If you haven't read the guide or just don't remember much from it, I recommend checking out my previous post summarizing the information. It'll be helpful for understanding a lot of my points.
I'll start with the positives.
It provided a lot of information for characters. I wasn't really going into this expecting (or really wanting) anything new about the characters, but I was pleasantly surprised. It wrapped up some loose ends, such as Anemone and Tamarin becoming official, and provided background on side characters such as Smolder and Queen Vigilance. Although I wasn't too keen on how much it took up in the book, they're really not bad themselves. I especially like Smolder's diary entries because it showed a new perspective of his character. Oasis was an abusive mother and he took Palm being sent away really, really badly. We're told this in the books but this shows the extent of how crushed and depressed he was.
The illustrations were cool. The majority of art (by Joy Ang, that is) is limited to the covers, so having a book with a bunch of new illustrations was great. I love looking at the pictures and the designs of objects/places we haven't seen before.
We finally know more than two things about MudWings! Alright, that's kind of an exaggeration. But I am quite happy about it! There was more information on how troops operate and it also introduced the MudWing palace (which, fun fact, is literally the only Pyrrhian palace that was never visited in the main series).
There were a lot of small details and minor culture bits that I appreciated. The sign offs come to mind. I made note of them in my previous post because one, I think it's super cute that it differed from tribe to tribe, and two, it implies some information about what each culture values as well as formalities.
Now onto the negatives.
The format was very limiting. Don't get me wrong, I find the in-universe letters and scrolls pretty fun. It provides a lot of updates and clarifications on the lives of characters after the third arc. It gives insight into how dragons saw themselves, other tribes, and other creatures. However, I was excited for this book because I wanted to learn more about the tribes, and this format didn't really allow that. It also makes it harder to discern actual facts from bias.
The letters/diary entries took up too much content. I think they're fun and it's interesting to see how characters write and interact with each other, however, some of them made up the majority of the sections. Smolder's diary was cool and all, but I did not want twelve pages of it. This leads into my next complaint:
There wasn't much lore or worldbuilding. I'm sure this has been reiterated many times, but given that it was specifically labeled as a guide and the series is already lackluster in its worldbuilding I think it's a fair complaint. To me, this was a chance to make up for how underdeveloped most of the tribes are. What are meals like? What are families like? Do each have their own language or dialect or slang? How are romantic relationships viewed? There bits and pieces of this for some of the tribes, but a lot of it was information we already knew about in some regard. For example, we know that MudWings primarily care about their sibs. We know SkyWings had a mating program. I appreciate the elaboration on these concepts, but I wanted new information most of all.
Most of the information was in the context of royalty and nobility. This part of the series has irritated me for a while. We don't really know what the average citizens of Pyrrhia do. Most of the protagonists are descendants of royalty or were raised outside of the tribe. A lot of the information in this book is, again, from queens, princes, princesses, generals, etc. In terms of lore, this presents a problem because we don't know if certain traditions are exclusive to higher class dragons or if they're practiced by everybody. The only section that really differentiated this was the IceWing one, and that was because of how stratified IceWing society is shown to be.
On a more nitpicky side, this doesn't make much sense as an in-universe guide. If I were trying to read about other cultures, I would not want to read about the stenographer flirting with his girlfriend. Nor would I want to read the letter of a toddler princess. I'm not sure if this is meant to be a rough draft/making of the guide or the guide itself. If it's the former, then this point is moot.
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Final Thoughts
This was a fun book but it was also a missed opportunity to make up for what was lacking in the main series. Because it's a sidebook and doesn't deal with the same restrictions as other books, it could have been used to tell us more about the world.
My favorite parts of the book are the ones where they mention or explain cultural elements of the tribe(s). SandWings having history museums, the Clash of Claws Tournament hosted by the SkyWings, the outer IceWing villages and how they've been neglected by the artistocracy, the honey drop recipe! I think this book could have been fun and informative. Lore drops and exposition don't have to be pages of text, they can be short and entertaining. This book has pages that do this, it's just that everything else is dedicated to letters or specific stories.
There are definitely bits of information that I found fascinating and would like to reference for my headcanons/rewrite. MudWing troops having specific roles comes to mind, and I especially like the disparities in IceWing society (which could probably be applied to every tribe).
In conclusion, I would recommend the book because it's an enjoyable read. Just don't go into it with the expectation of worldbuilding like I did.
