IceWing Society

***By: Grain the Seawing***

### ALL INFORMATION FROM WINGS OF FIRE WIKI

I feel like I don't know too much about IceWings. So, I just made this page to do that.

ADA WUZ HEER

## Abilities

IceWings can withstand subzero temperatures and very bright light. Their serrated claws are incredibly good at gripping ice and can be used to tear into their enemies' flesh quite easily; being clawed by an IceWing's serrated claws is said to be equal to being clawed by regular claws roughly four times. According to *The Dragonet Prophecy* and *Moon Rising*, IceWing scales radiate a chill, similar to SandWing scales, which radiate heat. Instead of breathing fire, IceWings exhale a deadly freezing weapon called frostbreath, sometimes known by other dragons as "freezing death breath." This vapor can quickly induce terrible frostbite, and if the frostbreath enters through another dragon's throat, it can kill them by fusing their internal organs together, however this can be countered by lava as discussed below.  In the first book, it was shown that the frostbreath can cause limbs to fall clean off. Clay described it as a cloud of glittering smoke when he battled against Fjord in the SkyWing Arena, and when Clay shot fire into Fjord's mouth, the chill of his scales swallowed the flame. Frostbreath can also be used to extinguish fires, demonstrated when Winter attempted to extinguish the flames in the history cave by exhaling frostbreath in *Moon Rising*. If it hits soil, ice crystals will grow. An IceWing can be stopped from using this defense for a short amount of time by hot metal, fire, or other warm and hot materials.

If a dragon is shot by frostbreath on the inside, the only known way for them to survive it is for the victim to stay in lava or a similar substance. Queen Battlewinner of the NightWings survived an attack where an IceWing shot frostbreath down her throat, but due to her internal fire reservoir she could only survive for a short time; however, the fire could not hold it off forever and she was confined to a pool of lava, which kept her temperature in balance. The ice in her body also discolored her eyes, teeth, and scales. When she attempted to attack Starflight and Queen Glory in *The Dark Secret*, the ice overwhelmed her and, despite Mastermind's and Princess Greatness's efforts to save the queen, she froze to death within seconds. SkyWings born with too much fire like Peril are immune to the frostbreath, but the area hit by the frostbreath does go numb for a while.

In *Moon Rising*, Moonwatcher describes IceWings as having sharp, glittering, and bright minds.

### Animus Powers

IceWings were once known for having many animus dragons. These animus dragons were carefully bred into the royal line and monitored cautiously, with very strict rules for the use of their powers. IceWing animi were only permitted to use their power once, for the benefit of the tribe, at the gifting ceremony on their seventh hatching day, although some dragons disobeyed this rule. The IceWings' line of animus dragons ended when Prince Arctic ran away with Foeslayer, leading the IceWings to believe that the NightWings stole their magic.

### Animus Gifts

* **The Gift of Defense:**The Great Ice Cliff, a wall on the border of the Ice Kingdom that shoots icicle spears at anyone who isn't an IceWing. Hybrids can also cross the cliff, as stated by Typhoon, a SeaWing/IceWing hybrid.
* **The Gift of Diplomacy:**Three bracelets that allow the wearer to get over the Great Ice Cliff despite their tribe and keep warm in the Ice Kingdom, as well as a heated dome near the SandWing border so they don't need to wear the bracelet; created by Penguin.
* **The Gift of Elegance:** An enchantment on Queen Snowfall's ice palace that makes the inner walls mimic the weather outside.
* **The Gift of Healing:** Queen Diamond's first official tribe gift. She enchanted a set of narwhal horns to cure any IceWings of frostbreath wounds.
* **The Gift of Light:**A tree made of ice, the Moon Globe Tree, enchanted by an animus named Frostbite. The tree grows moon globes which are used to light the area.
* **The Gift of Order:**A wall that shows every aristocrat IceWing's name and their ranking.
* **The Gift of Splendor:**The IceWing Palace,  enchanted by animus twins to grow from the ground and never be cracked, melted, or harmed in any way from the outside.
* **The Gift of Subsistence:**A lake on the outskirts of the Ice Kingdom where if a dragon sticks his or her claws into the lake they will always catch a seal. Winter thinks it is narrow-minded because it is built only for the lower ranks; any dragon who cared about their ranking wouldn't accept food which came so easily.
* **The Gift of Vengeance:**The Diamond Caves were Queen Diamond's second animus gift, enchanted so that anyone who touches Foeslayer, a NightWing locked inside with animus-touched shackles, with a diamond-tipped spear can kill her (used for the Diamond Trial). It was originally created because Queen Diamond was not satisfied with killing Foeslayer just once.

## Society

The IceWings appear to be fairly sophisticated compared to the other tribes, being the only dragons to have social classes. The social order seems to be a little reminiscent of a lower-level Russian 1800's society combined with something that seems a little Spartan. They also seem to be good planners due to their use of the animus IceWings in their tribe.

The IceWing tribe is divided into seven ranks, or circles, of status, with the First Circle being the best and the Seventh Circle being the worst. They separate dragonets and adults into two different divisions. Before their seventh hatching day, IceWing dragonets climb up the ranks by hunting, training, performing the proper IceWing customs impeccably, and surpassing various tests given by the dragonets' parents or guardians. (For example, Winter was sent out to spend the night in a blizzard alone while he was still very young.) The current rank possessed by the dragonet on their seventh hatching day determines the course of the rest of his or her life, although adult dragons are still capable of dropping or gaining circles. Dragonets who were ranked in a high-ranked circle are housed in the queen's palace when they are adults and are granted input on important political and tribal matters as well. This system is called the Gift of Order, a wall of ice showing the ranks of each and every noble dragon and dragonet. The place where you rank on your seventh hatching day determines where you will live as an adult.

However, the Diamond Trial is also another last-minute possibility. It is a test where a low-ranked IceWing challenges the highest-ranked. For the Diamond Trial, the low-ranked dragon must kill the highest ranked dragon in order for him/her to advance to first place. However, this is risky and the challenger may end up getting killed by the dragon that is being challenged. An animus-touched ice wall with the names of all of the dragonets shows their social rank. If a dragonet dies or is exiled for some reason, the name is slashed through. Once a dragonet turns seven, they are moved to the adult rankings, which determine where they live.

Only noble IceWings use this class system.

IceWings have a strict behavior to uphold - Winter describes it as "undignified" when Moon is hugging her mother.

IceWings tend to be very proud, stiff, and arrogant dragons. Tribal pride isn't a secret among the IceWings, and thus their tribe consists of very haughty and uptight individuals. On the rare occasion that an IceWing interacts with a member of another tribe, it's usually very formal and forced; the IceWings believe that their tribe is superior to any other and that the other tribes are just a footnote in the great IceWing sagas that told the history of Pyrrhia. Thus, the entire time they're talking to someone, it's usually with disdain.

The royal family has a procedure of decapitating dead members before proceeding to store the IceWing's frozen head on the wall of dead royal family members and then slide the corpse into the ocean, according to Snowflake in *Runaway.*