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.

Bright pink dragons are one of the few all-female breeds of dragons. Their bright colors make them easy to spot during dragon mating season. They are primarily herbivores, but eat meat during mating season when it is brought to them by a mate. Mating seasons occur once every 200 years and can last up to 2 years.

It must be admitted that Sunrise is vain, lazy, and not at all bright. However she is also loyal, dedicated, and makes friends easily. The weyr's founder once said, "I've been called many things, Ferwe and Ferris, Ithuriel, Janus, Brendan. All these are a part of me, but I suppose my favorite is Ferwe." Sunrise is the one who suggested that Weyr members adopt the family name of 'Ferwe' to honor him.

Like Aljav, Sunrise is an artist. In all but the worst weather you can find her perched on the east rim of the weyr near Frasier's clearing either basking or grooming herself. From that point she can be seen both by those within the weyr and those approaching up the river that drains the weyr's crater. For expected visitors and known friends she will rise to her feet, pose, and greet them with a marvelous song. She's generally peaceful, but can become enraged if insulted. She refuses to eat songbirds at all, but will happily dine on corvines even outside of mating season.