The Last

The Last Plot Summary

Introduction

In a world where dairnes had been hunted to near extinction, Byx believed she was the last of her kind. The runt of her litter, she'd never expected to survive when soldiers of the Murdano slaughtered her entire pack. Yet here she stood, a small, golden-furred creature with opposable thumbs and gliding membranes called glissaires, marked as the endling of her species. Dairnes were feared for their unique ability to detect lies, a skill that threatened those in power. Captured by Khara, a disguised human girl with hidden nobility and a legendary sword, Byx found herself pulled into a desperate quest that stretched across the dangerous lands of Nedarra. The Murdano's brutal regime sought to eliminate not just dairnes but potentially all governing species who stood in his way. With a bounty on her head and pursued by a Knight of the Fire wielding sentient flame, Byx and her unlikely companions—a loyal wobbyk named Tobble, a ferocious felivet called Gambler, and later a charming thief named Renzo—raced northward on a treacherous journey to discover if ancient legends might hold a fragment of truth: that somewhere, on a mysterious floating island, other dairnes might still exist. But with each step north, the danger increased. The Murdano's forces closed in, his Seer Araktik orchestrated a mockery of a funeral for the "extinct" dairnes, and Byx's newfound family risked everything to protect her. For in this world of betrayal and cruelty, Byx represented more than just the survival of her species—she carried the burden of truth in a kingdom built on lies. The question wasn't simply whether she could find more dairnes, but whether she could survive long enough to reach them at all.

Chapter 1: Last of the Pack: The Dairne's Solitary Fate

The day that marked the end of everything began with butterbats. Byx watched them flutter overhead from the entrance of the mirabear hive where her pack had taken refuge. Her mother, Maia, joined her, smiling at her youngest pup's fascination with the colorful creatures. "They're heading north," Maia explained. "It's migration time for them." "I wish I could go, too," Byx said wistfully. Maia stroked her back. "No need to rush toward bravery. No rush at all." That conversation would haunt Byx forever, for it contained both a warning and a foreshadowing. Later, her mother revealed that their pack would be leaving at sundown, heading north in search of what they called the First Colony—a legendary settlement of dairnes believed to exist on a floating island called Dairneholme. But Byx never made that journey with her family. Curiosity drove her to slip away from the hive, venturing across a meadow to catch a glimpse of the sea in daylight. The ocean stretched forever, massive waves crashing against black rocks the locals called "Sharks' Teeth." The sight was hypnotic, unlike anything she'd imagined. When she spotted a small rowboat with a tiny brown creature frantically paddling, about to be smashed against the rocks, Byx couldn't look away. The occupant—a wobbyk—was surely doomed. "Help!" came the faint cry. Byx hesitated only briefly before spreading her glissaires and launching herself from the cliff. The wind caught her membranes as she swooped down, aiming for the boat just as it shattered against the rocks. The wobbyk leapt upward in desperation. Byx snatched his paw at the last possible moment, their combined weight sending them into a tumbling plunge that somehow ended with both of them sprawled safely on a narrow strip of sand. Her act of mercy came at a terrible price. When she finally made her way back toward the mirabear hive, the scent of blood froze her in her tracks. Smoke billowed from the hive's openings. Red-and-silver uniformed soldiers—the Murdano's men—had surrounded the structure. Byx crept closer, her heart breaking as she saw the bodies of her entire pack piled on the ground like discarded hides. Her parents lay on top, having died trying to protect the others. Wild with grief, she charged forward, only to be struck in the side by a trident-tipped arrow. As darkness claimed her, Byx realized with crushing clarity that she had become what every dairne feared most—an endling, the last of her kind.

