Ruthari

Ruthari is the slash ship between Runaan and Ethari from the The Dragon Prince fandom.

Canon
Runaan and Ethari are husbands. They deeply love each other and seem to trust one another mutually, as they openly share their concerns with one another.

GHOST
Rayla reveals that after her parents became Dragonguards she went to live with Runaan and his husband, Ethari. Since Runaan and Ethari were her parents' best friends, she lived with them for years. Rayla had full confidence that Ethari wouldn't have done the Ghosting spell, as he "always had faith" in Rayla. Believing Ethari wouldn't have done the spell, she excitedly barged into his workshop, only to find he couldn't hear or see her. Rayla was saddened and angry to see that Ethari had Ghosted her.

She explains to Callum that "when assassins are sent of a dangerous mission, Ethari enchants [heartbloom] flowers for each of them. As long as the assassin lives and breathes, their flower floats." The flowers are given to the assassins where they are then put on a pond where they float. Rayla discovers the death of her teammates, including Runaan, when she finds only her flower floating in the pond.

In a flashback, Runaan approaches Ethari, who holds his husband's flower, and they exchange words. With a smile, Ethari says, "My heart goes out with this one." Runaan, with an equally adoring smile, places a hand on his husband's cheek and declares, "Don't worry. I promise I will return your heart to you." The two share a tender, loving kiss.

Although Ethari had been upset to see Rayla at first and had blamed her for the deaths of the assassins and his husband, Ethari broke the spell for a moment, telling her how happy he was to see her as they hugged. He asked her why she betrayed Runaan and the others, but she revealed she didn't betray them. Callum reveals a baby Azymondias as she tells him that the egg of the dragon prince was never destroyed, that she and Callum are on a quest for peace to return Zym to his mother. Ethari is surprised to see the baby dragon and calls it a "miracle." He informs them that the Dragon Queen is dying. Seeing their determination to bring the dragon back to his mother, Ethari calls on a moonstrider and shadowpaw to help quicken their journey.

Rayla asks Ethari if she can come home again, to which he answers that he doesn't know. He gives her his necklace, a real moon opal he'd crafted. Before leaving for his mission, Ethari gifted Runaan a matching pendant he wore around his neck. Ethari told him that his matching pendant was a symbol of their love, saying, "My love will be with you, even when the moon is not." Then, Ethari tells Rayla goodbye. Once they leave, Ethari looks into the pond where only Rayla's enchanted flower floats now. Ethari is devastated because he thinks Runaan died. But as he walks away, the camera pans into the water where another enchanted flower is floating inside, signalling that Runaan is still alive.

Once back in his workshop, Ethari stands over his desk holding a lighthawk, a voice over of his words saying, "Runaan, the last time I made you one of these, it carried a message of death. But this arrow will carry a message of life." It is assumed that Ethari references the shadowhawk Runaan sent to the Dragon Queen back in S1:E3, "Moonrise," telling the audience that Ethari was the one to craft the shadowhawk for Runaan. Ethari then climbs the steps of his workshop further so he can shoot the lighthawk, containing a message to the Dragon Queen telling her that the dragon prince lives.

Fanon
The ship gained some fans after seeing a drawing of Ethari in one of the credits back in season one crafting the matching necklaces, to which fans immediately put together that he and Runaan where a couple. Seeing as Ethari had no name at that time, the fandom named him "Tinker," with Ruthari's past ship name being "Tinkaan."

After season three, the ship soared when Ethari was revealed to be Runaan's husband. Fans praise the representation and now eagerly wait for Runaan to be brought out of the coin he is held in and reunited with Ethari and Rayla.

When Rayla revealed that she lived with Runaan and Ethari ever since she was young, many fans played with the idea of them being her dads. It was confirmed that Runaan sees her as a daughter, and there is an end credit drawing where Ethari braids her hair.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Trivia

 * They are one of the first LGBT representations in the series.
 * They are the second LGBT kiss in the series.
 * Ethari was known as "Tinker" by the fandom before his name was revealed in season three.
 * It was revealed in season three that the two are married.
 * In a credits scene in season one, Ethari cries when Runaan's flower sinks, believing him to be dead.