Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. Ever since it hatched, the sky has been full of very dark clouds.

And look! It has grown wings! It must be close to maturing. It’s learned to use its new wings quickly and you now have a hard time keeping it on the ground.

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.

This hatchling—or "Ben," as the other dragons like to call him—is a strange little fellow. He was found out in the wilderness on a stormy night by a patrolling Guardian, who decided to take him back to her keeper's caves. Nobody knows how long he was on his own, and he has never said a word to any dragon. He wanders around the cave, accepting food from the other dragons but never thanking them or helping out around the cave. At night, he can be seen sitting on top of the highest peak of the mountains the caves are set into, eyes closed and an intense look of concentration on his draconic face. Once there were rumors of a terrible storm hitting the cave. Even the other storm-dragons hid inside. But Ben just sat out on the peak, staring at the storm. Nobody knows what happened when the storm hit. But the cave wasn't touched. Ever since then, there have been hushed telepathic whispers of Ben being some kind of storm god, and that he protected them from that storm.