Nibblewings

The Various Nibblewing Wars

The following sections will detail the various wars that shaped Nibblewing history:

The Frontier Wars

Overview

The Frontier Wars, which lasted between 1,240–1,110 B.C.R. (Before Coil Reckoning), were a series of expansionist wars conducted by various Nibblewing clans to solve their overcrowding and resource crisis before it exploded into an apocalyptic war. The conflict would see the Nibblewings pitted against a variety of dangerous apex predators specifically evolved to counter them, while also encountering several undocumented threats. Much of the land gained throughout the war makes up the modern-day Nibblewing country.

Causes of the Frontier Wars

By late 1,238 B.C.R., Nibblewing society lived within a safe zone dubbed “The Canopy,” a large living space spanning 280,000 km² and divided among seven Great Clan Confederations. With 3.2 million Nibblewings, skirmishes between groups belonging to opposing clans became far too numerous to count. Productive hunting ranges had already been claimed, herd animals were being harvested faster than they could reproduce, disagreements over seasonal migration corridors intensified, streams began drying up, forest margins were being cleared, hunters traveled farther for smaller kills, and prey disappeared near major population centers. Tensions between the Great Clans rose to an all-time high.

Eventually, the Councils of Elders of all Seven Great Clan Confederations each appointed two senior delegates, designated the First Voice and Second Voice, to meet on their behalf. After prolonged negotiations, the fourteen delegates reached a formal agreement: the Confederations would unite their military forces and dramatically expand the borders of The Canopy.

The crisis worsened day by day. Without new hunting grounds, water sources, and habitable territory, continued overcrowding threatened to drive the Nibblewings toward extinction through apocalyptic resource wars among themselves.

The Aftermath

In the end, the Nibblewings were successful in their attempt to expand The Canopy, growing from 280,000 km² to 2.6 million km². They gained 2.32 million km² of territory while sustaining 840,000 Nibblewing deaths in the process.

However, there were plans to occupy sections of the vast, sprawling fault-cut canyon systems, but the Nibblewings were stalled after encountering another sentient species called the Skitterwicks, a race of sentient arachnoids. With the death toll already enormous, the will for another major conflict was very low, so the forces already stationed in the region were called home by their clans.

However, the Skitterwicks and Nibblewings would form a bitter rivalry over the next several centuries, one that eventually morphed into a permanent cold war in the modern era.

Today, most of the apex predators present during the Frontier Wars were either hunted into extinction or subdued and domesticated over time.

The Web-and-Fang Wars (1,109 B.C.R.–Present)

Context

Thirty years before the close of the Frontier Wars, the Skitterwicks sent scouts into the dense rainforests of Umbradawn to search for potential new territory for their growing empire after winning a localized war that lasted six years. The scouts returned with troubling news: the lands were hostile and filled with stealthy predators, especially ones that moved at blinding speeds and consumed the blood of predators much larger than themselves.

Not wanting to involve himself in yet another bloody war, the Skitterwick king ordered his forces to keep watch over the areas of interest while stopping any attempts by settlers to expand into them. Over the next 30 years, the Skitterwicks watched as the Nibblewings struggled through the dangerous regions, cleared out much of the local wildlife, and eventually occupied the land.

This led to growing fears that the Skitterwicks themselves might be next on the chopping block, while also causing them to view the Nibblewings as potential rivals to the Skitterwick Empire’s own ambitions.

Thus, the Skitterwicks militarized again despite still recovering from their destructive six-year war. First contact occurred one year before the end of the Frontier Wars and ended in carnage, with one Nibblewing dead for every 13 Skitterwick soldiers killed. The remains of the Skitterwick soldiers could not be properly identified.

In response, the Skitterwicks drastically fortified the approaches leading into the vast, sprawling fault-cut canyon systems where they lived, turning the region into a kill zone laced with crude Ebonrift magic traps and heavily armed Skitterwick Webstringers.

In the modern era, as of 612 C.R., this region is known by both sides as the demilitarized zone and has remained the site of attempted land grabs, ground incursions, border skirmishes, and saber-rattling.

Eras

The Web-and-Fang Skirmishes (1,109–421 B.C.R.)

A prolonged period in which both sides fought multiple inconclusive wars. Any land gained or annexed was typically returned to its respective party following a ceasefire and later truce. This era also saw repeated land-grab attempts by both sides through proxy groups such as hired mercenaries and armed settlers. In both cases, these groups were eventually driven out by government forces. Large-scale hostilities ceased after the Nibblewings developed the fission nuclear bomb, also known as the Captive Sun, and the Salt Bomb.

