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.

In the deep forest where Keiso lives, there is an old, gnarled tree with craggy branches that dip low to the ground. The humans and dragons that pass through the area know it as "the ghost tree" or "the memory tree", as it is rumored to aid those who remember pain that they wish forgotten. Humans will tie scraps of cloth to the tree to wish for better thoughts, and dragons will leave shed scales when there is something that weighs on their mind. Keiso tends the tree herself, clearing weeds away from its roots and bringing water when the soil is dry, and occasionally draping flowers over the branches for passersby to see. Sometimes, when someone lingers at the tree in the evenings, Keiso will stand guard from afar, watching over them until they are ready to move onward.