"Gray dragons are different, my son. It means you must be careful; your skin will be pierced more easily. But on the other hand, having no hunger for gems and gold will allow you to live in the Upper World and far from men." High in the mountains, deep in the safety of a cave, a brood of dragons is born. The four young ones are among the last of a dying breed-the final hope for dragons' survival. But hope shatters when a murderous group of slave-trading dwarves breaks into the cave, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Only young Auron, a rare scaleless gray dragon, manages to escape. Armed with nothing save wit, claws, and a boundless determination to survive, he seeks his kind. But to find other dragons-or at least discover who's killing them off-Auron will have to search a world of mercenary elves, vicious humans, and dangers of all kinds. Winning allies in the strangest places-and finding himself along the way-Auron embarks on the journey of a thousand-year lifetime.