When Water Dragons mature, they lose the ability to survive on land, entering the water permanently. They are adept swimmers and eat whatever fish are in the lake they live in. They tend to inhabit the same lake for their entire lives, although a few live in the ocean and swim all over the world.

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.

Hiromi is the fourth oldest dragon of clan Chiyo and, by far, the largest and strongest of the clan's many water dragons. This vigilant female constantly patrols around her clan's massive territory through the calm waters of the circular Guardian Lake. She has all life in the lake as well as the surrounding animals and human villages looking for signs of trouble. This method has allowed the rescue of many hatchlings and eggs as well as stopped many a human from crossing the lake to steal dragon eggs which, if they had succeeded, would have probably gotten themselves killed by the resident vampire, Sangsue.