The last fallen realm vo.., p.24
The Last Fallen Realm (Volume 3), page 24
The only people that were saddened by her success were our parents, who having already lost me and Dahl were understandably distraught at the thought of losing Hattie, too. Luckily, Hattie managed to negotiate a jobshare deal with Cheol (her ex–tour guide from her visits to the underworld) and Yeowu (our gorgeous fox-red Labrador puppy friend), which was a realm first, and a huge achievement for the future of HR practices. Essentially, Cheol and Yeowu look after the underworld on school days, while Hattie goes down to assume her throne on the weekends and the occasional school night. Eomma and Appa seem to be happy with the arrangement.
Speaking of my parents, I won’t lie—I miss them. A lot. After all, I may have saved the world, but I’m still a thirteen-year-old kid, you know? After a while, it just wasn’t enough watching them from up in my nice perch in the sky, so Mago Halmi threw me (and Dahl) a bone. As a respite from our duties as the sun and moon, Mago lets us visit the Mortalrealm every year on vacation! (And yes, thanks to this nice little arrangement, Dahl has been ticking off a whole lot of things from his ever-growing bucket list.)
While I’m Earthside, I get to spend my days eating all the things with Eomma and Appa and Auntie Okja, visiting Sora and Austin at Horangi HQ, and hanging out with Hattie, Noah (Oh-Noh! Haha, that will never get old!), Taeyo, Jennie, Cosette, and David. Noraebang is one of our favorite places to hang. As well as having bulgogi tacos at David’s parents’ restaurant, Seoulful Tacos. As well as mini golf. Yes, you have permission to call me Hole-in-One Riley, don’t wear it out. I even make time to give motivational talks to the RilOh Fan Club, would you believe? Phoebe’s pretty awesome, actually. She might even start a fashion line of Riley-related merch. What a Boss!
And what of Emmett, you ask? Well…*blushes* Don’t tell anyone else, but he’s probably the highlight of my visits down below. He bakes me my favorite salted-caramel cookies (with an E+R stamped in the middle) and those delicious Nutella–cream cheese donuts I love so much, and we talk about everything and anything under the sun (LOL that me!). Sometimes we talk about the future, but mostly we focus on the moments we’re together, because like Charles the cheollima once said, tomorrow’s not guaranteed, and the now is a gift, which is why we call it the present. Truth be told, Emmett still frowns a lot, but he’s stopped wearing his all-black uniform (when the sun shines on you so brightly, wearing black makes for very hot days . He still dreams of opening a bakery one day, though, and he said he’s going to call it When Boy Met Star. I can’t wait!
So I guess what I’m trying to say is that sacrificing myself to save the world and to become the sun was the best decision I ever made. And I have zero regrets. In fact, I wear it like a badge of pride. Turns out I’m not such a bad hero. Go figure!
But the coolest thing about all this?
Well, remember when Hattie made it rain, and divine power literally fell down onto the shoulders of all of mortalkind? Well, it just so happens, that in doing so, we turned magic into a free resource for everyone to access. Even without their patron goddesses, the gifted clans found that both their clan and elemental magic came back, and stronger than ever. Not only that, it seems all witches can now do all six types of clan magics at their will. How cool is that?!
If that wasn’t mind-blowing enough, I’ve been seeing other miraculous happenings of late. Like, the other day, I saw a four-year-old saram girl smile at a tiny daisy growing in a meadow. Then, in front of her very eyes, the daisy grew. It kept growing and growing until the daisy’s face was bigger than the girl’s. You should have seen them both. They were amazed at each other, grinning like they were magic. And the thing is, they are.
Magic is all around us, and new magics are forming every day—even among the saram. This is a new era. An entirely new world of possibility and wonder. In fact, my friends (led by Taeyo and Emmett) have decided to start a new initiative to teach people how to use their magic. If there’s a whole new generation of people experiencing the power of magic for the first time, they want to be the ones to help guide them. Because open-source magic is great, but there is always potential for darkness in everyone, even in the best of us. Education is key, and they want to be part of that picture. I’m so proud of them for that.
So there you go. One year into the Age of the Final Eclipse, and we’ve already come a long way!
But here’s the real million-dollar question.
Where to from here?
(This is where you come in.)
