Scorching

The Scorching was a period of time in Pyrrhia when the dragons overthrew the scavengers, the dominant life form at that time, and is mentioned several times in The Dragonet Prophecy, as well as Moon Rising. Dragon tribes were formed based on abilities and habitats, such as deserts, mountains, and the sea. Each tribe chose a queen, thus allowing dragons to get help when they needed it, and making it extremely hard for a scavenger to kill any one dragon. Although, centuries later, a scavenger managed to kill Queen Oasis, proving that scavengers could still kill dragons. Webs said in Moon Rising that there are many versions of the history of The Scorching. It is possible that before the scorching scavengers lived like humans right now, since Webs described some of the legends as "fairy tales" and just stories. 

Trivia

• Clay once accidentally called the Scorching "The Scalding" in Starflight's dream.
• NightWings hate IceWings, and vice versa, because of a war that occurred before the Scorching. No more information is known about the event.
• Dragons nowadays use the events of the Scorching to keep track of time. (For example, 5012 years AS)
• The Scorching occurred 5,012 years before the events in Moon Rising, according to Moonwatcher.