Greatness
- "Everyone is gathering … but, mother, I can't lead them into battle myself. Can't we postpone the attack? Mastermind says your armor isn't ready …"
- — Greatness to Battlewinner, The Dark Secret
Greatness is an adult female NightWing who is the only daughter of the former NightWing queen, Battlewinner. On the NightWing volcano, Greatness would listen to what Battlewinner was saying through a screen called the Queen's Eye, and would often speak for her.
Appearance
Greatness has black eyes[1] and a scar rippling down her chest. Her wings droop in an odd way as if they are weighted down with rocks, and she wears a cluster of diamonds around her neck. Another chain of smaller teardrop diamonds is wound around her horns.[2] According to Deathbringer, she always sounds a little nervous, as if she isn't sure anyone believes anything she says.[3]
Personality
Greatness, despite being a princess (and only heir), is not interested in becoming queen of the NightWings, and occasionally expresses this opinion defiantly. She accepts who she is and puts her own needs before her tribe, like when she ran out of the NightWing tunnel to the rainforest without checking to be sure her dragons were safe. When Starflight first saw her, he was certain she wasn't the queen, as he noticed that as she sat down her wings slumped in a tired manner and she didn't emit a queenly aura. Battlewinner described her as weak and unambitious.
However, she was able to admit that what her mother was doing was wrong. That could point to courage, even if it is not for the right thing. Greatness seems to be defiant, as she expresses her feelings without caring about others' complaints. She also showed some care for her tribe, as she believed Queen Glory would be a better queen for the NightWings than Greatness ever was (especially since Greatness never wanted the throne anyway), and when Battlewinner refused to let the tribe move to the rainforest, Greatness pointed out how awful their home was and that they needed a new home. She does not seem to have anything against living with RainWings. She showed sadness and empathy when Deathbringer failed to do his mission and was sentenced to death, and spared his life, showing that she feels empathy for the dragons she cares about. Deathbringer stated that she was hesitant on attacking the RainWings right away. Secretkeeper considered Greatness to be smarter than most NightWings.
Biography
The Dragonet Prophecy
| The Dark Secret |
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| Greatness spoke for her mother, Queen Battlewinner, who was unable to leave her cauldron of lava due to having an internal freezing issue caused by an IceWing's frostbreath (which was not known by the dragonets at the time). During the RainWing attack on the NightWings, after Glory threatened her, Greatness showed them to her mother. When they told her their idea about making the NightWings subjects to Queen Glory, she said that it sounded decent and didn't make an objection about wanting the throne for herself, much to a freezing Queen Battlewinner's chagrin. Starflight stated that Greatness didn't appear to be a very good queen, and wasn't acting regally or as a queen should. This was shown when the volcano in the Night Kingdom erupted; Greatness was the second dragon to escape through the tunnel to the rainforest, not caring about her tribe. She said that she was glad she would never have to be queen and is revealed to be very fond of Deathbringer, sparing his life even when his identity as a traitor was revealed. |
| The Brightest Night |
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| Fierceteeth, Preyhunter, and Strongwings debated whether or not Greatness should have been the NightWing queen. They seemed to think of her as very selfish, saving her own scales rather than the Obsidian Mirror. |
The Jade Mountain Prophecy
| Moon Rising |
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In the prologue, Secretkeeper is able to get into the rainforest by lying that she wanted to bring some food for Greatness to give to the queen. When she gets into the rainforest and finds her egg turned silver, Secretkeeper wonders if its a trick by Mastermind or Greatness. Secretkeeper appears to consider the princess much smarter than most NightWings. |
Winglets
| Prisoners |
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| More information flying in soon... |
| Assassin |
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| Greatness, Morrowseer, and Quickstrike are briefly shown having a discussion about Deathbringer and whether or not he should be permitted to leave the island to kill the SeaWing general, Commander Tempest. She did not have a say in this conversation, as she was only speaking for her mother. |
Relationships
Greatness had a certain degree of love for her mother despite not living up to her expectations, even to the point of being concerned when Battlewinner left her lava cauldron. She was not fit for a queen, much to her mother's dismay, but she does not have anything against Battlewinner's opinions. Still, she openly admits that her mother's actions were wrong.
Greatness seems to care about him and was upset to find out that he failed his mission. She also chose to spare his life. He is mentioned by Vengeance to be "her pet assassin."
Family Tree
| Vigilance | |||||||||||||||
| Several Dragons | |||||||||||||||
| Several Generations | |||||||||||||||
| Unknown | Battlewinner | ||||||||||||||
| Greatness | |||||||||||||||
Quotes
- "And it's your fault they found out about us, […] You're the one who brought her here, even though Deathbringer warned us the dragonets were in the forest, and that we should stay away until they were gone."
- ― (The Dark Secret, page 20)
- "Vengeance! […] The queen has spoken, […] Vengeance. You endangered the whole tribe. You disobeyed orders. You brought a viper to us disguised as a simple garden snake."
- ― (The Dark Secret, page 22)
- "Oh, you're the two little prophecy dragonets. Morrowseer was looking for you in quite a towering rage earlier. Listen, like I told him, the prophecy is important, but it's even more important that we win this battle tonight. So the whole tribe is going, no exceptions. Everyone else is in the great hall-- if you follow this tunnel down and take the fourth left, you'll be halfway there and someone can guide you."
- ― to Fatespeaker and Starflight (The Dark Secret, page 254)
- "Please listen. You're dooming us to a horrible end, […] The volcano is not only a future threat — it's killing us now. There's almost no prey left. We're all starving. Fewer dragonets are born each year. And we're barely NightWings anymore. Don't you see? The tribe is dying. We need a new home."
- ― to Glory (The Dark Secret, page 258)
Trivia
- It is stated in The Brightest Night by Preyhunter that Greatness doesn't trust animus-enchanted objects.
Gallery
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Reference by Platypus the SeaWing
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Greatness from The Dark Secret (graphic novel), by Mike Holmes
| Graphic novels |
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References
- ↑ The Dark Secret, page 204
- ↑ The Dark Secret, page 15
- ↑ 35