The Cold Web (1,109 B.C.R.–Present)

The continuing era in which both Nibblewings and Skitterwicks develop weapons and technologies specifically intended to counter one another. For much of this period, the Skitterwicks struggled to catch up with Nibblewing magical prowess and technological advancement. This changed with the invention of the Fangcracker Heavy Rifle, a weapon designed to kill a Nibblewing within two shots.

The appearance of the Fangcracker forced the Nibblewings to rapidly develop counters of their own, directly contributing to the creation of the Captive Suns and Salt Bombs.

The War of Broken Chairs (783–774 B.C.R.)

The War of Broken Chairs was a series of coups d’état and clashes between loyalist and rebel factions over the removal of patriarchal gerontocratic systems across all Seven Great Clan Confederations. It was the result of growing frustration among senior generals and military planners over the Councils of Elders’ overly cautious approach to the Skitterwick problem.

The conflict resulted in the deaths of 430,000 Nibblewings and the abolition of the patriarchal gerontocratic system in Nibblewing society, replacing it with a Matriarchal Imperial Diarchy.

The Imperial Era / High Golden Age (774–286 B.C.R.)

Introduction

After the dust had settled on the bloody nine-year civil war, Nibblewing society once again came together, uniting the Seven Great Clan Confederations under a Matriarchal Imperial Diarchy. This resulted in a golden age for the Nibblewings, marked by prosperity and an enormous technological boom in fields such as medicine, surgery, blood storage, sanitation, crop breeding, irrigation, metallurgy, navigation, magical theory, siege engineering, chemistry, and eventually advanced physics. These advancements would ultimately result in the invention of the nuclear fission bomb and the Salt Bomb.

Government Structure

The Confederations remained intact as regional political identities, each with their own local nobility, assemblies, governors, military traditions, and internal laws. Above them sat the two Empresses: the First Empress — Crown of Continuity, and the Second Empress — Crown of Reach.

The First Empress was responsible for domestic administration, agriculture, medicine, infrastructure, law, education, population policy, the treasury, and internal magical institutions, while the Second Empress handled military affairs, foreign policy, Skitterwick relations, frontier defense, maritime expansion, intelligence, and strategic magical research. Major decisions required the approval of both Empresses.

Both the First Empress and Second Empress were often openly lesbian and romantically involved with one another, as the Twin Crown was intentionally structured around two women who had already demonstrated deep trust, political compatibility, and mutual loyalty. The two Empresses even shared the same private quarters. However, they maintained separate offices, independent staffs, clearly defined jurisdictions, dual seals for major laws, succession rules, mediation procedures, and limits on unilateral military action.

The two Empresses were not allowed to originate from the same Great Clan Confederation.

Some Nibblewing historians have joked that half of the great imperial compromises were reached after midnight under the same blanket.

The Changing of the Guard

As the reigning Empresses grew older, they began selecting potential successors from the daughters of aristocratic families throughout the Seven Great Clan Confederations. Candidates did not have to be biologically related to the reigning Empresses.

Eligible women were expected to be educated in government, physically and mentally fit, politically experienced, unmarried or otherwise available for the office, attracted to women, and acceptable to several Confederations rather than belonging entirely to a single faction. Candidates were not chosen individually, but as pairs.

From there, potential candidates spent years together in an imperial courtship-and-training period known as The Courtship of Crowns. Each pair studied together, handled simulated crises, commanded administrative projects, lived in the same household for periods of time, debated policy, met each other’s families, and were given the opportunity to determine whether they actually liked and loved one another.

The reigning Empresses might begin with roughly 10–20 eligible women, gradually narrowing them into promising pairs that would be evaluated, rejected, or reassigned until only one pair remained. That final pair would become the next Twin Crown.

From there, each reigning Empress formally adopted one member of the chosen pair as her political daughter and heir, regardless of biological relationship.

ERAS

The Reconstruction of the Seven (774–730 B.C.R.)

The two-Empress system is established, and the Seven Great Clan Confederations are brought under a single imperial structure. Roadways, food distribution, water systems, military chains of command, and research institutions are standardized.

The First Imperial Bloom (730–520 B.C.R.)

