Midgardsormr's Covenant

[Elladie]

I know there are lots of Midgardsormr threads in the lore forums, and I've read a lot of them but not, I think, exhaustively. So apologies if I bring up anything that's already been discussed. Please point me in that direction if that's the case. I have many questions, but I'll start with just the one for now (maybe sneak another in if I get carried away).

Midgardsormr and Hydaelyn have a covenant. That's clear from our first 'conversation' with him, and he refers to it on at least one other occasion, after the scene with Tiamat. I think - but I'm not completely certain - that at least part of its obligation is that he doesn't harm us. I've pretty much made the assumption that the covenant dates from his arrival on Hydaelyn back in the year 'dot' (someone - I think it's Tiamat - calls it a time before time); the Mother offers him a place here in exchange for ... something. My reasoning for this is to do with his connection with Silvertear. There's clearly a long-standing association between the dragon and the lake/the falls which is given a mythic explanation in Professor Erik's account of Althyk and Nymeia. That it is a 'myth' is pretty plain when Erik states that Midgardsormr came into being at the same time as 'the water' did, something we know isn't true. Unless Midgardsormr is lying about his origins. If he isn't lying, then surely only something cataclysmic could have driven him to fly through empty space with his precious clutch of eggs? I've inferred from that - I do a lot of inferring - that he's searching for a refuge, somewhere new to start over, and Hydaelyn offers him exactly that in exchange for ... what? His help against Zodiark? His guardianship of the planet's aether? His agreement to help and support her Champion at some point?

Do you agree that their arrangement is this long- lasting or do you think it's more recent? What is he likely to have agreed to? What is she likely to have granted him, if not a home here? At the end of the scene with Tiamat and the warning she gives about the dangers of the Ascians, he offers to lend us his wings. And then he says 'we go to the fight the Darkness!' Or something like that.

So he's more than the 'men are vile, dragons hate them forever' obsessive that Nidhogg is? He sees and accepts a bigger purpose?

[Dalvy]

From what I gather, Midgardsormr is neutral in our conflict between Hydaelyn and Zodiark. However, he was willing to give us a chance to prove why we champion Hydaelyn's cause. He knows full well that the Ascians cause Bahamut's death and Tiamat's imprisonment. After losing Estinien to Nidhogg, pops wants to take a more active role against his boy, and even decided to reveal his presence & hear Aymeric out.

Middy is still largely neutral, But personally I believe that he has had a slight change of heart after witnessing our struggle over time. Maybe he sees that it's worth it to uphold Hydaelyn's agreement and take a side against Zodiark.

[Anonymoose]

I think - but I'm not completely certain - that at least part of its obligation is that he doesn't harm us.

At the very least he can't harm Hydaelyn's champion.
He was going to strike us down when he knew we had the Echo, so just being Hydaelyn's chosen doesn't count if you annoy him.

I've pretty much made the assumption that the covenant dates from his arrival on Hydaelyn

An assumption we share.

That it is a 'myth' is pretty plain when Erik states that Midgardsormr came into being at the same time as 'the water' did, something we know isn't true.

Unless Hydaelyn pre-dates the creation of the physical world and Midgardsormr came into creation with it.

in exchange for ... what? His help against Zodiark? His guardianship of the planet's aether? His agreement to help and support her Champion at some point?

No idea!

You know all we do, really. My first-best-guess is that Midgardsormr (world-serpent) literally came into being (at least in this world) with this world "at a time before time," just as time as we know it in this world began. I think the covenant is his life here, basking in the warmth and protection of the light in exchange for something that promotes the Crystal's interests. The specifics elude me but I'm sure it had something to do with "the seal" on the lake he protected.

I think he just wrote us off as a pretender at first, and then a horrible choice for champion after that, so he did the bare minimum he was bound to do up until he saw we were more than he was assuming. He's not ready to get over it entirely, it seems, though.

[Elladie]

I don't think Midgardsormr ever has any intention of not respecting the Covenant once he realises who we are. He's not happy about it - he refers to us as frail and ignoble - and I'm pretty sure he expects us to fail. But by the end of HW he has definitely changed his mind. I agree that he means to address the Nidhogg problem, but I don't think he's in the 'I heard the Song, Ishguard will burn' place anymore. I think he's seeing a much bigger picture. Which is one of the things that made me wonder if the Covenant meant he'd agreed to help in the fight against Zodiark. Zodiark and the Ascians representing Darkness. He certainly has no reason to be a fan of theirs, after what they did to Bahamut and Tiamat