The juvenile saurian.
A Saurian is a name for dinosaurs in Darkwing. Many Saurians have died out before the rise of the mammals, but even so some carnivorous individuals have survived. The Pact was formed among the mammals to wipe them all out, including the harmless ones. Many of these ancient survivors have caught a strange and deadly skin disease, but still some live on to lay eggs and continue their dying species. There is a possibility that the saurians that Sylph and Dusk discovered in the cave were a type of dromaeosaur, judging by their physiology. In addition, the dromaeosaurs were pack hunters and would have survived for longer, and some scientists speculate that dromaeosaurs may have been able to climb trees after prey.
The Pact[]
The Beasts formed a pact to kill Saurian eggs while the living ones were dying. The felids were active members of the pact. After Carnassial believed he destroyed the last eggs, the saurians were believed extinct until Dusk found a dead saurian.
Icaron's Killing[]
Icaron discovered a clutch of saurian eggs. They were carnivorous, and could climb trees. The adults had died, but the eggs would soon hatch. He then destroyed the eggs, and kept the act a secret. He wanted to protect his new colony, and also himself: These few hundred Chiropters thought the Pact was barbaric. They left the mainland for a nearby island where they would be free from anything Saurian. Icaron maintainted his discretion until he lay on his death bed, when he confessed to Dusk.
The Cave[]
Dusk and Sylph discover this cave while fleeing Carnassial and his "pack". The newborns literally stumble into it as the vetebrae tunnel became a hole in the cave roof. Dusk first notices the eerie light glowing from the walls, steaming pools of something of a sickly yellow, and bizzare rock formations. Some of these rocks are "as smooth and pale as giant eggs, others skinny as redwood saplings, still others teetering like immense toadstools stacked one atop the next" (309). The cave appears very moisture-dense: the rock upon Dusk and Sylph perch is "damp and chalky", the air humid enough that it almost seems to rain, however due to the "foreign taste", this is not an ideal roost, as well, the temperature is "unpleasantly warm". None of this matters because as Dusk explores, the sight of an enormous pile of bones forces this all from his mind, and moments later, the eggs do the same. The nest is equally large, `ten feet across`, or about, and where there`s a nest, there are adults. Dusk flies over the older specimens, one after the other. Both bodies are near pools, in fact, one saurian is in a pool. Its body is unrecognizable, but by the other corpse, Dusk identifies them as meat-eaters by the teeth. This is also supported by the evidence that the non-blotted saurian was a hatchling`s dinner.
Carnassial`s opinion of the cave is no different, "into the humid cave, around strange towers of rock and simmering pools. The walls glowed. The smell of the nest was strong now."
On his return, Sylph comments that the eggs will die from cold, though Dusk notes the heat in the cave and the amount of steam from the pool and says otherwise. Sylph attempts to destroy an egg (though, because it is twice her size, she doesn`t get very far) but Dusk and her guilt make her hesitate, and then the eggs begin to hatch. The chiropters flee and Carnassial and Panthera attack. The eldest saurian hatchling, perhaps a few weeks old, apparently kills Panthera, thus saving Dusk. Brother and sister escape, leaving the saurian and a grieving Carnassial.