Gold dragons are the ones most often killed by humans, who consider their scales to be extremely valuable. These golden scales grant them a high level of protection, similar to armor, and they use this to their advantage in battle.

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.

Tebrimbor is the illegitimate twin brother of Sithraldur the King, though no one, not even Sithraldur himself, will ever know it. He was raised by an isolated clan on the edge of the kingdom until his wings grew, and then, under orders of his father, was imprisoned and bound in an iron mask to hide his eyes, which are an unusual purple and a mark of royal blood. He spent decades locked in a cell that was too small, barely able to see the outside world beyond through the narrow slits in his mask. At first he roared himself hoarse at the injustice of it all. But as days and nights blurred together and his entire world became a the heavy sheet of metal that enclosed his face, he began to incriminate himself in his mind. It started out as a way to pass the time but soon he believed it. Now he crouches in the shadows, his once-golden scales scratched and dull, his rich purple eyes starved of light, and his heart heavy with the false knowledge that he is the worst dragon to walk Valkemare.