StormWings

## Description

StormWings commonly range from a scale color of red-brown, red, dull orange, gray, blue-gray, black, and rarely green, In the sunlight, their scales look like storm clouds in clear skies. StormWings usually have gray, tan, or gold eyes, with some having blue-green eyes.

StormWings have slightly webbed talons with hooked claws and bone plating filled with cool gel on the underside of their talons to prevent burning or impaling, as well as long, powerful tails with flat tips, which makes them excellent swimmers, and can be used for self-defense. They also can make powerful waves and small storms with one hit of their tails.  They're rather tall, in height, and have long, compact bodies with medium legs. StormWings have curved horns, with a slender and curved snout.

StormWings also have electric lightning-shaped stripes all over their scales, which they can light up in any pattern. These are located on their wings, underscales, and tongues. It is possible for them to be born with birthmark glow patterns as well as the traditional patterns. (Blizzard has light blue lightning patterns like teardrops)

These dragons have spikes running down their backs like IceWings, extremely sharp and pointy.

## Egg Description and Care

### Egg Description

Eggs usually have red,red-brown,brown,dull orange, gray, blue-gray, blue-white, white, or black eggshells. Small patterns will form on the egg immediatly. These patterns move, albeit slowly. Usually reddish,red-brown, and dull orange eggs have sandstorms or siroccos, gray, blue-gray, and black eggs will have patterns of electricity and storm clouds (these eggs have a higher chance of hatching dragons who can breathe electricity), and blue-white and white eggs will have hurricanes and monsoons. their eggs have electricity fizzing though them and stormwings have them too.

### Egg Care

Their eggs are black and lightning-yellow shells too.They also will maybe have Lightning patterns on them also, if hatched under four moons.

## Abilities

This tribe can either breathe scarlet flames (rare) to yellow (common) to blue fire (fairly common), depending on the dragon, or electricity of any color. All dragons have electricity and use it to shock or kill prey, enemies, and the like.

Some have a rare ability to summon storms and control them. They are called Stormbringers.

## Queen

* Storm
* Tempest
* Monsoon
* Stormheart
* Cyclone
* Lightning

## Culture

### Cuneiformic

It consists of many characters that act as a sort of phoenetic and symbol alphabet. There are also other special characters that make up concepts (such as a million) or important things, like names and historical events.

These characters are called Cuneiform.

Cuneiformic is used only by the military and government for confidential messages, and even experts of the language can barely read a few words in this heavily modified dialect. Some see it as a disgrace for the ancient tongue, but others are in support of it.

### Seals

Every grown StormWing has a character for their name combined of both their families' crests (which are normally simple) and their own design. Every StormWing must carve one for themselves in alabaster the day they reach adulthood (see The Alabaster Ritual).

## Military and Government

The government of the StormWing tribe and the military are highly interconnected, and all government officials are required to have some type of military training, whether it be in combat (fighting) or support (healing, sabotage, spying).

The reason why this training is required and the military is almost conjoined with the government is because the tribe has had an emphasis on military preparedness, at least since the first time they lost badly to another tribe. Even the citizens are versed in at least one fighting or support style.

StormWings would be a very hard tribe to go to war against due to their medium but extremly well-trained army, and even the informally trained citizens, who see it as loss of face to lose at anything.

### Royalty

Queens and kings are still a valuable part of StormWing government, and they hold equal power to the Swirl Council. The rest of the royal family holds almost no power, but some royals do go into different government positions due to their incredible training opportunities and wealth.

The queen holds greater power to the king in the StormWing government. The throne is passed down matriarchally. The inheritance system is the same as the rest of the tribes, except only the princesses that are children of the queen can challenge the queen, and they can challenge her at a younger age, around when they're 5-10 years old.

### The Swirl Council

The Swirl Council is, unsurprisingly, a council of dragons (around 6-13) who hold equal power to the royal family. They are the sole creators of laws, which are then critiqued and considered by the rest of the government.

They are all extremely experienced in their fields (they typically have more than three areas of study), and have been trained extensively for their role in the council. They all have different perspectives and backgrounds, so decisions from them are almost always extremely thought out and intelligent. Some of them are almost scary with the amount of skill and knowledge they possess.

