Vulture

Template:SpoilerDoD Template:Charbox Vulture is a male SandWing that appears in Darkness of Dragons. He is the grandfather to Qibli, Rattlesnake, and Sirocco, and father to Cobra. He is the leader of the Talons of Power, a cult that wants to overthrow Queen Thorn. The Talons of Power have been setting bombs with Dragonflame Cactus plants off across the SandWing kingdom, and he blames the MudWings, bribing a MudWing named Bog (also known as Chameleon) to lie for him and say the MudWings caused the explosions with the promise of treasure. Vulture did this to gain trust from the SandWing subjects to originally allow Onyx onto the throne to overthrow Queen Thorn so he could be the power behind the throne, controlling Onyx's every move. However, Vulture found out that Darkstalker is king of the NightWings, and so he thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea for Vulture to rule the SandWings as a king, to be the direct power on the throne instead of Onyx. Vulture planned to dispose of Onyx once he got what he wanted before his plan was ruined.

Appearance

Vulture has pale yellow scales, with dragon skull tattoos all over his body, supposedly making him look like a leopard from a distance. He has a hooked snout, likely a source of his name, and his black eyes look like bottomless voids, according to Qibli, and have gold rings in them, much like the Eye of Onyx itself. His gaze is often calculating and cold. He is a sly, cunning dragon. His barb, talons, and claws are dipped in gold leaf, and he wears several accessories, including enormous black and gold spider-shaped earrings, a black cape lined with gold, and draped gold chains all along his wings. He is obviously very wealthy and very powerful.

Biography

Moon Rising

Moonwatcher has a vision about Qibli fighting Rattlesnake and Sirocco, with Vulture glowering at him as well. Qibli was shouting "Where is she?" at the sneering faces of his siblings. He was referring to Ostrich.

Darkness of Dragons

Vulture appears in Darkness of Dragons, working with Onyx. He keeps Ostrich as a hostage so he and Onyx can get to Six-Claws, Thorn's highest ranking general, then overthrow Thorn herself. He imprisons Qibli, Cobra, Winter, and Ostrich together, then tries to force Qibli to write down all of Thorn's secrets on a scroll. Qibli stalls, writing nonsense to distract him, and in this time and the four of them escape.

Later, Vulture bombs the SandWing Stronghold, and steals the Eye of Onyx. However, Queen Thorn has the real one, and the Eye he stole was fake; otherwise, he most likely would have been killed by the Eye. His plan unfolds when Onyx appears behind the queen, attempting to kill her. She was luckily saved by a warning call from Qibli. Afterwards, Thorn suggests a royal challenge instead of a covert assasination, since all the past challengers have come this way. She accepts, and both she and Vulture believe she's worthy due to royal blood. Afraid Onyx will be chosen, Qibli summons a sandstorm with Princess Anemone's weather bracelets, and in the choas of the storm Vulture disappears from the stronghold.

Across the book, Qibli always had a suspicion that Vulture would end up working for Darkstalker and become a juggernaut, taking over the world. That suspicion proved to be true later on, where Vulture is seen in The Lost City of Night, bargaining and talking with Darkstalker.

Quotes

"Urple." -When Darkstalker enchanted Vulture to act like a hatchling.

"Oubliette. Ooooooooubliette. It sounds much friendlier than it is, like you should be able to eat it at parties."

"Everyone agrees they're no smarter than mice." -About scavengers.

"Qibli. Just the dragon I've been waiting for."

Trivia

• In Darkness of Dragons, he says "Great snakes", which is a famous expression Tintin used.

• Each of Vulture's skull tattoos represents a dragon he's killed. This gruesome display was also taken up by two of his grandchildren, Rattlesnake and Sirroco. It is rumored they have the tattoos for the same purpose and not just for show.

Family Tree

Unknown

Vulture

Unknown

Cobra

Sirocco

Rattlesnake

Qibli

Gallery

• 
  A typical SandWing (colored), by Joy Ang
• 
  A typical SandWing (lineart), by Joy Ang
• A typical SandWing from the German publication, by Max Meinzold
  A typical SandWing from the German publication, by Max Meinzold
• Reference by Platypus the SeaWing
  Reference by Platypus the SeaWing
• 
  SandWing Sigil by Platypus the SeaWing
• Vulture drawn by xTheDragonRebornx
  Vulture drawn by xTheDragonRebornx
• File:Ga submit new=10:1500273434&ga type=edit&ga changes=1&ga recent=1

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