'Ruby', formerly known as 'Tourmaline', is an adult female SkyWing who was introduced in Escaping Peril (book)|Escaping
Peril. Ruby's personality, memories, and appearance were created and
contained in an earring Animus magic|enchanted by Chameleon using
Darkstalker's scroll. After Peril removed the earring during her Dragon
royalty|royal challenge against Scarlet|Ex-Queen Scarlet, Tourmaline's
original memories, appearance, and strength returned. After the
challenge, she requested that Chameleon create a second enchantment to
restore her physical appearance as Ruby but retain her original
memories. She is the current queen of the SkyWings and resides in the
SkyWing palace with her son Cliff.

## Description

<tabber> |-
Ruby is majestic, with very deep dark red scales and
wings, a diamond-shaped head, and an unusually long neck and tail. She
has small rubies glittering from between the scales around her eyes,
wears silver rings with larger rubies on them around her claws, and
wears an animus-enchanted earring with a teardrop shaped pendant hung
from it. Ruby is shorter than Vermilion. |-
Tourmaline had
dark orange scales and wings, as well as horns that curved inward. Her
snout was also described to be slightly longer than Ruby's. Her talons
were razor-sharp and she had startling speed, full of brute strength,
ferocity, and danger. She was larger and stronger than Ruby. </tabber>

## Personality

<tabber> |-
Ruby retained the wish to become queen, but because
of the threat of Peril and the sheer strength of Scarlet she vowed to
become boring, submissive, obedient, loyal, and agreeable – anything
that Scarlet wanted her to be – so that she could stay alive. She could
barely speak in a room with more than two dragons in it, although she
seemed polite and quiet to outsiders; Peril did not think she seemed
very queenly, and was surprised when she began acting imperious and
decisive after obtaining the throne. She stopped obeying Burn's orders
and pulled back on all fronts since the destruction of the Summer
Palace; Peril suspected she was consolidating her power and warriors to
defend the palace and herself. It also seemed that the interior design
of the SkyWing palace was not a big priority for her, and she used at
least half of the gold previously decorating the throne room to build a
hospital within the Sky Kingdom. She was also willing to bring in
doctors from other tribes, hinting that she is open to tribal relations.

Upon visiting the SkyWing wingery, several dragonets claimed that Ruby
was kind and they quite liked her. They reported that she visits them
all of the time, brings them snacks, and apologizes whenever she bumps
into someone. They believed she was a good queen, a sentiment that is
shared with other SkyWings. She assured a guard she would not hurt her,
and took blame for Chameleon's escape.

Upon challenging Scarlet, Ruby insisted that she take the throne the
right way by following SkyWing tradition and defeating her mother in
direct combat. According to Chameleon, she eventually became strong
enough to overcome his spell upon her. She had always wanted to become
queen, and declined Chameleon's offer to give her additional
enchantments. |-
Tourmaline was ambitious, acted like a
queen, and was not the type to run away. She did not want to wait for
things to happen; she wanted to make them happen instead, and wanted
them to happen her way. Tourmaline desired to be a decent ruler for the
SkyWings and to remove her tribe from the War of SandWing Succession.
She never wanted to let the SkyWings know when she was terrified; that
way, they'd be cheering for her when she challenged Scarlet. </tabber>

## Biography

### The Dragonet Prophecy

left The Lost Heir

After Scarlet vanished in the confusion of Glory's venom attack in the
arena during the dragonets of destiny|dragonets' escape, Ruby stepped up
and ascended into the SkyWing throne during that time. However, Scarlet
never returned, so Ruby kept the throne. Many SkyWings split over her
ascension, as a great deal of them believed Scarlet was still alive.
Another group believed she was dead, as seen when two injured SeaWings
said they heard shouts "For Ruby!" and "The queen is not dead! Long
live the queen!" From this, the Sky Kingdom was split between the
sudden uprising and loyalty to Scarlet.

left The Hidden Kingdom

The two MudWings soldiers discussed the SkyWing queen
situation along with their opinion on Ruby. Later, Scarlet
dreamvisitor|dreamvisited Glory and it was revealed that her daughter,
Ruby, had become the new SkyWing queen. Scarlet complained a great deal
about this particular subject, stating that Ruby could never beat her in
a proper duel, because of the enchantment she put on her.

left The Dark Secret
In the epilogue, Burn voiced her anger at Ruby to her brother,
Smolder, by saying that Ruby wanted to 'restore order in the Sky
Kingdom' and 'establish the stability of her own throne' before engaging
in any more battles. She also claimed that Ruby was more difficult than
her mother and that she followed orders very poorly, if at all.

left The Brightest Night

Peril mentioned that Ruby had banished her from the kingdom
because she saw her as a threat to her subjects.

