THE DEATH OF FAFNIR THE DRAGON (REVISED 2025- PART 2)

Sibling rivalry exists among families of every race; there is nothing new there. What is interesting, however, is when it also manifests among the Gods and Immortals of ancient lore.

01-REGIN THE DWARF

It so happened that Regin the Dwarf was consumed with utter hatred for his brother Fafnir, who had stolen their father’s gold as well as the cursed ring Andvaranaut. Curses being as they are, the ring influenced the two rival brothers Regin and Fafnir to form an unholy alliance to kill their father Hreidmar.

That’s right, but once its hold was set on Fafnir, the ring fanned the fires of Fafnir’s greed and bewitched him into driving his brother Regin away in order to have sole possession of the entire gold hoard called the Ottergild. And here the story takes on a typical turn for Fafnir’s avarice became insatiable; so overwhelming in fact that it gradually transformed the Dwarf into a mighty Dragon. In the form of a Dragon, he easily secreted the hoard away into a cave on Glittering Heath and from then on stood guard over it, lest any get stolen.

Meanwhile back at his castle Regin’s heart burned with revenge as his mind was increasingly bent on one thing and one thing only: securing that gold hoard he so coveted.

About this time the foster-son of King Alf, Sigurd (also known as Sigfried) was sent to live with Regin. The Dwarf, recognizing the strong qualities in the boy, schemed to make him his instrument for enacting his odious revenge.

03- SIGURD

Sigurd (Sigfried) knew very little of his parentage, being the posthumous son of Sigmund (who had died attacking a disguised Odin) and Hiordis who then had married King Alf. Furthermore, his only patrimony was the shattered fragments of Sigmund’s sword. Embarking on his dire plan Regin first strove to make Sigurd resent and abjure Alf’s household but, because Alf was a fair foster-father and shared anything with Sigurd, this ploy failed miserably. Alf even gave his son the horse Grani, sired by Odin’s own horse, Sleipnir.

In a last-ditch effort, Regin pretended to take Sigurd into his confidence and, in an extended dramatic rendition, related to him the story of his own past and the treasure of the Ottersgild. Convinced of the unfairness of Fafnir’s theft, Sigurd agreed to help Regin retrieve his treasure.

Delighted, Regin at once turned his smithing skills towards forging a mighty weapon for Sigurd. Unfortunately, his first two attempts failed. Each time Sigurd tested them on Regin’s anvil the swords shattered. With extra diligence Regin incorporated the fragments of Sigmund’s sword and finally made a superb blade, Gram. When Gram was tested by Sigurd, it proved so powerful that it cut clean through the anvil dividing it into perfect halves. Success at last! Surely this would kill the Dragon!

Once Regin had a sword capable of piercing the Dragon’s tough hide, the only problem remained was how to incapacitate the fearsome beast long enough for Sigurd to strike a death blow.

Adept at cunning, Regin then developed the plan of digging a pit on the path Fafnir took down to the brook near his cave on Glittering Heath, hiding in the pit then stabbing Fafnir as he passed over it. In order to absolve Sigurd of the crime of killing his brother, Regin proposed that if Sigurd would cut out the Dragon’s heart, which conferred power over all other men, roast it and feed it to him he would forgo the family’s vengeance. The naive Sigurd agreed.

Regin and Sigurd went out and quickly dug up the pit, but Regin being fearful, made a false pretence and left the Sigurd to face Fafnir alone while he, himself, retreated to safety. After Regin had gone Odin, disguised as an old man, visited Sigurd and told him that if he stayed in the pit he would be drowned by the vast flow of Dragon’s blood pouring out of Fafnir’s body. Odin advised him to dig trenches to drain the blood into holding pits and, after the Dragon was dead, bathe in the beast’s blood, covering his whole body with it so that his skin would gain the property of invulnerability. After Odin vanished Sigurd dug the trenches just as Odin had directed then lay down in the main one on the path to await the arrival of Fafnir.

