Glasscloud

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 G L A S S C L O U D
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A   S U P E R I O R‍   C I V I L I Z A T I O N,
P R O U D   A N D   D I V I N E .
Long ago, when dragonkind had only ruled the continents for a short one thousand years, the oddities were hunted. NightWings with scales as white as the moons, IceWings able to conjure up anything with a thought, SkyWings who burned everything they touched, SilkWings who could create fire without a breath, dragons who combined two or more tribes to create a better being. The majority of dragonkind, who had dubbed themselves 'normal' simply because they outnumbered the rare ones, hunted them down or killed them as dragonets or eggs, before they even had a chance to really live.
But one of them survived.
This dragon was an IceWing known as Glass, and was one of the most powerful animus dragons to ever exist. Instead of giving an enchanted gift to her own selfish tribe, she instead dedicated herself to the odd dragons of the world: the firescales, the flamesilks, the Sparks, the gifted, the colorful. The diamonds in the rough. Glass invited as many of them as she could reach out to, and brought them to a beautiful place in the highest part of the SkyWings' territory. She enchanted a piece of rock to lift into the sky, and create a beautiful city for all the peculiar and wonderful dragons to live in without fear.
Or at least, that was her intention.
Over time, the dragons living in the clouds slowly grew more and more detached from society. Fewer messengers came from the Pyrrhians, and as Pyrrhia fell into chaos, the city did as well. With no laws and Glass as the only official mediator, the constant bickering and infighting among the citizens became too much for her to handle.
Seeing the potential dangers of an incredibly powerful and even more incredibly stressed animus ruling the city, an IceWing by the name of Platinum proposed a leadership system to her; a council, with one representative from each tribe. Glass agreed, and stepped down from her position as leader, to peacefully retire and spend the rest of her remaining days living alone.
Platinum, who would later be known as Platinum the Enlightened, completely transformed the city. With the assistance of the city's significant animus population as well as a plethora of extremely skilled seers, he overhauled the city completely, advancing it by thousands of years.
But in exchange for this advancement, Platinum knew that they would never be able to contact the outside world again; the dragons of Glasscloud were too intelligent. Too advanced. Too alien. And so, all access to the world below was cut off completely; the pathways were only to be reopened if there was a disaster that destroyed enough of the city (or the mortal realm) to threaten the survival of dragonkind.
And thus, the pathways were shut off; the ladders of floating islands, the enchantments that summoned dragons to the city's gates, the ribbons of wind and strings of ocean, all of it. Centuries passed without any contact between the citizens of Glasscloud and the dragons of the surface. Those who came after the original descendants grew snobbish and ignorant; they hadn't lived through centuries of persecution and ostracization, and reveled in the priveleges of a society built for them.
But somehow, small groups of determined dragons fought their ways upwards throughout time, achieving a task once believed to be impossible. Those few who could make it were allowed inside; they formed lower classes below the original dragons, and brought even more diverse abilities into the city. Dragons twisted by the mechanical and the arcane, dragons of tribes never seen before; and the city flourished.
And that brings us to now: the first head of council to desire contact with mortals has been elected, peace has come to the continents, and the world is slowly creeping towards a thousand inevitable deaths below.
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G O V E R N M E N T 
& L A W
C O U N C I L O R S
Glasscloud's councilors are chosen via a vote, based on a list of qualifications and policies. After centuries of tweaking and fixing loopholes, the system for election of governing officials is nearly flawless. Those blessed with leadership take on additional burdens, often spending much of their time settling disputes or fixing problems within the city, or listening to the grievances of assorted civilians.
Councilors, once elected, will serve for three decades; then, they will be replaced by the next dragon in line. This system gives them time to accomplish much in their term, and those who leave office without having completed any of their goals are looked down upon as lazy or unintelligent; the worst things to be in the city in the clouds.
Traditionally, the head councilor (elected from among the other councilors) is an IceWing of seraphim descent, but in recent years this has changed. The latest head, an androgynous NightWing known as Epiphany, is quite an anomaly, considering the past of the position.
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EPHIPHANY
Epiphany is the current head of the Glasscloud council. They are a twice-moonborn NightWing, elected to leadership for their good ideas and exciting plans. They are the first councilor in a long time to breach the city's long-held taboo of never contacting the surface world, and though they haven't officially made it yet, they're getting close.
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ALLIGATOR
Alligator is the MudWing representative on the Glasscloud Council. He was born from a blood-red egg, and oversees most training of those with catastrophobic conditions such as fire and icescales, or excess venom leakage from stingers or fangs. A kind and gentle soul, he rules with wisdom and honesty.
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DATURA
Datura is the SandWing representative on the Glasscloud Council. Her scales are an unusually pale shade, and her eyes are a piercing silver-blue. She is the only animus currently serving on the council, and has the secondary title of 'Master of Magic', which means that she dictates the use of animus magic in the city.
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DREADNOUGHT
big scary mans. seawing mutt with significant nightwing, rainwing and mudwing blood
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FERVID
firescales. very lesbian. very explosive. dont touch her she doesnt like it.
