The amphibious Aranoas inhabit shallow brackish estuaries, rivers and lagoons. Being adept swimmers, they possess tough, vibrant scales that serve to protect the dragon from superficial physical harm, and double as a means to attract mates. Their large, cavernous maws are adapted to swallowing fish whole, and they have powerful limbs to propel them through the water. When mating, males and females will typically vie for the interest of the individual with the brightest scales and the largest dorsal fin. Due to this attraction, they are also prone to collecting shiny and colorful objects that they come across. With a diet primarily comprised of large freshwater or pelagic fish, they often hunt in groups to encircle schools of fish, making for an easier meal. While not very social, Aranoas will often inhabit areas in close proximity to each other should they require assistance in hunting, or to band together to ward off other species who pose a threat to their territory.

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.

Sinii Di is not good enough of a painter to make a living at art, so she teaches art theory. Sinii krai dragons intimidate her, because while she is larger they are more brilliantly-coloured and also poisonous. Somehow, her art is supposed to represent her inner turmoil and anxiety concerning these issues, but to most viewers the paintings look like hippo-like ovals of various hues.

The last time Hippocampus and Hippocampus the gilded bloodscale came in from one of their research cruises, they showed Sinii Di the tomography spells they use to look at hippocampus hippocampuses. Inspired, she got a giant, six-meter-by-six-meter canvas and made a painting based on the tomographic images of the brain's structure and made an indescribably fantastic frame that manages to overshadow the entire work. The painting may be unmemorable, but students and art critics who visit her in Seven Questions University's Hippo Campus remember her frame of "Mind".