Fireworm

The **Fireworm** appeared in 2012 TV series called *Dragons: Riders of Berk*. The Fireworm (originally named the **Flame Eater**) is a Stoker Class dragon that first appeared in *Dragons: Riders of Berk*.

A Fireworm Queen lays thousands of eggs in her lifetime and builds a massive nest made of a flammable gel known as 'Firecomb' to house her many eggs.
The only known Fireworm Queen lives on Fireworm Island, in the base of a dormant volcano. Her firecomb nest extends through multiple catacombs where she tends to her baby Fireworms. Like all mother dragons, the Queen is incredibly protective of her home and babies. While aggressive, the Fireworm Queen is not malicious. If an intruder returns stolen firecomb or backs off quickly, she might just let them leave in one piece.
Although her sting is lethal to most humans and dragons, it actually possesses a restorative power for all Stoker Class dragons. One bite from a Fireworm Queen can reignite a Stoker's flailing flames and and bring them back to full firepower.

Common Fireworms are about a few inches in length. They have orangish-brown scales that glow a bright golden orange color when lit up. They also have five pairs of legs for a total of ten legs and white eyes that glow in the dark. They strongly resemble lizards, with their wide heads and long bodies. When they ignite, they glow orange, and sometimes even light their bodies on fire. From what is stated in the description in *Dragons: Rise of Berk*, it would appear that the average tiny Fireworms are all males.

In *How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World*, Fireworms appear somewhat larger in size than in the TV series. They have short spines down their backs and some under their throats. They have clearly visible pupils and their nose horn is colored darker than their skin. These Fireworms also only have four pairs of legs, in contrast to their series counterparts.

Fireworm Queens/Princesses look similar in appearance to the average Fireworm, but have some differences that make them stand out from the rest. For instance, while the common Fireworm can fit in the palm of a hand, the queen is many times bigger, her size is comparable to that of a Boneknapper. She also possesses several horns located at the back of her nape and the front of her snout that together resemble a crown. When not heated-up or near her nest, the Fireworm Queen's normal skin color is a pale gold, with tan colored horns, spots, and underbelly. She also doesn't glow in this state. Fireworm Queens are, like the name suggests, always female and if another female Fireworm were to be born in a nest which already has a queen, the newly born Fireworm (the Fireworm Princess) would fly off to start a nest of her own. Fireworm Queens and Princesses would appear to be the only females in the species.

The behavior of the average Fireworms is vastly different from that of the Queen.

These dragons are often found in large groups. This makes them extremely dangerous. They are even remotely aggressive, occasionally clinging to potential enemies. Fireworms usually wander away from the nest and live normal lives, often in other islands, but regularly return to their nest to replenish their fire and contribute a portion of their gel to the nest stocks. Fireworms tend to set surfaces they walk on and touch on fire, often causing forest wildfires. They might do this to defend themselves from predators.

Strangely enough, average Fireworms are afraid of fire. As shown in "Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Young Man", when Toothless blasted at them, they started to back off. The Queen, however, is not. In the episode "Race to Fireworm Island", when Stormfly blasted the Queen, she stood firm and kept fighting.

As shown in the episode "Reign of Fireworms", massive Fireworm colonies migrate from island like birds and other animals do in the real world. They usually send Fireworm scouts to make sure the route is safe for passage. It is unknown why the Fireworms have to migrate or why Fireworm Queens have not been seen migrating. It is almost certain the Queen joined the migration during previous occasions as Smidvarg and the Gang where able to form a Fireworm Queen when attempting to redirect the migration. The reason why Fireworms migrate might be the same reason why birds migrate, to escape the cold winter months of Berk.

Usually Fireworms make their homes in dark caverns with series of complex tunnels. Fireworm Queens are very protective of their firecombs of gel and eggs will chase down anything that tries to take it, or fight to the death to defend them against intruders. As she is a mother, the Queen has a devoted, discreet nature even on rage to take back her firecombs, and being highly intelligent as being capable of conjecturing the intruders' motives and objectives. She is also intelligent enough to know when she is unable to defend her nest from intruders, and seek help from her friends as shown in "Crash Course".

Despite their aggressive nature (to protect their nests), they seem to know if another dragon's fire is worn out, and are kind and sympathetic enough to reignite other dragons' firepower with their venom (only species of Stoker class receive benefits). This may well be a natural instinct for the species.

