In today’s SEO blog post, we will be discussing Ex-Prince Winter, the protagonist of the seventh book in the series Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland. Let’s dive in!
Ex-Prince Winter, son of Tundra & Narwhal was definitely an interesting character throughout the Wings of Fire series. He has two siblings, Icicle and Hailstorm, however the IceWing culture and strict “never let your guard down” sort of rules seemed to draw a wedge between the family as far as developing personal and close relationships.
Especially after losing Hailstorm, even without the Ice Kingdom rules, Winter held himself to such a high standard to a point where it was nearly unrealistic. This could’ve been a result of either him merely being an IceWing, being an IceWing prince, or even just the general pressure of it all together.
This dynamic appeared to set the stage for Winter’s disposition once he gets to Jade Mountain Academy. His cold (no pun intended) demeanor was rather off-putting, especially for Moon since she could also see that this disposition wasn’t just an exterior front- it was his true personality.
Upon his arrival at Jade Mountain Academy, he was represented as an unkind yet practical figure. Everything he did was intentional and while he likely thought he was being regal and elegant- he came off as a snooty prince who was full of himself. This reflected how some treated him, and even how they overall thought of him.
However, throughout the series, Winter shows massive growth in his demeanor and how he sees others. It’s speculated that he experiences attraction to Moon, which causes conflicting thoughts for him- development. In addition to this, he meets Qibli, Turtle, Kinkajou, and Peril, who all have differing personalities that, in one way or another, clash with Winter’s at times.
In Qibli’s case, his outward snarkiness and outgoing sense of humor (albeit oftentimes a form of deflection) tends to irritate Winter. Moon, on the other hand, appears to intrigue him with her seemingly odd ways of going about doing things. Winter’s relationship with Turtle was relatively indifferent, however it did perplex the IceWing at times how different Turtle was from him, considering that they’re both royals.
Despite the hardships Winter endured both in and out of the Ice Kingdom, Winter came out ahead more or less. Despite the fact that he was stripped of his royal title, he helped found Sanctuary to help further his love of scavengers. This is a perfect example of how someone can go through a whole heck of a lot and still be able to see the bright side of life.
While Winter does still occasionally revert back to old habits such as being unnecessarily mean to others, and believing that the IceWing ranks measure your worth, he has drastically changed for the better since he first entered the Academy.