Black Dragons

"Bless the curse..."

- Part of the Black Dragons' mantra

The Black Dragons are one of the Loyalist Space Marine Chapters created during the 21st Founding; their gene-seed is suspected of having originated with the Salamanders. They were censured by the Inquisition due to the mutation of the Chapter's gene-seed, which causes certain Astartes of the Chapter to develop blade-like outgrowths of bone on the head and forearms. Some Black Dragons afflicted in this way sharpened these bone growths and sheathed them in adamantium for use in close melee combat. These Black Dragons are then grouped together into specialist Jump Pack-equipped Assault Marine squads known as Dragon Claws within the Chapter.

Chapter History
Little is known of the Black Dragons in official Imperial records but they have been noted in several classified resources as belonging to the 21st Founding (the so-called "Cursed Founding") of the 36th Millennium. The Chapter was founded just prior to the Age of Apostasy, a time of internecine warfare and bloodshed on a galactic scale, the like of which had not been seen since the dark days of the Horus Heresy. The Imperium was nearly destroyed during this time by the whims of the insane and renegade High Lord Goge Vandire.

During the 21st Founding, the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus sought to "improve" the character of Astartes gene-seed by perfecting and removing the existing, identified deficiencies through various methods of bioengineering. The result was the Founding of a series of Astartes Chapters who have a long history of being plagued with rampant mutation and Chaotic corruption. None can tell the number of Cursed Founding Chapters that are in existence, as all records of their creation have been expunged from Imperial archives. It did not take long before the flaws inherent in the Black Dragons' altered gene-seed manifested themselves. While their parent Chapter has not been confirmed, the Magos Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus believe that the Black Dragons' gene-seed originated from the Salamanders Chapter. Those that have been witnessed in battle appear to possess distinct abilities and mutations. The Black Dragons were censured by the Inquisition due to the mutation of the Chapter's gene-seed, which causes certain Astartes of the Chapter to develop blade-like outgrowths of bone on the head and forearms and to grow long, poisonous fangs. These obvious physical mutations make long-term cooperation with other (less tolerant) Imperial bodies impossible. The Black Dragons are a Chapter who push the Inquisition to the limits of tolerance. Although they have fought alongside Imperial forces in conflicts as recent as the Third War for Armageddon, they rarely remain part of a standing force for long.

Notable Campaigns

 * Cleansing of Cable (Unknown Date.M41) - The Black Dragons, under the command of Captain Zartath, were responsible for purging the minor world of Cable from the Chaos Cultists known as the Reincarnated Supplicants. Captain Zartath's Astartes herded the cultists along a fiery crevasse, known as the Leap of Destiny, before giving them the choice to face them in battle or to jump to their own death. All the traitors chose to jump rather than face the Black Dragons.
 * Death of Antagonis (Unknown Date.M41) - When the Curse of Unbelief broke out on the planet of Antagonis, the Black Dragons answered a plea for help from Inquisitor Werner Lettinger, to combat the plague of undeath that threatened to engulf the planet. Despite their presence and the assistance of an Order of Sisters of Battle, the planet had to ultimately be declared Perdita and evacuated, before being scoured of Nurgle's taint by an Exterminatus order.
 * The Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) - When the infamous Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka led the largest Ork WAAAGH! against the Hive World of Armageddon, he began the massive conflict known as the Third War for Armageddon between the Greenskins and the forces of the Imperium. The Black Dragons committed 9 out of their 10 Companies to the Imperial efforts to repel the massive Ork invasion.

Chapter Mutation
One of the many gene-seed zygotes Black Dragon Neophytes are implanted with is the Ossmodula. This small organ has a complex function within the body of a Space Marine. It monitors and secretes hormones affecting epiphiseal fusion and ossification of the skeleton while engineered hormones encourage the forming bones to absorb ceramic-based chemicals administered in the Astartes' diet. Two Terran years following implantation, the Neophyte's long bones will have strengthened considerably and there will have been a general increase in the overall size of the recipient's skeleton. Extreme ossification of the chest cavity caused by growth of ribs forming a solid mass of interlaced bone plates provides a Space Marine with an armoured layer to protect his secondary heart and lungs. But the Ossmodula zygote of the Black Dragons functions in an abnormal way as the result of a mutation of its DNA, causing the growth of bony crests on the head, and blade-like protuberances from the forearm and elbow. Like the Death Company of the Blood Angels, Black Dragon warriors afflicted with such mutations are formed into a separate fighting unit within the Chapter. Known as the Dragon Claws, they sharpen these additional protrusions to a killing edge, and sheath them in Adamantium to turn them into deadly close-combat melee weapons. The mandible bone and teeth of a Black Dragon Astartes are also unusual, as their canines grow overlong and become pronounced like fangs. Their mouths, both inside and lips, are usually black in colouration. So too, their tongues, which taper to a sharp point like a dagger. This level of mutation strains the tolerance of the Inquisition and there are many recorded instances of other Space Marines Chapters (notably the Dark Angels and Marines Malevolent) refusing to fight alongside the Black Dragons. Some Chapters, such as the Marines Malevolent, would hunt down and execute what they regarded as deviations from the Emperor's genetic design, a template that had regrettably been diluted over the millennia since its initial perfecting. None now existed who could restore it, and so there were those amongst the Adeptus Astartes regarded as "cursed", although some Chapters did not ostensibly count themselves amongst these puritans, there were still some for whom the presence of such an obvious mutant element amongst their ranks was not only distasteful, but was also dangerous.

