Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It has a large, shield-like object at the end of its tail that it uses for protection.

And look! It has grown wings! 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.

Behold, seeker of the dragon lore, Phiot of the Guardian Dragons. This hatchling provides somewhat of a riddle to experts as none of the common causes of the frozen hatchling syndrome can be found in him: Neither is he a product of mixed breeding, nor was he neglected or abandoned by his mother, nor does he show any signs of a physical disease. Still, he never left the second hatchling stage. He was not killed by his father or chased off to die as often happens to sick or weak hatchlings, as his mother would not allow it. Phiot himself is rather shy and timid and has never been seen outside the cave without his mother. When his mother has another egg or hatchling, he shows no reaction—neither jealousy not playfulness. His general impassiveness and apathy has led to speculations that there is some kind of genetic deficiency in his parents which sometimes shows in their hatchlings by strange behaviour patterns, growth disturbance or even untimely deaths.