Thanks to us—you’re welcome!—magic is all around you. It’s inside you. It shines down on you in the day and warms you in the night.
But how will you make use of it?
How will you live your best magical life?
Take your time. Think about it. And when you’re ready, give me a shout. Inquiring minds must know. After all, you know where I live! Just look up and wave.
I’ll be here.
There are so many stories, both shared orally via my parents and Halmeoni as well as those I learned in my research of Korean mythology that have made their way into the Gifted Clans trilogy. Some I preserved in their traditional forms—like the origin story of the first Korean woman who used to be a bear, or the rabbit who jumped into the fire for the beggar’s meal. Others have seeped in more subtly through the texture and backdrop of Riley’s journey.
However, there is one story I wanted to share with you here. Because interestingly, this is one that I didn’t know I was telling until Riley told me (quite definitively!) that this is how her story would end.
It’s called “Haewa Dari Doen Onui,” which translates to “The Sister and Brother Who Became the Sun and Moon.” Unsurprisingly, it tells the origin story of the sun and the moon.
Once upon a time, back when tigers used to smoke, there lived a sister and a brother. They had no father, but their mother, who raised them on her own, spent her days working for a rich yangban’s family on the other side of the village. The yangban was demanding, and often their mother came home late, long after the sun had set over the horizon.
One evening, as the tired mother was returning home, a tiger appeared, as hungry as ever. The woman pleaded for her life, for she had children to feed. But the tiger’s belly was growling, and no sooner had she finished begging than he gobbled her up whole. But still, he remained hungry. So he decided he would eat her children, too.
The tiger dressed in the mother’s clothes and went to the home where the son and daughter were waiting. The brother and sister were astute, however, and they saw the tiger for what he was. Fearing for their lives, they ran out the back door and clambered up the nearest tree. The tiger climbed after them, looking forward to his meal.
Trapped in the canopy of the tree, the brother and sister called to the heavens for help, and heeding their prayers, the heavens sent down a rope. Grateful for the lifeline, the brother and sister began to climb. They climbed and climbed until they had reached the sky kingdom, where the brother became the sun and the sister became the moon.
The tiger also prayed, but the heavens sent down a rotten rope. And when the tiger began his ascent, it snapped. Screaming, the tiger fell onto a sorghum field and met his death, coloring the seeds with his blood and giving them their reddish tinge.
Living in the sky, the brother and sister rejoiced, for the heavens had taken pity on them. And life in the sky kingdom was good. But soon, the sister found that she was afraid of the dark. So the brother switched places with her, thus becoming the moon. And the sister spent her days as the sun, illuminating the world with her most radiant light.
Riley’s story across all three books—The Last Fallen Star, The Last Fallen Moon, and The Last Fallen Realm—seems to have been working up to retell this one specific folktale.
But here’s the thing.
I had never heard the tale of “Haewa Dari Doen Onui.” It was only after I’d drafted the third manuscript that I randomly stumbled across it.
And it made me wonder: What is that we storytellers do, exactly? Do we merely craft plotlines to be printed and sold as books? Or is there more happening to us—in us—than we know?
Maybe there’s a mysterious energy, floating in the ether, that seeps through our fingers and onto the page. Maybe we are the sum of all writers who came before us, and it’s their legacy that fuels our pens. Maybe we are empowered by the spirit of our ancestors, who fill our hearts and minds with endless possibilities.
I don’t know.
One thing I do know is that we are in the business of magic. And that without our readers, our magic has no home.
So thank you, dear reader, for coming on this journey with Riley Oh, and with me. I am so grateful you are here, and I can’t wait to share more of my stories with you. I hope you’re ready for even greater adventures ahead.
