Hraesvelgr

Hraesvelgr is a great wyrm in Final Fantasy XIV, one of the first brood. He is one of the seven wyrms born of Midgardsormr. None can attest to sighting this terrible beast, nor can they deny his menacing presence. Legends say the great dragon nests high in the mountains of Dravania, but records of his existence have faded into memory.
==History==
===Early life===
According to legend, Hraesvelgr fell in love with an Elezen maiden named Shiva, but as her life was but a blink of an eye compared to the ageless dragons, she besought Hraesvelgr to devour her so her soul would be entwined with his for eternity. Though reluctant at first, Hraesvelgr honored Shiva's request and inspired an alliance between man and dragon that lasted for two hundred years. When King Thordan I and his followers broke that treaty by killing Hraesvelgr's sister, Ratatoskr, and robbing his brother Nidhogg of his eyes, Hraesvelgr relinquished one of his to his brood-brother as compensation.
Hraesvelgr is one of the few dragons not to participate in the Dragonsong War due to the calming influence of Shiva's soul. He lives as a recluse in the skies above Dravania with only his brood and the native moogles to keep him company. His brood, many remembering the peaceful days before the war, want nothing to do with the conflict and stay near Anyx Trine at the base of Sohm Al.
===Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward===
The adventurer, Ysayle, Alphinaud, and Estinien journeyed to the Churning Mists to find a way to halt Nidhogg's attack on Ishgard. Once they arrived at Zenith and called him using the moogles' summoning horn, Hraesvelgr rebuffed their pleas. Despite Ysayle's protests, he explained the "Shiva" she called was not his beloved, but a false imitation created from myth—something the "dark ones" had tricked his kind into doing in the Third Astral Era with his brood-brother, Bahamut. He explained the truth of what happened a thousand years ago and why Nidhogg will never accept peace, detailing how thorough war of attrition was part of his brother's revenge.
With no other option left, Estinien and the adventurer entered the Aery and slayed Nidhogg and realized his remaining eye was not his. Returning to Zenith, the adventurer returned the eye to Hresvelgr. When Ysayle called him out on being an accessory to Nidhogg's thousand-year wrath, Hresvelgr reminded her of what King Thordan's betrayal had cost him, and reminded them that his bond with Shiva was the only thing keeping him from seeking vengeance for Ratatoskr's death.
At some point Hresvelgr and Ysayle made peace, for they were later seen at Azys Lla when the Enterprise Excelsior was under attack by the Garlean dreadnaught Gration. Leaping from Hresvelgr's back, Ysayle transformed into her primal form to assault the Garlean vessel to buy the adventurer and others time.
When Nidhogg, now possessing Estinien's body, prepared for his final assault against Ishgard, Aymeric journeyed to Sohm Al alongside the adventurer and Alphinaud to attempt to persuade Hraesvelgr to assist them, despite his earlier refusal. Though he initially rebuffed them once more, he eventually relented upon further persuasion from his father, and put forth a trial at Sohr Khai, Ratatoskr's former abode. In the final trial, Hraesvelgr himself challenged the adventurer, Alphinaud and Aymeric in combat. Upon seeing their strength, he agreed to put his faith in mankind one last time and pledged an alliance with Ishgard to stop the final chorus.
When Nidhogg laid siege to the Steps of Faith, Hraesvelgr and the adventurer arrived to challenge him. His attempts to persuade Nidhogg into letting go of his hatred were for naught, and the great wyrms dueled in the skies. Though they seemed evenly matched at first, Nidhogg overpowered and wounded Hraesvelgr who gave the adventurer one of his eyes, granting them the power to defeat Nidhogg.
Once Nidhogg's spirit was finally destroyed, Hraesvelgr returned to Sohm Al, accompanied by the adventurer and Midgardsormr.
===Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood===
After the defeat of Omega, Hraesvelgr arrived with Biggs and Wedge to rescue the adventurer, Cid, and Alpha from the collapsing Interdimensional Rift due to the request from his father, Midgardsormr.
=== Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker ===
Though not seen physically, Hraesvelgr's brother Vrtra mentioned how Hraesvelgr, as well as Tiamat, had provided valuable artifacts to Sharlayan to help in the construction of the starship Ragnarok, mainly Midgarsormr's scales.
When Vrtra, the Warrior and their allies rescued Hraesvelgr's long lost sister Azdaja from the void of the Thirteenth, Vrtra and Azdaja roared together, receiving an answer from Hraesvelgr and Tiamat, that their sister has returned home.
==Characteristics==
===Appearance===
Hraesvelgr is a large, slender white dragon with four legs and two pairs of wings. His head extends from a crane-like neck, with four forward-facing horns. He possesses feathers at the end of his wings and back of his head, a trait not present in his sire, most of his brood-siblings (aside from Azdaja), or progeny. He possesses a second smaller pair of wings aligned with his rear legs, also a trait shared with brood-brother Vrtra and his sire Midgardsormr (though the younger incarnations of Midgardsormr encountered during the story also lack this second set of wings, along with being more "dragon"-like in shape as a whole), but not with his other known brood-siblings Nidhogg, Tiamat, and Bahamut. Hraesvelgr's wing feathers are whitish-blue, while the feathers on his head are black-tipped.
When first seen, his left eye is missing, which is revealed to have been been given to Nidhogg. The eye is returned to him after Nidhogg's defeat, though Hraesvelgr later lent it to the Warrior of Light.
===Personality===
While not as hostile as Nidhogg, the memory of Thordan's betrayal makes him bitter and sullen to the mortal races. His bond with Saint Shiva is the only thing keeping him from joining his brood-brother's quest for vengeance. He nevertheless retains a flicker of hope for reconciliation, which is why he helps Ysayle atone and ultimately is persuaded to defend Ishgard.
He seems to hold his father, Midgardsormr, in great regard. It was through him, that Hraesvelgr agreed to defend Ishgard as well as answer his request for assisting the adventurer again by saving him and his companions from Omega.
==Gameplay==
===Battle===
Hraesvelgr is the final boss of the dungeon; in Patch 6.3, this encounter was overhauled. A manifestation of him takes also part in in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers. He merges with Shiva in a similar manner with Ran'jit merging with Gukumatz after getting past the Flood of Light phase. Hraesvelgr is part of the penultimate phase in in which he is mind-controlled through Allagan Neurolinks to fight alongside Nidhogg in an alternate timeline. Due to his vow to Shiva not to kill humans, if any player dies to his attacks during this phase, he will become enraged from the broken vow and gain significant damage up and vulnerability down buffs, ensuring a wipe.
===Triple Triad===
==Voice==
Hraesvelgr is voiced by Steven Hartley in all versions.
==Gallery==
Heavensward Dragon Art 02.jpg|Promotional artwork.
FFXIV Hraesvelgr CG.jpg|Promotional artwork.
Ryne and Hraesvelgr from FFXIV.png|Render from Ryne and Hraesvelgr's manifestation in Eden's Verse: Refulgence (Savage).
==Etymology==
==Citations==
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XIV
Category:Dragons