Heretical Practices
It has been rumoured that the Black Dragons' Apothecaries deliberately encourage the mutational growths which results in rampant ossification growth, going so far as to knowingly implant genetically aberrant gene-seed zygotes into some Neophytes. This is exceptionally dangerous, and the practice is strictly forbidden by Imperial edict, but old traditions die hard as the sheer ferocity of the Dragon Claws is much valued by the Black Dragons' Chapter Masters.

Genetic Tithing
Every Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes is required to send 5% of its gene-seed's genetic material to the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars. This "tithe" serves two purposes: enabling the Adeptus Mechanicus to monitor the genetic health of each Space Marine Chapter, and storing Adeptus Astartes gene-seed with a view to founding new Chapters as needed by the Imperium. The Adeptus Mechanicus has on several occasions threatened the Black Dragons with military action unless it complies with this decree and even when the Chapter has submitted genetic data, its veracity has often been considered suspect as each sample provided has passed the most stringent genetic purity checks without fail. Without being able to prove anything, many Mechanicus Adepts believe that the Black Dragons submit genetic material culled from other, more pure, sources. How this can be possible is unknown and the Adeptus Mechanicus is eager to fully investigate the medical practices within the Black Dragons Chapter.

Notable Black Dragons

 * Volos - Current Captain of the Black Dragon's 2nd Company. Captain Volos led a purging campaign against the vile Dark Eldars of the Desolate Sigh Kabal aboard the Universe-class Mass Conveyer Absolution. Volos led his twenty men against the minor Kabal while also trying to secure the human-hostages that were aboard the vessel. Eventually, circumstances turned against the Black Dragons when they lost contact with their flagship and were ambushed by Dark Eldar from all sides as they proceeded through the ship. Volos' salvation came in the form of mortal-female who proposed to lead the marines into the atmospheric control chamber, from where she would unleash pure oxygen throughout the ship. Volos gave Dreadnought Nithigg an order to protect the mortal on her way to the atmospheric control chamber, while Volos and the rest of his men would lure most of the Dark Eldar away from Nithigg and the mortal. Volos and his men sustained losses while making their way to the ship's bridge, where Volos then clashed with the Kabal's Archon. At that moment, the ship turned into a blazing torch, as pure oxygen flooded the ship and was ignited by Nithigg's Flamer. Through the sacrifice of the ship's human population, Volos and his men survived and claimed victory over the sadistic Dark Eldar.
 * Zartath - Former Captain of the Black Dragon’s Chapter, Zartath had been captured in battle by the cruel Dark Eldar and forcibly taken to the Volgorrah Reef to live out a miserable life as one of the fighters in the Dark Eldar’s cruel games and hunts. His time in captivity -- which according to him had lasted for six standard years -- had irreparably damaged his sanity, leading him to forget his rank and sacred duty to the Emperor. Concerned only with his own survival and that of those which had gathered around him, Zartath devolved into a merciless killer, a far cry from the noble form of a Space Marine. Tracked and hunted, Zartath eventually faced the baleful ruler of the Dark Eldars but was defeated. When elements of the Salamanders’ 1st Company, the Firedrakes, launched a daring rescue mission led by Vulkan He'stan to save the Salamanders taken prisoner and retrieve the Sigil of Vulkan from the famed Chaplain Elysius, the grateful Chaplain convinced his brothers not to let the Black Dragon behind. At this point, Zartath was considered at best, a rogue element, and at worst as a deserter, and quite possibly a traitor.( For unknown reasons, relationships between Salamanders and Black Dragons have always been tense) Although Zartath demanded to be handed over a ship immediately as to rejoin his Chapter, his physical state was such that it required medical treatment. Zartath was subsequently imprisoned on Nocturne, where he awaited his fate. Believing in his possible restoration, Chaplain Elysius would teach him the tenets of the Promethean Cult, the teachings of Vulkan and the rites of self-cremation, which allowed Zartath's sanity to recover enough to be liberated. With no means to contact the Black Dragons and direly pressed by the situation at hand, Zartath was introduced into the Salamanders as an honorary brother and used as a scouting specialist; the Black Dragon proving far superior to the other Chapter Scouts in tracking illusive prey. This quality led Captain Agatone of the Salamanders' 3rd Company to request Zartath's aid in the quest for the fugitive Brother Tsu'gan which had left his Chapter for obscure motives. It was during this quest that Zartath would eventually be reunited with elements of his former company, the survivors of his Command Squad, which had been tracking him for years. Yet this reunion did nothing to alleviate the relations between the two chapters as the Black Dragons had boarded and conquered the Salamanders' vessel, the Forge Hammer, and at least one Black Dragon had been killed in the process.
