Shadow Walkers are a strange breed that possess the ability to slip between the planes of reality, becoming immaterial. This allows them to hide in the shadows, either hunting from the concealment of near invisibility or evading enemies. Though they become corporeal to mate or to eat, they spend most of the rest of their lives walking in the shadows. Shadow Walkers are wary creatures, though on dark autumn evenings when the leaves fall to swirl in the chill, rain damp air, they may be seen drifting out from the shadows.

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.

The refraction of light that takes place in water has always puzzled Natrix. As one made of shadow, he finds it fascinating that an object can appear to be in a different place than it actually is due to the bending of light waves. Sometimes he wonders if he can even trust his eyes at all, as if such simple things can have such a large effect on his vision. His fascination with light is of an obsessive intensity, as Natrix marvels at how a prism will break white into such a beautiful variety of colours, and is known to spend hours staring at the beauty of a rainbow. Natrix is lucky enough to have his hobby and occupation both surrounding light, as during the day he works on arranging mirrors so that the darker passages of the caves can have light while minimizing fuel consumption. Placing torches in tight corners can be a healthy and safety risk for dragons that may bump into them and burn themselves, and the high demand for firewood means that it is always in short supply.