Alcedine Wyverns are large, colorful dragons found all over Galsreim. They are highly active and become bored and fidgety with nothing to do, so much of their time is spent travelling. Alcedines are quite speedy on the wing and rarely bother to land until they reach their destination. Because of their speed and navigation skill, Alcedines are sometimes sought by humans looking to have items or letters delivered to faraway locales. Many Alcedines will take them up on it for the right price, and it is not uncommon for Alcedines to have a small hoard of jewellery in their dens or rings on their horns.

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.

Quickstart is a messenger for the Weyr of Flame. She's not the fastest Alcedine in her Clan, but she's clever at finding shortcuts to make up the difference. Recently, she discovered she could save precious hours between some key settlements if she climbed the face of Mount Val'Direa and glided down.

It was on the snowy, clouded face of the tall mountain one day that Quickstart met a strange dragon calling himself Lord Eros. Though he laughed with all the delight of a hatchling with eggshell still on his snout, there was something ancient in the way he spoke with wistfulness about the land below, and he asked her with genuine curiosity about her life with such kindness.

She tried to find him again, either in the Weyr records or on the peak, but he seems to have vanished as mysteriously as he appeared. Quickstart keeps to her duties, but every time she climbs the mountain, she rises a bit higher than before, hoping to spot the tufted pink tail, the kind, wise eyes somewhere in the snow.