Aria dragons are a brightly-colored and sprightly breed, perhaps most adored for their lyric calls. Their song-like melodies fill the areas they inhabit; their coos resemble those of birds, only more elegant and refined. They have fairly strong magical capabilities, but tend to reserve these strengths for last-minute defense, choosing to live their lives in simple peace. Arias, sticking to the tropics, typically live quite far from human settlements, giving rise to the previously held belief that they had gone extinct.

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.

For as long as she can remember, Friedanne has been held up as an example of femininity: attractive, gracious and submissive. Now, as an adult, she keeps the cave perfectly tidy and minds the hatchlings and eggs.

But in the long afternoons, when all the other dragons are off hunting, she sometimes catches herself staring too fixedly at the rocks above her, and she can't stop herself from wondering what else there might be to life, and whether she doesn't deserve to find out.