IceWings, also known as ice dragons or arctic dragons to humans, are a Pyrrhian dragon tribe who live in the Ice Kingdom, the northwestern area of Pyrrhia which is known for its cold winds, freezing temperatures, and the Great Ice Cliff, which has been destroyed by Queen Snowfall, their current queen.

The IceWings supported Blaze during the War of SandWing Succession, joining her alliance with the promise of a large portion of land near the SandWings' northern border if Blaze won.

Abilities

IceWings can withstand subzero temperatures and very bright light. They have serrated claws for gripping slippery ice, which was described as "ten times sharper than normal claws" and "like getting clawed four times with each claw instead of once" when used offensively. They are also known for having sharper eyesight than the other Pyrrhian dragon tribes. Their scales emit an icy-cold chill, which can freeze tiny drops of water on their bodies. They can also exhale a freezing weapon called frostbreath, also known as "freezing death breath" by the dragonets of destiny.

Frostbreath appears as a cloud of sparkling smoke, and can cause limbs to fall clean off from frostbite. The only known direct cure is the gift of healing, a set of narwhal horns enchanted by Queen Diamond to heal accidental frostbreath injuries. In other cases, fire or related heat-emitting liquids are used to melt the ice.

It forms ice crystals where it makes contact with dirt, and can be used to extinguish fires. An IceWing can be prevented from using their frostbreath for a short time by raising their body temperature either via a warm environment or manually heating them up (hot metal, fire, etc.), similar to MudWings, but reversed. Fjord's scales have been seen "melting" while in the arena, which could indicate that IceWings' scales cannot withstand the heat. A dragon affected by frostbreath will first feel freezing pain, shocking the affected area into paralysis, and is quite painful for the first few seconds until the area becomes numb. Victims of frostbreath will sometimes become unconscious, which can be treated with water and hot coals.

A fire-breathing dragon could survive having frostbreath shot down their throat for a short time, but the only known way to survive after sustaining internal frostbreath injuries is by staying immersed in lava. Internal frostbreath injuries can eventually overwhelm a dragon if they leave their lava. This is shown in Battlewinner's case.

Dragons hatched with firescales cannot be hurt by frostbreath, though an impacted area may be numb for some period of time.

IceWings have sharp, glittering, and bright minds that are hard to read. Groups of IceWings will "reflect" off of one another and become even more difficult to read.

IceWings have trouble scenting things properly in more crowded environments like forests or towns. This may be due to how they are hatched in tundras, where many of the common scents are covered by the scent of snow and the small variety of animals that lived there.

Animus magic

IceWings were once known for having more animus dragons than any other tribe, as well as having magic the longest. These dragons were carefully bred into the royal family and monitored extremely cautiously, with strict rules for the use of their powers to keep their soul from turning evil. IceWing animus dragons were only permitted to use their power once, for the benefit of the tribe, at the gifting ceremony on their seventh hatching day. Some animus IceWings went against the rules, such as Queen Diamond who used her power three times — once for her normal animus gift, the gift of healing, once for the gift of vengeance (the Diamond Caves), and once to enchant the IceWing crown to make the wearer hate NightWings as much as she had. IceWings host a test similar to the SeaWings' Talons of Power ceremony to find animus dragons.

The IceWings' line of animus dragons ended when Arctic, the last known IceWing animus, ran away with Foeslayer to the Night Kingdom, leading the IceWings to believe that the NightWings stole their precious magic.

Animus Gifts

• The gift of compromise: This gift is a scepter, carved from dark blue rock and set with little diamonds, which reminds Snowfall of NightWings. It is unknown what its purpose is.

• The gift of defense: The Great Ice Cliff, a wall on the border of the Ice Kingdom that shoots icicle spears at anyone who isn't an IceWing. This feature was first seen when one of Blaze's soldiers attempted to cross it. IceWing hybrids can also cross the cliff, as stated by Typhoon, a SeaWing-IceWing hybrid. Queen Snowfall intends to tear it down after punching a hole in it at the end of The Dangerous Gift.

