The Staterae is an ancient species of wyrm thought to be the origin of all Xenowyrms. It has long been considered to have gone extinct as its kind has not been seen in many millennia. Recent sightings, while rare, have confirmed that this species still lives in a variety of different environments. While most of its distant offspring have adapted down to single environments, this behemoth retains many of the diverse characteristics of each of them. Staterae pay no mind to lesser creatures, often avoiding contact completely and remain extremely enigmatic. Their magics are not well understood beyond being immensely powerful, and there are those that consider them to be divine beings.

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 Braid, a collective of dragons dedicated to making the world a better and safer place, got its name from its three interwoven goals of prevention, preservation, and restoration. The heroic dragons of the Prevention Strand defend against threats of all sorts, from natural disasters to invading humans. Serhl was a surprise to everyone. Even her parents hadn't expected a staterae egg quite that soon. Her parents expected her to stay at Shatterbone Weyr with them to help with the administrative aspects of running the Braid, but she didn't want to be the only one of her many, many siblings barred from seeing the wider world. Eventually, she reached a compromise with her parents. Serhl could join the Preservation Strand as long as her team included at least one zyumorph sibling and kept well away from human-created disasters.