Ruthari

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

Canon
Runaan and Ethari are husbands. They love one another deeply and share a mutual trust, openly sharing their concerns with each other.

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 has 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 discover that Ethari had Ghosted her after all.

She explains to Callum that "when assassins are sent on 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, who place them in a pond where they float on the surface. Rayla sees that every flower except hers has now sunk, and she realizes that all of her teammates died on their last mission.

In a flashback, Ethari gives each of the assassins their flower before they go on their mission. When Runaan approaches to take his, Ethari lovingly says, "My heart goes out with this one." Runaan gently places a hand on his husband's cheek and replies, "Don't worry. I promise I will return your heart to you." The two share a tender kiss before the assassin's place their flowers in the pond.

Although Ethari, like the other Moonshadow Elves, had Ghosted Rayla, he can see her in the reflections of the weapons he smiths. He admits that while he still cares for Rayla, he blames her for the deaths of her fellow assassins, especially Runaan, and he cannot forgive her for that. Later, however, he breaks the spell for a moment and tells her how happy he is to see her as they hug. He asks her why she betrayed the others, but she tells him that she didn't. Callum then shows Zym to Ethari as Rayla explains that the egg of the Dragon Prince was never really destroyed, and that she and Callum are on a quest to return Zym to his mother and peace to Xadia. Ethari is shocked to learn of the baby dragon's existence, calling it a "miracle." He informs the heroes that the Dragon Queen is dying, and lends them moonstrider and shadowpaw mounts to quicken their journey.

Rayla asks Ethari if she can ever come home again, to which he honestly replies that he doesn't know. He takes off his necklace, which he crafted from a moon opal, and puts it around her neck. Ethari made a matching one for Runaan, which he wears in the first episode of the series, Echoes of Thunder, before he uses it to cast a disguise spell on himself and the other assassins. Ethari told his husband that the pendant was a symbol of their love, saying, "My love will be with you, even when the moon is not."

Ethari bids goodbye to Rayla and Callum, and they fade from his sight as they ride off on their newly acquired mounts. Ethari gazes at Rayla's heartbloom flower in the pond before turning away. As he leaves, the camera pans down into the water, where Runaan's flower floats halfway between the surface and bottom of the water, revealing that he is still alive in some way.

Back in his workshop, Ethari stands over his desk, holding a Shadowhawk arrow. A voice-over of him says, "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." He is likely referencing the Shadowhawk Runaan sent to the Dragon Queen in S1, E3: Moonrise with news that the assassins' mission was complete. Ethari then climbs further up the steps outside his workshop to send the Shadowhawk, containing a message that the Dragon Prince lives, to the Dragon Queen.

Fanon
The ship first formed when a drawing of Ethari crafting the matching necklaces for himself and Runaan appeared in the credits of S1, E1: Echoes of Thunder. Fans quickly put together that he was making two copies of the necklace Runaan was wearing for most of the episode, implying that they were a couple. Since Ethari had no canon name at the time, the fandom dubbed him "Tinker," and referred to the ship between him and Runaan as "Tinkaan."

After Ethari was introduced in S3, E3: Ghost and revealed to be Runaan's husband, the ship truly took off. Since the reveal, fans have praised the queer representation the couple lends to the show, and now eagerly hope that Runaan will be soon released from his curse and reunited with his loved ones.

Since the beginning of the series, many fans have seen Rayla's relationship with Runaan as a father/daughter one. Once Rayla mentioned that she'd lived with Runaan and his husband since she was young, the idea really took hold. It has been confirmed that Runaan sees Rayla as a daughter, and in Ghost, there is a drawing in the credits of Ethari braiding Rayla's hair.

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. Rayla's braid was a fairly integral part of her character design until it was cut off in S1, E4: Bloodthirsty.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Trivia

 * They are one of the first LGBT couples 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 Runaan and Ethari are married.
 * In a drawing shown in the credits scene of S1, E8: Cursed Caldera, Ethari cries over Runaan's sunken heartbloom flower, believing him to be dead.