Shine Your Light,
Graci x
aegi-ya (EH-ghee-yah) What my eomma calls me when she’s about to deliver bad news. Aegi is Korean for baby, and the ya on the end is what you add when you’re calling out to someone.
appa (AH-bbah) Korean for dad
annyeong haseyo (AHN-yong hah-say-yo) the Korean word for hello and also for good-bye (the formal, polite version you use for adults or people you don’t know)
binyeo (BEE-nyo) a traditional Korean hairpin that kind of looks like a fat needle with an ornament on one end that’s used to keep your bun in place
bonghwang (BONG-hwahng) a Korean phoenix. A benevolent creature from the Godrealm.
bulgae (BOOL-geh) Literally “fire-dog.” The dogs of the Godrealm, who are covered in flames. Extremely intelligent but notoriously difficult to train.
cheollima (CHOL-lee-mah) winged horses that are the preferred mode of transport for the goddesses in the Godrealm. Cheollimas are known for being too big, too swift, and too majestic to be mounted by any mortal being. Interesting fact: Ages ago, a cheollima who lost his wings and fell from the Godrealm became the first horse on Earth.
Dalgyal Gwisin (DAHL-gyahl GWEE-sheen) literally egg ghost in Korean. A scary, featureless ghost who haunts poor, unassuming kids. Honestly, don’t look this up.
dokkaebi (DOH-ggeh-bee) really scary goblins that enter your dreams and make you live out your worst fears so they can eat them (literally).
eomma (OM-mah) Korean for mom. Pronounced with the “o” sound from octopus with a “mah”
Haetae (HEH-teh) a uni-horned lion-like beast, and Mago Halmi’s guardian pet. He’s known for his incredible loyalty, and his ability to manipulate time.
imugi (EE-moo-ghee) a creature that is part snake, part yong. The original imugi was a snake who failed Mago Halmi’s assignment to become a yong (aka dragon), and then got stuck as a weird snake-yong hybrid for the rest of its days.
ineo (EE-noh) a creature that is half human, half fish. They are the Korean cousins of the Western merpeople, but they prefer the term ineo.
inmyeonjo (EEN-myon-joh) a wild creature with the body of a bird and the head of a woman. They can fly between the Godrealm and the Mortalrealm at will, and are obsessed with destroying mirrors because they hate their own reflections.
Jokbo (JOCK-boh) the genealogy book for all humanity, made from the Tree of Life. Mago Halmi used her own blood and sweat to inscribe the names of every soul she brought into the world on it. It’s also the word used for individual family’s genealogy books in Korean culture.
key of all keys a prophesied relic created by combining Mago’s binyeo, Dahl’s moonstone, and my onyx teardrop stone
Mago Halmi (MAH-goh-HAHL-mee) the mother of the three realms, mother of the six goddesses, mother of mortalkind, and mother of all creation. Basically, the head honcho who made the world.
Mago’s Fire the first fire ever created that’s kept on the summit of Mount Baekdu. The most powerful energy source in the entire universe, and the origin of all light.
Mount Baekdu the reverent mountain in the Godrealm where Mago’s Fire is kept. (Also a beautiful mountain in North Korea!)
mun-pen a special pen that Mayor Yeomra gifted Dahl, which allows the creation of shortcuts and portals
Red Strings of Fate string made from the fibres of the Tree of Fate (aka red seaweed) that when used to tie people together, binds their destinies
salmosa a divine tiger serpent created by the Mountain Tiger Goddess, using her own arm. Its poison is so lethal, it has been known to wipe out entire civilizations. It’s also the name of one of the most venomous snakes in South Korea.
saram (SAH-rahm) the word we use for people who aren’t gifted with magic
saranghaeyo (SAH-rahng-heh-yoh) Korean for I love you
Spring of Eternal Life the liquid of life that flows into the River of Reincarnation and allows for the cycle of rebirth. It powers the current in the river that leads up to the Mortalrealm, but it’s also used to make the Soup of Forgetting, and has powerful medicinal properties that, if prepared and consumed in the right way, can cure suffering—completely and forever. Powerful stuff.
Tree of Fate a red seaweed forest found in the oceans of the Spiritrealm whose fibers are used to create the Red Strings of Fate
Tree of Lifea tree on Mount Baekdu in the Godrealm, whose wood pulp was used to create Mago’s Jokbo (aka geneology book) for all of humankind
wakerpillar small caterpillars who work in the Memory Archives down in the Spiritrealm. They watch visitors in case anyone gets too lost in the memory books and can’t get out. They release a special gas that wakes them up from the REM-ing process.
yeo-ui-ju (YO-ee-joo) the pearl of wisdom that some believe can grant immortality, or carry the knowledge of the universe. It’s the stuff of legend though, because we mortals have never had it in our possession to know for sure.
yong a Korean dragon
Yongwang (YONG-wahng) the Dragon King, the ruler of the rivers and seas
I’m not gonna lie—this book was hard to write. Not because I didn’t know what needed to happen in Riley’s story, but because I didn’t want to say good-bye to the characters I’d grown to love. That’s the thing about a finite series, I guess. By virtue of it being a trilogy, the third book is inherently a final adventure, a last hurrah, and also a farewell.
