Orm Embar
Orm Embar is a great dragon of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea in The Farthest Shore (1972), who seeks the Archmage Ged's help against the sorcerer Cob and gives his life to destroy him.
| Type | dragon |
|---|---|
| Tradition | Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea) |
| Category | Literature |
| Earliest source | The Farthest Shore, by Ursula K. Le Guin, 1972 |
| Wings | Yes |
| Breathes fire | Yes |
| Guards treasure | Not specified |
| Nature | Benevolent |
The Story
In The Farthest Shore, magic is draining out of Earthsea. Wizards forget their spells, singers forget their songs, and people lose joy in their work. The Archmage Ged and the young prince Arren sail west to find the cause. Among the dragons of the far west things are even worse: they are losing the Old Speech, their own language, and some are falling into madness.
Orm Embar, one of the mightiest dragons, comes to Ged for help. He tells him the trouble comes from a man on Selidor, the westernmost island, and guides the travelers there. The man is the sorcerer Cob, who has opened a door between life and death in his hunger to live forever, and is draining the life of the world through it. On Selidor, Orm Embar throws himself on Cob. He destroys the sorcerer's body but is pierced by Cob's iron-bladed staff and dies. His sacrifice gives Ged and Arren the chance to follow Cob into the land of the dead and close the breach.
Appearance and Powers
Like all Earthsea dragons, Orm Embar is huge, scaled, winged, and fire-breathing, and he speaks the Old Speech, the language of true names. He is proud and ancient, and Ged counts him among the greatest of his kind. Unlike many of the dragons in the book, he keeps his mind and his speech despite the sickness spreading through the world.
Origins and Sources
Orm Embar is said to descend from Orm, the legendary dragon who fought the hero Erreth-Akbe in an ancient duel that killed them both, a story referred to throughout the series. The name Orm comes from the Old Norse ormr, "serpent," a cousin of Old English wyrm, and nods to the old Northern dragon tradition. In The Other Wind (2001), his sister Orm Irian becomes a major character.
Legacy
Orm Embar's death is one of the most moving moments in Earthsea, the picture of a dragon who is proud and dangerous yet chooses to die for the balance of the world. He offers a strong contrast to the greedy dragons of older legend. See also dragon books.
Related
- Kalessin: Kalessin is the Eldest, the oldest and most powerful dragon of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea, first appearing in The Farthest Shore (1972), an ancient, unknowable being who speaks the Old Speech of making.
- Thora's lindworm: Thora's lindworm is the serpent-dragon of the Ragnar Lodbrok legend, a small snake given to the princess Thora that grew to encircle her bower until Ragnar, wearing pitch-treated shaggy breeches, killed it and won her hand.
- Smaug: Smaug is the greedy, cunning fire-breathing dragon of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (1937), who seizes the dwarves' treasure under the Lonely Mountain and is killed by Bard the Bowman.
- Dragon Books
- Dragon Types
Sources and Further Reading
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Farthest Shore (Atheneum, 1972)
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Other Wind (Harcourt, 2001)
- Ursula K. Le Guin, Tales from Earthsea (Harcourt, 2001)
Cite this entry: “Orm Embar,” Draconika Encyclopedia of Dragons, https://www.draconika.com/dragons/orm-embar.