Ember Dragons have a great affinity for hot environments. While they themselves are not hot to the touch, their tendency to lurk amongst smoldering ashes has caused many to believe they are fire-starters. Their dully glowing markings serve many purposes: acting as a means of identification between individuals, as an important part of mating displays, and as a way of showing aggression. The long, low build of the breed makes them ungainly in flight, and the thick fleshy membranes of their wings hinder them further. As such, it is rare to see an Ember Dragon take to the air. Ember Dragons are also not particularly sociable; females tend to be defensive, whereas males are more aggressive. Once they have settled with a particular group of dragons, Ember Dragons are incredibly loyal and will defend their pack by any means possible.

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.

Smouldering Duty is normally a fairly non-aggressive male for his breed, but is an utterly terrifying sight when threatened, as several groups of black-market traders (searching for the valuable shed scales and eggshells these dragons leave behind at a nest site) have found to their chagrin. One fantastically unlucky group attempted to snatch some leavings from a potential nest-site; apparently they were unaware that the male had not left, as well. Said site was on top of a dormant volcano, but the sight of Smouldering Duty rearing up and attacking before (amazingly) actually taking off to chase the intruders down was said to have been inspiring.