Agriculture, medicine, metallurgy, sanitation, engineering, navigation, and organized magical research accelerate dramatically. Universities and imperial laboratories begin surviving beyond the reigns of individual rulers.

The High Golden Age (520–340 B.C.R.)

Population rises, cities expand, medicine becomes extraordinarily sophisticated, agriculture supports enormous urban populations, and military science becomes increasingly advanced.

The Fracturing of the Twin Crown (340–286 B.C.R.)

A prolonged period of political instability that ultimately ended the Nibblewing imperial diarchy. Growing inequality between the Seven Great Clan Confederations, increasing centralization, frustration over taxation and military policy, and continued Skitterwick border disputes caused separatist movements to grow.

Collapse of the Twin Crown (286 B.C.R.)

The imperial diarchy collapses, and in its place rises a dictatorship that would last for the next 130 years.

The First Secession Attempt (325 B.C.R.)

In 325 B.C.R., a coalition of several powerful regional governments within the Starless Crown Confederation, called The Black Ribbon Coalition, declared its intention to secede from the imperial system, citing grievances over high imperial taxation, central interference, military levies, and the Twin Crown’s bureaucracy. However, the coalition badly misjudged how much support it actually had, as the local military remained mostly loyal to the Empresses and several constituent clans refused to participate.

The Twin Crown immediately isolated the separatist leadership, arrested the organizers, and surrounded the few cities that had joined them.

The entire attempt collapsed within seven weeks, resulting in the deaths of 2,500 Nibblewings, most of whom were killed during a handful of confused clashes.

The Second Secession Attempt (309–302 B.C.R.)

A seven-year conflict between the Twin Crown and several major clan blocs and military commands that established their own provisional government, seized arsenals, and took control of entire cities. Some imperial units defected, cities were shelled, transport networks were sabotaged, and food shipments collapsed.

The conflict saw limited use of Salt Bombs in strategic strikes. However, their power was deliberately reduced by roughly 30% to ensure that the Empire would not be left unrecoverable in the aftermath.

Eventually, the rebellion was crushed, leaving 220,000 Nibblewings dead. Many lands that were once habitable became inhospitable, semi-scorched, salt-filled plains that would take decades to recover.

In the years that followed, 300 ships left the continent of Umbradawn as a direct result of the war, carrying rebels, civilians, and adventurers. This event became known as The Second Exodus. Around 37,500 Nibblewings are said to have left the continent altogether during this period.

The Third Secession Attempt (292–286 B.C.R.)

A six-year conflict that drew support from regional governments, military factions, aristocratic houses, disgruntled research institutions, survivors of the Second Secession Attempt, and those who believed the reigning Empresses held too much power. It was also the first conflict in which the two Empresses openly disagreed over how the crisis should be handled.

The Crown of Continuity favored negotiation, while the Crown of Reach believed that any compromise would destroy the state. From there, one Empress began issuing orders that the other refused to endorse, leaving imperial forces uncertain about whom they were supposed to obey. Confederations began choosing sides, and the conflict evolved into a full legitimacy crisis surrounding the Twin Crown itself.

The situation worsened when the Crown of Reach issued a mobilization order without the Crown of Continuity’s approval, breaking centuries of constitutional practice. For the first time, imperial forces began receiving conflicting commands carrying only one imperial seal. Some units obeyed Reach, while others obeyed Continuity. Meanwhile, several Confederations began following their own regional governments instead.

By 287 B.C.R., the crisis became dire when the Crown of Reach was assassinated by a radical military faction opposed to reconciliation. The surviving Empress, the Crown of Continuity, could not lawfully rule alone, and the succession system collapsed as the Seven Great Clan Confederations failed to agree on a replacement.

With the Twin Crown effectively broken, a senior military commander, Marshal Vaelor Draeven, was granted temporary emergency authority to end the war, secure the strategic arsenals, and restore order. In 286 B.C.R., the fighting ended with the imperial diarchy suspended and emergency military rule established, marking the beginning of the 130-year dictatorship.

The conflict resulted in the deaths of 720,000 Nibblewings.

The 130-Year Dictatorship (286–156 B.C.R.)

Introduction:
Following the end of the Third Secession Attempt and the destruction of the Matriarchal Imperial Diarchy, temporary emergency power was granted to Marshal Vaelor Draeven, ultimately resulting in a 130-year dictatorship. After decades of regime instability, Draeven died of natural causes, bringing his rule to an end. Following his death, a new political system was enacted, one that would continue into the modern era: a dynastic aristocratic federation.

