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.

Sympathy tends to take her breed's traditional mating ritual a little too far. She suffers from kleptomania, stealing every kind of shiny or even vaguely interesting object that enters her sight and gathering it all up in a huge hoard. Though she does still give the stuff back, the issue comes with what she steals. Often, Sympathy will swipe incredibly valuable or important items others cannot live without: family heirlooms, powerful weapons, spell books, potions, stuff others do not want to lose. This has gotten her into some serious trouble over the years, resulting in her more finicky, paranoid attitude. Her best friend, Empathy, is good about calming her down, though. He understands how her impulses function and helps her through the rough spells. In return, she helps him not act so serious and stubborn. The two of them support each other nicely and always have one anothers' backs.