Dragons are creatures with nearly unlimited life spans. They can survive for long periods of time, and no one has found a dragon that has died of old age. Adolescence is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. Once they hit adolescence, hatchlings change quickly, maturing to their full forms in only 2 years.

Dragons don’t communicate with each other verbally, but they will growl to scare off predators and frighten prey. Young dragons will emit an extremely high-pitched squeal when they are frightened. To communicate, they use telepathy with each other and to speak to other creatures.

Gold dragons are the ones most often killed by humans, who consider their scales to be extremely valuable. These golden scales grant them a high level of protection, similar to armor, and they use this to their advantage in battle.

Marcus Aurelius is an irritable creature, but caring. He may snap or snarl, but it is rare for him to be truly angry or to mean harm. Most members of his clan accept this and he gets on well with them in spite of his sharp temper. Masterfully intelligent, Marcus is learning from Aubergine how to be a skilled strategist, and is likely to be a leader in the field for his clan some day.