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.

Pern is a member of a group of Water Dragons who live together in a large lake. He acts as the leader, with a strict judgement and tough nature. The male resolves disputes and usually never gets any time to himself because of that. The group members are always wanting his attention to fix things.

Pern has a tune like the rest of the group, except with a key difference. He uses his gills for sound as well as his mouth, allowing the male to twist two different pitches together. Using telepathy to put lyrics in, Pern's songs are long and captivating, which means that the whole group listens to him when he sings.

While Pern may seem calm and detached from feeling, the male is rather insecure. Having so much responsibility on him has caused the dragon to get anxious over the little things, though he tries to hide such feelings. Fortunately for Pern, one of the members, Tune, has pledged loyalty to him and is always there to help Pern figure out the situation.