The Elux Lucis are a nocturnal breed of dragon found in the far north and at the peaks of particularly tall mountain ranges. During the day, their deep indigo scales easily conceal them among the trees, but at night, their remarkable iridescence is revealed; even the faintest starlight reflects off of their bodies in a dazzling display of colors. In flight, they almost resemble living auroras soaring across the night sky. During the winter, flocks of Elux Lucis fly south to hatch and raise their young. This annual migration is well known for filling the night sky with a display of reflected moonlight and starlight so vibrant it seems as though the northern lights themselves have wandered south.

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.

Mouhoun is a "class mass cot". She still doesn't know what that means, but she gets free food, living quarters, and education for doing pretty much nothing. She knows how to speak three languages, catch fish with her mouth, calculate compound interest, make small objects float in the air, analyze poetry, alphabetize files, fold a napkin, and a zillion other interesting skills that she isn't quite sure how to apply in "real life". Some important-looking people told Mouhoun that she was very small when she was first taken in, but she's now grown (and pretty big) and should be set free soon. This frightens her, not least because "set free" sounds to her like a euphemism for murder, and if that's true, everybody seems so thrilled about murdering her.