Nidhogg/Stories
Quotes
- When Entering Dragon's Roost
- What do you want?
- Ah. Alberius's whelp.
- I'll not play host. If you wish to loiter here, suit yourself.
- After Receiving a Gift
- You can have this for now.
- Here. For you. ...Just a lark, mind. Don't get any ideas.
- After Bond Level Increase
- I'm curious to see where and how it is that you die.
- Don't die easy, now. That would be boring.
- Idle After Bond Level 1
- Take on my form, and you will bring more death than you could alone.
- It's been some time since I last left the Rotten Spring.
- Making war means human death. Can you bear that cost?
- Idle After Bond Level 10
- My fate is to bear witness to the deaths of all living creatures.
- Come and tell me the tale of your life.
- Humans mature, breed, and pass in the blink of an eye. All their works are but a moment's dream.
- Idle After Bond Level 20
- I pass my time wondering what death might befit you.
- I never seem to grow tired of watching you.
- I am master over death, yet I cannot die myself. Is this not a bitter contradiction?
Dragon Story Episodes
The Dying Man's Words
In the south of Grastaea, there are
areas which humans dare not enter.
And Nidhogg's dwelling, the so-
called "Rotten Spring," is the most
inaccessible of all these places.
The bubbling spring is acidic,
and releases a constant fog of
noxious gas that permeates the
area and kills all life.
Nidhogg was the only being who
could bathe in the water and live—
so naturally he never had any
visitors.
But one day, Nidhogg came across a
man who was soaking in the spring.
After a moment's hesitation, the man
looked up at the dragon with bleary
eyes and mumbled a short greeting.
Soon, his story was told: The man was
once a noble, but after a rebellion,
the new ruling powers sent him to die
in the land of Nidhogg.
They told him it was befitting one of
his stature to die beside a grand
dragon.
"I am not some puppet to be used
in the petty quarrels of men,"
growled Nidhogg.
"Aw, don't be too upset," chuckled
the man as he gazed up at the
massive figure of Nidhogg. "'Least
I got to meet you before I die."
The man feared nothing—not even
the dragon. For as he was already
a dead man, what was there to fear?
"I've no motive to kill you," said
Nidhogg. "But that gas will do its
foul work ere long, and there will
be not even bones left in the end."
The cursed dragon closed his black
wings and examined the man, who
suddenly realized that Nidhogg did
not bring death—he was merely an
observer to it over the eons.
The man was then filled with curiosity
about the dragon, and decided to
use his final moments asking
questions of him.
As his body began to melt into the
Rotten Spring, the man felt no pain
or fear. Instead, he was gripped by
an intense curiosity about the
locale's ruler, Nidhogg.
"Will you die, dragon?" he asked.
"I know not," replied Nidhogg.
"Are you envious of the dead, then?"
"Why would you ask this of me,
human?"
"Because of the great interest you are
taking in me," said the man with a
rattling wheeze. "And yet, to you,
my life should be as insignificant as
a maggot on a rotted apple."
"I merely thought that a creature who
did not know death might envy one
who does. But it seems your endless
life has made you apathetic."
"How foolish," snorted Nidhogg.
"Death is the end of the flesh, nothing
more. Being free from its skeletal
grip does not make life any more
or less significant."
"You consider life and death to be
intrinsically linked because you must.
To think otherwise at the moment of
your end would invite madness."
The man laughed weakly. "You're a
tough nut to crack, dragon. But let
me ask you something as an
impartial observer to life and death:
Is there a world beyond this one?"
Nidhogg grew silent, for the man had
finally asked a question to which he
had no answer. He could administer
death. He had watched it countless
times. But he could not experience it.
The man laughed, delighted. "To tell
the truth, I'm excited. I never asked
to be born into nobility, and was
always envious of the explorers
who journeyed into the unknown."
"And now I've found a journey
where even the wisest of dragons
can't say what awaits me at the end!
If this be my final moment, it is a fine
one indeed."
With that, the man exhaled a final
breath and slowly sank into the
spring. Nidhogg watched over the
spot where he had been for a long
while, then returned to his slumber.
The man had set off to a new world.
But nothing changed for Nidhogg.
And nothing ever would.