In this week’s blog, we will be looking at Hazel, the LeafWing princess. Sound interesting? Keep reading! Slight spoilers ahead!
Hazel is the heir to the LeafWing throne. She has green scales and brown eyes. The princess is the great-granddaughter of Queen Sequoia. She loves reading and making books and is very knowledgeable about the craft. The LeafWing princess even has a room dedicated to her book-making. Hazel has currently appeared in only two books: The Poison Jungle and The Dangerous Gift. She had to take over as queen of the LeafWing tribe for a time while Sequoia was infected with the Breath of Evil. In this time, she was shown to be quite a competent and caring queen. She is formal and serious when she needs to be but is casual and enthusiastic around her friends.
While Hazel has yet to be coronated as Queen of the LeafWings, her great-grandmother, Sequoia, has been the reigning monarch for over fifty years. The only other known LeafWing queen is Queen Zelkova. Not much is known about her other than that she reigned thousands of years ago, in the time of Clearsight, and that she had twin daughters. Queen Sequoia was queen during the Tree Wars.
The Tree Wars were a conflict that took place on Pantala about fifty years ago. The war (despite being called the Tree Wars (plural), the name refers to a singular conflict) started when Queen Wasp of the HiveWings declared that Clearsight had said in her book of prophecy that Wasp was to rule over all three Pantalan tribes. While Queen Monarch, the SilkWing queen, obediently stepped down and surrendered her tribe to HiveWing rule, Sequoia decided to fight against Queen Wasp and the HiveWings, leading to what we know as the Tree Wars. In the end, the LeafWing army was crushed, and the vast Pantalan forests were destroyed. Only a small remanent was able to find sanctuary in the Poison Jungle, where they eventually split into two groups, the SapWings and the PoisonWings. The PoisonWings, led by Linden, wanted to keep fighting Wasp and take back Pantala, while the SapWings stayed loyal to Queen Sequoia and hid in order to survive.
Being the granddaughter of Queen Sequoia, Hazel has a very strong bond with the LeafWing queen. Sequoia treats Hazel like a daughter and wants to make sure she ends up as a good queen. Hazel thinks Sequoia is a good queen and sees her like a mother. When she has to take on her queenly responsibilities, she tries to imitate Sequoia. She seems to be well-liked and respected by her fellow LeafWings, and they trust her to make the right decisions.