Gold dragons are the ones most often killed by humans, who consider their scales to be extremely valuable. These golden scales grant them a high level of protection, similar to armor, and they use this to their advantage in battle.

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.

One day, Umwandlung (trans.: metamorphosis, as of metamorphic rock) unfurled herself from an egg—a tight little golden stone—into a tiny golden dragon. And, years after, buds of wings appeared at her shoulderblades, and by and by she changed into what she is today. She knows that things change, but also knows that things won't keep on changing like this. One morning, she suspects, she may wake up as something unrecognizable—gold worn away, perhaps, or figure diminished, or shrunken to the size of a cockroach.