Quickstrike

"Deathbringer could stab out their eyes and tie their tails in knots before they even noticed he was on the same island as them. I want him and no one else. He can keep your secrets, even though he's young. And I'm not leaving him here to be trained by someone inferior to me."

— Quickstrike to Morrowseer about Deathbringer, Assassin

Quickstrike was an adult female NightWing who was introduced in Assassin. She served as an assassin for the NightWings and was a mentor to her son, Deathbringer, until she was presumably killed by two of Blister's soldiers. Before her death, she was a rival to Morrowseer and resided on the NightWing island.

Appearance

Quickstrike was described to be bony, with black scales and black eyes.

Personality

Quickstrike seemed to be a quick-thinking dragon. She loved and worried about Deathbringer very much, although she was careful to treat her son primarily as an apprentice. She was patient and dedicated to her missions, as she waited in dangerous territory for Commander Tempest's arrival for a short time. Quickstrike was secretive, mysterious, and protective of her tribe, as she was careful to keep her identity and the secrets of the NightWings hidden. She also was a very skilled teacher.

Biography

Winglets

Assassin

Quickstrike was first seen asking her son, Deathbringer, to spy on Queen Battlewinner. She said she would have a meeting with Greatness in one hour and wanted him to listen in on the conversation.

Later, at the beginning of the meeting, Deathbringer heard Morrowseer talking with Battlewinner, Greatness, and Quickstrike. Quickstrike kept it short and asked if Deathbringer could come with her to the continent on an assassination assignment involving a SeaWing general named Tempest. She claimed that he needed to learn about the politics and the geography of Pyrrhia and how to properly assassinate a dragon and that it would be the perfect opportunity. Morrowseer said no at first but agreed on the condition that Battlewinner proposed: Deathbringer must kill either Slaughter or Vengeance by midnight before the day of his potential mission.

After Deathbringer completed his mission by killing Slaughter, Quickstrike met him in the dragonet sleeping cave. She said she would tell him not to attempt an assassination and that he should've checked with her first. Deathbringer apologized, but Quickstrike was still fretting. She feared that Morrowseer would have some kind of punishment ready for her son because he killed one of Morrowseer's "pets," and so she arranged for them to leave that night.

Later, the two were hovering over the Bay of a Thousand Scales in a storm, waiting for any sign of life, when a bolt of lightning hit Quickstrike's wing. Deathbringer hid his still-breathing but unconscious mother under some fallen trees. She did not wake up, and when Deathbringer killed Tempest, Blister's allies were confused, yet enraged, and searched the island. They found Quickstrike by herself, and Deathbringer couldn't follow, afraid that his cover would be blown. After the soldiers came back with the news that Quickstrike was half dead, Blister called her "completely irrelevant," and told the soldiers to make her "completely dead."

Relationships

Deathbringer

Quickstrike did not treat Deathbringer like a son, and instead, more of an apprentice. Her goal was to train him to become the tribe's greatest assassin and even gave him an appropriate name. She was shown to care for her son deeply and think highly of him, despite their mentor-apprentice dynamic.

Morrowseer

Morrowseer was seen as a rival to Quickstrike due to being a possible threat to Deathbringer. The two also had differing opinions on matters, such as whom to train to be an assassin. Quickstrike also stated that she would never leave Deathbringer with him, which indicated mistrust. She seemed to hold a small grudge against Morrowseer as well since he ordered Deathbringer to go on a nearly impossible mission.

Family Tree

More

Jacaranda

Several Generations

Grandeur

Several Dragons

Quickstrike

Unknown

Jambu

Glory

Deathbringer

Firefly

    = Possible timeline

Quotes

"Vengeance and Slaughter both have boulders for brains, […] Deathbringer could stab out their eyes and tie their tails in knots before they even noticed he was on the same island as them. I want him and no one else. He can keep your secrets, even though he's young. And I'm not leaving him here to be trained by someone inferior to me."

― to Morrowseer, about Deathbringer

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"I don't treat him like a son, […] I treat him like a student. He's my apprentice. The council agreed to that when he hatched; that's why he's called Deathbringer. And he's lived up to the name. He'll be the greatest NightWing assassin of all time if you let me take him on this mission."

― to Morrowseer

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"I would never leave him with you!"

― to Morrowseer, about Deathbringer

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"NightWings play a long game, […] We use our superior intelligence to tilt events our way, but we must never do it so obviously that the other tribes notice."

―

Gallery

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  Reference by Sands of Lost Time

References

fr:Quickstrike ru:Быстробойница