Shadow Walkers are a strange breed that possess the ability to slip between the planes of reality, becoming immaterial. This allows them to hide in the shadows, either hunting from the concealment of near invisibility or evading enemies. Though they become corporeal to mate or to eat, they spend most of the rest of their lives walking in the shadows. Shadow Walkers are wary creatures, though on dark autumn evenings when the leaves fall to swirl in the chill, rain damp air, they may be seen drifting out from the shadows.

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.

The girl was lost and didn't know where her friends were. She had only bent down to fasten her shoe and they had all vanished from her sight, trick-or-treating without her. She shouldn't have agreed to take a shortcut through the woods.

As the hairs on the back of her neck started to prickle the little girl slowly became aware she not as alone as she thought. Turning around she saw a large misty creature staring down at her. Her first impulse was to flee, but the creature did not look like it was about to attack. Remembering her mother's tales of dragons stalking these woods, some friendly, others cruel, she gathered what courage she had left and approached it.

"I'm lost."

She couldn't remember what happened next. Only that she had opened her eyes to find herself at the edge of the woods, just a few streets from her house. Gasping with surprise and joy she ran off home, but not before leaving some candy behind for her rescuer.