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.

For the longest time Trikreen had stayed away from the dark pool of shadows under the main cave, still in shock over what had happened to him there; but one fateful day—on a dare—he returned to that fathomless pool of liquid night. When he gazed into the depth a second time, his mirror image poked its head right through the surface and this little hatchling appeared. Far more spirit of the shadows than dragon, all that keeps her from being just an evil spirit are the slivers of Trikreen's soul still stuck in her. She generally hides from the rest of the clan, melting into the shadows and sustaining herself through the dark secrets she draws from the hearts of dragons. Only sometimes she has glimpses of innocent playfulness, a desire to belong which ultimately holds her from preying on the souls of her clan mates.

Even Soul of Darkness shivers at the thought of what would happen if Trikreen ever returned to look into the pool a third time.