Wyvern
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A wyvern (or wivern) is a winged reptilian legendary creature often found in medieval heraldry. Its usual blazon is statant (standing). The wyvern is a type of dragon with two legs and two wings. [1] The rest of its appearance can vary, such as appearing with a tail spade or with a serpent-like tail.
Variants of the wyvern include the sea-wyvern, which has a fish-like tail. The wyvern is similar to another mythical creature, the cockatrice, which is similar to the basilisk.[citation needed]
In popular culture, the wyvern is sometimes shown as a non-dragon creature with dragon-like traits.[2]
Wyverns have been described as the largest form of dragon, so large that they prey from creatures such as elephants and rhinos. Stories of the wyvern are very similar to the legendary Arabian bird, the Roc.
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[edit] Cryptozoology
Some Cryptozoologists have therorized that Wyverns are evidence of surviving Pterosaurs, but like similar theories about dragons, there is no evidence aside from accounts of surviving pterosaurs in remote areas such as the Kongamato in Africa.
[edit] Wyvern and Symbolisms
In heraldry, the wyvern represents pestilence, conquest, or other such ideas.[citation needed] The wyvern also symbolises strength, power and endurance.
The portmanteau word "Wyvern" is associated with the area of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, as the rivers Wye and Severn run through Hereford and Worcester respectively. Therefore, the wyvern is often used as a mascot in that area. For example, one of the local radio stations is called Wyvern FM, and its first logo, in 1982, featured a wyvern dragon.
- Is on the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the U.S. 37th Armor Regiment.
- A golden wyvern was featured on the flag of Wessex and is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry.
- 43 'Wessex' brigade of the British Army have a golden wyvern as their symbol, worn on the left shoulder of the uniform.
- The wyvern was the emblem of the rulers of Mercia and was adopted by the Leicester and Swannington Railway and later by the Midland Railway, which ran in Great Britain until 1923. The Midland Railway Centre in Derbyshire, England, publishes a magazine for its members called The Wyvern.
- A pair of wyverns appear on the club crest of Leyton Orient Football Club (based in East London), who play in the Football League 1.
- A red wyvern rampant is the school mascot of Saint Francis High School in Louisville, Kentucky.
- A wyvern adorns the crest of Alpha Chi Sigma, a professional chemistry fraternity.
- Fantastic pictures at Japanese Museum of Fantastic Specimens at http://www.pinktentacle.com/2006/07/gallery-of-fantastic-creatures/
- The Wyvern is the mascot for Kingswood-Oxford School
[edit] Wyverns in popular culture
Wyverns are also featured in many fantasy settings. Their representation is not standardized: for example, in some fantasy works, wyverns have four legs, while in others, two.
- In Sonic the Hedgehog for Xbox 360 and PS3, the player fights a mechanical wyvern.
- A dragon based card game from the creator of Magic: The Gathering
- In Dungeons & Dragons, wyverns have a poisonous stinger on their tails.
- Wyverns are the one of the main aspects in Capcom's online action adventure games from the Monster Hunter franchise. The Rathalos featured in the game makes a good epitome of a wyvern.
- In Heroes of Might and Magic III, wyverns are depicted as a dragon-like creature with a pair of wings, two legs, no arms/front legs and some of them have a poisonous stinger tail.
- The Death Wyvern is the boss of the Shadow Wood episode in Hexen. It is a dragon-like creature that shoots fireballs.
- In Dynasty Warriors the Wei character Zhang Liao's 3rd weapon is called Blue Wyvern and his 4th weapon is called Gold Wyvern.
- Wyverns in the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI appear in two different forms. The grown wyverns are larger than a man, with two legs and two wings, but they can't fly. They have brown or black skin, except for the monster 'Seiryu' that has a light blue and purple skin. The other type of wyvern is used as a pet by the Dragoons (Dragon Knights). They are small compared to the grown wyvern; they have four legs and a pair of wings. The have blue and yellow skin and the ability to use elemental and healing breath.
- Wyverns are also present in the Warcraft game series. In these games, they are called "Windriders" and they appear much less reptilian, with the head and body of a lion (symbolic of their honor and courage), curved horns, an armored tail like a scorpion, and bat-like wings attached to their front legs. It seems to resemble a manticore mixed with the concept of a wyvern. In the MMORPG World of Warcraft they are used as a means of public transportion.
- Wyverns appear in the Korean-made online RPG Redmoon Online as the most powerful monster in the entire game. They appear usually in only one optional map in the game, and it usually requires a group of max-leveled characters or one super-maxed character with hyper-strength equipment to stand a chance against a single wyvern. Their attacks consist of a fixed-60% damage Earthquake, teleporting right up in the face of their enemy, biting, and breathing a stream of fire.
