Kestrel

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

— Kestrel to Peril, The Dragonet Prophecy

Kestrel was an adult female SkyWing who was introduced in The Dragonet Prophecy. Formerly a member of the Talons of Peace, she was one of the guardians of the dragonets alongside Dune and Webs. She was killed by Blister.

Appearance

Kestrel had jewel-hard, bright red-gold scales the color of rust and flames. She had orange-yellow eyes, as well as a red tail, wings and talons.

She was enormous, bigger than Scarlet, and twice the size of Sunny. She had a burn scar on her right cheek, as well as several scorch marks across her palms.

During her imprisonment in Scarlet's palace, her talons became blunt, and her scales scraped and chipped.

Personality

Because she had lost both of her dragonets and was exiled from the Sky Kingdom, Kestrel was usually bad-tempered, hostile, and angry. She was initially assumed to be cruel and mean naturally at first, but it was later revealed that this was because she was bitter about being lied to and losing her dragonets. She abused Glory due to her being a RainWing and not a SkyWing. Kestrel seemed to hate all of the dragonets of destiny, and she called them useless, but has shown affection towards Peril. She seems to have a protective side, which is shown when Morrowseer and Blister tricked her into believing that the dragonets were in danger. She arrived immediately to 'save' them, hinting she has had some protectiveness over the dragonets. 

Biography

Pre-Series

Kestrel and her dragonets Peril and Sky 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 large egg containing twins, which is a rare occurrence. One of the dragonets, the female, hatched with twice the amount of fire she should have had while her brother had almost none, causing guaranteed death. Since SkyWings always killed such dragonets for the danger they caused, Kestrel attempted to escape to save them but was caught at the Diamond Spray River. Scarlet told her that if Kestrel killed one, she would not be held responsible for her disobedience, and the other dragonet would live. Kestrel attempted to kill the dragonet without any fire with her own claws, yet the dragonet secretly survived. Kestrel being forced to abandon Peril Scarlet went back on her word and ordered her guards to attack, 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 Scarlet would kill her.

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The Dragonet Prophecy

The Dragonet Prophecy

In the prologue, Kestrel was the dragon who found Hvitur's dead body and the shattered SkyWing egg at the base of a mountain after he had been murdered by Burn and had a short, snappy conversation with Webs before the prologue ended, speaking of Webs retrieving an egg from the Rainforest. It also included the news of Asha's death, where she got caught in a skirmish and was killed, but not before she got Clay's egg to the Talons of Peace. Kestrel teaching Clay to fight 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 also fiercely annoyed by Glory because the SkyWing dragonet never made it, and Glory was the replacement for it. She was one reason the dragonets were so desperate to escape the cave, although Sunny wasn't bothered by her constant temper. This is likely because Kestrel was not as cruel to the hybrid and that Sunny was a better spirit than the other dragonets, and perhaps helped make her feel better. Later captured and imprisoned again by Queen Scarlet, she was set free by Peril, Clay, Tsunami, and Sunny when the dragonets escaped with Peril's aid. She was seen as Peril hid behind Clay, wondering about the trial she was forbidden from watching, and when her daughter burst from hiding, she was stunned by the revelation. Scarlet appeared to find their relationship amusing, and Peril offered to go through the challenge of the Champion's Shield to rescue her mother. 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. Blister and Morrowseer disposing of Kestrel's body after killing her In the epilogue, Blister and Morrowseer betrayed her. First, they told her that the dragonets were in danger, to get her to come. Then Morrowseer said that neither the dragonets, Blister, nor himself needed the SkyWing; Blister then slashed Kestrel's throat and stabbed her in the chest with her venomous tail barb. Morrowseer 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. She was murdered violently before the arrival of the dragonets of destiny at the Summer Palace, having her throat slit and her heart stabbed by a SandWings's tail — earlier found to be killed by 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 was distraught over Kestrel's death, even though Tsunami assured her that Kestrel, with her foul temper, did not deserve Sunny's grief.

The Hidden Kingdom
Glory thinks about how she is angry at Kestrel and Dune for mistreating her and at Webs because he agreed to let Kestrel kill her.

The Dark Secret
Kestrel appeared in Starflight's flashback. She stormed into the study room and destroyed the scroll about the prophecy that Starflight and Sunny were reading, yelling at Webs for "filling their heads with questions and ideas."

The Brightest Night
Sunny told Peril of Kestrel's death. Peril seemed devastated and deeply shaken, even though she had shown distaste towards her mother.

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The Jade Mountain Prophecy

Moon Rising
More information flying in soon …

Escaping Peril
Kestrel was mentioned several times in Escaping Peril, including when Peril and Turtle talked to Cirrus and the Talons of Peace.

