Definition
Dragonflights are groups of allied dragons, most of which being familial groups. A dragonflight can be as few as four dragons, most often being two allied pairs, or as large as thousands. Smaller dragonflights often are considered to be parts of larger groups, though not always. As a flight is created by individuals, many may seek to cut ties from their lineages and create entirely new flights. As flights are often made based on lineage, most dragons originating from the same flight will often be related to one another and have similar features, magic, and heritage. As such, the oldest and largest of the flights are often considered to be different ethnicities among dragonkin.
The Major Dragonflights
The major dragonflights are the highest population groups, have significant history, or currently or formerly had extreme influence in the world.
Lunar Dragonflight- One of the oldest dragonflights, said to be created by its leader,
Neia Lun De Draco. Also known as the Luna flight.
Solar Dragonflight- Led by
Aien Sol De Draco. Also known as the Sola Flight
Kindal Dragonflight- Also known as the flame dragonflight. Closely related to the Solar Dragonflight, however diverged in the human era. Led by
Thorne.
Blood Dragonflight- Among the major dragonflights, the blood flight is one of the newest, created from exiles and refugees from other flights. The Blood flight has close alliances with mortals, particularly
Vampires. Sometimes known as the Putri flight. Notably, the Blood Flight is not defined by lineage, instead, functions more as an organization, welcoming those from all other flights to call themselves a Blood Dragon.
Dimensional Dragonflight- An ancient flight, specializing in spacial magic. Most of their members are scholars, and have ties to many universities and research institutions around the world despite their generally reclusive nature.
Lightning Dragonflight- The flight belonging to
Eleterosm the Fallen God of Lightning and only flight to ever have been a part of the pantheon. The Lightning flight is an ancient lineage, thought by many to be a distinct species from other dragons and highly adapted for flightlessness. Also known as the Phospho.
Rivu Flight- an Oceanic dragonflight, thought to be the ancestors of the Rivanu. Known ancestors of the Hailac flight.
Hailac Flight- A flight well known for ice based magic, and an offshoot of the Rivu flight.
Apho Flight- The wind flight.
Arcana Dragonflight- A relatively new flight, having split from the Dimensional flight in the past few thousand years.
Verdure Flight- Dominated by nature magic users, the Verdure flight is well known and even worshipped in some regions by agricultural societies.
Teros- A flight based in earth or metallic magics. It is currently unknown if the flight still exists.
Lesser Dragonflights
Lesser Flights are commonly regional groups of dragons, that can be as small as single families. Only notable, high population, or physically distinct flights shall be listed here. Many of these groups do not have properly translated names, especially for older groupings, that in many cases, still use those given to them by mortals who mistakenly identified them as distinct species of dragons.
Sky-Kite Flight: A family grouping of wyvern-bodied dragons characterized by having extremely broad wings and massive wing membranes that stretch nearly 2/3 of the way down the tail. The Sky-kite flight was once quite diverse, however, in recent years their numbers have dwindled, with many of their members choosing to join the Lunar and Dimensional flights.
Thornback Flight: A subgrouping of Kindal dragons originating from the Middle East. Thornback members most often have very dense spines running down their backs, and quills on the throat, tail, and chest. Members of this flight have immigrated across Europe, Asia, and to the
Republic of California in large numbers due to conflicts with the Solar Dragonflight. The flight is notable for extremely high percentages of their members showing signs of the 'hypo-heavy' body typing.
Murato's Flight: Their origins are unknown, however, members of this flight first made themselves known in Japan in the 9,000s as a small independent flight descended from the Dimensional Dragonflight. Only 13 members are known, descended from a single pair, Murato and his desceased mate. Isolationist and asocial, they are rarely seen and interacted with only when the flight's children venture to Okinawa for supplies. At least one member of the flight, Moto, has left the group's isolated territory, working as a physics professor in Tokyo.
Obkidia Flight: Descendants of the Teros flight, though socially distinct.
Extinct Flights
Not all flights still currently exist, either merging with others, or dying out entirely.
'Radial Crown' Flight- A theoretical flight of dragons often attributed to be a part of the larger Solar Dragonflight. They are thought to have been hunted to extinction by humans.
Rivanu Dragonflight- A flight known previously for their peaceful nature and water based magics. They are believed to have largely been hunted to extinction in the 3,000s by the Solar and Lunar dragonflights, with any survivors having joined the Solar Flight.
Lahar Basin Flight- A notable flight who are only known from fossils found in the
Lahar Valley, thought to have been wiped out by the volcanic eruption.
Influence
The influence of the dragonflights upon the world has been major, from the extinction of the human species to colonization to the very names of months on the calendar. Many areas of the world remain in draconic influence, led by particular dragonflights to the point that even the gods have little sway outside of their strict duties to animal life. In dragon dominated regions, these areas often have leaders who are a part of the major flights, such as the Solar flight, that still maintains many colonies to this day.
Common (False Dragontongue), one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, is the direct creation of the flights. The language, often called a 'conlang' or constructed language, was created in an attempt to make communication between mortals and dragonkind easier. It is the primary language of most dragon dominated regions, although is still widely spoken in other regions and those dominated by the pantheon.
The
Blood Dragonflight is well known today for their significant contributions to medical science.
Evolution
It is unknown just how many flights existed in prehistory or what their cultures looked like among the numerous species of dragons. Like today, there may have been many different forms of them with a wide array of ideals, norms, and cultures across the many different species of sapient dragons that once existed, now lost to time. Among the eldest flights, some of these norms may have carried over into their modern populations, but as it is generally agreed across both mortal and draconic circles that even the most insular of the ancient flights still had high degrees of hybridization with other dragon species, it is impossible to tell which came from which groups or which were a result of cultures combining.
Ancient Flights
The Lunar and Solar flights are widely considered to be two of the oldest still surviving groups, likely formed shortly after the dragons arose. Popular theory based in the oral traditions and histories of these two groups dictate that their quick formation is likely due to that many members of their original species may have been hibernating together, drastically reducing the time needed to form family groups compared to other future flights.
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