Bloodwing, Empress of Votyoger (Bl-ud wing)

Summary

Few wyvern-centric lineages can bear a torch to the magnificence of the Nyum, a lineage that once dominated 'most' of Prak. With countless islands under their domain, the Nyum ruled comfortably over everyone else. They were more interested in others keeping 'open harbors' with their own islands than things like tribute or fealty. Doing so allowed the Nyum to project their power with great ease, and have little fear of being stabbed in the back.   A rather useful state of affairs, considering Prak's ever-shifting nature.   However, the greatness of the Nyum led them to a terrible precipice. Their number spread too vast and thin to maintain cohesion when harpy tribes united under war banners. While the Nyum very much could've waged the possible war, the cost and devastation would've been immense. If the independent forces of Prak also joined in, there'd be no telling how catastrophic it could become. Foreseeing the unbelievable scope of devastation that would follow, the matriarch of the Nyum elected to withdraw her lineage. They would descend to Veltrona below, their future home set to be the world's greatest peak, Mount Skyreach.   The decision led to all sorts of infighting within the Nyum lineage. Being adherents to 'survival of the fittest', many saw such uncontested retreating as pure cowardice. Some, particularly elders in the lineage, saw the wisdom in the matriarch's decision. Ultimately, her authority won out despite frequent contests against it, and so the Nyum quietly left their homeland of Prak behind.   They settled upon the grand mountain and its enormous range, stretching their wings wide and projecting a fearsome presence. Those who lived there before were ill-equipped for so many wyverns suddenly descending, leading to brief, but intense conflicts. Many other draconic lineages in the area eventually joined with the Nyum, or were forced out. The Nyum's prominence soon cast a long shadow over Immensio and Lophern, as well as the northern reaches of Etzli Cuauhtla.   Such is what made them prime targets for Imperious when she emerged.   An unknown at that point in time, Imperious tore through the mountain range of Mount Skyreach, destroying veltron and wyvern alike. Her bellows of challenge, and mounting devastation on the Nyum, drew the attention of the elders and the matriarch. They descended to defeat this deranged upstart who ruined their home, or so they hoped. Despite their powerful aerial advantage, the elders underestimated Imperious, and paid dearly for doing so.   It fell to the matriarch who, ever quick on her wings and viciously cunning, rapidly exploited Imperious' prominent weaknesses. The two collided into a stalemate, neither truly able to finish the other. How differently the world may have ended up then, if the matriarch hadn't been betrayed.   Rivals within her own lineage, long kept under hand-foot, saw an opportunity in the battle. With most of the matriarch's allied elders dead or maimed, they saw a chance to rise up and dethrone her completely. Thus casting her down, they gleefully made to kill her and solidify their own rule.   But, their interference enraged Imperious, an unstoppable force the traitors themselves couldn't contend with.   They were beaten into submission and made subservient to Imperious' whims. The Nyum lineage at large tore itself apart in a civil war between the matriarch's loyalists and the traitors. A war that the matriarch's side largely lost, with the traitors–eager to please Imperious–did as she bid, and so received her aide. The proud Nyum were all but broken apart then, an event that largely signaled the founding of the Imperium.   The matriarch, for her part, had been kept alive by Imperious. As she recovered, Imperious decreed her fate one of two possibilities: to serve Imperious just as much, or resist and provide equitable sport. After all, the Nyum traitors held the matriarch's lineage hostage. She would have to abandon them, or sacrifice everything in trying to break free.   For one who could fly anywhere in the world, there was no end of invisible chains binding her down to the veltron.   The Nyum matriarch, enraged to a point few would ever understand, forsook her name. She swore that one day Imperious and all the Nyum traitors would die on her wings, and she would soar in their blood. So it was the name Bloodwing became her moniker, a proclamation of furious vengeance.   Bloodwing's servitude to the Imperium was marked with centuries of hate-filled duty and destruction. She ever tried to undermine Imperious, free her trapped kin, and kill the traitors, but rarely had the luxury of success. For what little gains she achieved, the Imperium profited far more, and grew ever greater off her labor. To all other peoples, especially the Imperium's enemies, however, she was seemingly no different than Imperious.   Worse, perhaps, in that Bloodwing had little regard for the value of other species. She cared only for the lives of her lineage, an attitude that became maliciously vindictive as misfortune befell her. For the world at large, the name Bloodwing became synonymous with a terror born from the sky, come to deliver death and destruction. A reputation she lived up to again and again throughout the years.   Still, Bloodwing never relented in trying to undermine the Imperium. Be it through her own bloodied wings or through supplying others the means, she made certain Imperious suffered. A feat that became harder and harder as Imperious' frightening might grew, and seemingly no one could ever really challenge her. Then came the one rebellion that mattered, the one led by Aerintor.   Spearheading the largest uprising the Imperium ever saw, Aerintor and the many peoples rose up against draconic rule. Bloodwing herself eagerly soared to where the fiercest fighting happened, where Imperious and Aerintor collided. Yet, before she could arrive, the two vanished–seemingly into thin air. Shocked beyond disbelief, Bloodwing scoured the lands, searching for even a single strand of hair for a clue. Though she found nothing, it meant only one clear thing to her: regardless of Imperious' fate, the traitors had no one protecting them anymore.   The Imperium descended into anarchy, and Bloodwing wasted no time in exacting her revenge. Her allies, in the form of Hal-Joren and others, turned on the imperial dragons alongside her. Dragon against dragon, interjected with the help of everyone else, tore the Imperium apart. The cataclysmic explosion of the World Gate, and the ensuing Great Darkness, changed everything for Bloodwing.   Deprived of her vast skies, most of her lineage dead or traitorous, she was a matriarch without a home or people to call kin. In the end, for all she tried to do, Bloodwing ended up a tool of the Imperium. It gnawed at her mind and soul throughout the nearly two centuries of darkness that shrouded Veltrona.   Something that festered into a deep-seated hatred–a word that scarcely captured the enormity of it.   Heedless of her own health, Bloodwing took to the ruined, toxic skies. By calm winds she scoured the lands herself, baleful eyes sweeping far and wide with a wyvern's precision. By raging storms, she lurked in the halls of other dragons, speaking with them to find any trace of her enemies. Who would dare to stop the very wyvern that was, by all accounts, Imperious' nearest equal? Her wrath proved endless, and word of her brutal slaughters soon spread among dragonkind. It became a clarion call to the others, a signal for what could be done in those dark days.   Those scarred by the Imperium soon joined in Bloodwing's bloody onslaught, hunting down any imperial dragon that could be found. Whether or not the world would truly come to an end, Bloodwing would have her vengeance before her time was up.   Then, the skies cleared almost two centuries later.   Hope, of a kind, followed after, washing away the gory nightmare Bloodwing had submerged herself within. She realized that something more would be needed; something that would help preserve dragonkind against another Imperium. A sentiment many others echoed, though none of them, not even Bloodwing, could envision what that 'thing' would be. So, she held a grand assembly on the ruins of her home at Mount Skyreach. All who would stand against what the Imperium embodied were invited, and so all would hold grand debate.   A pivotal moment in time that would, later, be recognized as the founding period of Votyoger.   Bloodwing, though giving much of her mind and cunning to the Forum's nascent being, recused herself from being involved further. She, driven solely by a bloody vengeance, would not be tied down by politica or leadership for others. It fell to her to scour every trace of the Imperium from the world, and to punish every Nyum traitor that dared to live still. So, as Votyoger formed, Bloodwing eventually left, taking to the clear skies in her seemingly endless hunt.   A luxury she wasn't really afforded for very long.   Votyoger was suffering from conflicting views and desires. The many lineages were competing for influence and control of what would become a powerful draconic government body. One easily comparable to the Imperium, if not more so. Whoever held final word would command incredible influence over all dragonkind, and Veltrona by extension.   Many wyvern matriarchs eventually chased down Bloodwing herself, beseeching her to settle the disputes. She was an elder dragon with unfathomable prestige, a matriarch without a lineage to guide, and a living authority of all they needed. No other could heft a banner that all dragons scarred by the Imperium could answer without reservation. A proposition that would, ultimately, mean Bloodwing would become responsible for Votyoger.   Despite Bloodwing's misgivings, many more elder dragons and matriarchs eventually petitioned for her to assume the role of 'head administrator' of Votyoger. Above all other concerns, her singular hatred of the Imperium and its 'way of life' was what the Draconic Forum needed. Someone who would ever keep the Forum focused on its purpose of safeguarding dragonkind from tyranny. And, with Bloodwing's own help, they'd ensure she'd never become such a tyrant, either.   In the end, feeling responsible enough for what happened so many centuries ago, Bloodwing begrudgingly accepted their endorsement. In assuming her position as head administrator of Votyoger, she declared herself Empress of the Forum, to be the ultimate voice on any matter brought to her attention. Though varying concerns surrounded her doing so, the many elder dragons and their lineages were willing to 'wait and see' how things would develop.   A gambit that, by all accounts, paid off. Bloodwing shaped Votyoger into an instrument of debate and resolution, aimed exclusively at handling draconic problems as befitted them to do. Clear channels of legal and ethical responsibility were made, as well as means of debt settling and de-escalation. It was remarkable how well Bloodwing handled the myriad lineages and their concerns, a display of political brilliance that future scholars still struggle to understand fully.   And so, Bloodwing remains the Empress of Votyoger, overseeing the Forum with a critical eye and a burning hatred of anything that would harm dragonkind. A position she is ever supported by in the elders of dragonkind, many both allies and enemies who yet share Bloodwing's hatred. Something the newer generations are brushing against, having been taught yet having never lived in those horrible times themselves.   Woe be to anyone who dares cause trouble enough to make her leave Mount Skyreach and come to the Forum personally, for surely blood will fly.  

Ah dinnae ken why ya need me tae dae it. Plenty tail grips aboot tha Forum already who can.   Here ya are, beggin' still? There's blood waitin' tae be spillt an ya think me some tail pusher? Are ya daft? Naw, dinnae answer that, if Ah wanted ya dumb drivel Ah'd bother tae listen.   Ah'll dae it, but only if they all agree. Naw one wastin' a single wink bein' a huffy wee lad needin' a slap oot'side tha head. 'cause Ah'd probably take his dumb head awf doin' it.   Ah, but dae ya hear it?   Just the wind here, noo.   Nae more laughter. Nae more wings flappin' aboot or thunder beatin' the stones. Nae fightin', nae tusslin', nae singin', nae greetin'.   Along came Imperious, along went wi' her aw me wee'uns. Aw me Nyum lassies and laddies.   Just me, noo. Me an' the wind.   There's blood tae be paid fer that, ya ken. Blood tha likes a lad only ever hears his maw and paw clamorin' tae get. Enough fer me tae paint tha skies fae Ner'in tae Varnkof. Ah'll naw stop 'til Ah've dun it, either. Ah'll willnae stop 'til everyone like her is painted oan tha sky.   If ya Forum wants that fer its head, ya best be ready.

— Bloodwing, Matriarch of the Nyum, speaking to an official diplomat from Votyoger. Despite her many misgivings, she would later accept the position as Empress of Votyoger to lead the Draconic Forum, and ensure no one like Imperious ever arose again.