Osprey

"And that's Osprey. He argues for the defense. Not very well, or he'd lose his head. He's really old and almost blind. He's nice to me, though, because I'll listen to his stories of the old days. He told me he used to have tons of treasure, but a scavenger came to steal it and managed to paralyze his tail before Osprey ate him. So now he can't fly, and he gave all his treasure to Her Majesty so she'd let him live here."

— Peril to Clay about Osprey

Template:Charbox Osprey was an elderly, crippled, male SkyWing with poor vision and a tail which was paralyzed when a scavenger tried to steal his treasure and impaled it with a weapon, most likely a sword or dagger. This disability made it impossible for him to fly, because having a fully functioning tail is necessary for balance during flight. He seemed to have befriended Peril, being one of her only friends. He acted as the defendant for Queen Scarlet's trials before he was killed by Queen Scarlet for revealing too much information about the Champion's Shield to Peril.

Appearance

Osprey has washed-out red scales and a paralyzed tail. His voice is creaky with age, but still loud enough to carry to the SkyWing arena's prisoners.

Biography

Pre-Series

In his youth, Osprey guarded countless tons of treasure. One day, a scavenger came to steal the treasure and managed to paralyze his tail before Osprey ate it. He lost the ability to fly because he needed his tail for balance in flight. He gave all of his treasure to Queen Scarlet in exchange for residence in the SkyWing Palace. Osprey served as the defense on SkyWing trials, but usually made very poor arguments to avoid being killed by the queen. He was also one of Queen Scarlet's guards when they went after Peril's mother, Kestrel, for he says, "You told your guards-- I know, for I was one of them--"

He later became a friend and mentor to Peril, teaching her how to read and write, after Kestrel was forced to abandon her. Osprey told her many stories of his youth. He was assumed to be the one to have told Peril about the Champion's Shield, as Peril said that it wasn't his fault that she knew. 

The Dragonet Prophecy

Osprey served for the defense during Kestrel's trial. He explained the circumstances of how Queen Scarlet ordered Kestrel to kill one of her twin dragonets before changing her mind, forcing Kestrel to leave her surviving child behind. Scarlet decided to kill Kestrel, but Peril intervened and called upon the tradition of the Champion's Shield for her mother. After Scarlet discovered that Osprey told her about the SkyWing traditions, she grabbed him in her talons and dropped him out of the sky from high above the arena. Because of his paralyzed tail, he was completely unable to fly and his tail just weighed him down even more. He broke many of his bones in the fall and soon died of his wounds.

Escaping Peril

Osprey is mentioned several times by Peril as a friend. She also mentions he once tried to teach her how to read and write. It is also possible he is "Kidney Breath" from the Escaping Peril prologue.

Trivia

• He is suspected to be "Kidney-Breath", a character shown in the Escaping Peril prologue who always told Ruby that the secret to a long life was eating a goat kidney every day, and commenting on her long neck.
• Osprey always serves for defense for any trial, but is rarely successful, as stated in The Dragonet Prophecy, due to Queen Scarlet's pressuring.
• He is the only known dragon in the series to become paralyzed unnaturally.
• Osprey is apparently the only dragon who willingly talked to Peril, as she explains in Escaping Peril. He taught her how to read and write despite the fact that her firescales get in the way of doing so, and he also taught her traditional SkyWing customs.
• An osprey is a diurnal, fish-eating bird that dwells near the ocean. It is a bird of prey, related to eagles and hawks
• Despite canonically losing his ability to fly by a tail injury, the graphic novel changes his injury to missing wings.

Gallery

• 
  A typical SkyWing (colored), by Joy Ang
• 
  A typical SkyWing (lineart), by Joy Ang
• A typical SkyWing from the German publication, by Max Meinzold
  A typical SkyWing from the German publication, by Max Meinzold
• Reference by Platypus the SeaWing
  Reference by Platypus the SeaWing
• A typical SkyWing by Joy Ang colored by Heron
  A typical SkyWing by Joy Ang colored by Heron
• Osprey by Destinyfollower2233
  Osprey by Destinyfollower2233
• Scene from The Dragonet Prophecy
  Scene from The Dragonet Prophecy
• File:OspreybyHerontheudwing.png
• By Snowflake
  By Snowflake
• 
  Scarlet killing Osprey by QueenClam
• File:Screen Shot 2015-01-13 at 9.33.08 AM.png
• 
  SkyWing Sigil by Platypus the SeaWing
• A real osprey
  A real osprey
• WoF - Osprey by Journeying-Warrior
  WoF - Osprey by Journeying-Warrior
• Osprey by Ta-ak
  Osprey by Ta-ak
• Osprey Ref by QueenClam
  Osprey Ref by QueenClam

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