When Water Dragons mature, they lose the ability to survive on land, entering the water permanently. They are adept swimmers and eat whatever fish are in the lake they live in. They tend to inhabit the same lake for their entire lives, although a few live in the ocean and swim all over the world.

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.

Shenzhen resides in an area with a humid subtropical climate, a place that sees little frost but much fog and rain. Many humans live along the coast and rely very much on trade for their wealth. They have several spoken forms of the same language that look the same in writing but sound vastly different, all of which Shenzhen knows. Because of Shenzhen's dragon status, they see him as a neutral third party while bartering. Other dragons turn their brows down at him for interacting with humans, but only he among them is safe from being hunted, and he has thousands of allies who don't take kindly to seeing him harmed.