| “ | No, no! I must not be interrupted! This experiment is at a critical juncture! And Greatness says I might be shut down at any moment! Everyone please leave! | „ |
| ~ Mastermind |
Mastermind is the secondary antagonist of Wings of Fire's fourth book, The Dark Secret.
He is the royal scientist of the NightWings and also the father of Starflight and Fierceteeth. He is responsible for the kidnapping of over twelve RainWings, and the experimentation on their natural defenses in his laboratories. The conditions were so cruel that several of the RainWings committed suicide rather than be subjected to the tests.
Appearance[]
Mastermind has black scales and silver under scales. The silver scale patterns on the underside of his wing membranes spray outward, like a splash of water, a sign of his genetic heritage. He is whip-thin, his snout is pockmarked with little scars, and he has curious, bloodshot eyes. He often wears a domed, metal helmet to protect his head from any RainWing who would attack him with their venom.
Personality[]
Mastermind is highly intelligent, which is most likely why he was allowed to become a scientist. He is passionately devoted to science and seems to care greatly about Starflight. Like his son, he has a tendency to use complex vocabulary. He gets nervous in difficult situations, or when time is of the essence. Mastermind is extremely loyal to his tribe and was willing to follow the queen's orders.
However, Mastermind's intentions are, at their core, pure. His excuse for kidnapping and experimenting on RainWings was to expand dragon knowledge for the purpose of science, as well as following the queen's orders. However, he seemed to believe that RainWings are inferior, barely considering them dragons, which explained his lack of remorse in their imprisonment and kidnapping. He seems to lack critical thinking skills that allow him to question his orders and the morality of his work. Despite this, he is quite friendly to those he deems his equal, such as Morrowseer or Starflight.
Biography[]
Mastermind was born on the NightWing Island. His heritage and relatives are unknown, but he fathered a dragonet named Starflight, who Morrowseer took away from him in order to use the dragonet in the prophecy. Six years later, Starflight returned to the NightWing Island, having been kidnapped by Morrowseer. After confirming that Mastermind was his father, Morrowseer brought Starflight to see him for the first time.
Mastermind was in the middle of a panic when Starflight met him, as Princess Greatness had just threatened his laboratory with cancellation if he was unable to produce venom proof armor. Morrowseer informed Mastermind that Starflight was his son, at which point he calmed down and first examined Starflight, overjoyed. He then began talking about how the certain traits they shared (such as their strong jawline and their scale patterns) were genetically dominant, then showed Starflight some of the experiments he was working on, including desalinization (the process of making salt water drinkable) and volcanology.
Mastermind then showed them his current project, RainWing venom and its capabilities. In order to study the venom, seventeen RainWings were brought from their homes to the Night Kingdom against their will, and were then imprisoned so that Mastermind could safely conduct his experiments on them. He wanted to learn more about RainWing venom, such as what materials it affected and what it didn't. Mastermind learned that it only affected organic matter, and would quickly kill anything if the venom got into either the eyes or the bloodstream. He then began the construction of armor to resist the venom, but could not finish it due to being unable to find a suitable material as the eyepiece. However, he was so caught up in his research it never occurred to him that he was torturing the captive RainWings. This caused Starflight to think that his father was sociopathic, and decide to avoid him.
Mastermind was also secretly working on lava-heated armor that would enable Queen Battlewinner to leave her pool of lava without freezing to death. However, the armor never achieved completion before the eruption of the volcano, which destroyed everything on the NightWing island, including the queen. The armor was presumably destroyed during the eruption.
Mastermind was among the dragons fleeing the erupting volcano. He voiced his worries about the RainWings hating him for what he has done to their tribe, and Starflight told him to apologize to the Queen and take whatever punishment she gives him. Mastermind worriedly agreed, and escaped through the rainforest tunnel with the rest of the NightWings. His labs and research were all destroyed in the eruption; only the scrolls that he brought with him were saved.
Queen Glory was undecided on his punishment, unwilling to kill him (if only to spare Starflight's distress), and imprisoned him in a guarded quicksand pit. Every few hours, he would sink far enough in that he would drown, at which point the RainWing guards would pull him up enough to start the process over again.
Later, Darkstalker suggested they imprison Mastermind in a ward he created with magic. However, this never came to be.
Gallery[]
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Farsight (partner)
- Starflight (son)
- Fierceteeth (stepdaughter)
Enemies[]
- Strongwings (probably)
Quotes[]
| “ | Three moons, what a handsome dragonet. He does look like me; I knew he would. As I suspected, his jawline is genetically dominant. Ah, and yes, see the way the star scales on our wings spray outward, like a splash of water? Whereas Morrowseer's, for instance, curl inward, more like a snail shell. All theories at this point, of course. | „ |
| ~ Masterind to Morrowseer on Starflight. |
| “ | But I have a son! I, of all dragons! Let's see Strongwings laugh now! Just wait until everyone sees my handsome offspring. [...] So strong and healthy! You can be the assistant I've been looking for. What are you interested in, son?" | „ |
| ~ Mastermind to Starflight. |
| “ | Fantastic! I have lots of scrolls. How about desalinization? Know anything about it? | „ |
| ~ Mastermind to Starflight. |
| “ | We have only one freshwater source on the island, and it's become rather contaminated with ash over the last few years, so I invented this magnificent contraption to provide safe water for the entire tribe. | „ |
| ~ Mastermind |
| “ | Here is where I do all my volcanology, I'm testing for materials that can withstand eruptions, and working on scale models of barriers, and outlining possible implementation systems. No wonder I need an assistant, right? | „ |
| ~ Mastermind |
| “ | Not going very well, as you can see! Queen Battlewinner isn't pleased about that. Of course, she has her own ideas about where I should be focusing my attention. Come, come! | „ |
| ~ Mastermind to Starflight. |
| “ | I'm sorry... it was... I was just... for science... | „ |
| ~ Mastermind to the RainWings when they confront him for capturing RainWings and experimenting on them. |
| “ | YOU'VE RUINED IT! THE WHOLE THING! OUR ENTIRE TRIBE COULD BE WIPED OUT BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPIDITY! DON'T COME BACK OR I'LL DISSECT YOU ALIVE! | „ |
| ~ Mastermind to Strongwings. |
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 Villains
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HiveWings IceWings NightWings RainWings SandWings SeaWings SkyWings Humans | ||