Siegfried - Siegfried "Fate"

Siegfried is a tall man with silver-gray hair. His body is covered in shining silver plate armor. A spectral greatsword, Balmung, hangs from his back. His bare skin is stained brown with dragon blood. This skin is composed of dragon scales, which no blade or spell can cut... Except for one spot in the center of his back. His tall stature, slender frame, and tanned skin indicate that he is imbued with dragon blood.

A knight with dragon blood and the "Dragon Slayer," he defeated the evil dragon Fafnir with the holy sword Balmung. He is a great national hero of Germany, and he appears in various guises in various legends about him. His most famous role is his introductory appearance in the medieval German epic poem "The Nibelungen," where he is depicted as the protagonist. He is the subject of a tragedy that spread throughout Europe about the slaying of the dragon and Rheingold, and his character is established in the ancient epic poem "The Nibelungenlied." However, Siegfried is not actually the protagonist of the "Nibelungenlied." The protagonist is his wife, Kriemhild, and this epic tells of the most terrible revenge, driven by her despair and hatred.

The legend of Siegfried arose around the 5th–6th centuries and spread across many lands. The story of the hero Sigurd, the Völsunga Saga, appeared almost simultaneously with the "Song of the Nibelungs." Wagner's opera "Der Ring des Nibelungen" is a masterpiece that brings together these legends. Although Siegfried and Sigurd share similar origins, they are completely different personalities. However, most of these heroic battles are unknown... Thus, the details of Siegfried's adventures, including slaying the evil dragon Fafnir and obtaining the demonic sword Balmung, are known only through character accounts and were not shown on screen.

After Siegfried completed his many adventures, during which he acquired the demonic sword Balmung and a cloak that concealed his form, his most famous feat was earning the title "Dragon Slayer" for defeating the evil dragon Fafnir in a battle for the Nibelungen's treasure and subsequently slaying the dragon with its sacred sword. He then bathed in the dragon's blood and drank it, and Siegfried became invulnerable thanks to his victory over Fafnir, granting him an invulnerable body, incapable of sustaining a single wound on the battlefield. However, while bathing in the dragon's blood, a linden leaf stuck to his back, preventing the blood from reaching his back, and this became his only weak point, leading to his untimely death.

Without spending a fraction of the Rhine gold, Siegfried entrusted his only weakness to his best friend. The man who had once been his friend granted the hero's wish. He persistently searched for and found the hero's weak point, devised a plan, knowing full well it was a cowardly act, and shot the hero in the back while he was drinking water. Even knowing this, the hero did not resist. He was killed by a Burgundian vassal, who stabbed him in his most vulnerable spot. Leaving behind not a single dishonorable act or folly, the hero died a tragic figure, the victim of betrayal. His former friend became widely known as the rare villain who killed a hero dishonestly. From Siegfried's perspective, this was the best way to resolve the conflict between Kriemhild and Brunhilda; but he made a fatal mistake.

Siegfried triumphed on every battlefield, suffering no defeat, until he lost his life to a treacherous blow to the back. Ultimately, this led to an even greater tragedy; it seems Rheingold's curse had fully worked. This ties into the tragedy of his wife Kriemhild's revenge for her husband's murder in the second half of the legend. Kriemhild loved him so much that she was willing to sell her soul to the devil to avenge his death. Her hatred was directed not only at Hagen's murderer, but also at her own brother, King Gunther. Kriemhild herself, consumed by hatred, was subsequently defeated in a knightly duel. Furthermore, the sword with which Kriemhild killed Hagen was Siegfried's favorite sword, Balmung. Therefore, some say that after all these twists and turns, Siegfried was able to exact his revenge. However, it is also known that Siegfried and Hagen were friends who shared wine and dreams with each other. He came from a noble royal family, was renowned for his numerous adventures and heroic deeds, and his tragic death became an example for many heroes. However, precisely because he was such a heroic figure, he unknowingly fell into a trap. A hero acts at the request of the people and therefore should not act without invitation. This is because a hero is such a being. Because they possess incredible power, they should not act of their own free will or attempt to fulfill their own desires. A hero is a being who fulfills the wishes of others and should not go beyond that.

'I lived and died as a hero. I have no regrets. I can confidently say that there was nothing unpleasant in my life. And yet, I can't help but think about it. If I weren't a prince, if I were an ordinary person... Would I be able to sincerely follow my will? It doesn't matter if no one recognizes me. I don't mind if no one praises me. I want to be recognized. I want to be proud of myself. That's what I achieved. That's what I wanted. I want to be on the side of what I believe in. If I could do that, then certainly I could live with my head held high. I will not fight for anyone else. I will not fight for myself either. For the goodness I believe in, the justice I believe in, the loyalty I believe in, and the love I believe in. I will take up this sword and fight with this body. That is my dream, my wish. I... want to be a hero of justice.'