Thaw Daggerslash
Thaw Daggerslash was a young sky pirate who became friends with Wind Jackal. Ruthlessly ambitious and unwilling to work his way up in the sky pirate world, he wanted an easy way to become a captain, and tried multiple times to get on Wind Jackal's crew as his right hand man. Obsessed with Wind Jackal's sky ship, the Galerider, Thaw Daggerslash devised an evil plan to claim the ship for himself.
Role in Clash of the Sky Galleons
Thaw Daggerslash began planting messages for Wind Jackal, stating that his long-dead, evil quartermaster, Turbot Smeal, was alive, and sending him to dangerous, out-of-the-way places where he could easily set up traps. After Thaw's first three traps, set up in a slave market in the Deepwoods, the abandoned Cliff Quarries of the Edgelands, and the Sluice Tower in Undertown, failed to kill Wind Jackal, the young sky pirate came up with a more complex plan.
Thaw Daggerslash became captain of a small sky vessel, the Mireraider, enlisting a young albino banderbear named Hubble as a crew member. The young sky pirate captain then flew the Mireraider out to a remote sky wreck and docked it, taking its attendant ratbird and setting off into the Deepwoods with a half-starved Hubble. Upon arriving in the Great Shryke Slave Market, Thaw Daggerslash sold Hubble to Sister Screechscale. When Wind Jackal turned up at the slave market to deliver a shipment of tallow candles, Thaw pretended that there was another crew member with him and Hubble aboard the Mireraider, and that this crew member had festooned him, stolen the sky vessel, and sold Hubble to the shrykes. Wind Jackal paid for Hubble's freedom with a crate of tallow candles, and Thaw Daggerslash took up a position aboard the Galerider. Once Wind Jackal had secured a cargo of bloodoak timber with the money secured with the tallow candles, Thaw Daggerslash told Wind Jackal that the fictitious crew member who had mutinied against him was Turbot Smeal.
Thaw Daggerslash used the Mireraider's ratbird to lead the Galerider to the sky wreck where Turbot Smeal was supposedly hiding. When Wind Jackal boarded the sky wreck to find and kill Turbot Smeal, Thaw Daggerslash accompanied him. When the two sky pirates split up in their search, Thaw donned a mask made from the face of a skullpelt, pretending to be a horribly disfigured Turbot Smeal, and murdered Wind Jackal. When Wind Jackal's son, Quint, boarded the sky wreck, Thaw Daggerslash removed his disguise and pretended that he had just killed Turbot Smeal. With Wind Jackal dead, Thaw Daggerslash and Quint were rival contenders to become the next captain of the Galerider.
Thaw Daggerslash forced Hubble to vote for him, flattered Duggin to obtain his vote, and stole Maugin's shryke-tooth so that she could not cast her vote for Quint. Meanwhile, Tem Barkwater and Spillins voted for Quint, leaving Maris with the deciding vote. Thaw attempted to trick Maris into casting her vote for him, but she was not fooled and chose Quint, thwarting Thaw's ambition to become captain.
Thaw Daggerslash left the ship, disguised himself as Turbot Smeal once more, and sided with the Leagues of Undertown in the ensuing clash of the sky galleons, offering his services in return for the promise that he would get the Galerider when the sky pirates were defeated. When the Leagues were defeated in the battle, Thaw Daggerslash, still posing as Turbot Smeal, boarded the Galerider and attempted to kill Quint, but Hubble intervened, dealing the ambitious young rogue a fatal blow. As Thaw Daggerslash died, Quint removed the skullpelt mask, revealing Thaw's deception.
Trivia
According to Edge Chronicles Wiki Voters, Thaw Daggerslash is the most hated fourthling with 30% of the votes. Do you agree? More polling results here.