We do not know much about childhood of Smaug, otherwise that he comes from the great northern lands, origin lands of many creatures, and already being a young dragon, Smaug had reached an upper size to normal which made him aside. He made his first appearance on the day in the year 2770 of the Third Age of Middle-earth, when he attacked the city of Dale and the dwarven city of Erebor, from where he chassed the dwarves, killing a large many of them, to appropriate their wealth. Smaug being huge, overpowering and indestructible scales, dwarves could do nothing against him. During 170 years, Smaug remains hidden underground in the abandoned city of Erebor whose he made his lair, brooding gold of his body and plunged into a sort of winter sleep. But one day, Smaug was awakened, not by dwarves, but a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who accompanied the dwarves group led by Thorin Oakenshield, eager to take back what belongs to his people. Smaug, at first, did not see Bilbo as a threat and began to talk to him, threaten him or prove being superior to him. It was after a series of traps orchestrated by the dwarves, that Smaug, feeling ridiculed, loses patience and under the influence of anger, decides to take revenge on the inhabitants of Lake Town.
With jets of flame devastating and colossal force, Smaug cause unprecedented havoc in the city, destroyed many buildings and killed many people. Archers men shoot hundreds of arrows, but all are useless against the dragon's scales. That's when Bard, descending of the men of Dale, comes armed with a black arrow, weapon very rare but powerful, that he kept at home. While Smaug is facing him, Bard prepares the black arrow and saw what Bilbo also noticed: on the chest of Smaug, was a crack in the scales of the dragon's chest, leaving his skin exposed and vulnerable. Bard made the best he can, and after shooting, reached Smaug right into the wound, which kills the dragon. After terrified the Middle Earth for years, Smaug the mighty, great dragon and first major threat of the Third Age, fell from the sky and fell dead in the lake.
There are two kinds of dragons: those who speak and those who do not speak. Smaug belongs to the first category. Cruel, manipulative and intelligent, Smaug is considered one of the best dragons ever, and I agree, as much for its appearance as for his mentality. Smaug seems to take perverse pleasure in tormenting his victims before killing them, talking to them constantly of how he will kill them. His vanity for gold makes him even more dangerous and vicious. In one scene, he told to Bilbo to being almost tempted to let him take the Arkenstone, just to see Thorin suffer and fall into greed and madness, as his grandfather before. But one of the great weaknesses of Smaug is his too great trust in himself. Believing himself invincible, because being a great dragon, Smaug often down its guard against smaller than him, which will make him fall into the trap in the dwarves, and later, will lead him to his own destruction. Smaug is also pretentious, describing its wings like a hurricane, his fangs like swords, its scales like shields. Everyone seems to fear him, and Gandalf understand quickly that a dragon like Smaug would be a devastating weapon in the ranks of Sauron, but we don't know if Smaug would obey the Dark Lord, or if he acts only for its own cause.
For being one of the greatest dragons in the books, and later, one of the best dragons in entire cinema history, Smaug deserves his place in the pantheon of the greatest villains.
See you next time, humans
Mathias, the Killmaster
Fire and Blood \m/
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