'Six-Claws' is an adult male SandWing and
the main protagonist of Deserter. Formerly a high-ranking general and
commander in Burn|Princess Burn's army during the War of SandWing
Succession and later a member of the Outclaws. He is Kindle's partner and the father of Ostrich. He currently resides in the
SandWing stronghold as Queen Thorn's most trusted general.

## Description

Six-Claws has light yellowish-brown scales and large wings. His side is
marked with old scars, and he has six claws on each foreleg instead of
the usual five, due to his polydactyly. He speaks in a rumble and is
strong and fast. His wingbeats are powerful and steady.

## Personality

Six-Claws is calm, brave, honest, sensible, smart, and effective. He
likes to be useful and productive and dislikes sitting still for long
stretches of time. He is not the kind of Dragons|dragon to pass a
problem onto someone else. He is incredibly loyal, and was forcefully
devoted to Queen Oasis before her death, once stating entirely
truthfully that he would prefer to be doing whatever the queen needed
him to do. He is passionate about serving others and being the most
useful dragon he can possibly be. As a dragonet, he would always sign up
for every patrol, whether it was harvesting Plants|brightsting cacti,
hunting desert foxes, or destroying suspected dragonbite viper lairs.
Even while he was disgusted by Burn's cruelty, he continued to fight and
do as he was ordered because loyalty runs so deep in his blood. When he
finally deserted Burn's forces, he felt low, abandoning dragons who
counted on him, but he could not bear to help Burn rise to power any
longer. He is willing to risk his own life for the sake of others,
especially for dragonets. During the War of SandWing Succession, he
often had sleepless nights in which he blamed himself for saving
Blaze|Princess Blaze's life and, by extension, elongating the war. He
had a remarkably happy childhood, and quite enjoyed growing up in the
SandWing stronghold. When he was young, he disliked it when other
dragons commented on his extra claws.

## Biography

### The Dragonet Prophecy

left The Brightest Night

Six-Claws escorted Sunny when she came to the Scorpion Den
and brought her before Thorn. He laughed when Sunny said, "Oh, your
parents were feeling creative." Sunny considered the possibility that he
might be her father, because of his six claws and her lack of SandWing
tail barb, thinking weirdness runs through the family, but then she
supposed that she was only desperate to discover who her parents were.

Once Thorn left to deal with a fire, Addax approached Six-Claws with his
daughter, Ostrich, and forced him to choose between saving his daughter
or following orders. Sunny willingly went with Addax to spare Six-Claws
the choice and told him to lie to her mother about why she left. The
next day, Addax allowed Ostrich to return to her father.

Once Ostrich was returned, Six-Claws told Thorn about Sunny's abduction
and participated in the Outclaws assault on Burn's stronghold. Near the
end of the battle, he refused to retreat with the rest of the Outclaws
until he was sure Thorn and Sunny escaped. After the death of Blister,
he and Qibli were seen bowing to Queen Thorn.

-----

### The Jade Mountain Prophecy

left Moon Rising
After
the fire in the history cave, Moon heard Sunny thinking about a
six-clawed dragon to take home the SandWing dragonets at Jade Mountain
Academy. Later, after Icicle almost ripped off Qibli's earring, he
winced and thought about how Six-Claws thought it was idiotic to get the
earring.

left Winter Turning

Six-Claws was indirectly mentioned when Onyx went through one of her
possible options to become queen of SandWings. Onyx's plan involved
Ostrich, as she was loyal to Thorn and was connected to Six-Claws, who
was one of Thorn's most trusted generals.

left
Darkness of Dragons
Six-Claws was
mostly mentioned by name throughout the book. He appeared when Queen
Thorn's stronghold was damaged by Qibli, who sent a sandstorm on it with
the Animus enchantments|weather bracelets. Afterward, Six-Claws and his
daughter Ostrich helped distribute Qibli's earrings amongst the tribe,
trying to find survivors still outside from the sandstorm, and escort
Onyx from the stronghold.

Six-Claws returned afterward in the epilogue, helping repair the damaged
parts of the stronghold. He told Queen Thorn that Qibli had been working
hard.

-----

### Legends

left
Dragonslayer
While Wren was inside
Burn's stronghold, Six-Claws was fighting SandWing soldiers outside.

-----

### Winglets

left
Prisoners
Fierceteeth threatened to
tell on Saguaro about her unknown plan to Six-Claws, who was loyal to
Thorn. Six-Claws was one of Thorn's most trusted guards.

left
Assassin
Six-Claws, who was a
general under Princess Burn at the time, was the next dragon
Deathbringer was assigned to assassinate. However, Deathbringer decided
he would not kill him but instead convinced him to leave Burn's army,
which he successfully does.

left
Deserter
Six-Claws was a
five-year-old dragonet who grew up in the SandWing palace. He and his
family were loyal subjects of Queen Oasis, and he once remarked to his
parents that no one would want to kill her because she was the best
queen ever. He then soon began to realize that Oasis' daughters were a
threat to his queen.

Later, when he was seven years old, Smolder came to Six-Claws, asking if
he could deal with his sisters Blister and Burn, who had seemed to be
plotting something suspicious. Six-Claws quickly figured out that it
must have involved Blaze, who they soon realized was missing from the
palace.

Six-Claws did not find the princess at first but met a four-year-old
SandWing named Dune, who advised him on where to find Blaze — in the
royal treasury, because of Blaze's jewelry obsession. However, before
the two dragons checked the treasury, they saw Blaze out in the middle
of the desert, where there was an approaching sandstorm. Six-Claws told
Dune to get help and flew out into the sandstorm to rescue her. He told
Blaze to come back to the palace, and she refused, saying that she
needed to find her crown, which Six-Claws believed was a false story
made by her sisters to get her killed.

