Albino Dragons are so named because their translucent, scale-less skin lacks all pigment. Instead, to help protect their bodies from the sun, they are coated in an oily secretion that blocks the sun’s harmful rays. The call of an albino dragon is similar to a barn owl--a shriek instead of a roar.

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.

Ayita was rejected by her birth parents due to her unusual skin—she cannot produce the oil her kind secrets to protect their delicate skin from the sun. Adijia took her in when her parents, already over-burdened with their other children, noticed their latest egg was dry and rough. She stays within the cave, brooding over the flock's eggs and keeping careful track of the collective hoard—a job she takes very seriously.