Aria dragons are a brightly-colored and sprightly breed, perhaps most adored for their lyric calls. Their song-like melodies fill the areas they inhabit; their coos resemble those of birds, only more elegant and refined. They have fairly strong magical capabilities, but tend to reserve these strengths for last-minute defense, choosing to live their lives in simple peace. Arias, sticking to the tropics, typically live quite far from human settlements, giving rise to the previously held belief that they had gone extinct.

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.

Tessith was abandoned in the egg by her parents. After being passed along several times, she eventually ended up in the hands of Royce, the young girl who would become her mistress. Royce and Tess essentially grew up together; because of this, they share a very close bond.<br/>Because she is the first and oldest of Royce's dragons (if only by a few days), Tess considers herself to be a sort of "mother hen" to the brood. She is talkative, opinionated and often sarcastic, and is always willing to give advice or add her two cents to any discussion—whether anyone likes it or not. Tess is extremely self-confident and almost vain, but she makes up for this with her congeniality.<br/>When she isn't talking up a storm or helping Royce take care of the eggs and hatchlings, Tess enjoys spending time with her younger "siblings", Deneth and Loganth. She loves playing pranks on Loganth, whom she believes is too serious for his own good, and teases him mercilessly.