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.

iSin is shiny. Very, very shiny. She's so shiny that humans keep stabbing her and removing bits of her hide, but she is too afraid to fight back, assuming they'll just return in larger numbers. iSin needs to have white dragons around all the time so she doesn't bleed to death from her injuries, and eventually when most of her scales grow back in, the process starts over again. Fortunately, iSin has offspring to help keep watch, and she's getting better at choosing locations to lie low during the day, while the scales she regains are duller than those they replaced.