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.

Callinectes, whose name means "beautiful swimmer," lives in a large lake at the foot of Hurricane Eye's tall mountain range. She keeps to herself and is rarely seen, usually only glimpsed every few hours poking her nose above the surface for air. But on rare nights, usually only on the night of new-moon tide, some swear that they have seen her leaping gracefully from the water. Others say that each month, on the night of full-moon tide, she makes a mysterious journey to the sea, where she swims beneath the waves and gazes for hours at the beautiful full moon. No one knows why. But Callinectes only lives her life by the rhythms of the tide, and is friendly with all the other beings who share her watery world.