Ian only reforms the bottom half of Wilden before the gem disintegrates, requiring the brothers to go on a quest to find a new Phoenix Gem and complete the spell before time runs out.
After dead for many years by the time Onward begins, Wilden Lightfoot came back into his family’s life on Ian’s 16th birthday, when his mother gave him and Barley a magic staff that their father left for them, along with a “visitation spell” that would allow Wilden to return for 24 hours and a Phoenix Gem as the power source.