Seasonal Dragons take on the characteristics of the season during which they are born. Thus, eggs that are laid in spring match the pink flowers and green buds of spring, and those that are laid in the summer grow to depict the bright green of the forest trees and the yellow of the sun. Eggs laid in autumn display the bright colors of leaves falling from trees, and those that are laid during winter take on the appearance of the icy snow.

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.

Diosis, a summer dragon, has always disliked summer. He finds the buzz of the cicadas to be extraordinarily annoying, his preferred temperature is around freezing, and no matter what he does, he gets badly sunburned enough that his scales start to flake off. Other summer dragons scoff at him, calling him names for rejecting his very species, while the other seasonal dragons won't accept him because he is not like them. All of this rejection in Diosis' life has made him jaded and unhappy. The only time he feels relatively upbeat is when he is alone in the icy north. There are no cicadas up there and clouds cover the sun most of the time.