SandWings

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SandWings, also known as sand dragons or desert dragons to humans, are a Pyrrhian dragon tribe who dwell in the Kingdom of Sand, a vast desert near the center of Pyrrhia. They are currently ruled by Queen Thorn.

The SandWings were the cause of the War of SandWing Succession, as the three warring princesses were vying for control of their tribe. Each princess had different allies — Blister with the SeaWings and NightWings, Burn with the SkyWings and MudWings, and Blaze with the IceWings. None of these alliances seem to remain after the end of the war.

Description

A SandWing tail barb from The Lost Heir (graphic novel), by Mike Holmes

SandWings have pale yellow, pale gold, light sandy-colored, white-gold, light yellow-brown, or off-white scales that blend in with the desert sand. All SandWings have obsidian-black eyes, a spike on the top of their nose and below their ear, and a black forked tongue. They have short horns and a frill or ridge going from the top of their snout to ~3/4 down their tails, which have a scorpion-like stinger at the end. This tail barb is usually black but may be paler on some dragons.

SandWings may have different patterns on their scales and wings, including black diamond patterns, brown speckled markings, and triangle patterns on a dragon's wings. SandWing eggs are pale or white-yellow.

Diet

SandWings are light eaters. They eat animals from the desert such as camels and lizards and may cook or prepare much of their food. Date cookies, dried dates and fruit, bread, and roasted lizards are prepared in the SandWing palace's kitchen. They also consume camel milk. SandWings are willing to eat fruit and vegetables, though they are scarce in the desert.

Abilities

SandWings have scales that radiate warmth and are capable of breathing fire. They can camouflage with sand, sustain themselves on very little food and water, and have good hearing and smell.

SandWings have venomous barbed tails, similar to scorpion tails. Their venom can kill a full-grown dragon.^{[citation needed]} SandWings do not develop their tail-barb venom until they're older, and as young dragonets, they have a smaller barb that has not fully developed. The cure for SandWing venom is brightsting cactus.

Animus magic

The SandWing tribe has animus magic, though little is known about their animus dragons or spells they have cast. One notable animus-touched object is the Eye of Onyx, enchanted to pick a good queen for the SandWing tribe. Jerboa and Jerboa II are the only known animus SandWings.

Society

SandWings have a reputation among other tribes as sneaky outlaws. Many SandWings work as merchants or assassins, especially in the Scorpion Den. They celebrate "full moon festivals," and are a surprisingly musical tribe. Winter once described them to be "nearly as untrustworthy as NightWings, but half as smart and twice as likely to betray you for gold and treasure."

SandWings do not appear to have formal education or schooling for common dragonets. SandWing dragonets are taught to hold their tails in a certain way to prevent accidents.

Names

SandWings are often named after the desert — both features of the land (such as Oasis and Horizon) and local flora and fauna (such as Meerkat and Agave). Fire and heat-related names are also common (such as Burn, Smolder, Kindle, and Char), and SandWings may be named after physical attributes (such as Six-Claws).

Click here for a list of known SandWings.

Animus dragons

• Jerboa
• Jerboa II

Students at Jade Mountain

• Arid
• Onyx (formerly)
• Ostrich
• Pronghorn
• Qibli

Trivia

•  Most SandWings are claustrophobic.
• It is likely the SandWings obtained much of their treasure from the NightWing and IceWing's remittance mentioned in Darkstalker.
• SandWings have caravans, as shown in Darkness of Dragons when Qibli sates that Cobra was looking at him "as if he were a rented caravan."

Gallery

A typical SandWing (colored), by Joy Ang

A typical SandWing (lineart), by Joy Ang

A typical SandWing from the German publication, by Max Meinzold