Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It’s very curious and fond of sweets.

And look! It has grown feathers! It must be close to maturing.

Young dragons are relatively defenseless. They are born with relatively soft scales, which are shed and replaced with harder ones as the hatchling matures. Once a hatchling’s wings grow in, it typically marks the beginning of maturation. At this point they are often capable of hunting on their own and are usually left alone by their mother.

This hatchling is a newcomer in the important circles of the cave. Homo novus, or "new man", is a fixed term for the first member of a family getting elected to the office of Consul, the highest office in the Republic. The established circles consider the higher offices as reserved for themselves and successfully prevent newcomers from being elected into high offices. As a result, it amounts to a sensation if a newcomer actually manages to be elected Consul.

Homines novi and their descendants, even of plebeian origin, technically are considered part of the nobility. In reality, the established families look down on them, and political efforts of a homo novi are bound to what he manages to pull through with his personal traits.

Only the intelligence and charisma of this hatchling has prevented him from being alienated, but he still has not won many friends. Nevertheless he considers himself lucky, as he has not been branded a black sheep like so many others have been.