Wyvern
|
|
A wyvern (or wivern) is a winged reptilian legendary creature often found in medieval heraldry where the usual blazon is statant (standing). The wyvern is similar to a European dragon, but it differs in that it has only two legs, cannot breathe fire, and has a barbed or snake-like tail. Occasionally, it is said to be smaller than a dragon or to be able to breathe fire. In heraldry, it represents pestilence, conquest, or other such ideas. The wyvern is similar to another mythical creature, the cockatrice.
Variants of the wyvern include the sea-wyvern, which has a fish-like tail, and the Lindworm, which either has no legs (commonly) or no wings. Of the dragon-like creatures, wyverns are said to be the most feline, having a cat-like intelligence and temperament. During the Middle Ages, they were supposedly the most useful of all dragons to sorcerers, as they had the unique ability to work easily with spells.
'Wyvern' is also a term used in Herefordshire and Worcestershire to unite the two main cities, as the rivers Wye and Severn run through Hereford and Worcester respectively. For example, one of the local radio stations is called Wyvern FM, and its first logo in 1982 featured a Wyvern dragon.
In addition, a pair of Wyverns appear on the club crest of Leyton Orient Football Club (based in east London, England), who play in League 2.
Wyverns are also featured in many fantasy settings. Their representation is not standardized: for example, in some fantasy works, wyverns have four legs instead of two. In Dungeons and Dragons, wyverns have a poisonous tail stinger.
There are also Wyverns in the English translation of the Nintendo video game series Fire Emblem. Certain flying units are called Wyvern Rider and Wyvern Lord (Dragon Rider and Dragon Master in the Japanese), in which the humans ride on small, four-legged, winged reptiles.
Wyverns appear in the Korean-made online RPG Redmoon as the most powerful monster in the entire game. They appear usually in only one optional map in the game, and it usually requires a group of max-leveled characters or one super-maxed character with hyper-strength equipment to stand a chance against a single Wyvern. Their attacks consist of a fixed-60% damage Earthquake, teleporting right up in the face of their enemy, biting, and (opposite to their original interpretation) breathing a stream of fire.
The Wyvern is also featured in Masami Kurumada's Japanese anime series Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter, as a majestuous body armor protecting a proud, sharp and extremely strong warrior named Radamanthys. When not worn by its master the armor takes the shape of a wyvern.
Wyverns also appear in Tamora Pierce's Immortals quartet.
Another example of a wyvern today is the character of Dojo in the cartoon series Xiaolin Showdown.
Wyvern (Online Game) is also a small online game.
External links
- Image: Saint Seiya - Hades: Wyvern Radamanthys (http://www.geocities.com/hades_manga/manga/1993.jpg)
- Encyclopedia Mythica: Wyvern (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/w/wyvern.html)
- Bestiary of Modern Fantasy: Wyvern (http://www.dragon-warrior.com/Bestiary/wyvern.shtml)
- Dave's Mythical Creatures and Places: Wyvern (http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/wyvern.htm)
- Online Game: Wyvern (http://www.cabochon.com/)de:Lindwurm
