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.

Saphira is a close friend of Calypso, and is the only one who sees her on a daily basis, besides Oubliette (possibly). Q prefers to stay in fresh water, and Ace is often engaged in a prank war with Riku. Another friend of hers is Artemis, with whom she has a lot in common. She likes collecting things, such as shells or treasures she finds in wrecks. Saphira has a weakness for pearls, especially black ones- she has a habit of dropping what she's doing to open up oysters to see if they have a black pearl inside, often screaming "Pearl!" as she does so.