Gold dragons are the ones most often killed by humans, who consider their scales to be extremely valuable. These golden scales grant them a high level of protection, similar to armor, and they use this to their advantage in battle.

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.

"Your scales shine like the god for which you are named. They hunt you because they will never have your beauty."

At first Apollionus thought it was his fault; that the humans wanted to kill him because there was something wrong with him. So many had died at the humans' hands, including his own father- all of the other Golds had either fled or been killed for their treasured scales. As a hatchling, he and his mother were always on the run, their wings never resting for more than a day at a time. But as he grew, he began to see the tragedy for what it was, and a deep-set hatred towards the whole of humanity developed inside of him, festering as their hands grew bloodier and bloodier. When his mother died trying to protect him from a group of knights who had their eyes set on his glittering hide, something inside him snapped. He decided he was sick of running, sick of being scared. That it was the humans' turn to feel such injustice.