-----

### The Jade Mountain Prophecy

left Moon Rising
One
of the SkyWing students, Carnelian, frequently thought about Ruby, who
"forced" her to go to Jade Mountain Academy. Carnelian was angry with
her but also showed fierce loyalty towards her, stating that she would
kill Ex-Queen Scarlet herself to defend Ruby and her throne. At one
point, much to Carnelians' despair, Ruby sent her a letter denying her
requests to leave the school. Carnelian made it clear she would rather
be training in Ruby's army, attempting to become a general, than sitting
in school.

left Winter Turning

In the prologue, Ruby was seen with fourteen other SkyWing soldiers
while capturing Hailstorm.

Later, Pyrite explained that she joined the Talons of Peace due to Queen
Ruby forcing SkyWings to swear allegiance to her. Since her enchantment
forced her to be loyal to Scarlet, she could not bow, causing her to
leave the Sky Kingdom.

Ruby was also briefly mentioned when Hailstorm, Winter, and Qibli are talking to Eagle.

left Escaping Peril

In the prologue, Ruby was seen with her sister, talking about
overthrowing Scarlet and taking the throne. Ruby thinks about how
dangerous and ambitious her sister is, unsure as to whether it would be
a good idea to discuss this or not. Soon later, Tourmaline disappeared,
and Ruby was called to the throne room by Scarlet. She greeted her
brothers, who have varied expressions, and notes that one seems awfully
friendly, possibly because she would probably get killed by Scarlet.
Scarlet's ally, Princess Burn, was present, and Scarlet suggested to
make a show, talking of how Burn dropped the SkyWing dragonet of destiny
off a cliff. While she was there, Peril burned seven of the eight eggs
that were supposed to hatch on the brightest night. Scarlet made Peril
her champion, although Ruby did not agree. Peril seemed to have no idea
that what she was doing was killing dragonets once Scarlet assured her
that it was fine. Ruby began to suspect Peril of killing her sister,
developing a strong dislike toward Peril.

Peril was waiting for Queen Ruby to retrieve the body of Carnelian.
Queen Ruby showed her strong hate for Peril and Scarlet while talking to
Clay, Sunny, and Tsunami. Worried about how Ruby would react to Peril,
Clay had Peril stay hidden in a cave. Scarlet arrived throwing a severed
head of what appears to have belonged to Glory, but was later revealed
to be an animus-touched MudWing with a scrap of enchanted scroll in
their ear. Ruby's guards defended the mountain as Ruby, Tsunami, and
more guards quickly pursued Scarlet, but to no avail. Ruby and the
others remained, discussing what to do with the MudWing head and if
Scarlet had an animus helper. It was decided that Ruby will go to Queen
Moorhen to give the MudWing head back and to try to find clues about
where Scarlet is hiding.

Queen Ruby was warned ahead of time that her mother came back to the Sky
Palace and she left the Mud Kingdom right away. At sunrise, she arrived
at the palace. Seeing that her son, Cliff, was being held hostage by
Scarlet, she agreed to let the guards lock her up. She knew this might
happen, as she already had a special cell that was designed so she could
escape. Scarlet and Ruby battled each other to determine who would be
the queen once and for all. While they were fighting, Peril realized
that Ruby had an animus-touched earring that made her weak and quickly
destroyed it. Ruby turned into Tourmaline and was able to defeat
Scarlet. Tourmaline wanted to turn back into Ruby, because Cliff wanted
his mother back. She told Chameleon to turn her back into Ruby, with all
her memories and the knowledge intact. After turning into Ruby again,
she hosted a party to celebrate. Peril was also pardoned by Ruby,
allowing her to enter the Sky Kingdom at any time she pleased. Ruby
offered Peril a home at the palace, showing her gratitude and forgiving
Peril for her past actions.