The earth started shaking and a loud, fearsome, noise was heard over the Heath as Fafnir approached, snorting venom ahead of him. All this was for naught, however, for Sigurd was not afraid. As Fafnir crawled over the pit Sigurd thrust the enchanted sword Gram upwards with all his strength, aiming at the heart and burying it up to his shoulder in the body of the Dragon. As soon as the blow was delivered Sigurd drew out his sword and leapt out of the pit to get a safe distance away from the thrashings of the Dragon’s body.

Fafnir knew he had been dealt a killing blow but was intent on finding out the name of his slayer so that he could hurl his death-curse at him. He roared, “Who art thou that has done this deed? Who is thy father and what manner are thy kin that ye should come to bear weapons against me?” (Dragons were very formal when weaving curses).

 Sigurd knew to avoid the curse and answered that he was born of neither man nor woman and had acted alone.

Fafnir, of course, saw through this and challenged him once more to tell the truth and Sigurd then gave his name and the name of his dead father. Fafnir then asked who had counseled him to attack him. Sigurd again denied that he had any help, whereupon the Dragon then wove a web of assertions and questions that gradually, through circumstantial evidence, drew the answer, unspoken, out of Sigurd. “So, it was Regin, my brother, who has brought about my end! It gladdens my heart that he will bring about yours, too, and thus all things will have been shaped to his will.”

“I have reigned in terror over this Heath for many years, spewing out poison so none would come near, and no weapon would be drawn against me. I thought myself stronger than all, for all men were sore afraid of me.”

Sigurd answered, “Few may attain victory by means of terror, for whoever does so come to discover that no one man is for long the mightiest of all.”

Seeing that Sigurd was going back towards his cave, Fafnir called out, “Ride to my lair, then, and you will find gold enough to last your entire life long, yet that very gold will be your undoing, and the bane of whosoever owns it.”

“If by losing that wealth I would be assured that I would never die, then I would gladly leave the gold where it lies, but every man is fated to die, and I would fain do so with your wealth at my command. You, however, shall wallow in thy death pain until Hel and Death take thee, and thy gold will do thee not good at all.”

And so Fafnir died.

 

Sigurd then went over to one of the holding pools where Fafnir’s blood had gathered, stripped off his armor and bathed in the rank fluid so that it covered his whole skin, except for a spot on his shoulder where a linden leaf had fallen and stuck to him. Once he became invulnerable, Sigurd cut out Fafnir’s heart and began to roast it over a fire as he had promised Regin he would. While the heart was cooking Sigurd got some of the Dragon’s blood on his finger and licked it off. To his surprise he found he could understand the language of birds and some other animals.

Listening to Odin’s ravens as they talked in the tree above him, Sigurd discovered that Regin had indeed plotted to kill him after eating the heart of the Dragon. Thereby having knowledge of the doom Regin had planned, he beheaded him with one stroke of Gram as soon as the Dwarf reappeared to claim his prize. Sigurd ate the roasted Dragon heart himself and gained the gifts of wisdom and prophecy.

 As for the Ottersgild treasure, including the ring Andvaranuat, Aegishjalmr the Helmet of Awe, the Golden Byrnie (cuirass), and all its attendant curses, Sigurd took it north with him to Hindfell where he met Brynhild the Valkyrie and had another, much different, adventure of no interest to us as it has no Dragons in it. If you are somewhat interested, however, you may find it told in the Opera by Richard Wagner called The Ring of the Nibelungenlied.

FIN

A Man Without Avarice

A Man Without Avarice

In the Halls of the Immortals, where the virtuous and brave dwell after their time spent on the mortal coil was done, there was great consternation. There were no more recruits from Earth, not in the last hundred years.

A conclave was called and the situation on the Earth was viewed, and reviewed. The problem was immediately apparent; greed and materialism had taken hold in every part of the globe. Nobody did anything anymore unless it produced material gain for themselves or, blocked their competitor from attaining an advantage.

