• 20 • any pronouns • digital and (sometimes) traditional artist •
• https://linktr.ee/snallyghaster •
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Pictured above: an illustration of a soldier and a priest of the Light flight, wearing typical garb.
The soldier is a young but promising cadet, shown here with an impressive amount of battle plates for her age. Battle plates, often referred to simply as "plates", are plates of metal forged with a single symbol, each given to represent a certain act of valor in combat. As an individual rises through the ranks, their number of plates increases, visually signaling their place in the hierarchy. Many high-ranking individuals become so burdened with these plates that they cannot take flight, though dragons with such a high number of plates generally stay behind the front lines as strategists.
The priest is shown wearing a typical plain white robe, ornamented with gold jewelry. Among Light dragons and priests in particular, gold is considered sacred, as its yellow color and distinctive shine in the sunlight is said to glorify the Lightweaver, and priests are often gifted gold jewelry forged by nearby clans for their service. Light priests also ornament themselves with parchment inscribed with sentences and phrases favored by the individual priest, often taken from holy texts. Though this priest has chosen short phrases, some wear parchments with longer sentences or even entire passages written on them. Wearing these parchments is believed to spread knowledge and thus honor the Lightweaver, who values knowledge above all else.
got bored and made a f2u sandwing base! (might make some bases for the other tribes, we'll see) don't remove the watermark but otherwise feel free to go ham
(speculative biology / reasoning for design decisions below the cut)
sandwings in many ways represent the most "average" dragon in pyrrhia. not quite as bulky as seawings, icewings, and mudwings, and not quite as light and maneuverable as rainwings, nightwings, and skywings, sandwings have middling capabilities in the air and are generally the most comfortable on the ground. they possess some heavy plating, but have scaleless bellies that prevent overheating but also leave them vulnerable to attack from below. Their distinctive crests, running from their head to their tail, are covered with blood vessels and allow sandwings to regulate their temperature more easily. Their wings also contain blood vessels, unlike those of other dragons.
sandwings are well adapted to the scarcity and heat of the desert. they depend on nomadic prey herds and hunt by ambush, camouflaging themselves in the sand and waiting until their target is within striking distance of their tail. because these large herds are rare, sandwings retain fat readily and can go long periods without eating. however, their tails remain relatively fatless to ensure their maneuverability. Between large meals, they sustain themselves on lone prey such as lizards and occasionally even fresh carrion.
sandwing wings are optimized for idle gliding. they can spend hours in the air while expending very little energy, searching for live prey or carrion. Upon spotting live prey, a sandwing will typically land nearby and approach on foot, slowly approaching while blending in with the sand to avoid notice. sandwings can also fly for impressive distances, although their speed leaves much to be desired.
to avoid sand ending up in their nostrils, sandwing nostrils are situated atop their snout and can be closed and opened at will. their eyes are slitted; typically, their pupils remain very thin due to the sun and the glare of the desert, but their pupils can widen significantly in darker environments.
In combat, a sandwing on the ground is a formidable opponent. Attacks from any angle will be quickly rewarded with a dose of venom capable of paralyzing a foe and sometimes even killing them, depending on where the venom entered the bloodstream; after being paralyzed, the foe is quickly dispatched with the sandwing's formidable claws. The only way to consistently defeat a sandwing in battle is through greater numbers. A sandwing in the sky, on the other hand, is essentially a sitting duck, easily picked off through blows to the stomach.
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