Hello! Ive been seeing your wof headcannon posts all the time on pinterest, and I love the art! You have a very awsome way of drawing dragons haha. I also really love the headcannons themselves, the tribe banners and foods are probably my favorites.
I have been working on a little project, and was wondering, what do you think each tribes literature would be like? I was recently thinking about seawing scrolls and hit a big wall of what would they write on? As they cant exactly use paper underwater.
Have a great day, and I hope to see more of your work!
Hi! Thank you so much for your question, I'm glad my work resonated to you! The Banners were my first exploration in WOF concepts, and the food concepts were really fun to dig my teeth into as well (No pun intended).
If you’re wondering about specific material & forms of writing tools that would be used for each tribe, here’s my personal head-cannons for all—including Seawings. I didn't really explore their literary genres in depth when answering this question, but that could be a cool concept for the future! Hope this is what you are looking for!
Mudwings: Papyrus & Clay tablets seem most sensible for a marsh-like environment. Their swampier region allows for a great deal of clay to form in soil, which can also be hardened/glazed with dragon fire. I head-cannon they are incredible potters, so perhaps there are artisans that use vases, bowls, and other clay art pieces to communicate visual Mudwing culture & history.
Papyrus plants stalks on the other hand grow near rivers and can form into a water resistant paper of sorts, which leads me to think these materials are better for scrolls and note taking in a humid environment.
Skywings: I think Skywings use a variety of written mediums to communicate, utilize, and preserve history. It makes sense they would have an elaborate scribe system, with their territory's mixed resources and them being fast flyers--it's like the postal service of the WOF universe. They might prefer stone tablets to paper when it comes to chiseling royal inscriptions and lore. I could see Scarlet also ordering sculptors to etch elaborate portraits and gaudy quotes onto buildings (given their mountainous terrain and large rock canvases). Or Paper & parchment from animal skins, depending on availability. Overall, Skywings might have the most access to a variety of literature and written communication methods.
Seawings: Similar to Mudwings, they could use papyrus which is more a water resistant form of paper and seems to bear better in their conditions. Perhaps carving driftwood, hard coral, or shells and animal bone such as whale bone could be another method of preserving writing without tarnishing/waterlogging it.
A more fun theory (going off of Pyyrhia logic), is that perhaps a certain kelp species grows and/or was enchanted by a Seawing Animus (similar to Icewing gifts) that was meant to act as paper and be written on like a scroll for underwater literary purposes. The Seawings can use a squid ink as mentioned in the books, and when in contact with the enchanted kelp, it becomes water resistant and acts as a form of paper. When dried, the writing remains legible and is enchanted not to crumble or flake.
Sandwings: Papyrus paper & Sandstone tablets/stone seem ideal for permanent literature in their desert region. I also head-cannon that Sandwings have a tradition of writing simple poems, key words, or casual notes to loved ones on little squares of fabric that are meant to be upcycled, gifted, or re-purposed. These squares can be utilized by being stitched into tents, fabric, clothing, etc. A multipurpose keepsake of their hatchling days, tribe information, or family history carried with them everywhere.
Rainwings: I believe Rainwings have a much stronger emphasis on verbal history as opposed to a written one, traditions are taught but rarely written down. But like Mudwings and their pottery making, perhaps a visual representation can be found carved and painted in vibrant colors on bark, bamboo, and through rainforest leaf impressions/carving. I also like the idea Rainwings celebrate their history through parades, games, and elaborate costumed performances, all done with scale-shifting colors and leaf puppetry. Like a visual medium brought to life which can relay tales in ways no other tribe can through written word.
Nightwings: Following Darkstalker and the abandoned Kingdom of Night, I believe a lot of literature was lost or simply could not be stored properly when Nightwings fled to the volcanic island. Any paper and parchment scrolls could be easily destroyed due to high temperature and fire risk. But stone tablets, cave walls, and metal styluses on pumice/volcanic rock for more permanent notes would be ideal. Charcoal reeds on parchment for temporary/secretive notes could be other mediums as well. Perhaps by harboring resources via portal entrances from the Rainforest Kingdom such as tree bark, would also allow for mixed resources & writing mediums that confused other tribes from pinpointing their exact location.
Icewings: I like the idea that a former animus Icewing set about enchanting slabs and sheets of ice or snow for their tribe records & educational purposes. Perhaps this gift was also used for ease in the Rankings. These snow tablets could act as enchanted paper and be stored, rolled like scrolls, without the need of any trees or parchment in a land of mostly ice.
Snow tablets also have an intentional security measure to keep privacy; any documents feared to be seen by the unwelcome eyes of other tribes can only be stored safely in cold, icy conditions at specific temperatures—lest their secrets be reduced to an indecipherable puddle. Letters and such that need to be delivered to other tribes could be written or carved on animal skin & bone, stone slabs, or bark.
