After the great war of Ragnarök, and with Odin now gone, the dwarves of Svartalfheim prospered immensely. While other races suffered devastating losses, the dwarves emerged relatively unscathed. This was largely because only two minor dwarven clans had joined the battle on Loki's side. A century later, their realm flourished, a testament to their minimal involvement in the conflict.
From the thriving land of Svartalfheim, thirteen great kingdoms rose. This gave birth to the legend of nine dwarven kings, each with a golden castle, and four others who commanded not only golden castles but also golden fortresses. However, as is often the case, immense prosperity was followed by disaster. The dwarves' vast wealth attracted a creature just as obsessed with gold as they were: dragons.
In ancient times, people spoke of only one dragon, "Níðhöggr," who lived by gnawing at the roots of the world tree, Yggdrasil. But in this occasion, there were many other dragons that once lived in a semi-slumber beneath the earth. It was likely the Ragnarök war, which shook the heavens and trembled the earth, that caused many dragons to appear in the time that followed.
Dragons are truly strange creatures. They don't actually need to eat or drink; they can live eternally by simply slumbering from time to time. Yet, they have an immense appetite. There are many tales of dragons passing through and drinking ponds and lakes dry, or stealing and eating livestock. Not only that, they have a strong affection for objects that glitter or glow, such as gold and gems.
At the height of their golden age, the dwarves' immense wealth made them a constant target for attacks by many dragons. But among these creatures, there was one name whispered in fear above all others: Vulkanfang, a great dragon known to be far more powerful and wicked than any other of its kind.
Born from the heart of volcanic lava, Vulkanfang was a colossal beast with skin of rugged black and red stone. Its breath was a scorching fire that could melt even the hardest of gems, while its massive claws were said to create ponds with a single, deep imprint. The dragon's immense size was a terrifying sight; tales say that during its assault on the kingdom of Gullborg, its long, winding tail struck and damaged the city wall of the distant kingdom of Gullhjǫrr. In its wake, this one dragon alone wiped out and seized the realms of five dwarven kings.
But Vulkanfang was not alone in its devastation. Two other great dragons, Harðtennr and Eldhali, also emerged, and each of them seized two more dwarven kingdoms.
What was perhaps even stranger was that the kingdom of Haugbúi was seized not by a great dragon, but by a swarm of wyverns. These creatures, little more than small, low-intelligence dragons, are known only for their primal instincts to hunt for food and build their nests. Yet, this swarm managed to invade and occupy the golden castle of Haugbúi.
While the kingdom of Haugbúi was among the wealthiest of the dwarven realms, its true significance came from a handsome dwarf named Kormárr. Proclaiming himself a Dragon Slayer with the goal of eliminating every dragon, he would later be known as the legendary "Dragon Slayer Hero."
Though born into a family of craftsmen, Kormárr grew to become a prominent poet, eventually earning the esteemed position of court poet in the royal palace of Haugbúi. When the kingdom was attacked by a swarm of wyverns, he was fortunate enough to survive. However, as he ventured outside the golden castle to search for his family, he realized he was not lucky at all. In that moment of profound loss, he discovered that everyone he had known and loved had been killed by the wyverns. With his heart hardened by grief, he swore a solemn vow to eliminate all dragons and became the leader of the surviving dwarven warriors from the kingdom of Haugbúi.
Starting with a small group of just six companions—a mix of dwarves and forest elves—Kormárr proved his mettle. In just four days, they successfully burned the golden castle and drove the wyverns from their kingdom. This decisive victory made him a hero to the survivors, and with the gold salvaged from the scorched castle and fortress of Haugbúi, he forged an army and became its leader.
As the dwarven kingdoms fell, survivors flocked to Kormárr, and his forces grew exponentially. For more than thirty years, he tirelessly traveled the length and breadth of Svartalfheim, eliminating dragons and gathering a formidable army. He famously declared that he had "slain more than four thousand dragons." Yet, for all his victories, the three great dragons—Vulkanfang, Harðtennr, and Eldhali—remained. Those three giant dragons not only survived his campaign but held their territories securely and prosperously, a testament to their immense power.
