Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It has a large, shield-like object at the end of its tail that it uses for protection.

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 generations, mother dragons have told their hatchlings tales of the Year's Children—four seasonal hatchlings and their companions, each representing some aspect of their season.  The seasonal hatchlings are said to have mastered teleportation and, in some cases, freezing, while the companions seem to have only the magic natural to a hatchling of that breed.

Pargawn, Quelsira's companion, is the embodiment of security and protection.  While Quelsira plays with her chosen hatchlings and brings them special tidbits, Pargawn watches to make sure no harm comes to his companion or her new friends.  He takes his job as protector very seriously, refusing to let Quelsira out of his sight, even though there are usually several hatchlings perfectly willing to let him join their games.  Pargawn is the most serious of the four companions—he is only ever seen to smile after he's performed a rescue, and then only a very little.