Scales, the dragoness from Smolder’s story, was loosely based on a historical princess. She lived in times so ancient, her real name has been long since forgotten. It is said that she was orphaned shortly before she got her wings and that she was adopted by a kindly dragon lord who took pity on her. He doted on her and called her his precious.

Though grateful at first, the precious princess became disillusioned with the dragon lord’s softhearted nature, naiveté, and stubborn refusal to accept that dragons are not inherently good. These traits left the dragon lord unable to assert his dominance over the cruel members of his court, which, in turn, led to the precious princess repeatedly finding herself compromised.

She thought: aren’t you a good dragon lord? So feeble and sensitive, in your desire to cause no one harm, you have brought no one to justice. If anyone took your staff, could it even be considered a usurpation? Every dragon already does as they please.

Having decided that such a dragon is unfit to rule, she colluded with the dragon lord’s rival and overthrew the dragon who had adopted her many years ago. It is unclear what happened to the precious princess after this. Some sources state she served the new dragon lord, others claim that the new dragon lord did not spare her for her treacherous nature. Whatever the case may be, the dragon lord who had adopted her continued to write fondly of her memory in his exile.