Dagor Dagorath
| “ | And so it is written. The Queen of Blood shall summon forth the fiends of the night to raze the kingdom of man. The champion of man, with his luminous sword, will do battle with the dragon of war...and thus the downfall of the Chaos Mother's ilk is marked and the coming of man's end. | „ |
| ~ Miquella |
The Dagor Dagorath is a great and terrible battle that marks the beginning of the end and the near extinction of monsterkind.
Description[]
According to the prophecy of the fae, the Dagor Dagorath shall be fought in Vigrid, a large field foretold to host a battle between the forces of the man and the forces of Nimue. The Dagor Dagorath will see the rise of nearly every monster across Europe or perhaps the world itself, all summoned by Nimue and leading charge to bring the Earth to ruin and reshape it to Nimue's own liking.
The Dagor Dagorath is also believed to be a mere prelude to the Final Conflict as it is part of a series of apocalyptic events that will slowly but surely bring the world of man to complete and utter ruin, ultimately weakening them against the coming forces of the Ogdru Hem.
It is in said battle where Hellboy will meet his end during his climactic battle with Nimue. It is also said that this event will lead to humanity being exposed to the supernatural world and will take up arms against the night fiends that hide in the dark crevices of their homes. Vampires would be the most prevalent targets and according to the prophecy, the end of the Dagor Dagorath will call forth the "sons of darkness" to rise from their tombs with these "sons of darkness" likely being the original thirteen Lasombra vampires, thus beginning the next phase of apocalypse sequences leading up to the penultimate Final Conflict: the Blackest Night.
History[]
Background[]
According to the prophecy, Nimue will be resurrected with the goal to make the Earth a habitable kingdom for beast and spirit alike. She declares that man's time has already reached its end and the time for the "children of Tiamat" to claim their rightful hold over the planet.
Gruagach, an Irish fairy who has a history with Hellboy, seeks to make the planet Earth a better place for the fae and other supernatural beings. To accomplish this he decides to resurrect the Blood Queen, Nimue, hoping she would help lead them to victory. He is secretly aided by Astaroth, who predicts that Nimue will eventually kill Hellboy, and thus bring the cambion back to Hell. Gruagach is aided by the Demon's Three which consists of Yomyael, Bifrons, and Beleth in finding Nimue's severed body parts that are scattered across the world all while they prepare for Lilith's ascension to power.
Nimue's Return[]
Nimue is eventually resurrected using a golden and bejeweled Ciborium containing the blood of every man, woman and child from a nearby murdered village, declaring herself as the new Morrígan. Her first order of business is to kill Queen Mab, and uses her blood as part of a powerful spell to resurrect her second son, Glaurung, the golden dragon which she sired with Beowulf so long ago by removing the fabled Black Arrow shot into his heart by Sir Lancelot and restoring him back to his full vitality. Glaurung lets out a great roar that calls forth almost supernatural monsters of the British Isles and Europe to flock over to Nimue who agree to follow her into battle.
Hellboy meets up with an old acquaintance, Alice Monaghan, after killing a group of giants who were heading to join Nimue's cause. Together they figure out that Nimue has returned, but Alice is poisoned by a fae working for Nimue. Luckily for Hellboy, Viviane comes to their aide and helps him take care of Alice. Viviane also reveals that Hellboy, through his mother Sarah Hughes, is the direct descendant of both Mordred and Arthur Pendragon, and the rightful heir to the crown of England. Viviane even returns Excalibur over to Hellboy, stating that all the dead nobles of England would rise from the grave and follow him now.
Battle of Vigrid[]
Soon the undead army of nobles arrive, expecting Hellboy to lead them. However, Hellboy refuses and instead hands over the sword to George Washbrook who insistently denies the sword as he is a nobody and the sword would not deem him worthy. Hellboy nevertheless tosses Excalibur over to him forcing George to catch it and to the surprise of many, Excalibur recognizes George as a worthy wielder. John Constantine believes that George may not actually be of Arthur's lineage but of Mordred Pendragon's. George is broken out of his trance from this revelation, instead shocked and disgusted knowing Mordred's reputation in legends. He would soon be comforted by Hellboy who tells him that his parentage should not define him as a person and where he will take his life, speaking from experience as the son of Azazel. So even if George is of Mordred's lineage, his tumultuous journey has never weakened his heart and spirit for the sword can also be taken under conditions of need and valour.
Hellboy, now armed with an iron sword that was forged by the Russian maiden Vasilisa, arrives at Nimue's lair which was erected in Vigrid, and was surrounded by a massive army of supernatural monsters, including giants, trolls, fairies and Satyrs, that are being led by War, one of the Horseman of the Apocalypse. Hellboy and George Washbrook lead the charge against Nimue's forces, engaging in a titanic battle as the undead and man trade blades and guns with the fangs and claws of monsters. George aids Hellboy as the two cleave through Nimue's enormous armada until he eventually comes face to face with the Mad Queen herself. Hellboy fights Nimue with Vasilisa's sword, gaining a small advantage against her with the sword being more than capable of defending him from her magic. All the while the horseman of War engages George and Alucard of the Hellsing Organization while the likes of John Constantine, who is joined by Liz Sherman, Pearl Jones, Ben Daimio, Seras Victoria, and Timothy Hunter, battle Glaurung.
Hellboy's Death[]
Glaurung is fatally wounded from a powerful attack by the combined might of Constantine and his allies as his body crashes into the earth. Nimue, already losing to Hellboy and in a fit of mad desperation, bites into Glaurung's neck and drinks his blood as part of a spell to empower herself. And empowered she was for when she emerged from where her son crashed, Nimue was now a terrible dragon and reset her sights upon Hellboy, attacking and knocking Vasilisa's sword out of his hand. The two engage in a fierce and mighty battle, which ends with Hellboy being pinned down by the dragon-like Nimue, who proclaims to be the destroyer of all of creation.
Hellboy, battered and exhausted, is nearly skewered by Nimue until he saved in time by Constantine and his allies. As John and Timothy use strong magical binds to pin Nimue down with Ben Daimo holding her tail as Seras and Pearl cripple her wings, Hellboy is approached by the spirit of Vasilisa, who gives him enough encouragement to pick up Excalibur and mortally wound Nimue and put an end to her madness.
The undead nobles of England arrive as well, killing Nimue's army and postponing the end of the world for a little while longer. While it appears Hellboy has prevented the end of the world, the spirit of Nimue arrives in front of him. She states that she is condemned to Hell and that she would not go alone down, ripping Hellboy's heart out and killing him. Both fall into the fires of Hell. While the forces of good prevailed, this was only the beginning of the End Times, for Great Britain will "drown in a sea of blood" and the "sons of darkness" will rise from their tombs to claim dominion over man.