Quickstrike
- "Be as stealthy as you can, and meet me afterward at your sleeping cave."
- — Quickstrike to Deathbringer, Assassin
Template:Charbox Quickstrike was a female NightWing with black scales and eyes.[1][2] She was Deathbringer's mother and teacher, as well as a NightWing assassin. She was also a rival to Morrowseer, who proved to be a possible threat to her son. She was later struck by lightning, and was killed by two of Blister's soldiers.
Personality
Quickstrike seemed to be a quick-thinking dragon. She got worried about her son, whom she probably loved very much, though she never actually admitted this due to the fact that she treated Deathbringer like an apprentice. She seemed to hold a small grudge against Morrowseer, as he ordered Deathbringer to go on a nearly impossible mission. She was extremely patient, as she had stayed out waiting for Commander Tempest at least a few days, although this could be because of her dedication to her mission. Quickstrike was protective of her tribe, and knew she couldn't let any other dragon see them on a mission, or their secret will be revealed. This is why she was secretive. She was a very skilled NightWing, with plenty of training techniques to show other NightWings and Deathbringer.
Biography
Quickstrike was first seen asking her son, Deathbringer, to spy on the queen. She said that she was going to have a meeting with Princess 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 Quickstrike, Greatness, and the queen. 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, as well as how to properly assassinate a dragon and that it would be the perfect opportunity. Morrowseer said no at first, but agreed on the condition Battlewinner proposed that Deathbringer must slay either Slaughter or Vengeance by midnight of that night before he could go.
After Deathbringer completed his mission, Quickstrike met him in the dragonet sleeping cave. She said she was going to 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 Quickstrike was hit by a bolt of lightning. Deathbringer hid his luckily, 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".
Quotes
"[Morrowseer] You don't have to be here, [...] Greatness, this is a matter for you, me, and the queen. Nobody else." - To Morrowseer and Greatness
"You don't get to decide, [...] The queen is still the queen, despite all your pretensions lately, Morrowseer." - To Morrowseer when he says that Deathbringer can't come with her
"Yes, but he's the smartest dragonet in the tribe, [...] And if we want to train him to be our next assassin, he needs to start now. He needs to know the geography of Pyrrhia and the way the seven tribes work. He needs to understand the politics of this war for the SandWing throne. He needs to learn how to slip into a tent and slice open an IceWing's throat without waking the rest of the army." - To Greatness when she says Deathbringer can't come with her
"He can't learn to be an efficient assassin from here, [...] And if I die on this mission, you'll have no assassin, and no way to train another." - To Greatness.
"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 training assassins.
"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.
"I would never leave him with you!" - To Morrowseer about Deathbringer
"You did it? [...] You really killed Slaughter?" - To Deathbringer
"I was going to tell you not to do it, [...] Because it was too dangerous."
"It's not that easy. [...] The SeaWings have two palaces-- the Summer Palace and the Deep Palace-- but no one knows where either of those are, and they're probably underwater. You're very talented, but I haven't noticed you sprout gills lately."
"You must not kill any of the three queens! It would ruin everything! Leave them "alive at all costs", do you understand?"
"Impatience is not a useful quality in an assassin."
"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."
"And then we kill her." - Quickstrike's last words
Family Tree
| More | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacaranda | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Several Generations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grandeur | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Several Dragons | Quickstrike | Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jambu | Glory | Deathbringer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Firefly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
= Possible timeline
Trivia
- Quickstrike may be the stuffed dragon in Burn's weirdling collection featured in The Brightest Night, though this is unconfirmed.
- Quickstrike is the only known dragon to die at least partially from a lightning strike.
- Quickstrike's name is ironic because lightning ultimately caused her death.
- She is one of the nine characters whose name is ironic, the others being Quickdeath, Slaughter, Scarlet, Coconut, Handsome, Mindreader, Secretkeeper, and Chameleon.
Gallery
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A typical NightWing (colored), by Joy Ang -
A typical NightWing (lineart), by Joy Ang -
A typical NightWing from the German publication, by Max Meinzold
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Reference by Platypus the SeaWing
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NightWing Sigil by Platypus the SeaWing -
Quickstrike and Deathbringer (By QueenClam) -
The scene in Assassin where Deathbringer is telling Quickstrike about the war and the rival sisters alliances -
Quickstrike's quick strike by - DROBOT80
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Quickstrike by Ta-ak
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Quickstrike by QueenClam
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Chibi Quickstrike
References
