Shadow Walkers are a strange breed that possess the ability to slip between the planes of reality, becoming immaterial. This allows them to hide in the shadows, either hunting from the concealment of near invisibility or evading enemies. Though they become corporeal to mate or to eat, they spend most of the rest of their lives walking in the shadows. Shadow Walkers are wary creatures, though on dark autumn evenings when the leaves fall to swirl in the chill, rain damp air, they may be seen drifting out from the shadows.

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.

Aurus Shade has a well-known habit of disappearing into and out of reality only partially, resulting in a shade-like appearance, which in turn resulted in being nicknamed "Shade" by his master.  Due to his well-trained ability to disappear from reality (from partially to fully out of reality), he makes an excellent scout for the gathering of information; he is able to bypass even the most honed senses of veteran dragon guards.

He has a tendency to be funny and laid-back around his master's other dragons, but he will defend them to the end should the need arise.