Fiction:The Firmament/Linnwyrm

"You haven't stared death in the eye until you've been attacked by a linnwyrm. An entire fleet of longships, torn to pieces in instants! The dragon-serpents of the frozen sea are the greatest test of our abilities!"

- Hjorvarth Samsson, Rusclander raider

Linnwyrms are a species of dragon found in the most inhospitable cold regions of Telamon. The spawn of the dragon god Siivhahzin, they are fabled for their terrible power, their avarice and their curses. Pledging allegiance to no one but themselves, these terrifying monsters are among the most hostile of all dragonkind, believing all other dragons are unworthy of sharing the world with beings as great as them.

Appearance
Linnwyrms are draconic creatures of great size. Their bodies are primarily serpentine, lacking hind legs and wings which means they are incapable of flight, though they are known to possess large, thin arms with immense claws. Their heads are decorated with six horns and large frills, and their mouths are filled with several rows of teeth. Linnwyrms possess many bony plates around their torsos, especially on their shoulders and neck. Males and female are visually indistinguishable in appearance to outsiders. The average linnwyrm is 25 meters long, weights 600 tons and can live up to a thousand years.

Ecology
Linnwyrms prefer to live in cold regions, predominantly in areas of heavy taiga and tundra, where they make their lairs in caverns, either natural or of their own creation. They are also adapted to living in the seas, serving as one of the more dangerous predators of the arctic oceans. Like many types of intelligent dragon, they often create hoards of treasure in their lairs, which usually also serve as their nests. Linnwyrms are more common in the far north of Gromkazul, Eusheth and the Frost Crown.

Society
Linnwyrms are extremely territorial creatures and rarely tolerate one another, except during their brief mating seasons, after which the mates part ways and generally never meet again. Due to their intense hatred for True Wyrms - inherited from their father Siivhahzin -, they will viciously attack any such being who approaches their territory without provocation. Linnwyrms will only ever tolerate creatures who submit to their will; they never have equals, only slaves.

Abilities
Linnwyrms are immensely strong creatures thanks to their great size, allowing them to cause massive damage to battlefields while deflecting blows from standard weapons such as swords and arrows thanks to their thick scales. They are capable burrowers, very adept swimmers, and possess a breath weapon which takes the form of a blast of frozen shards of ice. They are most fabled for their curses; dying linnwyrms will always attempt to cast terrible curses upon their killers which are exceptionally difficult to remove, often requiring very powerful holy magic to do so.