### Diplomat Officials

**Head Diplomat:**

There are not as many diplomats as other individuals, but the rank is still pretty high in the government. They have the closest ties with the members of the Swirl Council, and may have a small say in their discussions. In wartime, diplomats are the ones who relay messages to StormWing allies, as the diplomats often live with the other tribe's government figures. They are required to be competent at talon-to-talon combat, tactics, and knife fighting, just in case another tribe turns on them.

They only take orders from the Queen, Swirl Council, Strategists, and Head Diplomat, so they are pretty high-ranked in terms of orders.

It is common for this rank to have an abnormally high amount of Stormbringers, mostly because other tribes are more curious about them, which makes it easy to be a diplomat.

### Strategists

**High Strategist:**

 Strategists are the second highest military rank, just below the Swirl Council. They calculate the logistics behind everything in the tribe and manage the treasury, population documentation, and anything else to do with numbers and scientific advances.

This rank contains some of the brightest StormWing minds of the century. In wartime, they compose tactics and strategies for battles. They compose tactics for other things besides war, but their jobs extend to almost everything involving the government and military.

They are a highly autonomous government group and barely heed orders from anyone besides their smartest dragon, Raincloud. The Strategists are supposed to follow orders from the Queen and Swirl Council, but that doesn't always happen. They have been known to tamper with things that are supposed to be outside of their control.

However, they are the group who wants the tribe to succeed the most, even if it takes some conflict with the other groups to achieve it. They prize logic and reason, and will not hesitate to show their outrage when the Swirl Council or Queen make a faulty, irrational decision.

They practically run the military, even though only the Swirl Council can declare war.

### Commanders

The Commanders are just below the Strategists in terms of rank. They physically command the army, even though the Strategists make the plans and decisions.

They typically have high charisma and are very knowledgeable in most forms of combat. Each could face 100 soldiers in a fight (possibly at once, depending on the Commander) and still come out victorious and almost unscathed. They don't make many decisions in the government, but are typically the down-to-earth group, and aren't afraid to step in if the Strategists (with their blunt logic and facts) anger the two groups who are supposed to be the ones running the tribe.

They do take orders from the Strategists quite loyally, but do change up things if they deem it too cold and immoral for their soldiers to handle. They are the main communication between the Strategists and the rest of the military, and when some things are "lost in translation" (aka they change up the plan), they get the brunt of the Strategists' anger and logical rambling.

There is some one-sided tension between the Strategists and the Commanders, as the Strategists suspect that some things "are lost in translation" on purpose, but the Commanders don't really hold anything against the Strategists for it.

They just look out for their underlings (usually) and are the last resort in wars, as losing a Commander can be detrimental to morale in wars, even though they are unlikely to die due to their intense skill.

### Generals

Generals are the highest rank that are always on the battlefront during wartime, and they each have about 30 Lieutenants under their command. They are responsible for making snap decisions based on the situation at hand, and they are allowed to tweak Commander orders slightly if the situation calls for it, but have to stick with the general plan.

They are the lowest rank to know Military Cuneiformic, and are trusted to keep the secret of the language with their lives. They send reports directly to the Strategists, who then choose whether or not to show the reports to the publicto keep them within the government. However, they are mainly given orders by the Commanders, not directly from the Strategists, so the Commanders' orders area law to them.

Some are on their way to becoming Commanders themselves. They are quite skilled fighters and range from just below Commander to slightly above Lieutenant in terms of combat skill, which is exceptional by average dragon standards.

### Lieutenants

Lieutenants command 30 squadrons, which have about 30-40 soldiers and 10 healers each. They are not usually as skilled as Generals, but there are a few outliers. They lead their squadrons into battle with ferocity, and Lieutenants are typically the scariest when protecting their squad members. They are the closest to their soldiers, sometimes they can act like they are one big family.

They are required to be trained extensively in at least 5 forms of combat, and are expected to make life-or-death choices in the heat of the moment.

