Black Dragons are warriors. They are strong and capable in battles of force, but also ample magic users, capable of devastating opponents with their spells. Their bright eyes give them excellent night vision, which is why they generally hunt during the night.

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.

Arf is convinced that she is a dog. She likes to hang around a human settlement, begging for scraps, belly-rubs, and scratches behind the horns. When she is happy, she wags her tail. When someone threatens her favorite people, she growls at them, and if they continue be threatening, she uses her abnormally powerful dark magic to tear their bodies apart and re-assemble the corpses into a grotesque, gory mess. But other than that, she is as playful as a puppy.

However, when a passing Cassare comes into town, she suddenly becomes serious and capable of communicating more than just "arf" with her telepathy. At these moments, she calls herself Jy. She is paranoid about white dragons, claiming that one named Thyras forced a Desipis to do unethical experiments on her brain, eventually discarding her after completing the experiments. More likely the Desipis was in control, but nothing anyone says can change her mind. As soon as she is out of Cassare anti-magic, though she reverts to doggy behavior.