Vampire Dragons are members of the undead. They sustain themselves by drinking the blood of others. It is said that they are only “alive” at night, and seem dead or asleep during the day, as they cannot endure sunlight for long periods of time. Vampire Dragons can only reproduce by changing the eggs of other dragons, puncturing the shell with their fangs and injecting venom that kills the baby inside.

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.

Foerdik is at the very bottom of the vampire pecking order, with "smelly carrion-eater" being the least of the insulting names he's been called. He actually makes quite a good vampire—agile, cunning, and ruthless, with no inconveniences like egg allergies or an aversion to blood—but he can't escape the stigma of having been born a black marrow dragon. His birth parents, meanwhile, are repulsed by the idea of a child of theirs being a blood-sucking monster, so he just can't win.