Finally finished reading A Guide to the Dragon World! Because my notes ended up being quite long, I'm splitting the post into two parts. The first part (aka this one) is just a summary of the new lore introduced in the guide, specifically cultural elements of each tribe along with tidbits of history. I left out most character-specific content (such as the letters) because I was primarily reading this for worldbuilding, but I will talk about it in the second part, which will be my review.
Keep in mind that the majority of information is in the context of royalty and nobility. I will talk about this more in my review.
Be warned, this is a very long post.
Different tribes (probably) have different scents
It was stated that a male dragon has not ruled since the Scorching, implying that there may have been a king in the past
Treasure is used as currency on Pyrrhia
There are detective mystery genre scrolls/books
Hatching day cakes are a thing, and SkyWings traditionally set their cakes on fire (at least based on an offer Peril made, not sure if that's just because she's a firescales though)
Tamarin and Starflight invented a letter-presser for blind dragons
Mathematics and calculus exist
The lancehead snake is a cousin to the dragonbite viper, though not as deadly
Certain tribes are wealthier and/or bigger than others, but it is not specified which ones
The names of the three moons are Oracle, Perception, and Imperial, the last one being the biggest moon
The white dragon with wing stubs in Burn's collection still has no confirmed tribe; it's similar to a SilkWing but only has two wingbuds
+the SilkWing wing had washed up on shore
Pantalan queens used to host a queen gathering every few moons, which was used to address disputes
"For HiveWing Eyes Only" regarding the Book of Clearsight may predate Queen Wasp
SeaWings had also escaped to Pantala (I think this was previously unknown, but correct me if I'm wrong)
Krakens are confirmed to be real in the Book of Clearsight
MudWings
MudWing troops have specific roles (healer, treasurer, gatherer, communicator)
The MudWing palace is surrounded with blanket forts where groups of dragons can socialize
The palace also has a library and the oldest scroll is about the blood red eggs
The MudWing succession crisis happened ~200 years ago
There was at least one case of a MudWing being ordered to destroy a blood red egg
There is a royal hatchery for MudWing eggs
^ They're still, for the most part, left to fend for themselves with the exception of education and training beginning earlier
^ The queen still has limited interactions with her children (by choice)
^ The bigwings in particular is taken to be trained and has to fight the queen for the throne, same as other tribes
MudWings have their own language (at least during the MudWing Succession Crisis)
Structures are made of adobe
They have papyrus
The original royal bloodline was secretly ended during the MudWing Succession Crisis and later revealed in Princess Sawgrass's retelling
MudWings raise cows for dairy and there is a royal cowherd
SeaWings
There are stories (by Coral) written from the perspective of animals
Bunch of Aquatic information; there are phrases exclusive to Aquatic
One hatching day food is raw tuna wrapped in seaweed and stuffed with fish eggs
(Royal) traditional hatching day activities include a triathlon, treasure hunt, coral reef hide-and-seek, humpback-whale-themed singing competition, and an ocean pet fashion show
SeaWings keep seahorses, sea dragons, cuttlefish, and bobtail squids as pets
Hatching day feast includes sharks, tuna rolls, and lobsters
There might be a new palace/area for dragons of other tribes to visit in construction
RainWings
RainWings used to read and write
Other tribes wanted the rainforest territory (at least according to Handsome)
They used to eat meat
RainWings used to constantly kill each other for the throne
The nonlethal competition was introduced to reduce bloodshed
RainWings used to have scrolls and libraries (during the Darkstalker era), but transitioned to storytelling/oral history at some unknown point in time
RainWings used to be feared by every other tribe and were known for their assassins
^ There was an assassin training program
Queen Jacaranda was responsible for most of the changes in RainWing society
^ She ended the assassin training program, outlawed usage of venom on other dragons, ordered the construction of the hammocks and platforms at the top of the canopy (presumably leading to sun time) and was interested in "taming prey" (sloths in particular)
Was in a war/territory dispute with the SkyWings and signed a peace treaty (it's not directly stated who the peace treaty was with, it was either the SkyWings or the MudWings)
It's implied that extensive sun exposure makes RainWings lazier
RainWing culture is more open to expressing emotion as a result of their color changing scales
NightWings
NightWings have legends/stories, the described one is about a seer named Comet that rarely had visions and was thought to be powerless until he foresaw a storm that destroyed the kingdom
