Mariner pygmies do not venture often to any mainland, preferring to lead their lives spread across the ocean’s multitude of small islands. They can soar for great distances with little effort, stopping only as necessary to rest. Mariners feed mostly on fish, sharing large catches with the rest of the colony. Pairs mate for life and usually remain in the same colony; when the colony becomes too large, it begins to split, and the smaller groups relocate to distant islands.

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.

Pygmy dragons are the smallest category of dragons, being on the same scale as domesticated animals. They are often found around concentrated populations of dragons, relying on their larger brethren to ward away potential predators and leave scraps. As such, the majority of a pygmy’s diet is scavenged. Due to their tiny size, pygmies do not breed with larger varieties of dragons.

Cartilaginous is known in her flock as the trier of new things. When she meets somebody on her travels who does something or likes something she's unfamiliar with and offers her to try it out, she takes the offer. Usually, her efforts in a brand new task lead to failure because she can't be expected to be perfect, or even adequate, or even somewhat subpar... Still, she never seems discouraged by her failings to do more stuff, and her kin find her admirable for that. Sometimes, they wish she wouldn't hold up family trips, chores, and other higher-priority things with her activities, though.