The Scorpion Den, also known as the Terrifying Viper Pit of Dragons by humans, is a fortified town in the Kingdom of Sand. On the map of Pyrrhia, it is marked with an image of a scorpion. The den is home to mainly SandWings, who were trying to avoid the bloodbath of the War of SandWing Succession, and formerly Outclaws, an organization of SandWings that ran the city. It is a place full of dragon criminals who wished to hide from Burn, Blister, Blaze, and their troops. It is also populated by several hybrids.[1] It has a mischievous and wild culture, as the competition to prey on new visitors is always fierce, and many residents often try to pick fights with one another.[2]
Description[]
The Scorpion Den is a sprawling,[3] walled city with winding alleyways, torn, faded canopies, and run-down stone buildings.[4] The dusty[2] streets are filled with rickety stalls and tents,[5] most of which sell different types of merchandise. Almost every other stall sells water or brightsting cactus, the only known antidote to SandWing venom. The streets are dusty, crowded, and tight, as Sunny discovered when she tried walking through them with Six-Claws on her way to Thorn's tent. There is an oasis in the center of the town guarded by the Outclaws, in which young dragonets up to eight years can visit every morning for free meals.[6] It is mainly inhabited by SandWings; however, Sunny spotted a couple of SkyWings and an IceWing, whom she notes must have been miserable in the heat.[7]
It contains several taverns,[8] fortune-teller tents, lamp stores,[1] streets, courtyards, and buckets of sand hanging from every wall as an easy means of putting out potential fires.[9] It included hundreds of narrow alleyways[10] that sometimes lead to dead ends.[1] Dragonets were always racing around alleyways scrapping and shouting and tussling over trinkets or prey. Occasionally, dragonets bet on small games, like how long a mouse would last against a cat, etc.[11] It has been described to feel dark, crowded, and trapped.[12] The town has several entrances[13] composed of gates, which lead into a street lined with stalls, most of which are closed until morning. Morning scents drift from those that are open, roasting beetles and coffee mixing with the many, many much less pleasant smells in the air.[13] Some dragons marked their territory, and dragonets boldly imitated them. The cobblestone[2] streets are lined with gutters, and dragons are often lying within them.[13]
While Thorn was looking for Sunny, posters were put up all over the Scorpion Den, promising a reward for any information leading to the wherebouts of Morrowseer and Stonemover, for the present location of Dune, or for a dragonet, six years of age, with unusual features.
Notable features[]
Thorn's oasis[]
The oasis is set in the middle of the Scorpion Den. It is shown to be large and is the source of water for the citizens of the town. When the Outclaws took over, they made their base on the oasis based on the belief that "she who controls the water controls everything." Some other dragons living in the Scorpion Den, such as Cobra, forbade their dragonets from coming to the oasis ever since the Outclaws took it over, for fear that they would be kidnapped or become an Outclaw.
Qibli's home[]
Qibli's home has torch sconces[14] and carpets hanging from its walls that smell hot and musty, mingling with the scent of roasting coriander in the kitchen.[8] Within one room, Cobra owns a single lamp.[9] In another back room, where Cobra always met with her clients, there is a table with a scrawled sketch of a dragon's face on a document.[15] The house also includes blankets and a vat of grain.[16] It is nested in a neighborhood that is characterized by the smell of burning incense, flies constantly buzzing around the garbage, brightsting cactus plants bristling in baked clay pots hanging from the windows, and carmine-red scrawls of paint on the stone walls, where rivals marked their territory and dragonets imitated them boldly. An archway and a back gate lead to a run-down[17] courtyard,[2] surrounded by walls[17] and outside alleyways.[18]
Vulture's compound[]
Vulture's compound was described as one of the most well-fortified structures in Pyrrhia, lined with mines and traps.[19] It is located in the Scorpion Den, and is home to Vulture and the Talons of Power. It is decorated lavishly with lots of gold, onyx, emeralds, and more. The deadly structure is complete with an observatory, pavilion, prison cell, oubliette, food storage, treasury, and more.
Market[]
The market is a busy area of the Scorpion Den. It is also where Bog first met Vulture and decided to work for him.
| Known products at the market |
|---|
Orphanage[]
The orphanage is the home of SandWing orphans from the war, the desert, or the Scorpion Den itself. Not much else is known about the orphanage, except that it was almost destroyed in a fire when an unknown dragon panicked and set an area up in flames when they thought they saw a dragonbite viper.[22] The fire was stopped by the Outclaws and was revealed to be a hoax set by Addax, who set the fire and lied about the dragonbite viper because he wanted to kidnap Sunny and bring her to Burn to get his space back in her army.
