Red Dragons are similar to typical story book dragons. They shoot flames, can fly, etc. However, they aren’t evil creatures as depicted in myths and won’t go around raiding castles, killing knights, or kidnapping princesses. They live in a variety of habitats, from forests to coastlines to abandoned castles, usually in warm climates, and eat whatever living creatures they can find.

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.

"Where does dragon fire come from" is one of the many questions that Pygmalion asked as a hatchling. When he found out that none of the dragons of Ferwe Weyr could really answer his question, he started to look into the matter himself. With the intelligence of his father Pyrskep and the physical bent of his mother Faulinia, Pygmalion knows more than any other dragon of the weyr about the nature of fire and energy and how they can be created and manipulated. His study of how various tools created fire led to a mating of true affection with Noewun.