Swallowtail Dragons are graceful and quick flyers, much like their namesake bird. They are capable of precise aerial acrobatics, and can reach very high altitudes. Because of this, humans observing these dragons are often astonished at how large they are when confronted up close. A Swallowtail’s diet consists of insects and small mammals plentiful in temperate forests. These dragons are also made remarkable by their paper-thin wing membranes, which allow light to pass through, creating an astonishing effect on starry nights.

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.

Aciarix lives in a city entirely of dracons, alongside her mate Icrin. Early in her schooling, she was one of the many overlooked girls, but after the shallow water Kmakarap fell from popularity to infamy, she rose to almost as high as Kmakarap had been.

Aciarix has always been shy, and she is comforted that her mate is constantly guarding her, even when it gets in the way of normal social customs. She has difficulty feeling temperature, and hardly notices the frigid aura surrounding Icrin. She almost never gets assigned to patrol the borders, for Icrin will not let her go without him and then frets over her too much for either to be any help.