History[]
Pre-Series[]
Dune stole Sunny's egg from the Scorpion Den to complete the prophecy.
Qibli was raised in the slums of the Scorpion Den by his mother, Cobra, before she sold him to Thorn.
The Dragonet Prophecy[]
The Dragonet Prophecy[]
As thanks for rescuing her, Kestrel told the dragonets where their eggs came from and mentioned the Scorpion Den to Sunny.
The Brightest Night[]
Sunny followed Fierceteeth, Strongwings, and Preyhunter into the Kingdom of Sand. They wanted to trade Burn the locations of the dragonets but decided to get someone from the Scorpion Den to relay the message for them, sure that if they went to Burn in person, they would be killed. Before entering, Sunny hid the Obsidian Mirror in the dunes outside the city. Six-Claws led her through the Scorpion Den to visit Thorn.
The Jade Mountain Prophecy[]
Darkness of Dragons[]
Qibli came to the Scorpion Den to negotiate with his grandfather, Vulture, after Ostrich was kidnapped. Qibli was imprisoned but escaped with the help of Winter, Cobra, and Ostrich.
Legends[]
Dragonslayer[]
Wren and Sky traveled to the Scorpion Den briefly before Sky was captured by General Sandstorm as a present for Burn.
Winglets[]
Deserter[]
Six-Claws, Dune, and Kindle went to the Scorpion Den after Burn mutilated Dune, with Six-Claws having believed he could escape Burn and follow a new leader.
Field Guides[]
A Guide to the Dragon World[]
In the SeaWing chapter of the guide, Anemone briefly mentioned the Scorpion Den in her letter to Tamarin.
Trivia[]
- The Scorpion Den is notorious for crime, although it was noted to be less chaotic under Thorn's management.[23]
- Several hybrids live in the Scorpion Den because Blister would not tolerate "cross-contamination" in her army, and Burn despised them.[1]
- There are fortune tellers in the Scorpion Den, considering how in Qibli's flashback in Darkness of Dragons, Qibli hid in a fortune teller's tent to eat a runty, spotted persimmon that had fallen under a merchant's cart.[9]
- There are many assassins in the Scorpion Den, seen when a dragon tells Sunny that if she needed anyone killed, she could contact them, giving her a card before vanishing.[5]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Darkness of Dragons, page 7
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Darkness of Dragons, page 73
- ↑ Darkness of Dragons, page 202
- ↑ The Brightest Night, page 50
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 The Brightest Night, page 54
- ↑ The Brightest Night, page 58
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Brightest Night, page 55
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Darkness of Dragons, page 4
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Darkness of Dragons, page 5
- ↑ Darkness of Dragons, page 6
- ↑ Darkness of Dragons, page 6-7
- ↑ Darkness of Dragons, page 54
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Darkness of Dragons, page 71
- ↑ Darkness of Dragons, page 10
- ↑ Darkness of Dragons, page 9
- ↑ Darkness of Dragons, page 58
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Darkness of Dragons, page 74
- ↑ Darkness of Dragons, page 77
- ↑ Darkness of Dragons, page 70
- ↑ The Brightest Night, page 54-55
- ↑ The Brightest Night, page 57
- ↑ The Brightest Night, page 77
- ↑ The Brightest Night, page 79
| SandWings | |
|---|---|
| Queens | |
| Royalty |
Blaze • Blister • Burn • Char • Scald • Singe • Smolder • Sunny • Onyx |
| Jade Mountain | |
| Other Dragons (Present) |
Addax • Agave • Armadillo • Camel • Capybara • Cereus • Cobra • Dune • Horizon • Jerboa III • Kindle • Meerkat • Needle • Ocotillo • Ostrich • Palm • Parch • Prickle • Quicksand • Rattlesnake • Saguaro • Sandstorm • Sirocco • Six-Claws • Tawny • Torch • Viper • Vulture |
| Other Dragons (Historical) |
|
| Hybrids | |
| Kingdom |
Blaze's fortress • Blister's hideout • Great Five-Tail River • Jerboa III's hut • North Beach • Possibility • SandWing stronghold • Scorpion Den |
| Society | |