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The Naglfar is a demonic vessel which is said to be built by demons from the finger and toe nails of the dead. The vessel is said to sail from Mörhogg, the land of Chaos, to the land of the living carrying an undead army which will wage the final battle of good and evil known as Ragh nar Roog.

To this day, Skelligers also cut the nails of their recently deceased in an effort to minimize the building materials available to the demon builders.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt[]

The Naglfar, the longship, is made of deadmen's claws and is the vessel used by Eredin and his Wild Hunt warriors. In 1272, Geralt had a dream where he, Ciri, and the other witchers of Kaer Morhen trained in combat on the equipment at the fort. Shortly after, the dream turned into a nightmare, after the Wild Hunt appeared on the Naglfar and attacked Ciri. After the Wild Hunt was lured into a trap near Undvik, Geralt and Eredin had their final duel on the deck of the ship.

Associated quests[]

Notes[]

  • An in-game book presumably describing a legend of the ship, titled "Naglfar: the Longship Made of Deadmen's Claws", was for unknown reasons removed from the game. It was scripted to appear at least once, on the Marlin Coast pier just before summonning the Naglfar.

Behind the scenes[]

I had pleasure to design and illustrate the Wild Hunt Ship - Naglfar. The ship's design went through a long ideation process before it reached its final shape. During the process. I created basic 3D model, which helped with proper scale and proportion, as well as a few detailed concepts of the Naglfar deck, which were helpful in modelling.
- Maciej Wojtala, Artstation

Many sketches and designs for the Naglfar were made. Early ones assumed this ship would fly through the air. In the end, however, the more subdued concepts which better fit the grounded feel of the witcher universe won out. The drawing in the infobox shows the final version of the Naglfar, the ghastly Hunt's equally ghastly vessel.[1]

Trivia[]

  • Replicating Norse mythology and the story of Ragnarök, the Naglfar, built from the hair and nails of the dead, is foretold in the Scandinavian legend to sail to Vígríðr, carrying hordes from Hel, to wage war against the gods.
    • It is believed the longstanding myth both stems from and contributes to a central part of the ancient Proto-European custom of the ritual disposal of the hair and nails of the recently deceased. Offering a more subtle wink to the story of Ragnarok found in the Poetic Edda, the ice giant Myrhyff can be found on the island of Undvik building a gigantic longship. Planning to sail his creation to meet the gods in battle at some unknown destination, Myrhyff is a clear homage to the character of Hrym: a jötunn who supposedly serves as the captain of the Naglfar en route to Ragnarök.

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