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.

Ryker's first love is his mate, Eimar, and his second love is working with Eimar to give hatchlings flying lessons on the beach below their cave. While his mate deals with the younger, rowdier hatchlings, Ryker takes the more experienced bunch out above the windy waves to learn more advanced techniques, like flying in the rain and dealing with strong winds. To a select few he will teach tricks such as flips, spins, and aerial combat, but only to those he feels are capable of performing such maneuvers. Unknown to his mate, Ryker dreams of one day adopting a young hatchling that they can raise together. But he knows that Eimar does not want the responsibility that comes with raising a child, so he keeps the idea to himself.