Mala

Mala is the Queen of the Defenders of the Wing who makes her first debut in Dragons: Race to the Edge, Season 3.

She was voiced by Adelaide Kane.

Early life
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.

Race to the Edge
Mala first meets the Dragon Riders in "Defenders of the Wing, Part 1" after they are captured by Throk under the suspicion of being affiliated with the Dragon Hunters. Mala is willing to hear the Riders out but deems them guilty after finding Viggo's signature on Hiccup's map. As punishment, they are brought to the Nest where she throws Hiccup into a pit filled with Speed Stingers. Toothless and the other dragons then come to the Riders' rescue, leading Mala to realize she was wrong and released the Dragon Riders.

In an attempt to start over, Mala gives the Riders a tour of the village where she introduces them to the Eruptodon, the Great Protector. Then she notices that the volcano that the Eruptodon kept from flowing is now burning the hill above. As she arrives at the site, she realizes it's because the Eruptodon has disappeared. A dragon root arrow reveals that Viggo stood behind the capture and that he used the Dragon Riders as a decoy to complete his task. Feeling betrayed and misled, Mala accuses the Riders of betraying her and points her long sword at Hiccup, telling him that she will kill him herself.

New Alliance
After a brief confrontation in "Defenders of the Wing, Part 2" between the Defenders and Dragon Riders, a pair of Dragon Hunters are spotted hiding nearby. Hiccup manages to to convince Mala into seeing that they have all been tricked and that he only wants to help out. With the Eruptodon gone, Caldera Cay is endangered. It's then decided they will split up into two groups — with Mala accompanying Hiccup, Snotlout, Astrid and Fishlegs to find and rescue the Eruptodon. The remaining Riders will work with Throk to keep the lava from overflowing the village until the Eruptodon returns. Due to unwittingly saving Mala from a Dragon Hunter arrow, Snotlout is chosen as a viable candidate to become her king. Mala and Hiccup's rescue party quickly comes to the realization that they have been misled and are heading in the wrong direction. Mala grows greatly concerned for the Eruptodon who needs a constant supply of lava in order to survive. When she reveals that the Eruptodon's hunger could lead it to eat through the crust of a dormant volcano, Hiccup realizes that Viggo has taken it to Dragon's Edge to destroy their base. The group then hurry over to the Edge where Mala helps them defeat Viggo's forces despite having their own defenses turned against them. Hiccup finds a way to divert the Eruptodon from its desperate but destructive path by having Meatlug and other Gronckles vomit up lava that the Eruptodon can feed upon. They are thus able to return the Eruptodon back to Caldera Cay and save both islands. This event forges an alliance between the Defenders and Riders, though Mala is left without her expected king as Snotlout flees from the scene after finding out he needs to cross a pool of hot lava in order to prove his worthiness.

In "Saving Shattermaster", Mala and Throk travel to the Northern Markets in search of new weapons but are unable to make a purchase as the merchants will only sell them to the Dragon Hunters. A confrontation between the Defenders and the Hunters is narrowly avoided due to the intervention of a cloaked and hooded figure who is later revealed to be Dagur the Deranged.

Mala send out a message to the Dragon Riders in "Out of the Frying Pan", seeking their help to hatch an Eruptodon egg. Due to the Great Protector's inability to move its egg into the lava inside the volcano, both Hiccup and Fishlegs offer themselves up for the task. Mala joins along, wanting to personally take care of the egg during the flight. When the Fire Terrors attack, Mala does her best to defend the egg from the dragons. Hiccup eventually realizes that the Terrors only want to protect the egg and manages to persuade Mala into letting it go. As they are exiting the volcano, Mala, Fishlegs and Hiccup find themselves having to rescue Astrid and Throk who are stuck inside an inverted diving bell. Since Meatlug is carrying so much weight already, they are only able to bring Astrid on board. Throk tells them to go on without him, willing to sacrifice himself for his queen. A look of sadness and regret strikes Mala's face for a moment, and she looks conflicted. Fortunately, the Great Protector swoops in and saves the day.

Mala questions Hiccup's decision to bring Viggo to Caldera Cay in "Shell Shocked, Part 1" but doesn't deny his request to keep watch over the hunter. They are soon interrupted by the Shellfire attacking the island, which distracts them long enough to give Viggo leeway to escape. Once the battle is over, Throk extends his apologies to Mala for letting Viggo get away. The queen then leaves the New Protector in the Riders' care to keep it protected from the Dragon Hunters.

In "A Matter of Perspective", the Great Protector doesn't make it in time to save the village from the lava. Instead, its full-grown offspring steps in and finishes the job. This leads Mala to decide that it's time for the Changing of the Guard Celebration. She then sends a message to the riders, inviting them over to help out. When they arrive, Mala explains that the Eruptodon has served them for 40 years and that it will now journey to Vanaheim, the final resting place for all the dragons. She also states that it is not a sad day, as sadness is only a matter of perspective. It is instead a day to be celebrated as the Great Protector has earned its 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 and that they should consider it their new home.

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 where they share concerns over their current situation.

Marrying Dagur
In "Chain of Command", Mala participates in the meeting at her island, regarding the location where the Dragon Eye lenses should be found. She insists on keeping them inside the volcano on Caldera Cay, guarded by the Eruptodon. When Dagur suggests keeping them on Berserker Island, due to the fact that the volcano could erupt at any time, Mala calmly states that the Berserker guards allowed a coup to take place. She then argues with Dagur about the two possible locations. As they continue to argue about each others leadership, the twins decide to do some "mediation" on them. Mala and Dagur perform some trust exercises, Mala guiding Dagur blindfolded across a lava lake and Dagur catching her from falling, these exercises work much to everyone's surprise. They then work together to help Hiccup save Wingmaiden Island from Krogan and his Dragon Flyers.

Sometime before "Mi Amore Wing", Dagur and Mala begin to have romantic feelings for one another. Dagur eventually takes the Defenders of the Wing King Trials and passes, making him Mala's future husband. The couple announces that they're getting married to the Dragon Riders, to their shock. Mala and Dagur show off their love for one another to the Dragon Riders by kissing in front of them and calling each other sappy pet names. Ruffnut and Tuffnut offer to help Mala plan the wedding while Dagur assists Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, and Snotlout in delivering scrap metal to the Armorwing. While they are away, the twins believe Mala is secretly planning to kill Dagur at the wedding (due to her battling a dummy that looks like him) and also mentioning a Dance of Blades and "a special gift that everyone will get after the ceremony". In the end, the twins confront Mala only for her to explain what she was really talking about; the Dance of Blades being a dance she and Dagur will perform on fresh "blades" of grass and the special gift is really lava trinkets.

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 it have Eruptodon symbols.

Personality
As leader of the Defenders of the Wing, Mala holds high authority over the island and does everything she can to ensure its safety, even if it means carrying the fate of both 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 back so she could assist the riders in their task of saving her people's guardian dragon.