A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon is the 2023 prequel novel of The Priory of the Orange Tree and follows some of the character’s ancestors as they navigate the Grief of Ages. The novel is a New York Times Bestseller, enjoying a similar popularity to Shannon’s first book in The Roots of Chaos series. Shannon studied English Language and Literature at St. Anne’s College, Oxford. This fantasy novel occurs roughly 500 years before The Priory of the Orange Tree and explores many similar feminist themes related to monarchy and autonomy. The novel features classic fantasy qualities, such as magic, dragons, and epic battles as well as romance elements. Notably, the novel uses its fantasy setting to build a world without much of the real-world’s misogyny and anti-gay bias, featuring many characters living in LGBTQIA+ relationships without judgement or consequence. Additionally, many of the realms feature queens and some, including Inys, feature a matriarchal line of rule. Other work by this author includes The Bone Season.

This guide refers to the 2023 hardcover edition of the novel, published by Bloomsbury USA.

Content Warning: The novel features scenes of extended violence and illness.

Plot Summary

The world has lived in fear of the return of the wyrm called the Nameless One for 500 years. In Inys, to the West, the line of Berethnet queens continues with Glorian III, as their blood is said to keep the wyrm shackled. Glorian struggles to find her place in the world, worshipping her father, King Bardholt of Hróth, but feeling isolated from her mother, Queen Sabran. Glorian is nearing the age of betrothal, and Sabran warns her that the time to marry approaches. The prospect terrifies Glorian, and she resists marriage even as the world descends into chaos.

In the East, Dumai discovers that she is the secret daughter of Emperor Jorodu and is brought into his plan to combat the power-hungry Kuposas. He will install Dumai on the throne over his younger daughter, Suzumai, and create a shadow court to rule elsewhere. Dumai arrives to court from her home on Mount Ipyeda and confronts the River Lord and his daughter, Nikeya, who challenge her legitimacy and try to manipulate her. Jorodu introduces Dumai to the dragon Furtia Stormcaller, who sees light in her.

Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory of the Orange Tree, a society of warrior women founded by Cleolind Onjenyu, vanquisher of the Nameless One, to wait for its return. When she is not advising the Prioress, she is watching after Siyu, her partner Esbar’s daughter. She cares for her and still grieves the mysterious disappearance of her own infant son. Siyu is adventurous, and when she becomes pregnant with an outsider’s child, a violation of Priory rules, she runs away with a friend. Esbar and Tuva chase after her, only to find her friend in the shadow of the Dreadmount, the volcano that birthed the Nameless One, who went ahead to provide a distraction. While there, they see the Dreadmount explode and witness five wyrms escape.

With the explosion of the Dreadmount, faith in the Berethnet’s ability to keep the Nameless One at bay wanes, and Sabran works to matchmake across the realm. She breaks off Glorian’s betrothal in favor of a more expedient match and leaves with Bardholt to attend the wedding. Fyredel, a gigantic wyrm, attacks the ship and burns all but Wulf, Bardholt’s housecarl. Meanwhile, Dumai’s time in court is tense because of her relationship with Nikeya, who establishes herself in Dumai’s life but does not earn her trust. Dumai travels with Furtia across to the mainland of Sepul, where they find many wyrm eggs and even see a gigantic gold wyrm. They rush back to Seiiki, where Dumai rings the Queen’s Bell at the top of Mount Ipyeda, waking the dragons across Seiiki from their slumber. Throughout their time together, Furtia mentions that a star will come to quench the fire.

In the South, a mysterious guest named Canthe arrives at the Priory. She is an outcast and claims to be the protector of a destroyed magic tree in Inys. She and Tuva come to trust each other while Esbar remains wary. After witnessing the Dreadmount erupt, the Priory prepares for war, warning their allies and even finding a wyrm’s egg laid at the foot of the orange tree.

