Dragons

Dragons were massive reptilian predators that roamed the Norse realms in the time of Kratos and Atreus. Several distinct kinds existed across the realms, scattered far from their native homes by the manipulations of Odin. Giant, horned, and ferociously aggressive, they breathed fire laced with lightning and held a singular menace over the Dwarves, the only beings they could perceive as they walked between realms.

Kinds and abilities#

Dragons in the Nine Realms took the form of giant feral reptiles with horns and, for most kinds, wings. The Dragons native to Midgard were the largest, bearing six limbs, while the Dragons of Svartalfheim were smaller and four-limbed. The crocodilian Dreki dwelt in Vanaheim, and the huge, wingless Drakes were native to Alfheim. By the time of Kratos' travels, the three non-Midgardian kinds had spread across many realms through the meddling of Odin. Nearly every Dragon could breathe a destructive mix of flame and lightning, and most were capable of flight. They were creatures of singular aggression, and they alone could perceive Dwarves even as those crafters walked invisibly between realms, which made them the Dwarves' only real menace.

The Grand Culling of the Wyrms#

Centuries before the time of Kratos, an event known as the Grand Culling of the Wyrms brought about the deaths of many Dragons. Who carried it out, and why, was never made plain, though it is held to have struck Midgard, whose native Dragons were the only kind shown to have dwindled in number afterward.

Dragons turned from Dwarves#

Some of the Dragons of the realms had not been born as beasts at all. Fafnir, Otr, and Reginn had once been Dwarves, brothers among that crafting race, before being transformed into Dragons. Mimir attributed the greater intelligence of the Svartalfheim Dragons to this Dwarven origin. Their transformation tied the Dragons to the wider history of Svartalfheim and its people.

Dragons of Kratos' journey#

Kratos and Atreus crossed paths with several Dragons in their travels. The first was Hraezlyr, a male Dragon they encountered on their climb toward the summit of the highest mountain in Midgard, whom Kratos fought after finding the beast menacing Sindri. Another Midgardian Dragon, Dagsetr, served Baldur as a mount; when Baldur attempted to carry Atreus to Asgard upon it, the ensuing battle with Kratos left Dagsetr mortally wounded and sent it plummeting to its death. Across the regions of Midgard, Kratos also freed three Dragons that had been chained and bound, by destroying the shrines that held them. In the later war, Dragons appeared throughout the realms, some invading Vanaheim and Alfheim, and one joined the great battle of Ragnarok itself, raining fire across the field as both a threat and a hazard to all who fought there.