Black Dragons are warriors. They are strong and capable in battles of force, but also ample magic users, capable of devastating opponents with their spells. Their bright eyes give them excellent night vision, which is why they generally hunt during the night.

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.

Shade, like so many other dragons, was stolen from a cave as an egg by a human. That human, who never spoke their own name, hatched her successfully. But, once she began to show her feisty and wily personality, the human showed distaste. So she was placed on the ground and left alone outside the cave. She crawled back in and found her mother, who did not help her. So she curled up and waited for someone to save her. Then, finally, a kind human walked up and took her to be part of a large clan of dragons, the Rain clan. She was the only hatchling for awhile, and even when Mandarian hatched, he was too busy with his red egg to bother much with Shade. So she remained alone until she grew up, and even then was alone among the adults, the only one who was not hatched in the Rain clan. But then her angel came: she was flying in the sky when she met Stormy Sky, one of the most solitary dragons of the clan. He offered his friendship, and then friendship became true love.