Post by Shade on Jun 15, 2011 0:51:10 GMT -5
Family- Bats
Colony Name- Silverwings
Human Name- Silver-Haired Bats
Physical Description and Basic Information- Silverwings are one of the most common colonies of bats found in the forests of North America and Eastern Canada. They tend to roost in the cavities and hallows of trees, migrating every year to a second roosting site before winter hits. In more northern regions, they will hibernate in caves.
Their name derives from their black to brown fur that carries a silvery tint to it. They aren't very large bats, with their body only growing as large as a mouse, with a wingspan that can stretch up to 10 to 12 inches when fully grown. Males tend to get a little bigger than the females, but this isn't really set in stone nor carry much connotation.
They are almost exclusively insectivores, hunting and navigating for their prey using echo-location, a way of hunting in which bats produce sound waves that echo and bounce off objects. The sound that comes back creates a sound image for the bat to go off of with their incredible hearing. Silverwings like to hunt in crowded forests, where their small size and thin wings allow them to maneuver quickly and expertly hunt after soft bodied insects like flies, midgets, leafhoppers, moths, mosquitoes, beetles, ants, crickets, and even the occasional spider.
Society and Structure- The Silverwing colonies are very close knit societies, with tight family and colony structures. Everyone works and acts with the colony in mind, and too much action based on self-interest that could potentially threaten the safety of the Silverwings is never appreciated. Being such a small, vulnerable animal means that to survive, cohesion and loyalty is needed and therefore admired.
The Silverwings have been for a long time, firm believers and worshippers of Nocturna, who they view almost as a motherly figure who protects and watches over them constantly. They used to also be firm believers in The Promise, that they would one day have the right to fly under the light of the sun (With a revolution if neccessary), and that the humans had some sort of role to play in it as allies. Many Silverwings viewed the banding of their kind as a good thing by the humans, and only recently have they started to question what the human's real motives were since the events of Silverwing and Sunwing.
Silverwings, like many other species of northern bats, go by a simple governmental structure led by elders of the colony. Elders are treated with respect and reverence, and their words and actions always deserve the utmost attention and focus when proclamations and orders are made. The exact number of elders isn't static and continually shifts and changes as old elders die and differing numbers of Silverwing bats replace them. Elders don't have absolute authority, but their age and wisdom makes them natural leaders for their colonies and most Silverwing bats listen to them as a result anyway (and are usually wise to do so).
Silverwing bats officially come to age after their first winter and migration, in which they can try to woo a mate. During the early spring and summer monthes, the entire colony meets at Tree Haven, but before the fall seasons, the males leave their pregnant mates behind and head out to Stone Hold to prepare for the winter hibernation. Tree Haven is then only run by the females, with the exception of a few male elders, and the place acts as a nursery for the newborn bats until the fall seasons. By then, both male and female bats prepare for winter by fattening up on insects and make the long migration to Hibernaculum, a cavern behind a waterfall that the Silverwing bats use as a safe haven for hibernating. The females and males meet their mates halfway on this journey usually, and it's a joyous time as mates are reunited and males finally meet their (now teenage sons and daughters). When Hibernaculum is finally reached, the colony prepares to settle down for the winter monthes ahead and go into a deep sleep before Spring arrives.
Silverwing bats have some of the most advanced historical accounts and records of their people, using echo chambers, which are hallowed out rooms of stone carefully polished and carry the echoes of bats telling stories and events that have occurred in the past, sometimes hundreds of years old. Some Silverwings also have knowledge about the healing properties of medecinal herbs, and have rudimentary knowledge about digging out tree hallows and rooms for their colony.
Relationship With Other Creatures-
Northern Bats- Silverwings are a more secretive colony of bats, but also tend to act friendly to the other bat species that share the forests and caves with them. They form strong alliances with species such as Brightwings, Long Ears, and Mastiffs. In the very least, Silverwings tend to be tollerable and respectful to other northern colonies.
Owls And Other Predatory Birds- For the longest time, owls have been the Silverwing bats' worst enemy, not only as a basic predator, but as what they viewed as a tyranical figure. The close connection the Silverwings feel with Nocturna, even more so than some other bats, has led them to believe in Nocturna's promise to get the sun back even more. This has made the Silverwing colonies more rebellious as a result than other bats, at least for some individuals, and tensions have led to conflicts with the owls such as The War To Bring Back The Sun, in which the tiny Silverwing bats had a surprisingly important role in before the bats lost the conflict. Events that occurred in the Silverwing trilogy almost exploded into a war between the birds and the bats, thanks to a certain Silverwing named Shade, but by the actions of that same bat and the owl prince Orestes, peace between the owls and the bats has finally descended and bats now have the right to be in the sun back and fly in the light once again. As a result, relationships between the Silverwings and owls is much better than it has been, but old memories die hard, and the owls and the Silverwings are far from being good allies. Still, it's a start, and at least tollerance for each other is starting to be practiced.