### Healers and Medics

Healers are not a military rank, but there are many healers that serve in the army as field medics, so they have been factored into squadrons. Military healers practice some of the most advanced medicine in the tribe, and are expected to know how to treat every type of dragon-caused wounds, from venom to breath weapons to normal scratches. They are also adept at curing sickness and infection, but this skill differs from healer to healer.

Normal soldiers outnumber them about 3-4/1, but they are still useful to have around. Healers can ascend in the ranks if they learn how to fight, and some Commanders have jumped directly from the healer rank to their current rank, just by their skill alone. Healers do not have a set skill level, as the rank is a catch-all for any who practice medicine.

### Soldier

The soldier is the lowest rank of the military, but don't be fooled, they are still highly trained compared to your average dragon. The StormWing Military is an elite force, and every dragon in it is pushed to their limits in one way or another. The saying, *you are only as strong as your weakest scale*, applies here.

StormWing soldiers are required to be trained in at least two styles of combat, although those who are trained in more than two are far from uncommon. They are also required to be good at what their branch entails, but that can be said of all military members. Considering the number of dragons in the rank of soldier many battles can be won due to both numbers and skill, which is a really powerful combo in war.

## Military Branches

### The Sandstorm Force

The Dune Force encompasses all members of the military trained for combat on the ground. It is so named because in battle, StormWings whip up sand from the dunes to blind and confuse the enemy. They specialize in fighting on the ground, and typically use tactics that play to that particular army's strengths and study the environments they fight in it with extreme precision.

**Ambush Squadrons**

Ambush Squadrons use the surroundings to their advantage the most, and typically take the enemy on unawares. They are fast and crippling, and leave their victims wounded and paralyzed, to be killed by later waves. They are usually the first wave of StormWings to be deployed. They are backed up by the Attack Squadrons, who are launched just after them.

**Attack Squadrons**

Attack Squadrons are the main offensive players in the StormWing Sandstorm Force, and they kill the paralyzed victims left by the Ambush Squads, along with anything else that might stand in their way. They are the most equipped for a straight out fight and can drag out battles for long periods of time with their endurance and precision fighting.

**Defense Squadrons**

Defensive Squadrons can back up the Attack Squadrons sometimes, as their endurance and fluidity as teams allow them to adapt to almost any situation. They are the heavy hitters and the ones with the strongest endurance, resulting in most of them protecting the StormWing borders and front lines from attack. The medics are also typically protected by these squads.

**Onset Squadrons**

There are not many Onset Squadrons, but they are the deadliest of the ground troops. They are meant as a killing force, only to be deployed in dire situations or when a revenge move is taken. They are the most highly trained, and as their name suggests, they can onset cities and raze them to the ground in mere hours.

Almost everything and everyone that stands in their way is obliterated with cold, mechanical precision, as the dragons in these squads know the ones they are killing have committed a grave wrong against the StormWings that needs to be paid back in blood and lives, or they have killed too many of their Tribe of Storm.

### The Goshawk Force

The Goshawk Force, encompasses all aerial troops. The Goshawk Force is named after the Goshawk due to the fact that this force specializes in fast and hard hits but stealthy hits, and regularly takes on many flying troops of other tribes with ease due to their training. The only tribes who could compete with them or outclass them in the air are WindWings, FireWings ,ClawWings, and gifted telepathic or supe-rskilled MoonWings. Luckily they are allies with ClawWings, and they have special fighters to counter the other tribes. The Goshawk Force is the most powerful branch of the StormWing military. The Twister and Squall Squadrons are specialized for fighting specific tribes, whereas the Gust, Blast, and Whirlwind Squadrons are not.

**Twister Squadrons**

Twister Squadrons are specifically tailored to fight WindWings,ClawWings, and FireWings. They are composed of light-armored dragons with speed and strength, that are agile and able to keep up with the super-fast dragons. They break the WindWings,F ireWings and (possibly) ClawWings' horns, tails, and wings, and slice their wing membranes, knocking the dragons out of theysky one by one. They are armed with:

* Arrows and bows
* Claw knives (knives they attach to their claws and sometimes spikes)
* swords
* daggers
* horn sheaths (metal sheaths fitted to each dragons' horns and sharpened)

These Squadrons are only used during wartime with the WindWings and hypothetically ClawWings and FireWings. Their members often join the other squadrons when not fighting these dragons.

