If you missed my last Gods of Smite article on Jing Wei and Xing Tian, you can find it only on The Game of Nerds.
Fafnir, whose name translates from Old Norse as “the embracer”, is a dwarf turned dragon in Norse mythology. It is a cautionary tle of greed and its consequences. This greed tore apart a whole family. Fafnir was sometimes referred to as the god of war because of his power and fierceness in battle. Even in war, though, Fafnir was greedy. He wanted more treasure and the accolades that came from being the victor in battle.
Fafnir’s father was Hreidmarr but there is no mention of a mother. His brothers were Otr and Regin and his sisters were Lyngheidr and Lofnheidr. I cannot find a description of how they looked. I do know that these dwarves did not necessarily look the same as the dwarves of Dungeons and Dragons or Lord of the Rings. Not only that, but some dwarves could shapeshift such as Andvari who had the form of a pike, and Otr who had the shape of an otter. Obviously, Fafnir had a dragon/worm shape.
When Fafnir’s brother, Otr, is killed by Loki, Regin, and Hreidmarr catch Loki and demand a weregild. A weregild is basically blood money. You are paid what the deceased life is valued at, usually by the individual that caused the death. In this case, it was given by Odin, Hoenir, and Loki because they were looking for Andvari and killed Otr by mistake. When given the weregild, Hreiomarr, the father, refused to share it and Fafnir killed him for it. took the ring and treasure then refused to share it with his siblings and took off. He turned into a dragon after this with Regin pushing him to do so.
Eventually, Regin’s greed overpowers his love for his brother and he forges a sword to kill Fafnir. Rather than doing the deed himself, Regin makes promises to Sigurd, that if he kills Fafnir, he will be handsomely rewarded. Sigurd only knows Fafnir to be a terror to the land and wants to save people by ending Fafnir’s reign of terror. Regin tells Sigurd of Fafnir’s weakness and how to kill him. Sigurd follows the plan and is successful in killing the dragon. After Sigurd secures Fafnir’s hoard, Regin tells Sigurd to cook Fafnir’s heart so Regin can eat it. In doing so, Sigurd is burned and he sucks on the burn to cool it down. When he did that, he gained the ability to understand birds because there was some blood on Sigurd’s finger that he ingested when his finger was in his mouth. A little birdie tells Sigurd that Regin plans to betray and kill Sigurd. Needless to say, Sigurd struck first, ate the heart, and took the treasure.
Before Sigurd killed Fafnir, he became renowned for his battle prowess. He was fearsome and fierce in battle. He could take a losing battle and turn the tide for whoever side he was on. He fought for the gods just as easily as he fought for mortal armies. He used his natural weapons, his size, claws, teeth, and strength to enhance his aggressive fighting style. He also possessed insane endurance and resilience in addition to having the OP ability to breathe fire.
Have you played as Fafnir? What are your thoughts on the way he plays? Did you know his story? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