• The gift of diplomacy: Three bracelets that allow the wearer to get over the Great Ice Cliff despite their tribe and keep the wearer warm in the Ice Kingdom, as well as a heated dome near the SandWing border, so they don't need to wear the bracelet; created by Penguin. These bracelets were stolen by NightWings, however, and have been lost for about two thousand years.

• The gift of elegance: An enchantment on the IceWing palace that makes the inner walls mimic the weather outside.

• The gift of healing: Queen Diamond's first official tribe gift. She enchanted a set of narwhal horns to cure any IceWings of frostbreath wounds.[33]

• The gift of light: A tree made of ice, the Moon Globe Tree, enchanted and hand-carved by Frostbite. The tree grows moon globes which, once picked from the branches, hover over the shoulder of the dragon who picked them and cast a soft glow. They also have different brightness settings that can be changed by rotating the globe. Glory wanted a cutting to grow in the rainforest.

• The gift of order: A wall that shows every aristocrat IceWing's name and their current ranking. The names can be slid around like abacus beads if the IceWing rises or falls in rank. Dead IceWing names can be scratched out. There are Circles for each rank, with two different systems for adults and dragonets. There is an alcove in the wall set aside for the IceWing queen,[36] and the queen must consider that all IceWings on the Gift of Order are important to the Kingdom. The queen must also reorder the ranks of the dragons in the IceWing palace every night. It was destroyed at the end of The Dangerous Gift by Snowfall.

• The gift of splendor: The main IceWing palace, enchanted by animus twins to grow from the ground and never be cracked, melted, or harmed in any way from the outside.

• The gift of stealth: A pair of pale silver wristbands set with diamonds that can make one or more dragons invisible. Snowfall uses it to disguise her army when she first meets the dragons from Pantala, then later to catch Crystal and Sky, on two separate occasions. They were given to Sundew when she left with the stealth group for Pantala.

• The gift of strength: A delicate and elegant tiara, which is smaller than the IceWing crown, and gives immense strength to the wearer. Snowfall used it in The Dangerous Gift to destroy part of the Great Ice Cliff and then the entirety of the gift of order.

• The gift of sustenance: Three ice holes on the outskirts of the Ice Kingdom where if a dragon sticks his or her claws into it they will always catch a seal. Winter thinks it is narrow-minded because it is built only for the lower ranks; any dragon who cared about their ranking wouldn't accept food which came so easily.

• The gift of understanding: Only part of this gift is available in the Forbidden Treasury, a piece of unwearable silver. It is unknown what its purpose is. The gift is connected to a story Tui has not finished yet.[event 2]

• The gift of vengeance: The Diamond Caves were Queen Diamond's second animus gift, enchanted so that anyone who touches Foeslayer (a NightWing locked inside with animus-touched shackles) with a diamond-tipped spear can kill her (used for the Diamond Trial). The shackles that bound her were enchanted to refreeze her and revive her each time she was killed. The only way to remove the shackles was to breathe frostbreath on them (Queen Diamond added this to the enchantment in case the IceWing tribe needed Foeslayer as a bargaining chip, but thought that no IceWing would ever even think of freeing her). Together, they were created because Queen Diamond was not satisfied with killing Foeslayer just once, and instead wanted her to suffer for all eternity.

• The gift of vision: The gift of vision is an animus-touched ring by the IceWing animus, Opal. It is enchanted and only shows up for certain queens who aren't ready or need to be taught a lesson to become more open-minded. The wearer cannot take this ring off until they have fully learned their lesson. It allows the wearer to see visions through other dragons while the wearer themselves is sleeping, which makes them more open-minded towards other dragons' situations and circumstances. It is a silver ring with a big opal gem in the middle, and it cannot be destroyed. This is shown when Snowfall tried to ask Luna for assistance to burn off the ring with her flamesilk, or when she was slamming it on the rock.