Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon.

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.

Filomena is another war orphan living in Tayli, her family falling in service to the island nation. Being older than most others, she acts as a big sister to them, helping them with chores and settling disputes. She knows that soon she will be an adult, to leave the orphanage and learn a trade. The Academy does not interest her, though, and she is reluctant to leave the others. The last thing she wants to do is join the military that indirectly killed her parents.