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.

Sithraldur is the proud king of a small, poor nation. His people live in wretched conditions, kept at bay by the desperate hope that their king will be a better leader than his father, who sought only to increase the size of his massive hoard of gold. Indeed, Sithraldur has already done what he can to give his father's wealth back to his people, but some wounds are too deep to heal. He knows that eventually he will fall, and his legacy with him, to the vengeful claws of his poverty-stricken people. He desperately wants to repair the damage that has been done. He puts on a brave face to his subjects and constantly gives words of encouragement to the dragons who make their homes in his all but forgotten kingdom, but the reality of failure is a terrifying constant in his life, always hanging over him like a dark cloud on the verge of loosing a bolt of lightning. The dragons of his court would say he has nothing to worry about, but he can't help but see their suffering around every corner.