Gemshard Dragons are small, gregarious, expressive easterns, living in large clans high in the jungle canopy. Their bodies are covered in tiny, gem-like scales that shimmer in direct light, and each dragon has a unique pattern of markings on the forked spade of its tail. Though Gemshard Easterns cannot fly, they often leap from springy branches high into the sky on sunny days and perform acrobatic spins and twirls to entertain themselves. When the weather turns foul, they pile up together on sturdy tree limbs and interlock the forks of their tails with others to keep warm and dry.

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.

Schernikite is one of the medical men for his clan. He took the position after his stronger-than-usual affiliation with the element of life was discovered when he was small, and he honed it so he could be helpful to others. He wishes he could fly, which his similarly flightless clan members find odd but pretty understandable. He knows a thing called "grabbity" exists, the invisible entity that grabs him and forces him to the ground whenever he jumps. Other long-bodied, wingless dragons like Schuman Silver and Chevy Bolt are able to stay in the sky, defying grabbity. Some people have told him that he simply needs to make use of his air element alignment and magically go airborne, but he doesn't want to use more mana (in addition to the life mana he routinely spends) when he just has to learn how to deal with this grabbity thing. His guess now is that there's some sort of lens or similar object through which it's rendered visible, and then he can learn some strategies to evade it.