Guardian Dragons have large shields on the end of their tails. Although the shields appear to be heavy, they are light, yet nearly unbreakable. Guardian Dragons use their tail-shields, as well as their wings, to deflect attacks and protect others. Often, they will guard the eggs and hatchlings of a nest while others are away. They are generally peaceful, and will not retaliate unless necessary. They have no need to forage or hunt, as they are fed by those they protect.

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.

Observer-expectancy-effect's cognitive bias caused her to unconsciously influence the participants of an important hatchling color-coordinating experiment while studying the effects of protection versus open nest design. It was a significant threat to the study's internal validity, and her results were unfortunately rendered invalid. However, she has begun a new experiment controlled using a double-blind experimental design and hopes this time she will be able to present her theory in the upcoming Dragon Science Conference.