Kestrel

"I am the way life has made me. Take it or leave it."

— Kestrel to Peril and the dragonets in The Dragonet Prophecy.

Template:Infobox CharacterKestrel was a large SkyWing with jewel-hard, rust-colored scales, orange-yellow eyes, and burn scars on her palms from her attempt to save her only daughter, Peril.

As one of the Guardians of the dragonets, she taught and "cared" for the Dragonets of Destiny while they were imprisoned in the hidden cave, having been a member of the Talons of Peace before being killed by Blister and Morrowseer, in the epilogue of The Dragonet Prophecy. She seemed to have been the harshest of the guardians. Her mate is Chameleon (in the form of Soar), and she was the mother of Peril and her dead brother.

Biography

Pre-Series

Years before the series began, Kestrel was one of Queen Scarlet's most loyal soldiers. Under Queen Scarlet's orders, she entered the SkyWing breeding program, and produced one egg containing twins, a rare and unwanted occurrence. One of the dragonets, the female, hatched with twice the amount of fire she should have had (Peril), while her brother had almost none.

Since such dragonets were always killed, Kestrel attempted to save them, but was cornered at the Diamond Spray River. Scarlet told her that if Kestrel sacrificed one, she would not be held responsible for her disobedience. In addition, Scarlet said she'd let the other dragonet live and go free. Kestrel killed the male with her own claws, an act that haunted her the rest of her life.

Scarlet lied and didn't keep her end of the bargain (or "changed her mind," as she said at Kestrel's trial), forcing Kestrel to flee for her life. Kestrel attempted to save her daughter, but burned her palms on the dragonet's scales. She was forced to leave her surviving dragonet behind, and could not return to her, as she knew she would be killed horribly by Scarlet.

The Dragonet Prophecy

Kestrel was the dragon who found Hvitur's dead body and the broken SkyWing egg at the base of a mountain after he had been murdered by Burn.

She acted as a guardian and fighting instructor for the five dragonets of destiny, a task she loathed, because it reminded her of her lost dragonets. She was one of the reasons the dragonets were so desperate to escape, although Sunny wasn't bothered by her temper.

Later captured and imprisoned again by Queen Scarlet, who planned to execute her, she was set free when the dragonets escaped with the aid of Peril. She later parted ways with them and her daughter, but Peril believed she'd have time to talk to her mother after making sure that Queen Scarlet was dead.

In the epilogue, Blister and Morrowseer betrayed her. Morrowseer had said that neither the dragonets, Blister, or himself needed the SkyWing; Blister then slashed Kestrel's throat and stabbed her in the heart with her poisonous tail barb, never to talk to Peril again. Morrowseer then proceeded to fling her off the cliff and into the ocean.

The Lost Heir

A SeaWing guard, possibly Urchin, found Kestrel's body upon a boulder at the base of a cliff near the Summer Palace of the Sea. She was murdered violently before the arrival of the dragonets of destiny at the Summer Palace, having her throat slashed and stabbed in the heart by a Sandwing tail which belonged to Blister in the epilogue of The Dragonet Prophecy. At first, only Tsunami and Coral's court knew about the murder, although the other dragonets eventually found out. Sunny in particular was very upset over Kestrel's death, even though Tsunami assured her that Kestrel didn't deserve Sunny's grief.

The Dark Secret

Kestrel appears in Starflight's flashback. She barges into the study room and steals Starflight's and Sunny's scroll, yelling at Webs for "filling their heads with questions and ideas."

The Brightest Night

Sunny tells Peril of Kestrel's death. Peril seemed devastated, even though she showed distaste towards her mother.dead

Personality

Because she had lost both of her dragonets and got exiled from the Sky Kingdom, Kestrel was usually bad-tempered, grumpy, and hot-headed, though only a little above normal SkyWings. She was assumed to be just cruel and mean naturally, but it was later revealed that this was because she was bitter about being lied to and subsequently losing her children. She also often bullied and abused Glory, as Glory wasn't a SkyWing, and a SkyWing dragonet was required in The Dragonet Prophecy, she was going to be the one to kill Glory, saying that she would snap Glory's neck while she was sleeping, but failed. Due to the fact that she had already lost a dragonet, Kestrel most likely felt remorse for attempting to kill Glory.

Trivia

• Tui T. Sutherland may do a Winglet about her.
• Kestrel is the third dragon to appear in the series, as well as the first SkyWing.

Quotes

"I am the way life has made me. Take it or leave it."

"WHICH LEFT WAS THAT, USELESS?"

"Are all MudWings this stupid? OR ARE YOU JUST DEAF?"

"This doesn't look like studying."

"WHAT is going on here?"

"RainWings are wretched creatures. Nothing like SkyWings."

"You mean play-acting. You guys are too old for games."

"Well, there's no surprises with you. Webs stole your egg from the SeaWing queen's own hatchery."

"Glory must be killed." - To Webs and Dune in the first book

Gallery

• Kestrel
  Kestrel
• 
• 
  Kestrel is betrayed by Blister and Morrowseer (Morrowseer not pictured)
• 
  by Electrical-Onyx
• by Hawkyfootwarrior
  by Hawkyfootwarrior
• A typical SkyWing by Joy Ang
  A typical SkyWing by Joy Ang
• 
  Kestrel by WhiteEmberShard
• Kestrel is in the middle
  Kestrel is in the middle
• Kestrel looking at SandWings
  Kestrel looking at SandWings
• 
  peril
• 
  Kestrel is top left
• Simplified Kestrel
  Simplified Kestrel
• Kestrel Discussing the Murdering of Glory in The Dragonet Prophecy
  Kestrel Discussing the Murdering of Glory in The Dragonet Prophecy
• 
  by Lightningstrike from RapidClan
• Made by me on a website, lineart by Joy Ang
  Made by me on a website, lineart by Joy Ang
• File:Take it or Leave it.png
• File:Kestrelrdiy.png
• File:Kestrels son.jpeg
• File:Kestrel Headshot 2.png
• File:Bigwings.png
• Kestrel looks worried
  Kestrel looks worried
• 
  a real Kestrel
• File:RedSkyWing.png
• angry
  angry
• 
  By Sahel
• By Snowflake
  By Snowflake
• 
  By Alaska
• Kestrel Angry
  Kestrel Angry