Turpentine Dragons are named for the oil that covers their scales. This oil resembles turpentine in odor and is mildly toxic; it will not kill but it burns to the touch and will cause illness in anyone who ingests it. Turpentine Dragons roam in large packs, often stealing food from larger dragons, though they are able to hunt for themselves if necessary. Many other breeds consider Turpentine Dragons to be pests, so they primarily breed among themselves.

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.

Ticking Fast is a mate of Two Ice Sculptures, a Turpentine who guards the two frozen human ice sculptures of her long lost friends. As her mate, Ticking Fast often goes hunting and brings her food, as she's always busy on guard duty. He dislikes the Alpine very much, unsure of how his mate can stand the freezing weather. He tries occasionally to convince Sculptures of how protecting the frozen beings is a lost cause, and that she should just leave them and come back to the desert with him, but Sculptures always refuses. Sometimes, he thinks that she loves the things in the ice more than she loves him, which may be true. Jealous, Ticking Fast spends a lot of time plotting. One night, when Sculptures must sleep and ask Ticking Fast to watch over in her place, he plans to destroy the ice and find a way to pin the blame on a wild dragon so that he make keep Two Ice Sculptures purely to himself.