Ymir

**Era**
 **Titles**
 **Affiliation**
 **Status**

**Ymir**, also known as **Mir** and the **Dragon King**, was the god of winter, the father of frost giants, and the first Dragon Rider.

He disappeared during the Wyvern Wars and was forgotten by history, though a shadowy cult worshiped him during the mortal ages.

# Description

Ymir's appearance and true nature are unknown.

It is unclear what role if any he played in shaping the universe, but he called Dragonhollow his home. As a deity of the Pantheon, he either shared power with or was a subordinate of Eris, the goddess of discord.

He was a powerful figure likely able to change shape at will. He was often depicted as a figure clad in black with piercing yellow eyes and wearing a golden crown, but this was a modern invention by the Dragonhollow Historical Society.

Texts found with his armor in the Fourth Era refer to him as a frost giant, though this could have been a reference to his ice armor or status as the "Father of Frost Giants". Alternatively, it is possible one of Ymir's semi-mortal aspects was that of the first frost giant and he was the direct ancestor of their kind.

Those same texts cast doubt on his intelligence.

Some early speculation suggested that Ymir might have been an older name for entity that eventually became Grim, the god of the underworld. This would help explain why his existence was officially denied by the Priesthood of Eris.

# History

Ymir's origins were shrouded in the ancient past.

Ymir's ruling realm was Everfroze, a frigid tundra of ice and snow, and the seat of his power was Snowcrest. He dwelt there with his wife Bellona, the goddess of war, and their daughter Neith, the goddess of the hunt.

He was said to be the "Father of Frost Giants", a breed of creature once native to Everfroze that was believed to be extinct by the Fourth Era. This could mean that he was responsible for their creation as Eris was the dragons, or that they were literally his descendants.

On an expedition to the Hollow, he confronted and tamed the mighty red dragon Mesonyx and brought it back to Everfroze with him, where it nested in the icy subterranean caverns below Snowcrest. He traveled everywhere on the dragon's back, becoming known as the "Dragon King" and the first Dragon Rider, while Mesonyx was called "The Mount of Mir." Thereafter, Ymir encouraged others to bond with drakes and join his Dragon Clan, soaring the skies as one. This ushered in a great period of cooperation between the dragons and the gods.

At some point, Ymir and his Riders invaded the Nether dominion of the pigman warlord Rambro to confiscate a set of War Wings. They were concerned that the powerful enchanted elytra could challenge their skyward supremacy, arguing that the clouds were no place for undead pork-kind.

The Pantheon's relationship with the dragons became strained by Ymir's daughter Neith, who as the goddess of the hunt founded the Dragon Hunters and began leading expeditions into the Hallow to hunt dragons. As the hunting parties ventured deeper and deeper into their territory, the dragons decided they had no choice but to act.

They rebelled against the Pantheon in a conflict that spanned centuries known as the Wyvern Wars, invading the surface through massive end portals generated by Neith for her hunts.

Not being a frost dragon accustomed to cold climates, Mesonyx became sullen and morose by his time there. He grew increasingly weary of being in the service of the Pantheon, whom he came to view as his captors. Furthermore, after centuries of freedom being feared above all others, he felt humiliated to be known merely as "The Mount of Mir". He eventually joined the other drakes in their rebellion, betraying Ymir and breaking their bond forever.

The dragons eventually defeated the Pantheon and Ymir and his family were never seen again and faded from history.

### Legacy

On 4E:370, the adventurers who defeated the Ender Trinity discovered Ymir's armor in the underbelly of a dragon that bore his name. This archaeological evidence led historians to surmise that Ymir was killed during the Wyvern Wars by a dragon that later adopted his name as an honorific in celebration of the feat.

Additional armor pieces were discovered within the Guardian Trench, Sea Sphere, and the Arachnodome. Curiously, the Priesthood officially rejected the existence of any deities beyond Eris and Grim and considered discussion of them blasphemous and heretical, despite the fact that references to Ymir were found inside dungeons created by their own Archpriest HyperSilence.

His former dragon mount, Mesonyx, emerged from hiding on 1E:5 and attacked the Lakelands in the Charring of Lakeview. He was tamed in the Second Era by Matto, but when Matto went into exile to escape the dreaded Dragonslayers, Mesonyx raged across the world and scorched both the Swamplands and the Woodlands beyond recognition. He later aligned himself with the Dragonkin and nested on their floating isle in Sanctuary during the Fifth Era.

Snowcrest fell into ruin after his disappearance and remained abandoned until it was restored by Eris and rediscovered by her people during the Search for Snowcrest on 4E:136, after which it once again became the capital of Everfroze. The frost giants had completely vanished by that time and were believed to be extinct.

The Dragon Riders remained strong throughout the ages, eventually being populated by mortals and playing a prominent role during the Fifth Era. Tox, a leading figure in the clan at that time, ended their ageless feud with Rambro when he raided his home and managed to defeat the pigman warlord once and for all.

# Cult of Benly

*See also: Benly, Cult of Benly, and the Book of Benly*
The Cult of Benly had its own alternate account of Ymir, whom they revered as the true form of their mysterious hero Benly.

They believed that Ymir was the true creator of Dragonhollow but was usurped and killed by Eris and the dragons during the Wyvern Wars after she escaped from Pandora's Box, a prison designed to contain her. According to their sacred text, the Book of Benly, he was then reincarnated as Benly when she created mortal life and continued to oppose her by eliminating her Archpriest Studmuffin, creating temples of worship, and bringing about Bloodmoons.

Their prophecy told of a time in the last days of the hundredth era when Ymir would confront and defeat his old nemesis in a final battle, sprinkling her blood over the ashes of his beloved Bellona and Neith which would unbind their immortal souls from Grim and restore his family once more.

It should be noted that there was little historical evidence for the cult's claims and that they were strongly repudiated by the Priesthood.

# Behind the Scenes

*The following is out-of-universe information about the real world Dragonhollow.*

Ymir is a reference to the character Ymir from the video game Smite, who in turn is based on the god from Norse mythology.