At that time, only one of the thirteen dwarven kingdoms remained, a final bastion that had defied the dragons' onslaught. This was the kingdom of Dvergarsholdfast. Legend held that its golden castle was located in a treacherous, winding, snake-shaped valley, a natural fortress that had kept it safe from dragon attacks. But the true reason for its survival was far more simple, a secret that would only be revealed when Kormárr arrived to request reinforcements.
The kingdom of Dvergarsholdfast was not protected by a winding valley, but by a woman named Thrudr. The daughter of the great god Thor and a former Valkyrie who survived the war of Ragnarök, she had sought a peaceful life in the deepest kingdom of Svartalfheim after refusing to marry the god Vaali. But her quest for tranquility was short-lived. When the dragon invasion began, she cast aside her quiet life and took on the mantle of a general, fighting to defend the very kingdom where she had hoped to find refuge.
The meeting between Kormárr and Thrudr blossomed into a deep romance, and with it, Thrudr joined his ranks. Her presence not only added a powerful warrior to the forces but also brought a renewed spirit and unshakable strength to the dwarven army. Emboldened by this newfound hope, Kormárr decided to lead his troops on a daring assault to slay the giant dragon, Eldhali.
Through the courageous and reckless fighting of Kormárr and Thrudr, and at the sacrifice of more than half their army, the giant dragon Eldhali finally fell. This hard-won victory was a monumental turning point: the first time a major kingdom in western Svartalfheim was reclaimed from the dragons. With this epic triumph, the names of Kormárr and Thrudr became famous throughout.
Although the long war between the dwarves and the dragons was known across the nine worlds, other lands rarely offered any help to Svartalfheim. The reason was simple: the dwarves were not a race worth helping. Their greed, rudeness, and incessant boasting about their wealth had made them disliked and despised by the other realms. However, once Thrudr's name became involved, the gods could no longer stand by. Thrudr's brother, the god Magni (a son of Thor), found it impossible to remain idle, and the god Vaali, once Thrudr's betrothed, also became a key factor in the coming shift of the war.
The hard-won battle against the giant dragon Eldhali had come at a great cost, and Kormárr knew he needed to rebuild his forces, making them several times more powerful to face their next target: the formidable Vulkanfang. The dwarves believed this great dragon to be even stronger than the great god Baldur himself. For more than a decade, he dedicated himself to this immense preparation. While he worked to strengthen his army, he also spent his time with Thrudr, siring many sons.
With the coarse and sharp-tongued nature common among them, the dwarves began to link Kormárr's long preparations with Thrudr's former engagement to the god Vaali. Whispers spread that Kormárr was simply using his children as an excuse to postpone their next battle, fearing that Vaali would arrive to reclaim his fiancée and bring her back to Asgard. They further joked that Kormárr had no intention of fighting, content instead to do nothing but sire more sons with Thrudr.
This bitter joke, which had long since lost its humor, quickly reached Kormárr's ears. In a fit of cold fury, he declared a new law: anyone who spread the slanderous lie would be punished with 11 days in a dank, wet prison, followed by a permanent brand on their face with a hot iron as a mark of shame. The tragic result was the punishment of several key military officers, and soon, Kormárr's forces began to disperse. The general sentiment among the ranks was a grim judgment: "Kormárr is too narrow-minded; he has no dwarven sense of humor."
In the thirteenth year after the defeat of the giant dragon Eldhali, Kormárr made a fateful decision to lead his troops on a march against the colossal Vulkanfang, which controlled almost the entire northern region of Svartalfheim. This was not an act of readiness, but one born of sheer desperation. Kormárr believed that if he waited any longer, he would not even have a thousand warriors left to fight by his side.
For this battle, not even Thrudr joined him, as she was pregnant with their seventh son at the time. It is said that the army arrived in the land of the evil dragon Vulkanfang on a night when the moon was blood red. Countless drakes immediately confronted Kormárr's forces on a barren field that was later named "Blood Sucker Field". Despite the overwhelming numbers, the army pushed deeper, only to be met by a second wave: a swarm of wyverns.