Chapter 2: Unexpected Allies in a World of Deception

Byx awoke slung across a horse, bound hand and foot. A young "boy" walked ahead—the poachers' guide who had shot her with the arrow. Pain throbbed in her side where the barbed arrowhead still clung to her flesh. When they stopped to rest, the guide carefully removed the arrow and bandaged her wound. "I was aiming for your leg, but you moved at the last minute," the guide explained, almost apologetically. Byx stared at her captor with contempt. "I wish you'd hit my heart dead-on. At least I'd be with the others, where I belong." "I'm glad you survived," the guide replied quietly. As they traveled, Byx made a shocking discovery—the guide was actually a girl named Khara, disguising herself in a world where females had few opportunities. This revelation came as they sheltered in a cave, where Khara tended to Byx's wound and shared scraps of dried meat. "Girls aren't allowed to hunt. Girls aren't allowed to do many things. Most things," Khara explained when Byx questioned her disguise. That night, Byx was awakened by the scrabbling of small paws. The wobbyk she had rescued—Tobble—had tracked them to the cave and now furtively worked to untie her bonds. Together, they crept past the sleeping Khara and her horse Vallino, escaping into the night. "Many thanks," Byx whispered as they fled. "So that was you I heard calling my name on the trail?" "Yes. I wanted to give you hope," Tobble replied. Their freedom was short-lived. Dawn found them trapped in a marshland, surrounded by enormous serpents that coiled around Byx, squeezing the breath from her lungs. As one massive snake prepared to sink its fangs into her head, Khara appeared, wielding a sword that suddenly gleamed with supernatural light, slicing through the serpents with impossible grace. "I could use some help over here," Byx called, still trapped with a serpent's mouth attached to her head. Khara's blade struck with surgical precision, cutting through the snake's head without harming Byx. As the remaining serpents retreated, Khara stood panting, her formerly rusty sword now encrusted with jewels and glowing like fresh-forged iron. "My sword has limited use, unless it's drawn in anger," Khara later explained cryptically. That night, over roasted serpent meat, Khara revealed her plan. "We're going to Cora di Schola," she said. "The Isle of Ursina. I'm taking you to a man I know, a famous scholar. His name is Ferrucci the Gharri." "And why are you bothering to do this?" Tobble demanded suspiciously. "I'm trying to help Byx," Khara said evenly. "But if Ferrucci sees fit to reward me for my efforts, I won't argue." Byx bristled at the implication. "So that's your plan? You're going to sell me?" Despite her outrage, Byx reluctantly acknowledged that she had nowhere else to go. The dairne motto haunted her: "A dairne alone is not a dairne." Without her pack, she was nothing. With no better options, she would follow Khara to the isle—and hope that this Ferrucci truly meant to help her, not harm her.

