The Dragon Keeper's Handbook by Shawn MacKenzie

Author:Shawn MacKenzie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dragon, mythic creature, handbook, guidebook, guide, magical creature, magic
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2011-08-04T00:00:00+00:00

With the Twilight of the Gods, everything changed. All Hel (pun intended) broke loose, just as the Norns knew it would,162 and no amount of magic or care could protect the World Tree from the ravages of the last battle raging about it. While there are no accounts of Niðhögger playing an aggressive role in the ensuing mayhem, he is a prominent member of the cleanup crew, soaring over the battlegrounds, his mouth dripping with the flesh and blood of the newly dead.

From below the dragon / dark comes forth,

Nithhogg [sic] flying / from Nithafjoll;

The bodies of men on / his wings he bears,

The serpent bright: …

(The Poetic Edda, Vol. I. “Voluspo.” Stanza LXVI)

With the advent of Christianity in Norse culture, the old gods faded into the obscurity of faërie tales; yet Niðhögger retained his underworld command with only minor variations. No longer having to obsess over the destruction of the Universe, he was given the task of serving Lucifer in the lower depths, dispensing punishment to the wicked with tooth and claw. Thus, while his less celebrated kin were targeted as the epitome of evil, after all the blood and gore, this Dragon of cosmic destruction was reborn in the post-Ragnarök world as an instrument of divine justice.

New World Dragons

In the New World, creation was one of those monumental events happening somewhere between earth and sky with a healthy dose of water thrown into the mix for good measure. What an auspicious environment for Dragons!

North America

And yet, among the peoples north of the thirtieth parallel,163 Dragons were surprisingly rare participants. There were, of course, familiar players: Bear, Buffalo, Wolf, Raven. Totemic figures, one and all. Even trickster Coyote got his paws dirty in the shaping and populating of the world. But hardly a Dragon in the lot.164 The exception to this rule—and there always is one—is the Cosmic Fire Dragon of the Huron and Iroquois.

Long ago, during the before-time, in a Universe of water and sky, there was a young woman named Aataentsic. So beautiful was she that the Sky God, Chief-of-All-the-Earth, desired her to be his and his alone. This was quite an honor, to be sure, but one not without its perils. The Sky God had a fierce temper when riled and a jealous streak a mile wide. And desiring was not the same as having: there were tests and trials first. Aataentsic submitted to them all, proving herself worthy to be a divine wife.

For a time they were content, Chief-of-All-the-Earth and his young bride. But the Universe was young and the Sky God was often called away to tend this worry or that. In his absence, Aataentsic spent hours in the company of the Fire Dragon, a spirited and genial being who lit up the skies like a comet with breath and wing. They were close, though only they knew exactly how close. When, in the fullness of the seasons, Aataentsic became pregnant, her husband opened his ears to the malicious gossip drifting through the heavens.

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