Painted Ray Pygmies are found in the ocean where their coloration helps them to blend in to the sea floor. They will cover their heads and bodies in a thin coating of sand and sense nearby prey by feeling the vibrations of the water with their dorsal fins. Once suitable prey draws near, they will spring out in ambush. Painted Ray Pygmies tend to breed large clutches at once, laying their eggs in a pile where the ocean currents can supply the eggs with warm water. Sometimes these currents will pull a stray egg from the clutch and wash it ashore.

These tiny dragons are picky breeders, and will only breed when they feel ready and able to tend to a nest. Once they are ready, they will use mana they have collected in their scales to shift their colors and signal to their potential partners that they are seeking to reproduce.

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.

Pygmy dragons are the smallest category of dragons, being on the same scale as domesticated animals. They are often found around concentrated populations of dragons, relying on their larger brethren to ward away potential predators and leave scraps. As such, the majority of a pygmy’s diet is scavenged. Due to their tiny size, pygmies do not breed with larger varieties of dragons.

Tiny Parade Pygmy was born in a nest in shallow water among three much larger eggs. He was first very scared that he was meant to be food for whatever hatches out of those eggs, but he soon learned that his parents intended no such thing. His family is big and colorful, composed of different dragon breeds, and with careful teaching from his parents and his grown siblings, everybody gets along despite their physical differences and varying needs. Anyone is allowed to leave the family when they're ready and feeling independent, though Mother and Father encourage their children to keep in touch. Tiny Parade discovered when he was very young that he could change his brown scales to different hues, though he couldn't do this reliably until he was nearly grown. This weird ability scared him for a while, but once he learned he was a "Painted Ray" and that this sort of thing is normal for his breed, he felt better.