It’s therefore with bittersweet gratitude that I thank for the last time all the people that made this book and the series possible. Without each and every one of you, I couldn’t have given Riley Oh and the Gifted Clans the send-off they deserve.
Firstly, a huge thank you to my amazing team at Rick Riordan Presents, Disney Hyperion, starting with my indefatigable and unflappable editor, Rebecca Kuss. You’re a full-on hype team hiding in one body, and I am so indebted to your encouragement, support, and brain power. GK RK FOREVER. The hugest of Hattie’s signature eye-popping hugs also to Stephanie Lurie, Rick Riordan, and Becky Riordan. Becky—I so appreciate all your Twitter love!
A special thank you to Jess Brigman for being such a champion for these books, and to Ashley Fields for being my angel of administration. To Kieran Viola, Ann Day, Crystal McCoy, Emi Battaglia, the Core Four Media team, Sara Liebling, Guy Cunningham, Jacqueline Hornberger, Joann Hill, Andie Olivares, Marybeth Tregarthen, Jerry Gonzalez, Dina Sherman, Matt Schweitzer, Holly Nagel, Danielle DiMartino, Jordan Lurie, and Monique Diman. If I’ve forgotten anyone from the (seventh) Disney clan, or have not yet met you at the time of writing this, please know that I am sending you my gratitude.
A big shout out to Jodi Reamer, and also to Carrie Pestritto, who made these books possible. My excitable gratitude to the publishing teams in Germany, Italy, Poland, and Turkey for making my translation dreams come true. To Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand for being my publishing home at home.
A special thank you to all those incredible people who took my (creepy?) face cutout to their local Barnes and Noble stores to celebrate The Last Fallen Star being the Monthly Young Reader Pick for May 2022. I’m looking at you, amazing readers and booksellers! Thanks to you, the book hit the New York Times best-seller list just as I was facing developmental edits for The Last Fallen Realm. Talk about the best incentive to get cracking.
My utmost gratitude to everyone in New Zealand who voted these books into the Whitcoulls Kids Top 50 for 2022/23, and those that voted me as Best New Talent in the 2022 Sir Julius Vogel Awards. A huge thank-you to all the bookstores and libraries who have hosted me for talks and events with open arms, and who recommend my books to new readers every day.
Big hugs to Xiran Jay Zhao for being my launch buddy for The Last Fallen Moon; to Julie Abe for having the vision and generosity to send me book-labeled cookies; to Regina Jang imo (aka “Halmeoni Book”) for the lemon waters and energetic playdates; to Arne Hilke for my amazing ergonomic kneeling rocking chair; to Madi, Vicki, and Dean Curtayne for your admin prowess; to Hayoung Yoon and her family for their assembly line magic; and to Jmejam for being my half orange, which is reason enough to get a shout-out in every book I’ll ever write.
A heartfelt shout-out to two of the most influential teachers in my life: Marian Burns and Cara Bergin-Stuart. Without you two, I’d never have been brave enough to come out of my intermediate school shell. It was a full circle moment reconnecting with you recently. All my love.
An emotional thank you to the amazing HPELC staff in the Pepe Room and Teina Room, for putting my anxious heart at ease so I could get lost in my imaginary worlds. And an equally emotional group hug to my ever-constant, ever-eternal kimchingoos: Jessica Kim, Sarah Suk, Grace Shim, and Susan Lee. You know I wouldn’t be here without you.
Of course, no acknowledgments would be complete without my profuse confession of love for my family. To my parents on both sides, my siblings on both sides, and all the other permutations of family I hold dear, born and found. I am who I am because of you. A particular mention to Smelly, Spudman, and Skye (S-triple threat?) for putting up with me and filling my many days with love and laughter. And to Joya for pushing me to step up my screen-monitor game—my eyes and body thank you!
