As stated earlier, Magic Dragons are primarily influenced by the European Dragon. European Dragons are recognizable by their more lizard like bodies, bat like wings, and generally evil nature. European tradition has dragons with 4 legs, the same creature with 2 legs is considered a Wyvern. Singular dragons in myths are usually known by association with the heroes that defeated them. In this tradition they often live in lairs and fervently guard treasures they have collected. In Germanic mythology the word for dragon was worm, wyrm, or wurm (Germanic, Old English, and Old High German respectively) which are often used currently for dragons or creatures similar to dragons. Here are two of the prominent European dragon myths:
- Saint George and the Dragon: There was a town in Silene that was located near a dragon that ravaged the countryside and attacked the town. To appease the dragon the town gave him two sheep each day, though that was not always enough and they had to send children. The children were chosen by lottery and one fateful day the king's daughter Sabra was chosen. The king offered all his gold and silver and half his kingdom to allow Sabra to live but the people refused. As Sabra later approached the location of the dragon Saint George was on approach as well. She tried to warn Saint George off but upon hearing her story he resolved to stay and fight the dragon. When the dragon appeared he attacked and viciously wounded the animal. With Sabra's help he subdued the dragon and brought back to town where he told the townspeople and king he would slay the dragon in front of them if they converted to Christianity. They agreed and Saint George killed the dragon. The king built a church to the Blessed Virgin and to Saint George. (There is another similar story that less involves the town and has George slaying the dragon close to the dragon's lair).
- Fafnir: Fafnir was son of the dwarf king Hreidmar and had two brothers, Ótr and Regin. Three gods, Odin, Loki and Hœnir, were travelling on a road when they saw an otter, who was really Ótr during the day. Loki threw a stone and killed the otter and the three then skinned the creature. As they continued on they went to Hreidmar's camp and showed him the skin. Hreidmar and his two remaining sons recognized the skin and then trapped the gods, forcing Loki to find a ransom. They demanded the skin be filled with gold and covered in red gold. Loki found cursed gold for the ransom, whoever possessed it was destined to die. After returning with the gold the gods were freed. Fafnir eventually grew extremely greedy and killed his father, stole all his treasures and went into the wilderness. His greed grew so strong and he became so ill-natured that he turned into a dragon who breathed poison, corrupting the land surrounding the treasure. Regin commanded his son, Sigurd, to go into the wilderness and kill the dragon. He explained to dig a trench on the path to the stream and hide in it so that when Fafnir passed over it he could stab him in the heart. After telling Sigurd this Regin ran in fear. Sigurd followed the directions and subdued Fafnir. While dying Fafnir discovers Sigurd is Regin's son and is satisfied to know the curse will kill Regin. After returning with the gold and Fafnir's heart Regin becomes corrupt and plots to kill Sigurd. Sigurd prepares Fafnir's heart for Regin to eat and in the process consumes some of Fafnir's dragon blood. This gives him the ability to speak with birds and he learns of the plot by Regin to kill him. Sigurd then kills Regin first.
Another common trend with European dragons is being on crests and heraldry. Often a local story of a dragon slayer becomes incorporated into the crest and heraldry of the family or area.
As for the 4 cards on the side, the first two (Moltensteel Dragon and Archwing Dragon) overall represent the European dragon feel quite well, more so when the flavor text is included. Another good example is the early versions of Shivan Dragon. Covetous Dragon displays the hoarding treasure aspect of European dragons very well. Fafnir can be similar to the flavor of Form of the Dragon - taking the form at a high cost and high potential.
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1 Comments
I like this a lot, because the links provide a ton of info. Good stuff!
One of the things I like about Kamigawa is the different way they depicted dragons. It would be awesome to see something like the Slavic dragons in Magic, but I just can't see that happening.