Albino Dragons are so named because their translucent, scale-less skin lacks all pigment. Instead, to help protect their bodies from the sun, they are coated in an oily secretion that blocks the sun’s harmful rays. The call of an albino dragon is similar to a barn owl--a shriek instead of a roar.

Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures that—from a human perspective, at least—appear to live forever. Many different varieties of dragon exist, each with their own unique qualities, habitats, and behavior. Adolescence in dragons is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. In Galsreim, dragons and humans coexist peacefully.

Commander Sam Vimes is, despite the fact that he is a usually diurnal Albino dragon, the leader of the Night Watch. A true veteran of the clan, he joined when the Watch was only a handful of dragons who avoided trouble more than dealing with it. These days, they are a fairly large, powerful force who have expanded to patrolling through much of the day as well as the night—while Sam himself has been considerably elevated by his mating to the distinguished White dragon, Lady Sybil Ramkin. He comes under a lot of criticism from other dragons who dislike the Watch and claim he is just a puppet for Patrician Vetinari, a very powerful Ember dragon who rules a whole section of the Cave. Nevertheless, Sam Vimes will always carry out his duty as Commander of the Watch to keep the peace.