Hawthorn

"First we tried to talk her down. And second … we tried something else. I thought we could stop her. I thought we could save everyone. It wasn't supposed to make her powerful. I thought, if I found the plant and we used it on her … that we'd be able to control her."

— Hawthorn to Cricket and Sundew, The Poison Jungle

Hawthorn was an adult male LeafWing who was introduced in The Poison Jungle who had very powerful leafspeak abilities. He was banished by his tribe for failing to mind-control Queen Wasp through the breath of evil, which led to her ability to control the HiveWings. In The Poison Jungle, he was killed by Willow after threatening to infect the entirety of Pantala.

Appearance

Hawthorn was gigantic in size. He had long green wings and green eyes. with claw marks all along his tail and he gained a deep wound on his neck during his final moments.

Personality

During The Poison Jungle, Hawthorn seems to be a friendly dragon. In the book he was very excited to see other dragons, this behavior is most likely due to the fact that for several years of his life, Hawthorn was stuck in a region of the Poison Jungle that was uninhabited by dragons (known as the Den of Vipers). When Sundew and other dragons arrived he became very chatty and even a little forceful when Nettle, Willow, Mandrake, Cricket, and Sundew all told him that they were in a hurry. Based on how Hawthorn acts around other dragons it seems safe to say that Hawthorn has forgotten how to act in polite dragon society. Hawthorn also shows he is somewhat of a prideful dragon when he brags of his use of the breath of evil. He even seems to look smug, about how he modified it to only work on HiveWings, which most of the characters consider terrible. When Sundew talks about bringing Hawthorn back, he becomes very anxious, but he clearly also wants to see other dragons again.

Biography

Pre-Series

When Queen Wasp started to threaten the LeafWings, Hawthorn started to become desperate and searched for a way to stop her. That's when he remembered the Legend of the Hive and went searching for the breath of evil. When Hawthorn discovered the breath of evil, he unwisely used his powerful leafspeak and grew it so it would only work on HiveWings. During a diplomatic event between Queen Wasp and Queen Sequoia, Hawthorn put it in Queen Wasp's food. When Hawthorn and Queen Sequoia realized that they unintentionally gave Queen Wasp mind-control powers, Queen Sequoia banished him to solitude to find a cure. While alone, the grasp of the othermind became a strong influence on Hawthorn.

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The Lost Continent Prophecy

The Poison Jungle

Hawthorn was taken over by the othermind through the consumption of breath of evil, which he discovered in the Eye of the Jungle. He tested the breath of evil on himself, and upon discovering that he could control vipers with it, he continued using the breath of evil. He eventually succumbed to the othermind because the othermind kept suggesting things that Hawthorn felt compelled to obey, and eventually, Hawthorn's mental state began to decay, becoming the othermind's physical form. He met with Cricket, Nettle, Sundew, Mandrake, and Bumblebee in the Eye of The Jungle, offering them some tea. He told the story of his exile to the group and admitted he was the reason Wasp got her mind control power. He showed them his many carvings, including his most prized carving, which was actually the othermind seed. Hawthorn then began protecting the othermind by holding the seed it came from, saying it was a prized carving of his. He was eventually killed by Willow dropping a thorn through his neck to save Cricket.

Relationships

The Othermind

Hawthorn seems very fond of the othermind, although this, of course, is most likely a trick the othermind set up to control Hawthorn more easily. Hawthorn was very protective of his "favorite carving", which appears to be an egg but is later revealed to be a depiction of the breath of evil's seed. He also seemed to follow the othermind's orders without a struggle, even when he was not being actively controlled.

Sequoia

Hawthorn was very loyal towards Queen Sequoia, and it was obvious that he missed her. He had plenty of carvings dedicated to her and may have romantic feelings towards her. However, it is unlikely that Sequoia ever returned them.

Cricket

Upon meeting Cricket, along with the others traveling with her, Hawthorn originally thought that peace had been achieved between the tribes. However, Nettle explained why Cricket was with them, and Hawthorn felt sympathy for her condition, relating to her because they had both been cast out of their tribes for what they both felt was unreasonable things. He also appreciates Cricket's interest in scientific affairs, and how she wants to help all three Pantalan tribes achieve peace. However, he still shrinks away from her as his first instinct is to stay away from a HiveWing.

Sundew

Hawthorn seems to like Sundew, but this is most likely a set-up from the Othermind, as it wants to control her leafspeak. Sundew found him odd and finds the fact that he's somewhat proud of what he's done quite horrifying.

Dragonbite vipers

While this is not exactly a relationship in the traditional sense, Hawthorn seems fond of the snakes that kept him company. This is shown when he expresses that he doesn't want them killed. He used them as test subjects in his experiments with the breath of evil, and they guard him either out of affection or (more likely) because he used the breath of evil.

Quotes

"I'm Hawthorn, and those were my vipers. Who wants tea?"

― to Sundew and others

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"Lots of time on my talons, you know. No one else to talk to, so I thought I'd make some friends for myself. This one's my favorite. They're better company than you'd think. Thank goodness I have you, right?"

― to several dragons about his carvings

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"That is certainly true, isn't it? I mean, that was her intention, sending me here. Quite a long time it's been, for me to be here studying it, all alone. I really should be an expert by now."

― to Sundew about him being an expert

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"If it works … I'm glad to know this wasn't all for nothing. And don't get me wrong. I know I deserved this. I told the queen I understood, and I meant it. This was the right punishment for me, the only punishment."

― to Cricket about the heart of salvation

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"Didn't she tell you why I'm here? Because I'm the one who found the breath of evil after everyone thought it had been wiped out centuries ago. And I'm the one who gave it to Queen Wasp."

― to Sundew about why he's in the Eye of the Jungle

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"First we tried to talk her down. And second … we tried something else. I thought we could stop her. I thought we could save everyone. It wasn't supposed to make her powerful. I thought, if I found the plant and we used it on her … that we'd be able to control her."

― to Cricket and Sundew about trying to avoid Queen Wasp's rule before the Tree Wars

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"She threatened our trees, HiveWing. The trees we loved, our homes and souls. We saw the war that was coming. We knew how dangerous she was, and we knew we couldn't give her the LeafWings. So we held a peace summit and I … I put it in her food that night."

― to Cricket about how and why he gave Wasp the breath of evil

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"I told her what I wanted to do. She didn't stop me. But I can't say she exactly told me to do it. She could have stopped me, though. […] I found the plant; I slipped it into Wasp's food. That was me. Even if I did it with the noblest of intentions. At first, it seemed like nothing happened. […] So we thought we had failed. No harm done … a long-shot attempt at salvation that didn't work. It wasn't until later, when I saw her mind control, that I realized we must have caused it. I didn't know how she figured out what do do, or where she got the plant."

― to several dragons about Wasp and the breath of evil

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"Those are mysteries I solved with science! Experimentation! Research! Investigation! All the careful procedures I wish I'd had time for back then. It's amazing what you can discover when you're alone for fifty years with nothing else to do."

― to Cricket

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"When I found the plant, it was barely hanging on. There was so little left, cut off from sunlight and slowly wasting away […] I altered it so that it would only work on HiveWings … those would be the minds it was drawn to. I wasn't sure how well I'd succeeded, but it seems I did well enough."

― about the breath of evil

Trivia

• Hawthorn is the first dragon to die in the third arc (as Maple and Festoon's were only mentioned).

References

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