Balloon Dragons are so named because they are filled with a gas that makes them almost lighter than air, similar to balloons. However, they are not prone to bursting, as they are covered in tough skin and can deflate themselves if necessary. In addition, they generally are slow moving. They use their gas bladders to float to the tops of trees, where food is more abundant. They can shift their weight from their backs to their fronts, allowing them to reach leaves and fruit.

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.

Floatyflop is one of Phoenix's dragons. She is a very dreamy airhead that only likes to float among clouds for hours on end. She grew up with another young dragon named Whipclaw, though they were never very fond of one another. Floatyflop always likes to lay with hatchlings and take them on rides through the clouds. They all love her for it. She seems to have lost her ability to walk on land, but she doesn't actually care. Flying is better any day, she says. When she was a hatchling she had a reputation for being distracted easily. She loves cream puffs, a food only Phoenix knows how to make: none of the other dragons know how she does it. Floatyflop would eat them until she popped if Phoenix let her.