Eras:

The Emergency Years (286–276 B.C.R.)

After taking power, Vaelor Draeven secured the country’s Captive Sun arsenals, Salt Bomb stockpiles, major military commands, food distribution networks, transportation corridors, and communications systems. During this period, he earned the favor and support of many Nibblewings for bringing the conflict to an end, eventually receiving the respectful title of First Protector of the Seven.

Draeven insisted that his rule was temporary.

The Consolidation Era (276–250 B.C.R.)

Draeven began dismantling anything capable of challenging his authority. Regional militaries were absorbed into a centralized force, former imperial officials were replaced with loyalists, aristocratic houses were quietly monitored, Confederation governments lost major powers, and political opposition was increasingly treated as a national security threat.

It was during this period that many within Nibblewing society began realizing that Draeven had no intention of surrendering his power.

The High Draeven Period (250–220 B.C.R.)

Draeven’s dictatorship reached its maximum strength. The state was stable, infrastructure functioned reliably, food production had become secure, the military was fully centralized, and crime and rebellion were heavily suppressed. However, political freedom was effectively nonexistent.

During this period, he formally styled himself Vaelor Draeven, Velvet Regent of the Seven Confederations, though he was commonly referred to simply as the Velvet Regent. Draeven also dramatically increased production of Captive Suns and Salt Bombs to keep the Skitterwicks at bay and discourage any attempt to challenge Nibblewing power.

Statues, portraits, military ceremonies, and personality-cult imagery became increasingly common throughout the country.

The Quiet Terror Era (220–195 B.C.R.)

Draeven became increasingly paranoid, and his regime greatly expanded its internal security apparatus. Suspected separatists, restorationists, Twin Crown sympathizers, and dissident aristocrats could disappear from the streets one day, never to be seen again.

Research institutions were also tightly controlled due to Draeven’s fear of independent scientists gaining access to strategic weapons.

Although the Seven Great Clan Confederations continued to exist culturally, politically they were heavily restrained.

The Cracking Years (175–162 B.C.R.)

Opposition became increasingly difficult to suppress as regional presidents, aristocratic families, military officers, merchants, scholars, and surviving clan institutions began quietly coordinating with one another. During this period, while few necessarily wanted the Twin Crown restored, many did want Draeven removed.

The Confederations began reasserting themselves, while strikes, tax resistance, military disobedience, and political defections became increasingly commonplace.

The Final Crisis Period (162–156 B.C.R.)

Draeven’s authority began collapsing rapidly. Several military commands refused central orders, regional governments stopped forwarding taxes, and aristocratic houses openly supported constitutional reform.

His regime finally collapsed after Draeven died of natural causes in his palace, ending 130 years of dictatorship.

The Man Himself — Vaelor Draeven

Origins

Born in 338 B.C.R., Vaelor Draeven was the fourth child born into a minor urban military-administrative family belonging to the Belladusk Confederation. Growing up, due to his naturally feminine appearance and presentation, Nibblewings around him frequently assumed he was a girl. Eventually, Vaelor embraced this by deliberately dressing as one, realizing that he genuinely enjoyed looking pretty.

Vaelor eventually had six younger siblings beneath him, and once he became old enough to help, he naturally became one of the household’s primary caretakers. He dressed his younger siblings, made sure they were fed, soothed them when they were frightened, carried sleepy children around, settled arguments, cleaned them up, and generally became the unofficial third parent of the household.

Military Career

At the age of 21, Vaelor Draeven enlisted in the Imperial military as a junior officer. Even at this age, Vaelor possessed unusually strong interpersonal instincts. He understood what people wanted, who disliked whom, who needed reassurance, who needed praise, who needed to feel important, who could be persuaded, and who could be seduced.

By age 25, he had already become a captain. By 34, he was a colonel, and by 43, he had reached the rank of Marshal.

Vaelor did not rely purely on merit alone. He was willing to use his body and seductive nature to open certain doors that otherwise would have remained tightly shut. However, once those doors were opened, his competence, emotional intelligence, and natural charm allowed him to remain there and continue climbing.

By the beginning of the Third Secession Attempt at age 46, he was already one of the most important military figures in the Empire. By his early fifties, virtually everyone knew who Draeven was.

Dictatorial Reign

Vaelor Draeven’s dictatorship began when he was 52 years old and ended with his death at the age of 182.

