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.

This gold dragon takes clever advantage of his highly reflective nature by perching in the most well-lit spots near the caverns and angling his wings to create a blinding halo of golden light around himself. Between this display and his ability to describe himself as the most amazing gift to dragonkind, he usually has an entourage of young dragons who fawn over him, hanging on every word and gesture, and bringing him gifts of food and treasure in hopes to win his capricious favor.