Mala

"All hail Mala, Queen Defender of the Wing!"

- Throk

Queen Mala is the leader of the Defenders of the Wing, a dragon worshiping tribe.

Early Life
"When I was just a little girl, there was an earthquake that disrupted the lava flow. It wasn't long before the Eruptodon was frantic and starving. He became so weak, he wasn't able to fly to another food source. Only deep prayer for the lava to return saved our beloved dragon, but, now..."

- Mala about her past

Mala has lived on Caldera Cay her whole life, being looked after by the Great Protector. She was told prophesies such as one where a man from a foreign land would save the queen on a field of battle, and he would become her king. When she was still a little girl, there was a great earthquake that stopped the lava in the volcano from flowing, threatening the Great Protector's life. But with much prayer, the lava returned and the Cay returned to being a peaceful place for both human and dragon. She eventually became Queen of the island.

Meeting the Dragon Riders
"Mala: You stand accused of being Dragon Hunters, subjugators of dragons. Do you deny this? Hiccup: Yes. Mala: But you admit that you force the dragons to carry you on their backs? Hiccup: We don't force them. Mala: And that you used them to land secretly on our island? Hiccup: Yes. But you make it sound worse than it was. Mala: So, you weren't caught by my men sneaking toward our village? Hiccup: "Sneaking" is a strong word. Mala: And you didn't come heavily armed? Hiccup: Those are for self-defense. Mala: Oh, so you came here expecting a fight? Hiccup: No, you're, you're twisting my words."

- Mala's trial

Mala first meets the Dragon Riders in "Defenders of the Wing, Part 1" after they were captured by Throk, believing they were Dragon Hunters. After a conversation with them, she finds them guilty and decides to take them to the nest after she finds the map with Viggo's signature. In the Nest she sends Hiccup over into a pit with a few Speed Stingers. After Toothless and the other dragons come to rescue the Riders, she orders Throk to release them after she realizes that they are not Dragon Hunters.

When she went with the Riders on a tour of the village, she introduces them to the Eruptodon, the Great Protector. Then she notices that the volcano that the Eruptodon kept from flowing was burning the hill above. When she arrived at the volcano she saw that the Eruptodon disappeared. After the Riders discover that Viggo captured the dragon, and that he used the Riders as a distraction, Mala accuses them for betraying and threatens Hiccup with a sword, saying that she will kill him herself.

New Alliance
"It is a good day, a day we shall always remember. The Great Protector has been returned, the village is safe once more, and the Defenders of the Wing have new allies in our fight against Viggo Grimborn. Hiccup and the Dragon Riders. I have also chosen a new king. One that I am sure will be worthy, and serve you well. His name is Snotlout."

- Mala speaking to her tribe

After a brief confrontation in "Defenders of the Wing, Part 2" between the Defenders and Dragon Riders, a pair of Dragon Hunters were spotted hiding nearby, and Hiccup was able to help Mala see that they'd been tricked. With Caldera Cay endangered without the Eruptodon, it was decided that the two groups would work together: Mala would accompany Hiccup, Snotlout Jorgenson, and Fishlegs Ingerman to find and rescue the Eruptodon, while the other Riders would work with Throk to hold back the lava until the Eruptodon could be returned. Due to his unwittingly saving her from a Dragon Hunter arrow, Mala also began to look on Snotlout as a viable candidate to become her king.

Mala and Hiccup's party soon realized that they had been tricked into heading in the wrong direction, and Mala became greatly concerned for the Eruptodon, which needed a constant supply of lava in order to survive. After Mala revealed that the Eruptodon's hunger would lead it to eat through the crust of dormant volcanoes in order to feed, Hiccup realized that Viggo had taken it to Dragon's Edge in order to unleash that volcano and destroy the Riders' base. The group swiftly traveled there, and with Mala's help were able to defeat Viggo's forces despite having their own defenses turned against them. Hiccup then found a way to divert the Eruptodon from its desperate but destructive path by having Meatlug vomit up lava that the Eruptodon could feed upon. They were thus able to return the Eruptodon to Caldera Cay and save that island as well, leading to an alliance between the Defenders and Riders, though Mala was left without her expected king when Snotlout fled rather than crossing a pool of hot lava to prove his worthiness.

In "Saving Shattermaster", Mala and Throk traveled to the Northern Markets in search of new weapons, only to find that the merchants would apparently only sell to the Dragon Hunters. A confrontation between the Defenders and the Hunters was narrowly avoided due to the intervention of a cloaked and hooded figure, whom the two informed Hiccup and the Riders of. Upon doing their own investigation, Hiccup and Heather discovered that it was none other than Dagur the Deranged.

Mala send a message to the dragon riders in "Out of the Frying Pan", seeking help in hatching an Eruptodon egg. Due to Great Protector's inability to deliver its egg to the lava inside the volcano, both Hiccup and Fishlegs offered to fly the egg. Mala personally took care of the egg during the flight. When the Fire Terrors attacked she fought fiercely to defend the egg from the dragons. Then, Hiccup understood that the Terrors only wanted to protect the egg and persuaded Mala into letting it go.