Chapter 3: The Eumony: Celebrating a False Extinction

The ferry crossing to the isle of Ursina proved eventful. A natite—one of the water-dwelling governing species with green skin, gills, and tentacles—sampled Khara's blood to grant them passage. Byx, disguised as a dog, observed this new world with wary fascination. Their arrival at Cora di Schola, the Heart of the Scholars, revealed a bustling metropolis unlike anything Byx had experienced. Felivets lounged on benches beside humans, raptidons perched on poles, and natites swam in specially designed pools. Here, at least, the six governing species coexisted peacefully—humans, dairnes, felivets, natites, terramants, and raptidons. Unable to secure proper lodging due to the island's unusually crowded state, they slept in a stable. From the innkeeper, Eldon, they learned the shocking reason for the crowds: a eumony—a funeral ceremony for the extinction of an entire species. Specifically, the dairnes. "It's been announced officially that the dairnes are extinct," Eldon explained casually. The words struck Byx like a physical blow. She slipped away to a dark corner of the courtyard, shaking with grief and rage. Until this moment, she had feared she might be the last dairne, but hadn't truly believed it. Now, confronted with her species' funeral, the terrible truth seemed inescapable. The next day, Khara led them to the Pillar of Truth, an imposing tower that housed representatives of all governing species. After convincing the gatekeeper to admit them, they ascended to meet Ferrucci, a white-bearded old scholar whom Khara greeted with surprising familiarity. "Ferru!" Khara exclaimed, embracing him. Byx revealed herself, abandoning her dog disguise. "I am honored to meet you, but I am not a dog," she declared. Ferrucci gaped in shock. His young assistant, Luca, rushed to examine Byx with scholarly curiosity. "It's a dairne," he confirmed, his eyes gleaming with an unsettling intensity. Instead of the welcome Khara had promised, Ferrucci panicked. "Lock the door immediately," he ordered Luca, then hustled them into a side room. "Take this dog—and yes, it is a dog, whatever you may hear—to the cells," Ferrucci commanded. "Wait," Khara protested. "Why must Byx be taken to the dungeon?" Ferrucci insisted it was for Byx's own protection, but his assurances rang hollow. Separated from her companions, Byx was led down winding staircases into the tower's dungeon. There, Luca revealed the terrible truth. "He ordered me to have you killed. Killed, and then burned, so there's no evidence you ever existed." "What have I done wrong?" Byx asked, trembling. "Done? You've done nothing. But you exist, and that is a crisis," Luca explained. "Araktik, the Murdano's Seer, is coming to officiate the eumony. She certified that dairnes are extinct. How do you suppose she would enjoy being made to look a fool?" That night in her cell, Byx met Gambler, an imprisoned felivet. "We are not humans," the massive cat explained. "We felivets keep our promises. In two hundred years, no felivet has knowingly killed a dairne." Gambler revealed a disturbing theory: the extinction of dairnes was just the beginning. "Humans are such very good liars, you see. We felivets will be next, and then the raptidons..." Before dawn, Luca returned, wreathed in green theurgic light. "My theurgy isn't strong," he admitted as he unlocked her cell. "I breathed in the jailer's ear and put him to sleep." At Byx's insistence, they freed Gambler as well. Together they fled to a hiding place Luca had arranged—an abandoned building overlooking the plaza where the eumony would soon take place.

Chapter 4: Confronting Power: Truths and Lies at the Palace

The eumony began with pomp and solemnity, thousands of creatures from all governing species gathering in the Plaza of Truth. A natite Chief Scholar declared the dairnes officially extinct, drawing cheers from the crowd. Ferrucci recounted dairne history, emphasizing their role in treaties and negotiations due to their unique truth-detecting ability. Then came Araktik, the Murdano's Seer—a young woman with black hair and tattoos of magical runes covering her arms. She approached the stage with supreme confidence, unaware that Byx was watching from above. "I have brought a rare gift to our great and magnificent Murdano," Araktik proclaimed. "Thanks to his generosity, we are come together to mourn..." A commotion at the door interrupted their observation. Constables burst in, discovering their hiding place. Byx barely had time to hide in a chest before they entered. Khara and Luca pretended to be young lovers seeking privacy, but the constables insisted they leave. When the guards began searching the room, one flung open Byx's chest. "Ho!" he shouted, spotting her. At that moment, Gambler unleashed a deafening roar from the rafters where he'd hidden, distracting the constables. "Run!" Gambler shouted. With escape routes blocked by armed men, Byx made a desperate choice. She raced to a window and leapt through, spreading her glissaires to catch the wind. Below, the eumony crowd gasped as she soared over their heads—a supposedly extinct dairne interrupting her own funeral. Byx aimed to sail harmlessly over Araktik's head, but a soldier knocked the Seer aside just as Byx swept over the stage. Landing hard, she scrambled through the crowd, pursued by constables and soldiers. Gambler provided crucial distraction, allowing Byx to escape through the streets. With Khara and Tobble, they managed to secure passage on a smuggler's boat. As they left the isle behind, Byx questioned Khara about her true identity. "I'm beginning to think you are much more important than you pretend to be," Byx said. Under pressure, Khara revealed her full name: Kharassande Donati. She belonged to one of three great families that had rebelled against the first Murdano—the others being the Corplis and the Rantizzos. Her family had been destroyed, their estate seized by Araktik's family. "My father barely escaped," Khara explained. "He changed his name and hid deep in the forests." And her sword? The mysterious blade that transformed when drawn in anger? Byx realized with shock that it was the Light of Nedarra, the legendary weapon of Kainor the Magnificent. Khara had denied this when Luca asked, a deliberate lie told for his benefit. This revelation was interrupted by a new danger. The smuggler's boat brought them to a marshy landing where they spotted soldiers in the distance—likely dispatched by the Murdano after Byx's dramatic appearance at the eumony. "Where are we going?" Tobble asked, voicing the question weighing on all their minds. Khara turned to Byx. "We are going where Byx wishes to go." The decision fell heavy on Byx's shoulders. Tobble reminded her of the crumpled map she'd drawn as a pup, showing the legendary Dairneholme—the floating island where the First Colony of dairnes might still exist. "A mythical land called Dairneholme," Byx explained reluctantly. "A river and a deep valley, hidden away on a magical sentient island that floated from place to place." "They're called rooklets," Khara confirmed, surprising them all. "Islands created in long-ago times. They're not rock and earth, but ancient living beasts of enormous size." After weighing their options—south toward familiar but dangerous territory, or north toward the even more perilous unknown—they made their choice. They would head north, toward the frontier between Nedarra and Dreyland, in search of the floating island that might harbor the last free dairnes.

