When Water Dragons mature, they lose the ability to survive on land, entering the water permanently. They are adept swimmers and eat whatever fish are in the lake they live in. They tend to inhabit the same lake for their entire lives, although a few live in the ocean and swim all over the world.

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.

It was an unlucky year on the mountain when the poachers found Merayy's parents. The third year of a long drought, the mountain lake was shrinking swiftly, and all the old hiding places were exposed to the poacher's reach. The kills were swift and brutal. It was pure chance that Merayy's egg had escaped their omelettes.

The dragon keeper Lorraine, who often trails the poachers hoping to save the orphans of their kills, found Merayy's egg wedged in a small crevice under the main nest and took her home to her caves on a different part of the mountain. Merayy was raised on tales of a different water dragon, a male named Resitarina, who now swam endlessly in the rivers under the caves. Lorraine had not seen him in many years, but she was sure he still roamed, hoping to find a mate. Now a grown dragon, Merayy has entered those rivers herself and vows to find him, the only one of her kind she may ever meet.