Dragons were perhaps the hardest hit by the Great Shattering for their involvement in the war. Their magical abilities were stripped from them, because they did not respect the God's elements. Unable to worship the Shadow or Light elements, the only way they could regain their magical properties is through magical guidance of a willing mage. A certain level of trust must develop before a Dragon will even consider putting their lives in the hands of a mage. Their very future depends on it. Once a Dragon goes through the transformation process, they gain the magical properties of that mage and may even breath its element. Once this gift of magic has been returned, a Dragon may never again phase through the power of another element again.
Dragons have four different growth phases to go through. They start off and generally spend the least amount of time as a Hatchling. This is the only growth period where a Dragon's future element is not determined by an assisting mage, instead a "hoard" mage is used who spends his or her life in the service of the Dragons. It is their job to teach the young their heritage and what is to come. When the mage feels the Hatchlings are ready, they are sent out into the world, no longer receiving protection from the hoard. In this phase they are known as Juveniles. They are essentially a miniature Dragon now, roughly the size of a horse. Their wingspan is nearly twice the length of their body, but they lack the magic needed to achieve flight. Small talons have also developed, but are far from lethal. For the first time gaining magical abilities, their selection of spells is weak and limited as a Juvenile.
After a Juvenile reaches a certain maturity they will begin to feel a strong desire to expand their magical abilities. This is when they begin the process of courting a potential mage that may help them grow into their next phase. When he or she does finally choose a trusted mage, they may begin their next growth period. The mage is able to assist through the magical blessing of their God or Goddess. It is assumed that a Juvenile will only transform into a Sub-Adult Dragon when a God or Goddess has decided they are ready for the Dragon to fully represent their element. This is directly reflected in the color and thickness of their naturally protective scales. Until this point, the leathery skin of all Dragons has been a grayish-green color.
