Red Dragons are similar to typical story book dragons. They shoot flames, can fly, etc. However, they aren’t evil creatures as depicted in myths and won’t go around raiding castles, killing knights, or kidnapping princesses. They live in a variety of habitats, from forests to coastlines to abandoned castles, usually in warm climates, and eat whatever living creatures they can find.

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.

Orchard is yet another victim of the ongoing war between Mexa's four clans and the clan of Creorluna. She is missing part of one wing, her left front foreleg and one of her beautiful amber eyes. Her scales, once smooth and deep red, rubbed off and turned white from scaring. Most happened in the same bloody massacre in which all clans suffered great loss. She fought Izdati himself with twenty Creor around him; so of course it ended nasty for her. She's just lucky Jes, her second cousin and pretty much her sister, found her and healed her with her normally curse magic fingers.

From the war, Orchard carries that haunted look of a soldier fresh back from a bloody battlefield. She also tends to take threats literally. (Such as when Skyler jokingly told her he was a Creor. She just about barbecued him.)

The one thing that brings great peace to the young hen is music. She herself has an extremely beautiful voice and she spends many hours a day serenading her world with hymns of love and war.