Netherwyrms are dragons who are said to enter Caelereth from another reality, the dark and foreboding Netherworlds, if summoned by powerful magicians in a joint effort. They are enormous snake/lizard-like beasts of demonic origin with exceptionally powerful claws, whose attack can devastate whole regions easily. There exist only a few legends dealing with the summonings of Netherwyrms, usually in concordance with the much smaller ridden drakes, the dravilonias, which all ended in great bloodshed. The final fate of the Netherwyrm in those stroies is almost always unknown, but Ximax masters agree that their existence in this plane is an agonizing one and they probably die soon after their summoning by themselves being torn away from their natural homelands. As Netherwyrms need to be brought to this plane through the help of Ecuá magic, as it is a process of 'ripping' the beast forcefully from the Netherworlds.

Picture description. The procedure of the joining of wills in order to summon a Netherwyrm. Image by Eratinalinfalah.

Appearance. The Netherwyrm is described as long and serpent-like with a height of a several storey high house - about 12 or 13 peds. They are oftentimes displayed in art as rearing up on their hind legs, wings and - the relatively thin but muscular - forearms spread out, roaring or about to smash something with their tail-in some cases, tails. The colouring of their scales is difficult to describe, but it is usually pale and dead looking. They have solid blood-coloured eyes, needle-like-teeth and large nostrils. A truly fearsome sight!

Special Abilities. Since much of what is known about this creature is confined to legend and myth, its abilities are unknown or often exaggerated. It is said to be able to fly, move very fast, has noticeably strong claws, and diverse magical abilities, probably associated with Ecuá magic, though to what extent is unknown.

Territory. Netherwyrm come from the dark and foreboding Netherworlds, and will usually go on some sort of rampage into the surrounding countryside as their power can barely be harnessed. A Netherwyrm appears to be drawn to powerful sources of magic, though who can say why... perhaps this is why the final end of these creatures is so rarely known. A possible explanation might be that these wyrms either instinctively try to search for the hole in the fabric of time and space from where they entered and attempt to get back, or they sense that magic has ripped them from their natural habitat and therefore see it as foe they intend to destroy.

Habitat/Behaviour. Netherwyrms kill and destroy, which seems to be its only purpose, mainly attacking large populations and cities or places with strong magical sources. Since being ripped from the Netherworlds is painful and agonzing for the creature, it attacks anything it can in an attempt to make someone hurt like it had been hurt itself - hence the summoning of these creatures is a foolish act, as they can rarely be controlled and even several summoners can barely direct the dragon. Often the summoner, if he is successful, is the first victim! If he and his helpers can then manage to influence the Netherwyrm towards their advantage, however, it's a completely different story...

Diet. The Netherwyrm feasts on living flesh, like the smaller dravilonia. It seems to favour sentient creatures over animals, but won't hesitate to eat the latter. At any rate: Better watch out!

Mating. The mating habits of this creature are unknown, if they even exist. At least it's practically impossible to gather any informaion in this regard. Since no-one has observed them anywhere except in Caelereth and not in the Netherworlds, their homelands, it is impossible to really know how they reproduce, nor how old they might grow if they can develop freely. Netherwyrm usually don't survive very long as either they get killed in their rampages or cease to exist for some reason due to the lack of their natural environment or by finding a powerful magical source through which they either manage to escape or are extinguished.

Myth/Lore. There are no definite records surrounding these monsters, but mages from Ximax confirm that it always takes several powerful mages to summon forth a Netherwyrm. Neither do these Netherwyrms die visibly - they just disappear from history, after finding a strong source of magical power, perhaps using it to return to the Netherworlds. There is a legend, unconfirmed though, that Netherwyrms were present in the Dragonstorm. This legend states that Ol'dem'brey himself summoned forth Netherwyrms with his god-like powers. It seems unlikely that this legend is true, but where the Adamant Dragon is concerned, who knows...