Quickstrike

"Deathbringer could stab out their eyes and tie their tails in knots before they even noticed he was on the same island as them. I want him and no one else. He can keep your secrets, even though he's young. And I'm not leaving him here to be trained by someone inferior to me."

— Quickstrike trying to convince Morrowseer to let Deathbringer come on her mission, Assassin

Quickstrike was an adult female NightWing who was introduced in Assassin. She served as an assassin for the NightWings and was a mentor to her son, Deathbringer, until she was struck by lightning and presumably killed by two of Blister's soldiers. Before her death, she was a rival to Morrowseer and resided on the NightWing island.

Description

Quickstrike was large and bony, with black scales and black eyes.

Personality

Quickstrike always had bigger reasons behind her orders, even when they seemed mysterious. She was intelligent, stern, and confident and described her kills in swift, precise language to describe the assassination as quickly as possible. She usually looks only faintly pleased, even when things are done correctly. She was also uninterested about the mystery of a human settlement while flying over the Bay of a Thousand Scales.

Biography

Winglets

Assassin

Quickstrike asked her son, Deathbringer, to spy on Queen Battlewinner. She said she would have a meeting with Princess Greatness in one hour and wanted him to listen in on the conversation.

Later, at the beginning of the meeting, Deathbringer heard Morrowseer talking with Battlewinner, Greatness, and Quickstrike. Quickstrike kept it short and asked if Deathbringer could come with her to the continent on a long term assassination assignment to prolong the war. She claimed that he needed to learn about the politics and the geography of Pyrrhia and how to properly assassinate a dragon and that it would be the perfect opportunity. Morrowseer said no at first but agreed on the condition that Battlewinner proposed: Deathbringer must kill either Slaughter or Vengeance by midnight before the day of his potential mission.

After Deathbringer completed his mission by killing Slaughter, Quickstrike met him in the dragonet sleeping cave. She said she would have told him not to attempt the assassination and that he should have checked with her first. Deathbringer apologized, but Quickstrike was still fretting. She feared that Morrowseer would have some kind of punishment ready for her son because he killed one of Morrowseer's "pets," and so she arranged for them to leave that night.

Later, the two were hovering over the Bay of a Thousand Scales in a storm, waiting for any sign of life, when a bolt of lightning hit Quickstrike's wing. Deathbringer hid his still-breathing but unconscious mother under some fallen palms near the beach. She did not wake up, and when Deathbringer killed General Tempest, Blister's allies were confused, yet enraged, and searched the island. They found Quickstrike by herself, and Deathbringer could not follow, afraid that his cover would be blown. After the soldiers came back with the news that Quickstrike was half dead, Blister called her "completely irrelevant," and told the soldiers to make her "completely dead."

Relationships

Deathbringer

Quickstrike was Deathbringer's mother, and she taught him everything she knew; he would not ever disobey her. She trusted him to keep NightWing secrets, and she did not treat him like a son; she treated him like an apprentice. However, her voice became much slower than usual at the mention of Deathbringer dying, and she became uncharacteristically anxious when he was tasked with killing Slaughter or Vengeance. She was worried about his safety.

Morrowseer

Morrowseer was seen as a rival to Quickstrike due to being a possible threat to Deathbringer. The two also had differing opinions on subjects, such as whom to train to be an assassin. Quickstrike also stated that she would never leave Deathbringer with him, which indicated her mistrust towards him. She seemed to hold a small grudge against Morrowseer as well since he ordered Deathbringer to go on a nearly impossible mission.

Family tree

More

Jacaranda

Several Generations

Grandeur

Several Dragons

Quickstrike

Unknown

Jambu

Glory

Deathbringer

Firefly

    = Possible timeline

Quotes

"Vengeance and Slaughter both have boulders for brains, [...] Deathbringer could stab out their eyes and tie their tails in knots before they even noticed he was on the same island as them. I want him and no one else. He can keep your secrets, even though he's young. And I'm not leaving him here to be trained by someone inferior to me."

― to Morrowseer, about Deathbringer

---

"I don't treat him like a son, [...] I treat him like a student. He's my apprentice. The council agreed to that when he hatched; that's why he's called Deathbringer. And he's lived up to the name. He'll be the greatest NightWing assassin of all time if you let me take him on this mission."

― to Morrowseer

---

"I would never leave him with you!"

― to Morrowseer, about Deathbringer

---

"NightWings play a long game, [...] We use our superior intelligence to tilt events our way, but we must never do it so obviously that the other tribes notice."

― to Deathbringer

Gallery

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  Reference by Sands of Lost Time

References

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