left Talons of Power
After Peril, Qibli, and Winter expressed that they believed
Darkstalker was trustworthy, Ruby was mentioned when Peril recalled the
events of Escaping Peril. She stated that she could not wait to tell
Clay about what they did to Scarlet. Later, Turtle watched Clay gather
the SkyWing students so that they could hear Peril's recollection of the
duel between Scarlet and Ruby. The SkyWing students were relieved that
Scarlet was dead and that Ruby was their queen. After that, when a
stolen dreamvisitor was found in Flame's pouch, Sunny worried that they
would have to tell Queen Ruby about what he had done and that they did
not have anywhere to keep Flame while they waited for Ruby to send
someone for him.

left
Darkness of Dragons
Ruby was
mentioned in Qibli's thoughts as he recounts that she was devoting a lot
of energy to helping SkyWings that were injured in the war.

Later, Chameleon, as Shapeshifter, complained about Peril turning him in
to Ruby.

Ruby was mentioned again in the epilogue by Peril as she mentioned the
SkyWing that Queen Ruby had sent to replace Flame, whom she had returned
to the Sky Kingdom to work with the healers.

-----

### The Lost Continent Prophecy

left
The Dangerous Gift
Ruby was
mentioned by Queen Snowfall as one of the queens who wanted to build
more relationships between their subjects. She appeared at the queen
summit expressing concern about bringing her tribe to war, but then
agreed to allow Sky to go as the SkyWing representative to Pantala.

-----

### Legends

left
Dragonslayer
Ruby was with Cliff
when Leaf saw the latter and offered to help by going to get Ruby, who
sighed, giving the key to Cliff. Cliff then gave the key to Leaf to free
the other humans.

-----

### Field Guides

left
A Guide to the Dragon World
Ruby's
letter to Starflight was featured in the SkyWing chapter. She was later
mentioned in Cliff's SkyWing Anthem as being the greatest queen yet.
Tailwind mentioned her several times in literature#Named scrolls|This
is Why We Don't Marry Psychopaths.

## Relationships

### Cliff

When Ruby saw her son for the first time, there were suddenly sparks in
her otherwise boring personality - so much so that Scarlet was perplexed
as to why Ruby was so excited about an ordinary dragonet. She would do
anything to keep Cliff safe, and allowed herself to be locked up to do
so. Cliff often imitates his mother's stance and reassures her through
physical affection. She thinks of her son as clever is gentle towards
him, and loves him.

### Hawk

Hawk is one of Ruby's brothers. He is always friendly towards her, but
during Scarlet's reign, Ruby got the feeling that he was cheerfully
being nice to her because he suspected she would be dead soon.

### Jasper

Tailwind speculated that Jasper is the father of Ruby's son, Cliff, and
that Ruby was planning to marry him soon.

### Peril

Ruby had always been afraid of Peril. She was quick to call Peril a
monster once she saw the young dragonet burn one of the eggs due to
hatch on the brightest night. Ruby realized that Peril could have been
the one who killed Tourmaline. She backed off from challenging Scarlet
for the throne, knowing that Peril was always around.

Ruby's very first act as queen had been to banish Peril from the Sky
Kingdom, stating that she never wanted to see Peril again and that she
considered her to be a murderer. Until that moment, Ruby had never been
exactly friendly, but she was not hostile. She was mostly quiet, nodding
politely in the halls or leaving the room when Peril entered it. After
looking at Ruby more closely during her banishment, Peril realized that
it was personal - Ruby genuinely hated her, although Peril was confused
as to why. Ruby furthermore called Peril a violent bloodthirsty criminal
and a creature, shattering Peril's previous premonition of her being
Scarlet's submissive daughter. Ruby hissed in fury upon seeing Peril at
Jade Mountain Academy, as her feelings towards Peril were bitter and
deep. She was doubtful that Peril had even a fragment of good in her,
and she advised that Clay and Starflight either banish her or keep her
constantly guarded. Peril did not understand how she was supposed to
feel loyal to a queen who clearly just wanted her dead, but Ruby did not
want her loyalty, and stated that Peril had always been what was wrong
with the Sky Kingdom. She was enraged when Peril said she did not
remember killing Tourmaline, and was shocked when Scarlet confessed that
Peril had no involvement in her disappearance.

