Originating from a single species that thrived in ancient times, Xenowyrms have become an incredibly diverse breed whose appearances vary depending on their habitats. Each Xenowyrm subspecies is heavily reliant on the power of different types of mana, making them powerful magic users. Pharos are an aloof and majestic Xenowyrm that is most often seen gliding through the shimmering skies over the desert. Their gleaming scales catch and reflect the light in a most pleasing manner, and many attempt to find their valuable fallen scales around their lofty desert mountain perches. While they don’t seek out attention or companionship, those seeking the knowledge of a Pharos may find themself bestowed with decidedly unconventional wisdom.

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.

A fondness for decidedly unconventional wisdom brought Photoxeno to Seven Questions University, where he immediately got a position in the Humorous department. He might have gone into the Oddly Specific department, only a dragon who aspired to be an orthopaedic surgeon came at the same time, mistakenly seeking a "humerus" department. He studies knock-knock jokes and has begun looking into an array of other gags that similarly follow fixed patterns from around the world. The knock-knock jokes are overwhelmingly his favourite, though. He absolutely a-door-es them. His ultimate ambition is to develop a method to humourfully present them to cultures which do not use doors on which one would knock. Anyone can come in to talk to him at any time, they need only knock twice on his door and have a sufficiently tongue-in-cheek response when he inevitably asks who's there.