Scymrian Pygmies are a highly social, hardy breed that live in colonies of up to thirty adults. They are capable of living in a variety of environments, but prefer warm, humid areas. Depending on where they live, potential Scymrian Pygmy mates may present females with a special item, such as a pretty shell or interesting rock. Scymrian Pygmies pair only long enough to raise their young. Although unable to fly, Scymrian Pygmies are capable of both gliding and propelling themselves underwater. In bright sunlight, their iridescent scales may confuse or blind predators, allowing them enough time to escape or find shelter.

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.

Pygmy dragons are the smallest category of dragons, being on the same scale as domesticated animals. They are often found around concentrated populations of dragons, relying on their larger brethren to ward away potential predators and leave scraps. As such, the majority of a pygmy’s diet is scavenged. Due to their tiny size, pygmies do not breed with larger varieties of dragons.

Every week, Imports spends at least two hours swimming and three hours jogging, using the School's facilities. She also records everything she eats and is picky about how much meat and oil is in her diet. For a lot of dragons, staying fit is just a thing that happens as a side effect of staying alive and doing routine tasks, but for Imports, she needs to schedule this extra time and stick to it, due to some sort of physical anomalies that were apparently present since birth. Her father died of dropsy of the chest, even though he didn't have any especially unhealthy habits, so now, Imports pays close attention to her health. Some teachers and many students joke that she applied to the School because she only wanted to use the pool and track.