Kormárr's army handled the wyverns with remarkable efficiency. This was largely due to their powerful crossbows, each one so massive that it required five dwarves to operate. With their extensive training and experience fighting flying dragons, their losses during this phase were significantly lower than in their brutal, initial encounter with the smaller drakes on Blood Sucker Field.
Refusing to wait for his army to fight through the wyvern forces, Kormárr made a desperate gamble. He chose to lead his personal guard of only 20 men on a stealth mission to assassinate the giant dragon Vulkanfang. After nine perilous days, by a combination of luck and fate, the 21 dwarves finally came face-to-face with the black and red dragon king.
The 21 dwarves brought the powerful crossbows. They had a total of seven of them, each so massive that it typically required five men to move. Yet, with a strength far superior to that of ordinary dwarves, these elite warriors operated each weapon with just three men.
The attack plan began with firing all seven powerful crossbows at the sleeping Vulkanfang. It was a complete failure. Four of the spear-sized arrows collided with each other, two missed their target, and in the end, only a single arrow found its mark, striking the dragon king on the head.
The sleeping dragon king instantly awoke, its enormous body stirring with a deafening rumble. Without a moment's hesitation, nine of the twenty-one dwarves abandoned their crossbow positions and charged, running to engage Vulkanfang at close range. Among those nine was Kormárr himself, leading the charge. The remaining twelve men held their ground, relentlessly working to reload and fire the powerful crossbows at the now-enraged dragon king.
In his hand, Kormárr wielded the magical sword Rauðbrandr, a weapon forged from a meteorite with a blood-red blade whose name meant "red flame-blade." It was the very same sword that had slain the giant dragon Eldhali. With his eight companions bravely attacking all around to create an opening, Kormárr seized his chance, moving to deliver a decisive strike to the evil dragon's head.
With all his strength, Kormárr drove his magical sword into the space between the evil dragon's brows. But in that moment, the most unexpected disaster befell our dragon slayer. Instead of penetrating the beast's hide, the legendary sword snapped in two with a sharp crack, its tip unable to even scratch the impossibly tough skin of the giant dragon Vulkanfang.
Feeling pain but suffering no wound, Vulkanfang reacted instantly. Its long neck whipped backward once before coiling and snapping forward, instantly swallowing Kormárr and two of his companions. The remaining dwarves who witnessed the horrific event did not hesitate. Their leader gone, their hope shattered, they turned and fled in a desperate, panicked retreat.
It is said that Vulkanfang did not simply swallow its victims. Instead, it chewed Kormárr and his companions for a moment before spitting them out. As a final act of malice, the great dragon then exhaled a torrent of fire, turning the hero and his men into nothing but dust, ending the life of the most famous dwarven dragon slayer forever.
News of Kormárr's death spread like wildfire across the battlefield, and the dwarven warriors, their spirit shattered, immediately broke and fled in disarray. In their panicked retreat, they abandoned everything, even the powerful crossbows that required five men to move, leaving their most formidable weapons lying idle on the field.
When the devastating news of Kormárr's death finally reached his home, it was his uncle, a man named Solmarr, who had the grim task of delivering the tidings. He found Thrudr resting in her bed, having just given birth to her seventh son.
(This part of the text is a lyrical exchange between Thrudr and Solmarr.)
Solmarr: "My lady Thrudr, I come with bad news." Solmarr began the conversation without any greeting.
Thrudr: "Bad news from the front, isn't it?" Thrudr said, sitting up instead of continuing to lie down.
Solmarr: "It is, my lady. Our dragon slayer has left us." After saying this, Solmarr knelt down and covered his face with both hands to hide his tears.
Thrudr: "Was it Vulkanfang or Harðtennr?" Thrudr asked which evil dragon had taken the life of her beloved husband.
Solmarr: "Vulkanfang. That evil black and red dragon," Solmarr's voice rose at the end of the sentence.
