Ember Dragons have a great affinity for hot environments. While they themselves are not hot to the touch, their tendency to lurk amongst smoldering ashes has caused many to believe they are fire-starters. Their dully glowing markings serve many purposes: acting as a means of identification between individuals, as an important part of mating displays, and as a way of showing aggression. The long, low build of the breed makes them ungainly in flight, and the thick fleshy membranes of their wings hinder them further. As such, it is rare to see an Ember Dragon take to the air. Ember Dragons are also not particularly sociable; females tend to be defensive, whereas males are more aggressive. Once they have settled with a particular group of dragons, Ember Dragons are incredibly loyal and will defend their pack by any means possible.

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.

Ember is a relatively quiet dragon. While ember dragons are normally aggressive, Ember himself is more passive. He grew up in the care of very gentle dragons in the cave and thus learned to be gentle himself. His loyalty to the other dragons in the cave is typical of ember dragons. He spends most of his time on the side of one of the mountains that rim the valley where most of his "family" live. To keep his area hot and comfortable he scorches the ground twice a day. He makes sure to restrict this scorching to a small radius around his favorite sleeping spot so as not to damage too much of the landscape. As much as he loves his family he also loves to roam beyond home and explore. While on one such excursion he came across a large, male ember dragon. The male was aggressive at first but after catching Ember's scent became much more amiable. During the resulting conversation Ember learned that the reason for this change in attitude was because the dragon, named Apitzen, was his father.