Nidhogg (Final Fantasy XIV)



Nidhogg is a great wyrm in Final Fantasy XIV, one of the First Brood of Midgardsormr.

Nidhogg is one of the seven wyrms born of Midgardsormr, said to have long terrorized Coerthas since Ishgard's founding, using the Dragonsong to rally the Dravanian Horde to war the past thousand years. But King Thordan I gathered his twelve knights to face Nidhogg in a battle that lasted for a week. Though the battle cost the lives of the king and six of his men, Nidhogg would not escape unscathed. With Nidhogg defeated, hero Haldrath plucked from the dragon's skull the source of his power—a treasure simply known as "the Eye." This relic of unimaginable power remains sealed deep within the vaults of Ishgard.

Appearance
Nidhogg appears as a black dragon with leathery wings and jagged scales. He has four narrow horns on his head facing outward, and combined with the shape of his maw give a fierce appearance.

He is initial seen with a single yellow eye in the right socket. It was later revealed the eye was borrowed from Hraesvelgr after his were taken by Thordan's knights. His true eyes notably appear red with a dark aura emanating from them.

Personality
Nidhogg's personality can be best described as vengeance incarnate. So consumed with rage over the betrayal of King Thordan (and, it is heavily implied, his further and older anger at what happened to his other siblings at the hands of the Allagans), he has sought to utterly break the Holy See of Ishgard through a millennium long war as punishment. This rage transcends both through his eyes -- leaving the Azure Dragoon vulnerable to the great wyrm's emotions -- and in his Dragonsong, which drives his brood to not only attack the Holy See but even causes them to attack Hraesvelgr's brood for not being utterly devoted to Nidhogg's crusade.

Abilities
Being a Great Wyrm, Nidhogg can rally the entire Dravanian Horde using Dragonsong to engage military campaigns—usually against his arch-enemy, the Holy See of Ishgard. This Dragonsong could even awaken his father's spirit within the The Keeper of the Lake, who remained had dormant since the Battle of Silvertear Skies.

His abilities are far beyond that of ordinary dragons, and Ser Alberic Bale implies he has some measure of psychic influence on mortals. Even then, removal of "the Eye" from Haldrath a millennium ago greatly weakened him; it is said that if Nidhogg were to regain it, no magical wards would be able to save Ishgard from his fury.

His eyes provide a wellspring of aetheric energy. One was enough to both annihilate an Ascian trapped in White Auracite, while the other can power a Primal's existence.

Story
Twelve hundred years ago, the Ishgardians and the Dragons forged an alliance based upon the example of Hraesvelgr and Saint Shiva. Only Nidhogg believed there could ultimately be no peace between their kinds, as he believed mortals could not be trusted after what happened to Bahamut and Tiamat. His concerns appeared unfounded for two hundred years, until the Ascians revealed to King Thordan I the source of the dragons' powers lay within their eyes. This led to Thordan killing Nidhogg's sister Ratatoskr in an act of treachery as he and his knight ate her eyes in order to obtain their power. An utterly furious Nidhogg slew Thordan, but was defeated by his son Haldrath, who plucked the dragon's eyes from his head. While this would have normally killed the dragon, Nidhogg mustered the strength to reach the palace of Zenith and tell Hraesvelgr of what had transpired. Nidhogg, plying Hraesvelgr with feelings of guilt for giving the mortals, if indirectly, the opportunity to slay Ratatoskr, coerced Hraesvelgr into relinquishing his one of his eyes to him. Intending to slaughter those of the Ishgardian bloodlines who remain loyal to their faith, Nidhogg continued to wage his war of vengeance against Ishgard for the next 1000 years, entering periods of deep sleep for portions of the conflict as his kind normally does.

The Holy See made a fabricated version of the events to make Nidhogg appear to have attack Ishgard unprovoked with Thordan and his twelve knights facing the dragon in a battle that lasted a week and claimed the lives of both the king and six of his men. The story was designed to conceal the Holy See possessing both of Nidhogg's eyes: The right eye buried with Haldrath while the left was used by the Azure Dragoon, the current being Estinien. No one knew the true extent of Nidhogg's revenge, as the Ishgardians inherited Ratatoskr's power and would mutate into dragon-like creatures when exposed to dragon's blood like the heretics. Thus, Nidhogg's revenge is assured with Isgardians who die and those who willing ally with him.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Nidhogg is first mentioned during the Dragoon job quests in the backstory of the Azure Dragoon, hinting that the dragon was beginning to awaken, and the red light seen in the final Dragoon quest was his influence empowering Estinien.

By the events of Before the Fall, Nidhogg awakens and rallies the Dravanian Horde to renew his war on Ishgard with the support of Ysayle in her heretics disabling the outermost ward of Daniffen's Collar. The initial assault fails when Nidhogg's champion Vishap is slain by the adventurer at the Steps of Faith as it tried to dismantle the rest of the wards.

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward
Nidhogg's full story is revealed to the adventurer and Alphinaud Leveilleur as they, Estinien, and Ysayle journey to Dravania to parlay with Horde. Hraesvelgr explains that Nidhogg will never accept the terms of peace while revealing how far his brother would go to destroy Ishgard's people. When Nidhogg senses the death of his consort Tioman, he recalls his forces to the Aery as he expects an assault on his domain. Nidhogg gives the adventurer and Estinien a not-so warm welcome to his abode, pursuing the latter to reclaim his eye. During the battle, Estinien removes Hraesvelgr's eye from Nidhogg with the dragon's body exploding into mist. By that time, the adventurer received visions of what truly happened the day Nidhogg lost his eyes.

At the bottom of the Aetherochemical Research Facility, the adventurer uses the left eye of Nidhogg to eradicate Igeyorhm after trapping her in White Auracite. Archbishop Thordan VII retrieves the right eye from Haldrath's coffin, and uses it to transform into King Thordan of the Knights of the Round. After King Thordan has fallen, Estinien congratulates the adventurer for stopping the archbishop while retrieving Nidhogg's other eye. Before Estinien can hide the eyes away Nidhogg's spirit consumes the Azure Dragoon's mind while using his body to regain physical form. The reconstituted Nidhogg flies away to the dismay of Midgardsormr, as he fears his offspring will eventually renew his war on man, and he wonders what, precisely, his child's endless quest for vengeance has turned Nidhogg into.

The Gears of Change


During the peace summit between Ishgard and Dragon at Falcon's Next held of Aymeric, having full control over Estinien's body with his eyes fused on the dragoon's body, Nidhogg interrupts the proceedings and impales the dragons' representative Vidofnir while denouncing her as a traitor to their kind. Nidhogg proceeds to denounce any form of peace as long as he lives while declaring that he and his brood will soon have a final reckoning with the Ishgardians before assuming his true form and flying off. As he only wounded Vidofnir rather than kill her, Nidhogg's warning of the Dragonsong War's final battle is hinted to be directed towards both the Ishgardians and Hraesvelgr's brood should they still consider to ally themselves with the Elezen.

Gameplay
Nidhogg appears as a boss at the end of the Aery. During the fight, Estinien uses the eye to hold back the great wyrm's power, and must be protected from Nidhogg's minions.