Hellfire Wyverns are so named for their foul tempers and fiery visages. Their social structure places all females above all males, due to superior physical characteristics and violent dispositions. Forced subservience of the males causes them to become vicious, petty, antisocial, and passive-aggressive compared to the aggressive and social females. However, orphaned hatchlings raised by foster parents of another species can develop surprisingly even tempers and mellow dispositions, proving that their defining unpleasant nature is, in fact, a learned behavior.

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.

Makawela-o-Pele, a Hellfire wyvern spawned of the hatred of an ancient and powerful volcano goddess named Pele. Pele possessed a burning hatred towards Kamapua'a, a boar demi-god, who threw a fit and engaged in battle with the beautiful Pele for teasing him for having fallen in love with her. Pele found the egg and decided to pass the egg on to a human girl that lived among dragons, far away from the flame and storm of the battle. The girl graciously accepted the egg and took care of it with the help of her White dragon companion, Yagete. When the hatchling appeared from the egg, the girl lovingly raised her as she grew into a strong dragoness. Makawela loved her mother and her family, and was utterly aggressive to outsiders. She was aggressive to males who dared to pursue her, and bullied the new additions to the family, including hatchlings. Though she seemed to have made an exception for Bilcus the Gold wyvern, the blue of her flame shining on his scales makes her heart skip a beat.