Fenris

Fenris, also spelled Fenrir, is a colossal wolf in Norse mythology. He is the son of the trickster god Loki and the giantess Angrboða, and he figures prominently in accounts of Ragnarok, the apocalyptic battle that ends the current world cycle. Prophecies declare that Fenris will play a key role in the gods' downfall and in the destruction and subsequent renewal of the world.

To prevent the prophecy from coming true, the Aesir bound Fenrir with Gleipnir, a fetter forged by dwarves from six improbable ingredients: the footstep of a cat, the beard of a woman, the root of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of fish, and the spit of a bird. Fenris agrees to be bound only if one of the gods places a hand in his mouth as a pledge of faith; Tyr, the god of law and oaths, volunteers, and loses his hand when Fenrir is bound.

In the events of Ragnarok, Fenris breaks free from Gleipnir and is foretold to slay Odin, among other gods, before being killed by Vidar, Odin’s son, who avenges his father's death by tearing the wolf apart. Fenris’ place in myth has made him a symbol of uncontrollable destructive power and the limits of the gods’ power to contain fate.

In modern culture, the name Fenris (or Fenrir) is used across works of fiction, occasionally as a character name or as a reference to the mythic wolf; for example, Dragon Age II features a character named Fenris.