Black Marrows are named for their dark colored hides which are encased in a distinct exoskeleton. Their skull and the top edges of their spine push out from under the skin as they age. As such, their young need excessive amounts of calcium for this armor to develop. The older a Black Marrow dragon is, the more skeletal their appearance. They often use their skeletal looks to lure in foolish scavengers or terrify predators. These vicious dragons love nothing more than to crack open bones with their stony beaks and eat the marrow inside. Voracious scavengers, Black Marrows will swarm and devour corpses both old and fresh, sometimes even dragging larger finds to the water to allow them to “ripen.” Despite their dreadful demeanour and often horrid stench, Black Marrows are devoted mates and parents.

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.

Many dragons find Marrows revolting with their hideous decaying bodies and putrifying diet. Ka'iwi was lucky having been raised under the care of the child of dragons, yet he still received typical treatment from most of the other dragons- all but Naleo the Black dragon, Yagete the White dragon, and his brother whom he grew up with, Koa the Tri-horn Wyvern. Because of this, they receive his kind and caring nature exclusively. Knowing that he has dragons who love him, he's comfortable with being himself. When he catches the others staring at him with scorn when he's dragging in a carcass, he tears flesh by viciously wiggling his head and breaks the skull open. Ka'iwi never wants the others to feel he will ever attune to their beliefs. One day, the child of dragons brought in a hatchling that appeared dead and Ka'iwi recognized her as a Vampire dragon. He observed the same disgust by the others and took the Vampire under his wing. He names her Ka'aki and raises her like his own daughter.