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- "Morgoth loosed upon the people of Narog the great host that he had long prepared; and Glaurung the Urulóki passed over Anfauglith."
- —The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXI: "Of Túrin Turambar"
"Fire-drakes" (or Urulóki) was one term used for fire-breathing dragons.
History
First Age
Glaurung, the Father of Dragons, by Vaejoun
Glaurung and Ancalagon were fire-drakes, and were among the most famous of the breed. Glaurung was a key player in the sacking of Nargothrond and in the fulfillment of Morgoth's curse on the children of Húrin. He was a fearsome bane to the Elves.[1] Ancalagon and his armada of winged fire-drakes by themselves drove back the Host of the Valar during the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age, such was their incredible power.
Fire-drakes also joined the Balrogs in the attack on Gondolin.[2][3]
Second and Third Ages
Smaug over Laketown, by John Howe
All fire-drakes were thought to have been slain before the Second Age, but some including Smaug the Golden survived; and in TA 2770,he descended from the North and sacked the Lonely Mountain. Later, in TA 2941 Thrór's grandson Thorin Oakenshield returned with a small group to reclaim his grandfather's kingdom, unleashing a chain of events that led to the death of Smaug when he attacked nearby Lake-town and was slain by the Black Arrow shot by Bard the Bowman.[4]
According to Gandalf, there were still fire-drakes just before the beginning of War of the Ring.
Attributes
These creatures are described by Tolkien as being more like giant scaled serpents with wings than dragons as commonly depicted today. Fire-drakes often grew to immense size. The fire from one of these dragons was so intense that it was said the great dragons could consume and melt the Rings of Power (as became the case with some of hte Dwarven Rings), with the exception of the One Ring.[5] Most of the famous dragons throughout the ages were fire-drakes, although only some of them fought for Morgoth.
Etymology
In Quenya, fire-drakes were called Urulóki ("Fire Serpent" or "Fire-dragon"[6][7]), from ur ("heat") and lókë ("snake, serpent").[8][9]
Known Individuals
Smaug the Golden, by John Howe
Few fire-drakes were named in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium:
Behind the Scenes
Tolkien confirmed in a letter that Smaug was the last of his kind, the last of the "great" fire-drakes of Middle-earth. Dragons of lesser stature, such as smaller kin of Cold-drakes and fire-drakes lived on. This was also mentioned by Gandalf.
Portrayal in adaptations
The Hobbit film trilogy
In The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Thranduil had claimed to face a "fire drake of the North", and presumably suffered damages caused by dragon's fire. It is unknown whether this dragon was in the First Age, or those in the Grey Mountains in later days including Scatha, but seemingly in the Third Age after Smaug's attack on the Lonely Mountain.
Video games
The Fire Drake in BFME 2
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II describes another powerful Fire-drake, Drogoth. A contingent of Goblins and Ringwraiths were sent to bring him over to Sauron's side, but the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain and the Men of Dale were able to kill him. However, this is non-canon.
The fire-drake is a drake that destroys the enemies in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II. This drake has large horns, sharp fangs, frightening eyes large legs/arms, spiny back and long tail but no wings at all. They all breathe huge flames and are used with the Goblins with a dragon's nest, an upgrade for the goblin's base or sometimes summoned by Gorkil the Goblin King as his final power.
In The Lord of the Rings: War in the North: Urgost a winged fire drake who lives in the Grey Mountains. Agandaur offers him Nordinbad in exchange for his service to Sauron, Urgost responds by saying you will have your answer in my own good time. Later on he meets the company Farin, Eradan and Andriel and makes a deal with them to bring him Carn Dûm from Agandaur and he will not fight for Sauron.
Fire drake broods
Fire-drake broods are similar to the fire-drake except for their size, being smaller than the larger, level 10 fire drake. They arise in groups of three and their combined attack is just as powerful as their larger cousins; only two fire-drake broods can be recruited at one time.
The fire-drakes appear in The Battle for Middle-earth II while the Fire-drake broods only appear in The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king.
References
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXI: "Of Túrin Turambar"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXIII: "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, chapter III: "The Fall of Gondolin"
- ↑ The Hobbit, Chapter XIV: "Fire and Water"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter II: "The Shadow of the Past"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, chapter II: "Turambar and the Foalókë"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien