47 pages 1 hour read

Tui T. Sutherland

Darkness of Dragons

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2017

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character Analysis

Qibli

Qibli is a male SandWing from the Scorpion Den who was rescued by Thorn, becoming one of her loyal Outclaws. The novel is told from a limited third-person perspective with Qibli as the main protagonist. This perspective provides insight into Qibli’s thoughts and feelings, allowing the reader to follow his character’s growth and development. His early thoughts demonstrate intense insecurity. By the conclusion of the novel, he demonstrates confidence and maturity, becoming a character who is aware of his abilities and place in society.

Qibli is known for his compassion and cleverness. His mother describes him as “soft,” a characteristic that his family scorns. Vulture, his grandfather, values the cleverness that Qibli demonstrates. Qibli also shows prolific observational skills. He combines these with his cleverness to reason out the motivations and strategies of other dragons. Thorn encourages these abilities, and trust Qibli to act as a key advisor despite his youth. Qibli is troubled by these abilities when he realizes that Vulture demonstrates the same skills, selfishly using them to manipulate and control others. Qibli’s compassion balances out his cleverness.

Qibli’s early thoughts reveal extreme self-doubt. His desire to possess magic demonstrates a lack of acceptance of who he is and misunderstands the power of his intelligence.