| “ | The Whispering Death knows only one thing, killing! | ” |
| — Gobber, How to Train Your Dragon exclusive short, from the Book of Dragons. |
Whispering Death is a dragon that appears in the film continuity and exclusive short, the Book of Dragons. This dragon is seen when Hiccup reads the Dragon Manual, and they are classified as Boulder Class.
Quick Answers
What class does the Whispering Death dragon belong to in How to Train Your Dragon?
What is the Whispering Death's preferred method of attack?
What is the Whispering Death's unique characteristic compared to other dragons?
What is the Whispering Death's preferred habitat?
What is the Whispering Death's primary instinct according to Bork?
Dragon Appearance
Whispering Death is similar to a Deadly Nadder, but with bulging eyes, face and spirals of barbed teeth that line the entirety of his inner mouth. It has a snake body and neck, similar to a Zippleback, but Whispering Deaths have no legs, only the lower spikes (which can be used for locomotion through their tunnels).
Many consider them extremely vicious and often have nightmares after confronting these horrors. Their gaping mouths are full of deadly rotating teeth. Their wings can also be rotated, presumably to aid in the drilling process. They look very similar to the Gulper Eel.
Behavior
Boulder Class
Whispering Death's are extremely deadly, like most other dragons, and are able to chew their victims after their ingestion, using their multiple rows of rotating teeth. They usually live in underground tunnels they burrow themselves, using a burrowing attack against oncoming enemy/prey.
The Dragon Guide once said that they were extremely dangerous and must be killed on the spot. Nevertheless, despite their fearsome reputation, they wanted to brush their teeth. In the 14th episode of Dragons: Riders Berk -- What Flies Beneath, Fishlegs noticed that a Whispering Death's eyes were sensitive against direct sunlight, which is why it spends most of its time underground.
When Whispering Deaths find intruders in their tunnels, they will forcibly eject them from the nearest pit. This was done to Bucket, but later, when he did the same to Hiccup, he also tried to kill him, pursuing him even above the ground; this may be because although Bucket had simply fallen in, Hiccup was caught running along its tunnel system. Perhaps the dragon believed he was deeply invading his "territory."
Whispering Deaths are known to be more dangerous in their infant stages, in contrast to their teenage or adult forms. They say that they have less control over their rotating teeth and spines, and are described to be "out of control saw blades." Young Whispering Deaths are known to be extremely territorial of their homeland, "claiming it as their own."
Abilities and Weaponry
As hatchlings, they shown to be able to tunnel underground.
Whispering Death has the ability to use its jaw to travel quickly through solid rock, giving it, arguably, the greatest jaw strength in the dragon world. But despite their powerful jaws, they can't break through metal.
They have special ability to tunnel underground with great speeds because of their rotating sharp teeth. As the rows of teeth move backwards, it literally sucks everything in a good range in its path. This is called the Vacuum effect.
Whispering Death can breathe powerful rings of fire. The ring of fire is able to create large fire ball. An immature Whispering Death's fire is considerably weaker to an adults'.
These dragons are incredibly strong physically, as shown by Toothless' Rival being able to throw Toothless a great distance by using its tail whip. Meaning that they are acrobatic as their body is very flexible.
Whispering Deaths are able to shoot their spines just like a Deadly Nadder, which grow on the head and along the length of his body. With his long, thin body, the tail often makes whip crack noise as it clicks on it according to Fishlegs they can shoot spines from any part of their body.
They have six inner rings of sharp teeth that are able to be rotated in opposite directions the ground to create tunnels. When these teeth move, they make a terrible noise that sounds like a lot of people whispering. Hearing "whispers", together with the ground rumbling, are often the only two warning signs that a Whispering Death is coming from underground tunnels if it is not near the surface, throwing earth and rock. Toothless could detect the presence of one from Hiccup's bedroom, which is above ground level.
Whispering Deaths have high defense as being Boulder Class dragon. They can take many attacks from their enemy's as Toothless' Rival was able to fight against Toothless and even getting hit by large boulder from catapult in the face. Showing off their stamina as well for its kind to still able to travel far away by tunneling.
Their sense of vision is strong to see in the dark and underground tunnels. They even have ability to see the viewers closer from certain distance as Toothless' Rival was able to from Toothless head to his tail.
