Nidhogg — a Black Dragon of Norse Mythology
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NidhoggNidhogg is a black dragon of Norse mythology. The most ancient of creatures, its name translates as "dweller of the dark world." It lives in Niflheim, the land of mist and ice, and gnaws at one of the roots of the tree Yggdrasil.
There is a theory that it began gnawing the root out of hunger for food. At first, it devoured all the souls that traveled down the river Gjöll. But when the chief gods, the Aesir, established Helheim as the realm of the dead, only those denied entry into Helheim began to reach Nidhogg instead — the souls of vile murderers, adulterers, and oath-breakers.
Nidhogg, the Norse dragonNidhogg has a bitter enemy — the Sky Eagle, who dwells at the top of Yggdrasil. The squirrel Ratatoskr carries insults back and forth between them, scurrying up and down the trunk of the tree. It's possible the two have never once met, and that the feud was started by the squirrel itself.
After Ragnarök, Nidhogg will survive and fly away, most likely to its own native world.
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