There is also a scroll about The Prophetess that Fatespeaker liked to read, which is about a seer that fought bad guys with her visions
NightWings hatched under one full moon gain seer or mind reading powers, while two full moons grant both powers
Three full moons amplifies the strength of these powers
Some believe there's a connection between the moons and animus magic, but Darkstalker disagrees with this
NightWings (in the old kingdom) made sure as many eggs as possible were born under full moons
NightWings were raised to believe they were inherently superior at some genetic level (yikes)
The whole prophecy and lies spread to Pyrrhia were born out of desperation (I guess this was already known but I think it's worth noting because here it's being outright stated)
NightWings were the first to develop a written Dragon language; they taught it to the rest of the continent to record history and communicate
+traveling NightWing teachers that brought scrolls and taught them
There were NightWing scriptoriums where they copied scrolls by talon to spread to Pyrrhia
NightWings were responsible for most of the treatments used by other tribes
In the past, seers used their visions to help other tribes and NightWings were more open to sharing their knowledge in general
The old NightWing kingdom has a lot of moon exposure and a cold climate
NightWings had theatre performances, including props
The listed plays include: A Midsummer NightWing's Dream, The Importance of Being a NightWing, and A Little NightWing Music
On the island, NightWings had abandoned theatre, art, and music
They also had gardens with nonedible plants
NightWings have hatching ceremonies
The full moon music festival is an ancient custom that was revived by Queen Vigilance, along with other unnamed customs
There were ceremonies for seers and mind readers
The full moon music festival involved musicians sharing their newest compositions and providing an opportunity for dragonets to learn about traditional NightWing music; Vigilance introduced an hour where amateurs could also share their talents
The seer ceremony involves giving a vision of the future for NightWings and the mind reading ceremony involves mind readers sharing good thoughts about Vigilance (probably just the queen in general)
There was an island temple dedicated to honoring the first librarians of the NightWing tribe
The Glass Jubilee, started by Vigilance, celebrates each year of her reign and involves glasswork, music, and dancing
SandWings
Some SandWing treasure: the Desert Tiara (worn by SandWing queens for centuries), the Twilight Necklace (possibly of NightWing origin), and the SandWing Scepter
Queen Oasis had a symbol
Sign off(s) : "Wishing you bright sun and strong winds"
SandWing kitchens (for royalty, at least) have cages where birds are kept for meal preparation
SandWings keep armadillos, coyotes, tortoises, pumas and snakes as pets (and also eat them)
There is a scroll for dragonets on pets, including recipes for cooking the pets
SandWings have tortillas
After Oasis died, councils and debates were placed to pick the next queen
SandWings have history museums, including multiple gifts from past alliances
IceWings
Sign off(s): "On the winds of blizzards," "Snow mountains of love"
Education is very important (at least amongst royalty)
Ice sculpting is a significant form of art
IceWings frequently host talent shows and competitions
Many are constantly trying to create things to share with the rest of the tribe and typically work solo
Walruses and seals are not kept as pets
An image of the ranking walls is included, showing the written language (not sure if it's Dragon or an IceWing-specific language)
There is another animus gift, the gift of understanding, with missing part(s) and an unknown purpose
A layout of the menu for a coronation/royal feast is given (ingredients include kelp, sedge, garlic, ginger, crab, moss, whale, polar bear, narwhal, fulmar, puffin, gannet, scavenger, shark...)
IceWings use sealskin for scrolls
There are wandering librarians that circulate scrolls around the Ice Kingdom villages
^ Dragonets are chosen to be the next bard of the village, which are storytellers that memorize the history of the IceWing tribe and folktales
In the Village-of-the-Plentiful-Seals, there are multiple dragons named Caribou to honor the animus that gave them the gift of subsistence
^ They also host an annual feast in celebration of Caribou that lasts five days and nights
Where-No-Dragon-Goes-Hungry has a statue of Caribou made of whale bone, and host a Caribou celebration involving an ice sculpture contest every year
The aurora borealis is believed to be the Great Ice Dragon's frostbreath
We-Remember-and-Venerate-Caribou has a year long market that trades food
There is a temple of the Great Ice Dragon that feeds dragons for free
Princess Caribou's gift had upset the IceWing aristocracy because it was meant for dragons outside of the circles
^ They believed that it would make them lazy, forget how to hunt, and that hunger motivated them to work harder (which of course was entirely wrong)
Outer villages are low in the IceWing social hierarchy; they're often neglected by the royalty/nobility/etc.
