Cavern Wyrm

Lore

Among the many breeds of dragon known across the realms, few are spoken of with such hushed dread as the Cavern Wyrm. Unlike its airborne kin, the Cavern Wyrm is a creature of the deep earth—massive, coiled, and cloaked in the darkness of ancient caverns. Its limbs are thick and clawed for burrowing, and its scales often bear the sheen of iron ore or the dust of forgotten vaults, making it appear sculpted from the stone it calls home.

These wyrms rarely surface, preferring the cold quiet of underground chambers where they rest atop hoards accumulated over centuries. Such troves are not the glittering piles of fairy tales, but grim repositories of greed—gear from fallen adventurers, melted coin, half-eaten relics, and the occasional shattered banner of some long-lost expedition. What is not devoured is kept. Why they collect remains a matter of debate: some argue it is instinct, others say the wyrm knows precisely what it owns, and takes a dark pride in its acquisitions.

The Cavern Wyrm is not a hunter in the traditional sense; it is an ambush predator. Sensing vibrations through the stone, it will tunnel silently beneath prey—livestock, patrols, entire caravans—and erupt from the ground in a spray of rock and rage. These assaults are rarely preceded by warning. Survivors often describe the sudden absence of sound moments before the attack, as if the earth itself was holding its breath.

Temperamentally, Cavern Wyrms are considered among the most volatile of draconic species. Whether this is due to their isolation, their deep territorial instincts, or the centuries spent in solitude is unknown. What is certain is that their ire is rarely survived. To glimpse a Cavern Wyrm often means you have already trespassed upon its domain—or worse, its treasure.

Scholars classify them as rare, but this is more a measure of survivability than actual population. There may be dozens slumbering below the surface at any given time. Entire cave systems have been abandoned or sealed off due to reports of their presence, with some kingdoms marking “wyrm zones” on old maps, the borders of which are treated as cursed.

Efforts to study or even observe Cavern Wyrms in their natural habitat are virtually nonexistent, due to the creatures’ aggression and cunning. A few written accounts exist—scrawled journals, salvaged packs, cryptic etchings on collapsed tunnel walls—but they often end mid-sentence, beneath soot, claw marks, or blood.

For those who seek treasure or glory, a Cavern Wyrm’s lair is the ultimate temptation. For those who return, it becomes a cautionary tale passed down in taverns and training halls: “The deeper you go, the more likely it is the mountain will bite back.”