Dragons of Fame

Vouivre

Type/Species: Cyclops-Dragon (perhaps Wyvern)
Origin: Legends and Folklore of France (Alpine Region)

History: Derived from the Latin word "vipera," Vouivra means viper. ¹

She was fantastically beautiful. Her scales looked like diamonds, and she wore a crown with pearls atop her head. She also possessed the most intriguing carbuncle, red like a splendid ruby. This jewel, of all the things she had, was perhaps the most splendid, for through it alone could she see the world. She wore it on her forehead, and the carbuncle became her eye.¹

Whenever a shooting star cross the night sky, people knew that Vouivre flew through the night. They knew it had to be her because of the carbuncle, which burned so brightly that it made it seem that she was surrounded by fire. (A few believe that Vouivre's flight was also blamed for comets.)¹

Vouivre lived in a rocky cavern, far enough from humans to be unbothered most of the time, where she kept an incredible treasure.² People all over the Alpine region whispered that her treasure became so vast that, should someone possess it, they would be richer than the kings.²

Unfortunately for the determined thief, Vouivre was invulnerable to attack, save for once a year. On either Christmas or Easter, depending who you asked, she would fly out to a water source to bathe herself and drink.² To bathe, she had to remove her carbuncle, so she became totally blind for a few hours.² She cleverly chose to bathe only during the mass time, so any mass-going person would not be able to reach her treasure or try to slay her.²

Of course, there remained plenty of people who would skip mass, or who never went to begin with, for a chance to steal a mighty treasure from an otherwise invulnerable dragon.² Crafty thieves followed the advice of tradition, which said that if anyone should throw a crust of bread inside of the cavern while she bathed, anything the bread or its crumbs touched would belong to that person. Anything else should be left behind or avoided.²

Some plunderers, however, did not choose so wisely during their attempts to steal her treasure. A few stayed too long to gather up the treasure, and when she returned she would lock them in her cavern all year with no food or water. Other thieves too far too much, and they could not carry it all out. Upon her return, she would capture them and punish them in a similar manner.²

There are two stories about how the Vouivre met her end. The first claims that a cunning warrior came to a village nearby her cavern to try to kill her. He managed to lure her into a bathing area that had been filled with spikes, and she impaled herself on them blindly.²

Another source claims that a villager outsmarted her. The villager lured Vouivre into an oven where she was roasted.²

Physical Description: She was described as a Cyclops-dragon. She is perhaps the only one of her kind and very little description has been given about her appearance beyond her bejeweled physicality.

1. Illiana the Golden Dragon (defunct)
2. The Drac: French Tales of Dragons and Demons by Felice Holman and Nanine Valen

For more information about footnotes and references, please see the bibliography.