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.

Paper dragons are not truly living creatures. They are pieces of parchment enchanted by magic, and as such, are very vulnerable to fire. However, they behave almost like dragons. The only place where their behavior differs is breeding: paper dragons cannot breed.

Xati'opa began life as an ink drawing. A much loved ink drawing on the first page of a young magician's journal. Through her apprenticeship the girl would talk to her, and write her letters containing all of her secret hopes and fears. Until, one day, the girl's imagination combined with her magic, and that single page suddenly curled up on itself, tearing away from the journal binding and folding up into a little egg-shaped lump. The girl's teacher recognised the enchantment, cautioning her to care for the egg as if it were real. Xati'opa has gone everywhere with the girl ever since her hatching, curling small feet into her hairclip and riding there, her special friend and Secret-Keeper.