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Nidhogg | |
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Nidhogg is a Norse dragon, or wyrm, bent on destroying Yggdrasil, the World Tree which supports the universe. It constantly gnaws on the third and largest root, but all in vain. Every morning, the damages done are healed away by the Norns, the three sisters who control all things' fate, using the mystic waters from Urdarbrunn, the Well of Fate.  Nidhogg resides in Nifleheim, the home of mist and the Norse underworld. In particular, it inhabits the furthest region of Nastrond, the Shore of Corpses. Here the most evil souls are tortured in the chaotic sea Hvergelmir from which all of the world's rivers flow. When not tending to the destruction of the roots, Nidhogg punishes the most wicked dead by sucking on their corpses for sustinence.From the bottom of the universe, Nidhogg exchanges insults with a golden, guardian eagle atop Yggdrasil. These messages are carried by a squirrel named Ratatosk, who runs continuously up and down the ash tree to bring back the new quarrels and abuses. The serpents Goin and Moin, sons of Grafvitnir, join Nidhogg in destroying Yggdrasil by gnawing smaller offshoots of the dark dragon's root. Graback, Grafvolluth, Ofnir, and Svafnir attack the twigs that grow on the tree. There are said to be more wyrms than can be told in Hvergelmir, each aiding in the mighty ash's fall. At the end of the world, Ragnarök, Nidhogg will rise from Nidavellir, the subterranean realm of the dwarfs sometimes synonymous with Svartalfheim. After leading Hel's army of the dead onto earth, it will be one of the few survivors of the devastating battle and carry away the freshly fallen back to Nifleheim. Nidhogg remains in the new world as an everlasting presence of evil. The name of Nidhogg has a variety of translations of which include "Envy Dragon", "Striking Full of Hatred", "Corpse Tearer", and "Dread Biter".
This is my undisputed favourite mythological creature. I made it into a sort of mascot for Reality's End, which is why it appears so much on this site. Very little information is given on Nidhogg. Many sources call it a serpent, but it is clearly described as winged and with carrying appendages beyond the wings. I decided to call it a drake, as the drake was originally a Swedish monster. There is also never any mention of specifics in its appearance, so the look had to be entirely invented. Many make comments on my choice of colouration, which is even a bit of a mystery to me. Originally, Nidhogg was black. Purple was used only as highlights, but it lightened as time went on. The purple and yellow scheme works out well for Nidhogg's conflicting nature (it is an embodiment of evil, but it punishes the wicked and cleanses the world of the dead). Attacks were another difficult thing to make for Nidhogg with its few mentions. No where ever is it hinted that it wields a breath weapon, but most wyrms breathed something or the other (usually poison). I used what seemed to me a simple logic -- if it drains the essence of evil souls, it could store and make use of that evil, dead energy. Nidhogg's shadow magics are concentrated beams of death drawn straight from the source. Nidhogg was the first creature made for Battling Dragons -- that is even where the name came from. Because of its age, many of its characteristics are throwbacks from these times as they were never updated. The spell Tear was originally called Claw. In the original BD, there was no basic attack, so every creature's spell least needed to feature one. Dark Wing originally did damage to the opponent. This was done away with when the basic attack was added to BD. |
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