Kestrel
Template:Infobox Character "I am the way life has made me. Take it or leave it."
--Kestrel, The Dragonet Prophecy page 255
Kestrel was a large SkyWing [1] with 'jewel-hard',[2] rust-colored scales, burn scars on her palms,[3] and orange-yellow eyes.
As one of the guardians of the dragonets, she taught and cared for the dragonets of destiny while they were imprisoned in the hidden cave, having been a member of the Talons of Peace before her death at Blister's talons. Her mate is unknown, and she was the mother of Peril[4] and her dead brother.
Biography
Pre-Series
Years before the series began, Kestrel was one of Queen Scarlet's most loyal soldiers. Under Queen Scarlet's orders, she entered the SkyWing breeding program, and produced one egg containing twins, a rare and unwanted occurrence. One of the dragonets, the female, hatched with twice the amount of fire she should have had, while her brother had too little.
Since such dragonets were always killed, Kestrel attempted to save them but was cornered at the Diamond Spray River. Scarlet told her that if Kestrel sacrificed one, she would not be held responsible for her disobedience. In addition, Scarlet said she'd let the other dragonet live and go free. Kestrel killed the male with her own claws, an act that haunted her the rest of her life.
Scarlet lied and didn't keep her end of the bargain, forcing Kestrel to flee for her life. Kestrel attempted to bring her daughter, but burned her talons on the dragonet's scales. She was forced to leave her surviving dragonet behind, and could not return to her, as she would be killed.
Kestrel was the dragon who found Hvitur's body at the base of a mountain after he had been murdered by Burn.
She acted as a guardian and fighting instructor for the five dragonets of destiny, a task she loathed, because it reminded her of her lost children. She was one of the reasons the dragonets were so desperate to escape, although Sunny wasn't bothered by her temper.
Later captured and imprisoned again by Queen Scarlet, who planned to execute her, she was set free when the dragonets escaped with the aid of Peril. She later parted ways with them and her daughter, leaving them to their own devices. Peril believed she'd have time to talk to her mother after making sure the Queen Scarlet was dead.
In the epilogue, Blister and Morrowseer had betrayed her. Morrowseer had said that neither the dragonets, Blister, or himself needed the SkyWing; Blister then slashed Kestrel's throat and stabbed her in the heart with her tail barb, then Morrowseer proceeded to fling her off the cliff and into the ocean.
A SeaWing guard, possibly Urchin, found Kestrel's body upon a boulder at the base of a cliff near the Summer Palace of the Sea. She was murdered violently before the arrival of the dragonets of destiny at the Summer Palace. At first, only Tsunami and Coral's court knew about the murder, although the other dragonets eventually found out. Sunny in particular was very upset over Kestrel's death, even though the other dragonets assured her that Kestrel didn't deserve Sunny's grief.
Kestrel appears in Starflight's flashback. She barges in to the study room and steals [tarflight and Sunny's scroll, yelling at Webs for "filling their heads with questions and ideas."
Sunny tells Peril of Kestrel's death. Peril seemed devastated, even though she showed distaste towards her mother.
Personality
Because she had lost both her dragonets and been exiled from the Sky Kingdom, Kestrel was usually bad-tempered, grumpy, and hot-headed. She was assumed to be just cruel and mean naturally, but it was later revealed that this was because she was bitter about being lied to and subsequently losing her children. She also often bullied and abused Glory and thinks that she must be the one to kill her, saying that she would snap Glory's neck while she was sleeping.
Quotes
Kestrel: We await the wings of fire. Not that it'll do us much good now. Hvitur is dead.
Webs: But... the SkyWing egg...
Kestrel: Broken. Gone. It's over, Webs.
"Well, isn't this sweet. Trying to protect a dragon who nearly killed you before you even hatched."
"Poison in your food, one of Scarlet's favorite tricks."
"WHICH LEFT WAS THAT, USELESS? Are all MudWings this stupid, OR ARE YOU JUST DEAF?!"
References
Gallery
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Kestrel
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Kestrel is betrayed by Blister and Morrowseer (Morrowseer not pictured) -
by Electrical-Onyx -
A typical SkyWing
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Kestrel is in the middle
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Kestrel looking at SandWings
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peril -
Kestrel is top left -
"Peril, are you coming?" by NikkiMcCloud
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Photo by Glen Jensen
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Simplified Kestrel
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Kestrel Discussing the Murdering of Glory in The Dragonet Prophecy
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"Shot through the Heart" by NikkiMcCloud