One would assume that all this preoccupation with wealth would lead to a cornucopia of abundance, however quite the opposite was true. People, afraid of theft or jealousy, hid their possessions while the rest of the populace lived in abject poverty. Those who could not contribute to the economic engine or whose lives could not be gainfully exploited were cast aside with no further consideration. They were of no value, and therefore of no concern.

The Immortals, however, could not believe that humanity had deteriorated so far and chose to believe there was some semblance of virtue still in existence. Surely there was someone on Earth who had not been tainted by the rot of materialism. Keeping alight this hope they resolved to send an emissary to the mortal realm to find this exceptional being, and they commissioned a discerning member Briannhon, who could turn base rock into fine gold nuggets with his touch. 

Dispatched to the Earthly realm, Briannhon wandered the four corners of the globe, repeatedly using the same method to test those candidates who seemed most likely to rise above their base instincts.

Presented with a likely applicant, the Immortal tested him. He would first turn a small pebble into a large gold nugget and offer it to him. 

Most people quickly picked up the nugget and walked away. If they were a bit wealthier they examined the nugget then pocketed it and asked for more. For those who held out for more, Briannhon then took a larger rock and turned that one into an even larger ingot of gold. 

The greed however was never satiated, they still asked for more and when, being disappointed in them, he did not deliver, they shrugged and went away with curses on their lips.

Briannhon continued testing person after person, growing more disillusioned as time wore on. 

Finally he reached a small village on the edge of human habitation but even there, far removed from cultural influences, they still exhibited the same greedy and materialistic traits.

Then one day he heard of a person who was commonly regarded as living totally outside of the norms of society, a man who had no regard for anyone or anything in the village. His mother had shown up one night out of nowhere, gave him birth, and then summarily died. Poor peasant looking to train him as a goat herder took him in and let him live and be nursed in the goat shed. When the orphan showed no promise the peasant cut his losses and cast him into the streets to fend for himself. But with his will to survive, he persisted, endured untold hardships and humiliation, often eating the garbage people tossed at him for amusement’s sake. As he had never been given a name, people called him “The Idiot”. 

The Idiot was sifting through the latest deposit of waste at the garbage dump on the edge of the village. Briannon called out to The Idiot and summarily elucidated his objective of finding the right kind of person and after a test for which he would be empowered to make this worthy individual rich beyond imaginings.

“Are you interested? “, he then asked.

The Idiot had listened intently but pretended not to care. 

When the Immortal turned a pebble into a golden nugget as a demonstration, The Idiot appeared to be unimpressed and continued in his search through the rubbish.

Surprised, Briannon turned a larger stone into a fine golden ingot as an enticement. The Idiot turned his head to see, then turned it right back again quite uninterested. 

Briannon was encouraged to see this response.

Finally the Immortal turned the entire heap of trash surrounding them into fine minted ingots of gold, piled up one on top of another but all his efforts earned him was another scowl from The Idiot. 

"You appear not to want gold, sir. What is it that you want after all?”

The Idiot a pursing his lips, he finally grunted, “What’s the use of all this gold?

Better to sew your finger onto my hand. In this way I, too, can turn rocks into gold and enjoy endless wealth."

 

The End.

Declaration of Love

Declaration of Love 

There is a white bridge at the mouth of the Humber River where it joins Lake Ontario. The bridge is designed to resemble the belly of a snake, with tortoises embedded in the walls at both ends of the strong steel and concrete structure that, in the center of its belly, seems to reach the sky. As you traverse this span from Etobicoke to Toronto, whether you are a jogger, roller-skater, bicycler, dog walker or simply having a leisurely stroll, you can gaze from the bridge over a magnificent view of the city, the expansive lake, the snaking shoreline or stretch your neck to look above at the lattice work. There you will see a pattern that resembles the scales and skeleton of a snake, making you feel as though you are walking in the middle of its belly. Another delightful surprise awaits you at both ends if you look down to the bridge foundations, where you will note a very prominent inlay of a white snake. These telltale signs lead me to speculate that the architect had the classic story of the Lady White in mind.

