Emberwing

Glowing markings are usually gradients of red, orange and yellow, violet on rare occasions

### Diet:

Large mammals
Carrion
Stones and rocks
Bark
Grass

## Statistics

### Obedience:

Very Low

The **Emberwing** is a medium Stoker Class dragon that lives in volcanic plains.

## Official Description

Emberwings have a great affinity for hot environments. While they themselves are not hot to the touch, their tendency to lurk amongst smoldering ashes has caused many to believe they are fire-starters. Their dully glowing markings serve many purposes: acting as a means of identification between individuals, as an important part of mating displays, and as a way of showing aggression. The long, low build of the breed makes them ungainly in flight, and the thick fleshy membranes of their wings hinder them further. As such, it is rare to see an Emberwing take to the air.

## Physical Appearance

### Egg

An Emberwing egg is bumpy and rocky in texture, with flowing lava traversing through trails surrounding the elevated areas. The egg itself is hot to the touch, and can easily give any human who touches it third-degree burns. If the hatchling inside dies, the bright lava will disappear and the egg will become cold.

### Hatchling to Adult

    As a hatchling, the Emberwing looks drastically different than its juvenile and adult form. Baby Emberwings do not possess any wings, and instead of normal pointed horns, they have antler-like horns. There are glowing lines along its spine, and its tail is able to set any flammable objects on fire. Instead of yellow eyes, they have big, black bulging eyes.

    Four months after hatching, the baby Emberwing will molt and grow wings, as well as a rocky exterior along its back, neck, tail, and wings. The rest of its body is a soft, molten-lava texture. Though the hard parts of the juvenile Emberwing are cool, the exposed parts are blazing hot. A juvenile Emberwing is able to glide, but not fly fully, due to their wings being mostly soft tissue.

The adult Emberwing looks like a creature born from lava. They are covered in extremely dark scales and have long, straight horns sprouting from the back of their skulls. Their wing membranes are thick and opaque. The inside of their mouths glow a bright yellow, while the markings on their bodies glow brighter around their mouths, eyes, feet, and chest. There is a backwards-facing digit on their forelegs which allows them to grasp objects, though motor ability is limited.

## Abilities

### Firepower

The Emberwing is able to produce fire minutes after hatching. Its main attack consists of a long, flaming projectile, which can be fired in quick succession. Smaller creatures are known to explode when an Emberwing's fiery breath hits it, so these dragons mainly fire at larger targets, whether defending or attacking.

### Jaw Strength

The Emberwing has powerful jaws that allow it to rip apart foes. With dozens of sharp teeth lining its mouth, the Emberwing makes quick work of its prey, whether beast or human. It has even been seen ripping through chainmail armor, but this is more likely with males.

### Sense of Smell

The Emberwing is equipped with an incredible sense of smell, able to find the scent of prey or other dragons from miles away, even through its surroundings comprised of lava and ash.

### Camouflage

Due to their volcanic-like hides, these dragons are able to blend in with their surroundings in volcanic regions.

## Weaknesses

Due to the Emberwing's low build and fleshy wing membranes, the Emberwing is somewhat ungainly in flight, which can be detrimental when fighting a more adept flyer. Additionally, juveniles have a harder time escaping from predators, due to their ability to only glide.

## Behavior and Personality

Baby Emberwings don't seem to like the other hatchlings, and when they play, they tend to play rough. Adult Emberwings don't intimidate them. Baby Emberwings will often climb into still-hot embers whenever they get an opportunity to do so. For some odd reason, they tend to attack prey the same size as, or larger than, they are.

As adults, the Emberwing is very aggressive, which is a result of the difficulty of finding food within volcanic plains. Emberwings are not particularly sociable; females tend to be defensive, whereas males are more aggressive. Once they have settled with a particular group of dragons, Emberwings are incredibly loyal and will defend their pack by any means possible.

Emberwings usually hunt large animals, and will swallow meat and bone alike in large chunks. Given no other option, they will eat bark and grass. Sometimes, they will swallow stones; they will even go so far as to break specific stones down to ingest them. On rare occasions, they scavenge meat.

Four months after hatching, the Emberwing will submerge itself in a pool of lava for 48 hours, allowing it to evolve into a juvenile. It will grow wings during this molt. a juvenile Emberwing will molt once again after a year - now for 120 hours. During this process, it’s best to leave the dragon undisturbed.

## Training

Due to their hostility, the best way to train an Emberwing is to raise one from a hatchling, preferably even from the egg stage. Of course, you have to be ready for the molting process and have access to a lava pool.

If there are no eggs to be found, you can always train these dragons the old fashioned way. Show them that you are of no harm and gain its trust over time with food and spending time with it.

## Trivia

* The Emberwing is originally the Ember Dragon from the online site Dragon Cave.
* Strangely, these dragons don't appear to drink any water.

## Image Sources

1. Ember Dragon by IsisMasshiro on DeviantArt
2. Ember Dragon by krastei on DeviantArt
3. Ember Dragon by kerrzai on DeviantArt
4. Ember Dragon by ButteredRump on DeviantArt
5. Lava Dragon by Yantiskra on FurAffinity