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ECHO
shapeshifter and master of stealth with no true appearance; androgynous and genderfluid, changing their gender identity to match one of their multiple personas. mentally sound; simple insecurity and curiosity on their behalf created more than a half dozen 'dragons'.
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POLYCRYSTAL
icescales, kinda
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SYNAPSE
thrice moonborn
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JUNE
flamesilk; beetle/silk hybrid
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POLISTES
stingers can produce some of the deadliest venom in the world; has distant sandwing blood
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AILANTHUS
one of the most powerful leafspeakers in the world; has spent centuries honing her abilities
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AVI
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DEATH
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DRIFT
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LIGHT
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MIST
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SWIFT
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TEMPEST
C U L T U R E
"it may be a beautiful city in the sky,
but it certainly isn't heaven."''
- glass
Glasscloud's dragons believe themselves to be superior to surface dragons, who they refer to as 'mortals'; though they are aware that they, too, are of mortal origin, some with more outlandish abilities and ethereal appearances may proclaim themselves as gods if they somehow manage to reach the surface world. This great disdain for life on the surface has led to apathy and disinterest, and these heavenly dragons that could have long ago solved many of the world's problems are letting it fall to bits far below them.
The city is somewhat trapped in time; though there is so much to do, so much to learn, so much available, many choose not to partake in such activities. Many dragons will seek the help of an animus--of which there are many in the city--to lengthen their lives, and return them to a youthful state. Many dragons are much older than they appear, with the oldest known citizen being an impressive two thousand five hundred and seventy-nine years old.
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Though otherwise (mostly) perfect, this society has one fatal flaw: much of the city is divided socially. 
Though discrimination based on factors such as tribe, gender, romantic orientation, or belief system are heavily discouraged and punished when caught, the population is still divided up into several classes. Wealth is not a factor, as most dragons living within the city are paid more than enough to live off of; instead, the primary basis of discrimination is one's bloodline. The names of each class are derived from ancient myth; many dragons do not know the significance of these titles, simply that the names sound pretty.
Those whose lineage stretches far back for centuries, all the way back to the year 1,042 A.S., make up the highest class: the seraphim, arrogant and detached dragons whose talons have never once touched the ground. They have no idea of what life is actually like on the continents; they've read about it, of course, but have never actually seen the surface world, let alone lived their whole lives on it. The majority of known councilors are seraphim.
Those whose families arrived after the intial founding but less than a thousand years after 1,042 are known as the cherubim; they still hold positions of power and are quite respected, but are not elevated to the grand status most seraphim are. 
Dominions are standard upper middle-class dragons, whose families arrived in Glasscloud sometime in the thousand or so years after 2,000 A.S. They live comfortably, with a status vastly elevated above that of the average Pyrrhian; still, they are mostly shut out from the opulence of seraphim and cherubim life. They typically take up more artistic careers rather than lounging as nobles or working industriously like virtues.
Virtues are middle-class, average civilians. They make up the bulk of the population, having arrived any time after 3,000 A.S., and work in generic jobs, rather than pursuing specialty careers open to higher-class dragons such as cherubims and seraphim.
The lowest class are the Angels, dragons who arrived after 5,000 A.S. Despite their heavenly name, they are the lowest of the low; their group's title is considered not a badge of honor like the others, but a cruel joke played upon the desperate and ragged. Despite--or perhaps even because of--the centuries of mistreatment they've faced from higher-status civilians, the angels are hardened and fierce; they flew through hell to get to where they are, and by the moons, they're going to stay.
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*animus-built city perched on clouds
*all tribes are allowed, but certain tribe rivalries have followed them into the clouds (i.e. aviwings still hate sandwings, many leafwings still carry resentment towards hivewings, etc etc
*very clear class divides
*many dragons inhabiting it have animus magic or other special abilities (sparks, flamesilk, etc.)
*very elegant + artsy place, creativity, intelligence and manners are valued
*all citizens are required to have identification on them at all times, typically in the form of a wristband containing information (name, biological sex + gender identity/pronouns, home district, school/occupation)
*heavily guarded
*council has one representative from every tribe canon and (hopefully) fanon
*leaving the city is essentially impossible without permission from one or more councillors
*head of council is elected from among the councilors, current one is a moonborn nightwing with partial leucism
*city is made up of five districts: the rim (outermost area of the city, where stowaways, criminals, poor people, and members with 'forbidden talents' live), the outer district (residential area), closest to the inside of the wall that separates the rim from the rest of the city), the inner district (basically a giant area dedicated to FUN, with a bunch of shops and stores, museums, galleries, stages, parks, etc), the council district, which is all fancy and professional and has all the legal/important buildings as well as the homes of current + former councilors
*glasscloud has the best education in all of pyrrhia, because they stole all the smart people
*all visitors require special passes
*'stowaway visitors' or just 'stowaways' are dragons who managed to enter the city and obtain a Cloudwalker illegally
*all citizens + visitors have 'Cloudwalkers', which are gemstones that allow them to walk on clouds and cloudpaths
*roads are paved with marble and gold, because "we're rich"
*buildings are made of marble (+ other white rocks/wood) and decorated with gold, crystals, and silver. cant be burned or frozen; might as well be indestructible
*council building is located at center of city
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