#throb silverwing

Spectral bats are actually very loving with their families I found out. They hug each other in greeting, they cuddle, and siblings from past breeding seasons have been found hanging out together! The religion the vampyrum bats follow in the book though puts great emphasis on power and death...

I think Goth's mother died giving birth to him. And the high priest of Camazotz, Voxzaco, declared that as an omen to not only Goth's strength and power, but also his connection to their god of the night and death (which, considering how often Goth should have died in the books and the show, and his whole adventure in the Underworld, that might actually be true). So her death was, in a way, celebrated rather than mourned. And that planted the seed of resentment within the princes heart, and one of the reasons he has no respect for the high priest.

Of course, being a mammal, he needed a wet nurse. And fortunately as a royal, I'm certain that was a simple fix. She was not his blood, not his mother, and young Goth hated that about her. Even though she was caring and even saw him as one of her own, the pup wanted to despise her for, as he saw it, replacing his mother... I'm not too certain were she is now. But I think that now that he is grown, Goth has learned to appreciate her at least. After all, he'd be dead if it weren't for her.

In Sunwing, Goth is utterly devastated when he finds out humans killed his father, and he vows vengeance. That, along with how irl spectral bats treat each other, tells me that he was particularly close to his father and deeply respected him. I think in all the months Goth was missing, his father had been searching the entire jungle for his son. Every tree, every vine, every stone and waterfall. And for a bat, that must have taken some time.

Spectral-bat and I both agree that Goth wishes to live up to his fathers' legacy and impress him. We both believe that part of the reason he wishes to become a strong, relentless warrior and a pious king is to live up to his fathers name, especially after death. Which is actually another parallel to Shade and his desire to live up to his father.

The old king wasn't perfect, however. Like his youngest, he is calculating and sees smaller bats as nothing but a food source, and he was cold to all that weren't his mate and children. And after the death of the queen, the king completely shut everyone out emotionally. He loves all of his children, especially Goth whom he is most proud of. But he never outright told Goth he loved him. He trained Goth to fight and how to hunt, he promised him the throne after his death, but he never let his true emotions show.

He does however, have a code of honor. For example, if someone had saved Goth from the humans, he would promise them that they could live freely in the jungle with no fear of being eaten. "A life for a life." As he would say.

Goth has many siblings from past breeding seasons. However, the only sibling I have developed for him is an older sister, born in the season right before him. Sonia.

Sonia is not only the princess of the temple, but the royal storyteller. Her song reaches to all in their kingdom, her echo projections of all her stories would make Shade plead her to teach him everything she knows. Sonia knows all the legends of Camazotz, their bloodline, and the very jungle they live in, and has even created stories of her own. No royal celebration is complete without Sonia taking the stage and enchanting everyone with her song. (In the cartoon universe, she and Throb met when she was looking for inspiration for her next tale, and for Throb, it was love at first sight.)

Sonia would like to keep close with Goth, and they do share a love for each other- she in particular loves to annoy her brother and break through his royal composure. But knowing that Sonia got to be close to their mother, that she knew a side to their father that he will never see, Goth prefers to keep his distance. And by the time the books take place, she has accepted this about their relationship, "I was never your enemy, dear brother. If only you weren't too blind to see it..."

He does care for her somewhat at least. Especially in the cartoon universe, where the only reason he doesn't eat Throb is because he knows that would hurt his sister. But his pride keeps him from admitting that he was wrong to lash out at her for something that was out of everyone's control...