Dragons from the outer villages were invited each year to compete for a spot in the palace school; this gave them a chance to enter the circles and better their social status
Every seven years, SkyWings hosted a challenge in the palace called the Clash of Claws
^ Consisted of seven days and seven challenges: flame, endurance, strength, cunning, guile, wit, and speed
The precision and heat of a flame is skill-based (at least partially)
Prince Cliff wrote the new SkyWing anthem (+ it's implied other tribes don't have anthems)
SkyWings
*Because Scarlet had a lot of influence and control over SkyWing culture, some bullet points are specified as pre, post, or during Scarlet's reign
SkyWings throw elaborate hatching ceremonies (at least according to Fierceteeth)
SkyWings may have weave tapestries (Smolder mentions an alliance gift possibly being given by the SkyWings)
SkyWings cultivate lemons
(Pre-Scarlet) The arena hosted parades, art shows, dance performances, and beauty contests; dragons from all over Pyrrhia were invited
^ Winning sculptures and tapestries were kept by Queen Firestorm
They have ironsmithing and host ironsmithing classes
Scale-polishing and muscle-building for beauty
(Pre-Scarlet) SkyWings had the option to choose partners for themselves, but often opted to be matched by the queen because they were busy
(Pre-Scarlet) Weddings are quiet, private rituals that only involve the two dragons getting married and are hosted in the sky
(During Scarlet) weddings became elaborate and were also celebrated with deathmatches in the arena; most did not want to deal with their celebrations and either didn't marry or got married in secret
Most did not want to be matched by Scarlet
There are SkyWing Ancestry Scrolls where dragons record their weddings
Families don't hold a lot of significance, parents raise their hatchlings then send them off to get a palace job
Diamond rings are used for engagements
(Royalty) White silk is worn for weddings
SilkWings
SilkWings used to take time off from school to explore Pantala after their Metamorphosis
SilkWings are naturally tree dwellers, but were forced to live on the webs between the Hives after the Tree Wars
SilkWing queens chose their successor, they did not fight for the throne
Monarch was the name of two of the best queens in SilkWing history
They have tea, lemon sugar crunches, and peanut butter cookies
HiveWings
HiveWings pick a specialization at a young age
Education is primarily agriculture based
There are universities for each hive: Wasp Hive University, Jewel Hive University, etc.
HiveWing abilities are genetic, but not always passed down
LeafWings
LeafWing dragonets have to practice jungle survival skills in the villages before being let out
The LeafWings had books in the Poison Jungle
^ They used plant fibers, bark, sap (glue), wood pulp (paper), and dyes for bookmaking
Most of their books and libraries were lost in the Tree Wars
Some LeafWing books: The Legacy of the LeafWings, Ash of Green Gingkos, The Count of Mount Kudzu, Rowan and Juniper, The Exceptionally Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Insects For the Discerning Entomologist, Mysterious and Mystifying Murders, and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Several LeafWing artifacts survived the fires, one of which was the "Archival LeafWing Documents: For Future Historians," buried by Queen Sequoia
"Safe branches," "strong roots," "from roots to the canopy," and "till the full moon" are some sign offs
Names such as Belladonna (and presumably any other dangerous plant) were untraditional before moving to the Poison Jungle
New Year of the Trees is presumably a holiday
PoisonWings and SapWings were not initially on hostile terms, this was done by Belladonna
LeafWings cultivate bananas, potatoes, yams, papayas, avocados, kumbu, and dragonberries
Apologies if there's any information that was already revealed in the main series. Also, I included some more minor things (such as the sign offs) because it could give hints into some cultural lore such as values and language.
So something that always disappointed me in the series was the reveal that Queen Oasis was actually killed by scavengers. Not even with something animus-touched or careful planning, it was entirely unintentional.
In the past (pre-Dragonslayer), my personal theory about this was that somehow Blister had led Oasis to her death because she knew beating her in a fight wasn't a viable option. Maybe she provided the scavengers with an animus-touched treasure that would enable them to kill her. Maybe she managed to ambush/kill Oasis herself and frame the scavengers.
I still prefer this outcome, and I think it would serve as an example of Blister being clever and manipulative.
It's been a while, and I plan on getting back into posting again. Because it's been so long, I'm going to cover some of the topics I've already talked about with my updated thoughts. I'll also try to post more illustrations to go along with my writing (like character and tribe designs).
I'm currently reading A Guide to the Dragon World, so expect a post on that soon.
You haven't posted anything in a long time and I hope that's just because your life outside the internet is busy and investing, and not because anything bad has happened to you. I hope other people are polite and understanding as to why you can't be here as much as we'd like, and I hope you aren't worrying about your inactivity here.
If you ever see this, have a good day
Thank you so much for this message, it's much appreciated <3
I'm okay! My inactivity has just been a combination of immense schoolwork and writer's block. I'm hoping to become active again (probably once things settle down).
It's been difficult finding that motivation to post again but I still love writing this blog.
Here are the results! The poll is still open, but I think there's a pretty clear winner.
