[File:IceTransparent.png|centre|thumb|600x600px](File:IceTransparent.png%7Ccentre%7Cthumb%7C600x600px)
'IceWings', also known as 'ice dragons' or 'arctic dragons' to humans,
are a Pyrrhian Dragons|dragon tribe that resides in the Ice Kingdom, the
"head" of the dragon-shaped Pyrrhia, which is known for its cold winds,
freezing temperatures, and, formerly, the Great Ice Cliff (also known as
the gift of defense), before it was destroyed by Queen Snowfall, their
current queen.

The IceWings supported Blaze during the War of SandWing Succession,
joining her alliance with the promise of a large portion of land near
the SandWings' northern border if Blaze won.

## Description

IceWing scales can range from silvery-gray and white to pale shades of
blue and purple, intended to blend into their icy surroundings. Their
coloring has been described as "silver like the moons," "pale blue like
ice,"[1] "as pale as the moons," or "moon-white scales," and "like
whiskers or tufts of fur." IceWings have dark blue, sky blue, icy blue,
or stormy gray eyes, with forked blue tongues and dark blue blood.
[File:IceWingz.webp|thumb|Serrated](File:IceWingz.webp%7Cthumb%7CSerrated)
IceWing claw by Joy Ang The head of an IceWing is shaped like a diamond
and is very narrow, with a ruff of extra horns behind their heads, with
spikes continuing down their backs and tail. They are lean dragons with
thin, whip-thin tails that have icicle-shaped spines, ending in very
sharp tips. They have serrated claws for gripping the ice.[2] Some
IceWings, such as Lynx, have dark freckles or markings on their faces
and wings, although this is generally uncommon.

When upset, some IceWings have been shown to ruffle up the spines around
their necks.

## Diet

IceWings prefer to eat creatures that live in the Ice Kingdom, such as
reindeer, whales, penguins, hawks, polar bears, seals, walruses, and
fish. IceWing meals have been described as containing "bowls of dripping
meat." They also consume scavengers, though not very often, as they are
rare in the Ice Kingdom. Seals are common among the lower classes due to
the gift of sustenance, holes in the ice found in three different
villages the lower-born IceWings live, enchanted to always give the
hunter a seal when they stick a talon in. IceWings would also eat frozen
berries and even have ice cream. IceWings typically enjoy their food
raw.

For event feasts such as coronations, IceWings may consume elaborate
courses, such as kelp and sedge salads, crab soup with moss, whale skin
topped with polar bear meat, narwhal blubber seasoned with fulmar oil,
diced puffin breast and grated gannet stomach stew, scavenger liver,
shark heart, shaved ice flavored with syrup, lemons, and frozen cream
made from milk and melons.

## Abilities

IceWings can withstand subzero temperatures and very bright light.[3]
They have serrated claws for gripping slippery ice, which were described
as "ten times sharper than normal claws" and "like getting clawed four
times with each claw instead of once" when used offensively. They are
also known for having sharper eyesight than the other Pyrrhian dragon
tribes, and their scales emit an icy-cold chill, which can freeze tiny
drops of water on their bodies. They can also exhale a freezing weapon
called frostbreath,[4] also known as "freezing death breath" by the
dragonets of destiny.

They can handle flight distances well, but are weaker when subjected to
heat.

Frostbreath appears as a cloud of sparkling smoke, and can cause limbs
to fall clean off from frostbite. Scars from frostbreath look like
blackened blisters, as seen on Mayfly. The only known direct cure is the
gift of healing, a set of narwhal horns enchanted by Queen Diamond to
heal accidental frostbreath injuries. In other cases, fire, bags of hot
rocks, hot mud, or related heat-emitting liquids are used to melt the
ice.File:Frostbreath.png|thumb|Fjord using frostbreath during combat
with Clay in the SkyWing palace#SkyWing Arena|SkyWing arena in The Dragonet Prophecy, by Mike Holmes.
Frostbreath forms ice crystals where it makes contact with dirt, forms
tiny chunks of ice when used on rain, and can be used to extinguish
fires. An IceWing can be prevented from using their frostbreath for a
short time by raising their body temperature either via a warm
environment or manually heating them up (hot metal, fire, etc.), similar
to the limits on MudWings' fire-breathing abilities but reversed.
Fjord's scales have been seen "melting" while in the arena, which
perhaps indicates that IceWings' scales cannot withstand the heat.

