He Has A Lot Of Space To Be A Complex And Compelling Character When You Let Him Be - Blog Posts

thecraftydragonc

2 weeks ago

Hi! I’m a big fan of your art and work over all

I’ve been wondering, since I’ve seen you give your thoughts on some other dragons, what are your thoughts on Clay?

A comic page depicting a conversation between Webs and a very young Clay. Clay recounts being told by Kestrel that he is a violent little monster who tried to kill Tsunami, and asserts that this is not true, as he does not feel any malice inside himself. He asks Webs if the story is true. Webs is preoccupied with sorting a scroll cabinet and pretends not to hear Clay's question. Only after continued prodding does Webs react, turning around and saying he does not want to talk about what happened.

On Clay...

Clay. I’ve talked about him for a bit in a previous post somewhere. He is the first protagonist in the entire series and thus serves as our introduction into this world. While he enters the story with his own emotional baggage, he pretty much resolves all of that within the first book and mellows out from then on, fading into the background as a quiet support character.

Because of that it is maybe easy to dismiss Clay as that big guy who talks about food a lot and doesn’t do much else. But I do think he’s a bit more complex than that and is a well-rounded character with things going on in his own right.

CW: Discussion of physical abuse.

A comic page continuing the conversation between Webs and young Clay. After being prodded, Webs very callously tells Clay the story of his own birth, and how Webs watched him try to crush Tsunami's egg. He asserts that Kestrel is correct and that Clay acted very violently and malicious towards the other eggs, to the point where the guardians had to intervene and throw Clay into the river. Clay's eyes well up with tears and he breaks down sobbing. Webs then realizes what he has done and tries to comfort Clay, telling him that it wasn't his fault. He proceeds to give him very questionable advice about accepting that every dragon is born with a defect, and that the only way to combat it is to endure one's own wretchedness and hope it will go away with time. As he delivers this advice, Webs looks broken and defeated, suggesting that he is projecting heavily.

Formative Years

Clays early years were molded heavily by his belief that he almost killed Tsunami while she was hatching. He believed this because his guardians, mostly Kestrel, insisted this is what happened. Of course at the end of the first book we learn that this wasn’t the case and that they were just misinformed about how Mudwings work.

To us, this may all seem absolutely ridiculous. We look at Clay and see this obvious gentle giant without a malicious bone in his body angsting about being a blood-crazed monster. But for Clay himself, this was a very real, very horrifying situation. Suspend your disbelief for a moment. His entire childhood was marred by the crushing guilt of almost having murdered his surrogate sister at birth, and he couldn’t remember why he did it. He understood nothing about this situation, and didn’t know if this secret violent side could even resurface one day. Basic things like going to sleep would become terrifying; he may have laid awake, wondering whether his body might act on its own as soon as he fell unconscious. Just like back then, when it acted before he could even form coherent thoughts. The fear of losing control to the monster and waking up on top of a loved one’s mangled body was always there.

This perception of himself as a violent killer was at odds with his social nature as a Mudwing. He loved his surrogate siblings with the same intensity that any Mudwing would love their own, and thus he hated the part of himself that threatened them. As a direct response to this dissonant view, Clay developed a desire to protect them. If he willed himself to shield them from getting hurt with all of his strength, he would never be able to harm them again. This was his way of coping with the fear.

It is pretty apparent from the text that at least Kestrel was physically abusive towards them. Dune was possibly too, Webs I don’t think so, but he also didn’t do anything to stop it. As Clay grew older I think he began to recognize the patterns. He would start deliberately acting in ways so that most of Kestrel’s ire would be redirected towards himself instead of the others. This is why all the Dragonets of Destiny have such deep respect for Clay; they remember him always standing between them and Kestrel, even as he ended up with more and more scars for it.

Luckily, he is able to reconnect with his Mudwing heritage at the end of book 1 and learns that he never was that blood-crazed murderer the guardians insisted he was. But even so, the scars and memories would never fully fade, and he’d never lose sight of the need to protect his loved ones.

Personality and Interests

Clay’s love of food and eating is well-established, to the point where it sometimes seems like it is his only character trait from book 2 onwards. This is normal; he’s got a big body and I assume the self-regenerative properties inherent to Mudwings burn a lot of calories, so he needs to eat a lot to refuel them. I think there’s a bit more to him still though.

Clay is at his happiest when he can either prevent someone else’s pain, or take it away. Conversely he becomes distressed when he sees someone suffering. I believe he is incredibly earnest and built close to water. He cries easily, though never in response to his own pain or suffering. He feels positive emotions very strongly and can get overwhelmed that way, especially when he sees his loved ones happy. When he cries, he does so openly and without shame. It is very unsatisfying to tease him because he will usually just take what people say to him at face value and thus make them feel bad.

He’s also very physically affectionate and huggy.

People who meet Clay often get the impression that he is book dumb, or just stupid in general. This is not the case, as Clay does have a capacity for learning even complex subject matter. I just think he struggles with subjects he can’t see a practical application for, or aren’t relevant to things he wants to do. He has little interest in memorizing ancient figures or learning how to measure the sides of a triangle

When Glory fights Deathbringer in book 3, she makes mention of a “dragon anatomy class” which I assume was taught by Webs. Clay, as much as he struggled with history and numbers, excelled at this particular class because its insight could be used to keep people safe. As such, whenever the need for it arises, Clay is usually quick to act as the group’s primary healer/medical advisor.

An excerpt from the Wings of Fire graphic novels, showing Clay giving first aid to a Skywing who lost consciousness due to being forced underwater for an extended period of time.

An excerpt from the Wings of Fire graphic novels showing Queen Blaze bleeding from a neck wound, while Clay advises her to press her cloak against the wound to stop the bleeding.

The blood is censored with Squid's face to appease Tumblr.

An excerpt from the Wings of Fire graphic novels showing Clay supporting an injured Webs and telling him to put more of his weight onto Clay to make walking easier.

(Excerpts from WoF graphic novels 2 and 3, censored for blood.)

This notion is further supported by the fact that, once they all become teachers at the Jade Mountain Academy, Clay is the one to lead an anatomy class, just like the one he attended before.

In conclusion

Clay is pretty much everyone’s big brother. While he isn’t as eccentric and colorful as the people he is surrounded by, his earnestness and general benevolence make him the backbone of the Dragonets of Destiny. Whenever anyone has a deeply-rooted, serious problem they are hesitant to bring up with others, Clay will usually be the first person considered as a confidant. Tsunami and Starflight know he would never judge or shame them no matter how ridiculous the thing they approach him with. Glory trusts him with her emotions whenever her stoic facade cracks. And Sunny has an incredibly strong bond with him.

I think that makes him pretty cool, even if he doesn’t really have much to do anymore once he overcomes his personal demons. I’m happy that he gets to be happy in the end.

A comic page depicting an outdoor scene where Clay and Glory land in a grassy field after returning from the Mud Kingdom. Tsunami is there to greet them and asks them if they found anything interesting. Clay is overjoyed when he sees Tsunami and runs towards her, slamming into her while hugging her and crying happily. Tsunami asks why he is acting this way, to which Glory responds that they learned about how Mudwings hatch. It turns out that the first-hatched in a clutch breaks the other eggs open to help their siblings, and that Clay never tried to kill Tsunami; he was just doing something normal. Tsunami hugs Clay back and proclaims that she never believed Kestrel's horseshit anyway.