Thrudr: "I told him that facing Vulkanfang was seeking death. Neither he nor I could do anything against that dragon king, yet he chose to go after Vulkanfang, not Harðtennr. Why was it Vulkanfang and not Harðtennr?" Thrudr finished this part of the song and covered her face with her hands, hiding her tears.
Solmarr: "I'm afraid now that our lord is gone, this army will have a great change. All the heads will fight for our lord's position. My lady, you must flee. We must flee now." Solmarr walked over and pulled Thrudr up from the bed.
Thrudr: "Flee? Me? The wife of the great Kormárr, the mother of the commander's seven sons, and a survivor of the great Ragnarök war? Flee? Who would dare...?" Thrudr sang this part with a mix of sadness, pain, and fury.
Solmarr: "If those dwarves bring their armies back, they will have bad intentions. They don't want you or your lord's heirs. They want to be the commanders themselves... They want to be the commander's family themselves..." Solmarr drew out the last part of his voice again.
Solmarr, though Kormárr's uncle, was much younger than our famous dragon slayer. His position was more like a butler to the family, and he had never fought in a war. When he saw his lady's fierce demeanor—a terrifying mix of grief and rage—he was left speechless, completely at a loss for how to act.
Thrudr: "This land belongs to my husband. This army belongs to my husband. His children have the right to inherit everything. Who would dare to think of taking it from them?" Thrudr said, walking back and forth, proclaiming it for all to hear.
Solmarr: "If those armies march, it will be too late. My lady, my lady, everything is already ready. The carriage is ready. Eighteen maids, thirty-two gardeners and workers—everything is ready. Only you need to be ready." Solmarr followed Thrudr back and forth, singing this part behind her.
Thrudr: "Who would dare? I am Thrudr, the slayer of the giant dragon Eldhali. I will not let go."
Solmarr: "They have long forgotten the dragon or the giant. So, my lady, my lady, you must hurry. If you do not hurry, your life may end suddenly.
Thrudr: "Who would dare? I am Thrudr, the daughter of the god Thor. I will not let go."
Solmarr: "They have long forgotten the god or the daughter. So, my lady, you must hurry. If you do not hurry, your seven sons may die sadly."
Solmarr found the key to Thrudr's rage when he mentioned her seven sons with Kormárr. She went silent, her fierce composure dissolving as she stumbled back and collapsed onto the bed, a picture of profound despair. But after a drawn-out moment, a flicker of light returned to her eyes. She recalled another name, and with new strength in her voice, she began to sing.
Thrudr: "I am the mother of seven sons, the wife of the dragon slayer, the granddaughter of the great god Odin. By my holy blood, go and inform the Midgard. I need him urgently. The brother who once gave me his word, inform him. The god Magni."
Solmarr: "Magni, the god of all travelers" he repeated the name of the traveling god and ran out of Thrudr's room to find a way to inform the god Magni that his sister, the survivor of the Ragnarök war, needed his help.
(End of the lyrical part)
Days later, dwarven warriors from all corners of Svartalfheim led their troops to the great army that once belonged to the dragon slayer Kormárr. Acting without manners and with a palpable aggression, they broke through the defenses, shouting their demand to face the widow and her seven sons. With a loud stamping of feet, their relentless march would not stop as they stormed forward, heading to find the unfortunate woman and her seven orphans.
When they reached the final area, all the dwarven warriors were met not with the woman and her children they had come to intimidate, but with a sight that made them stop dead in their tracks. In front of them stood a man known to be stronger than anyone else in the universe. He had willingly cut his hair short to prevent anyone from comparing him to his brother, insisting he resembled his father, Thor, more. Though he was the strongest, he was a paradox: he had to work the hardest because he was the symbol of the law of the holy hammer. This man was the god Magni, the traveling god whom no one or nothing could resist.
In that brief confrontation, the god Magni demonstrated his overwhelming power. Sixteen dwarven warriors were thrown from the area, over a hundred fell unconscious, and an additional sixty-nine were found dead. From that day on, the dragon slayer army remained, but it had a new leader: Thrudr, the Mother of Seven Sons.