A dragon affected by frostbreath will first feel freezing pain, shocking
the affected area into paralysis, and is quite painful for the first few
seconds until the area becomes numb. Victims of frostbreath will
sometimes lose consciousness, which can be treated with water and hot
coals. SkyWings who hatch with firescales cannot be hurt by frostbreath,
though an impacted area may be numb for some time.<File:Battlewinner>
freeze.png|thumb|298x298px|Frostbreath taking over Battlewinner's body, in The Dark Secret by Mike Holmes. A
fire-breathing dragon can survive having frostbreath shot down their
throat for a short time, but the only known way to survive a long period
of time after sustaining internal frostbreath injuries is by staying
immersed in lava. Internal frostbreath injuries can eventually overwhelm
a dragon if they leave the lava, which is shown in Battlewinner's case.

As described in Moon Rising, IceWings have sharp,
glittering, and bright minds that are hard to read. Groups of IceWings
will "reflect" off of one another and become even more difficult to
read.

#### Animus magic

IceWings were once known for having more animus dragons than any other
tribe, as well as having magic the longest. These dragons were carefully
bred into the royal family and monitored extremely cautiously, with
strict rules for the use of their powers to keep their soul from turning
evil. IceWing animus dragons were only permitted to use their power
once, for the benefit of the tribe, at the gifting ceremony on their
seventh hatching day. Some animus IceWings went against the rules, such
as Queen Diamond who used her power four times — once for her normal
animus gift, the gift of healing, another on Hope to come back to the
Ice Kingdom, again for the gift of vengeance (the Diamond Caves), and
once to enchant the IceWing crown to make the wearer hate NightWings as
much as she had. IceWings host a test similar to the SeaWings' Talons of
Power ceremony to find animus dragons.

The IceWing's line of animus dragons ended when Arctic, the last known
IceWing animus, ran away with Foeslayer to the Lost city of night|Night
Kingdom, leading the IceWings to believe that the NightWings stole their
precious magic.

left
Animus Gifts

  - 'The gift of compromise:' This gift is a scepter, carved from dark
    blue rock and set with little diamonds, which reminds Snowfall of
    NightWings. It is unknown what its purpose is.
  - 'The gift of defense:' The Great Ice Cliff, a wall on the border of
    the Ice Kingdom that shoots icicle spears at anyone who is not an
    IceWing. This feature was first seen when one of Blaze's soldiers
    attempted to cross it. IceWing hybrids can also cross the cliff, as
    stated by Typhoon, a SeaWing-IceWing hybrid. Queen Snowfall intends
    to tear it down after punching a hole in it at the end of The
    Dangerous Gift, and it is currently under destruction as of A Guide
    to the Dragon World.
  - 'The gift of diplomacy:' Three bracelets that allow the wearer to
    safely cross the Great Ice Cliff despite their tribe and keep the
    wearer warm in the Ice Kingdom, as well as a heated dome near the
    SandWing border, so they do not need to wear the bracelet; created
    by Penguin. These bracelets were stolen by NightWings, however, and
    have been lost for about two thousand years. The NightWings of
    Prudence's time suspected there to be a fourth bracelet that the
    IceWings were keeping hidden.
  - 'The gift of elegance:' An enchantment on the IceWing 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. Snowfall thinks that the inspiration for the
    gift was that Diamond herself was hit by frostbreath when she was a
    dragonet.
  - 'The gift of light:' A tree made of ice, the Moon Globe Tree,
    enchanted and hand-carved by Frostbite. The tree grows moon globes
    which, once picked from the branches, hover over the shoulder of the
    dragon who picked them and cast a soft glow. They also have
    different brightness settings that can be changed by rotating the
    globe. Glory wanted a cutting to grow in the rainforest.
  - 'The gift of order:' A wall that shows every IceWing aristocrat's
    name and their current ranking. The names can be slid around like
    abacus beads if the IceWing rises or falls in rank. Dead IceWing
    names can be scratched out. There are Circles for each rank, with
    two different systems for adults and dragonets. There is an alcove
    in the wall set aside for the IceWing queen, and the queen must
    consider that all IceWings on the Gift of Order are important to the
    Kingdom. The queen must also reorder the ranks of the dragons in the
    IceWing palace every night. It was destroyed at the end of The
    Dangerous Gift by Snowfall, although a piece of it was given to Jade
    Mountain Academy for future study.
  - 'The gift of splendor:' The main 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 stealth:' A pair of pale silver wristbands set with
    diamonds that can make one or more dragons invisible. While dragons
    are invisible, they must turn visible again before adding more
    dragons to the invisible group. Dragons in the invisibility circle
    are only able to be heard by each other. Snowfall uses it to
    disguise her army when she first meets the dragons from Pantala,
    then later to catch Crystal and Sky, on two separate occasions. They
    were given to Sundew when she left with the stealth group for
    Pantala.
  - 'The gift of strength:' A delicate and elegant tiara, which is
    smaller than the IceWing crown, and gives immense strength to the
    wearer. Snowfall used it in The Dangerous Gift to destroy part of
    the Great Ice Cliff and the entirety of the gift of order.
  - 'The gift of subsistence:' Three ice holes on the outskirts of the
    Ice Kingdom where if a dragon sticks their claws into it, 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 would not accept food which came so easily. It was created     by Caribou after Snowstorm
    showed her how the outer villages of the Ice Kingdom lived.
  - 'The gift of understanding:' Only part of this gift is available in
    the Forbidden Treasury, a piece of unwearable silver. It is unknown
    what its purpose is. The gift is connected to a story Tui T.
    Sutherland|Tui has not finished yet.
  - 'The gift of vengeance:' The Diamond Caves were Queen Diamond's
    second animus gift, enchanted so that anyone who touches Hope (a
    NightWing locked inside with animus-touched shackles) with a
    diamond-tipped spear can kill her (used for the Diamond Trial). The
    shackles that bound her were enchanted to refreeze her and revive
    her each time she was killed. The only way to remove the shackles
    was to breathe frostbreath on them (Queen Diamond added this to the
    enchantment in case the IceWing tribe needed Foeslayer as a
    bargaining chip, but thought that no IceWing would ever even think
    of freeing her). Together, they were created because Queen Diamond
    was not satisfied with killing Foeslayer just once, and instead
    wanted her to suffer for all eternity.
  - 'The gift of vision:' The gift of vision is an animus-touched ring
    created by the IceWing animus, Opal. It is enchanted and only shows
    up for certain queens who are not ready to rule or need to be taught
    a lesson to become more open-minded. The wearer cannot take this
    ring off until they have fully learned their lesson. It allows the
    wearer to see visions through other dragons while the wearer
    themselves is sleeping, which makes them more open-minded towards
    other dragons' situations and circumstances. It is a silver ring
    with a big opal gem in the middle, and it cannot be destroyed. This
    is shown when Snowfall tried to ask Luna for assistance to burn off
    the ring with her flamesilk, or when she was slamming it on the
    rock.