Beasts- Most Silverwings view the beasts, the other land mammals, with suspicion and distrust. They believe the beasts also had a hand in their banishment for not taking sides in the Great War, and many beasts either compete with bats for resources or even eat them. Most bats are ambivalent about the non-threatening beasts. However, a few beasts have started to have working relationships with the Silverwings and other bat species, namely the rats, a once reviled species now an important ally. This is due to the actions of their new king Romulus of the northen kingdom and General Cortez of the southern lands. It was thanks to the aid of the rats that the Silverwing colonies were able to free the captured prisoners of the Vampyrum Spectrum. It is not currently known where this alliance will lead now, knowing the species and their very different lifestyes and idealogies, but in the very least, they will tollerate each other if nothing else.
Vampyrum Spectrum- Not surprisingly, the Vampyrum Spectrum are hated and feared from the Silverwing colonies. The actions of Goth and Throbb could have decimated their colony in their wish to devour the Silverwings and use them as sacrifices to their dark and evil god. Hopefully, with the decimation of the Vampyrum Spectrum colony at the jungle temple, the Silverwings will never have to worry about the cannibal bats again... Right?
Humans- Silverwings for many years have been filled with awe and wonder at the humans, especially when the bandings started. Many wondered if the humans were giving them some sort of promise or sign, and eventually, the Silverwings connected the humans with The Promise Nocturna gave to them. However, this seems to be untrue now ever since the humans used the birds and bats to carry fire to their enemies. Many Silverwings avoid the humans now in thought and action, but there are some that still wonder if the bands are truly evil, or if the humans could possibly be groups of entitites with their own reasons and actions.
Notable Silverwings
1. Shade
2. Chinook
3. Frieda
4. Cassiel
5. Ariel
6. Bathsheba
7. Lucretia
8. Luna
9. Griffin (Half Silverwing)
10. Yorrick
Colony Name- Silverwings
Human Name- Silver-Haired Bats
Physical Description and Basic Information- Silverwings are one of the most common colonies of bats found in the forests of North America and Eastern Canada. They tend to roost in the cavities and hallows of trees, migrating every year to a second roosting site before winter hits. In more northern regions, they will hibernate in caves.
Their name derives from their black to brown fur that carries a silvery tint to it. They aren't very large bats, with their body only growing as large as a mouse, with a wingspan that can stretch up to 10 to 12 inches when fully grown. Males tend to get a little bigger than the females, but this isn't really set in stone nor carry much connotation.
They are almost exclusively insectivores, hunting and navigating for their prey using echo-location, a way of hunting in which bats produce sound waves that echo and bounce off objects. The sound that comes back creates a sound image for the bat to go off of with their incredible hearing. Silverwings like to hunt in crowded forests, where their small size and thin wings allow them to maneuver quickly and expertly hunt after soft bodied insects like flies, midgets, leafhoppers, moths, mosquitoes, beetles, ants, crickets, and even the occasional spider.
Society and Structure- The Silverwing colonies are very close knit societies, with tight family and colony structures. Everyone works and acts with the colony in mind, and too much action based on self-interest that could potentially threaten the safety of the Silverwings is never appreciated. Being such a small, vulnerable animal means that to survive, cohesion and loyalty is needed and therefore admired.
The Silverwings have been for a long time, firm believers and worshippers of Nocturna, who they view almost as a motherly figure who protects and watches over them constantly. They used to also be firm believers in The Promise, that they would one day have the right to fly under the light of the sun (With a revolution if neccessary), and that the humans had some sort of role to play in it as allies. Many Silverwings viewed the banding of their kind as a good thing by the humans, and only recently have they started to question what the human's real motives were since the events of Silverwing and Sunwing.
Silverwings, like many other species of northern bats, go by a simple governmental structure led by elders of the colony. Elders are treated with respect and reverence, and their words and actions always deserve the utmost attention and focus when proclamations and orders are made. The exact number of elders isn't static and continually shifts and changes as old elders die and differing numbers of Silverwing bats replace them. Elders don't have absolute authority, but their age and wisdom makes them natural leaders for their colonies and most Silverwing bats listen to them as a result anyway (and are usually wise to do so).
