Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. Its eyes glow brightly at night, and it enjoys attacking insects and small animals.

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.

Abandoned by her first Keeper due to a severe case of sickness, Affno was left near death in the badlands. Heartbroken, she believed no other Keeper would bother with a dragon too far gone to be saved, and she gave up all hope. There was no energy to be spent on surprise when the Keeper named Wolf laid eyes on her. Seeing no one else motioning toward the ailing hatchling, Wolf gently picked her up and took her home. Due to the sickness, Affno's newly grown wings were unusually frail and her limbs stiff. Once back to the cave, Wolf hid the hatchling from all other eyes and took the steps expected to heal her. Unfortunately, despite the Keeper's tentative care, Affno showed no signs of recovery. Aware that the hatchling was on her last moments of life, Wolf used a freezing spell to assure the poor hatchling would never die.

Despite what was written in the scroll, Affno's health has improved with the newly found life of continued care and company of her new Keeper and dragon friends.