## Society

IceWings appear to be fairly sophisticated, strict, and believe
themselves superior in comparison to the other tribes, being the only
Pyrrhian dragons to have a hierarchy. They are very prideful, and often
perceived as rude and arrogant by dragons of other tribes. There are
strict IceWing codes of behavior: most IceWings agree that the only way
to make dragonets strong is to expose all of their weaknesses, and that
shame and fear are powerful weapons in teaching. If everyone is
disappointed in a dragonet, the consensus is that they will work harder
to prove themselves. Most dragonets are seasoned warriors in the Ice
Kingdom.

Even in times of general peace, IceWings still had minor skirmishes with
SandWings and SkyWings.

Royal IceWings are typically not affectionate, as Winter mentioned that
hugging their family members would be considered undignified. The lines
of guards that attend the IceWing queen are perfectly coiled, and
IceWings are noble to their queen's orders. It is painful to hold the
IceWing guard stance for too long, but Winter practiced for hours to get
the pose perfectly right: his wings folded exactly so, his tail in the
right position, his snout up and shoulders back.

The IceWing queen, according to the ancient traditions of the tribe, was
required to assess and adjust the gift of order each night. She also has
a council of powerful IceWings to guide and support her. Most queens are
killed in royal challenges in a battlefield, an arena, or before the
entire court in a bloodstained throne room.

Royal IceWings in the time of Darkstalker stored
the frozen heads of deceased royal family members on walls in the palace
and slid the deceased's corpses into the ocean. This tradition is no
longer practiced.

IceWings living in villages outside the palace are less obsessed with
status and Circles. The outer villages are made of ice structures and
are named hyphenated phrases. In the outer villages, scrolls are
typically written on sealskin and are circulated between IceWing
villages by wandering librarians. They often have revered storytellers,
or bards, who memorize stories that they sing or recite. Stories include
tales of the Great Ice Dragon and histories of the IceWing tribe and
their heroes. Dragonets are chosen to be their village's bard based on memory and performance skill. Caribou claimed that it is
every young dragon's dream to be their village's bard.

IceWings have a mythological figure called the Great Ice Dragon, whom
they swear by the teeth of. They also swear by snow monsters and believe
in spirits under the ice.

IceWings can have pets such as arctic foxes.

IceWings have parties, talent shows, and competitions frequently and are
always working hard to make something wonderful to share with the rest
of the tribe. These include recipes, scrolls, songs, and jewelry.

Many IceWings polish their scales to maintain a clean look. This can be
done via rolling in snow, swimming in cold water, or other various ways.

