Tribe Customs Contest : Skywings

This is the submission thread for the Skywings as part of the Tribe Customs Contest. Details and presentation of the contest are found here : http://www.rpgdragons.org/t3270-new-contest-tribe-customs Questions should also be asked there, to keep this topic only for submissions.

So let's get this contest start !

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Every year at the beginning of summer the SkyWings prepare for their flying contests. Now, these aren't regular races or anything, but these are more of synchronized flying competitions. The SkyWings have one week to gather a group and prepare their flying skills before the competitions start.

On the day of the contest they have the morning to prepare with paint or other material to make their performance more exquisite. Then they go and sign up and get a number that gets called. Once called, they go up and perform. They usually get judged on time, effort, skill, and they can get bonus point for anything else that they put into it that the others haven't done.

After they're done with their flight the group can go and eat a meal before going back and watching the rest of the show. The other competitors are too busy with preparation to watch, and aren't allowed to in case they want to steal someone's moves. Not all SkyWings have to attend, but it is a splendid for those who want to.

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Once a year, the Skywings organize a festival that is unlike any other. This festival indeed involves one of the specialties from the Skywings, not seen anywhere else : kites. Each family of Skywings takes pride in crafting the most beautiful kite they can, using expertly tainted leather, colorful feathers, long ribbons made from silk and a lot of other exotic materials. On the day of the Festival, all Skywings gather in the central island and deploy their kites. The sight is simply breathtaking. Big ornamented kites crafted by master fly side by side with smaller and simpler kites crafted by ambitious hatchlings. Visitors from all tribes come to see this wonderful show. In the evening, a feast is organized and dragons eat while the kites peacefully float in the skies.

The kites are not only used for the festivals. Some more sturdy kites are indeed used in a fairly different context. The Skywings are masters of flight, and hatchlings are usually interested in the sky way before they can actually fly. And so these curious little dragons are introduced with flying by an intriguing way : using the kites. The hatchling is securely tied to the kite with a robust harness, and the kite is sent to the sky under the attentive gaze of the parents. As such, it is not an unusual sight in the Skywings realm to see a young hatchling hung on a kite, with one of the parents flying around.

Of all the musical instruments the Skywings have created, the most intriguing one are the chimes. Each family of Skywings has its own, and each of them produce different sounds. The thing is, this chimes actually tell the story of a family. Early in their lives, hatchlings will craft their own part of the chime, choosing very carefully the tone it will give. It is then added to the family's chime for as long as the dragon is around. When two dragons become mates, they create they own new chime by combining the chimes from the two families. And when a family has to mourn the death of a loved one, they knot a piece of cloth around the piece of the chime, silencing the sound it makes. Should a dragon feel too sad about the loss of someone, they can temporarily remove the cloth and hear the sound of their chime.