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NameHrimfaxi
AlternatesHrimfaxe, Fiorsvartnir
PronunciationHREEM - FAKS - EE ("Hr" is pronounced just like it looks)
ClassificationHorse
OriginNorse
Latin TextNone
Colt
In Myth:
Hrimfaxi is a celestial horse that pulls the dark chariot of Nott, the black dis of night. She was the daughter of a the giant Norfi/Narfi/Narvi. Nott was thrice married: first to Naglfari to whom she bore a son named Aud, then to Annar with whom she had a daughter Jord, and lastly to the Æsir god of dawn Delling. From him, she had a son called Dag, meaning day.DewDrop
The Æsir took Nott and her son Dag, and to each of them gave a horse and a chariot. Nott received Hrimfaxi, and Dag its brother, Skinfaxi. They were then ordered to ride around the earth every two half-days. Yes, your math is correct. "Two half-days" is just a fancy way of saying "every day", but it is how the Norse worded it.
Hrimfaxi runs in front of Skinfaxi. To the Norse, the night preceeded the day. A new day was marked as beginning when night fell.
It is said that Hrimfaxi produces a foam by chomping on its bit, the mouthpiece to which its reins connect. This foam plummets to earth, and, in the morning, it can be seen as the morning dew on the grass or, in wintertime, the frost. The morning dew will be the food for the two human survivors of Ragnarök, Lif and Liftharsir, protected from the destruction by hiding safely in a place known as Hoddmimir's Holt.
Hrimfaxi is the horse of night, not of the moon. Some sources report otherwise, but simple logic will contradict this. The steed Alsvid pulls the chariot of Mani, spirit of the moon. Aside from Dag (Day), there is also Sol, spirit of the sun, who has a chariot pulled by twin steeds. The Norse have a chariot for night and moon, day and sun, which differs from other mythologies.
The name of Hrimfaxi translates into "Frost Mane" ("Hrim" = "Frost", and "Faxi" = "Mane").


Dew Drop
StagesDew Drop
Colt
Chariot
StrengthPowerful Magic
WeaknessPoor Physical Attack
AddedJuly 9, 2001
Creator's Notes:
Hrimfaxi was the second creature made for Battling Dragons.
One of the most notable features of Hrimfaxi is that it begins its life not as horse. There is no mythological precedent to this; Hrimfaxi was created before monsters of only two forms existed for BD. I didn't see any other choices besides horse and horse with chariot, and it obviously had no egg to come from. Therefore, I came up with an infant form in the shape of a dew drop -- a constant theme associated with Hrimfaxi.
Like Nidhogg, there is little description given to Hrimfaxi. Some sources describe the horse as dark, but none of the original texts describe it as such. The only hint to its appearance is that it has a frosty mane (and even that must be inferred from its name). Thus, I decided to make all of its bristles frozen stiff. As an icy creature, blue seemed a more fitting colouration than black, and a silvery tone was given to its coat to match the metal its chariot was described as.
In fact, black would most likely be a more suitable color for Hrimfaxi. Aside from "frosty", the Norse hrim can also mean the soot at the bottom of a cauldron. Black does not play nice with BD, however, since it blends into the dark backgrounds, not to mention it is not to interesting or attention grabbing.
Hrimfaxi is the Norse horse of the night, which was not always true for its time here at Reality's End. It originally debuted as the horse of the moon. You can find many sources that do in fact claim Hrimfaxi as the horse of the moon, but better sources and simple reason will lead one to its true purpose.
The spell Nightbringer received its name from Daybringer, which was a Firewalker calvary unit in TSR's Dragon Dice game.
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