Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It’s adventurous and very brightly colored.

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.

When Maddy hatched, it became clear early on that she wasn't like other hatchlings. Her mind stayed stuck in the mindset of a hatchling fresh out of its shell even as the years went on and her body matured. The biggest problem to the members of her clan and family was the fact that her powers developed with her physical body—strong even for an Avatar of Change. And without a mind to properly control it, she would soon unwittingly endanger those around her.

In the end Delirium herself and Gif the Avatar used their considerable powers to bind Maddy forever in her hatchling body to better match her simple mind. Considering the very nature of Avatar dragons it is possible of course that Maddy's wild powers might one day break the holding placed upon her, so a Cassare guardian is required to stay in her presence all the time—taking care of the young one as well, killing two birds with one stone.