Avia

The Dragon Realms

The Avia Kingdom: A Design Guide

Where Canidae embody primal ferocity and Cetacea flaunt bizarre brilliance, Avia represents aerial mastery and martial discipline. These are the Skyreavers: predators, warriors, and rivals to dragons, not through elemental power or sorcery, but through sheer size, strength, and crafted arms.

Skyreavers – The Giant Birds

Form: Roc-like titans drawn from the largest raptors—harpy eagles, owls, hawks, falcons. Their wingspans rival those of dragons, and their hooked beaks and talons are lethal even without adornment.
Nature: Intelligent, proud, and fiercely territorial, Skyreavers are more than beasts—they are sovereigns of the sky. Their sentience makes them capable of forging cultures, rivalries, and alliances on par with dragon society.
Player Note: Imagine dragon-sized raptors in steel talon guards and helmets, carrying weapons forged for clawed grip. These are not background beasts but fully realized warriors.

Elemental Alignments

Default: None—Skyreavers are not magical by nature.
If aligned: Almost always wind, befitting their dominion of the skies.
Extremely rare affinities: Lightning, Fire, or Ice.
Rarity Rules: Alignment occurs in less than 5% of recorded individuals. Non-wind affinities are so rare that only a handful of each are known to exist in all history.
Player Note: Treat elemental Skyreavers as legendary, once-in-a-generation anomalies—the sort of beings ballads and wars are written about.

Forging and Arms

Bladed Talon Guards: Fitted over claws, these act as both protection and weapons, turning each strike into a slashing blow.
Helmets: Crafted to protect heads and eyes during aerial combat.
Daggers/Swords: Forged with unique methods adapted to their taloned grip. Skyreavers wield them with surprising dexterity, either in claws or beak-assisted strikes.
Style: Brutal yet elegant—designed for killing dragons in midair.

Magic & Technology

Magic: None. Skyreavers have no innate magical or pseudo-magical abilities. Their strength lies in physique, skill, and tactical cunning.
Technology: Forging methods are unique to their kingdom, producing distinctive arms and armor prized (and feared) by outsiders.

Classification Notes

Skyreavers are dragon-rivals, able to meet them in direct combat.
Elemental Skyreavers are so rare they are classified as living relics.
Their martial society is shaped not by sorcery, but by craftsmanship, strategy, and physical dominance.

Gryphons – The Elemental Hybrids

Form: Lion-bodied, bird-headed hybrids with immense wingspans. Majestic in bearing, they blend predator and mystic archetypes.
Nature: Unlike their Skyreaver kin, Gryphons are steeped in magic and elemental affinity. They embody the mythic qualities of phoenixes and other mythic or terrestrial birds—resilient, radiant, and otherworldly.
Elements: Strongly elemental. Common affinities are fire (phoenix-like), wind, and lightning, though others occur depending on lineage and habitat.
Magic: Yes. Gryphons wield innate magic tied to their alignment—wind, fire, ice, or lightning aligned.
Forging: Like Skyreavers, Gryphons forge arms and armor, but their craft often carries elemental infusions.
Society: Often coexist with Skyreavers, blending martial and magical traditions. In some cultures, Skyreavers act as the warriors while Gryphons serve as sages or elemental champions.