After Cliff was reunited with his mother, Peril realized the extent of
Scarlet's manipulation and stood between Scarlet and Ruby. She thought
of Ruby as her new queen, and was willing to listen to her. A look
passed between Peril and Ruby as Peril vowed to protect Cliff, and
something entirely new passed between them. Ruby later forgave Peril and
apologized for her previous behavior, admitting that she had always
viewed Peril as less of a real dragon, and more of just a weapon that
could have hurt her. She also officially welcomed Peril back into the
Sky Kingdom and anywhere that she and Cliff went.

### Scarlet

Scarlet was Ruby's mother. As a younger dragon, Ruby agreed that killing
Scarlet would be good for the kingdom. Scarlet also did not hesitate to
publicly insult Ruby in front of her court. She was impatient with her
daughter, and deliberately used Peril to threaten Ruby: if she were ever
to try and challenge Scarlet, her mother would surely have Peril kill
her. She always followed Scarlet's orders, and Scarlet believed that
Ruby was hapless, weak, and a mouse. After briefly regaining the SkyWing
throne, she planned to have a grand, public, ceremonial execution for
Ruby. In the meantime, she placed her daughter in the lowliest prison
available.

### Vermilion

Vermilion is one of Ruby's brothers. When Ruby sat next to Vermilion in
Scarlet's throne room, he snorted and edged a step away from her. He
became very loyal to her when she became queen.

## Quotes

It's always going to be like this. Until one of us challenges
her and wins. You and I are the only ones left now — the only hope the
SkyWings have of a decent queen. Ruby, if I defeat her and become queen,
we can get out of this war.
as Tourmaline to Ruby

Escaping Peril
prologue

-----

One last word of warning, although I know you won't listen to
me. You cannot trust my mother's creature. She's unpredictable and knows
nothing but killing. If you won't banish her, at least don't leave her
unguarded for an instant. She may have a fragment of good in her
somewhere, but she'll never be good enough for you. And if he's right,
and she ever thinks you don't love her back, she will set all your
friends on fire. That's just the truth.
to Clay and
Starflight Escaping Peril
49-50

-----

I remember when you hatched. It was like someone had woken up
Ruby for the first time in years. I'm afraid your mother has always been
very, very boring. No spark in her at all, which of course is why I
allowed her to live. But when she saw you for the first time, suddenly
there were sparks. You'd think your scales were plated with gold and
you'd crawled out with sapphires wrapped around your tail. I can
understand a dragon getting excited about treasure, but that excited
over an ordinary dragonet?
Scarlet to Cliff
Escaping Peril
181

-----

She turned your arena into a hospital. She pardoned all the
prisoners and brought in doctors and healers from other tribes to teach
ours everything they know and she made space for all the wounded
soldiers from the war and she's been finding them all places to live and
jobs to do and using the gold for all of that.
Vermilion to
Scarlet Escaping Peril
184

-----

I don't want your loyalty! But this — threatening innocent
dragonets? Helping her, after everything? That's not exactly the
peaceful new dragon you were claiming to be, is it? I knew you were
lying. You have always been the reason for everything that's wrong with
the Sky Kingdom.
to Peril
Escaping Peril
193

-----

Queen Scarlet of the SkyWings, I hereby challenge you to a duel
for throne and kingdom.
to Queen Scarlet
Escaping Peril
223-224

-----

I want to take my throne the right way, the way I should have
done before if I hadn't been such a coward. I'm going to follow SkyWing
tradition, and when I win, no one will be able to question my position
anymore.
to Peril Escaping Peril (book)|Escaping
Peril
224

-----

Stop. Listen. You were only a dragonet … not much older than
Cliff … and Scarlet was the only parent you ever had. Or friend, or
anything. None of the rest of us even tried to see you as a real dragon.
I saw a weapon, and that was it. But now … I think about what could
happen to Cliff if he'd been born with firescales, or if my mother had
gotten her claws into him. I think a lot about how he'll turn out with
me as his mother. So I don't blame you anymore. I know it was bad. But
you can make up for what you've done. At least you can try. If we let
you try.
to Peril Escaping Peril (book)|Escaping
Peril
249-250

-----

I have a lot of dragons who haven't recovered from the War of
SandWing Succession. Or, to be honest, my mother's reign as the
Super-Murdery Queen of the Mountains. I don't know if I can throw them
into another conflict.
Ruby to the Pyrrhian queens during a
peace assembly about Scarlet
The Dangerous Gift
206

## Trivia

  - Ruby likes reading.