Eon

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn is a young adult fantasy by Alison Goodman. Published in 2008, it’s the first book in the Eon duology. Since its first publication, Eon: Dragoneye Reborn has been published under alternative titles—Two Pearls of Wisdom, Eon, and Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye. It follows a young girl forbidden from using magic, who pretends to be a boy so that she can study ancient Dragon Magic. The book won the 2008 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel. Goodman is a bestselling author who also writes adult fiction.

The main character is Eona, who pretends to be a boy called Eon. Women are banned from studying magic, on pain of death. Scholars believe women can’t see things clearly and will bring falsehoods and poison to the world. Disguising herself as a boy is the only way Eona has the chance to explore her passion for magic. Eona, or Eon, has been studying a special type of magic, called Dragon Magic, for four years. He hopes, now, that he’ll be selected to apprentice to a master magician called a Dragoneye.

Dragoneyes serve as conduits between dragons and humans. These dragons bless the world with good energy and fortune through human servants. Eon worries he won’t be selected because he’s physically weaker than most of the boys, and he’s unpopular with some of the trainers. However, he’s come too far to give up now, and he doesn’t lose hope.



One trainer, Heuris Brannon, believes Eon has the potential to be the most successful Dragoneye ever. He thinks the dragons are drawn to Eon, and that the most powerful dragon of them all favors him. Heuris is the only person who knows Eon’s secret identity, and he doesn’t plan to reveal it.

Meanwhile, the Empire fails. The old Emperor is dying, and the heir, Kygo, isn’t strong enough to fend off a coup by the Emperor’s brother, Sethon, who wants the throne. If Sethon makes his move, the whole Empire will fall under the power of dark magic. Eon and Heuris can’t let this happen—but Eon’s power gets in the way, first.

Eon accidentally awakens the power of the Mirror Dragon. This dragon has laid sleeping for centuries; there’s no one to teach Eon or Heuris how to handle it. This places not just them, but the whole Empire, in grave danger. The power flowing through the bond between them is too much to handle, and it threatens to kill everyone.



Meanwhile, Sethon aligns with a Dragoneye, Ido, who works with another powerful dragon, the Rat Dragon. Together, they plot to take over the court. Eon moves into the court and struggles between keeping her identity a secret and revealing the truth. She knows she must find out how to tame the Mirror Dragon and use its power to wipe out Sethon. However, for an inexperienced Dragoneye, this won’t be easy.

To keep her identity hidden, Eon uses special drugs to suppress feminine features. She makes sure she looks like a “boy” and keeps everything else hidden away. This makes her hate both her femininity and herself, which she must overcome if she wants to be a successful Dragoneye—there is a reason the most powerful dragon chose her, after all.

When others in the court discover her true identity, the dragon fades away and she can’t communicate with it anymore. To work with the Mirror Dragon again, she must find its true name. She doesn’t know where to start, but she asks the palace librarian for help. The Mirror Dragon’s folio is missing, so the librarian can’t help. Eon must find this folio, but she suspects someone’s deliberately plotting against her.



Meanwhile, she joins forces with Dillon, another young apprentice. He’s never been popular, either, and they were good friends during their training. They discover a process called a “String of Pearls,” which would allow the two of them to wield the power of all the dragons combined, thus eliminating threats to Kygo’s throne and restoring peace to the Empire.

However, their plans are thwarted, and war breaks out in the court. Eon continues the search for the name and finds the red folio. It’s written in “Women’s Script” and takes a long time to decipher. Eon gets help decoding it and discovers the dragon’s name is her real name—Eona. This is the reason Eona was chosen. The dragon, knowing the truth, wants to restore balance and equality to the Empire. A girl is the one to do it.

Eona connects with her dragon and convinces Ido to join forces with her. Ido, overwhelmed by the power and strength he witnesses, agrees to help put Kygo on the throne. Together, Ido and Eona disappear into the wilderness to regroup and plan their attack, which is the focus of book two.