Spirit Ward Dragon

Spirit Ward Dragons were released on July 26, 2015, and are the first dragons to have more than 2 sprite versions dependant on the time of day. Along with Nocturne Dragons, Spirit Wards change in appearance during night-time, rotating through 4 different glowing sprites. This dragon is also one of the few to have a unique cracking sequence.

Egg
This egg glows from within.

Hatchling
''Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It’s hard to see it in the dark, except for the glowing eyes.''

Mature hatchling
''Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It’s hard to see it in the dark, except for the glowing eyes.''

''And look! It has grown wings! It must be close to maturing.''

Adult
''Spirit Ward Dragons are a special breed that ward off evil spirits—at least, that’s what the legends say. During nighttime festivals, people love to see these dragons, because they believe that the dragons guard against evil spirits. The dragons are dark-colored, but glow with a flame-colored internal light that has an intensity that they control.''

Sprite artists

 * Fiona BlueFire (All)
 * Verridith (All)

Color Changing Sequence
Show/Hide Sequence Chart

Trivia

 * Fiona BlueFire commented that the design of these dragons were inspired by jack o' lanterns.
 * Verridith revealed that these dragons were originally intended to be a Halloween release.
 * It was mentioned by Verridith that upon initial release, something may have been wrong with the adults. Since then Verridith has confirmed that no update was actually needed.

Additional information
Red2111: ''what would happen if they were linked with an evil sorceress, given their effect on "evil" creatures. would the bond corrupt them? or would they neutralize the evilness in the magic user?''
 * A conversation on the forums raised the possibility of an alt:

angelicdragonpuppy: I am obviously not Fiona, but if they're mostly light magic oriented why would they choose to bond with an evil person to begin with?

Fiona BlueFire: ''Pretty much this. I don't think you can force a creature to be a familiar since it's a symbiotic bond. They have to be willing.''

GoldeenTrix: Maybe since their evil-repelling glow is controlled by them, what they repel is actually dependent on what they BELIEVE is evil. Following this line of thought, if they were raised among evil they would repel good because they were raised as villains.

Fiona BlueFire: ''Due to the nature of Light mana I don't think this would work. Oddly enough, we did consider a dark mana "alt" version of these guys. It could still happen someday I suppose, but no promises on if or when.''