[File:NightTransparent.png|center|633x633px|Art](File:NightTransparent.png%7Ccenter%7C633x633px%7CArt)
by Joy Ang 'NightWings', also known as 'night dragons' to humans, are a
Pyrrhian dragons|dragon tribe who currently reside in the Rainforest
Kingdom, alongside the RainWings, within the tropical rainforest in the
lower southeast of Pyrrhia. They are currently ruled by Queen Glory.

The NightWing tribe previously lived on the Talon Peninsula, also known
as the lost city of night, otherwise known as the old Night Kingdom.
After Darkstalker murdered Arctic|Prince Arctic, the NightWings feared
that his ghost haunted the peninsula and fled to the NightWing island
off the northern coast of the Sky Kingdom where they remained until the
NightWing Exodus. They were secretly allied with Blister towards the end
of the War of SandWing Succession.

A large portion of the tribe was briefly ruled by Darkstalker in the The
Jade Mountain Prophecy|second arc. There were only fifty or so
NightWings who stayed in the rainforest during this time.

## Description

<File:NightWing> star scales GN.png|thumb|Starflight's star scales on
the underside of one of his wings from The Dark Secret (graphic novel),
by Mike Holmes <File:NightWing> egg.jpg|thumb|A typical NightWing egg,
by Mike HolmesNightWings are based on monitor lizards. They have been
described to have forked, pitch-black tongues, as well as dark scales
which are usually black or in shades of dark green, blue, purple, or
dull gray. They also have silver, white, gray, deep blue, purple, or
dark green underbellies, and dapples of silver scales running along
their necks. Their wings have silver scales scattered across them like
the stars of a night sky, forming different patterns. These patterns are
genetic. NightWings have been described with black, dark blue, dark
brown, purple, or dark green eyes. They have straight horns.

NightWings can melt into shadows and blend into the night sky due to
their colors and wing patterns. Mind readers have silver teardrop scales
by the corners of their eyes, and empaths such as Fatespeaker will also
have these teardrop scales; however, it is possible that NightWings with
teardrop scales may not have this ability. Seers have no physical
indications of their power.

## Diet

<File:Morrowseer> eating GN.png|thumb|Morrowseer eating the carrion of a
giant albatross on the NightWing island from The Dark Secret (graphic
novel), by Mike HolmesOn the volcanic island, NightWings ate mostly
carrion. They would bite their prey, poisoning it with bacteria from
inside their mouths, and leave it to decease. After it was dead, they
would return to eat it. On the island, seafaring birds could be found.
They would also hunt in the rainforest, including sloths, and may have
gathered some fruit. While living on this island, most NightWings ate
once per week, which contributed to their malnutrition.

After relocating to the rainforest, NightWings began to incorporate
fruits and vegetables into their diet, though they continue to eat meat,
with the exception of sloths.

In the time of Darkstalker, hunting was very
similar to other tribes. They ate hawks, fish, bears, squirrels,
rattlesnakes, and wolves. They cooked their food, including roasted nuts
and baked bear, and had access to cheese. They would also purchase
fruits from RainWing merchants.

## Abilities

NightWings are a nocturnal tribe that can blend into the night sky and
shadows. They can also breathe fire, and most modern NightWings have
harmful bacteria in their mouths which can poison animals with a single
bite. However, it is noted that after searching through the corpses of
dead NightWings, there was no venom found in their teeth. They have a
strong sense of smell and powerful night vision.

NightWings hatched under one full moons|moon have the power of
mind-reading or prophecy, and those hatched under two have both.
Dragonets hatched under three full moons will have both of these powers,
which have been made stronger by the third moon. NightWings once thought
that the third full moon gave Animus magic|animus powers, though this
was later disconfirmed, as animus powers are passed on genetically. The
power of the gifts vary, such as Clearsight having strong foresight.
When the NightWings moved to the volcanic island, knowledge of these
powers was forgotten, possibly on purpose. NightWing eggs touched by
moonlight will turn an eerie polished silver color, while untouched eggs
remain an ebony black.

Mind-reading NightWings can observe the thoughts of those around them.
They cannot 'rummage around' in another dragon's head, but hear thoughts
as the dragon thinks them, often only picking up on jumbled words,
pictures, and emotions; thoughts are louder and stronger to the mind
reader when they are touching the former. In the time of Darkstalker,
dragonets were taught ways to block out the minds of others, though this
practice was lost over time without powers. Mind readers can project
their thoughts to one another to have mental conversations, and powerful
mind readers may be able to block the visions of prophets. Dragons with
this power hatched under a blood moon can project their thoughts to any
dragon, not just other mind readers.

<File:Moonwatcher> GN 8.png|right|thumb
0.6|Moonwatcher
delivering the The Jade Mountain Prophecy|Jade Mountain Prophecy from
Moon Rising (graphic novel), by Mike Holmes Prophetic NightWings can see
flashes and visions of the future. On occasion, they will have a true
prophecy, which will manifest as words rather than a vision in the
dragon's head. In the time of Darkstalker, prophets would sometimes take
regular visions and translate them to sound like real prophecies. Very
powerful prophets may be able to look into the future and follow
individual timelines. Futures have been described as 'webs', as they
overlap and are easily mixed up. Prophets hatched beneath a blood moon
can see terrible events and natural disasters with particular clarity.
When NightWings deliver prophecies, their eyes glow and their voices
become low and shivery.

Click :Category:Empowered NightWings|here for a list of all empowered
NightWings.

