It’s an undead baby dragon, produced by a failed magical spell. It probably would be cute if it weren’t partially decayed.

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.

Cold and withdrawn, Szabaru was once a young magi hatchling. Then, on Hallow's Eve, the cave was attacked by a pack of wolves. He was killed while protecting his nestmates; unlike the other two dragons who died on that terrible night, he was revived. However, he didn't come back right. Here was the walking corpse of a brutally killed magi hatchling, its wounds fresh on its small body. His eyes, once glowing brightly, were black pits. He managed to cope with his new condition with the help of his adoptive mother, Vaidade. She and Dawn were able to assist him in reconstructing his body, and keeping it from rotting. Even though he looked mostly like a normal hatchling again, however, the rest of the cave rejected him; he was no hatchling, not any more. Now he will only talk to a select few, including Vaidade, his close friend, Coirlaine, and his nestmates, whom he still guards with all his arcane power. He waits in the darkness, biding his time until the cave lets down its guard...