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.

There are those who believe that death is not a final end, but rather a second chance at life itself. That the dead will return wearing different faces, with new insight to help them live better, fuller lives. Ze'gawa swears that before she was a Black Marrow, she had the body of a gentle White. She often tells the story of how her White persona died -- she succumbed to the very plague she had been treating in the myriad of patients that lay suffering around her lair because she had refused to take the necessary precautions to protect herself from the disease, instead using her magical energy to help others. Few believe her, but it is odd how such a practical dragon with so little imagination can weave such a perfect tale with such beautiful imagery. And Ze'gawa herself can't deny the frighteningly realistic nightmares she often suffers from. Maybe there is little more to the story than bad dreams and a talent for writing. Or maybe there is some truth to her wild ramblings after all.