GlassWings

### Description

Smooth, iridescent scales; long, narrow wings with transparent membrane; forked, antler-like horns.

GlassWings are one of the five tribes that make their home in the Blessed Isles. They are currently recovering from a disastrous civil war and revolution that shook their culture to its very core. With a new, untested leader, they hope to recover - and perhaps leave a new mark on the world.

The GlassWing tribe was created by IcewingDragoness; they are a semi-open tribe. If you're interested in making a GlassWing character, check out the Blessed Isles group on DeviantArt.

## Appearance

GlassWings derive their name from their transparent, glossy wings. While there is sometimes a hint of colour or a few veins showing through, their wings are almost like a pane of glass, aside from their solid wing-fingers and wing-arm.

GlassWings have iridescent, semi-reflective scales. The exact colour depends on what part of the island the GlassWing is from. Coastal GlassWings have silver, copper patina, pearl, or light, sandy gold coloured scales. Inland GlassWings have silvery, coppery, or even rose-gold coloured scales. GlassWings from the Deep Provinces have darker coloured scales; silver, sangria, and very rarely, shimmery opalescent scales.

Shade GlassWings have dark, near-black scales, with hints of their natural colour breaking through. Their scales are darker near their extremities, giving them an almost scorched look. Albino Shades are a milky white colour.

Suntouched GlassWings can be any of the colours of regular GlassWings, with the major difference being that they are a tad larger and radiate a soft, warm glow.

GlassWIng's claws and horns are darker than their scale colour; they can be anywhere from black to just slightly darker in hue, and always appear as though they have been polished.

## Powers and Abilities

GlassWings are naturally suited to life in caves. Their wings fold up tightly to their bodies, enabling them to squeeze through tighter spaces than any other dragon would dare to try.

GlassWings are able to see in almost complete darkness, but despite this, their fire is very bright. It comes in an array of firework-colours, and can be concentrated into a shower of 'sparkler'-like flares.

While not all GlassWings live underground, most build their homes in natural caves, feeling instinctively safer in such spaces. Some scholars claim that this means that they lived in caverns in their homeland, perhaps giving them a warning that their continent was flooding before the surface began to go under.

### Shade GlassWings

The eggs of GlassWings are dependant upon sunlight for essential nutrients while developing.  A GlassWing's egg only needs sunlight for the first three months of its lifetime; the egg will change from having a transparent, glassy shell to a hard, white one.  After this point, the egg is safe from the perils of hatching a Shade dragonet, as it has the nutrients it needs to develop safely.

In the Upper Provinces, this is a simple thing to provide; but for the GlassWings living below the surface, there is always the threat that their eggs will not get enough.  The hatchling inside becomes weak, often dying before or soon after hatching.  Their scales are ink-black, and because of this, they are known as Shades.  "Husks of what a true GlassWings should be," some like to say; with diligence, they can be nursed back to health, but their growth is stunted and they rarely reach the same size or strength as regular GlassWings.

Strangest of most, plumes of smoke rise constantly from their scales; this strange phenomenon has never been explained. Legends about them say that they are monsters, with sharp fangs and silent footsteps.  Some dragons believe this and avoid the Shades at all costs, while others shrug off such a mystical interpretation of it.

### Suntouched GlassWings

Suntouched GlassWings are what happens when an egg gets more sunlight than it needs. If exposed to sunlight for six months time, the egg will turn from a healthy white colour to a glowing golden hue. Some of the nutrients absorbed from sunlight can be dangerous in large amounts, so most GlassWing parents remove their eggs from sunlight as soon as it takes on this new colour.

Suntouched GlasssWings hatch healthier than regular GlassWings, growing faster and reaching greater sizes than they do. Their scales have the same glow as their egg, though that is hardly the most remarkable thing about them - Suntouched dragons' greatest gift is the ability to sense and understand the pain of other dragons.

This ability begins when they are two years old, growing steadily stronger with practice. Physical pain is the easiest to detect, but the hardest to block out, while mental pain is harder to sense, but easiest to ignore. Suntouched dragons make great healers but can suffer from panic attacks and anxiety if exposed to too much pain at a time; while, over time, a dragon can develop a greater resistance to the impact of other's suffering, such things are slow and *require* exposure to lots of pain.

## Foreign Relations

### Stereotypes

GlassWings are perceived by many other tribes as...