Gold dragons are the ones most often killed by humans, who consider their scales to be extremely valuable. These golden scales grant them a high level of protection, similar to armor, and they use this to their advantage in battle.

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.

Raja had thought he'd met a beautiful Shadow Walker dragon, but had failed to check her lineage before marrying her. After they had had their first egg, they noticed that he was a bit slow compared to the others his age after he had hatched. He and his mate, Apparition, asked Izar to look at their son's lineage, and they quickly discovered that Apparition's older sister was Raja's grandmother. They hid the scroll so no one could shame them for having an inbred child.

However, it didn't take Shiny Inbred very long to figure it out, especially because of what his parents named him.