Fáfnir: the brother who became a dragon
Norse / Old Norse literature · Recorded in 13th-century Icelandic manuscripts
Nugget: OKAY. Fáfnir is the greatest dragon glow-up in all of mythology, and he has a GOLD HOARD and I need everyone to know about it.
Runey: (adjusts spectacles) Noted. Let's do it properly.
Before the dragon
Fáfnir is one of three sons of Hreiðmarr. His brothers are Regin, a master smith, and Ótr, who liked to spend his days as an otter. When the god Loki killed that otter, the gods had to pay Hreiðmarr a ransom: enough gold to fill and cover the otter's skin. Loki took that gold from the dwarf Andvari, including a ring Andvari cursed so that it would destroy whoever owned it.
How he became a dragon
The curse worked fast. Fáfnir killed his own father to take the gold, refused to share it with Regin, and went off to guard it. In the stories he takes the form of a great serpent-dragon and lies on the hoard on Gnitaheiðr, breathing poison over anyone who comes near.
Nugget: He turned into a dragon on purpose so he could sleep on gold. Honestly? Relatable.
Toastie: RELATABLE!!
The end of Fáfnir
Regin raised the young hero Sigurd and sent him after his brother. Sigurd dug a trench in Fáfnir's path and struck upward with the sword Gram as the dragon crawled over him. In Fáfnismál, the dying Fáfnir talks with Sigurd and warns him that the gold will be the death of whoever owns it. Afterward, Sigurd roasts the dragon's heart, burns his thumb, puts it in his mouth, and suddenly understands the birds. They warn him that Regin plans to betray him.
Runey: The curse keeps going long after Fáfnir. That's most of the rest of the saga.
Nugget: …so the lesson is "don't keep cursed gold." Adding that to the Lootpack rules.