Blacktip Dragons are a small, shore-dwelling breed that tend to nest on sheer ocean side cliffs. They live in groups under a dominant female, who prevents her subordinates from breeding. During the mating season, a group of Blacktips can be very noisy and smelly indeed; males produce a distinctive musky odor and loud, low-pitched honking noises in an attempt to woo the alpha female.

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.

Hickman is the fastest member of his group on foot and on wing, so if Leader wants a message delivered or something chased after, he's usually the one assigned. Sometimes, he can be found down at Quay Two, crouched with his head sideways by the water. After a few minutes, he heads off somewhere in the town of Sana Tonia. Every time he comes home, he doesn't know why he had his head by the water and doesn't seem to remember being at the seaside at all. He isn't lying when he claims this because Leader can tell liars, and nobody would dare try. The group used to think he was looking for something he dropped, or fishing, or just observing sea life, but when someone finally reached him in time before he flew off, Hickman told him he was "listening to the dirge of those who plumbed inadvertently", and then he would have to go to Sana Tonia to "surrender (his) memories". Leader is intrigued by what he's doing, and she's organizing a little investigative jaunt to see what that's all about.