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.

Aurellia is nearly worshiped by the other dragons in her cave. They see her, as a very low generation golden tinsel, as nearly a dragon goddess. Aurellia accepts this praise with dignity. She knows she is no goddess, but lets the other, simpler dragons, believe what they like because she knows that having something to believe in is very important. She and her mate, Leap Year, have produced several other golden tinsel children, but Aurellia pushed them out of the cave when they were just eggs, knowing they would be happier away from the "worship" the other dragons tend to heap upon golden tinsels such as Aurellia.