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Description
Though the Nidhogg bears many fearsome names, it is a species that is not nearly as scary as some make them out to be. Though they have been called "Earth Dragons" in certain regions, they do not even deserve the poorly used "dragon" label that is given to them. Creatures like Arctic Dragons, Venom Dragons and Bone Dragons are not real dragons, but they at least have been proven to be dangerous in certain scenarios. The Nidhogg, however, are quite harmless to many species, as they spend most of their lives underground and are herbivorous. This species is so adept at digging, that they are one of the few species that can be found both on the surface world and in the Underworld! Down there, they are not called Nidhoggs, as the demons refer to them as "Giant Mole Rats." This is because they bear quite the resemblance to the Armored Mole Rats that roam the Underworld tunnels. If you have gotten a close look of them (I know I have!), you can see that they share many traits. The dorsal armor is one of the big ones, as well as the massive gnawing incisors. While Armored Mole Rats possess a single sharp claw on each of their forelimbs, the Nidhogg instead has three. These massive claws are what they use to clear away dirt and chunks of rock. The huge incisors chew through stone while their hardened nose plates help them push through all the debris. Since they are so good at digging, many cultures have tried to tame these large mammals in order to use them to dig out mine shafts and tunnels. From what I have heard, each group that has tried this had at least succeeded in bringing one to the surface and pointing it in the right direction. Once they let it go, though, it digs out the tunnel but then just keeps going. Turns out it is really hard to try and order one to come back.

Though they possess large claws and teeth, Nidhogg are mainly herbivores. Instead of worms and burrowing insects, they prefer to snack on roots and fungus. As they travel below the surface, they will gnaw on any roots they come across. Thinner roots are snipped off with their teeth, while thicker ones are chewed through and swallowed. When in the Underworld, they target fungus networks as they dig, sucking in the soft veins with ease. Though they are blind, they can identify their food by the sensitive nerves that line their nose and mouth. With these and other sensors, Nidhoggs can pick out many different details about the plant it's gnawing on. Health and size are some of the big ones it looks for as it chews through the roots. If the plant it is feeding on is small enough, the Nidhogg may just grab the root system and yank the entire thing into the ground. This feeding behavior is probably why the Nidhogg got some of its reputation, as you can imagine how scary it is to be walking the woods at night and an entire sapling is just sucked into the ground.

For a creature that spends most of its life underground, one has to wonder how they breed. How can one locate a mate when you are constantly buried in soil and rock? The answer is "pheromones" and "lots of searching." During breeding season, females will start to leave a pheremone trail wherever they go. This smell saturates their tunnels, and allows males to figure out which tunnels belong to females and which direction they are headed. First, though, the male has to dig to these tunnels. As the season starts, males travel away from their usual territory and will just go around kind of nilly-willy. They are hoping to run into a female's tunnel, so that they can follow it and find her. When the female is located, the male will then dig beneath her and flip himself over in order to begin the ritual. The end result will eventually be 3-4 pups who will nurse for a few weeks, then dig up towards the surface to start their own lives. When they are very young, Nidhoggs will reside in the shallow layers of the earth, feeding on the roots of smaller plants. Only as they grow will they begin to venture deeper and deeper into the soil.

Now after telling you this, I can imagine you are left wondering why people are so afraid of these creatures. Sure, their digging may occasionally undermine a foundation or they may chew on crops, but that isn't all that bad. Who could be so fearful of a creature that eats roots and is always underground? I can tell you who; it's us. Dryads are the ones who give this creature such ferocious names. We are the ones who come up with the scary stories and tales of sappy horror. Yes, it lives in the soil and eats roots, which is comforting to meat people but not to plants. In many dryad communities, Nidhoggs are seen as both pests and monsters. With our homes and towns built upon roots, vines and altered plants, a giant root eating creature causes plenty of problems. Not only do they undermine our dwellings, but they also eat them as well. Chewing upon the roots may wind up killing the plant, which is not good when the plant was being used to support several buildings. Another issue is that they enjoy gnawing on tree roots, which we are not fans of since trees are crucial to our burial ceremonies and beliefs about the afterlife. When a dryad dies, they are buried in the soil with a seed planted in their bodies. This seed binds with their soul, which will grow into a tree. We believe our dead live on in these trees, and no one wants a giant rat creature chewing on grandma. Lastly, what makes these things scary to us, is the belief that they do indeed eat us. I have heard a fair share of tales talking about dryads being sucked into the earth, or bodies being found chewed in two. Claims have been made of Nidhoggs bursting through the floors of a dryad dwelling and dragging its inhabitants down to feed. They were also said to feed on our young, as a crucial step of sapling development is planting their seed into the soil and letting them grow underground. Such stories are too grim to go into detail, but there has not been much in sakes of proof for such tales. This is even more so now that dryads grow their saplings in special pots at home. Most of these stories do not make much sense, and are clearly built upon hyperbole and fear. Nidhoggs large enough to eat whole dryads do not come that close to the surface. The roots we walk on barely penetrate the dirt, so how would they even track us? Also, they aren't used to eating food that fights back, so I can't imagine them being fine with swallowing something that kicks and screams. While Nidhoggs can indeed be destructive pests, that does not make them monsters. Humans deal with termites, rats and gophers and we don't see them calling them "dragons" and "beasts." Kind of funny, isn't it? Usually humans are the ones I rag on about this type of misplaced fear and paranoia, but this time its my kind that is doing it. Every species is a little guilty of such things, and I never said we were perfect!

