Siegfried, the third opera in Wagner's Ring cycle, picks up about two decades after Die Walküre ends. The promised hero, Siegfried, is a burly innocent living in the forest where his late mother left him in the care of Mime. This crafty creature aims to use Siegfried to gain the gold guarded in the cave of Fafner, the giant of Das Rheingold, now transformed into a dragon. Siegfried forges the invincible sword broken to bits by Wotan in Die Walküre, slays the dragon (and Mime) and now has the gold ring that enables its owner to rule the world if he renounces love. But love is what the hero yearns for. Led by a wood dove he comes to the mountain where Brunnhilde sleeps ringed by fire. Intercepted by Wotan, Siegfried breaks the god's spear, symbol of his mastery and the treaties with which he has sealed his power, and proceeds to discover the sleeping maid. He wakes her and they share a rapturous love duet.