Chapter 5: Northward Bound: Chasing Whispered Rumors

The journey northward grew increasingly arduous. Rain turned the roads to mud that sucked at their feet, and nights spent in makeshift shelters left them cold and miserable. Worse, they discovered they were being pursued by Araktik's personal enforcer—a Knight of the Fire. Khara took time to train both Byx and Luca in basic swordplay. "Your enemy is not helpless just because you've drawn blood," she instructed grimly. "If you find yourself in a fight, your goal is not to frighten, not to wound. But to kill." They traveled through a vast open plain called "the Infina," where raptidons soared overhead. When they encountered a rookery, Khara negotiated passage with its leader, the ancient Rorid Headcrusher. "We see what has been done to the dairnes," Rorid told them. "We see what they are doing to the felivets. We are not fools. If two dozen of Araktik's guards and a full-fledged Knight of the Fire are after you, it seems I must consider you our friends." The raptidons' warning proved prescient. Shortly after, they spotted the Knight of the Fire galloping toward them. He wore full plate armor that gleamed in the sun, his face hidden behind a visor. More terrifying was his weapon—a spear that unleashed living flame, fire that moved with intelligence and purpose. Flames encircled Gambler as the others fled. Desperate to save him, Byx leapt onto Vallino's back and charged toward the massive herd of garilans migrating nearby. "Here I am!" she shouted at the knight. "I'm the endling you've come to kill!" The knight turned his attention to Byx, sending streams of fire to cut her off. Vallino galloped at full speed, leaping through a veil of smoke just before the flames could engulf them. Reaching the panicked herd, Byx slipped from Vallino's back onto a garilan, disappearing into the sea of animals. She rode the garilan until nightfall, certain her friends had been captured or killed. But morning brought an astonishing reunion—Khara, Tobble, Gambler, and Luca had all survived, saved by an unexpected intervention from a murder of crows apparently commanded by Rorid Headcrusher. "The raptidons have no direct control over crows," Luca explained. "However, as humans use dogs, so raptidons use crows." As they continued northward, Luca grew increasingly argumentative. One night, he simply disappeared. His betrayal became clear when they reached Saguria, the Murdano's capital city. Soldiers surrounded them, led by Luca, who revealed his full name: Luca Corpli. "Treachery runs deep in your family," Khara spat as they were dragged to the palace. There, before the Murdano himself, Luca presented Byx as "the world's only surviving dairne." The Murdano tested Byx's truth-detecting ability, asking simple questions about his breakfast and activities. Satisfied with her responses, he ordered her imprisoned in a remote tower, along with her companions. "Understand this, dairne," he warned. "If you attempt escape, I will do far worse than remove the tongues of your companions."