In the aftermath of her parents’ deaths, young Glorian becomes queen, with a regent, Lord Robart, to help her learn to rule. At their burial, Fyredel lands in the city and drops the remains of her parents at Glorian’s feet. He vows to return in the summer to burn the city down. With pressure mounting, Glorian accepts a new betrothal with a Yscali prince old enough to be her grandfather. In Hróth, Wulf reports Bardholt’s death to the new king and is sent to Inys to protect Glorian. While there, he offers to have a child with her, to save her from the prince and help free her of the responsibility of an heir, and she agrees. He is also alerted by one of her ladies to suspicions about Lord Robart, and he unveils him as a heathen. Lord Robart is a worshipper of the Witch of Inysca and was plotting to mold Glorian into a follower.

Dumai continues to work with Furtia to fight the wyrms, and they travel to the Empire of the Twelve Lakes, where they meet an alchemist who suggests that fundamental balance has been disturbed, causing the rise of the wyrms. After the golden wyrm attacks the city, Dumai follows the alchemist’s advice and searches for a famed astronomer who may hold answers. Meanwhile, in the South, Siyu runs away again after learning that the boy she loved was murdered. Tuva follows her with Canthe to Carmentum without permission from Esbar, the new Prioress, and witnesses the destruction of Carmentum in the flames of another huge wyrm. She confronts the wyrm and is saved by Canthe, who summons a white light to ward the wyrm off. This is not Canthe’s only mystery, as she tells Tuva that she knows her lost son is in Inys.

Dumai climbs the mountain Brhazat and finds the astronomer Tonra, who is dead but is in possession of a mysterious stone. She takes the stone, and during a storm on the mountain, she summons a white light, helping Furtia and Nikeya find her. They return to court and discover that the stone has powers that may help strengthen the dragons and fight the wyrms. Dumai is connected to Glorian in her dreams, but Canthe, seeking the stone, deceives Dumai and convinces her to find her in the North. As they continue to travel with each other, Nikeya and Dumai learn to trust each other and fall in love.

Glorian spends her pregnancy hiding herself and her people from Fyredel and his draconic armies using Inys’s extensive networks of caves. Fyredel burns cities across the island, but Glorian’s savvy leadership saves many lives. Wulf, meanwhile, is sent North to find reinforcements for Hróth and encounters Dumai, Nikeya, and Furtia, fighting against the remnants of Hróthi forces. Soon enough, Tuva and Canthe appear, having tracked Wulf all the way from Inys. Tuva battles Furtia, and Canthe unsuccessfully attempts to steal the stone from Dumai. Furtia and Dumai flee, and Tuva reunites with Wulf, who suddenly remembers feeling her love as a child.

Wulf goes South to the Priory with Tuva and learns of his lost life. Despite feeling at home, he returns to Inys to protect Glorian and their daughter. After he leaves, Canthe enchants Tuva to let her into Cleolind’s tomb, where she finds a matching stone to Dumai’s. Esbar and Tuva kill Canthe, who reveals she is the Witch of Inysca, having stolen Wulf when he was a baby. Tuva and Esbar will use the stone to defeat the wyrms. In the East, Dumai returns to find her father murdered and the Kuposas installed on the throne. She refuses to fight them and instead establishes her own court, working to protect her people.

As the star approaches, the final battles with the wyrms begin. In Inys, Glorian gives birth to her daughter and immediately joins the battle against Fyredel, giving Wulf their child and ordering him to flee and protect her. As the star passes over, the wyrms fade and retreat, swearing to return the next time the fire rises. In the South, Siyu, Esbar, and Tuva fight and kill the wyrm Dedalugun using the magic of their stone and their skills as warriors. Dumai, meanwhile, fights both the River Lord and the golden wyrm, Taugran, using her stone to amplify the dragons. As the star passes over, imbuing them with power, she, Furtia, and other dragons sacrifice themselves to kill the wyrm.

In the aftermath of the conflict, the world begins to reconstruct itself, with Glorian becoming a fully realized queen, Wulf charting his own path, Tuva healing from a life without Wulf, and Nikeya not only mourning Dumai but also taking her place as the leader of Seiiki.