Draugr

*"Forged by the deadliest war-smiths ever to crawl from under the great worm's belly, a sword of the most secretive-rare iron, bound with bone of the jötnar. Weightless in its owner's hand, yet like a dragon's fang, its bite can never be dulled, never broken nor bent. Its blade could only be quenched in human blood. It is a battle-flame like none other. Its name: Draugr. The Undead. It is fated."*
―Heimir the Fool[src]
**Draugr** the Undead is a magical sword forged in ancient times.

## History

### Forging

Draugr is forged in ancient times by the deadliest war-smiths who ever lived. They create it with the most sercretive-rare iron and bind it with the bone of the jötnar. They make it to be weightless in the hands of its owner, but with a blade that can never be dulled, bent or broken and can only be quenched by human blood.

### The Warrior King

*"It is not mine to give. You must make a visitation to Draugr's owner – the Mound Dweller."*
―The He-Witch to Amleth[src]
Draugr is wielded by the Warrior King, who orders it buried with him upon his death.

### Prince Amleth's Quest

*"I am a fool. It was foretold that I would drown my father's killer in a burning lake. Till that day comes, I will torment the man who made my life a Hel. Now, sleep well, night-blade. Yes, we thirst for vengeance, but we cannot 'scape our Fate."*
―Amleth to Draugr[src]
Prince Amleth is told to travel to Iceland by a Seeress, who advised him to follow the vixen's tail to the dwelling of the ancient one to find the sword that will match his brutal rage. He follows an Arctic Fox Vixen to a cave occupied by a He-Witch, who helps him commune with the spirit of Heimir the Fool. The late fool tells him of the sword's origin and capabilities, but the witch warns him that it can only be unsheathed at night or at the Gates of Hel. Amleth demands the sword, but the witch tells him that he must visit the Warrior King, who is now called the Mound Dweller.

Amleth enters the burial mound and attempts to take the sword, but the Mound Dweller comes to life and attacks him. He is a formidable foe, but Amleth eventually stuns him by exposing him to the light of the full moon. Burying an axe in his back, Amleth brings the Dweller to his knees and causes him to drop the sword. Taking Draugr for himself, Amleth decapitates the Dweller before picking up his skull and inserting it into his rear end.

As he returns to the farm at Freysdalur, Amleth comes close to killing his uncle, Fjölnir, but is not discovered. He realizes that he must kill Fjölnir at Gates of Hel and hides the sword in the thatched roof of the byre, telling it that while they thirst for vengrance, they cannot escape their fate.

Several nights later, Amleth unsheathes Draugr and kills Hersveinn Battle Hard and Hjalti Battle Hasty. He then dismembers their bodies and nails them to the barn in the shape of Sleipnir. The temple priestess, Áshildur Hofgythja, examines their wounds and determines that they were left by otherworldly means. She determines that the distempered spirit wields a hungry blade and will ride again, and that a sacrifice must be performed to sate its bloodlust. Later that night as she and her assistant Hallur Freymundur attempt to sacrifice the kitchen slave Melkorka, Amleth enters and rescues her, binding and gagging Áshildur and castrating and disemboweling Hallur.

The next night, Amleth enters his mother Gudrún's bedchamber and holds Draugr to her neck. She comments that his sword is long and he reveals his identity to her. She reveals to him that she conspired with Fjölnir to kill him and his father, King Aurvandil. She then attempts to seduce him and tries to take Draugr, but he wrestles it from her grip. He then enters Thórir's bed chamber and impales him before cutting out his heart.

The next morning, Amleth reveals himself and battles against Fjölnir's men. Unable to unsheath Draugr, he bludgeons them with it, but they overpower and capture him. As Fjölnir tortures Amleth in an attempt to discover the location of Thórir's heart, Finnr the Nose-Stub attempts to unsheath the sword, but cannot and throws it down in frustration. During Thórir's funeral, Amleth is rescued by Olga.

Amleth later returns to the farm under cover of darkness and slaughters Fjölnir's soldiers. He kills Finnr by stabbing him through his nasal cavity and disembowels Hallgrímr Half-Troll before entering the longhouse in search of Fjölnir. He is attacked by Gudrún and stabs her through the heart with Draugr, for which she thanks him. Gunnar attempts to avenge his mother and Amleth kills him in self-defence by slashing him with Draugr. Fjölnir then arrives and takes the bodies of his wife and son, agreeing to meet Amleth at the Gates of Hel.

Amleth travels to the peak of Mount Hekla, where he and Fjölnir engage in a furious duel to the death. The duel concludes with Draugr claimng Fjölnir's head, though Amleth is fatally wounded and the sword is left abandoned by his side as he dies

## Trivia

* In Norse mythology, a draugr is an undead creature similar to the Mound Dweller.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Eggers, Robert; Sjón, *The Northman*, Focus Features, USA, April 22, 2022