**Squall Squadrons**

Squall Squadrons are highly trained fighters that specialize in fighting StarWings (hypothetically). They wear shades over their eyes to protect them from the StarWings' light. They keep their distance from the StarWings and their deadly tail scales and blazing light, and strike in between blasts from their opponents, while the StarWings are trying to recover. They are armed with:

* Spears
* Pikes (not the fish, the spear-like thing)
* arrows and longbows
* bolts and crossbows
* fireproof black cloth( to hide the StarWings' light)

Which are used to take down StarWings from afar, and precision shooting is common of these squadrons. They have high endurance and precision, able to time their attacks right, allowing them to be deadly to the light and speedy dragons. Just like the Twister Squadrons, most members are part of other squadrons when not fighting the StarWings.

**Gust Squadrons**
Gust Squadrons are the endurance flyers. They can fly for hours on end, and can take out many foes before their wave is called back. They may not be the fastest, but they are the most persistent. The Gust Squadrons are normally used if the StormWings need to drag out a fight, or if they need to take out a lot of dragons in one long wave of fights.

**Blast Squadrons**

Blast Squadrons are the heaviest hitters in the Goshawk Force, and can knock dragons out of the sky with a few blows. They are clos- combat fighters and are typically used for defensive lines in the air. They wear the heaviest armo, and are very protected, so they can plow through the enemy front lines with little to no resistance when they are summoned to the front of the battlefield.

**Whirlwind Squadrons**

Whirlwind Squadrons are the fastest, most precise hitters, and are an ambush force. They fly silently due to rips they purposely cause in their wings. They aim for the wings of their opponents, and can send a dragon plummeting in a few seconds. They fly at night, in mist, or in thick clouds, and also accompany the Dune Forces in town raids. There are not too many Whirlwind Squadrons, as the training is intense, but they are very powerful and a major upper hand in battle.

### The Vortex Force

The Vortex Force encompasses all aquatic troops and has a reasonable amount of dragons total in it. It is a specialized aquatic force, which is mainly used for border defense, spying, and aquatic flash-raids. The dragons in it are highly trained, and can swim well. They are chosen for their high lung capacity coupled with their ability to hold their breath for about 20-40 minutes and their good swimming skills.

**Flood Squadrons**

The Flood Squadrons are the fastest moving swimmers, and specialize in swimming stormy, unpredictable waters, along with fast moving currents and obstacle-filled waters. They aren't very good at combat in open waters, and are mainly used for spying from rivers or defending waters near the StormWing coastal borders.

**Typhoon Squadrons**

These squadrons are used for scouting missions, and act as messengers for the rest of the military. They can hold their breath almost as long as the Tempest Squadrons, and escape attack from enemies by swimming through rivers in enemy territory. Certain Typhoon Squadrons also act as assassin, and swim deep into enemy territory to take out their targets.

**Tempest Squadrons**

They are the best aquatic fighters. They can hold their breath the longest and dive the deepest. They don't do too bad in tight spaces, but normally prefer combat in open waters. They can go claw-to-claw with SeaWings, but not more than one at a time. They also have to go up for air about every 20-30 minutes, depending on how vigorously they are fighting.

## Names

StormWings are usually named in  one to occasionally three connected or unconnected parts, either in Sumerian or English.

#### **StormWing Prefixes:**

StormWing prefixes are usually nouns relating to storms, personality, and natural disasters.

* Sand
* Wind
* Ice
* Water
* Sleet

#### **StormWing Suffixes**

StormWing suffixes are usually nouns relating to storms, personality, and natural disasters.

* Storm
* Wind
* Wings

Sample names: Sleetstorm/Sleet Storm

## Known Dragons

* Queen Lightning
* Queen Cyclone
* Queen Monsoon
* Queen Stormheart
* Queen Tempest
* Blizzard
* Prince Tree
* Princess Thundersnow