Vampire Dragons are members of the undead. They sustain themselves by drinking the blood of others. It is said that they are only “alive” at night, and seem dead or asleep during the day, as they cannot endure sunlight for long periods of time. Vampire Dragons can only reproduce by changing the eggs of other dragons, puncturing the shell with their fangs and injecting venom that kills the baby inside.

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 circumstance of Tattooist's transition from hatchling to adulthood was rare. Whisperings about this vampire often circulate because of his apparently superior 'bloodline'. He boasts greater strength, muscle mass and his senses appear to be unnatural even by vampiric standards in the clan. Bitten by one of the original ancients, he has a more direct claim to the vampires of old than the others within the clan. On the night of his full maturation, Tattooist vanished. Some of the vampires suspected foul play—that the clan elders were worried about his power and destroyed him. This was proven to be false the following night when Tattooist miraculously appeared, so seamlessly it was as though he had been there all along. Later information revealed that he was a child of the 29th, a day that only exists once every four years. As though this had impacted the vampire's physical presence, he too had vanished like the unmarked date, and has carried the name 'Light Shadow' ever since.