Gilde has only ever known two things: life in the marshlands and fear of the dragon. The critical connection between the two: Dragons fear water, so she’s safe so long as she stays in the marshlands with her father.
But then Gilde’s father takes her out of the marshes and … hands her over to the dragon itself! Now, living in the dragon’s mountain-top castle, Gilde learns the world is not at all what she believed it to be.
Stay hidden. Stay still. Stay quiet.
Those thoughts raced through Gilde’s head during her first and, supposedly, last interaction with the dragon. Now she’s almost 17, and Gilde wonders if she will ever see it again.
But one night her father returns home determined and wounded, refusing to explain how he received the wound. He says he’s secured a weapon to bargain with the beast. A bargain to set him and his family free from the dragon’s hunt.
Soon Gilde embarks on a journey with her father, joined by Gunter (who claims to be an oracle) and his wife, Isa. For the first time in her life, Gilde travels outside the security of the marshlands to face the very beast she’s been taught to fear.
But something’s not right. Isa knows it, too. In fact, she encourages Gilde to flee the traveling party. But Gilde’s loyalty to her father means she can’t pull away from him. She watches as Isa, the only one who’s ever really cared for her, leaves her under forbidding circumstances.
But Gilde has no reason not to trust her father, right?
Then they come face to face with the dragon itself. And instead of some powerful weapon, Gilde herself is the object of trade! She’s handed over to the dreaded dragon by her own father, and she becomes a captive in the creature’s mountain-top home.
Even after enduring such a seemingly cruel fate, though, Gilde begins to realize that not everything is as it seems. In fact, a castle with doors leads to dangers she never dreamed of, while a dragon that was allegedly her mortal enemy treats her with kindness.
Gilde has no idea what to make of the world.
Unable to escape, she learns some valuable lessons: Wizards are dangerous; don’t make deals with ghosts; and, of course, dragons are not at all what they seem.
As she spends more and more time with the dragon, who’s called Wil, Gilde soon discovers goodness in the world, a world filled with magic and fire and a dragon that no man should hunt.
Author Rachelle Nelson is a Christian, and Embergold weaves elements of Christian allegory into its narrative. For example, Gilde sings about a land where there are no more tears or pain, a place where people are alive again after death. This seems a very clear allusion to Revelation 21:4, which says that heaven will be a place where every tear is wiped away.
Wil shares a book with Gilde full of true stories. One story she reads to Wil from the book, called the “Beginning of All Things,” references Genesis. The story explains that the world was once empty until “with one breath, everything good came to the world.”
There’s talk of a Creator that breathed life into everything, a God whom priests and worshipers say is real. Elsewhere, Gilde questions and calls out to a “good God” on a few occasions.
Wil talks of a man in the water who heard him and asked if he was ready to lay down his burden and trust him.
Gunter is said to be an oracle. His dreams foretell the future.
We read about people who have magical potential, people who have a gift known as the “spark.”
Wizards chant spells. They need blood from someone with the spark, and they use magic. People with the spark (a trait that often runs in family bloodlines) have unique qualities: quick healing; incredible speed or strength; and the ability to breath underwater.
Ghosts are real in this story, and they can grant one wish to anyone they become indebted to. They can also show visions of someone’s past.
Dragon fire, which dwells inside the dragon, speaks. It knows what the dragon (and anyone else who uses its flames) hungers for, acting as a temptation for power. Wil says that the dragons and dragon fire beneath his mountain castle are cursed. Embergold, meanwhile, absorbs death and preserves it as a golden artefact that can be used to conduct magic.
In the town of Xantic, there is a temple where people used to pray to multiple gods who were actually ordinary men.
Gilde’s father, known as “the Alchemist” to people living in encampments and nearby cities, abuses Gilde. He often hits her or expresses disdain for her questions. He employes men, seeking gold through alchemy, to watch and guard against the dragon.
The ruler of Xantic is a magistrate who despises anything to do with magic. This tough, older man will do anything to protect his his city against magic and wizardry.
