Black Dragons are warriors. They are strong and capable in battles of force, but also ample magic users, capable of devastating opponents with their spells. Their bright eyes give them excellent night vision, which is why they generally hunt during the night.

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.

Coarse, insecure, and neurotic, Xenocide takes his breed's propensity for violence to an extreme. Although many of the clan's dragons need little provocation to kill, Xenocide has practically no limits at all. After the twentieth or so complaint to clan human Kad, she had him chained in the back and periodically given squirrels for amusement. It has had no benefit for his sanity, nor for the squirrels' lives, but no one can bear to put him down as casually as Xenocide has taken the lives of others.