Black Marrows are named for their dark colored hides which are encased in a distinct exoskeleton. Their skull and the top edges of their spine push out from under the skin as they age. As such, their young need excessive amounts of calcium for this armor to develop. The older a Black Marrow dragon is, the more skeletal their appearance. They often use their skeletal looks to lure in foolish scavengers or terrify predators. These vicious dragons love nothing more than to crack open bones with their stony beaks and eat the marrow inside. Voracious scavengers, Black Marrows will swarm and devour corpses both old and fresh, sometimes even dragging larger finds to the water to allow them to “ripen.” Despite their dreadful demeanour and often horrid stench, Black Marrows are devoted mates and parents.

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.

Corpsebeak was orphaned almost immediately after hatching, and was nearly killed by a group of hungry vultures. He was saved at the last minute by Carnelian Shadow, who had just happened to be passing by. Carnelian Shadow, taking pity on the tiny hatchling, attempted to find him a surrogate mother. However, by the time the Vampire dragon located a female dragon willing to take him in, Corpebeak had already grown to care for Carnelian Shadow. Ever since then, Corpsebeak was adamant about accompanying him everywhere, and despite his continued insistence that he'd prefer to travel alone, Carnelian Shadow secretly enjoys having Corpsebeak around.