The Lost World Tribal Archive

Wraithwings

Name origin: Wraithwings were actually originally named after the tribe's first ever prince, Wraith. Though the tribe was simply named after him, the name itself does, obviously, have some meaning. It is meant to indicate the tribe's tendency to sneak around, hide in the shadows, appear and vanish at will; traits that make them feel more like ghosts than actual dragons. Their appearance also contributes, as Wraithwings are almost entirely black and appear to look like menacing shadows.

Tribe origin: The tribe was originally formed by its first and only king, Ghost. Where he manifested from is unknown, but his appearance is what caused the Awakening and all modern times to happen, leading the world into a new age. From there, the tribe has mostly grown either from Ghost's family or by more magical means. At one point, Ghost had somehow turned a large amount of dragons from all of the other tribes into Wraithwings and summoned them to him, creating his own tribe in an instant at the cost of the lives of many others from the other tribes.

Build and traits: Wraithwings have a rather simple shape, being about the average size for a dragon and lacking many defining features. They have a single set of straight horns on the back of their head and a line of pointed spikes down their spine. Otherwise, physical traits are rather lacking, at least visually. Wraithwings tend to be slim but strong, often much more powerful than their menacing figure tells. With both speed and strength on their side, they tend to move quickly and quietly, while still remaining very effective in combat. Wraithwing talons are very tough as well, as the tribe often climbs as a method of training and staying hidden. An adult Wraithwing is usually capable of keeping themselves stuck to a ceiling with nothing but the grip from their claws for minutes at a time, and well-trained assassins can even stay up for hours without tiring. One more interesting trait that they have is the ability to manually slow down their heart rate and breathing, allowing them to go completely silent and completely still for extended periods of time to remain undetected.

Colors: Wraithwing scales, under most circumstances, are entirely black, with little variation. This shade of black in particular is darker than any other shade that can be recreated, dark enough that it seems as if it doesn't reflect any light at all. This means that Wraithwing scales are rarely, if ever, shiny, and the lack of reflection makes them look like some sort of empty space in the universe. However, on rare occasions Wraithwings can have more reflective black scales, and even some dark greys as well. Wraithwing claws, horns, spikes, and everything on the outside of their body shares this same dark appearance. In a shadow, the only way you would be able to see a Wraithwing would be through their eyes, teeth or blood, assuming that any of those are visible. Since the tribe looks so similar, their main way of identifying each other is through their eyes, which unlike their scales, is completely unique for every dragon. Wraithwings lack pupils or whites in their eyes, and instead will be exclusively red. All Wraithwing eyes come in some shade of red, usually deep or blood-colored, but with a lot of room for variation. The shade, shape, and pattern of their eyes are completely unique for every dragon in the tribe, and is the main way to identify someone just by looking at them.

Abilities: Wraithwings have a large variety of abilities, all of which are oriented towards making them excellent spies and assassins. An average Wraithwing would only have one or two, or sometimes even none, of these abilities, although in some rarer cases they can have more. Powers are not gifted through genetics or through specific events, they are all purely random. Some abilities are small, such as the ability to go long times without food or sleep, or having really good night vision, or having greatly increased senses, or just being stronger or faster. Less common abilities are listed below, in order from least to most rare.
Venomous teeth/claws- A dragon can have one or both if these, and it's quite simple. The Wraithwing, at any time, can choose to make their teeth, claws, or both into venomous weapons. A single slash or bite can infect another dragon with a venom. The effect of this venom differs by the dragon, but most venoms either incapacitate or kill the dragon within minutes.
Infrared vision- Some Wraithwings are able to see infrared radiation, aka heat signatures. They can change in between normal color vision and infrared at any time. Oftentimes, this is used to see dragons in low-light situations.
Holograms- Wraithwings with this ability can create fake copies of themselves with just a thought. They can create this clone wherever they wish, as long as they know the location, and have full control of it. They can see, hear, and smell anything in the area, as if they were actually there. However, it's a bit like a shadow, being slightly transparent and impossible to touch. It can phase through solid objects, since it's nothing more than a projection of the dragon controlling it. This can be used as a distraction, a way to get extra eyes in the area, to spy on others, or just to spook other dragons. It's very versatile, and extra convenient since it only takes a thought. Wraithwings that are well trained are capable of having dozens of holograms out at a single time, though the more they create the more strain it causes. Dragons can get very tired while using their holograms, and receiving the extra set of stimuli from the double senses can be very nauseating for those not used to it.
Tracker sense- Very few Wraithwings have this ability, but it does exist among a few. With this power, Wraithwings can select a single dragon to target, as long as they know the dragon in question by name. Once selected as a hunting target, the Wraithwing will be able to have an extremely keen sense of where their target is at all times; they can sense how close they are, what they're doing, how they're feeling, and can even sense if they've been spotted by their target. Essentially, they can have a flawless tracker stuck to any dragon that they wish, without any way to counter it. This ability is extremely useful for spywork and assassinations, but its downside is that is does take a bit of concentration, energy, and can only be used against one dragon at a time.
Intuition- Some Wraithwings possess the ability to have magically induced intuition, making them really good at reading other dragons. Just by talking with any dragon, they can accurately describe many aspects of said dragon's life, detect if they are telling a lie or not, and are capable of guessing specific details related to the conversation, to a somewhat accurate degree. Basically, these Wraithwings can read other dragons like a book and very quickly learn a lot about them.
Materialization- This ability has only ever been reported in three dragons throughout the tribe's history, making it by far the rarest, and setting the royal family apart from the rest of the tribe. King Ghost, Moonglow, and Princess Gravedigger are the only dragons who have ever been capable of this, though it's unclear why it hasn't been reported in any other dragon since. The ability is always in combination with the Wraithwing's holograms, and all that it does is allow them to transport their physical body between each and any of their projections. They can only ever have one real body, of course, but they can instantly warp themselves, and anything else that they're projecting, in between any of their holograms.