Osprey

"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?"

— Osprey to Scarlet about Kestrel, The Dragonet Prophecy

Osprey
Age	Elderly
Gender	Male
Tribe	SkyWings
Status
Status	Deceased (died in 5,011 AS)
Cause of death	Injuries inflicted by Queen Scarlet making him fall to his death
Affiliations
Current	Trial defendant
Former	Guard under Queen Scarlet
Book Appearances
Appeared in	The Dragonet Prophecy
Mentioned in	Escaping Peril
Appeared in	The Dragonet Prophecy
Appeared in	Dragonslayer
Featured in	A Guide to the Dragon World

Osprey was an elderly male SkyWing who was introduced in The Dragonet Prophecy. He worked as the defense attorney for SkyWing trials, and died of severe wounds after being dropped from the sky by Ex-Queen Scarlet.

Description

Osprey had washed-out red scales, a paralyzed tail, and was almost blind. His voice was creaky with age, but still loud enough to carry to the SkyWing arena's prisoners.

Personality

Osprey was a kind, intelligent, and mellow dragon compared to other SkyWings. He chose to befriend Peril, instead of fearing her like most dragons, teaching her about SkyWing laws, policies, and traditions. He was also described to be a fair and righteous dragon, pointing out unfair decisions despite knowing the dreadful consequences.

Biography

Pre-Series

Before moving to the Sky Kingdom, Osprey was very wealthy. However, during a scavenger's attempted theft, Osprey's tail was paralyzed before he managed to eat the scavenger, preventing him from flying. He gave all of his treasure to Scarlet to live in the Sky Kingdom. Osprey served as the defendant in Scarlet's trials but usually made poor arguments 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 friends.

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The Dragonet Prophecy

The Dragonet Prophecy

Osprey's Death in the graphic novel 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 was forced to let go, as she was burning him. Once he hit the ground, he broke many of his bones and soon died of his wounds. Despite still having his wings, he is unable to properly fly. His paralyzed tail throws his balance, as noted by Clay when he thought about how much dragons need their tail while flying.

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The Jade Mountain Prophecy

Escaping Peril
Osprey was mentioned several times by Peril as a friend. She also mentioned he once tried to teach her how to read and write.

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Legends

Dragonslayer
Osprey's corpse was briefly seen by Leaf when he glanced down from a balcony.

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Field Guides

A Guide to the Dragon World
Osprey was mentioned as one of the dragons Scarlet wanted dead.

Relationships

Peril

Osprey was mentioned to be Peril's only friend before meeting Clay. Osprey taught her how to read and write, even if she could not touch a scroll without burning it, as well as the history of the SkyWings. Their friendship was strong, shown when Peril tried to save him from falling to his death despite knowing she has deadly firescales. Peril felt vast emptiness opening up inside her when Osprey died.

Tui stated she thinks Osprey knew he would die after defending Kestrel; he made the sacrifice for Peril's sake — so that she would know the truth.

Scarlet

Osprey followed Scarlet as his queen, but was clearly afraid of her, giving poor defenses during trials or else he would lose his head. She only let him live because he gave her all his treasure, and ultimately ended up killing him for teaching Peril too much.

Quotes

"Your Majesty, […] I do have one or two words to say in this prisoner's defense."

― to Queen Scarlet, during Kestrel's trial

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"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?"

― during Kestrel's trial

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"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."

― during Kestrel's trial

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"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."

― during Kestrel's trial

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"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."

― during Kestrel's trial

Trivia

• Despite canonically losing his ability to fly due to tail paralysis, the graphic novel changes his injury to wings having been blasted or torn off.

Gallery

Reference by CleverBasilisk

Osprey from The Dragonet Prophecy (graphic novel), by Mike Holmes

Art by Mike Holmes, from the Wings of Fire Graphic Novels