 

For those of you who are not familiar with this legendary tale I shall briefly retell this popular love story.

Legend of the White Snake

A long time ago in the middle of a lake there was a white snake spirit who diligently practiced Taoist magical arts in the hope of becoming an immortal. Chancing on immortality pills that had been regurgitated by the boy Xu Xian, the white snake at once swallowed them and was instantly transformed and gained 500 years worth of magical powers. As an Immortal, the white snake found she could quite easily assume human form.

In the same lake meanwhile there had been a tortoise spirit who had also aspired to immortality. Having failed to consume any of the discarded pills, from that day hence he harboured a deep seated resentment for the white snake, blaming her for all his subsequent tribulations.

One day on the bridge the white snake observed a beggar who had just caught a green snake and was about to slice out its gallbladder to sell it. The poor green snake was crying and pleading for mercy to the deaf ears of the human. Filled with sympathy, the white snake at once transformed into a woman and, walking across the bridge, accosted the beggar. After an exchange of polite words she offered to buy the green snake alive, saving the green snake from being sliced alive. The grateful green snake from then on adopted the white snake as her elder sister.

Some 18 years later during the Qingming Festival the white snake and her green snake sister, very much intrigued by humans’ endeavors and yearning to experience humans’ joys, transformed themselves into two young ladies. Flying on clouds, they reached Hangzhou in no time at all and discreetly blended in with the crowd to enjoy the festivities. The White and Green snakes were so enthralled by the beauty of the surroundings that they quickly forgot themselves, throwing all caution aside. West Lake lies beside the city of Hangzhou and, bordered by lush green hills, has always been renowned for its breathtaking scenery drawing many scholars or noted visitors who loved to stroll its banks or take boats across the water.

As luck would have it, there at the Broken Bridge, these two ladies chanced on Xu Xian. When the capricious sun took refuge behind some clouds and rain fell, the two ladies had sought shelter under the willow tree without much success. Xu, by then a handsome and gallant young scholar, saw the ladies in dire straits and offered them his umbrella at once. As Lady White insisted on Xu sharing the umbrella with them the two, during their conversation, had quietly fallen in love. Destiny had played a hand to draw these two lovers together.

Meanwhile Lady White had learned that the scholar was simply returning from a visit to his mother’s grave. He had been orphaned when young and presently lived with his sister and her husband, earning a scant living as an assistant in their herbal medicine shop.

To make the long story short, Lady White (or Bai Suzhen as she’d introduced herself to the scholar), throwing all caution to the wind, married the scholar Xu Xian. The happy couple then moved to Zhenjiang and there, with the sizeable funds from her supposed inheritance, opened a medicine shop of their own. Utilizing her extensive knowledge of various herbal medicines they were able to successfully cure many ailments, and before long the business prospered. Lady White especially was much beloved because of her dedication to helping the sick, no matter how poor they were.

Oh, but oh so fickle is fate; for the terrapin spirit that once dwelled in the same lake as Bai Suzhen had, by this time, accumulated enough powers to take on a human form and had transformed into a Buddhist monk called Fahai who, without much success, also dabbled in the healing arts. He learned about the brilliance of Bai Suzhen and, to his chagrin, discovered that she is his old nemesis Lady White. He was further consumed by jealousy when he found out about her blissful existence and from then on plotted to break up her relationship with Xu Xian. He visited their shop and, finding an opportunity, discretely approached Xu Xian when Bai Suzhen, by then an expectant mother, went off for a brief respite leaving her husband to tend to customers.

“I’m Fahai, the Abbot of Gold Mountain Temple,” the disguised turtle introduced himself to Xu in a conspiratorial whisper. “I have come here, under this pretext, to warn you of the great peril you are in. Through my spiritual guide, I have discovered that your wife is in fact, a thousand-year-old snake. Heed my words young man, for now she hides well her true nature, but one day she will surely turn on you, as all demons do, and devour you!”

