The Lost World Tribal Archive

Fossilwings

Name origin: This tribe was originally named after their queen, who had changed her name after becoming a Fossilwing. She was the first of the tribe to ever exist, so she claimed queenship and named the tribe after herself. The name also refers to the tribe's appearance and their tendency to be forgotten for years upon end.

Tribe origin: Fossilwings are what is known as a "false tribe", a tribe born from magic instead of evolution. Little is known about how these dragons started appearing, or what magic may have caused it. There have been hints that a few dragons have the answers, such as Queen Fossil, her most loyal followers, and oddly enough, the king of the Wraithwings. Although it is impossible to tell how he may have come across this knowledge. The tribe was first recorded as far back as around 20 years after the Awakening, although it is unsure if they had existed before then.

Build and traits: Fossilwings are quite odd, being held together by magic rather than flesh. They look like an animated dragon skeleton, resembling the skeleton of their previous tribe. They lack all scales, flesh, organs, and even bone marrow. They are hollow structures that don't have any living material within them, yet are still alive and sentient. Because of this, abilities previously possessed by a dragon before being converted to a Fossilwing, such as flying, are lost. A dragon will also lose any abilities that were unique to their tribe, such as breath weapons, mind control, weather control, and so on. A Fossilwing also loses their ability to eat or otherwise consume anything, the upside being that they do not require nourishment. They also do not require sleep or air to breathe, so some question if they're technically alive. Traits that remain are all of the senses, speech, emotions, and memories of their past life, despite lacking everything that is needed to have any of these. So no, even though a Fossilwing does not have eyes, that does not mean that they are blind. Their bone structure is quite fragile, because they possess no bone marrow, so a lot of blunt force or the use of a very sharp object can break the bones. However, the bones will reconstruct themselves within a few minutes to a few hours, based on the extent of the damage. All chips and cracks to the bones will also repair themselves quickly. The last important thing to note is that most Fossilwings seem to gain an appreciation for life and an odd sense of calming acceptance after being converted, no matter what kind of dragon they were before. There is no concrete evidence as to whether or not this is magically induced.

Colors: Considering that these dragons don't have scales, their colors are quite bland. Their bone structure is an off-white, often yellowed a bit as if the bones have aged. Other than that, they don't have any color. I'm not sure what you expected.

Abilities: To start, Fossilwings themselves are a tribe created by animus magic, although the dragon that cast this spell is unknown. The nature of the Fossilwing is that they are created upon the death of another living dragon. However, that doesn't mean that everyone turns into one. If a dragon is struck by lightning within 24 hours prior to their death, their soul will be reincarnated as a Fossilwing. They will appear in a cave within a mountain in the Fossilwing's territory, which has been deemed the "arrival cave". From there, the dragon will continue as a Fossilwing, given their second chance at life. Fossilwings are immortal and immune to all harm. Any damage done to them will automatically be repaired, so there is no way to kill them, except by REDACTED. However, that's not all that they can do.
Fossilwings are also able to sacrifice their immortal life to save the life of a mortal dragon. At any time, a Fossilwing is able to sacrifice themselves for a dragon that is currently deceased or dying, as long as they know that dragon's name. There is no limit on the time said dragon has been dead, they can be revived whenever. The Fossilwing can speak with the dead dragon's spirit before they choose to revive them, oftentimes to give them a few final words or to explain their conditions. The dragon's body will have their life immediately restored, and any sickness or wounds that may be lethal on their body will be healed when they come back. If a dragon returns to life, but their body is in a situation of certain death, such as at the bottom of the ocean, or if their body has decomposed beyond immediate repair, the dragon will instead reappear in the last place that they were out of danger before returning to life. As mentioned before, the Fossilwing that revived the dragon will cease to exist, but that doesn't mean that they can't leave a mark. Because the Fossilwing can also choose to add a condition to the dragon's revival. This condition can be anything, except for granting the Fossilwing life again. This condition can be used both ways, either by giving the revived dragon a blessing or a curse. For instance, the Fossilwing could say that they return to life, but must kill another dragon every day in order to keep their life. Or, they could choose to help the dragon, by making their condition that the dragon will return to life with invincible scales. Again, this is entirely up to the Fossilwing, and it's important to note that they have to be very specific when wording their condition. Otherwise it could go wrong.

Strengths: Longevity and immortality; self-repairing body; self-sacrifice for others; stability of the mind; lacks the need for nourishment or sleep; peaceful.

Weaknesses: Anything related to combat; fragility of the body; lack of flesh, scales and organs; the curse of immortality; emotional attachment to living dragons; REDACTED.

Cultural values: Most Fossilwings, like Eternitywings, believe in the Titanwing, and see it as their savior. Many dragons believe that it was the Titanwing that gifted them their second chance. The loyalty to the Titanwing is so strong because the skeleton of the ancient creature resides beneath their mountain. The Fossilwings do allow other religious practices, because the tribe is made up of all other tribes. Other religions are welcomed, as well as atheism.
Fossilwings are also split up among two main groups of dragons. The majority of Fossilwings are referred to as the "Mortals", which are dragons that are willing to use their sacrificial power. The other group, the "True Fossilwings", or sometimes just called the "Loyalists", are a minority in the population, consisting of dragons who are loyal to Queen Fossil. The main attribute of the True Fossilwings is that they refuse to use their sacrificial ability, and therefore are considered truly immortal. The True Fossilwings also have their own systems, with the intention of staying at the Queen's side for the rest of eternity.

Government: The Fossilwings have always been led by Queen Fossil, who was the first Fossilwing to exist and therefore the longest-living. She dictates all that happens in the kingdom, although it's not often that she changes things. The True Fossilwings enforce all of her rules and make sure that everything is running smoothly, especially while the queen is hibernating. All of the rules are in place just the make sure that the kingdom isn't in complete anarchy, and mostly allows dragons to do what they like. Actually, a lot of the rules are just random things that the Queen made up to entertain herself. For instance, between the years of 4096-4182 AA, she reportedly didn't respond to anyone unless they called her a king. Or the rule where every Fossilwing must drink a toast on her hatching day... even though no Fossilwing can consume or even taste it.

Territory: The Fossilwings own a small territory, mostly mountains, directly in between the Hypnowing and Eternitywing kingdoms. Actually, their two neighbors completely wrap around the Fossilwing's territory, so the poor tribe couldn't even expand if they wanted to. Their small kingdom is situated nearly perfectly between the north and south poles of the planet, so they see the least amount of change as seasons shift.

Naming: Most Fossilwings will keep their previous name, so there is no particular naming system. However, a few dragons may choose to change their name, which again, has no real rules. So a Fossilwing could really be named anything. But of course, there is a pattern. All of the True Fossilwings will name themselves after extinct or long-forgotten species. But other than that, Fossilwings lack a naming system.

Reproduction: Due to the Fossilwing's nature, they are unable to have eggs or reproduce in a traditional fashion, which means that their tribe grows at a much slower rate than others.

Extra: Many Fossilwings have adapted to be able to sleep for extended periods of time. Since they can live forever and have no need to get up, some can sleep for months, even years. The Queen herself has set the record of not moving at all for 16 years. So even though Fossilwings don't require sleep, they still can get it. Many Fossilwings, especially the True Fossilwings, will learn to lucid dream in order to make their extended hibernation time more enjoyable.