Chapter 6: The Floating Island: A Glimpse of Hope

In their tower prison, Byx realized that the Murdano had grasped an essential truth: while many dairnes would be a threat to his power, a single dairne under his control could be a tremendous asset. With her ability to detect lies, she could identify disloyal subjects and potential rebels. However, a chance revelation from Araktik gave Byx new hope. When the Murdano questioned her about other dairnes, Araktik admitted, "There are...rumors." "But you believe these rumors, do you not?" the Murdano pressed. "Yes, Your Majesty, I do," Araktik confessed. This confirmation electrified Byx. More dairnes. Not certainty, but belief strong enough that the Seer of Nedarra accepted it as truth. Araktik's admission sealed her fate. The Murdano condemned her to death for treason, her plot to control the remaining dairnes for her own purposes exposed. With Araktik removed, Byx and her companions devised a desperate plan. When brought before the Murdano again, Khara revealed herself as a Donati, claiming she had deliberately brought Byx to him as an offering. "I meant to beg your forgiveness for my family," she said, "so that we may once again be in your favor." Then came Byx's most difficult challenge—she had to lie. When the Murdano asked if Khara spoke truth, Byx answered, "Yes." Showing the Murdano her childish map of Dairneholme, Byx convinced him that she could find more dairnes and deliver them into his service. "A servant's life is better than no life at all," she said, her voice heavy with feigned resignation. Pleased with this apparent submission, the Murdano released them, providing horses and provisions. "Give them an escort," he ordered his general. "If they find more dairnes, kill all but, oh, let us say five. That should be more than enough." They rode north from Saguria with six members of the Pale Guard following at a distance. For Byx, this escort represented both protection and threat. The Murdano wanted her alive, but only so long as she served his purposes. Their path led them through increasingly desolate territory. Villages grew poorer and more desperate the farther they traveled from the capital. Some were completely abandoned, their inhabitants fled to avoid conscription into the Murdano's growing army. When they reached the northern fishing port of Zebara, a one-eyed local confirmed what they sought. "I have seen islands that move," he told them. "I was fishing up near Rebit's Sound yesterday. By land it's two, three leagues north, then a short distance down a peninsula to a spot called Landfail. There you should be able to see one of the islands." Before they could press for more details, they spotted the Knight of the Fire approaching. He had somehow survived and tracked them across hundreds of leagues. The villagers fled to their boats as flames began consuming the ramshackle buildings. The companions pushed on to a narrow peninsula covered in gloomy fir trees. With the knight closing in behind them and water on both sides, they were trapped. Khara devised a desperate plan, using vines to weave a net across the peninsula and digging a shallow gully behind it, which they lined with sharpened sticks. As preparations continued, Khara sent Byx up a tree to look for the knight. From this vantage point, Byx made an astonishing discovery—a colorful patch of trees moving across the water. Not swaying in the wind, but truly moving. A floating island.

Chapter 7: Final Stand: Victory at the Edge of the World

Byx clung to the branch, staring at the island passing a hundred feet from shore. Within the vibrant trees, she spotted movement—a shape that moved with familiar grace, spreading glissaires to glide from branch to branch. Another dairne. Her heart raced. All she needed to do was glide that hundred feet of water. The island was moving quickly; if she hesitated, she'd miss her chance. But as she prepared to leap, Tobble's cry of alarm tore her gaze away. The Knight of the Fire had arrived, his lance already spewing flame through the forest. Byx made her choice. Instead of gliding to the island, she dropped to the ground, drawing her small sword to face the knight alongside her friends. "I'm the one you want!" she shouted. "I'm the endling you've come to kill!" The knight aimed his fire lance at their vine net. An inferno erupted, eating through the barrier. Confident in his victory, the knight charged through the smoldering remains—and plunged directly into the stake-filled gully they had prepared. Both knight and charger were impaled on the sharpened sticks, bringing their reign of terror to a sudden end. In the aftermath of battle, they were joined by Renzo, a thief the knight had been torturing for information about their whereabouts. Despite Khara's initial distrust, Renzo pledged his service to her cause, revealing that he recognized her sword as the Light of Nedarra. "I offer my humble services to the living heir of the Donatis," he said, kneeling before Khara. After defeating the Pale Guard in a separate skirmish (with unexpected help from crows apparently sent by Rorid Headcrusher), the group stood at a crossroads. Behind them lay the burning remains of Zebara. Ahead stretched the frigid mountains separating Nedarra from Dreyland, where the floating island had disappeared. "Those are wild lands full of vicious beasts," warned an old fisherman they encountered. "There's only death to find there." As they debated their next move, Byx realized that what had begun as a simple quest to find others of her kind had evolved into something larger. The Murdano threatened not just dairnes but all species that refused to bend to his will. His empire was built on lies, and the truth-telling dairnes represented a fundamental threat to his power. In a quiet moment atop a bluff, Tobble asked the question weighing on Byx's mind: "Have you thought about what to do when we find the floating island and your lost colony of dairnes?" "Aren't we leading the knight straight to them?" he worried. With the knight defeated, their immediate danger had passed, but Byx knew the Murdano would never stop hunting her. Luca and his family would pursue them as well. The odds against them remained overwhelming. As dawn broke, they spotted distant fires to the northeast—the port of Zebara, their gateway to the mountains and beyond. Looking to the sky, Byx noticed a single butterbat flying overhead, perhaps lost on its own great journey. Or perhaps not. "Last chance to change your mind," Khara said as they faced the towering, snow-capped peaks. "Well, I've never really seen snow before," Byx replied with newfound determination. "Let's go take a look." With that, they set off—Renzo the honorable thief with his dog, Gambler the principled felivet, Tobble the worthy wobbyk, Vallino the tireless steed, and Khara, wielder of the Light of Nedarra—no longer just companions but a new family bound by shared purpose and hope.