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

Description
Though the Nidhogg bears many fearsome names, it is a species that is not nearly as scary as some make them out to be. Though they have been called "Earth Dragons" in certain regions, they do not even deserve the poorly used "dragon" label that is given to them. Creatures like Arctic Dragons, Venom Dragons and Bone Dragons are not real dragons, but they at least have been proven to be dangerous in certain scenarios. The Nidhogg, however, are quite harmless to many species, as they spend most of their lives underground and are herbivorous. This species is so adept at digging, that they are one of the few species that can be found both on the surface world and in the Underworld! Down there, they are not called Nidhoggs, as the demons refer to them as "Giant Mole Rats." This is because they bear quite the resemblance to the Armored Mole Rats that roam the Underworld tunnels. If you have gotten a close look of them (I know I have!), you can see that they share many traits. The dorsal armor is one of the big ones, as well as the massive gnawing incisors. While Armored Mole Rats possess a single sharp claw on each of their forelimbs, the Nidhogg instead has three. These massive claws are what they use to clear away dirt and chunks of rock. The huge incisors chew through stone while their hardened nose plates help them push through all the debris. Since they are so good at digging, many cultures have tried to tame these large mammals in order to use them to dig out mine shafts and tunnels. From what I have heard, each group that has tried this had at least succeeded in bringing one to the surface and pointing it in the right direction. Once they let it go, though, it digs out the tunnel but then just keeps going. Turns out it is really hard to try and order one to come back.

Though they possess large claws and teeth, Nidhogg are mainly herbivores. Instead of worms and burrowing insects, they prefer to snack on roots and fungus. As they travel below the surface, they will gnaw on any roots they come across. Thinner roots are snipped off with their teeth, while thicker ones are chewed through and swallowed. When in the Underworld, they target fungus networks as they dig, sucking in the soft veins with ease. Though they are blind, they can identify their food by the sensitive nerves that line their nose and mouth. With these and other sensors, Nidhoggs can pick out many different details about the plant it's gnawing on. Health and size are some of the big ones it looks for as it chews through the roots. If the plant it is feeding on is small enough, the Nidhogg may just grab the root system and yank the entire thing into the ground. This feeding behavior is probably why the Nidhogg got some of its reputation, as you can imagine how scary it is to be walking the woods at night and an entire sapling is just sucked into the ground.

For a creature that spends most of its life underground, one has to wonder how they breed. How can one locate a mate when you are constantly buried in soil and rock? The answer is "pheromones" and "lots of searching." During breeding season, females will start to leave a pheremone trail wherever they go. This smell saturates their tunnels, and allows males to figure out which tunnels belong to females and which direction they are headed. First, though, the male has to dig to these tunnels. As the season starts, males travel away from their usual territory and will just go around kind of nilly-willy. They are hoping to run into a female's tunnel, so that they can follow it and find her. When the female is located, the male will then dig beneath her and flip himself over in order to begin the ritual. The end result will eventually be 3-4 pups who will nurse for a few weeks, then dig up towards the surface to start their own lives. When they are very young, Nidhoggs will reside in the shallow layers of the earth, feeding on the roots of smaller plants. Only as they grow will they begin to venture deeper and deeper into the soil.

Now after telling you this, I can imagine you are left wondering why people are so afraid of these creatures. Sure, their digging may occasionally undermine a foundation or they may chew on crops, but that isn't all that bad. Who could be so fearful of a creature that eats roots and is always underground? I can tell you who; it's us. Dryads are the ones who give this creature such ferocious names. We are the ones who come up with the scary stories and tales of sappy horror. Yes, it lives in the soil and eats roots, which is comforting to meat people but not to plants. In many dryad communities, Nidhoggs are seen as both pests and monsters. With our homes and towns built upon roots, vines and altered plants, a giant root eating creature causes plenty of problems. Not only do they undermine our dwellings, but they also eat them as well. Chewing upon the roots may wind up killing the plant, which is not good when the plant was being used to support several buildings. Another issue is that they enjoy gnawing on tree roots, which we are not fans of since trees are crucial to our burial ceremonies and beliefs about the afterlife. When a dryad dies, they are buried in the soil with a seed planted in their bodies. This seed binds with their soul, which will grow into a tree. We believe our dead live on in these trees, and no one wants a giant rat creature chewing on grandma. Lastly, what makes these things scary to us, is the belief that they do indeed eat us. I have heard a fair share of tales talking about dryads being sucked into the earth, or bodies being found chewed in two. Claims have been made of Nidhoggs bursting through the floors of a dryad dwelling and dragging its inhabitants down to feed. They were also said to feed on our young, as a crucial step of sapling development is planting their seed into the soil and letting them grow underground. Such stories are too grim to go into detail, but there has not been much in sakes of proof for such tales. This is even more so now that dryads grow their saplings in special pots at home. Most of these stories do not make much sense, and are clearly built upon hyperbole and fear. Nidhoggs large enough to eat whole dryads do not come that close to the surface. The roots we walk on barely penetrate the dirt, so how would they even track us? Also, they aren't used to eating food that fights back, so I can't imagine them being fine with swallowing something that kicks and screams. While Nidhoggs can indeed be destructive pests, that does not make them monsters. Humans deal with termites, rats and gophers and we don't see them calling them "dragons" and "beasts." Kind of funny, isn't it? Usually humans are the ones I rag on about this type of misplaced fear and paranoia, but this time its my kind that is doing it. Every species is a little guilty of such things, and I never said we were perfect!

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian