Riven Diredrake

Submission for the 2017 Creature Cabal.
Oh, and Happy Lief Erikson Day.

In the year 1,500,000 CE, an alteration in the Earth's axis has caused the onset of another Ice-Age. However, because of human activity, the glaciers are much less stable. At the polar front, as far south as Ohio in the US and the Mediterranean in Europe, the caps are more fragmented. Each glacier is riddled with deep chasms that fill and open as they slide across the countries. To survive in this new biome, life had to evolve.
And evolve it did.
Carnivores adapted different strategies to cope with the glacial rifts. Some learned to live above, using long limbs to sprint and leap over the cliffs with ease. Riften Diredrakes, on the other hand, learned instead to glide, then to fly. Their padded wings provide a silent-but-strong grip on the icy walls, while thick fur both warms the body and muffles the sound of the descent. Their prey dwells on the floor of these pits, and while they are few, the evolved wolves' hunting strategies ensure they get the most out of every calorie.

Rendered in Graphite