Nocturne Dragons are a strange breed. Whenever light strikes their bodies, they are frozen in whatever position they were in. This leaves them vulnerable and they rely on camouflage to keep themselves safe. They are often mistaken for statues when in this frozen state, but Nocturne dragons do not actually turn into stone. Rather, they merely idle until the sun goes down. At night, these dragons come to life, proving themselves to be powerful fliers, although little else is known about their true behavior.

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.

Autotomy's "life mission" is to develop a method or spell or something that allows large pieces of himself to be removed without him dying. The body parts should grow back perfectly (eventually) if they can't be stuck back on him. Since Autotomy was small, he's been very afraid about the notion that somebody will sneak up on him while he's motionless during the day and hurt him, and he presumes he will shatter like brittle stone. Also, breaking off bits safely will be a neat and scary trick.