Albino Dragons are so named because their translucent, scale-less skin lacks all pigment. Instead, to help protect their bodies from the sun, they are coated in an oily secretion that blocks the sun’s harmful rays. The call of an albino dragon is similar to a barn owl--a shriek instead of a roar.

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.

Iliyana was rescued from abandonment by the wizard, Lynn.

As an albino her skin is sensitive to the sun, so she stays in the hidden cave for the most light-intense hours of the day. Her sleep patterns are irregular, because she tries to avoid the sun, but is still mostly diurnal, thus she ends up mostly active for the few hours on either side of sunset.

Iliyana is physically average for her kind, though the lack of protective scales makes her cautious when hunting. She likes to stay at the back of the pack and pick off wounded prey with a well timed surprise attack. Otherwise she lets the others hunt, and helps to carry back the kill.

Since she spends so much time in the cave, 'Yana is by turns the watcher of, and plaything of, the hatchlings. Few of the others are as awake as her during those hours, so she does her best as the night lookout when most of the others are inside the cave, taking over Dian's spot in the canopy to do so.