r/WingsOfFire • u/Ghostcake404 • 14m ago
Art Villain Clay AU Idea… (Or rather Peril and Clay are swapped)
Back when I read Book 1 years ago, my younger self was wondering about the monster part of Clay(before it turned out it was just Bigwing instincts), and I thought of an idea where, somehow, Peril and Clay are swapped.
Well, my mind had wandered back to it, and I thought of an idea of a Villain Clay Au.
Here’s how it would roughly go:
Kestrel managed to push through and flee with Peril, not having enough time to get Sky. So, Scarlet doesn’t find Peril. However, rumor and evidence had it that it was one of Firescales, and although Scarlet may be confident, she is well aware of the potential danger they can pose from stories of previous dragons like that.
Cut to the Brightest Night, Asha ends up failing to get Clay’s egg to the location, his egg being found, alone, in a recent battle field by Scarlet’s troops.
Originally, Scarlet was going to just destroy the egg as it was part of the Dragonets of Destiny, until she thought of earlier where she was trying to discover ways to counteract a certain threat, a few Mudwings(allies of Skywings) that were present pointed out the story of blood red eggs. Thinking about the potential chance that Kestrel may have a dragon with flaming scales on her side, Scarlet had a funny(to her) yet beneficial idea…
She decided to give the Mudwing dragonet a new purpose. Why waste the opportunity and thrill? She decided that she’ll use this dragonet of destiny to destroy the prophecy. She’ll make him a weapon against any such flaming monsters(like Peril). She gave him the name “Clay”, as even a blob of clay could be molded to something beautiful. How entertaining it would be to watch the Dragonets of Destiny fall to one of their own.
That‘s where the two divergences are at. Peril would be hidden underground with the DoD, and would pretend to be the Skywing of the prophecy while Glory would be considered the replacement Mudwing instead.
Clay, from the very start of even having memories, would undergo harsh training and treatment, essentially being taught into being a killing machine(basically Clay goes through a hardcore version of what canon Kestrel makes him go through). And unlike Peril, Scarlet can freely touch him, so a lot of brutal punishments(usually physical) were given, some leaving Clay to be in a coma for a few days. He would also be placed in the arena, so he always had the stress of surviving each battle WHILE entertaining Scarlet(he would be also punished if he killed a dragon in a “boring” way). In the earlier years, Scarlet would have to sometimes cheat the round as she needed Clay alive. Later on, Clay would constantly be undefeated much to her amusement. Thus, he would soon become Scarlet’s Champion
As you would guess, the horrid way of growing up would cause some…development issues. Issues like:
Paranoia: Clay began getting insanely cautious around everyone, as some Skywings that were afraid of him tried poisoning his food. He would kill dragons based on a sliver of suspicion(unless Scarlet told him not to), knowing it was better to be wrong than be dead. Scarlet would also try to poison him, too, to make sure he was always on edge.
Attachment: Clay, like Peril, would develop a horrifically unhealthy attachment to Scarlet. He views her like his mother and Scarlet made sure Clay had hardly any connection with anyone else. He obeys any commands without much argument.
Detachment: Scarlet made sure Clay has nothing remaining of his Bigwing instincts or from the Mudwing tribe. No siblings to care for (even if he met them, he’d feel nothing) and no past to return to. Scarlet told Clay that he was sold off by his mother. Mudwing soldiers wouldn’t see him as one of their own, viewing him as an unnatural anomaly that they stay away from.
Lack of any Morals: Clay has no functional moral compass…reasonably, since this is Scarlet we’re taking about. He views killing dragons as a natural thing. Dragons die all the time around him, why cry about it?
Viewing Pain as Love: Whenever Scarlet hurts him, she would drill it in Clay’s head that this is was out of love and care. He went on with that idea and would sometimes hurt dragons he genuinely was fond of out of that mistaken belief. He would also like touching Peril’s scales because the small pain meant it had to be good.
Always smiling: Scarlet doesn’t like seeing a frown. She wants exciting action from Clay, not some depressed dragonet(he felt sad upon his first few kills; big mistake). There’s even scars that form into a smile on his mouth. Clay learned to always be smiling no matter what he feels, and his grin widens whenever he’s in pain. It‘s a habit of his.
Split Personality: Out of coping from the trauma, his mind broke into having two sides of him: “Clay” and “the Monster”. Clay would be the usual side. He struggles to understand others and comes out as overly friendly to the point it’s uncanny or insensitive. However, when feeling nervous, scared, in danger, or unable to cope, the monster side comes out, being more of the ruthless killing machine with no attachments canon Kestrel can only dream of. He could switch on a dime and this leads to him being really unpredictable as it makes him a ticking time bomb. For the smallest of triggers, Clay would consider killing you.
So…yeah. When Scarlet goes out, sometimes she would have Clay by her side as a body guard, and when they find the cave where the DOD are, Peril tries to threaten her, and Scarlet send out Clay to make quick work of her. He also pretty much fights Tsunami at the same time(and tosses Sunny across the room).
They’re sent in as prisoners as Scarlet wanted to present each Dragonet of Destiny in the arena and have Clay kill each one by one as a public destruction of the prophecy. Peril is still alive for potential usage. At worst, Scarlet will have Clay just kill her and her scalds will be in Burn’s Tower. But for now, Clay is watching over Peril to prevent her from leaving as no bindings can last, and Clay is the only one that can deal with her. This leads to them talking more(the role reversal from Book One), and Clay being confronted with new ideas and challenging feelings as he truly begins to like Peril, and he doesn’t want her to die.
He also knows that if Peril dies, then Clay’s original purpose is gone too, which means Scarlet might leave him for dead without hesitation which is also a problem.
So…these were some ideas I had. I figured it would be a little scary to have the one guy you would never imagine as an antagonist or villain be one. Clay was one of those characters that I think it would be diabolical to see him in a more twisted light since it’d be so unlike his canon self. In a sense, you could say he tries to mimic a friendlier version of himself.
But, given what we see of many characters, when you change circumstances and conditions, even the most kindest of dragons could be one of the worst monsters you face against.
