Mutamore Dragons are a mostly solitary breed, preferring to be alone in the waterways of the world for most of the year. However, when winter begins to wane, these normally grouchy dragons undergo a massive personality shift and become excessively chipper and incredibly social with the solitary focus of pairing up themselves—and other—dragons. They become such annoyingly happy and persistent match-makers that other dragons have been known to pretend to be pairs when one is in the area, just to avoid the attentions of the Mutamore Dragons. This temporary pairing up tends to lead otherwise disinterested dragons into a better appreciation of one another, resulting in lasting relationships. This has given the Mutamores the false reputation of being good at match-making.

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.

"Tabd" is a longtime worker in the Chian region's Department of Public Affairs and Communications, as one of the dragons who broadcasts the news, and he is proud of his work and happy that the Great Leader of Chian likes him. He travels around the region, visiting each of its administrative divisions to deliver the news, and loops back to the main department after three weeks. The mutamore's nomadic nature makes this easy. He is a trusted speaker who employs glibness, amplification, sensationalism, emotional manipulation, and, of course, bias: highly prized traits in the world of journalism. Tabd has been doing this for many, many years, and his face and voice are known by all the denizens of Chian. Of course, anyone who fails to recognize him is reported, sent to the Department of Corrections, and possibly handled by the Great Leader's agents because it means they have not been attending the news sessions.