Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It perfectly depicts autumn weather.

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.

Merchal is a prime example of the average young hatchling: curious, playful, and very energetic. He enjoys spending his time playing with the other hatchlings, always under the watchful eye of the older dragons. True to his breed, his favorite time of year is the fall. During that time, he usually goes around collecting fallen leaves, hiding the ones he finds to be the prettiest in a special hiding place that he revisits from time to time.