Silver Phantom

The **Silver Phantom** is a medium Strike Class dragon that lives in alpines, mountaintops, or high level clouds.

## Official Description

Elusive and mysterious, this dragon rarely emerges from its protection of the clouds. It is somewhat shy, as it strays away from human contact. This dragon, however, is said to be calm and serene. Silver Phantoms can produce lovely, lethal fire shots. Due to the need to fly above clouds, the Silver Phantom has adapted to be able to fly at extremely high altitudes. When it’s mating season, males put up a very beautiful and unique air dance in an attempt to charm a female. Their colors allow them to blend in perfectly with the sky, seemingly invisible from below. Although they may be reserved, they are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with.

## Physical Appearance

### Egg

A Silver Phantom egg is reflective and ragged with small triangular scales, pointing downwards to ease the laying process for the female. It's speculated that the egg's reflectiveness is meant to help with thermal regulation, as the eggs are laid on the ground, rather than in the clouds where most Silver Phantoms linger.

### Hatchling to Adult

   Female and male Silver Phantoms have vastly different appearances. Males tend to have much more sleek bodies, and do not change much from their juvenile forms. Their heads are adorned with two large backwards-curved silver horns, many fins, and many small spikes along their face. On their head is a small sail. Their scales are rectangular in shape, becoming more spaced out around the shoulders, wing joints, and back legs. their wings appear as smooth and have a slight reflection against the skin.

Females, on the other hand, are often mistaken for males due to their robust form. Females are muscular with large wings with wrinkly membranes, set along the trailing edge, attaching to the tail behind its rear legs. Like the males, female Silver Phantoms have a sail on their head, albeit much larger, along with larger frills and longer horns that are black-tipped. Their sail reaches down all towards the tip of the tail, aiding in its ability to maintain control in flight.

### Titan Wing

   Titan Wing Silver Phantoms, specifically males, will grow a full-body sail along the spine down to the tail, much like the females. The wing talons, both top and bottom, grow larger and longer, creating a new sharpness to their wings. The talons darken, on both sexes, as well as the horns. While a male's will become a darker grey/silver, the female's horns will turn a near complete black. Titan Wing males will become heftier and gain thousands of pounds in weight, making them much more fearsome opponents to any who may dare to face against it.

## Abilities

### Firepower

A Silver Phantom's blue fire is able to burn the scales off of the strongest dragons. Produced in lethal concentrated shots, Phantoms can shoot from up to 500 feet away with precision, and the further they are, the more powerful their fire becomes as it travels towards its target. Burning at a temperature of 2800º F, a Silver Phantom can destroy ships, weapons, and enemies alike with a single blast, but they do not like to resort to firepower upon seeing a threat. If anything, they prefer to *not*  kill.

### Strength and Combat

    Silver Phantoms are known to be quite averse to killing, so combat is reserved for very powerful or deadly enemies, or if they are protecting a loved one. Still, they are able combatants, and if forced to fight, they will use fire upon brawn to take on an enemy. Females tend to be the forefront fighters of families, due to their larger sizes and well-developed bodies from flying so often. Males have been observed to quite literally pluck human enemies from armies and throw them into the air, where they either fall to their death or get roasted alive by the blue fire of the silver beauty.

### Endurance and Stamina

These dragons have high endurance, especially the females, moreso in the air than on the ground. Even though they stay far from battle, they have enough endurance to keep a foe at bay as their loved ones escape, or enough stamina to outfly an enemy that may be chasing them.

### Speed and Agility

As they spend much of their free time flying, practicing aerial maneuvers, their maneuverability in flight is a sight to behold. Although they cannot take very sharp turns, they can dive on a whim and barrel roll multiple times without getting dizzy. They have adapted to flying at high altitudes, most likely because they spend most of their time in the clouds.

Silver Phantoms are notably faster dragons. Although the females move a bit slower because of their size, they are exceptionally agile, as well as their male counterparts, who fly slightly faster. Researchers suggest this may be an evolutionary trait due to their familial structures, where the female is meant to be the combatant, and the male is often seen acting as a decoy or backup.

Phantoms can dive at around 120 mph, and their steady flight is 90 mph, able to easily keep up with a Night Fury.

### Camouflage

Although not the best camouflaging abilities in the dragon kingdom, the silver scales of a Silver Phantom can make it difficult for an onlooker to discern it from the white of the clouds, especially a still dragon. This best works when the sky is grey and cloudy, as when the sun is out, it tends to reflect off of their scales.

