Ridgewing Dragons live just below the snow level on the upper slopes of mountains. They are a friendly, playful breed and enjoy dancing in wind currents near their homes or plummeting down into valleys from great heights. Their wings, by far their most striking feature, grow in fin-like ridges along their backs. While their bodies lack markings to blend better with their surroundings, a ridgewing’s wings have bright markings in the colors of the flowers that grow in their mountain habitat. Occasionally different-colored individuals can be found, but they are rare because their striking coloring offers little protection.

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.

Alfond is a tour guide for the town of Grape, which, curiously, has no grapes aside from the occasional shipment of dried fruit, but those the inhabitants call raisins, not grapes. This is the first thing he explains to visitors. Usually, the second thing he explains is that, yes, he's a dragon, and yes, the humans do not mind the friendly dragons residing with them in Grape. Alfond is a decent guide: he never pretends he knows something he doesn't, and he tries to keep up with all news about the town and region. His tours are informative, and he injects jokes into longer spiels to keep things interesting. However, he loves to fly and sometimes leaves guests behind without meaning to, which is especially vexing to those who cannot fly at all. After one too many of these incidents, the town's tourist cabinet decided to find a second tour guide.