- "Stay secret. Stay hidden. Stay safe."
- — Secretkeeper to Moonwatcher, Moon Rising
Secretkeeper is an adult female NightWing who was introduced in Moon Rising. She currently resides in the NightWing village, but is widely considered a traitor among her tribe for secretly raising Moonwatcher in the Rainforest Kingdom. She was formerly in a relationship with Morrowseer.
Description[]
Secretkeeper is tall and thin. She looks similar to Moonwatcher, but without the silver teardrop scales by her eyes.[1]
Personality[]
Secretkeeper is fiercely protective of her daughter, Moonwatcher. She would willingly kill any RainWing that witnessed Moonwatcher's hatching, and was unkind towards Farsight in order to escape the NightWing island and check on Moonwatcher's egg.[2] Darkstalker stated that she mostly worries about other dragons liking Moonwatcher, not Moonwatcher liking them.[3] She does not typically express her emotions aloud,[4] and was described by Morrowseer to have a backbone and a "sensible head on her shoulders."[5] Secretkeeper is very protective towards the ones she loves.[2] She believed NightWing powers were a curse and instructed Moonwatcher to hide her powers from the other students.[6] This belief was further solidified after the Darkstalker incident.[4]
Biography[]
The Dragonet Prophecy[]
| The Brightest Night |
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| While the dragonets of destiny were listing off potential students who could attend Jade Mountain Academy, Secretkeeper was mentioned by Deathbringer when he suggested that Moonwatcher could attend the school. |
The Jade Mountain Prophecy[]
| Moon Rising |
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In the prologue of Moon Rising, at a time before the events of the book, Secretkeeper had hidden Moon's egg in the rainforest to protect her from the harsh and unhealthy conditions of the Night Kingdom. Secretkeeper knew Moonwatcher's egg was due to hatch, so she was on her way to the rainforest when she encountered Mastermind and Farsight in the hallway. Mastermind seemed to know what she was up to but did not mention it. However, Farsight was under the impression that the egg had been cracked. Farsight asked if Secretkeeper needed anyone to sit with her, but the latter declined abruptly, noting that Farsight was the kind of dragon who would not take it too personally and forgive her later. After getting past Preyhunter, the guard posted on duty, she went through the tunnel. At first, Secretkeeper could not find her egg in the forest, but she eventually found it under the rays of moonlight. She noticed that the egg had changed color from the standard ebony black to a bright silver. When she saw this, Secretkeeper thought that this could be an attempt by Mastermind or Greatness to catch her, or if she had done something wrong. Then Moonwatcher emerged from the eggshell, and her mother happily observed that she was "perfect in every way," including the silver teardrop scales beside her eyes. Secretkeeper impressed upon Moon that she must stay hidden and briefly wondered if Moon could read her mind. Secretkeeper hid Moon before returning to the Night Kingdom once the guard, Preyhunter, called to her. Secretkeeper had taken Moon to her first day of school at the Jade Mountain Academy. They picked a spot where they could watch the students entering the school, until they were ready. Secretkeeper never talked about Moon's father, Morrowseer, but Moon read her mother's mind and found his name. She did not want to leave Moon at Jade Mountain but forced herself to go so Moon would be encouraged to make new friends and get away from the NightWing tribe, so that she would not receive discrimination. |
| Winter Turning |
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| Secretkeeper met with her daughter once again when Moon returned to the rainforest with her companions, Qibli, Winter, and Kinkajou to warn Glory of Icicle's plot to kill the queen for Scarlet. When they were walking through the NightWing part of the village, Moon saw her mother, and the two embraced. Qibli and Kinkajou had longing expressions on their faces as they watched Moon and Secretkeeper hug. Winter insisted that his parents were perfect the way they were and made him a true, dignified IceWing. Secretkeeper eyed Winter and Qibli with distrust before Moon told her they were her friends. |
| Talons of Power |
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| She stood with the other NightWings as Darkstalker, Moon, Anemone and the other NightWings students from Jade Mountain Academy came. She then hugged Moon when she came. She was one of the few NightWings who stayed with Queen Glory, while the rest of the NightWings went with Darkstalker to the lost city of night. |
| Darkness of Dragons |
