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.

Guardian dragons have large shields on the end of their tails. Although the shields appear to be heavy, they are light, yet nearly unbreakable. Guardian dragons use their tail-shields, as well as their wings, to deflect attacks and protect others. Often, they will guard the eggs and hatchlings of a nest while others are away. They are generally peaceful, and will not retaliate unless necessary. They have no need to forage or hunt, as they are fed by those they protect.

Although Arwen grew up in a warm, protected cave, she was not without her own battles growing up.  Many of the other hatchlings picked on her .  The reason -her ungainly shield.   They had never seen a guardian dragon before, and at the time, neither had she!  All they saw was a clumsy hatchling with a huge unwieldy plate at the end of her tail.  Strong and powerful as Arwen was, the other hatchlings were able to get away with teasing her only due to the fact that they could slip into tiny crevices in the cave walls that she could only ever dream of getting into.  Once, she tried, and got her tail stuck.  Stratus, the fog, had to pull her back out again, much to Arwen's embarrassment in front of the other hatchlings.

Now, however, Arwen is a powerful adult.  She does muster a slight grudge against those who teased her in her hatchhood, but she tries not to show it.  However -she also cannot love any of them, defensive as she is by nature, and through her experiences growing up, she can