Summary

Byx's journey from endling to truth-seeker transformed her understanding of both herself and the world. The small, insignificant runt who once believed herself doomed to solitude discovered not only the possibility that other dairnes still existed, but also that she possessed the strength to fight for them. Her unique ability to detect lies made her both valuable and dangerous in a kingdom built on deception. Through forests and marshes, across plains and mountains, pursued by knights and soldiers, Byx learned that family isn't defined by species but by loyalty and sacrifice. Khara with her hidden nobility, Tobble with his unexpected courage, Gambler with his predator's honor, and even Renzo with his thief's code—they became what her lost pack had been: root and branch, heart and soul. The floating island glimpsed from the peninsula offered more than just hope for dairnes; it represented resistance against the Murdano's cruel vision. As they turned toward the treacherous mountains separating Nedarra from Dreyland, Byx understood that her quest had evolved from personal survival to something more profound. The ancient dairne motto "Xial renarriss"—"In truth lies strength"—took on new meaning. For in a world where one species after another faced extinction at the hands of a tyrant, truth itself became the most powerful weapon. The endling was no longer defined by being the last of her kind, but by her willingness to risk everything for the possibility that she wasn't alone after all—that somewhere beyond those mountains, on a mysterious moving island, her true journey was only beginning.

About Author

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Katherine Applegate

Applegate investigates themes of resilience and friendship in her diverse body of work, targeting young readers with stories that offer both entertainment and life lessons. Her books often explore the animal world to create a connection with her audience, as seen in "The One and Only Ivan," which earned the prestigious Newbery Medal. By weaving imaginative narratives with emotional depth, she presents complex topics in an accessible manner. Her picture books, such as "The Remarkable True Story of Ivan, The Shopping Mall Gorilla," illustrate real-life inspirations, whereas middle-grade books like "Wishtree" invite readers to consider community and acceptance. Therefore, her works function as both engaging tales and subtle moral compasses for young audiences.\n\nIn addition to standalone novels, Applegate co-authored several series, including the well-known "Animorphs" with her husband, Michael Grant, achieving massive sales worldwide. Her collaboration with illustrators in books such as "Doggo and Pupper" and her co-written projects like "Dogtown" highlight her adaptability in storytelling formats, enhancing the reader's experience with visual elements. Her accolades, including the Christopher Medal and the Golden Kite Award, underscore the impact of her work in children's literature. Readers gain not only enjoyment but also the opportunity to engage with stories that encourage empathy and understanding, thus making her contributions significant to both young readers and educators looking for meaningful content. This bio provides an overview of her approach to crafting stories that both captivate and inspire.

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