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.

SPQR once was a hatchling that along with her sister Res Publica represented all the hopes and dreams of the cave. She was the first to be born after the inhabitants of the cave finally managed to drive away the last descendent of the dragon lineage that ruled the cave and the surrounding lands as kings. It was decided that the noblest and best individuals were to regularly be elected to take care for the well-being of the siblings. Yet, reality soon caught up with this sublime ideal; those elected have abused the siblings to fulfill their own, selfish longings. In the end, a single individual gave the final blow to both SPQR and Res Publica in pursuit of his ambitions. The efforts to revive them were half-hearted. While Res Publica remained dead, it appears as if SPQR has successfully been brought back to life. Yet, close observers realize that she is alive just by the name, remaining a hollow shell of her former self...