Balloon Dragons are so named because they are filled with a gas that makes them almost lighter than air, similar to balloons. However, they are not prone to bursting, as they are covered in tough skin and can deflate themselves if necessary. In addition, they generally are slow moving. They use their gas bladders to float to the tops of trees, where food is more abundant. They can shift their weight from their backs to their fronts, allowing them to reach leaves and fruit.

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.

When Caequib was a wee hatchling, the thing he feared most was a thunderstorm. When the pitter-patter of rain began to escalate and he thought he heard the Grays headed outside to stir the clouds, he fled to the deepest corner of his room and trembled himself to sleep. One morning, a young Gray was feeling particularly cantankerous and stormy, and the sudden darkness and thunder woke Caequib from a pleasant dream. Terrified, he stumbled into what he thought was his normal hidey-cave-corner only to find another hatchling already there, curled up on the floor and shaking with fright. Immediately forgetting his own fear, he bumbled in and curled up around her, murmuring soft sounds and trying to comfort her. Each of them gained a new friend that day, and they remained close even after they grew old and fat.