- Wyverns are featured alot in the games Monster Hunter where you play as a village hunter and hunt down wyverns such as the Rathalos, the female Rathian, the Yian Kut Ku, and many other various dragons.
- Wyverns are included as enemies in many other video games, including Monster Hunter, Shadowgate, Dragon Warrior, and Kingdom Hearts. Wyvern riders are included as units in the strategy RPG Fire Emblem.
- In the Ace Combat game series, one of the aircraft is called the X-02 Wyvern.
- Wyvern is the name of Kahran Ramsus' golden, winged Gear in the PlayStation RPG Xenogears.
- Masami Kurumada's anime series Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter features a majestic body armor owned by a warrior named Radamanthys. When not worn by its master the armor takes the shape of a wyvern.
- Castle Wyvern is a mythical castle from the Gargoyles TV series that was moved from the coast of Scotland to New York in order to break a spell.
- Wyverns appear in Tamora Pierce's Immortals quartet and feature as villains in Meredith Ann Pierce's Birth of the Firebringer.
- A set in Lego's newly launched Toys "R" Us–exclusive "Vikings" product line is titled "Viking Boat Against the Wyvern Dragon."[1]
- Wyverns appear as an enemy in the Sierra RPG: Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness.
- The Wyverns is a gentlemens' club for male students of the University of Cambridge.
- The SK Wyverns are a team in the Korea Baseball League.
- Wyverns feature strongly in the fantasy book series Broken Sky, where they are ridden as flying mounts and bonded telepathically to their riders via a 'bonding stone.'
- Wyvern House is the name of the preparatory school for the exclusive Newington College, Sydney, Australia.
- Wyverns are bad-tempered, dragonlike monstrous mounts for Orc Heroes and Warlords in Warhammer Fantasy Battle, a tabletop strategy game.
- Wyvern is the name of one of the houses in the George Abbot School in Surrey.
- Wyvern is the name of an online graphical MUD.
- In Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (comic book series) series, one of the three doorkeepers to Dream's castle is a Wyvern.
- In the Pelicar RPG, wyverns are a varied species of magical animal. They range in intelligence from dumb as dirt to genius. Most are winged and a few look like classical European dragons. Their defining characteristic is the uses of alchemical processes in their bodies to produce magical effects. For instance, super hard skins, fiery breath or magical flight.
- Wyvern is the name of the fictional county in which the equally fictional town of Holby is situated in the BBC's long-running medical drama, Casualty.
- Wyverns are also included in various games by Squaresoft, for example Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy VII, SaGa Frontier and Kingdom Hearts.
- In Peter Jackson's popular movie adaptations of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books, the "Fell Beasts" serving as mounts for the Ringwraiths are considered by many fans to be similar to a Wyvern.
- "Wyvern" is one of the Hades Gods of The Infershia Pantheon in "Mahou Sentai Magiranger" as well as his Power Rangers: Mystic Force counterpart, Gekkor.
- Wyverns are enemy creatures in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
- Wyvern and Wild Wyvern are two of the mounts available in the online text-based game Legend of the Green Dragon.
- The Wyvern is seen as a reptilian form in Warlord's Battlecry III.
- The Wyvern features as a boss character in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.
- They appear in the NES/Famicom game Dragon Quest, looking bird-like, with a duck like head, and feathered wings.
- Wyverns also appear in a game made by Nintendo called Fire Emblem.
- Wyvern is a character in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" which is part of the Flying Dutchman. It is important because it tells Will how to kill Davy Jones.
- Appear in Arcanum of Steamworks & Magicka Obscura.
- The Mothership of the Caldari race in the space MMORPG Eve Online is called the Wyvern.
- In Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, there is a dungeon called Wyvern Hill. It features Dragon-Types.
- In Lost Magic, a game for the Nintendo DS, there are a Wyvern series of elemental spells that take the shape of Dragons.
- In F-Zero GX, one of the machines is called "Little Wyvern."
- The Wyvern is the mascot for Kings College, which is a residential college for male students of the University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia.
- The Wyvern is also the name of the court in Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' series called The Kiesha'ra. The court is made up of shapeshifters, one half serpent, the other half, birds of prey.
- In the anime/manga series Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, there is a monster called "Wyvern no Senshi" (renamed "Alligator Sword" in the dubbed version).
[edit] References
- ^ Pennick, Nigel (1997). Dragons of the West. Capall Bann Publishing
- ^ TSR (1993). Monstrous Manual. TSR Inc.
[edit] External links
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