Princess Sapphria of House Rocks (†) (flashback)
- Saint Citrina of House Rocks (†) (flashback)
- General Rococoa of House Rocks (†) (flashback)
- King Jadain of House Rocks (†) (flashback)
- Duke Joren Jawbreaker
- Spearia Mentha
- Snickersnack
- Duchess Primsy Coldbottle
- Manta Ray Jack
- Sir Morris Brie (†)
- Captain Annabelle Cheddar
- Queen Caramelinda of House Rocks
Mentioned[]
- Pontifex Belizabeth Brassica
- Sir Keradin Deeproot
- Catherine Ghee (†)
- Yak
- The Sugar-Plum Fairy (†)
- Queen Pamelia Rocks (†) (flashback)