Copper Dragons are masters of stealth, slipping silently and swiftly through the forests and jungles where they live. Often hunting in groups, their prey rarely know they are being stalked until the dragon’s at their throat. In the air they are agile and skilled. Copper Dragons prize family groups, spending large amounts of time teaching their young skills. So great is their love of life and family that they will sometimes adopt orphaned dragons of other breeds to raise.

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.

Sterling McMaster has a great passion to understand the breeding system of odd plants, such as adder tongue ferns. He believes that studying them will lead to the Golden Age of dragonkind. When he is not exploring fern life cycles, he is practicing his deadly ninja art. The combination of his extreme dexterity and his "boring" hobby (those other dragons don't know that if they haven't tried, but alas) make Sterling McMaster the best secret assassin, as he is excellent at escaping notice and quick to make a kill (maybe their mocking of his studies makes it easier to do the deed). He is paid through a middle man to keep his identity safe, and his handler is Lily Teatime, who is more vicious than her name would suggest. Sterling McMaster has made his peace with working for such a heartless dragon, at least until he gathers enough data on adder's tongue ferns to bring about a glorious new epoch.