Although he retained much of his natural charm, competence, and seductive personality throughout his reign, the demands of maintaining power gradually forced him to blunt much of the emotional sensitivity that had characterized his younger years.

The Velvet Companions

During his dictatorship, Vaelor handpicked attractive men to satisfy both his desires and the affection he increasingly suppressed in public life. However, he did not choose men based on appearance alone.

The Velvet Companions included musicians, soldiers, scholars, dancers, artists, clerks, athletes, foreigners from other sentient species and continents, minor nobles, and ordinary men who simply happened to catch his attention.

His relationships with them were often intensely affectionate. Vaelor bought them clothes, fed them, bathed with them, slept surrounded by them, allowed them to comb his hair, remembered their birthdays, became possessive of them, cuddled them relentlessly, and notoriously spoiled his favorites.

Some remained with him for decades. Others eventually entered his secret-police apparatus, having become intensely—and in some cases fanatically—loyal to him.

The Office of Quiet Security

The Office of Quiet Security was the secret-police and internal-security organization created under Vaelor Draeven. It consisted of the broader Office itself and its most feared operational branch, The Velvet Knives.

The Office of Quiet Security was responsible for surveillance, counterintelligence, political infiltration, and monitoring threats to Draeven’s regime.

The Velvet Knives, meanwhile, were reserved for more direct and sensitive operations, including kidnapping, protection of the Velvet Regent, investigation of coup plots, forced disappearances, and, on occasion, assassination.

Several members of the Velvet Knives were former Velvet Companions whose personal devotion to Draeven made them exceptionally loyal agents of the regime.

Appearance

• Height: 5’1" / 155 cm
• Weight: 106 lb / 48 kg
• Measurements: 31–22–33
• Skin Color: Cool porcelain-gray
• Hair Color: Blue-black; very long and straight, reaching his lower back to hips
• Hair Ornaments: Decorative pins and ribbons
• Shoulders: Very narrow
• Waist: Extremely slim
• Hips: Modest but noticeable flare
• Glute Shape: Heart/A-shaped
• Glute Size: Modest, but clearly rounded and defined
• Hands and Feet: Small
• Arms: Slender
• Legs: Smooth
• Neck: Delicate
• Body Hair: Little visible body hair
• Jawline: Soft
• Cheekbones: High
• Lips: Very full and plush
• Ears: Average-length pointed Nibblewing ears
• Eyelashes: Naturally long
• Eyes: Large, black Nibblewing eyes
• Canines: Small visible upper fangs

Modern-Day Nibblewing Society (156 B.C.R.–Present)

The Seven-Year Settlement (156–149 B.C.R.)

After Vaelor Draeven died in 156 B.C.R., his government immediately entered a succession crisis, as he had left no heir. Several senior generals, ministers, and members of the Velvet Knives attempted to preserve the dictatorship, but these efforts ultimately failed. Regional governments stopped obeying the capital, and military commanders increasingly began taking orders from their home Confederations.

The Starless Crown, already famous for its strong regional autonomy and separatist tradition, was among the first to openly reject the possibility of another dictator. However, nobody wanted another war. Instead of immediately turning to violence, each of the Seven Great Clan Confederations sent representatives to negotiate. Together, these representatives became known as the Convention of Seven.

The central question they needed to answer was simple:

How do we create a strong central government without creating another Twin Crown or another Draeven?

The New Government Structure

The Convention of Seven agreed that the old Confederations would remain, but they could no longer exist as completely independent powers. Instead, they would become the highest constituent divisions of a new federal state.

Each Confederation could contain:

• constituent countries,
• states or provinces,
• local governments,
• aristocratic houses,
• and elected institutions.

However, the Convention did not want an elected supreme president governing above all of them, as the Confederations feared that whichever region won the presidency could eventually dominate the others.

Instead, they settled on an unusual compromise: a hereditary First House, in which one aristocratic family would serve as the permanent federal ruling house.

Unlike Draeven, however, this family would not possess unlimited authority. The Seven Confederations would retain their regional governments, constituent countries would retain their presidents, and states would retain their own administrations.

Above them all, the ruling family existed to:

• arbitrate disputes between Confederations,
• oversee national defense,
• conduct foreign policy,
• control strategic weapons,
• appoint certain federal officials,
• and prevent any single Confederation from dominating the others.

Ratification (149 B.C.R.)

