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.

Tao is constantly annoyed by the way the world works and why nobody even thinks to complain about it. She hates the way that abandoning children is commonplace, yet it is acceptable to steal the children of wild dragons who actually want to keep them. Even though Tao was a gift, she hates how it wasn't her nor her parents' decision that she left their clan and how she must choose her mate based on who her parents are and not on personality or any other traits. This whole situation fills her with anger, for surely it can't be commonplace to cripple eggs and hatchlings in order to make them sickly, or to kill dragons for the sake of a simple breed change. Stunting hatchling's growth she sees as cruel, and as lucky as she feels to avoid that fate, she is consumed with guilt as she watches the eternally youthful hatchlings run around, never to experience adulthood. She just wishes she could have seen her child run around like they do.