The kraken is to the sea as Narskoiru Figuz, the great Wyrm of the Morning is to the Garmadh Desert. Narskoiru is a legendary colossal wyrm, said to burrow through the sand and dust, breaching the surface of the desert to feed. According to legend, it is large enough to swallow an entire dire boar whole. While no human eyes have never actually seen the beast and lived to tell the tale, evidence exists of its attacks; traces of lost merchant caravans, earthquakes in the badlands, and disturbed sand can be seen wherever it burrows. While humans haven’t seen it, the dwarrow and the uruk have. The dwarrow have written historical accounts about it. The tribal uruk of Garmadh tell stories of the terrible dghu of the rising sun, and always take precaution to avoid attacks while traveling through the desert.

The dwarrow call it the Crimson Wyrm, but dwarrow scholars concede that, because most attacks are so sudden and violent, and the beast is mostly underground, it is difficult to determine the beast’s exact taxonomy. The prevailing modern theory is that the “wyrm” title is a misnomer, but scholars debate whether the beast the dwarrow call the Crimson Wyrm is a giant arthropod, some annelid, or (most terrifyingly) the larval form of an even larger insect. However, most dwarrow scholars believe it is probably not related in any way to the wyrm family of dragons* (Shaggy, Year-of-the-Schnoz-Monkey).

What scholars do agree on is that it is colossal in size, probably has some sort of vibration-sense, and seems to “swim” through the earth, leaving the earth undisturbed in its wake. It is for this reason that many argue that the Crimson Wyrm must be magick in nature. Dwarrow scholars also believe the beast to be venomous, but disagree whether its bite is venomous, or if it has a venomous stinger (as it can be difficult to tell which end is which).

Where the dwarrow are pretty sure the colossal beast is not a draconic wyrm, the uruk swear it is. Their legends say that it once had great wings and soared through the desert sky, terrorizing the uruk nomads who lived in these lands. However, an uruk warrior named Shum the Great, with the power to change his size like a desert shadow, used his power to grow to an enormous size. He wrestled the colossal wyrm, smashing it into the desert sunrise, and tore its wings off to feed to his entire tribe. Then, laughing, Shum threw the wyrm to the ground and told it that it must crawl for the rest of its days through the scalding sand, jagged rocks, and hot ash on its belly. The beast, humiliated in defeat and burned from the dawn sky, tunneled into the earth. Its uruk name, Narskoiru Figuz, translates to “Wingless, Humiliated.”

Sevrin the Shaggy. (Year-of-the-Schnoz-Monkey). Beasts of Garmadh (9th ed., Vol. C). Petrur: Low Publishing.

* However, what is a dragon? In the book Chimerae, author Phineas J. Winsor, renown magickal zoologist, puts it plainly:

Modern biologists have thrown up their arms in frustration and declared that the group of beasts called dracones in antiquity actually all belong to the class Chimerae, the group of beasts that do not belong to any one group of creatures; the biological equivalent of “Miscellaneous.” After all, what is a dragon?

Is a dragon reptilian? Then what of the bearded dragons, the “red lion” dragon, or the accounts of the dog-like fortuna variety? And if dragons can be mammalian, how about the feathered coatl, wyrm of the jungle?

Must a dragon have four legs and wings? Then what of the legless wyrm? The wingless wyrm? Is the sea serpent a kind of a dragon? Or the wyrm with vestigial legs? Or the two-taloned, winged wyvern? The wingless drake? The drake with more than four legs?

Dragons have one head, save the hydra and the varieties with two or three heads.

The myriad variety continues. Some nest, others are migratory. Some dragons mate for life, others take many mates, still others reproduce asexually. The vast majority nest with shiny objects, but some do not. Some are carnivores, other herbivores. Dragons may have horns or antlers; hooves, paws, or claws; fur, scales, or feathers; beaks, snouts, noses, trunks; backbones, exoskeletons; talons, paws, or hooves; two eyes, one eye, many eyes, no eyes; sharp teeth or teeth for grinding plant matter. Some dragons seem to have inherent magickal abilities, capable of breathing noxious or flammable fumes. Most are quite mundane, but according to historical accounts, some dragons were sapient, capable of speech, and highly magickal!

Biologists argued for years– if the restrictions of “dragon” are so open ended, is a griffon a dragon? The ancient, five-legged, bearded llamasu? An antlered water-panther? The enigmatic sphinx? “Dragon” either has an extremely narrow definition or the definition is open to all, in which case one might as well say that all of these beasts are actually Chimerae and be done with it (Year-of-the-Giant-Sloth).

Winsor, Phineas J. Chimerae. Year-of-the-Giant-Sloth. Corvina Arcanum Press.

