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.

Rima is so deeply devoted to her mate Shiki that she has never once spoken to another male dragon, if only to prove her loyalty to him. Some of the other dragons think this is a bit extreme, but her distant nature makes nearly impossible to converse with her anyway.

While Shiki is off on patrol Rima stays behind to tend to the nest. Like her parents and grandparents before her she wishes to raise her children herself, rather than rely on the clan's communal nursery.