### Jaw Strength

Silver Phantoms have incredibly strong jaws, able to crush a barrel in its mouth with one movement. One individual was recorded to have clamped its teeth down on a fellow chained Phantom, and quite literally rip the chains off of its anchor to free its friend. It was unknown if the Phantom sustained damaged to its teeth, but it seemed to not show any signs of pain.

### Cloud-Sitting

A mystery of few dragons, the Silver Phantom has the uncanny ability to sit upon clouds. It is completely unknown how they do this, but it has been speculated that, like the Cloudjumper, Dreamserpent, or Windwalker, the Silver Phantom has a certain organ or hidden magical ability that allows it to stay upon clouds, even when asleep. One researcher even suggested that Phantoms may only sleep with half of their brain so the other half is actively using magic to allow it to stay afloat. However, the means remain a mystery.

### Intelligence

Like all Strike Class dragons, Silver Phantoms showcase extreme intelligence, technical and emotional. High King Min Yoongi's own Silver Phantom, Aeneas, was shown to understand that his rider would not return after High Queen Maya had taken him back to his home. He was also shown to understand Yoongi's words and complaints to him, even professions of love.

Phantoms have been shown to understand puzzles, hone near-perfect plans for hunting or escaping, and even use objects as everyday tools. An 8-month old hatchling was once seen using a human's lost knife to kill an already dying bird, presumably to put it out of its misery. It was even seen burying the dead bird under dirt afterwards.

## Weaknesses

The only known weak spot on a Silver Phantom is the back of its neck, where its scales are the thinnest. A knowledgeable enough hunter knows well to strike a Silver Phantom on the back of the neck, as severing its head will be easiest from such an angle. Paired dragons have been seen protecting each others weak spots.

Outside of the cloudy environment, the Phantom's reflective scales tend to give away its positions rather than hide it. At night, it is more easily spotted, especially if a full-grown adult where the scales become extremely bright.

## Behavior and Personality

Silver Phantoms by nature are serene and free of conflict. While males lean more toward a flight response, females prefer to fight, as they have done for hundreds of years. Outside of families, these dragons tend to be lonesome and stray away from other dragons, whether of the same species or different, and humans.

    When it’s mating season, males put up a very beautiful and unique air dance in an attempt to charm a female. Females tend to be very judgmental, and will reject a mate for the slightest slip-up or mistake. Silver Phantoms mate for life, so the decision is important, as the female needs a reliable partner if combat ever meets them. Mating season takes place in Spring, and the female will lay the eggs 60 to 80 days later in clutches of only 1 or 2 eggs. Silver Phantoms eggs take unusually long to hatch - almost a year!

One researcher claimed to have seen two mated Phantoms partaking in a marriage ritual of some sort, where they gave each other silver items, almost like rings in a human marriage, then used blood from a hunted deer to mark each others chests with a straight line. It is unconfirmed whether this was a unique instance, or a ritual practiced across all individuals of the species.

## Training

Training a Silver Phantom from scratch takes time, as with all Strike Class dragons.

Your first step is to find one on the ground that doesn't flee the second it sees you. Male juveniles are the easiest to train because of their curiosity. Start off by showing it you're no threat - discard of any weapons. Then, offer it a meal. An easy choice is a fish. Continue this process over weeks. If it returns daily to see you, you're making progress.

An easy way to gain the trust of a Phantom is to give it something silver. Researchers guess that this reminds them of their family, and seems to mean a great deal to them, whether perceived as treasure or a loving gift from a possible new friend. Normally, it can take 2-3 months to gain the trust of a wild Silver Phantom. Testing out how your progress is going can be easily checked by attempting to pet it. If the dragons allows you, and even seeks out physical touch, or if it brings you a gift of silver, you've successfully tamed it!

There is always the option to raise one from an egg or hatchling as well.

## Trivia

* Silver Phantoms hatch with bluish-grey scales with silver highlights that gradually turn brighter as the dragon approaches adulthood.
* It is said that Silver Phantoms smell faintly of rain, much like the Raincutter. It's presumed that this is due to their constant lingering in the clouds.

## Image Sources

1. Silver Dragon by Todd Lockwood
2. Dragon Egg Geocoin: Shiny Silver by Christopher Waddell
3. The Time of the Half-Blood Book Cover by Antonello Venditti on ArtStation
4. Arys in Dragon Form by ThaiTrieu on DeviantArt