Black Marrows are named for their dark colored hides which are encased in a distinct exoskeleton. Their skull and the top edges of their spine push out from under the skin as they age. As such, their young need excessive amounts of calcium for this armor to develop. The older a Black Marrow dragon is, the more skeletal their appearance. They often use their skeletal looks to lure in foolish scavengers or terrify predators. These vicious dragons love nothing more than to crack open bones with their stony beaks and eat the marrow inside. Voracious scavengers, Black Marrows will swarm and devour corpses both old and fresh, sometimes even dragging larger finds to the water to allow them to “ripen.” Despite their dreadful demeanour and often horrid stench, Black Marrows are devoted mates and parents.

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.

Bittersweet Heart is a Marrow dragon deprived of love and care from his parents since the beginning of his birth. He was a mistake, an unwanted child, immediately abandoned by the pair and regarded as a disgrace to the family. No matter how much the dragons around him try to start a conversation with him, he refuses to talk nor does he even move a muscle to show he is paying attention. The only dragon he responds to is Bittersweet Blood, who is another Marrow dragon in the cave and seems to understand and sympathize with his pain. The pair sometimes go out together, returning back to the cave after weeks of disappearing without a word.