After several years of argument and negotiation, the new constitution was ratified in 149 B.C.R. The Convention selected a powerful aristocratic house considered strong enough to govern, yet not threatening enough to dominate the Seven Confederations outright.

The chosen dynasty was House Noctivane, marking the beginning of the Umbral Crown Federation.

Dynastic Family Structure

The new system was built around an asymmetrical ruling pair: a husband and wife.

The husband served as the formal head of the ruling house and primary decision-maker, while the wife served as his legally recognized Second Counsel, or High Consort. She possessed the constitutional authority to review, amend, challenge, or return major decisions before they became final. However, she could not normally issue national orders on her own.

Their children were born into national-level nobility and were expected to serve the state, but they did not automatically inherit territory or govern constituent countries.

As adults, each child received a portfolio based on individual ability. One might oversee military readiness, another foreign relations, another infrastructure and commerce, another magical or scientific institutions, another intelligence, and so on.

The ruling couple could also dispatch one of their children as a personal representative during major disputes or emergencies, including conflicts between constituent countries, military crises, corruption investigations, negotiations with a Confederation, or foreign diplomatic missions.

A child acting in this capacity carried tremendous authority because everyone understood that they spoke directly for the ruling house. However, they remained bound by federal law. Despite their enormous prestige, they did not possess the unilateral authority to remove the president of a constituent country from office.

All legitimate children of the ruling couple were considered Dynastic Candidates and were quietly evaluated by their parents according to their strengths, weaknesses, political judgment, temperament, and ability to govern. Eventually, one child would be designated the Heir of the First House.

This selection process often lasted for decades.

The Umbral Crown Federation

The Umbral Crown Federation is the modern-day Nibblewing state. It spans 3,180,000 km² and contains 21 constituent countries.

As of 612 C.R., it maintains a strategic partnership with The 32-Fold against the Skitterwicks. The two countries conduct trade, joint military exercises, and maintain relatively easy civilian travel between their territories.

Nibblewing Superweapons

Nibblewing Superweapons

The Nibblewings possess two superweapons in the modern era: the Captive Suns and the Salt Bombs.

The Captive Suns

The Captive Suns are nuclear fission bombs, specifically gun-type fission weapons. Captive Suns come in two categories: tactical and strategic.

Tactical Captive Suns range from 2–40 kilotons and are compact enough for smaller delivery systems, including large artillery systems, short-range shoulder-guided systems, depth charges, torpedoes, and even specialized systems carried on the backs of particularly brave Nibblewing soldiers.

Strategic Captive Suns range from 300–600 kilotons and are intended for larger delivery systems, including medium-range boost-glide weapon systems and medium-range magically guided ballistic-glide weapon systems.

Salt Bombs

Salt Bombs are formally classified as Strategic Halomorphic Area-Denial Weapons, or SHAWs for short. They are strategic area-denial transmutation weapons that utilize both Ebonrift and Goldrift magical energy.

For a Salt Bomb to operate, it must contain a familiar—typically modeled after various coastal fish native to Umbradawn—formed from Ebonrift energy. The familiar is enclosed within a protective Goldrift barrier, while everything surrounding it consists of tightly packed Ebonrift energy taking the form of an irregular sphere.

The Salt Bomb is piloted by this familiar and launched from an undisclosed base. It travels toward its designated target before transitioning into a gliding final approach. Just before colliding with its target, the familiar whispers a classified phrase:

“By hollow moon and buried light—let nothing more remain.”

The Salt Bomb then detonates, destroying the target, the familiar itself, and everything surrounding them, leaving behind a scorching plain.

After the terrain has cooled, tiny residual Ebonrift structures known as Salt Seeds activate throughout the blast zone. At first, small white patches begin appearing, followed by branching veins as entire surfaces slowly turn chalk-white.

This process continues until the affected blast zone has been magically transmuted into a vast white salt plain rich in sodium-bearing mineral deposits that are chemically suitable for culinary use.

A standard strategic SHAW affects roughly 10–25 km². A Heavy SHAW affects roughly 50–100 km², while a City-Killer-class SHAW affects 150+ km².

Salt Bomb Appearance

• Outer Shell: Black-violet
• Energy Veins: A mixture of indigo, violet, and dark magenta
• Inner Barrier: Radiant white-gold sphere
• Core — Familiar: Brilliant molten gold

Weapon Stockpiles as of 612 C.R.

