Fafnir

Fafnir's History

In Norse mythology, Fafnir was originally a giant or dwarf. He was the son of Hreidmar and the brother of Regin and Otter.

One day, the god Loki killed Hreidmar's other son, Otter, for his pelt. Loki, Odin, and Hoenir then took the pelt to Hreidmar as payment. Hreidmar demanded they fill the pelt completely with gold to compensate for Otter's death.Odin, Loki, and Hoenir traveled to the home of the dwarf Andvari, who lived in a pool, and captured him. Andvari had a magic ring and helmet that gave him great wealth. Loki demanded that Andvari surrender all his gold to fill Otter's pelt.Andvari reluctantly gave up his gold but cursed it, saying it would bring death to all who possessed it. With this gold, Odin, Loki, and Hoenir filled Otter's pelt and brought it back to Hreidmar.However, the gold was now cursed. Fafnir, driven mad by greed after seeing the vast treasure, murdered his own father, Hreidmar, to possess the gold for himself. Overcome with greed and avarice, Fafnir transformed into a massive serpent or dragon to guard his hoard of gold. He took the treasure to a lonely place in the wilderness. Years later, a young hero named Sigurd came upon Fafnir's lair. Sigurd had been raised by Regin, Fafnir's brother. Regin urged Sigurd to slay Fafnir so they could reclaim the family's treasure.Sigurd dug a pit and lay in wait for Fafnir to pass over it. When the dragon slid over the pit, Sigurd stabbed him through the heart with his famous sword Gram. With his dying breath, Fafnir warned Sigurd not to trust his brother Regin.Sigurd then roasted Fafnir's heart over a fire. When it was done, he touched it to test if it was cooked, burning his finger. By licking the burn, Sigurd gained the power to understand the speech of birds. The birds warned him of Regin’s plot to kill him, so Sigurd killed Regin instead and claimed Fafnir’s cursed hoard of gold for himself.