Wyvern

We are death incarnate and all fear the very sound of our name.

Basic Information

Anatomy

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.
Wyvern blood is slightly acidic.

Biological Traits

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.

Humans

Fever sets in shortly after the poison enters their system. 5 minutes later paralysis sets in. Blood begins to clot and the heart slows down. Death occurs ½ hour after the onset of poisoning from heart failure. If a healer is gotten to within the first 10 minutes, there is an excellent chance of complete recovery.

Chume’taly

 Paralysis is instantaneous. Healing is possible for up to 15 minutes afterwards. Death occurs after ½ hour from respiratory failure.

Wolflings

Poisoning can be stopped if the individual in question is a healer, but it is otherwise fatal within 20 minutes. They die from suffocation as they cease to be able to inhale

Ryuutenshi

Paralysis begins to set in at the instant of poisoning. Time before full paralysis varies. Fever sets in as their body shuts down. Death is determined by the dosage of poison. A small dose leads to respiratory failure while a large does leads to brain death.

Dragons

Paralysis is instantaneous. As the only way for a dragon to come into contact with wyvern poison is in combat, which occurs up in the air, this paralysis is fatal as the dragon will plummet to their death.

Genetics and Reproduction

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.

Additional Information

Social Structure

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.



A flight of wyvern contains 13 individuals.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Wyvern can often see better in the dark than dragons, regardless of the species and are far superior night fliers. The flip side is that they have a vulnerability to overly bright light.

Civilization and Culture

Courtship Ideals

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.

Common Myths and Legends

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.

Genetic Descendants

• Ivenkli
• Ketali
• Mybekli
• Purukli
• Rakloli
• Ranikli
• Ryenli