Veiled by brilliant flames, an Astaarus Dragon is a marvel to behold. They are found only upon the peaks of the highest mountain ranges. They dedicate their time to stellar observation, absorbing light in the process and storing it in the form of shimmering crystals. The flames cloaking an Astaarus are significant: the heat warms their bearer in the frigid conditions of the mountains, and females use their more fervent flames to keep their young warm. The combustion of an Astaarus hatchling is a momentous occasion, celebrated as their entry into adulthood. During mating season, it is not uncommon to see male Astaari sweeping like stars across the sky in playful chase of their prospective mates.

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.

Sakura loves sweets and could eat them all day long, but she never has any patience for the intricacies of recipes or remembering baking ingredients. What she does know, however, is that she's good at handling repetitive tasks like kneading dough and dicing fruit, and her help with these tasks can get her plenty of free treats. Her family members insist she has a strange sort of sixth sense that lets her predict when someone's going to be doing a lot of baking, since Sakura consistently turns up on other dragons' doorsteps on days they're making large batches of pies or pastries. For the most part, her friends and family happily accept her impromptu assistance in the kitchen, and if Sakura sneaks the occasional cookie for munching, no one comments on it.