Heartstealing Dragons are an unusual breed, named for their mating rituals. These dragons use their long, slender bodies to sneak into both human and dragon holds to steal things over the year. Then, when the right season hits, they give away their entire hoard as gifts, leaving things in the homes of other dragons to attract them. When these gifts are found, however, the recipients can’t always tell who gave the gifts. This receiver often assumes the source of the gift was the original owner, causing them to form friendly bonds with other dragons in the area, spreading peace—and sometimes even sparking love. The only way to know if a gift is from a Heartstealing Dragon is to find one of their wafer-thin scales at the scene.

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.

She was a mischievous dragon, once. As was standard among her kind, she took things and moved them, and enjoyed the fluster and sometimes love that followed. Her mistake, however, was that she unwittingly stole something of great and grievous value to a king--and left it nestled snugly in the house of a foreign spy.

The war that erupted in its wake lined the land with blood, and in horror and determination she rose to stop it. Working alongside a band of trusted companions, the "Bloody Angels" carved peace out of the chaos, taking down cruelty and corruption on both sides and leaving a far gentler kingdom in their wake. Yet even as she was hailed as a hero, the blood red dragon abruptly vanished, without word to family or friend--for she knew the truth, and the weight it left on her fragile heart was far too much to bear.