Stone Dragons have a tough outer covering made of a stone-like material. They eat rocks, using the minerals they contain for nourishment and to keep up their stone outer shell. They rarely move, and are the heaviest of all types of dragons. Although they have wings, indicating flight ability, no one has ever seen a stone dragon flying.

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.

Extremely taciturn, Aljav hardly ever communicates. Some think that she was deeply hurt when Ferwe Weyr's founder left shortly before she hatched. She herself claims not, but she also hopes he will approve of her art. Like her close friend Cheri-Anne, Aljav has a great interest in shaping stone. Aljav, however, has no clear vision of what she wants to do. She shapes the rock as she dines -- biting off pieces that don't meet her artistic vision and making sculptures and reliefs. Though never satisfied (her "abandoned" projects are everywhere in Ferwe Weyr) she claims to be getting closer to what she's trying to do. She and her mate Frasier make for a frustrated (and frustrating) pair of artists.