#that changed everything

A bigger, spikier mane is a feminine trait, specifically the dominant female in a pride (who is the “territorial” member that fights off rivals from territory borders and is the only reproductive female. One is shown in the top left). The pride is mostly female, the others typically hunt and make decisions for the pride with the input from their mother/the dominant female. Males are bigger and have a more prominent patch of hair on their hump (shown in some of the uncolored doodles up there). They are usually tending to children, guarding the nesting area, and doing other labor (such as cooking raw materials brought in by worker females). There’s usually only one adult male in a pride, who is paired with the territorial female (leading to their monarchy/ideas about monogamy and succession that are a bit more like humans’).

A “Greater Pride” is an alliance of multiple large prides that control an area of land, taking resource taxes from smaller prides in their territory in exchange for protection from other Greater Prides who may not share their culture or would be more exploitative. Previously, leaders of the largest, most influential Greater Prides were nobles under the Queen, enforcing her will and further funneling more resources to her territory in exchange for wealth+power+protection from invasion. Once their previous queen died and the Succession war started, these Greater Pride nobles are split between the three contenders (with some falling into complete disarray as they were attacked by their neighbors or fell to internal civil war). The Sandwing lands are a lawless place, with most struggling to survive after the collapse of herding/farming infrastructure, the rise of criminal prides, and invasion+occupation by non-sandwings and sandwings from the opposing sides.

Not too sure of the designs of the ladies themselves, but here’s a first pass at their flags. Three circles is a common motif across all the dragons’ religious and political symbolism because of the three moons.

Blister is portraying her scale patterns/dangerous tail bulb shape here, and also invoking eye/knowledge imagery because of her platform of using your innate cunning+intelligence as a dragon to triumph over base survival+advance sandwing technology and prosperity.

Burns flag is meant to depict clashing territorial females (spines and tails) and a vaguely flower-like shape (cactus-based, representing resilience and unity with the desert). Meant to align with her self-described military might and views on using sandwings’ natural strength and aggression to expand their territory and advance the world/take power and resources away from the hands of the other weaker, spoiled dragons who don’t know how to use what they have. I didn’t mean to draw it so much bigger lmao

Blazes flag is pretty obvious with its palm leaf+moon symbols and also includes some sandwing tails, intending to depict an oasis/peaceful scene where sandwings are working together to protect something (she has gained support not only through her charming personality, but also by promising to amend the wrongs of the previous Queen+not cause trouble and hoard power/wealth like her sisters, and also also runs on a platform of peace and cooperation with their neighbors. Like with her sisters, the veracity of these claims is up to debate.).