When Water Dragons mature, they lose the ability to survive on land, entering the water permanently. They are adept swimmers and eat whatever fish are in the lake they live in. They tend to inhabit the same lake for their entire lives, although a few live in the ocean and swim all over the world.

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.

Rannoch takes her job as one of the Mac Dragan Clan's Loch Keepers very seriously. When her sister Tay brought the problem of Kelpies to her attention, Rannoch sought an end to their occupation of the Clan's Lochs. She knows well the threat that such creatures pose to hatchlings and humans, and has learned that the Kelpies are rather vulnerable to luring with treats when they are in their equine form. She employs such tactics with efficiency. Strangely enough, Rannoch chooses not to destroy them, but merely relocate them where they can do no harm.