Six-Claws flew her back into the palace, rescuing her from certain
death. King Char thanked Six-Claws for saving his daughter while
simultaneously scolding Blaze for her rude comment directed towards
Six-Claws's claws. Char offered Six-Claws and Dune to join the army.
They accepted and stayed in the army, which was where they remained for
a while.

Six-Claws and Dune, along with Scald and Singe, were attempting to
comfort Smolder after the disappearance of his girlfriend, Palm. They
heard chaos and roaring outside, and when they could not find the killer
of Oasis, Blister and Blaze eventually fled the palace in search of
allies, hence starting the war. Six-Claws sided with Burn because his
mother did, and Dune followed his lead.

After around twelve years, Six-Claws and his troops were shown returning
from a battle on the search for Blaze. They met up with Burn, who told
Six-Claws that he needed to move all his troops into the Mud Kingdom. An
argument ensued, as Six-Claws believed that her plan was impractical.
Though unnamed, Deathbringer appeared in the shadows of a tent and told
him to abandon his position as general, as his prescence was simply
fuelling Burn's cruelty and desire for war.

In response to Six-Claws's hesitance to go with her plan, Burn ripped
through one of Dune's already damaged wings, disabling him. Six-Claws
abandoned his position as general and escaped to the Scorpion Den along
with Dune and Kindle, who formerly worked as a nurse and later became
the mother to their daughter Ostrich.

-----

### Field Guides

left
A Guide to the Dragon World

Six-Claws was mentioned by Smolder in his observations on Rose.

## Relationships

### Burn

Six-Claws never particularly liked Burn, but continued to follow her as
he believed she would be a better queen than Blister or Blaze, and also
because his mother choose to side with Burn. He stayed loyal to Burn
because loyalty ran deep in his blood and he had no other options. It
got harder to support Burn as the war continued, especially after Burn
murdered Singe for "annoying her". He found it hard to describe any good
qualities she had. Before she died, Burn wanted Six-Claws's talons to
put on display in the Weirdling Tower if he ever died in battle, which
he was severely uncomfortable with. Their relationship reached a boiling
point after he argued against her orders, in which he realized it was
unsafe for him to stay. He escaped alongside Kindle and a badly-injured
Dune to the Scorpion Den and The Outclaws.

### Dune

Six-Claws and Dune worked together to save Princess Blaze from a
horrible sandstorm. After Six-Claws aided Dune is his recruitment to the
SandWing army, Dune grinned at him as if Six-Claws were his new best
friend. They remained friends for several years, and were paired
together for everything, by everyone. Six-Claws smiled at and encouraged
Dune. Dune stayed by Six-Claws's side all throughout the War of SandWing
Succession, and when Dune was injured, Six-Claws carried him back to
their campsite and reassured his friend. Burn used Six-Claws's care for
Dune against him, despite Six-Claws's efforts to defend him, and Dune's
safety was one of the main reasons for Six-Claws deserting Burn's army.

### Kindle

Six-Claws always liked Kindle's calmness and efficiency. She trusts him.
When Six-Claws was fleeing with Dune, Kindle helped him and also escaped
herself. They became romantic partners, and had Ostrich together.

### Ostrich (mother)

Six-Claws's mother taught him how to keep watch, fight, and defend his
queen at any cost. She was affectionate towards him and wrapped a wing
around his shoulders during one conversation. He agreed to become a
soldier in the SandWing army partly because he thought that Ostrich
would approve. He named his daughter after her.

### Ostrich (daughter)

Six-Claws is affectionate and protective towards his daughter, and
regards her as very clever.

### Quicksand

Six-Claws's father taught him how to make camel shish kebab and date
soufflé.

### Sunny

Six-Claws is respectful of Sunny and treated her like a family member
upon meeting her. Sunny once thought that Six-Claws might be her father
and Ostrich might be her half-sister.

### Thorn

Six-Claws is very loyal to Thorn and is one of the few dragons Thorn
trusts.

## Quotes

Because you never leave dragonets in danger.
to Dune

Deserter

-----

We've only been looking for a few weeks.
to Burn,
about Blaze
Deserter

-----

We'll be more cautious in the future, […] We'll find a dragon
we can truly trust and respect, and then we'll have a reason to be
loyal. I believe that dragon exists. You'll see.
to Dune and
Kindle
Deserter

-----

You're to come before the Outclaws as well. Thorn wants to know
why you're following those scumdwellers.
to Sunny about
Fierceteeth, Preyhunter, and Strongwings
The Brightest Night
53

-----

In the desert, she who controls the water, controls everything.

to Sunny The Brightest Night (book)|The Brightest
Night
60

-----

We didn't find the viper yet, but we've contained the fire, for
the most part. And nobody was bitten, so far. So we're either very lucky
or quite unlucky if there really is a viper out there. Thanks for
asking.
to Sunny The Brightest Night (book)|The
Brightest Night
81

-----

I take orders from Thorn and no one else.
to Addax

The Brightest Night
82

-----

Ostrich, […] Don't be scared. I won't let them hurt you.

to Ostrich The Brightest Night (book)|The Brightest
Night
82

-----

Back into her army? Why would you want that? You could be safe
here. The war never comes to the Scorpion Den.
to Addax,
about Burn's army The Brightest Night

83

## Trivia

  - Six-Claws has polydactylism, which is a congenital physical anomaly
    in which an individual has more fingers/toes than normal.
  - He had learned to fly earlier than the other dragonets who hatched
    in his year.
  - Six-Claws stated that after he told another dragon his name, they
    would automatically look down at his talons to see if he actually
    had six claws on each talon.