I was actually pretty surprised! I thought most people would only prefer dragons, however, this is a very welcome outcome.
Personally, I would go with a mix of typical mythical creatures and made up ones, with an emphasis on the latter. I think it'd be cool if there were creatures like the ones in Avatar: The Last Airbender where they're basically just mash-ups of different animals. It would maintain that semi-realistic feel that WoF has while also making the world feel more alive and unique.
One thing I really like about WoF is how different the world feels compared to stereotypical fantasy worlds. Yes, magic exists, but it's not a core component (in terms of how the world functions). A lot of things feel grounded and I love how instead of element based dragons, they're environment based. I think having ATLA-esque creatures would really benefit the vibes WoF has.
I think it'd be cool to have additional mythical creatures, because sometimes the fauna (and even the flora!) feels boring. There should be more animals that pose as active threats to dragons, such as serpents or maybe even other kinds of dragons such as wyverns.
I'd like to add an asterisk to my "no, I just want dragons" thing because I'm personally appealed by the idea of other hominids in the WoF world (dwarves, orcs, etc) but no other fantasy creatures. Thank Age of Fire for that idea.
Also noted! I've always been iffy about scavengers, but I never really considered alternative hominids.
I’m so sorry for the inactivity, school was particularly hectic towards the end.
For now, I’d like to hear out from you! I’m curious if WoF fans would have preferred more mythical creatures (griffins, serpents, unicorns, etc.) or would want to stick to just dragons.
To clarify, these creatures would just be fauna.
Fill out the poll below with your answer (feel free to reblog or reply with your reason why as well!)
Hey! Just wanted to let y’all know I’m still running this blog, it’s just been difficult to find motivation to make full fledged posts. But reading TFOH has really helped with getting that motivation, so expect more soon!
I’ll be posting a review of it, mostly to address the new info it has and how I plan on handling it. Most of what I’ve heard has been good things and, as I am reading it, I agree!
I’m excited to share my thoughts with you all, I’d love to get this blog up and running again ^^
just a quick question but are you going to continue your drawings i was just curious
I think so! I know I've been neglecting them </3
Maybe I'll start posting sketches so there's still some art to look at. I am still drawing, I just rarely color anything so I don't post it. I have been planning on sharing my designs for the tribes and such, so maybe look out for that in the future!
I love the idea of making a caste system for hivewing societies, but considering that fans got mad at the third arc featuring a slave-based society for the sole reason of depicting slavery even though part of the message was "slavery is bad", they'd probably take that in the worst light possible too.
Personally, I was upset about the slave-based society because of how horribly it was handled. I don't agree with dancing around these topics or avoiding them like the plague, but if you're going to write about them you need to do extensive research. That was clearly not done for this arc. I think a lack of research on sensitive topics is a reoccurring issue in this series.
And I think basically removing all responsibility from the HiveWings through the hivemind also put a bad taste in a lot of fans' mouths. Cricket's entire book was preaching "Not All HiveWings" and the dragons who were rightfully angry about what happened to them were portrayed as unreasonable.
Most of the complaints I've seen about this have been for those reasons. I have no doubt in my mind that there are people that are angry solely because the topic was covered at all, but I disagree with the thought that it was what the majority of the fans were angry about.
I doubt people would be that livid about a caste system as long as it's researched well and done tastefully.
I have beef about the linguistics in this series too.
I feel like Tui simultaneously wants what the characters speak to be an actual language, but also wants it to be intrinsic to the species, and it either can't make up her mind or simply has no idea how language works and doesn’t care to learn (and it’s not like it’s rocket science).
As others have stated, "Dragon" doesn't evolve for well over a thousand years, and those not raised by dragons who speak it (Sky and all MudWings) seem to know it, somehow. It’s way to advanced to be just instinctive, and the fact Pantala had a different language to Pyrrhia and that Aquatic requires years of learning suggests that it is just a normal language. Sky's scenario makes no sense, he was with Kestrel for less than a day and hasn't interacted with any dragon since for, iirc around eight years, but not only knows the "language" almost fluently (but can’t read, which makes it all the more confusing, suggesting speaking/hearing it IS just known automatically), he has somehow taught it to Wren.
You put one of the biggest issues with the language perfectly.
I think it would have worked if what was instinctive was just a few sounds and maybe gestures that communicated very basic ideas. Ideas such as "back off," "pain," or anything else along those lines.
It feels like the line between dragons being sentient and more animal-like gets blurred a lot. As if Tui just can't decide whether or not she wants them to be more like traditional dragons or more civilized.
