>>5516930>>5518781>>5500990>>5518004>bizarre esoteric references>magic is dangerous>strange "moral physics" in my game settings etc.Maybe if you are from the UK you know this bit of folklore already, but here is the Tale of the Lambton Worm. I read this from a green Jackanory book as a child, annoyed I lost the book somewhere, but I still remember the story.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambton_WormEssentially a knight learns a clever way to slay a devouring rampaging wyrm / serpent, by donning knife-studded porcupine blade armour, which cuts the wyrm to pieces when it tries to coil and constrict itself around him.
The interesting element of this tale also illustrates the curse and consequences of magic
>>5517993ie the terrible price or bargain of using sorcery or magical pacts I mentioned previously; the knight bargained the secret of the knife armour from a witch who commanded him to sacrifice the first living thing he sees after his triumph over the wyrm, or else his family will be cursed.
The knight tries to get around this grim sacrifice by planning with his father to release some hounds after his victory over the serpent, that will be killed to meet the bargain, but in his wild joy at seeing his son alive the father forgets to release the dog and rushes out himself instead. Shocked at seeing his father, the knight neglects to make the sacrifice, and the family is cursed even in their triumph.
If you read the full folk tale from that wikipedia link, you know that originally the wyrm grew demanding endless tribute from the peasants, impoverishing them when the knight was away fighting foreign wars in the crusades. The knight realises the wyrm was his creation and so resolves to slay it, to save the villagers from destitution. I often think about this old folklore story, if you deconstruct the myth it is pretty obvious what the wyrm or serpent symbolises.
https://archived.moe/qst/thread/5131732/#5155419https://archived.moe/qst/thread/5094509/#5103078https://archived.moe/qst/thread/5094509/#5106795 