Shimmer-scale Dragons are a very beautiful breed with small—but highly reflective—scales that shimmer and shine as the dragon moves through water. They don’t have fins or webbed feet, but their long, eel-like bodies allow them to swim quite fast. They were once rumored to carry large pearls in their claws—causing many to seek them out in search of this fabulous treasure. In reality, the “pearl” is of greater value to the dragon, for the fabled treasure is actually an egg carried by a migrating female.

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.

Etrkl likes to fight more than her mate, Cdyez, so she gets excited when she has an opportunity. They have the important job of fending off the sea monsters that occasionally swim up the river towards Nworset, but most of the time the water is clear, leaving the two with a pastoral existence. To pass the time, Etrkl raises cuy, which also happens to be one of her favourite delicacies.

Few know that Etrkl has a little hoarding problem. While other dragons may like piles of gold and jewels, she sleeps on a hoard of wheat berries. She rolls around in her sleep a lot, and her scales are surprisingly rough, grinding the little seeds. She usually wakes up in a mound of white, but she insists that she sleeps wonderfully in her flour bed.