Scorpion Den
Template:Infobox LocationThe Scorpion Den, also known as the Terrifying Viper Pit of Dragons by scavengers, is a city in the Kingdom of Sand. On the map of Pyrrhia, it is marked with an image of a scorpion. The den is home to the Outclaws, an organization of SandWings that runs the city. The Outclaws were the dragons who were responsible for feeding the starving dragonets and maintaining order of the city, as well as distributing water. Thorn is their leader and she left with Sunny to become queen of the SandWings in The Brightest Night. It is a place full of dragon criminals who wished to hide from Burn, her troops and her sisters.
Appearance
The Scorpion Den is a walled city with winding alleyways and run-down stone buildings. The streets are filled with rickety stalls and tents, most of which sell different types of merchandise, and almost every other stall sells water or brightsting cactus, the currently only known antidote to SandWing venom. The streets are also dusty, crowded and tight, which was discovered by Sunny when she tried walking through them with Six-Claws on her way to Thorn's tent. In the center of the town is an oasis that is guarded by the Outclaws, in which young dragonets are allowed to visit every morning for free meals. It is mainly inhabited by SandWings; however, Sunny saw a pair of SkyWings and an IceWing, whom she notes must have been miserable in the heat. Winter described it as "the opposite of Queen Glacier's castle" and "Unkempt".
Community
The residents of the Scorpion Den are mainly SandWings who were trying to avoid the bloodbath of the SandWing Succession. However, they are not pacifists either, seeing as assassins are a dime a dozen. The city is run by the Outclaws' leader, Thorn, however, she stops after the events of The Brightest Night, and became queen. After The Brightest Night, it is run by Qibli's grandfather, Vulture. The Outclaws are fiercely loyal to Thorn, though others have doubts, an example being a mother who refused to let her son get free meals from them in fear of him being abducted. Qibli notes that there are a few hybrids in the city.
The Oasis
The oasis is set in the middle of the Scorpion Den. It is shown to be large and is the source of water for the citizens of the town. When the Outclaws took over, they made their base on the oasis based on the belief that "She who controls the water controls everything". Some other dragons living in the Scorpion Den, such as Cobra, forbade their dragonets from coming to the oasis ever since the Outclaws took it over, for fear that they would be kidnapped or become an Outclaw.
Vulture's Compound
Vulture's Compound is a compound located in the Scorpion Den that is home to Vulture and his Talons of Power. It is decorated lavishly with a lot of gold, onyx, emeralds, and more. The deadly structure is complete with an observatory, pavilion, prison cell, oubliette, food storage, treasury, and more. The compound is said to be "The most well-fortified structure in Pyrrhia" by Qibli, considering that it is full of deadly traps that would kill any dragon trying to sneak in.
Market
The Market is a busy area of the Scorpion Den, and is most likely the Scorpion Dens' citizens' food supply. The Market is where Bog first met Vulture and decided to work for him.
Orphanage
The orphanage is the home of SandWing orphans from the war, the desert, or the Scorpion Den itself. Not much else is known about the orphanage, except that it was almost destroyed in a fire in The Brightest Night when an unknown dragon panicked and set an area up in flames when they thought they saw a dragonbite viper. The fire, however, was stopped by the Outclaws, and was revealed to be a hoax set by Addax, who set the fire and lied about the dragonbite viper, because he wanted to kidnap Sunny and bring her to Burn to get his space back in her army.
History
Pre-Series
Dune stole Sunny's egg from the Scorpion Den in order to complete the prophecy.
Qibli is raised in the slums of the Scorpion Den, by his mother, Cobra, before she sold him to Thorn.
Wren and Sky travel here briefly before Sky is captured by General Sandstorm as a present for Burn.
Six-Claws, Dune, and Kindle went to the Scorpion Den after Burn mutilated Dune with Six-Claws having believed he could escape Burn and follow a new leader.
As thanks for rescuing her, Kestrel told the dragonets where their eggs came from and mentions it to Sunny.
Sunny followed Fierceteeth, Strongwings, and Preyhunter into the Kingdom of Sand. They wanted to trade Burn the locations of the dragonets but decided to get someone from the Scorpion Den to relay the message for them, sure that if they went to Burn in person, they would be killed. Before entering, Sunny hid the Obsidian Mirror in the sand dunes outside the city. Six-Claws lead her through the Scorpion Den in order to visit Thorn.
Qibli comes to the Scorpion Den to negotiate with his grandfather, Vulture, after Ostrich is kidnapped. Qibli is imprisoned but escaped with the help of Winter, Cobra, and Ostrich.
Trivia
- The Scorpion Den was the first of four named cities mentioned in the series; the second city being Possibility, the third being Sanctuary, the fourth being Valor, the fifth being Talisman, and the sixth being The Indestructible City.
- The Scorpion Den is notorious for crime, although it's noted to be less chaotic under Thorn's management.
- Several hybrids live in the Scorpion Den because Blister wouldn't tolerate "cross-contamination" in her army and Burn despised them.
- There are also fortune tellers in the Scorpion Den, considering how in Qibli's flashback in Darkness of Dragons, Qibli hid in a fortune teller's tent to steal fruit that fell off of a cart.
- There are many assassins in the Scorpion Den, seen when a dragon tells Sunny that if she needed anyone killed, she could contact them, giving a card (presumably with their information) before vanishing.
| SandWings | |
|---|---|
| Queens | |
| Royalty |
Blaze • Blister • Burn • Char • Scald • Singe • Smolder • Sunny • Onyx |
| Jade Mountain | |
| Other Dragons (Present) |
Addax • Agave • Armadillo • Camel • Capybara • Cereus • Cobra • Dune • Horizon • Jerboa III • Kindle • Meerkat • Needle • Ocotillo • Ostrich • Palm • Parch • Prickle • Quicksand • Rattlesnake • Saguaro • Sandstorm • Sirocco • Six-Claws • Tawny • Torch • Viper • Vulture |
| Other Dragons (Historical) |
|
| Hybrids | |
| Kingdom |
Blaze's fortress • Blister's hideout • Great Five-Tail River • Jerboa III's hut • North Beach • Possibility • SandWing stronghold • Scorpion Den |
| Society | |
fr:Repaire du Scorpion
pl:Gniazdo Skorpionów
ru:Гнездо скорпионов
