Albino Dragons are so named because their translucent, scale-less skin lacks all pigment. Instead, to help protect their bodies from the sun, they are coated in an oily secretion that blocks the sun’s harmful rays. The call of an albino dragon is similar to a barn owl--a shriek instead of a roar.

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.

Cleareyes once believed herself to have a certain gift: the gift of prophecy, the gift of futuresight. She believed that when she looked into a still pool, the Great Ones, or whatever forces guide the universe, would give her information that she needed. Now, that belief in her power has left her, for Cleareyes never saw a hint of what would befall her Weyr. When the Great War came, Cleareyes was completely surprised, as many dragons were. She was lucky that she didn't lose her life and that her hatchlings and mate survived; still, that survival came at the cost of hiding, of not fighting alongside the Weyr's rightful leader Nightburner. Since the end of the War, Cleareyes has fallen into a deep depression, hardly talking, barely alive, blaming herself for not seeing the destruction of the Weyr coming.

Her mate, Whitevein, remains faithful to her, doing what he can to bring her back to her sweet, lively self...but there is no sun for those who live in the shadowed places of guilt.