Wyvern

The major power of the west side of the. Wyvern are like dragons, but the size of large horses and have a tough, leathery hide. They also have a poisonous barb at the end of their tails and only have two forelegs as opposed to the four legs that dragons have. They are ruled by the Matriarchs, one for each clan and the High Matriarch over all the clans of her color.

They are associated with the Darkriders. The Darkriders are thepolar opposite of the Dragonlords. They are mainly female controlled, due to influence from the Wyvern.

Physiology
Basically, all seven Wyvern species are built the same way on the outside with some variations. The internal workings are mostly the same, though some have specialized organs that allow them to utilize their racial abilities and breath weapons.

They have boxy, serpentine heads topped with a bony crest. The neck is long and slender and attaches to a broad torso that slims out past the rib cage, becoming a long barbed tail. They have two muscular legs which act as both arms and legs at the front of their body. The leg shoulder is just past the bottom of the neck. From the above the arm shoulder just shy of the back, is the wing shoulder. The wings are each split into five segments by thin bones that spread outwards from the wing’s elbow.

The legs each have three clawed toes at the front of the foot and a fourth at the back of the foot.

Each species has variations on this basic form.

Biology
Wyvern are egg layers. Clutches contain 3-8 eggs apiece. A female will carry the fertilized eggs inside her body for three weeks while she builds a nest or locates a suitable location to lay them in, depending on the species. Laying them takes a few hours. When she’s finished, the males in her harem stand guard over them, taking turns to guard and hunt for the others. Females always know which male in her harem sired the eggs but rarely does she share that information with anyone and never shares it with the males.

Eggs are universally leathery in texture. Size varies among species as does color, but the general rule of thumb for egg size is that the eggs will be 1/3 the size of their mother. At laying, they are 1/5 the mother’s size.

The eggs hatch two months later. Like all egg born creatures, the young wyvern will have consumed all of the material within the shell just prior to hatching. Young wyvern poses a special egg tooth on the end of their nose to help free themselves from the shell, as the shell is still quite tough. Some die from trying to break free. Those eggs are unassisted and are a blight on their mother’s reputation. It lowers her status among her clan considerably.

The egg tooth breaks off within a few days of hatching. Claws of young wyvern are soft and dull until they are a few months old. Once their claws have hardened, they begin to learn how to fly, a process which takes a minimum of 2 ½ months in order to properly build and strengthen the muscles. Instruction of the young is dependant on gender. Females are exclusively taught by their mothers and the males are communally taught by the males in the mother’s harem.

Wyvern are considered full grown and mature by the age of 8.

Mating
Wyvern are always in season. They are unique in that they practice recreational mating that doesn’t necessarily lead to the production of offspring. They initially began doing so to simply confuse the matter as to which male sired which clutch, but continued to do so as it was enjoyable.

Mating is often rough and virtually always leads to blood being shed. Quite often, a male comes out of it with several gashes in his hide.

Society
Status among wyvern tends to be hereditary. The population is broken up into clans. Every wyvern clan has a Matriarch, who is virtually always the daughter of the previous Matriarch. There are a few exceptions to this. Beneath the Matriarch, the status of the other females in the clan is determined by several factors which include strength in their racial abilities, success in combat, favor with the Matriarch, number of live offspring, and the rank of their  rider if they have one. High status leads to larger harems.

Clans are usually comprised of a greater number of males than females. Males perform a wide variety of tasks, acting as drones. They are attracted to power and will flock to the females with the higher status. It is ultimately at the female’s discretion which males she will allow into her harem, discarding lesser males.

Clan members are answerable to their Matriarch and she is answerable only to the High Matriarch, the most powerful individual of each species. That position also tends to be hereditary, but sometimes a Matriarch can challenge for it. Those fights are always fatal for one participant. If the High Matriarch wins, she kills the challenger. The only possible way to win is to kill the High Matriarch as the species won’t accept a new High Matriarch otherwise.

In each harem, the males will offer the choicest bits of their kills to the female. Mostly she accepts, but she does occasionally decline the offer.

Black Wyvern
See article on Black Wyvern

The most powerful and largest, they can assume any form. Their breath weapon is acid and some can cast spells.

Stronghold - Nightmare Bluff

Red Wyvern
See article on Red Wyvern

The most feared Wyvern in history were mostly reds. Breathing fire and casting spells on par with silver dragons. They hate men with a passion bordering on obsession.

Stronghold - Deathfire Ridge

Blue Wyvern
See article on Blue Wyvern

They are the swiftest flyers, breathing lightning. Their special ability is to detect lies.

Stronghold -

Green Wyvern
See article on Green Wyvern

Greens have the power of stealth. They breathe a poison cloud. They tend to be loners and are well-know for their hunting abilities and fighting skills.

Stronghold - Belladonna Manor

White Wyvern
See article on White Wyvern

No one pays much attention to the isolationist whites and concede the cold wastes at the very southern end of the Darkrider territory to them gladly. They breathe anything from ice to cold winds. Their special skill is weather control.

Stronghold - Demonsbreath Caverns

Gold Wyvern
See article on Gold Wyvern

These dangerous creatures have the ability to mimic the forms of other living beings from other wyvern types to humans and animals. Status is determined not by how complex and different a shape you can hold, but rather by how long you can hold that form.

Breath weapon:  a shimmering toxic mist that causes confusion and weakness.

Silver Wyvern
See article on Silver Wyvern

They can create illusions that range from small things such as color changes to large scale illusions such as generating the illusion of an entire army. Each individual has a different level of skill at this. Status among these wyvern is determined by magical ability. Only the most powerful can become the Matriarch. This isn’t necessarily linear, as a wyvern may be born who is more powerful than any of the daughters produced by the current Matriarch. Only the most powerful Matriarch can succeed the High Matriarch of the species.

Breath weapon: white hot flame

Poison
The barb at the end of a wyvern’s tail is covered in small pores that allow the wyvern’s poison to seep through. If a wyvern manages to cut you with the barb, the poison seeps into your bloodstream where it will eventually kill you. How long this takes and what other effects it has leading to death vary among species.

The poison glad is at the base of the barb. Some species of wyvern have an identical gland in their mouth and can inject you with poison much the same way a snake does though their hollow upper fangs.

Effects
There is no known physical cure, though powerful healers can neutralize the poison if it is gotten to in time.

Beliefs
Wyvern all worship the First Mother Atraxia. The 11th day of Jan’ell/Newgreen is the most celebrated day for Darkriders and wyvern all over Keverynn.

The Fist Matriarchs are also revered. Demonsbreath, Nightrunner, Speartail, Stormrunner, and Deathfire. Feres, or FierceStorm, and her sister Vreshtu, or Stormbringer, are also revered. In Alastea, Darklight and Mirrorwing are added to that list.

Unlike the dragons, the wyvern are fully aware that other wyvern exist, but aren’t sure exactly where the gold and silver wyvern were sent by Atraxia.