“How dare you say such a thing?” protested Xu. “My wife is an angel, what you say is nothing short of a wicked slander!”

“Fine, fine; don’t take my word for it.” Fa shaking an index finger, sternly admonished Xu. He next pretended to storm out the door but, as if on a second thought, he halted and, half turning, said, “Before long the Duanwu Festival will be here. Offer her realgar wine, if she does not revert back to her true form, then I, in advance, offer my apologies.”

At the Duanwu festival, according to an old custom, everyone would liberally partake of wine mixed with foul-smelling realgar to supposedly to drive away snakes or evil spirits.

To escape disclosure and wary of the possible dangers, Lady White had feigned illness during the Duanwi Festival. She insisted on keeping to her bed but encouraged her husband to go out and partake of the festivities, while Xiaoqing (Green Snake) tended to her needs. That might have been the end of that but unfortunately, however, the devoted Xu refused to leave her side and, desiring her to be especially safe, he further insisted that she drink some measure of the realgar concoction. When she adamantly refused and offered only feeble excuses Fahai’s dire warnings rushed to Xu’s mind. His demeanor darkened but then just as quickly he dismissed it all with a wave of his hand. When his wife inquired as to the reason for his odd behaviour, Xu simply shrugged and related the warning words of Fahai, thinking it to be nothing other than a poor joke.

Bai could not conceal her terror and her face grew visibly pallid. The wave of suspicion that grazed his eyes, though briefly, wrenched Bai’s heart. Hoping that her accrued powers were strong enough to withstand the danger she dismissed Xiaoping and requested a cup of reagal wine from her husband. Receiving it, she quickly downed it. As further reassurance she pretended to like it and asked for more, but before she could finish the third, she began to retch violently. She was helped to her bed by her most concerned and apologetic husband who then rushed out the door to fetch her some medicine. When he returned, he found, instead of his wife, a giant white snake coiled on the bed. The shock was too great for Xu Xian to bear and he instantly collapsed dead onto the floor.

Later, when Bai reverted back to human form, Xiaoping told her the result of Bai’s reckless act; how she had discovered Xu’s corpse. Grief-stricken, Bai knelt by her husband and wept and wept.

Eventually setting aside her grief, Bai Suzhen (Lady White) and Xiaoqing (Green Snake) traveled to Mount Emei, where they braved countless dangers to steal a magical herb. Ingesting the drink made from this magic mushroom, Xu Xian was swiftly restored back to life. But though he’d fully recovered a strange alienation dogged their marriage. Inwardly terrified that his wife was not human, and being ignorant of her heroic efforts to save his life, Xu from then on shunned any intimacy with Bai.

Desperate to regain his affections, Bai one day played a rather ingenious ruse on her husband. Her white silk sash was turned to a living snake and, with this as a plausible explanation; Xu was led to believe that the scarf was what had frightened him. Subsequently, their marital bliss returned until Xu decided to visit Gold Mountain Temple to express his gratitude to Buddha for their present happiness.

On his way Xu encountered Fahai along the banks of the river. Latter still adamant about his dire warnings, Fahai again planted the seed of suspicion in Xu’s heart, hinting that his wife was not above playing dirty tricks on him. Terrified, Xu was then given a possible solution to his dilemma: “Become a monk and live at the temple; that’s one place the demon that is your wife, won’t be able to reach you.”

At first Xu Xian had remained reticent, as he’d been torn between the love he felt for his wife and the fear of her. Subsequently, with his head and his heart still at war; his ambivalence seemingly eternal, he decided to defer any decision till later and, on the urging of Fahai, boarded the raft. Together they crossed over to the river island where the Gold Mountain temple was built. Once inside however Xu found himself virtually imprisoned.