Apparently, it has immunity to the effects of conventional Dragon Nip. When Hiccup tried to use the dragon nip to stop an attacking Whispering Death, sniffing it just made the dragon sneeze. Furthermore, it was shown that is not affected by the roar of the Thunderdrum, but can still be used to push it away a distance. Though possible having rock diet might be immunity of Dragon Root.
The Wispering Deaths shown have great intelligence as the babies were able to work together as a team to be able to pick up the Screaming Death and Toothless' Rival was able understand that Toothless is unable to fly.
Whispering Deaths are shown to hunt underground as they can eat animals or humans. It is quite possible they use tunnels to trap their prey so they can hunt on their own terms. It is also implied that the Whispering Death can fish, as the hatchling Whispering Deaths were shown to bring fish to their wounded Screaming Death sibling.
This could be they have ability to swim if the young Whispering Deaths were able to get fish possible have certain period of time to stay underwater.
Weaknesses
Whispering Death hate sunlight so they spend their time underground. Although their teeth can break rock, they can not break through metal plating. Like nearly all other dragons, a Whispering Death is believed to avoid eels.
Appearances
How to Train Your Dragon (film)
Whispering Death is mentioned when Hiccup reads through Dragon Manual for information about Night Furies. Apparently, this dragon is one of the most feared dragons, as Hiccup says it's name with great fear. Extremely dangerous and must be killed on sight.
Book of Dragons (short film)
Whispering Death has a longer appearance in the short film Book of Dragons. Its characteristics and features are spoken about, as well as its' love of having its teeth brushed. It is also shown when he attacks Bork and his girlfriend, it burned Bork.
Dragons: Riders/Defenders of Berk
Whispering Death made its first appearance in the episode What Flies Beneath. This dragon had a grudge with Toothless because of some past confrontation that led to the Night Fury leaving a characteristic scar on the skin of it. Although Toothless tried to fight him on his own, his inability to fly to put him at a disadvantage. The Whispering Death almost killed Toothless, trying to knock him into a canyon. It was only after Toothless accepted Hiccup's help that the Whispering Death is defeated and, at Hiccup's insistence, spared him. Once it fled, the holes that it caused were blocked with boulders.
In Episode 20 - We Are Family Part II, a Whispering Death makes another appearance (it is not confirmed whether this is the same dragon that appeared in episode 14). The dragon was seen in the cells on Outcast Island throughout the episode. Alvin tried to get Hiccup to train it along with two other dragons, but Hiccup fled on a Deadly Nadder leaving Alvin disappointed. At the end of the episode, Alvin finally learns to train a dragon, and bonded with a Whispering Death. Thus, Alvin reached his goal at the end of Live and Let Fly. The Outcasts put a large number of Whispering Death eggs under the tunnels of Berk, and soon, one of the eggs hatched.
In The Iron Gronckle, Savage and some Outcasts revisited the tunnels, where many young Whispering Death had hatched and tunnelled. Later, they found the Screaming Death egg, and its very large tunnel. They escaped when they heard the Screaming Death roaring in the distance.
Several appeared in Tunnel Vision. At least three Whispering Death juveniles emerged and attacked the village. After the Whispering Deaths were driven off, the Screaming Death appeared and summoned them back. The Whispering Deaths re-engaged the riders but were eventually defeated. When the Screaming Death was wounded by Hiccup and Toothless, the Whispering Death juveniles came to its aid, carrying it to an unknown location and feeding it to aid in its recovery.
In Cast Out Part II, one is shown on Outcast Island where Mildew is feeding it fish. It also tried to steal his staff. After that, the mother of all the juvenile Whispering Deaths (including the Screaming Death) seen so far is also shown, sleeping above her nest. As part of the plan to rescue Stoick, Hiccup, and Toothless from Dagur, Alvin and Mildew released the dragons. They begin attacking the Berserkers, not to mention destroying the Outcast killing arena. After Fishlegs brought the Screaming Death to Outcast Island, it finally noticed its mother (the one it was looking for in the first place, and it goes berserk), yet Dagur captured and threatened to kill the mother, making the giant dragon go mad once again. Thanks to Snotlout and Hookfang's acts, the mother is freed, and the Screaming Death reunites with it's family, not forgetting to thanks Hiccup and Toothless by roaring at him before flying off with its siblings.
