Editing Völsunga saga (section)

=== Sigurd and his foster family ===
[[Sigurd]] grows up to be strong, brave, and very popular. One day, he enters the forest looking for a horse and meets Odin, who gives him [[Grani]], who is descended from Odin's own [[Sleipnir]] and better than any other horse. With Grani, Reginn believes Sigurd capable of a heroic quest and decides to tell him the story of [[Fáfnir]] the dragon.

Reginn's father [[Hreiðmarr]] had three sons: himself, [[Ótr]], and Fáfnir. Ótr was able to shapeshift into an otter-like fisherman, Fáfnir was large and fierce, and Reginn was skilled with ironwork. One day, Odin, [[Loki]], and [[Hœnir]] were fishing and killed Ótr in his otter shape, then skinned and ate him. King Hreiðmarr found out and demanded that they fill and cover the skin with gold. Loki took the dwarf [[Andvari]]'s gold and the debt was paid. But out of Andvari's treasure, he cursed a ring called [[Andvaranaut]] ("Andvari's gift"), warning that it would bring death to anyone who owned it. Later, Fáfnir killed his father, hid the body, and took all the treasure, including the Advaranaut, to his hoard. There, he turned into an evil dragon. Reginn, meanwhile, became a smith for King Hjalprek.

Reginn convinces Sigurd to slay Fáfnir and take the treasure. In preparation, he smiths two swords one after another for Sigurd, but they break when he tests them. Sigurd's mother gives him the pieces of his father's broken sword and Reginn reforges them into a legendary sword called [[Gram (mythology)|Gram]]. When Sigurd tests it, it splits the iron anvil down to its base. Before going to kill Fáfnir, he goes to the soothsayer [[Grípisspá|Grípir]] to ask about his fate. Grípir tells him after some hesitation, and Sigurd returns to Reginn, saying he must avenge his father Sigmund before he can kill the dragon. Sigurd sails to [[Hundings|Hunding]]'s kingdom and kills many and burns settlements. A brutal battle ensues between him and King [[Lyngvi]] and Hunding's sons, but Sigurd kills them all with Gram. He returns to Reginn to prepare to meet Fáfnir.

Sigurd travels to [[Fafnir|Fáfnir]]'s territory and digs a ditch to hide in and stab the dragon from. [[Odin]] comes and advises him to dig several ditches for the blood to flow into, which he does. As Fáfnir crawls over the ditch, Sigurd stabs him through the heart. As the dragon is dying, he asks Sigurd about his lineage and says that his gold and Reginn will be the cause of Sigurd's death. Sigurd returns to Reginn, who was hiding in the heather during Fáfnir's slaying. Reginn drinks Fáfnir's blood and asks Sigurd to roast Fáfnir's heart and let him eat it. When Sigurd tests whether the heart is fully cooked and licks his finger, he suddenly understands the speech of birds. He overhears the nuthatches talking to each other about Reginn's plan to kill him. They say that he should eat the heart himself, kill Reginn, take the gold, and find [[Brynhild]]. Sigurd kills Reginn, eats some of the heart, takes as much treasure as he can carry, including the [[Helm of Awe|Helm of Terror]] and the Andvaranaut, and rides off on Grani.

Sigurd rides to the land of the [[Franks]] and finds a sleeping warrior. He removes the helmet, discovers it is a woman, and cuts her [[Mail (armour)|chainmail]] open. She wakes and tells him Odin stabbed her with a sleeping thorn and mandated that she must marry, but she refuses to marry any man who knows fear. Brynhild gives him beer and recites a poem about how to use different [[Runic magic|magical runes]]. Following this, Brynhild gives Sigurd several pieces of sound advice on how to navigate society and survive, and they agree to marry each other.