It would appear that the Fireworm Queen does most of the work in the nest. She produces most of the Firecomb, which she then molds to form the strucutre and cells of the nest. She also produces a grand part of the liquid Firecomb Gel which she stores in the cells. She also lays all eggs, and cares for the hatchlings. The Fireworm Queen constantly cleans and repairs the nest and cave entrance, and guards and protects it at all costs.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Body Temperature & Glow**: All Fireworms can heat up their skin to a temperature expressed to be hotter than the sun, hot enough to be able to burn almost anything. While doing so they also generate a great amount of light, and sometimes, they even set themselves and surfaces they walk on aflame. It would appear that the closer two Fireworms are to one another, the brighter they will shine. This ability is used as means of self defense and for lost individuals to find their way back to the nest. A great number of Fireworms using this ability are virtually unapproachable and undefeatable, only moving when exposed to their main weakness. Particularly the Solar Flare subspecies appears to have extremely hot skin. Due to this it can only exit its cave during the warmest days of hot summers and would appear to remain in its nest during cooler days. This is probably because reptiles, like dragons, are cold blooded and their body temperature depends on its surroundings. Being in the cold may mean that this dragon may lose too much heat.
* **Firepower**: Fireworms are not shown to be able to breathe any fire, but Fireworm Queens have extremely powerful, bright, napalm-typed fire breaths that are very unruly gaseous fire that emit small firework-like particles (indicating extreme heat). These flame blasts are surprisingly potent, and visually resemble a mix between a Monstrous Nightmare's and a Red Death's fire breath. Fireworm Queens also appear to have a hotter, less destructive, more concentrated and accurate version of their fire breath similar in appearance to a Deadly Nadder's magnesium fire breath. It seems that they use this fire type while in their nests to avoid accidentally destroying anything and as a tool, to shape the cave systems near the nest to their liking.
* **Fire Power Combos**: As shown in the episode "Crash Course", it appears that Fireworm Queens can combine their firepower with other Stoker Class Dragons (at least Monstrous Nightmares) to create a very powerful, force field-like blast of fire to defeat opponents. This ability appears to regenerate both participant's strength and health as the Fireworm Queen was severely wounded when Hookfang picked her up to initiate the ability, and after they finished performing Combined Firepower the Fireworm Queen was completely healed and back on her feet.
* **Strength & Combat**: Fireworms do not have much strength mainly due to their small size, but Fireworm Queens possesses strength apart to that of a Typhoomerang. They also have strong prehensile tails that can pick up large objects over 5,000 lbs or more. The Fireworm Queen managed to pick up Hookfang with her tail. She also effortlessly pushed full grown trees out of her way while searching for the Dragon Riders. She was able to stand her ground against a Cavern Crasher, but was unable to defeat it alone.
* **Speed & Agility**: Fireworms are shown to be relatively fast dragons, being able to outfly Hiccup, Snotlout and Toothless while in the caves of their nest. Due to their small sizes Fireworms are quite agile as well. Fireworm Queens are fast dragons as one was able to catch up to Toothless, Hiccup and Snotlout while flying in the caves, and then took a short cut and reached the exit before them. While on foot she was able to steadily pursue the flying Dragon Riders's dragons who where fleeing from her. She also flew fast enough to find the Dragons Riders and lead them back to her nest before the Cavern Crasher even reached the nest's main chamber. Fireworm Queens are shown to have a flexible body because they need it in order to have a prehensile tail and fly in and out of the complex cave systems that surround their nests.
* **Endurance & Stamina**: Fireworms have shown quite some endurance as they are often tossed around and launched in the air due to their small sizes and inability to cause serious harm, yet they suffer little to no damage. They were shown to have a decent level of stamina when they migrated as shown in Race to the Edge. Fireworm Queens have great endurance. One Fireworm Queen was able to take many blasts from the Dragon Rider's dragon and seem to suffer no damage at all. She also stood her ground against the Cavern Crasher and despite having been scratched several times, went looking for help to defend her nest, not seemingly affected by the damage done to her. Fireworm Queens have a good stamina as well, as Snotlout's Fireworm Queen went through great lengths to defend her nest from the Cavern Crasher. She flew for what was probably days seeking the aid of the Dragon Riders and once she found them, flew straight back to her nest and returned to her duties as mother and ruler of the nest while defending it from the powerful intruder.
* **Venomous Tongue & Healing Venom**: A Fireworm's tongue is capable of injecting a potent venom fatal to all animals, Vikings, and most dragons. That same venom, however, can also be used to reignite a Stoker Class dragon's worn-out fire, preventing their imminent death. The Fireworm Queen demonstrated this ability when she injected and healed Hookfang with her venom.
* **Firecomb**: Fireworms produce a wax-like substance called Firecomb which they utilize to construct their hives. They also produce a liquid version called Firecomb Gel, the source of their heat and fire power, which is stored in solid Firecomb containers in the nest for later consumption. The Queens appear to be the individuals that produce the most Firecomb in a nest, and will endlessly pursue anyone that attempts to steal even a single container of Firecomb Gel. Firecomb Gel appears to have the same healing properties as a Fireworm's Venom, and likewise can be consumed by Stoker Class dragons in need of reigniting their flames for the same effect. Therefore it is possible if not likely that their venom contains doses of Firecomb Gel.
* **Climbing**: Fireworms have frequently demonstrated great ability by effortlessly climbing in and about the cave systems that surround their hives, including the slippery Firecomb-riddled walls.
* **Intelligence**: Average Fireworms have not shown much intelligence, but the Fireworm Queen has shown to be clever as she was able to take a short cut to catch up to the escaping Hiccup, Toothless, and Snotlout Jorgenson. Another way of showing off her intelligence is that she quickly understood that a bond between a dragon and their rider was strong enough to risk their lives for each other. The Fireworm Queen is also intelligent enough to know when she is defeated and seek aid from her allies. She also knew whom she could trust to aid her in "Crash Course", when her nest was being attacked by a Cavern Crasher.
* **Senses**: Despite not being in the Tracker Class, Fireworm Queens, particularly Snotlout's Fireworm Queen, displayed a keen sense of smell as she was perfectly able to track Snotlout, Hookfang, and the Dragon Riders down while not knowing where they were and not having seen them for several years.
* **Solar Flare**: It is stated in the game, *Dragons: Rise of Berk* that the Fireworm individual Flashfright can create a large solar flare when clapping her wings together. This solar flare can disorient opponents. It is unknown if this is an ability of the whole of the Fireworm species or if Flashfright is the only Fireworm with this ability.

## Weaknesses

The Fireworms' main weakness is their miniature sizes and inability to cause serious harm, often resulting in their abuse and usage as sources of entertainment by being tossed around and led to burn things with their body heat.

Fireworms appear to afraid of fire, especially that of other dragons, and avoid it at all costs.

Since Fireworm Queens do most of the work around the nest and are singly in charge of the defense, they cannot stray far from it, since doing so would risk the welfare of the nest. The Queens are also the only dragons in the nest capable of defending, thus taking over a Fireworm nest is not too difficult for strong or pack dragons such as Cavern Crashers or Changewings.