Blacktip Dragons are a small, shore-dwelling breed that tend to nest on sheer ocean side cliffs. They live in groups under a dominant female, who prevents her subordinates from breeding. During the mating season, a group of Blacktips can be very noisy and smelly indeed; males produce a distinctive musky odor and loud, low-pitched honking noises in an attempt to woo the alpha female.

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.

It is a tradition in the colony Kalaupapa was born into that the first dragon to hatch in each generation's brood would be named after the sea cliffs where the colony's nest was currently located. That was how Kalaupapa, who was the first-hatched within his generation's brood, earned his name. For most of his life, Kalaupapa lived a happy existence within his community, until the day when his younger sister, who had hatched directly after him, became the colony's dominant female. A short time afterwards, Kalaupapa realized that it would potentially be too difficult for him to have to take orders from his younger sister, and it was only a matter of time before tension arose between them. Out of respect for his sister's new position in the colony, Kalaupapa decided to leave the colony. While he will come by to pay a visit to his sister from time to time to see how she's holding up, he found a new permanent home alongside a pair of friendly neighbors, Whitetip Cutter and Seahawk.