Ha! I'm late to post ;p

On to the points though. For the first point, yes, Gifted seem to be immortal (that is, they don't appear to age, and of course can't be killed). I've never encountered lore stating specifically that they are ageless, and I like to imagine that they are not, experiencing the Fading that Raptress mentioned when their natural time is up. That is just my personal preference, however.

To point two, there are simply too many dragons with children for it not to be accepted ;p No where does it state one way or the other that Gifted can have children or not, and Maekrux's inability comes from a matter unrelated to the Gift. As such, I'm sure the answer is yes, and I'd go so far as to say that the Gift might have a better chance of being passed from Gifted parents. (Given its magical origin, this could or could not be likely, so again, my opinion.)

Point three, yes, the original Rites of Passage did include a visit to the Sleeper and was more of a coming of age thing than a 'get a body that works' thing. Until the Sleeper was shunted to the Rift, dragons naturally aged to adult status. It should be noted, however, that Ancients did NOT occur naturally. They were gifted only from Drulkar via the Gate of Embers after his departure, and changed bodies much in the same way that the hatchling-to-adult rite does now. It is likely that the post-Sleeper rite is in part based on that ancient transition, but that's speculation on my part.

Point four, not for a very long time. I've been around too long. >.>;

And to the discussion - when I was around ages ago before the rites were actually in game, several hatchlings did RP that they had been adults prior to their First Death, and it was somewhat common, though, perhaps, less credible when they proved to be really hyperactive. ::cough:: If dragons who die after reaching adulthood turn back into hatchlings upon First Death, it might make some sense, considering that aging does stop for hatchlings at a certain point.