Dracocide

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One slice, one kill!

Dracocide is the act of killing dragons that those who commit are seen as legendary. This action is usually achieved through a weapon that is sometimes magical. Characters can do this activity through magic as well. In popular media, people who do dracocide are called dragonslayers and can be seen in modern media such as books, movies, and video games.  Its use in contemporary media follows myths and legends that may be Older Than Dirt, where gods and heroes have committed the act throughout different cultures. Interestingly, a common myth with different cultures is that a storm god kills a dragon or a dragon-like creature.

Examples of Dracocide include:

Anime and Manga

• In Monsters, Ryuma is a samurai who decapitated a dragon with one sword slash as pictured above.
• Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayer Magic is a form of Lost Magic where a Mage takes on the attributes of a dragon along with an element. These Mages are known as Dragon Slayers and come into different generations:
  • First Generations are taught Dragon Slayer Magic from an actual dragon themselves.
  • Second Generations have a Dragon's Lacrima implanted into their body.
  • Third Generations are taught the magic from a dragon and implanted with their Lacrima as well.
  • Fourth Generations are automatons created from either Dragon Lacrima or magic power that can fight endlessly until their power source is destroyed.
  • Fifth Generations gain this magic from eating dragon flesh or cannibalizing other Dragon Slayers.
• Played With in BURN THE WITCH, the Wing Bind organization tames and cultivates Light Dragons as an essential part of society in Reverse London. They are also tasked with killing Dark Dragons due to the danger towards humans.
• High School DxD has the holy sword Ascalon, the sword used by Saint George that's been imbued with the power to slay dragons.

Literature

• The Hobbit's Bard the Bowman used the Black Arrow to shot at Smaug's weak point, thus killing the dragon.

Live-Action TV

• In Supernatural, dragon-killing swords were made by Eve from dragon blood to slay dragons.

Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends

• Mesopotamian Mythology had different gods involved with killing dragons:
  • Enki is said to have killed the dragon, Kur, to save the goddess Ereshkigal.
  • Marduk is said to have slain a mušḫuššu and has become one of his symbols and servant.
  • Ninurta has killed different dragons, such as a seven-headed one whose body hanged on his chariot.
• Hittite Mythology's Tarḫunz, the weather god, had slain the serpentine dragon Illuyanka.
• Hinduism has Indra, King of Devas, and deity of storms, sky, rivers, and war which killed the asura, Vritra, blocking the Rigvedic rivers.
• Egyptian Mythology's Apep fights Ra and Set to prevent the sun from rising. The serpent resurrects in the underworld every time, and the fight continues with the two gods every day.
• In Japanese Mythology, Susanoo, a Kami associated with storms and the sea, slew the Yamato no Orochi to prevent Kushinadahime from being sacrificed.
• Slavic Mythology has Perun, god of lightning, storms, and more, the adversary of Veles, another god associated with dragons and said to take their form. They both fight where Veles dies, but the death isn't permanent as he resurrects like a serpent shedding its skin.
• Siegfried from German Mythology (also known as Sigurd in Norse Mythology) used his sword Balmung (also know as Gram) to kill the dragon Fafnir. After killing the former dwarf, he was bathed in its blood and became invincible except a spot where a leaf fell on the warrior.

Tabletop Games

• Forgotten Realms' dragonbane amber is a magical amber that can weaken dragons if they get near it, and prolonged exposure leads to death.

Video Games

• The 7th Dragon series has dragons threatening human civilization, and huntsmen aim to exterminate them along with the seven ones to save humanity.

• In Monster Hunter, the Dragon Element is effective on both hunters and Monsters with this element. This means that weapons and Monsters can do more damage to organisms with this element.
  • Nergigante is an aggressive Elder Dragon that prays on other Elder Dragons to take their energy.
• Skyrim's dragons can absorb the soul of other dragons when killed, thus killing these immortal creatures, and they are the only creatures that can do the act. The only exception is the Dragonborn or Davahkiin, who can also absorb the soul of a dragon when he slays one.
• In Tokyo Afterschool Summoner, the Dragon Slayer is a Skill that does more damage to Transients with Dragonborn Skill.

Western Animation

• American Dragon: Jake Long has the Huntsman clan are a group of humans born with a dragon birthmark and trying to hunt down magical creatures, especially their guardians, Dragons.