• Tactical Captive Suns: 1,240,000
• Strategic Captive Suns: 32,000
• Salt Bombs / SHAWs: Classified

Future Weapons Development

As of 612 C.R., research institutions within the Umbral Crown Federation are developing neutron bombs, as well as methods of deploying Strategic Captive Suns from their Low-Observable Missile Destroyers (LOMDs) and Low-Observable Battle Cruisers (LOBCs).

Nibblewing Sexuality and Reproductive Reality

Nibblewing Sexuality

Nibblewing sexuality is broad. While the majority of Nibblewings are heterosexual, many are also homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and demisexual. In Nibblewing society, no one is discriminated against based on sexuality, as it is viewed as something natural.

Nibblewing Reproduction

Generally speaking, Nibblewings procreate with the opposite sex. The male Nibblewing’s semen enters the female’s vagina. The sperm then travels upward toward the egg, fertilizing it and beginning the pregnancy.

Nibblewing Cross-Species Reproduction

Due to Umbradawn being heavily saturated with Ebonrift dark magic, the male Nibblewing’s reproductive system evolved in a way that allows them to impregnate other males and members of other compatible sophont species by having their reproductive material adapt. However, compatibility with other sophont species depends on their anatomy, magic, developmental chemistry, and evolutionary constraints.

When a male Nibblewing enters a female of another species and releases semen, mixed into the seminal fluid are specialized Ebonrift-reactive reproductive cells and signaling compounds that detect whether the recipient belongs to a compatible sophont species. If the semen enters a compatible female reproductive tract, the process is similar to impregnating a female Nibblewing. However, the adaptive cells help the sperm tolerate the foreign biochemistry, identify a viable ovum, and temporarily “translate” incompatibilities between the two species during fertilization and early embryonic development.

For males of other sophont species and male Nibblewings, when the semen enters through the rectum, the reproductive cells detect the absence of a conventional female reproductive tract and trigger what is called a Gestational Bloom. Rather than the rectum itself becoming a womb, the magic-biological system uses nearby vascularized tissue as an access point and induces a temporary internal gestational organ elsewhere in the lower abdomen or pelvis. For male Nibblewings especially, compatibility is extremely high, and therefore the Gestational Bloom is more reliable, faster to establish, and medically safer than cross-species male pregnancies.

Male Nibblewings evolved this way due to severe environmental pressures, as early Nibblewing populations were small and fragmented. Therefore, males evolving an unusually flexible reproductive mechanism that allowed them access to a wider range of reproductive partners—and eventually allowed them to induce gestation in other males—dramatically increased the chances of small, isolated populations surviving.

The Nibblewings of the Continent of Ashkara (302 B.C.R.–Present)

Early Nibblewing Settlers

From 303 to 306 B.C.R., 208 out of the 300 ships that sailed from Umbradawn reached the continent of Ashkara. From there, the Nibblewings began building settlements that would eventually make up the modern state of Nighthaven. Other Nibblewings, highly curious and adventurous, spread north and east, encountering Bronzelings (early/original Squishlings) and Hoofadoodles, with whom they formed strong alliances and mated en masse. Eventually, the Nibblewing settlers who remained behind in their port towns would also encounter Bronzelings and Hoofadoodles.

Modern Day (as of 612 C.R.)

On the continent of Ashkara, especially in the country of The 32-Fold, Nibblewings make up 7.5% of the population. Around 38% of the population has some Nibblewing ancestry, while 13% visibly express some degree of Nibblewing phenotype.

Among the other species, Nibblewings have a reputation for being flirtatious, curious, boundary-crossing, and far too interested in “trying something new,” while at the same time being closed-off, arrogant, and unfriendly. Some Nibblewings lean into these stereotypes, while others are annoyed by them.

Nibblewing Clans

The Seven Great Confederation:

• The Velvetgloom Dominion: Court ritual, prestige, old families, conservative statecraft.
• The Blackbriar Confederation: Frontier memory, hunting culture, military tradition.
• The Silvermere Confederation: Water, agriculture, wealth, food security.
• The Redwing Confederation: Military institutions, border defense, strategic culture.
• The Belladusk Confederation: Cities, commerce, diplomacy, cultural prestige.
• The Deepmoon Confederation: Rift settlements, magic, extraction, research.
• The Starless Crown Confederation: Regional autonomy, aristocratic pride, separatist politics.

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