Gold dragons are the ones most often killed by humans, who consider their scales to be extremely valuable. These golden scales grant them a high level of protection, similar to armor, and they use this to their advantage in battle.

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.

Surya loves to bask in the sun, and will often spend his afternoons on a large rock, wings outstretched to soak in as much warmth and light as possible. His brilliant golden scales can often reflect so much light that he resembles a second sun on Earth, and is too bright for unprotected humans to gaze directly at. At dawn, he and a number of the sunrise dragons have taken to performing a ritual sun greeting, using flowing movements to reflect the light in astoundingly beautiful patterns. This is an amazing sight, and humans (wearing smoked glass lenses to protect their eyes) will often come from miles around to watch. He is a genial and relaxed dragon, but sometimes has been known to complain vociferously about his clan's storm dragons if they call up clouds on a day when he was hoping for sunshine.