Seasonal Dragons take on the characteristics of the season during which they are born. Thus, eggs that are laid in spring match the pink flowers and green buds of spring, and those that are laid in the summer grow to depict the bright green of the forest trees and the yellow of the sun. Eggs laid in autumn display the bright colors of leaves falling from trees, and those that are laid during winter take on the appearance of the icy snow.

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.

Fulvia is a quiet, unassuming winter dragon. She hasn't had much contact with any other female dragons besides her mother, who seems to be living in a new male dragon's cave every month. Even her mother doesn't know who her father is, because in the months before Fulvia was born her mother was more fertile than usual.

Years later, Fulvia has matured and become confident in herself. She enjoys skating on the knuckles of her claws on frozen lakes and rivers. Fulvia thrives in the winter, but in the other seasons she is jumpy, and often migrates up mountains or towards colder climes in summer. She feeds on large predators and herbivorous mammals easily accessible from her winter cave. In summer, she hunts reindeer, moose, wolves, and whales.

An autumn dragon named Ulrik courted her in the last throes of autumn, and Fulvia laid an egg. It was only afterwards that a human who had been monitoring Ulrik informed him that Fulvia may have been his daughter. Now the two never meet.