Nocturne Dragons are a strange breed. Whenever light strikes their bodies, they are frozen in whatever position they were in. This leaves them vulnerable and they rely on camouflage to keep themselves safe. They are often mistaken for statues when in this frozen state, but Nocturne dragons do not actually turn into stone. Rather, they merely idle until the sun goes down. At night, these dragons come to life, proving themselves to be powerful fliers, although little else is known about their true behavior.

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.

Renlei's quest to find something constructive to do led her to studying humans, or at least their behavior at night. So far, she's learned that they live in wooden caves, and each cave is one among many, collectively called a town. Humans are mostly diurnal, though some do sleep very late. Sometimes, packs will leave an opening in their cave as they sleep, so a human that Renlei calls a "Collector" can come around to pick up their offerings. The black-clad Collector enters through the opening and later emerges with a sack of precious metals and jewels, which he will take out of town, presumably to leave it at the nearest altar to appease the humans' god. They are polite and quiet, and never visit the cave of humans who are awake. They are also more skittish than the average human, known to freak out and drop their bags at the sight of a dragon, so Renlei has learned to be quieter or risk interrupting their work again.