Shimmer-scale Dragons are a very beautiful breed with small—but highly reflective—scales that shimmer and shine as the dragon moves through water. They don’t have fins or webbed feet, but their long, eel-like bodies allow them to swim quite fast. They were once rumored to carry large pearls in their claws—causing many to seek them out in search of this fabulous treasure. In reality, the “pearl” is of greater value to the dragon, for the fabled treasure is actually an egg carried by a migrating female.

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.

Taiyoutora is the leader of the Tora Clan on SL's scroll. She, along with Bronze Shimmer Akumatora and Silver Shimmer Kazetora, are the lead breeding pairs for each respective metal.

When Taiyoutora was born, it is said that her scales resembled tiger stripes because she hatched too early, caused by an accidental earthquake by one of the Earth Dragons. Her scales were still growing, and some were so underdeveloped that they appeared dark in surprisingly tiger-like patterns. She was thus named "Taiyoutora" or "Sun Tiger".

Because of her amazing childhood, Taiyoutora thought she should honor it even further, convincing her fellow Shimmer-scale hatchmates to change their names and create their own family clans.

She is quite vain and haughty, and now that she is full grown her scales have developed fully, so she can flaunt them whenever she pleases. However, faint remnants of her "tiger stripes" still remain in the form of occasionally shed scales.