The Peaks are what dragons think of when they hear 'Silver Island' - enormous, snow-capped mountains, massive glaciers, and powerful torrents of melting ice carving out deep canyons and valleys between them. Cold, with the constant threat of avalanches and blizzards. This is, in fact, where most of the SilverWings live, but these dramatic mountains are only half of the Island. There are two seasons in the Peaks; winter, and extreme winter.
Luna - the Capital of Silver Island
The largest SilverWing city, Luna, is sculpted from the tallest peak on the Island. It is a busy, bustling place, with the greatest population of dragons on the island. There are massive markets, a number of Salons, Academies, and academis Societies. A long street near the center of the city is home to a number of tea gardens and coffee houses, where intellectuals gather to discuss their findings and relax. The SilverWing Palace and the Great Temple, headquarters of the Perigee, are found here at the highest elevation.
Urbs - the City of Ice
Urbs is an old city, once a carefully sculpted mountain peak like Luna, before the glacier at its peak began to expand, sliding down the mountain and slowly swallowing the entirety of the original city. Now the SilverWings live in a city carved from the glacier, with deep tunnels leading to areas of the old city that are carefully excavated and preserved. Despite this, no dragons live in those ruins, for even with their impressive, IceWing-like resistance to the cold, it is deeply uncomfortable, with scales frosting over and ice forming in your eyes if you don't blink often enough.
The SilverWings of Urbs worship another deity alongside the Moon Sisters, one of ice and snow, of the glacier, and of the cold stars that dot the night sky. They have as many names as dragons in Urbs, but all refer to them as 'the Glacier', and carve enormous ice sculptures as offerings to them.
The SilverWings of Urbs worship another deity alongside the Moon Sisters, one of ice and snow, of the glacier, and of the cold stars that dot the night sky. They have as many names as dragons in Urbs, but all refer to them as 'the Glacier', and carve enormous ice sculptures as offerings to them.
Maiestas - City at the Edge of the World
An ancient, majestic city, Maiestas is known as the 'great stronghold', a place where, should ever the worst happen, the SilverWings can make a last stand against invaders. It is the northernmost settlement and bitterly cold; it never stops snowing in the great stronghold, and the snowclouds so thick that the guards stationed here rarely seen sunlight. The population is extremely low because of this, as who would want to live in such a place when there are so many more pleasant areas to live?
It has a small Temple, with a Moondial that was once in use, but now has three deep cracks shivering through its central moonstone, rendering it useless.
It has a small Temple, with a Moondial that was once in use, but now has three deep cracks shivering through its central moonstone, rendering it useless.
Lowlands
The other, oftentimes forgotten, half of Silver Island is usually referred to simply as the 'lowlands'. It is a massive expanse of boreal forest, with massive rivers and marshes full of glacier melt. Beneath it all is a layer of igneous and metamorphic rock, said to be evidence of the time that the Blessed Isles rose in a bubbling, boiling mass from the ocean. Exposed areas of this is used by the residents of the Lowlands to sculpt their homes.
Vincit - the Armpit of Silver Island
Vincit was supposed to be the greatest achievement of the SilverWings, shaped from rocks painstakingly transported from the Peaks and sculpted into massive towers, magnificent houses, and an enormous Temple to the Moon Sisters. It was in a deep valley, the lowest point of the Island, and it appeared to be nice, solid ground.
In a few decades after it was completed, however, the ground turned to mush under the weight of the massive buildings, and the entire valley became a thick marsh. The Princess who'd planned the city abandoned the project, and soon all the wealthy dragons living within Vincit did too.
It was reclaimed by the poorest of SilverWings a few years later, who knew how to survive in the swamp. They subsist by hunting moose, frogs, fish, deer, beavers, and bears; then selling the pelts and bones to earn money. Soon enough the population exploded and the monarchy was forced to recognize Vincit as a city; not a luxurious one, but one who had, somehow, survived. Nowadays, those buildings are halfway submerged in the deepest swamp on the entire Island, with many of the once-magnificent houses completely underwater.
In a few decades after it was completed, however, the ground turned to mush under the weight of the massive buildings, and the entire valley became a thick marsh. The Princess who'd planned the city abandoned the project, and soon all the wealthy dragons living within Vincit did too.
It was reclaimed by the poorest of SilverWings a few years later, who knew how to survive in the swamp. They subsist by hunting moose, frogs, fish, deer, beavers, and bears; then selling the pelts and bones to earn money. Soon enough the population exploded and the monarchy was forced to recognize Vincit as a city; not a luxurious one, but one who had, somehow, survived. Nowadays, those buildings are halfway submerged in the deepest swamp on the entire Island, with many of the once-magnificent houses completely underwater.
Veritas - In the Canopy
The only SilverWing settlement not made from stone - for even the legendary City of Ice, Urbs, has a stone foundation - was built by Prince Octavian after he married the VeilWing Duchess Gambit. It was a smaller version of Sparrow, a city that would later be built in the Forest Dukedom, a way for them to 'test' their ideas. It is a city built from wood and rope, dozens of little platforms and birdhouses linked by loose bridges.
It did not catch on well with the SilverWings, and today it is just a small village.
It did not catch on well with the SilverWings, and today it is just a small village.
Attero - Heart of Trade
Attero, a large coastal city in the Lowlands of Silver Island, perched at the edge of a sheltered harbour. This was created by a large meteor, which left a deep crater that was quickly filled by rain and ocean water; Attero, then a small fishing village, quickly grew into the center of all trade with the outside world. There are a large number of warehouses here, used to store goods before they are transported further inland.
Because of its success as a trade hub, it the wealthiest lowland city, and even rivals the cities of the Peaks in grandeur.
Because of its success as a trade hub, it the wealthiest lowland city, and even rivals the cities of the Peaks in grandeur.