Heartstealing Dragons are an unusual breed, named for their mating rituals. These dragons use their long, slender bodies to sneak into both human and dragon holds to steal things over the year. Then, when the right season hits, they give away their entire hoard as gifts, leaving things in the homes of other dragons to attract them. When these gifts are found, however, the recipients can’t always tell who gave the gifts. This receiver often assumes the source of the gift was the original owner, causing them to form friendly bonds with other dragons in the area, spreading peace—and sometimes even sparking love. The only way to know if a gift is from a Heartstealing Dragon is to find one of their wafer-thin scales at the scene.

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.

Artful is a highly unusual Heartstealing Dragon. Like all of her kind, she enjoys stealing things from other dragons, and using that as a way to affect the relationships of other dragons in the area. However, Artful has a dark streak in her. She sows ruin in her wake, damaging existing  friendships by stealing from one and leaving the evidence in the lair of the other. She does this year-round, too. Artful does sometimes set up more traditional connections, especially during the early spring festival of love during which falls her own birthday. She feels the Heartstealing instinct more strongly then. Otherwise, she is a force of random change, sowing discord and mistrust as often as love and friendship. Many dragons believe that all of this is because she is a Revenga by blood; though she's not often seen associating with her Caligene kin, Artful's father is an Alpha—Amanita, the herb-sage and poison-brewer. The blend of October and February spirits came out dark and strange in her.