Mastermind

Mastermind is to the left of Queen Battlewinner

Mastermind is a whip-thin black NightWing scientist and the father of Starflight. His mate is Farsight, who died a few years before the series' events. He had claimed that Starflight was his son but couldn't prove it until he met him. He described their wing patterns as like an outward spray of water. 

History

The Dark Secret

When Morrowseer and Starflight were on a hunt, Starflight remarks that he would not have developed the correct antibodies to protect against the dangers of eating decayed NightWing food. Morrowseer then comments he now knows who the dragonet's father is, based on Starflight's speaking 'style'. Morrowseer takes him to visit Mastermind, Starflight's father. They meet Fatespeaker on the way inside the fortress.

Mastermind is in the middle of a crisis when they arrive, and tells them to go away because Princess Greatness threatened to shut his research down. Morrowseer informs Mastermind that Starflight is his son, at which point the other dragon calms down and first examines Starflight, overjoyed to have found his son. He then begins talking about how certain traits they share (such as the water spray star-scale pattern on their wings, and their jawline) were genetically dominant, then shows the two dragonets some of the experiments he is working on, including desalinization and vulcanology. Starflight is awed by it all, and is eager to work with his father.

Mastermind then shows them his current project - RainWing venom and its capabilities. In order to study the venom, seventeen RainWings, three of which did not survive, were brought from their homes to the Night Kingdom against their will, and were then chained up so that Mastermind could safely conduct his experiments on them. He was working on Orchid at the time. He wanted to learn more about RainWing venom, such as what materials it affects and what it doesn't. Mastermind learned that it can kill living organisms, but it must get into either the eyes or the bloodstream to do so. He then began the construction of armor to resist the venom, but could not finish it due to being unable to find a suitable material as the eyepiece. However, he was so caught up in his research it never occurred to him that he was torturing the captive RainWings. This caused Starflight to decide that his father was sociopathic. He wanted nothing to do with Mastermind and his venom experiments and tried to avoid him.

Mastermind was also secretly working on lava-heated armor that would enable Queen Battlewinner to leave her pool of lava without freezing to death. This way, she would be able to lead the attack on the rainforest. However, the armor never achieved completion due to Queen Battlewinner coming out of her cauldron of lava before Mastermind could finish the armor. The armor was presumably destroyed in the eruption.

Before the volcano exploded, rendering the Night Kingdom uninhabitable, Mastermind was among the evacuating dragons. He was bringing with him a bundle of scrolls, much like Starflight had tried to do so in the underground cave. He voiced his worries about the RainWings hating him for what he has done to their tribe to Starflight and Tsunami. Starflight sensed his father wanted to hear an assuring lie. Instead, he told his father to apologize to the queen and take whatever punishment she gives him, and Mastermind escaped through the rainforest tunnel with the rest of the NightWings. His labs and research were all destroyed in the eruption; only the scrolls that he brought with him were saved.

The Brightest Night

Two RainWings brought Mastermind before Queen Glory, who ordered him tied up until she could decide what to do with him. As of the epilogue, he was awaiting to stand trial for his crimes against the RainWings. Glory's punishment for him is unknown.

Personality

Mastermind is highly intelligent, as he is a NightWing scientist. He seems to care greatly about Starflight, and has a tendency to use complex vocabulary, just like Starflight. He gets nervous in tough situations, such as when Battlewinner left the pool of lava before her armor was complete, ultimately leading to her death. Mastermind was loyal to his tribe, and was willing to follow the queen's orders. However, Mastermind did not have any intentions to torture the RainWings nor the tribe. He only intended to create defense to RainWing venom and expand dragon knowledge for the purpose of science.

Quotes

"No, no! I must not be interrupted! This experiment is at a critical juncture! And Greatness says I might be shut down at any moment! Everyone please leave!" - To Morrowseer, Starflight and Fatespeaker.

"My son?"

"Three moons, what a handsome dragonet. He does look like me; I knew he would. As I suspected, his jawline is genetically dominant. Ah, and yes, see the way the star scales on our wings spray outward, like a splash of water. whereas Morrowseer's, for instance, curl inward, more like a snail shell. All theories at this point, of course." - To Morrowseer about Starflight.

"But I have a son! I, of all dragons! Let's see Strongwings laugh now! Just wait until everyone sees my handsome offspring. So strong and healthy! You can be the assistant I've been looking for. What are you interested in, son?"

"Come, come. I'll show you what else I'm working on."

"Here is where I do all my vulcanology."

Gallery

• A typical NightWing. Art by Joy Ang.
  A typical NightWing. Art by Joy Ang.
• Mastermind. Art by LeopardGecko02
  Mastermind. Art by LeopardGecko02
• Mastermind headshot. Art by LeopardGecko02
  Mastermind headshot. Art by LeopardGecko02
• Mastermid headshot without flash. Art by LeopardGecko02
  Mastermid headshot without flash. Art by LeopardGecko02
• Mastermind looking upwards. Art by LeopardGecko02
  Mastermind looking upwards. Art by LeopardGecko02
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