Shadow Walkers are a strange breed that possess the ability to slip between the planes of reality, becoming immaterial. This allows them to hide in the shadows, either hunting from the concealment of near invisibility or evading enemies. Though they become corporeal to mate or to eat, they spend most of the rest of their lives walking in the shadows. Shadow Walkers are wary creatures, though on dark autumn evenings when the leaves fall to swirl in the chill, rain damp air, they may be seen drifting out from the shadows.

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.

Keaka Nuria was found by the human Ember in the abandoned town of Aliset one market day. As Ember watched some Shadow walker dragons graze in a pumpkin patch, she spotted something in the grass. The dragons moved to other pumpkins, so Ember approached the object. But as she walked toward it, it faded into her shadow. After much feeling around, Ember found it, and figured it was a shadow walker egg. The next day she took it back to her home to raise it, naming it Keaka, which means shadow. Keaka grew to love Ember and her new home, but stayed away from jealous Rosa, who loved being the youngest of the dragons raised by Ember.  Keaka was a very shy creature at first, so she surprised everyone when she began taking on the habit of scaring people who passed by. She was mostly invisible, so she loved to step into the shadows and wait for someone to scare.  Keaka still lives on the highest mountain of Elgar, and if you hear someone shriek in the night, it is probably her fault.