When Water Dragons mature, they lose the ability to survive on land, entering the water permanently. They are adept swimmers and eat whatever fish are in the lake they live in. They tend to inhabit the same lake for their entire lives, although a few live in the ocean and swim all over the world.

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.

The Fan is a fan of boats and other floating transports and hangs out in a shallow bay to watch them. One ship in particular has her interest: a great sailing vessel, made of cedar that appears bronze in the sunlight, its figurehead a pair of silver dragons curled around the bow. The Fan is usually at the biggest dock whenever it departs or comes in, to be as close to it as possible. The ship is large enough to comfortably accommodate fifty men and sturdy enough to easily withstand sea-dwelling dragons and other large creatures bumping against the hull. That boat's size and durability and the number of other boats floating around worry the Fan's companions, most of whom think it's a matter of time before she collides with any one of the ships and is severely injured. She insists that she's very careful and there's no reason to fret for her safety, but they know that one day, there will be disaster when the ship hits the Fan.