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.

Ermelinde looks out at the world with excited eyes. She's always trying to thrust her way out into the world—and, of course, she sees herself as being completely ready for it. She refuses to let anyone try and tell her she isn't old enough to take on whatever the world has to offer her. She has yet to grow into the natural Guardian desire to protect, but is getting ready for that feeling to mature—and she's determined to do the best she can. She's prone to getting in over her head—she's been known to face down deadly threats, not flinching until she really realizes how much she needs an adult to bail her out.

These rebellious tendencies mean she's almost always in trouble with her mother, Alinda Shieldtail. The mother and daughter are always squabbling over when Ermelinde has overstepped her bounds. Despite this, the two do honestly love one another—and when Ermelinde's tired from another big adventure, she'll always go and curl up under the watchful gaze of her mother.