Diamond Dog History

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A brief history -

Diamond Dogs were created in the ancient past by the dragons. They came from the domesticated canines of ponies. The greedy dragons altered them and gave them a form useful for digging, prospecting and warfare, with the purpose of having them find gems for their hoards. The magic which made the Diamond Dogs, was also used to enslave them for ages, always finding gems, and enchanting them for their dragon masters.

Seeing as the competition over the resources in the mainland increased, some dragons migrated south, and some north. From the North, the Winter Wolves were made, from the wolves of the frozen tundra. These were not to be subdued however, and started a war against their greedy creators. Northern dragons had no choice but to accept the Winter Wolves' freedom, and began hiring them - using their services in exchange for enchanting their weapons and armor with dragon magic.

From the south, the Gnolls were made, from the packs of hyenas in the Zebra Territories. However, the Gnolls were clever and fearful, and banded in great groups, and were made savage, to drive the zebras away from the rich mineral soil in the territories. However, they were not able to comprehend complex subjects such as prospecting.

The Diamond Dogs, slaves against their wills, were quickly drafted as cannon fodder in the Dragon Wars, and many Winter Wolf mercenaries were brought from the North to lead them to battle. This however, would prove to be a fatal mistake on the side of the dragons. From these northern mercenaries came Silverback, disgusted by the dragon's abuse of his canine kin, he united many packs together, and created the Silver Core. Finally shattering the shackles of the dragon oppressors and joining the ponies and griffins in the war, crushing the dragon armies relentlessly.

The Diamond Dogs, now free, began creating their own nation under Griffin and Pony support, and for the first (and only) time in history, a Diamond Dog ruler was gifted with the powers of the Elements of Harmony and the control over the earth. All was well until the Prism Wars, the result of which sent the Diamond Dogs spiraling into self destruction and an eventual return to their pack structure. However, with no dragons to lead them, even the glory they had as packs was never re-attained. For this, they blame the ponies and the griffins, and oppose them on occasion.

The Diamond Dog's tale is indeed a sad one, as close as they came to become a great and cultured nation, their dream was taken away, as were many others by the vicious Adversary. Let us hope that one day, they will be able to recover and we can accept them back into the Griffin-Pony Alliance.

On Silverback - "... And it was said that the Winter Wolves each fought as though they had been a hundred (Diamond Dogs), but Silverback fought as though he had been a hundred Winter Wolves. Armies fell before him, dragons fled from his wrathful gaze, and even the Matriarch could not bear the fury of his final blow..." - from a historian's account on the Dragon Wars.

Silverback came from the "Silver Fang" Pack of Winter Wolves in the Northern Barrens. Though the pack still exists, they do not relate themselves to his heroics, and consider his venture a waste of sword arm and time. Not much is known about him before he reached the Mainland, where he challenged pack Alpha after pack Alpha for leadership of their packs, eventually controlling over three quarters of Diamond Dog packs on the Mainland by the end of the Dragon Wars. From each pack he picked the finest warriors and trained them, armed them and broke the dragons' hold on their wills.

With this army, the Silver Core, he joined the Dragon Wars, surprising all sides of the war by siding against the dragons, and taking heavy casualties to ensure that no ponies or griffins fell since the point he entered the conflict. This was not done lightly however, for Silverback was always at the head of each battle. It was said that by the end of the Dragon Wars he bore so many injuries, that some suspected him of un-death, seeing as he did not die from them.

In this time he fostered a powerful connection with the Griffing King Dreadwing Whitefeather and the battle mage Destrier of Equestria. The three became inseparable, as they were the three who took the final battle to the Matriarch, and the Adversary in both the Dragon and Prism Wars.

However Silverback's story has a sad ending, as does the Diamond Dog's. He perished at the end of the Prism Wars, a violent, yet heroic death fighting the Adversary at the end of the Prism Wars.

Silverback had two pups with his mate, and his line continues to this day. passing down the sword he was gifted by the Guardian, Warhound's Fang down the line. The current wielder being Bowie of the Silverback Pack.


Relationship between subspecies -

Extensive studies show that the dynamics of the relationships between the three major subspecies are very different from each perspective. Winter Wolves have come to be feared and respected for their strength, ferocity and battle prowess by the Diamond Dogs. The Winter Wolves however, consider the Diamond Dogs weak and unworthy for allowing themselves to be enslaved in the first place.

The Gnolls are considered savages by both sub species, and are looked upon with much disdain for being so close to their animal origins. These assumptions however, are unfair, as Gnoll culture is just as sophisticated as any of the others. While no longer under direct Dragon control since the Dragon Wars, they still prefer to have a dragon to lead them to maintain order. Those few packs without a Dragon usually erupt into chaos every few years as they attempt to overthrow the alpha of their pack. This conflict usually ends in many casualties and a long recuperation period for the pack.

However, even within the major subspecies themselves, there are subtypes that are treated differently. Within the Diamond Dogs this is most noticeable, as the physical traits of each subtypes are different. For example - wolfhounds and mastiffs are usually warriors in Diamond Dog packs, while the smaller, more intelligent breeds are usually gem makers or prospectors.

Diamond Dogs do not distinguish between the genders in any of their societies.