“This is for your own good. You should be thanking me for saving your life,” Insisted Fahai as he turned the key to Xu’s cell door.

Three days passed and Xu had not returned. By then Bai was worried and anticipating the grievous outcome, she shared her intentions with her sister Xiaoqing. On the following day they both armed themselves with swords and set off on the rescue mission. Unfortunately Fahai had predicted this move and awaited them at the temple gate with sizeable force.

At first, Bai tried diplomacy, but no amount of pleading or threats would persuade Fahai to release Xu.

“Vile Demon!” Fahai, grinding his teeth, bellowed. “You cannot feast on this human. It is my solemn duty to protect unsuspecting humans from one such as you!”

“I have harmed no one and helped many,” protested Lady White. “Surely the demon is he who divides man and wife!”

“Save your breath sister, he won’t listen to any reason!” Xiaoqinq interceded. “Force is our only recourse; nothing short of violence will get through that thick skull of his!”

Constrained by circumstances, the lovely and courageous Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing fought a fierce battle with Fahai and his group for many a day. Despondent, Bai used her powers to flood the temple, with dire consequences, as many innocents drowned.

Yet Bai Suzhen's pregnancy had impaired her powers. In the end she was forced to admit defeat and forced to flee to safety and fight another day.

From within the temple cell meanwhile, Xu had heard all that seemingly endless commotion of the battle. Upon discovering that it was his wife’s attempt at his rescue he became adamant to at least to stand by her. Using his wits he eventually succeeded in escaping from Jinshan Temple and, at long last finding her, both disclosed the truth in a lengthy, breathless, talk.

“I now understand how you’ve suffered for my sake.” Xu hugged his wife in the end. “Human or not, I shall love you for all eternity. “

The reunited lovers then move to Hangzhou, where Bai Suzhen gave birth to a son, Xu Mengjiao. Once more their happiness would have been boundless had it not been for their adamant foe Fahai who, unfortunately, again hunted them down and, after defeating Bai Suzhen, imprisoned her permanently in Leifeng Pagoda.

Fahai’s last words to her were, “At a painstaking cost, you have been finally been subdued, Demon! Now you can harm no one. Contemplate your many sins, for not until the lake dries up and the pagoda falls can you come out again!”

Her stoic response was, “Though you call yourself a monk; you are as rigid as the unyielding rock. You have condemned me without cause and caused me grievous pain, unjustly so. But know this, though you tear me from my infant son and from my husband’s arms, you cannot stop our love.”

Do not fret however; there was a happy ending after all.

20 years later, Xu Mengjiao topped the imperial examination and returned home in glory. At the same time, Xiaoqing, who’d escaped when Bai Suzhen was captured by Fahai, went to Jinshan Temple to confront Fahai and succeeded in defeating him. Bai Suzhen was freed from Leifeng Pagoda and reunited with her husband and son, while Fahai fled, hiding inside the stomach of a crab.

The End

(Note: there is a saying that a crab's internal fat is orange because it resembles the colour of Fahai's kasaya.)

It is interesting to note that at the beginning this love story was a story of good and evil, with the Buddhist monk Fahai, being portrayed in a more sympathetic light. He sets out to save Xu Xian's soul from the white snake spirit, who was depicted as an evil demon. Over the centuries, however, the legend has evolved from a horror tale to a romance story, with Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian genuinely being in love with each other yet their relationship forbidden by the laws of nature.

Another version of the story tells that Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian were actually immortals who fell in love with each other and were banished from Heaven because celestial laws forbade their romance. They were reincarnated as a human man and a female white snake spirit respectively and their story began.

The Legend of White Snake then is essentially a love story. How appropriate therefore that many lovers living in the city have chosen to memorialize their love, represented on a lock hung on the lakeward facing side of this bridge. It may have started with one romantic couple, but the idea has caught on famously. The last time I was there I was struck by these countless declarations of love. I would like to share some of them with you through these captured images:

Wishing happiness to all the Lovers out there.