Durlin
the rebel leader of Nidavellir
Durlin was a dwarven official of Nidavellir and a former rebel leader who, with Laufey, led a failed uprising against the Aesir. Years later he quietly aided Kratos and Atreus in their search for Tyr.
Durlin was a dwarf of Svartalfheim and a minor official of the city of Nidavellir, and once a rebel leader who led a failed uprising against the Aesir alongside Laufey. Years later, embittered by his failure, he quietly aided Kratos and Atreus in their search for Tyr. He kept a pet creature named Dinner. (God of War Ragnarök)
The failed rebellion#
Durlin was once a rebel leader who, in alliance with Laufey the Just, sought to lead the dwarves in an uprising to resist Odin and the Aesir. During that effort he forged a hammer that became a symbol of the Dwarven Resistance. The rebellion failed, the Aesir putting it down. As punishment one of Odin's sons, Heimdall, burned the side of Durlin's head, leaving a lasting wound, while Laufey fought Thor and escaped. The Aesir confiscated Durlin's hammer and hid it beneath a great stone statue, where it long remained. In the years that followed, Durlin bitterly drank away his failures and took on the lowly post of Safety Official in Nidavellir. (God of War Ragnarök)
Aiding Kratos and Atreus#
When Kratos and Atreus first met Durlin, he assumed they had come to threaten him, until he learned that Laufey, the woman he had known, had married Kratos under the name Faye after her escape. He was devastated to hear of her death but quickly hid his grief. Under the guise of fining them for breaking his safety rules, he gave them a map to Tyr's location in Svartalfheim, and his sea creature Dinner gave Atreus a seed from Alfheim. Later, when Odin came to Svartalfheim with Atreus, Durlin questioned the All-Father about the boy in a deliberate effort to cover his own part in helping the two travelers. (God of War Ragnarök)
Character and companions#
Sarcastic, blunt, and depressed, Durlin numbed his disappointments with drink, yet he remained an ally to the dwarves of Nidavellir and to the resistance. His pet, Dinner, was a young creature Kratos called a baby Kraken, a hybrid of squid and octopus. (God of War Ragnarök)
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Durlin in God of War?
- Durlin was a dwarf of Svartalfheim and a minor official of the city of Nidavellir, and once a rebel leader who led a failed uprising against the Aesir alongside Laufey. Years later he quietly aided Kratos and Atreus in their search for Tyr.
- What happened during Durlin's rebellion?
- Durlin and Laufey the Just led the Dwarven Resistance in an uprising against Odin and the Aesir, and during that effort Durlin forged a hammer that became a symbol of the resistance. The rebellion failed, and as punishment Heimdall burned the side of Durlin's head while the Aesir confiscated his hammer and hid it beneath a great stone statue.
- How did Durlin help Kratos and Atreus?
- Under the guise of fining them for breaking his safety rules, Durlin gave Kratos and Atreus a map to Tyr's location in Svartalfheim, and his sea creature Dinner gave Atreus a seed from Alfheim. Later, when Odin came to Svartalfheim with Atreus, Durlin questioned the All-Father about the boy in a deliberate effort to cover his own part in helping the travelers.
- What is Durlin's connection to Faye?
- Durlin had known Kratos' late wife as Laufey, his ally in the failed rebellion, and was devastated to learn she had married Kratos under the name Faye after her escape and had since died, though he quickly hid his grief.
- What is Dinner in God of War?
- Dinner was Durlin's pet, a young creature Kratos called a baby Kraken, a hybrid of squid and octopus. It gave Atreus a seed from Alfheim.
Gallery
Images via God of War Wiki
Sources
- GameGod of War Ragnarök, Santa Monica Studio, 2022
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Atreus (Loki): Kratos's Son and the Truth of His Name
Atreus was the son of Kratos and the Jotunn Faye, born in Midgard and given the hidden name Loki. Across two great journeys he grew from a sickly boy into the prophesied champion of the Giants, the god of mischief whose fate was bound to Ragnarok.