Appearances
- How to Train Your Dragon (film) (references)
- Book of Dragons (Meantioned)
- What Flies Beneath (First appearance in person)
- We Are A Family Part II
- Live and Let Fly (newly hatched)
- The Iron Gronckle (newly hatched)
- Tunnel Vision (Young Ones)
- Cast Out Part II
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (mentioned only)
Games
- Dreamworks Dragons: Wild Skies (First Game Appearance)
- School of Dragons (second game appearance)
Other Media
A Whispering Death as it appears in Wild Skies
Dragons: Wild Skies
Whispering Deaths also appears in the companion game show Dragons: Wild Skies.
The Whispering Death as it appears in Rise of Berk
Dragons: Rise of Berk
Whispering Deaths also appear in the iOS game, Dragons: Rise of Berk. Toothless can find their eggs in Banshem, and can be trained to collect wood and fight for Berk.
Known Whispering Deaths
- Two Whispering Deaths Bork met (see Book of Dragons )
- Toothless' nemesis Whispering Death
- Wild Sky Whispering Death
- Groundsplitter
- Hatchling Whispering Deaths in Live and Let Fly
- Three Young Whispering Deaths in Tunnel Vision
- Whispering Death family in Cast Out Part II
Known Victims
- Bork the Bold
- Toothless (see What Flies Beneath)
- Hiccup
- Mildew
- Berserkers
- Outcast Members
Trivia
- Into the Wild Skies you can get 2 icons of Whispering Death. "Make sure the Floss" to prepare it, and the "Furious Digger 'to get 3 stars in 3 problems with it.
- According to Astrid, the Whispering Death weights about 2500 pounds.
- According to Gobber, a Whispering Death knows only one thing: killing. In fact it is kind of true. The Whispering Death that appeared in "What Flies Beneath" was untrainable, and one that appeared in the finale was extremely aggressive towards Hiccup and Mildew. If this saying is true, then it helps to explain why Alvin could train his Whispering Death. Like most dragons and riders, they share personality traits.
- Whispering Deaths are one of the largest dragons along with the Boneknapper, Scauldron, Timberjack, Snaptrapper, Typhoomerang and Screaming Death (although the Screaming Death is actually a sub-species of Whispering Death) .
- A Whispering Death's diet includes cattle, sheep, and yaks, though it also seems to eat humans, or at least those who invade his territory. It is implied they are able to fish.
- Tuffnut wants a Whispering Death and thinks it's name is "... much better than Zippleback!". He and Ruffnut later state that the destruction they cause is 'beautiful'.
- According to statistics, Whispering Death is the third most statistically powerful dragon, the first of which is the Screaming Death, and the second is the Night Fury.
- Whispering Death's are one of the most fearsome dragons, like the Night Fury, Skrill, Boneknapper and Red Death.
- Whispering Death's are the first dragon species to have "death" in the title, the second being the Red Death the third being the Screaming Death and the fourth being the Deathsong.
- Whispering Death is the first dragon immune to other dragons attacks, as Thornado's sonic roar didn't affect it much.
- They seem to be based on a hagfish and snake.
- According to statistics, the shot limit of the Whispering Death is 2. But in What Flies Beneath, Whispering Death's fire shot 8 times without stopping. Thus, this shot limit of 2 may be based on the spine shot.
- A Whipering Death's weakness is sunlight.
- Young Whispering Deaths are more violent than adults, as they have less control of themselves.
- Baby Whispering Deaths are able to fly when just hatched.
- Whispering Deaths seems to be loyal to the Screaming Death.
- The Whispering Death resemble a Mongolian Death Worm, a mythical creature from Asia.
- The "whisper" in Whispering Death comes from the sound that its rotating teeth make.
- According to School Of Dragons, Whispering Deaths can grow 95 feet long.
- in the Riders of Berk comic book series, in volume three the ice castle, it shows that Whispering Deaths can be train if they are babies.
Gallery
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See also
- What Flies Beneath
- We Are Family Part II
- Tunnel Vision