When they got out of the volcano, Mala, Fishlegs and Hiccup had to rescue Astrid and Throck from sinking into the volcano. Throck then told them to go away and looked sad in Mala's eyes. Fortunately, the Great Protector came and lifted Throck, much to Mala's happiness.

When Hiccup brought Viggo to Caldera Cay in "Shell Shocked, Part 1", Mala questioned his decision. However, they did not spoke too much because the Shellfire attacked the island. After the fight is over, Throck apologises to Mala for letting Viggo escape. The queen then show the other riders the Baby Eruptodon and asks them to take it and protect it from the hunters.

Offering Refuge to the Dragon Riders
In "A Matter of Perspective", the Great Protector doesn't make it in time to save the village from the lava and instead its offspring does it and Mala decides it's time for the Changing of the Guard Celebration. She then sends a message to the riders, inviting them. When they arrive, she explains that the Eruptodon has served them for 40 years and that it will journey to Vanaheim, the resting place for all the dragons. She also states that it is not a sad day, as sadness is only a matter of perspective. She says that it is a good day and that the Great Protector has earned his rest. Mala is then seen having breakfast along with the riders.

After the Edge is taken by Krogan and his Dragon Flyers in "Dawn of Destruction", Hiccup and the riders seek refuge on Caldera Cay. Mala welcomes them and says that they can stay as long as they need.

Mala tries to cheer up the dragon riders in "The Wings of War, Part 1" by telling Fishlegs about an ore mine and asking Snotlout to train some young warriors. She then has a discussion with Hiccup and Astrid, being concerned about their situation.

Physical Appearance
Mala has very short, blonde hair with her bangs parted to the right. She has pale green eyes.

Mala's outfit is very similar to the rest of her tribe (mainly females') with the exception of it being longer and having a Mandarin collar and gold lining on her tunic and shoulder guards. The ends on the front of have Eruptodon symbols.

Personality
As leader of the Defenders of the Wing, she hold high authority over the island and does everything she can to ensure its safety, even when it meant carrying the fate of her island or people on her own shoulders. She always speaks elegantly, referring to Hiccup by his first and last name every time he is addressed.

As a defender, Mala holds a strong, religious admiration for dragons, actively antagonizing dragon hunters, suspected dragon hunters and anyone who may have done harm to dragons. This has led her to assume the worst multiple times, antagonizing the riders on and off again at the slightest provocation. This antagonizing can even lead to self-fulfilling results, twisting Hiccup words in the case against him at every opportunity.

Despite her cynical nature, she does have a strong sense of honor, waiving the charges when she sees Toothless willingly defend Hiccup from speed stingers, seeing that he was speaking the truth. She also cares about her tribe's traditions, as she insisted on taking care of the Great Protector's egg and making Snotlout face the trials that would make him her king.

She is shown to have a small sense of wonder at the idea of flying when Hiccup offered, though she politely declines, saying that it is "forbidden," but when her tribe's alpha was kidnapped she climbed onto Hookfang's, so she could assist the riders in their task of saving her people's guardian dragon.

Throk
Throk is one of Mala's most loyal member of the Defenders and sides with her even when he disagreed with Mala's decisions.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Paranoid over the opposition Viggo has presented her, she immediately suspects Hiccup and the other riders of being spies. They attempt to plead a case, but Mala is able to compile a list of evidence (and even twists his own words as he defends himself) and ultimately find him guilty. She goes back on the charges when she sees Toothless (drugged on their special medicinal fruit) defend him.

She immediately goes back to distrust, even vowing to destroy his village and his people, when she thinks that he willingly distracted them, leading to the Great Protector's kidnapping. However, when Hiccup helped Mala save the Eruptodon and each of their islands, they became friends and allies in their fight against Viggo and his hunters.

Snotlout Jorgenson
"It has been foretold that a man from afar would come to my island and save me on the field of battle, and that man will become my king. Snotlout, you are that man."

- Mala

In "Defenders of the Wing, Part 2", despite believing that Hiccup and his riders were Dragon Hunters, Mala chose to go with them to rescue the Great Protector. She chose to ride with Snotlout aboard Hookfang after Snotlout save her from dragon hunters' arrow. She then told Snotlout that she would choose him to be her King. She believed that Snotlout was the warrior that would come to her island and save her on the field of battle. Snotlout was at first awestruck that he was the foretold warrior and accepted her offer to be Mala's king.

Quotes
A page with memorable quotes said by Mala can be found here.

Trivia

 * Mala is the second original female character in the series. The first being Heather.
 * Mala is the first female leader of a tribe.
 * Her sword resembles a Japanese katana.
 * She has a tendency to twist Hiccup's words against him in order to try and trip him up.
 * She has the shortest hair of all female characters.
 * However, Ruffnut's hair was briefly shorter at the end of "Free Scauldy".
 * It is possible Mala is loosely inspired by Valka's original character, which was when she was planned to be the villain for the sequel.
 * In the original, Valka began to trust her family, but when she saw the ships, she assumed Hiccup and Stoick betrayed her. This is similar to when Mala went back to her original belief that Hiccup was working for Viggo after the Eruptodon was taken.
 * Mala is the first female character that has shown interest in Snotlout.
 * Like Heather, Dagur, and Throk, a bit of Mala's armor comes in layers.