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, The Dragonet Prophecy
Template:Charbox Osprey was an elderly male SkyWing who was introduced in The Dragonet Prophecy. He worked as the defense attorney for Queen Scarlet's trials before she killed him for informing Peril about the Champion's Shield. Before moving to the Sky Kingdom, Osprey's tail was paralyzed by a scavenger, and from that point onward he was unable to fly. However, in the graphic novel, his wings were ripped off instead. Previous to the events of The Dragonet Prophecy, Osprey was also mentioned to be Peril's only friend, other then Clay.
Appearance
Osprey had pale washed-out red scales and was mentioned to move slowly, dragging his paralyzed tail behind him like a carcass.[1] His tail made him unable to fly, and it was also stated that he had a voice creaky with age but loud enough to be audible. In The Dragonet Prophecy Graphic Novel, his wings were blasted off from the war, but this is not canon in the mainstream chapter book series.
Personality
Osprey is a kind dragon who is more mellow compared to other SkyWings. His kindness can be shown when he chooses to befriend Peril, teaching her how to write as well as history of the SkyWings. He is also shown to be a fair and righteous dragon, not hesitating to defend Kestrel and point out Scarlet’s unfair decisions.
Along with his kindness, Osprey appears to be a great teacher and has a lot of knowledge. This can be shown through his teachings to Peril, from literacy to SkyWing politics, such as the Champion’s Shield.
Biography
Pre-Series
Before moving to the Sky Kingdom, Osprey lived in an unknown location and was very wealthy. However, during a scavenger's attempted theft, Osprey's tail was paralyzed before he managed to eat the scavenger. Having lost the ability to fly, he gave his remaining treasure to Queen Scarlet in order to live in the Sky Kingdom.
There is a variation in storyline in The Dragonet Prophecy Graphic Novel, saying that instead of being paralyzed in the tail by a scavenger, his wings were blasted off during the war by other dragons, but still gave his treasure to Scarlet to live in the Sky Kingdom. Osprey served as the defendant in Scarlet's trials, but usually made poor arguments in order to avoid being punished or killed by Scarlet. During Kestrel's trial, he also mentioned that he had once been a member of the SkyWing guard.
He became a friend and mentor to Peril. He taught her how to read and write, and also told her many stories of his youth. It can also be inferred that he informed Peril on SkyWing politics, as she knew about the Champion's Shield when she could not read scrolls herself and had no other dragons besides him and Scarlet that had befriended.
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 processed that Osprey had 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. Peril attempted to grab him, but released once she realized that her firescales were causing him pain. Once he hit the ground, he broke many of his bones and soon died of his wounds. Although he still has his wings he is unable to properly fly because his tail causes him to be weighed down and unbalanced, as seen by Clay when he thinks about how much dragons need their tail for balance while flying.
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 that he is "Kidney Breath" from the Escaping Peril prologue.
Quotes
"Your Majesty, [...] I do have one or two words to say in this prisoner's defense." -To Queen Scarlet during Kestrel's trial.
"Consider first the charge of disobedience. Kestrel did not do as you ordered-- but then, didn't you reverse the order after she was gone?" -To Queen Scarlet during Kestrel's trial.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty, [...] I must speak. Kestrel was one of your most loyal soldiers. She was sent through the breeding program, on your orders, and brought forth one egg. Upon hatching, it turned out to hold twin dragonets."
"The dragonets were defective, [...] One had too much fire. The other did not have enough. As per SkyWing custom, you ordered Kestrel to kill them both and stay out of the breeding program for the rest of her life."
"But Kestrel tried to escape, [...] She took her two dragonets from the hatching cave and tried to flee with them down the mountain."
"You caught her at the Diamond Spray River, [...] And there you issued a new order. You told her you would forgive her disobedience on one condition. She must choose one of the dragonets to die, and then you would spare the other's life, and Kestrel's own."
"Then she did obey you, didn't she? [...] She killed the dragonet with too little fire, right there at the river. With her own claws."
"You told your guards-- I know, for I was one of them-- to kill the other dragonet and take Kestrel back for trial. She tried to grab her daughter and fly away, but the heat of the dragonet's scales burned her talons before she was a wingbeat into the sky, and she had to drop her. She fled, leaving her only living dragonet at your mercy."
"Your Majesty. I do have a few words to say in this prisoner's defense." -In The Dragonet Prophecy Graphic Novel.
"You ordered Kestrel to destroy her egg. It was a single egg, but inside there were two dragonets. One had no fire at all, but the other-- had too much." -In The Dragonet Prophecy Graphic Novel.
"You ordered her to destroy the defective egg. However, she fled with it--" -In The Dragonet Prophecy Graphic Novel.
"When you caught her, the dragonets had hatched. I know. Because I was one of the guards who was with you. You told her you'd forgive her and let her live-- if she killed one of her dragonets. So she killed that dragonet with too little fire, right there at the river, with her own claws. But even though she did what you said, you told us to kill her other dragonet anyway! She grabbed her daughter. She tried to fly away-- But she was too badly burned and was forced to drop her. So she fled, leaving her only dragonet at your mercy." -In The Dragonet Prophecy Graphic Novel.
Trivia
- An osprey is a diurnal, fish-eating bird that dwells near the ocean. It is a bird of prey, and related to both eagles and hawks.
- He is currently the only known dragon in the series to become paralyzed unnaturally.
- Osprey is one of the only dragons who willingly talked to Peril, the others being Kestrel, Chameleon (Soar), and Ex-Queen Scarlet, as Peril herself explains in Escaping Peril. He taught her how to read and write despite the fact that her firescales got in the way of doing so, and he also taught her traditional SkyWing customs.
- Despite canonically losing his ability to fly by a tail injury, the graphic novel changes his injury to missing wings.
- He, Avalanche, and Scarlet are the only known dragons that went after Kestrel when Peril and Sky had hatched. It is unknown if there was anyone else, but in the graphic novel there is another guard accompanying them.
- Excluding immortal dragons, he is one of the oldest dragons in the series.
- Osprey is the second dragon in the series that is not able to fly, the first is Dune and the third is Tau.
- However, unlike Tau, who cannot fly due to a natural cause, Osprey lost his ability to fly due to an unnatural cause.
Gallery
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A typical SkyWing (lineart), by Joy Ang -
A typical SkyWing from the German publication, by Max Meinzold
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Reference by Platypus the SeaWing
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SkyWing Sigil by Platypus the SeaWing -
Osprey by Destinyfollower2233
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Osprey by Snowflake
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Osprey's Death by QueenClam -
An actual osprey
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Osprey by Journeying-Warrior
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Osprey by Ta-ak
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Osprey by QueenClam
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Osprey teaching a young Peril (By CaimanFlight)
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Osprey (g-pa out for shoulder jabbing) by Chamops
References
- ↑ The Dragonet Prophecy, page 176