#### Circle rankings

Before the reign of Queen Snowfall, the aristocracy and nobility of the
IceWing tribe were divided into seven ranks of status, known as Circles.
The First Circle was the top, highest, or best, while the Seventh Circle
was the bottom, lowest, or worst. IceWings below the age of seven were
ranked as dragonets and graduated to the adult rankings on their seventh
hatching day. A dragonet's ranking on their seventh hatching day
determined the course of the rest of their life, and if a dragonet
reached their seventh hatching day in the Seventh Circle, they were
stationed to an arctic outpost for the rest of their lives. In families
in the Ice Kingdom, the highest-ranked parent chose the names for their
dragonets, regardless of gender, and were then approved by the queen.

<File:Ranking> wall adjustment GN.jpg|thumb|Tundra adjusting Winter's
rank on the ranking wall from Winter Turning (graphic novel), by Mike
Holmes.This system was managed via the gift of order and consisted of a
wall of ice showing the rankings of every noble and dragonet. The queen
was required to adjust these rankings daily. Some noble dragons wore
accessories to indicate their rankings, such as a necklace with circles
on it.

IceWing dragonets raised their ranking through hunting, training,
performing traditional IceWing customs, and passing tests given by their
guardians. In the dragonet rankings, each hunt was still a chance to
prove themselves and increase their rank. The highest-ranked dragonets
were more respected. When a dragonet reached their seventh hatching day
in the First or Second Circle, they would be housed in the queen's
palace and allowed to provide input on important matters. When an adult
went into Third Circle or lower, they could have lost their right to
live in the palace. If an IceWing died or was exiled, their names were
slashed through on the gift of order, as shown in Hailstorm's case. If a
dragonet went down in the rankings, their parents would too.

The gift of order has since been destroyed by Queen Snowfall. She is
also working on destroying the gift of defense so that IceWings can
become more open-minded to other tribes willing to help them during
crises.

#### Diamond Trial

The Diamond Trial, also known as the gift of vengeance, was a way for
IceWing dragonets to increase their Circle ranking in the tribe,
generally as a last-minute effort to switch the places of two dragonets
(the topmost and bottommost positions). It involved entering the Diamond
Caves with narwhal horn spears, meant to touch a frozen NightWing -
Hope. When she is thawed, both contestants must battle her. Hope is then
frozen and resurrected again after she is killed, leaving the two
dragonets to fight to the death. However, the trial was rigged- only one
of the dragonets, the one the IceWings wanted to win, was given
information about the trial and how the spears actually worked.

The trial became defunct when Winter secretly freed Hope during the events of Winter Turning.

## Names

Before Queen Snowfall, IceWing names were chosen by the family member
with the highest Circle rank and the names had to be approved by the
queen. It is unknown if this naming convention is still practiced. They
can be named after ice formations like Glacier and Icicle, arctic
animals (terrestrial or aquatic) such as Lynx, Narwhal, and Ermine,
words for "white" in various languages such as Alba and Hvitur, polar
landscapes such as Tundra, polar weather such as Hailstorm, and after
mountains such as Changbai. They can also be named after blue and white
gemstones such as Crystal, Diamond, and Opal, as well as cold seasons
like Winter.

Click :Category:IceWings|here for a list of known IceWings.

#### Animus dragons

  - Arctic   - Caribou
  - Darkstalker (half NightWing)
  - Diamond
  - Frostbite
  - Opal
  - Penguin

#### Students at Jade Mountain

  - Alba
  - Changbai
  - Ermine
  - Icicle (formerly; on trial in the Ice Kingdom for attempting to kill
    Starflight and Glory, and killing an unnamed NightWing by the orders
    of Scarlet|Queen Scarlet)
  - Winter (formerly; currently living with the Talons of Peace in
    Sanctuary)
  - 2 unnamed IceWings

## Trivia

  - IceWings have accents that are different from any other dragon
    tribe. This accent is described as "high-pitched with a tinge of
    deep in certain words."
  - IceWings may use fruit juice to make popsicles.
  - There have been legends of animus IceWings that have gone mad from
    overuse of magic.
  - IceWings have a specific sleeping schedule.
  - When Winter was in the Rainforest Kingdom, he disliked the many
    colors there. This shows that IceWings may be chromophobic (fear or
    dislike of many bright colors). However, this may be one of Winter's
    specific traits and is not a general feature of IceWings.
  - When the gift of order was first introduced in Winter Turning,
    Winter described the names as "the queen and her chosen advisors
    could slide them around like beads on an abacus". This implies that
    IceWings know what abacuses are.
  - IceWings have trouble smelling things properly in more crowded
    environments like forests or towns. This may be due to how they are
    hatched in tundras, where many of the common scents are covered by
    the scent of snow and the small variety of animals that live there.
  - IceWings can use their polished scales to make mirror signals by
    reflecting sunlight.
  - IceWing are described to have "silvery scales like the moon";[5]
    however, there are three moons in the dragon world, not just one.
  - There is an old IceWing tale that eating a shark heart can give a
    dragon strength; however, Glacier noted that many IceWings would get
    sick from eating it.