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| In the epilogue, after Darkstalker was transformed into Peacemaker, Moon, alongside some other Jade Winglet members, including Winter, returned to the rainforest. While Moonwatcher was there, she met with Secretkeeper. Her mother was asking whether she wanted to stay in school, saying that she did not have to. Moon chose to stay anyway. |
The Lost Continent Prophecy[]
| The Flames of Hope |
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| Secretkeeper was mentioned in Moonwatcher's memory when she recalled reciting the names of the moons while waiting for her in the rainforest. |
Winglets[]
| Prisoners |
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| Secretkeeper was mentioned by Morrowseer when he was discussing with Farsight about taking her egg (Starflight) for the prophecy. He said that "she's got a sensible head on her shoulders, and she'd hand over her dragonet for a prophecy in a heartbeat." This is somewhat ironic since Secretkeeper ended up betraying NightWing law to save her egg from the grasp of her tribe. This also displays that Morrowseer likely did not know Secretkeeper very well or care about her. |
Relationships[]
Moonwatcher[]
Secretkeeper is Moonwatcher's mother. She lied about Moon's egg cracking to ensure that her dragonet could grow up away from the inhospitable conditions of the volcano island.[2] She was only able to visit her daughter a few times a week before the NightWing Exodus. Secretkeeper missed Moonwatcher dearly while she attended Jade Mountain Academy, and held her close when she visited her in the Rainforest Kingdom. She cared about her daughter, but was more worried about how other dragons saw Moon rather than how Moon saw them.[3] Secretkeeper told Moon that she did not have to stay at school if she missed her too much.[4] She is very protective towards Moonwatcher, often lecturing her about keeping her powers a secret. She saw Moon as her 'weird little diamond' and was conscious of how nervous Moon was all the time, comparing Moon to herself as a young dragonet.[7] Living with Moonwatcher for so long taught Secretkeeper to block certain thoughts from her daughter,[8] such as thoughts about her father Morrowseer. Secretkeeper had second thoughts about leaving her daughter at Jade Mountain, but said her goodbyes and left quickly with a few last words of advice.[9]
Morrowseer[]
Morrowseer was Secretkeeper's partner. As much as Secretkeeper wanted to tell Morrowseer the truth about Moonwatcher's egg, she knew he could not be trusted as he would have ordered the dragonet to be brought back to the island.[2] As a result, Morrowseer died believing that his egg had died.[2] Secretkeeper refused to give Moonwatcher any information regarding her father aside from the fact that he did not survive the NightWing Exodus.[10]
Family tree[]
| Secretkeeper | Morrowseer | ||||||||||||||
| Moonwatcher | |||||||||||||||
Quotes[]
- "It's not the same at all! You have two surviving dragonets, and one of them is off on the continent being pampered and overfed and worshipped by the Talons of Peace. So don't try to act like you understand me!"
- ― to Farsight (Moon Rising, prologue)
- "I should have kept her with me. I shouldn't have lied to my tribe. I only wanted to protect her from that island — from the smoke and the smell and the rules and the misery, and from the constant fear that the earth will swallow us in fire at any moment. And now she's gone. This is my punishment for deceiving everyone."
- ― thoughts about Moonwatcher (Moon Rising, prologue)
- "I'm your mother, little one. I'm going to call you Moonwatcher. You're going to have the happiest life any dragon has ever had, and you're going to live forever and ever, and the volcano will never have you."
- ― to Moonwatcher (Moon Rising, prologue)
- "Stay secret. Stay hidden. Stay safe."
- ― to Moonwatcher (Moon Rising, prologue)
- "You need to stop doing that, remember? If you only hear it in your head, don't respond. No one can know about your curse. Everybody thinks NightWings don't have powers anymore. They won't know what to do with you if they find out."
- ― to Moonwatcher (Moon Rising, page 3)
- "Queen Glory is barely older than you are. I mean a real queen, someone who's ruled their tribe for years and years."
- ― to Moonwatcher about Coral (Moon Rising, page 11)
Trivia[]
- Secretkeeper notes that her name is ironic, as she kept the secret of hiding her egg in the rainforest.[2]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Winter Turning, page 45
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Moon Rising, prologue
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Moon Rising, page 4
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Darkness of Dragons, epilogue
- ↑ The Winglets Quartet: Prisoners, page 14
- ↑ Moon Rising, page 12
- ↑ Moon Rising, page 3
- ↑ Moon Rising, page 6
- ↑ Moon Rising, page 11
- ↑ Moon Rising, page 59