Apho Dragonflight
History
The Apho Flight is one of many distinct groups of The Dragonflights, larger organizations and ethnic groupings of dragons. The Apho flight is believed to be one of the earliest to diverge from the common ancestors of all quad-type dragons, with some oral histories hinting that they may have first emerged around the time of the Fall of Batterion. Oral histories are prevalent with the group through the form of ritualized songs, dances, and recitals within the larger cultural group of the flight, many of which date back thousands of years and have good evidence to suggest that their stories predate humanity itself. The Apho flight is known to have first been seen by humanity in Central America, and migrated south into Brazil, Peru, and Argentina due to conflicts with the Lightning Dragonflight, abandoning their territories over conflicts for food and nesting sites.Genetics
A recent genealogy study revealed interesting glimpses into the genetic makeup of the flight, finding that while other flights often can trace ancestry to members of the Apho, most members of the flight are not able to do the same, suggesting that there may have been repeated mass exoduses from the grouping into other flights throughout their history. This data supports many histories, myths, and tales of them migrating throughout the world and joining with other groupings, wherein their members were absorbed into smaller and more regional flights. A significant portion of the Blood Dragonflight's members can trace their lineages back to the Apho, which very well may be the result of the War of the Flights.Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Being an ancient flight, the Apho have a distinct form of Dragontongue known to them, with many fossil word groupings and orders not found within other dialects, most similar to the Dimensional Dragonflight. This is paired with their own forms of wind and storm magic that are distinct from other groupings, such as the Lightning Dragonflight.
Coming of Age Rites
Seasonal monsoons are considered to be the prime time for young adult and subadult dragons to prove their mettle amongst their peers, which is often done by way of chasing storms and typhoons. Tales of historical and mythological figures to the flight have created a culture in which those who can brave the winds of such storms are to be revered, and many young members of the group will often try and emulate such tasks by flying into hurricanes, tornadoes, and lightning storms. Doing so is a dangerous task, and many are known to have severely injured themselves as well as put others at risk of harm by trying to take on such a feat, and there exists also a cultural shame upon those who fail and need to be rescued by their peers.
One of the tasks for coming of age, if this ritual is observed, is for young dragons to make a loop around a storm's center without being struck by lightning. Being stuck, especially among younger members of the group, is thought of as the ultimate shame, even if one manages to survive, likely from religious groupings surrounding Eleteros during his brief time as the God of Lightning.
Funerary and Memorial customs
As with all surviving dragonflights, the Apho take part in ritualized funerary cannibalism. Among them, it is common for their dead to have their bodies prepared by being dried in the sun until the flesh is a near jerky state, and then consumed alongside fresh prey such as sloth, monkeys, tapir, and jungle birds. Such ways of preparing the bodies are likely to have emerged from practices done during The War of Black Ash in order to survive lean times and preserve as much as possible for as long a period of time they could, giving the deceased's family and loved ones enough time to mourn their fallen and visit their remains. Bone, hide, and organs from the dead are commonly returned to the deceased's last known den or nest to be buried during storms, whenever possible.
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