The nightdragon was a creature known to the Chiss Ascendancy, the nation of the Chiss species. The Nightdragon man-of-war, a warship class used by the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, was named for the creature. The nightdragon was also a piece in Tactica, a board game played in the Chiss Ascendancy.
In 18 BBY, after the Ascendancy exiled Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, core name Thrawn, the Senior Captain explained to Admiral Ar'alani that Expansionary Defense Fleet Supreme General Ba'kif had sacrificed his nightdragon, Thrawn, to the Chiss ruling body of the Syndicure, which demanded charges on everyone who fought against a Grysk fleet. By exiling Thrawn, the ruling body accepted not to bring charges against the "whisperbirds:" those who had served under the senior captain.
The nightdragon was first mentioned within the Nightdragon man-of-war's name in the 2020 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, the first volume of Timothy Zahn's Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy. It appeared in flashbacks as a Tactica piece in the final installment of the trilogy, Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil.
The nightdragon was first mentioned within the Nightdragon man-of-war's name in the 2020 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, the first volume of Timothy Zahn's Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy. It appeared in flashbacks as a Tactica piece in the final installment of the trilogy, Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil.