Water Walkers are small dragons that are frequently found around bogs and ponds. While they are flightless, they retain the flight sacs and hollow bones of their airborne cousins. These traits, coupled with their extraordinarily long, webbed toes, allow them to stand on top of calm waters, using their small sails to propel them wherever they please. They spend the majority of their lives on the water, retreating to the tops of lily pads when the waters become too rough to float atop.

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.

Togalas was born and raised like a typical dragon; floating the tops of ponds with his mother. After he grew up, however, he had a stunning realization: Floating your whole life on a pond is boring. Because Water Walkers still have the air sacks of flying dragons, Togalas pondered what would happen if he tried to jump off a high cliff. The result was plummeting like a rock. He was only saved by a passing Horse dragon who happened to see him fall, and couldn't just let him die. Soon, Togalas found the dragon's name to be Yeotai, and later fell in love with her. They share a lot in common: both like to find new things, both love the air and both have an allergy to cornbread.