The PetalWings

## History

When the last of the LeafWings escaped into the Poison Jungle, Queen Wasp's wrath was sated, and she believed the hated tribe to be extinct. The Tree Wars were over. Any tree that grew would be quickly exterminated by her soldiers, lest they invited any enemies like the LeafWings back.

What the Queen did not foresee was the extent to which a tribe could adapt.

The PetalWings are descended from a community of LeafWings who made their home deep within the center of HiveWing territory. They were merchants and traders, diplomats and ambassadors and emissaries. They were the first to be slaughtered when the war began, and they were quickly forgotten in all of the violence and bloodshed that followed. The LeafWings in the Poison Jungle who remembered the community knew that none had survived; it was too close to Queen Wasp and her military, it was too far away from the safety of the jungle. No one could have possibly escaped.

Except, of course, some did.

## Location

The immense swathe of grass that stretches between the ring of hives ripples softly, bending at the slightest hint of a breeze. It is safe and it is calm; no LeafWing could hide between the rustling stems as they could hide between the thick trunks of trees, or in large, creaking branches that tower over one's head. No, there is nothing to fear with only miles and miles of open grassland for as far as the eye can see. No intruder would dare approach the hives with no trees around to give them cover.

The HiveWings do not realize how often they've passed an intruder without noticing them. They do not know that their territory is not only shared with the SilkWings, but with another tribe whom their histories have never mentioned.

Unbeknownst to the HiveWings, there are dragons that lay curled up beneath the bushes dotting the landscape, or who crouch amongst the many tall clumps of grass. They have learned how to camouflage their scales to hide themselves, to disguise themselves so expertly that they become undetectable from the surrounding landscape. The PetalWings never enter the hives; they shudder at the thought of being stuck inside the towering buildings. They prefer the wide space and the solid ground of the grasslands that surround the ugly structures. One can see the bumbling HiveWings and conspicuous SilkWings approach from miles and miles away.

### Notable Landmarks

In their effort to remain hidden, the PetalWings create landmarks identifiable only by those in their tribe. The sprouting of three-petaled flowers. A patch of reddish grasses. The particular twist on a daisy's leaf, or the way that all of the lilies face slightly towards the west. All of these are signs that communicate the presence of a PetalWing in an area.

## Biology and Physiology

### Eggs

PetalWing eggs can vary greatly in appearance, but all will have the basic structure of an embryo encased within a protective outer covering. Many of them tend towards a darker coloration, and some might have a dimpled or pocked surface. They are laid in large amounts; a single clutch can number anywhere from 15 to 20 eggs.

### Lifespan

The life of a PetalWing is lived fast and hard. Dragonets typically mature between the ages of three to five years old, and adults tend to die natural deaths around twenty years of age. The longest-living PetalWing is recorded to have died at twenty-seven years old.

### Appearance

Small, dainty, and seemingly fragile; the PetalWing's looks are rather deceiving. Their horns are long and thin, like the stem of a flower. Also like a flower, the horns of a PetalWings will have a bud-shaped growth decorating the tip. These growths will split into three to twelve sections radiating from a central point once a PetalWing has matured. Their tails end in a similar growth that will also split open in maturity, and from their backs sprout a neat row of leafy spines. They have scales in bright, iridescent colours arranged in a countershaded gradient, meaning that their scales transition from a darker upper side to lighter underside. The average PetalWing is as tall as one and a half adult scavengers stacked upon each other.

### Abilities

PetalWings have leafspeak, but they do not call it such. Their leafspeak is their Gift from the Sky and the Soil, and unlike the LeafWings, every PetalWing eventually gains it once they come of age. PetalWing dragonets who are born with the ability to hear the whispers of the flora around them, but they cannot coax them into growing or dying. It is only after they have fully matured that they are able to both hear and control plants.

### Diet

The diet of the PetalWings is omnivorous, but because of their ability to hear and understand plants, most of them show a marked preference for meat. It is considered bad form to eat a part of a plant that has not specifically evolved to be consumed by other organisms, so it is only in very rare instances that you will find a PetalWing eating more than just the fruit.

## Culture

#### Religion

From the Soil hatched all life, and from the Sky all life is sustained.

## Society

The matriarchal society of the PetalWings is incredibly strict, as even one poor choice made by an individual could result in the tribe's discovery.

### Government

The PetalWings are a matriarchy ruled by a queen, who is decided through a number of competitive tests.

The PetalWings cannot all congregate in one area all at once lest they be seen by another tribe, and so they have scattered across the savannah for their safety and survival. This physical division has made it the traditional governmental system of a queen inefficient. There are always 12 designated clans at any given time, and the heads of each clan is addressed as a Lady. There is currently an average of 40 dragons within each clan.

#### Punishments

Due to the high mortality rate amongst PetalWings, death sentences are never given out, not even to the worst criminals. Instead, those who break the law face punishments of maiming, servitude, or both. Murderers, traitors, and the like will have two legs, one foreleg and one hindleg, broken and then incorrectly set. Both of their wings will be cut off. Their limp and lack of wings act to signal other PetalWings of their misdeeds, but they also act to signal that they belong to the Queen or to a Lady. For it is only the dragons in high positions who are believed to have enough power to subdue these troublesome criminals.

### Names

PetalWings are named after flowers, as one would expect, but their naming system is not quite so simple as that. Dragonets are named after dicotyledons. Once they come of age, they choose the name of a monocotyledon as their new name. The most rare of flowers are reserved as names for Worthy's.