VERMITHRAX

Name:  Vermithrax

Features:  400-year-old dragon with wings & a long tail

Source:  Dragonslayer Film

Habitat:  Post Roman Kingdom of Urland

Vermithrax Pejorative was a long & lean, fire-breathing dragon with huge bat-like wings as forearms, hind legs and a tail.  The description is very similar to a type of Wyvern dragon.

This evil dragon lived deep in a cave underneath in the mountains of Urland.  There she resided and would lay to rest by an underground lake of fire.

In order to keep peace with this destructive dragon and protect his nearby kingdom from doom, King Casiodorus makes a deal with Vermithrax.  Twice a year a lottery takes place to choose a young virgin to be offered as a sacrifice to the dragon on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

King Casiodorus happened to have a daughter named Elspeth that he protected from the lottery by removing her name from the draws.  Other nobility and wealthy commoners were granted the option to pay the King a fee so that their daughters’ names could also be removed from these lottery draws.

One day, a young man named Valerian leads an expedition to seek the help of the last known sorcerer Ulric, to put an end to these sacrifices and rigged lotteries.  One of the Kings soldiers, Tyrian follows the party of dragon slayers to the home of the wizard Ulric and his young apprentice Galen.

An attempt is made by young sorcerer Galen to seal the entrance of the cave by bringing the entire cliffside down to cover it while using his magical powers.  With the dragon sealed inside the cave, the hope is that Vermithrax would eventually suffocate or starve to her death.

The cave entrance was well sealed, but the very strong Vermithrax was able to free herself, causing an earthquake while doing so.  She then goes on to burn all the surrounding countryside.

This was her sign to the kingdom of King Casiodorus that a sacrifice was due as she had now been angered and needed to feed her young.

VERMITHRAX - IN THE MOVIES

DRAGONSLAYER

1981 Starring Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson, Peter Eyre, Sidney Bromley, John Hallam, Chloe Salaman & Ian McDiarmid.

This movie was acclaimed for the special effects it used to bring this dragon to life for its viewers.  A variety of techniques and multiple props were used so that the dragon could be presented in a way that the audience would be left absolutely stunned by it.

The 13^th century Dolwyddelan Castle was temporarily converted into Ulrich’s sixth century fortress & set designer Elliott Scott also built the entire village of Swanscombe on a farm just outside of London.

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