Darkness of Dragons
When Sunny told Qibli to go to history class, Qibli said that the class was "torture." Sunny responded by saying that he was lucky that he didn't have to do battle training with Kestrel.

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Legends

Dragonslayer

At first, Wren sees Kestrel shortly after finding Sky. She hides and wonders if Kestrel was Sky's mother and if she was making sure Sky was dead or looking for him. Eventually, Wren spots the burn marks made by Peril as well. Kestrel appears unnamed with the younger dragonets of destiny, watched by Wren and Sky from the smoke hole at the top of the dragonets' main cave. When Sky trembled in fear, Wren wondered if that was because Kestrel was the same mountain dragon going after Sky a year earlier. Wren had thought that Kestrel was there to make sure that Sky was dead.

Relationships

Clay

Clay always was the one to be picked out of all the dragonets to learn how to fight because of his ability to breathe fire and size. She knew that MudWings could only breathe fire when they are warm enough. Unknowingly, he developed his special fireproof scales, which causes his scales to heal from any burn within a few seconds.

Clay did not think of Kestrel quite as strongly as the other dragonets, but it is revealed that he thinks of her as hot-tempered and mean when he stops an argument by saying that they are "mini-Kestrels."

Dune

Dune helped Kestrel and Webs raise the dragonets of destiny while hidden in the caves. Kestrel seemed to be neutral with him.

Glory

Kestrel hated Glory because she is a RainWing and not a SkyWing, as the prophecy called for. She often refers to her as lazy and weak. Kestrel physically and verbally abused Glory much more than she did the other dragonets. Kestrel was supposed to murder Glory for the prophecy in the first book, but thanks to the aid of the rest of the dragonets, Glory managed to escape.

Peril

It is most likely that she cared about her daughter, as she tried to flee with her but got burned. When she found out Peril was alive, she told her, "I thought you were dead." In addition to that, after Glory injures Queen Scarlet, she invites Peril to come with her. However, Peril declines, ending their relationship (due to Kestrel supposedly "killing" Peril's brother and abandoning her with Scarlet), and Kestrel is killed shortly afterward. Despite her grudge against Kestrel, Peril was devastated upon learning of Kestrel's death since she never got the chance to know her mother.

Sky

Kestrel seemed to care about Sky before his supposed "death" as in Dragonslayer when Kestrel roared and flew over the lake, looking for Sky.

Starflight

Kestrel would often burn Starflight just like all the other dragonets, especially because he could not fight.

Sunny

Kestrel seems to dislike Sunny the least. The optimistic dragonet was most likely treated better by the guardians, including Kestrel. However, Kestrel calls Sunny "defective."

Tsunami

Tsunami appears to dislike Kestrel, and Kestrel feels the same way due to the ancient SkyWing grudge at the SeaWings due to the Royal SeaWing Massacre. Kestrel severely punishes Tsunami to the point of chaining her up when she disobeyed an order.

Webs

Webs helped Kestrel and Dune raise the dragonets of destiny while hidden in the caves. Kestrel seemed to be neutral with him, like Dune. In The Dragonet Prophecy (graphic novel), she is shown to yell at Webs for bringing a RainWing egg instead of a SkyWing egg repeatedly, but it was only thanks to her suggestion that Webs managed to escape Queen Scarlet's attack in the caves.

Family Tree

Kestrel

Soar

Peril

Sky

Quotes

"We await the wings of fire, […] Not that it'll do us much good now, […] Hvitur is dead."

― to Webs

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"Of all the horrible ideas. RainWings are wretched creatures. Nothing like SkyWings."

― about Webs' plan to replace the broken SkyWing egg with a RainWing egg

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"I'm your teacher. Nothing I do is cheating. Get down here and fight like a SkyWing."

― to Clay, after stomping on his tail

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"STOP YAMMERING AND GET DOWN HERE!"

― to Clay

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"Where's the monster I saw when you hatched? That's the dragon we need for the prophecy."

― to Clay

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"Aren't you sweet? Protecting a dragon who tried to kill you while you were still an egg."

― to Tsunami, about her protecting Clay

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"We'll tell you what you need to know about the prophecy, […] You don't need a pile of gossip and rumors and speculation cluttering up your tiny little minds."

― to Sunny and Starflight

Trivia

• She was part of the breeding program to supply the SkyWing army with soldiers.
• In The Dragonet Prophecy, it is stated that the burn marks from Peril are only on Kestrel's talons. However, in both the graphic novel and Dragonslayer, there is also a burn scar on her face.

Gallery

• Reference by SpaceshipEarth
  Reference by SpaceshipEarth
• 
  Kestrel from The Dragonet Prophecy (graphic novel), by Mike Holmes
• 
  by Mike Holmes
• 
  by Mike Holmes
• 
  Kestrel from The Dark Secret (graphic novel), by Mike Holmes