Striped Dragons come in a dazzling array of colors complemented by an intricate pattern of stripes. These bright colors and patterns help attract their favorite food, insects. Because their prey is so tiny, striped dragons must spend a large portion of their day eating. The color of the offspring is usually determined by the dragon’s mate.

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.

Asteria is the daughter of Stebahn Gryffindor, but she doesn't know that. Stebahn's brother, Mordred, convinced one of his Desipis friends to steal his brother's egg when he heard Stebahn's mate had laid an egg. Mordred raised her as his own daughter, but she has been a big disappointment to him. He thinks she is too clumsy and stupid to follow his orders successfully. He has given up his plans of enlisting her help in his plots against Stebahn. The truth is, Asteria is actually a very intelligent young dragoness. She dislikes her 'father' and does not want to help him, but she is too afraid of his friends to admit that openly. So she is getting around his orders by faking incompetence.

Having been raised by Mordred left its mark on her, though. While not being as mean as him, Asteria often acts very selfish or competitive.