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.

As a hatchling, Gilus was kept by a different dragon tamer than his current master. This dragon tamer raised Gilus for a brief time before he discovered the tendency of humans to hunt gold dragons for their scales. Afraid that he would be targeted by dragon slayers, that dragon tamer abandoned Gilus in the wilderness where the young dragon was found and taken in by his current tamer, Marcato. Because of this history Marcato has a tendency to be overprotective of Gilus, even though the full grown gold dragon is fully capable of fending for himself. It is rare to see Gilus without either Marcato or another of Marcato's dragons nearby.