Marcus, the head of the 18th Cohort, works for the magistrate. He leads his men to capture the dragon and to protect Gilde, even though she tries to convince him she and the dragon (Wil) are not a threat. Marcus also secures a place for Gilde to stay and treats her with kindness.
Isa functions like a motherly sister in Gilde’s life. Isa hits and locks Gilde out of the house when angry. But she also introduces Gilde to music and stories, and she encourages Gilde not to trust her father.
Gunter drinks liquor and abuses his wife, Isa, both verbally and physically. The people who live in encampments outside of the marshlands also drink alcohol.
Gilde’s father hits her multiple times, causing her to shy away when he is angry. Gilde also tells Wil that Isa hit her several times when she was younger.
Multiple people die at the hands of wizards; those deaths are necessary for the wizards to acquire magic.
Gilde sees her father wounded, with dried blood on his clothes; she learns he was shot with an arrow. Some people cut themselves, spilling their own blood to attract the dragon.
Wil has terrible convulsions and pains when he struggles with the dragon fire inside of himself. He’s also wounded by water, as any water droplet will scorch his scales and create white marks that take a few days to heal. The only way to kill a dragon, we hear, is to drown it completely in water.
Wil is captured and bound by chains. Gilde is also shackled and accused of being under a dragon’s spell. Fire burns one side of a character’s body.
At one point, Gilde’s plan to steal a key doesn’t work, and we read, “I wanted to let loose a swear word I had heard from the soldiers.”
Gunter married Isa when she was only 14. He believes she has been unfaithful and will one day leave him.
When Gilde first comes to the encampment outside the marsh, a boy makes advances toward her but is stopped by Isa. The dragon, Wil, accidentally sees Gilde’s underskirt and bodice. Gilde often addressed Will as “my dragon.” The first time she says his true name, we read, “Heat rose to her cheeks.”
Dragons can change into human form. Accordingly, Gilde sees Wil shirtless (as a human). We also read that her heart quickens its pace the first few times she holds his hand. The two of them fall in love and share a few kisses once Wil is free of the fire.
An elderly couple, Petra and Hans, teach Gilde what true love and marriage look like—a picture of faithfulness that contrasts with the abusive relationship she’s seen modeled by Isa and Gunter.
Marcus is attracted to Gilde, but he’s warned by fellow comrade Adrian not to “get too distracted [by] her.” Marcus does suggest courtship and possible marriage to Gilde.
Gilde sees Marcus shirtless in his sleep, which she describes in this way: “He was well shaped, and nice to look at, and I didn’t like that thought.”
None.
“Truth matters.” That’s the main theme in Embergold. Readers are invited into a world where magic is dangerous, dragons are not what they appear, and wizards are deadly. Gilde learns that there is more to the world than what her father has shared. And she discovers that not everyone is like her father.
Along the way, the story emphasizes letting go of our fears … and not fearing truth itself.
While the tale offers a twist on the classic Beauty and the Beast storyline, there are more than just enchanted objects and frightening beasts here. The story illuminates the idea that not all beasts are to be feared, and not all humans are cruel.
Embergold, serves as a reminder that it is better to trust one another than to let fear dictate the way.
As noted above, Embergold also weaves Christian truth into a fantasy world where magic exists. A story that may captivate readers with its clean descriptions and adventure, it still encompasses magic as a foundational component for its plot. Along with themes of abuse, families will want to thoughtfully weigh those magical elements before diving into the fantasy realm of Embergold.
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Natalie Dean is Plugged In’s 2025 Summer Intern. A native from South Dakota, she recently graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in Journalism and in the fall will be pursuing a master’s at Liberty University. Growing up in the Black Hills, Natalie enjoys spending her time outside, whether that be riding bikes or kayaking with her sisters, walking the dogs or going on long hikes. Her love for movie soundtracks stems from her sister asking, “what movie is this from” and “name the movie scene.” She has a passion for writing and hopes to one day be a published author.
