Black Marrows are named for their dark colored hides which are encased in a distinct exoskeleton. Their skull and the top edges of their spine push out from under the skin as they age. As such, their young need excessive amounts of calcium for this armor to develop. The older a Black Marrow dragon is, the more skeletal their appearance. They often use their skeletal looks to lure in foolish scavengers or terrify predators. These vicious dragons love nothing more than to crack open bones with their stony beaks and eat the marrow inside. Voracious scavengers, Black Marrows will swarm and devour corpses both old and fresh, sometimes even dragging larger finds to the water to allow them to “ripen.” Despite their dreadful demeanour and often horrid stench, Black Marrows are devoted mates and parents.

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.

The Duke of Flies is... actually a rather timid dragon, when approached directly in a confrontation. He depends entirely on his skeletal appearance in order to scare off potential enemies, as well as the strange amount of flies that seem to hover around him all the time.

Sure, he is a Black Marrow dragon, known for dragging off corpses to his lair and constantly having the smell of death around him. The thing is, no other Black Marrow dragons can ever explain exactly why the Duke of Flies just has so many flies around him. He doesn't ever seem to conduct his business differently than any other Black Marrow. There's just so many flies, and this extremely strong stench of corpses around him, at all times of the day.

That, combined with his tough exoskeleton, is pretty much enough to scare off any potential attackers. He's fragile, honestly. Just really, really scary.