Template:Loss of Tyr's hand

Since 2 edition, Forgotten Realms sourcebooks have stated that Tyr lost his hand to Kezef the Chaos Hound. Since 1 edition, core sourcebooks have instead recounted the real-world myth of Tyr losing his hand to the monstrous beast Fenris Wolf, who was the offspring of Loki. While the 3-edition sourcebook Faiths and Pantheons states that Tyr lost the hand in battle with Kezef, all earlier and later sources claim that it was rather a test of strength of will, and the most detailed version of the story was elaborated in full in Champions of Ruin. In that Realmsian tale, Gond created chains with which to bind Kezef, and Mystra enchanted them. The gods made a deal with Kezef that they would lift a ban against him if Kezef could successfully escape from bonds. He only agreed to be bound if Tyr would insert his hand into the hound's maw. Tyr agreed, and Kezef bit his hand off, consuming it slowly over centuries. This tale undoubtedly was inspired by the real-world myth, which differs in that the evil canine was Fenris Wolf, the chains were created by the dwarves, and the gods involved were Tyr and the rest of the Aesir. Champions of Ruin goes on to explain that Kezef was later freed from his bonds by Cyric. In the planar multiverse in which the world of Toril is found, the Norse pantheon canonically exists, and Tyr is stated in multiple FR sources to be the same individual as the Norse deity and to make one of his two divine realms in Asgard with the rest of that pantheon. Also, in core 1 edition and Planescape settings, Fenris Wolf is an entity still bound on an island outside of Asgard, so both Fenris Wolf and Kezef the Chaos Hound must coexist in the D&D multiverse, with one bound and the other free. Ultimately, as this is a wiki for the Forgotten Realms setting, we assume that the story of Tyr's loss of his hand to Kezef is the true tale, and that the version told by the Asgardians must simply be a legend, likely inspired by a similar tale about another evil, primordial canine, although it is certainly possible that the alternative is true.