Magi Dragons are, as their name suggests, primarily magic users. They rarely use physical forms of attack. They eat anything they can kill, which is almost everything. They won’t kill unprovoked except when hunting, although they may kill humans if in danger. Their strong magic makes them one of the most feared breeds of dragons.

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.

Earnestine's family and three friends tell her that she should stop living in the past. For instance, she only listens to music played by a single bard, who must wear fancy clothes, including pantaloons that puff at the legs and shoulders and an artistic-looking hat. Multiple humans playing instruments at once is terribly noisy and unacceptable, and all the "kids these days" love it . Earnestine is also suspicious about the kind of magic dragons do, with new spells that are too specific and exotic. There are too many things to remember and too many ways to screw up. There's always new research (or as she calls it, "hooey") going on that her gut instincts say are wrong, and there are new things to learn about the various sciences that no one questioned before. Earnestine is known as the grouchy dragon who can't get with the times and grumbles about newfangled things all the time.