Bleeding Moon Dragons are mostly nocturnal creatures. When outside in the sun, the small red spatters on their back grow and spread, making the dragons appear to “bleed.” It is said that the darker the shade of red, the more aggressive the dragon. Their tail barbs contain a powerful neuro-toxin which they use to subdue their prey. They are solitary creatures except when mating, preferring to dwell in the caves in mountains or other high places. Their large wingspan makes them fast flyers as well as fast runners, but they prefer to glide instead. Males are very competitive and will try almost everything to impress females, who will choose their mates based on speed and performance. Juveniles tend to form bachelor groups once fledged.

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.

Handegg and her friends play this game named after herself, "handegg". It involves two teams trying to run with an egg-shaped projectile on a field, with the teams trying to "score". Several dozen wingspans apart are two goals in which the dragons try to hurl that one projectile. They sprint around and crash into each other and sometimes make writhing piles atop whoever has the egg shape, which is why the bulkiest and speediest dragons do very well here. Handegg is one of the best at tackling opponents and interrupting their paths. She uses the same skills to hunt, although while playing handegg, nobody's allowed to sting. That's not respectable, and such actions will incur a penalty. Most other mountain dragons watching the bleeding moons play think their sport is silly and violent.