#### Animus magic

NightWings have animus dragons, with the earliest known powers tracing
back to the NightWing-IceWing hybrid Darkstalker. All known animus
NightWing dragons are descended from Whiteout, as she carried animus
genetics while Darkstalker did not have dragonets. They may have had
animus magic before Darkstalker, as they once believed that the third
full moon gave animus magic. In modern times, they are likely expected
or forced to use their powers for the good of their tribe.

## Society

### Modern era

NightWing society is undergoing a great deal of change as they adjust to
life in the rainforest. Many of them were bitter due to their queen
being a RainWing, and although some have become more accepting of the
idea, Glory's queenship is quite controversial among them, but they
still contain a tribal aura of mystery and spookiness.

### NightWing Island Era

While living on the volcanic island, NightWings poured a great deal of
effort into making their tribe seem mysterious and powerful to hide
their real weakened state. They trained their dragonets to lie about
their 'powers,' and kept them confined to the island until at least age
ten to prevent any breaches of information.

They were exceptionally skilled at keeping secrets, and NightWing
information was given to dragonets as they grow older. They were not
allowed to leave the island until the age of ten, and most NightWings
would try to counter sarcasm with more sarcasm, as though every
conversation was a competition to see whose wit was more biting. No one
ever stopped to acknowledge that someone else was funny. In general,
sentimental sincerity was not a NightWing trait. Loyalty, secrecy, and
obedience to NightWing elders were the most important lessons for
dragonets within the tribe, and young NightWings were kept away from
other tribes, as older dragons did not trust them to keep NightWing
secrets. When Battlewinner disappeared from public view, enforcement of
guard and patrol duties was considerably weakened, and many citizens
believed that guarding and patrolling an island that no one was able to
locate was ultimately pointless. Leaving the island and traveling to the
mainland was every young dragonet's dream. NightWings were not supposed
to be seen within the mainland, and Deathbringer's main objective as an
assassin was to ensure that the NightWing involvement in the War of
SandWing Succession was kept under heavy secrecy.

A game involving bones and tiny skulls were played by a pair of two
adult NightWings.

### Darkstalker era

In the time of Darkstalker, NightWing mothers typically named their
dragonets. The tribe also functioned nocturnally, usually waking after
midday and sleeping at sunrise. NightWings of higher status lived in
higher homes in the cliffs, while lower ones lived closer to the bottom,
where less desirable homes were. They also appeared to value knowledge
and reading, as they had an extensive library and honored the first
librarians of the kingdom. In Clearsight's time, the NightWings were
famous for their intertribal relations, open trade partnerships,
literature, and artwork, which had been sold across the continent.
Dragons from all over Pyrrhia brought them new ideas, inventions, and
discoveries. Most dragonets started school when they were one year old.

NightWings had a centuries-old feud with the IceWings due to the legend
of Foeslayer and Arctic, known as the NightWing-IceWing War. The feud is
at least on pause as of Darkness of Dragons.

Ancient NightWing nests were depicted as bowls of carved stone that are
lined with black fur, and eggs were typically hatched atop high mountain
peaks.

### Pre-Darkstalker era

NightWings were the first tribe to develop a written
languages#Dragon|Dragon language. They taught it to the other tribes
and traveling NightWing teachers would fly across Pyrrhia to bring
scrolls to the tribes. They had scrolls from other tribes including
architecture plans and records from NightWing scriptoriums. They also
took medicine seriously and would discover healing techniques that they
would share with the other tribes. They would use their powers to
protect the other tribes.

## Names

NightWing names may be descriptive of the dragon's personality (such as
Thoughtful, Greatness, Wisdom, and Listener), relate to an aptitude or
job (such as Mastermind, Deathbringer, or Quickstrike), describe or
relate to their physical appearance (such as Bigtail and Strongwings), or be night-themed (such as Starflight, Eclipse, and
Moonwatcher). Their names may also be inspired by the NightWing powers
(names such as Fatespeaker, Mindreader, and Morrowseer.) Most NightWing
names are meant to give a sense of strength or mightiness.

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

#### Animus dragons

  - Darkstalker (half IceWing)
  - Stonemover
  - Unnamed characters#Hybrids|Unnamed granddaughter and
    great-great-great-grandson of Whiteout

#### Students at Jade Mountain

  - Bigtail (formerly; deceased)
  - Fearless
  - Mightyclaws (formerly; currently making new homes for the NightWings
    in the rainforest)
  - Mindreader
  - Moonwatcher

## Trivia

  - NightWings appear to have excellent night vision, but still can not
    see in total darkness as well as SeaWings can.
  - It is mentioned by Hope that NightWings are trying to readjust to
    their natural (nocturnal) schedule in Darkness of Dragons.
  - NightWings are shown to be very loyal to their tribe and have an
    arrogance similar to the IceWings. Morrowseer once explained to
    Starflight: "We assumed NightWing superiority was something all
    NightWings hatched with."
  - Tui considered the mention of the Darkest Night, a night where all
    three moons are new, to be present somewhere in the NightWings'
    stories.
  - In the audiobooks read by Shannon McManus, all NightWings speak with
    a British accent, except for Starflight, Fatespeaker, and
    Moonwatcher, who were raised away from the NightWings and did not
    develop this accent. However, Tui does not consider audiobook
    accents canon.
  - NightWings are able to hang from the ceiling like bats. This is
    depicted in the graphic novel.
  - In Darkstalker's era, all NightWing dragonets owned these scrolls:
    Geography of Pyrrhia, Myths of the Lost Continent, Ten Little
    Scavengers (Recipes included!), and Goodnight, Moons.
  - Humans described NightWings as the least dangerous type of dragon
    tribe, due to very few of them being seen.[1]