Silverwing bats officially come to age after their first winter and migration, in which they can try to woo a mate. During the early spring and summer monthes, the entire colony meets at Tree Haven, but before the fall seasons, the males leave their pregnant mates behind and head out to Stone Hold to prepare for the winter hibernation. Tree Haven is then only run by the females, with the exception of a few male elders, and the place acts as a nursery for the newborn bats until the fall seasons. By then, both male and female bats prepare for winter by fattening up on insects and make the long migration to Hibernaculum, a cavern behind a waterfall that the Silverwing bats use as a safe haven for hibernating. The females and males meet their mates halfway on this journey usually, and it's a joyous time as mates are reunited and males finally meet their (now teenage sons and daughters). When Hibernaculum is finally reached, the colony prepares to settle down for the winter monthes ahead and go into a deep sleep before Spring arrives.
Silverwing bats have some of the most advanced historical accounts and records of their people, using echo chambers, which are hallowed out rooms of stone carefully polished and carry the echoes of bats telling stories and events that have occurred in the past, sometimes hundreds of years old. Some Silverwings also have knowledge about the healing properties of medecinal herbs, and have rudimentary knowledge about digging out tree hallows and rooms for their colony.
Relationship With Other Creatures-
Northern Bats- Silverwings are a more secretive colony of bats, but also tend to act friendly to the other bat species that share the forests and caves with them. They form strong alliances with species such as Brightwings, Long Ears, and Mastiffs. In the very least, Silverwings tend to be tollerable and respectful to other northern colonies.
Owls And Other Predatory Birds- For the longest time, owls have been the Silverwing bats' worst enemy, not only as a basic predator, but as what they viewed as a tyranical figure. The close connection the Silverwings feel with Nocturna, even more so than some other bats, has led them to believe in Nocturna's promise to get the sun back even more. This has made the Silverwing colonies more rebellious as a result than other bats, at least for some individuals, and tensions have led to conflicts with the owls such as The War To Bring Back The Sun, in which the tiny Silverwing bats had a surprisingly important role in before the bats lost the conflict. Events that occurred in the Silverwing trilogy almost exploded into a war between the birds and the bats, thanks to a certain Silverwing named Shade, but by the actions of that same bat and the owl prince Orestes, peace between the owls and the bats has finally descended and bats now have the right to be in the sun back and fly in the light once again. As a result, relationships between the Silverwings and owls is much better than it has been, but old memories die hard, and the owls and the Silverwings are far from being good allies. Still, it's a start, and at least tollerance for each other is starting to be practiced.
Beasts- Most Silverwings view the beasts, the other land mammals, with suspicion and distrust. They believe the beasts also had a hand in their banishment for not taking sides in the Great War, and many beasts either compete with bats for resources or even eat them. Most bats are ambivalent about the non-threatening beasts. However, a few beasts have started to have working relationships with the Silverwings and other bat species, namely the rats, a once reviled species now an important ally. This is due to the actions of their new king Romulus of the northen kingdom and General Cortez of the southern lands. It was thanks to the aid of the rats that the Silverwing colonies were able to free the captured prisoners of the Vampyrum Spectrum. It is not currently known where this alliance will lead now, knowing the species and their very different lifestyes and idealogies, but in the very least, they will tollerate each other if nothing else.
Vampyrum Spectrum- Not surprisingly, the Vampyrum Spectrum are hated and feared from the Silverwing colonies. The actions of Goth and Throbb could have decimated their colony in their wish to devour the Silverwings and use them as sacrifices to their dark and evil god. Hopefully, with the decimation of the Vampyrum Spectrum colony at the jungle temple, the Silverwings will never have to worry about the cannibal bats again... Right?
Humans- Silverwings for many years have been filled with awe and wonder at the humans, especially when the bandings started. Many wondered if the humans were giving them some sort of promise or sign, and eventually, the Silverwings connected the humans with The Promise Nocturna gave to them. However, this seems to be untrue now ever since the humans used the birds and bats to carry fire to their enemies. Many Silverwings avoid the humans now in thought and action, but there are some that still wonder if the bands are truly evil, or if the humans could possibly be groups of entitites with their own reasons and actions.
Notable Silverwings
1. Shade
2. Chinook
3. Frieda
4. Cassiel
5. Ariel
6. Bathsheba
7. Lucretia
8. Luna
9. Griffin (Half Silverwing)
10. Yorrick