Faye: Laufey the Just, mother of Atreus
Faye was the Jotunn Laufey, wife of Kratos and mother of Atreus. Her foresight showed her own death, so she planned the route her ashes would take.
Kratos
Kratos was the demigod son of Zeus who rose from a Spartan general to the Greek God of War, destroyed the pantheon of Olympus in a quest for vengeance, and then began again in the Norse realms as a father seeking to leave his bloody past behind.
Kraken: the sea beast of the Island of Creation
The Kraken was a giant meat-eating sea monster, an octopus-like horror of armored tentacles and a fanged maw. One rose against Kratos on the Island of Creation after the death of the Last Spartan and nearly crushed him before he impaled her through the mouth, while in the Norse realms a hatchling of the same breed lived as the pet of the dwarf Durlin.
The Aesir
The Aesir were one of the two tribes of Norse gods, natives of Asgard known for their war-like nature and their hunger for knowledge. Descended from the slain primordial Ymir and ruled by Odin, they claimed dominion over all creation, waging genocide upon the Jotnar and war upon the Vanir before their fall in Ragnarok.
Alfheim: the elves' war over the Light
Light and Dark Elves fought for centuries over the Light of Alfheim, the source that powers the Bifrost. It changed hands more than two hundred times.
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Alberich Hollow was a tunnel region in the north of Svartalfheim's Bay of Bounty, entered from the great wooden walkway above Dragon Beach. Its abandoned dwarven works held half of the seed that opened the road to Muspelheim, a rift into Yggdrasil, and the lair of the dreadful Grim Ormstunga.
Aurvangar Wetlands: gateway swamps of Svartalfheim
The Aurvangar Wetlands were the warm, geyser dotted swamps at the southern entrance of Svartalfheim, the main waterway to the Dwarven city of Nidavellir. Abandoned by the Dwarves and infested with Grim and Wretches, they were the first ground Kratos and Atreus walked in the Dwarven domain during their search for Tyr.
Dragon Beach: bone strewn shore of the Bay of Bounty
Dragon Beach was a geyser pocked shore on the eastern edge of the Bay of Bounty in Svartalfheim, scattered with colossal remains and the ruins of an abandoned Dwarven settlement. A dragon that seemed carved from stone waited at its southern end, and the ghost of a treasure seeking sailor lingered on the ledges above its sands.
Dwarves
The Dwarves were a race of short humanoids native to Svartalfheim, renowned across the Nine Realms as peerless smiths, builders, and alchemists. Their craft was sought by mortals and gods alike, though their service to Odin came at a bitter cost.
Heimdall: the watchman who saw every attack
Heimdall's foresight let him read minds and dodge any blow, until Brok worked out it could be overwhelmed. The Draupnir Spear got past it, and Kratos killed him.
Kraken: the sea beast of the Island of Creation
The Kraken was a giant meat-eating sea monster, an octopus-like horror of armored tentacles and a fanged maw. One rose against Kratos on the Island of Creation after the death of the Last Spartan and nearly crushed him before he impaled her through the mouth, while in the Norse realms a hatchling of the same breed lived as the pet of the dwarf Durlin.
Lunda
Lunda was a dwarven blacksmith and old friend of Brok, whose skill rivaled the Huldra Brothers. She armed Freyr's resistance and supported Kratos and Atreus in the war against Asgard.
Nidavellir: the dwarven capital of Svartalfheim
Nidavellir was the capital city of the Dwarves in Svartalfheim, a mining settlement set between the wetlands and the Bay of Bounty. Its name meant Dark Fields in the dwarven tongue, and its streets lived under the shadow of a great statue of Odin.
Raeb
Raeb was a dwarven musician and tavern keeper of Nidavellir. Blunt and cynical, he pointed Kratos toward Durlin, and later performed the music for Brok's funeral.
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