Coastal Waverunners spend most of their time skimming the waves along the coast, snatching up their prey from the shallow waters. They have developed markings along the leading edges of their body that help disguise them as breaking waves. When they are not hunting, they enjoy playing among sand-dunes and shallow tide-pools. These dragons live in small but noisy rookeries. Some stories say Waverunners can fly for days on end without landing.

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.

Old Cape Cod's home is a hook-shaped promontory, and she has a spot with a nice ocean view. The other dragons don't really get why she cares about the view, since they all do a lot of flying over the ocean and get a good view then. That's not the same. She likes the way the salty air hits her face while she's perched, not flying, and the ample beaches with their dunes that help prevent erosion, and the foamy, lapping waves are most attractive viewed from land. Unlike her brethren, Cod is untroubled by the human settlements below. They are small and cute, and the activity and ringing add to the charm, she says. Plus the humans know how to make lobster stew, which she really likes and can't make herself, and whenever she flies down to an eating-place for some, they accept bits of rocky junk that have accumulated in the cave as trade.