Vampire Dragons are members of the undead. They sustain themselves by drinking the blood of others. It is said that they are only “alive” at night, and seem dead or asleep during the day, as they cannot endure sunlight for long periods of time. Vampire Dragons can only reproduce by changing the eggs of other dragons, puncturing the shell with their fangs and injecting venom that kills the baby inside.

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.

Despoiler. Soulless. Poisoner. A biter of eggs, a vrepit, a monster spoken of in hushed and furtive whispers. Xiuhcoatl has been called many foul things and he glories in all of them, treasuring each new malediction as a living dragon would relish new additions to their hoard. Not content merely to 'turn' eggs so they birth more of his kind, he uses his venom liberally to wither plants, kill humans and hatchlings, maim adult dragons, and leave a trail of death and devastation in his wake.  

The only being Xiuhcoatl has ever shown any affection for is Cadris, who he found as a lost and naive hatchling howling, half-crazed, and lonely on a remote mountaintop. Recognizing her potential, he took the younger vampire under his wing and nurtured her to be his raiding companion. For all that she is less innately malevolent than he, she is just as hateful in her own way and her greater creativity has helped him to devise cruelties he could hardly have dreamed of alone.