Gemshard Dragons are small, gregarious, expressive easterns, living in large clans high in the jungle canopy. Their bodies are covered in tiny, gem-like scales that shimmer in direct light, and each dragon has a unique pattern of markings on the forked spade of its tail. Though Gemshard Easterns cannot fly, they often leap from springy branches high into the sky on sunny days and perform acrobatic spins and twirls to entertain themselves. When the weather turns foul, they pile up together on sturdy tree limbs and interlock the forks of their tails with others to keep warm and dry.

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.

For all intents and purposes, Ganirr might as well be a regular dragon, were it not for one fine detail: By all objective measurements, he does not actually exist. More of a collective apparition than anything else, what's astounding is how seamless people's perceptions of Ganirr mesh together to form a coherent whole. Most that are witness to him would never question that he's real—he appears tangible, friendly and communicative—but deeper probing into the fabric of reality reveals nothing. The few people that have investigated the phenomenon believe it may have something to do with the latent mana fields interacting with the weather in the area, causing internally consistent hallucinations in sapient passersby. Others have proposed that he might be a ghost of some sort, but as there's no associated spectral signature, this is not a popular theory. Meanwhile, children often roll their eyes at the whole thing, muttering something about 'imagination' and 'obvious'.