 * Ghaan (Deceased) - Ghaan bore the title of Vexillary - or Standard Bearer - of the Zorn, or "Wrath", Captain Zartath’s former Command Squad. By far the oldest within their little group of survivors, Ghaan was a member of the "cursed Astartes" that boarded the Salamanders’ Frigate Forge Hammer and the only member of the Black Dragons to be slain. While still onboard their own vessel, the Fist of Kaedor, Ghaarn was hit several times by the Lightning Gun of one of the Mechanicum’s Thallax. Though mortally wounded, Ghaarn would go on and fight for his brothers, dying shielding them from harm and on his feets, a true warrior’s death.
 * Hakeem - Black Dragons-survivor and member of the "Wrath", infiltration specialist, Hakeem has been the most affected by the spiritual imbalance of his Chapter.
 * Kor'Be (Deceased) - Kor'Be was amongst several Battle-Brothers captured alongside Captain Zartath by the Dark Eldar and imprisoned on Volgorrah Reef. Kor’Be was the last Black Dragon alive except for Zartath himself by the time a group of Salamanders and Chaplain Elysius was taken prisoner. At some time in his grevious six-year-long struggle for survival, Kor’Be was captured and horribly disfigured by his captors, the Dark Eldar having surgically removed his bone-blades, teeth and tongue before releasing the diminished Kor’Be to the Reef. Kor’Be met his destiny valiantly fighting the gathered Wyches of Helspereth, the deadly consort of the Archon An’scur which ruled the Reef.
 * Massorus - Chaplain Massorus was the spiritual leader of Captain's Volos taskforce aboard the Absolution.
 * Nithigg - Entombed into the walking sarcophagus of a Dreadnought after his mortal wounds on a cursed moon, Nithigg would continue serving his Chapter for long after his 'death'. In Captain Volos' raid on the Dark Eldar aboard the Absolution, Nithigg was instrumental in escorting a human-female to the ship's atmospheric control chamber, from where he would unleash hell on the usurping Dark Eldar by flooding the ship's corridors with pure oxygen and then igniting it into a firestorm.
 * Skarh - Black Dragons-survivor and member of the "Wrath"
 * Rothnove - Epistolary Rothnove was part of an operation that was executed by Captain Volos of the 2nd Company. Rothnove would proove himself to be useful against the xenos' powerful projectile-weapons.
 * Thorast - Apothecary within the Zorn, Captain Zartath’s former Command Squad. The one-eyed Thorast was the most level-headed of the "Wrath", the one who seemingly was unaffected by his Chapter’s genetic deviations and was thus considered with some regards and nobility amongst the small group of survivors.
 * Toharan (Deceased) - Traitor Black Dragon who formed the Disciples of Purity sect within the 2nd Company. Toharan was slain by his former Battle-Brother and close friend Volos at the conclusion of the Antagonis campaign.
 * Urgaresh - Sergeant Urgaresh was the leader of the "Wrath" and appointed subsequent leader of the surviving Black Dragons following Captain Zartath’s disappearance and capture by Dark Eldar. For an unknown number of years, Urgaresh maintained unit cohesion, restraining his more feral brothers descent into savagery. Urgaresh strongly believes in his cause and adheres to a strict code of honour which has kept him far less feral than his squad comrades, although he is by far the most afflicted by his Chapter’s mutations. It was Urgaresh which took command of the Fist of Kraedor and tried to commandeer the Forge Hammer, leading the assault on the Salamander frigate and that would later reveal the true identity of Zartath. Following their reunification with their true leader, Urgaresh ordered his brothers to stand down and be taken prisoner by the Salamanders under Captain Adrax Agatone.
 * Urlock - Apothecary Urlock was led by Captain Volos of the 2nd Company on their operation to eradicate the foul xenos that took over Absolution, an Imperial conveyer.
 * Vai'tan Ushorak - Vai'tan Ushorak was a Chaplain of the Black Dragons Chapter who fell to the corruption of Chaos and turned Renegade. He later served as a mentor to the Renegade Salamanders Librarian Nihilan in the ways of sorcery. Ushorak was slain when a strike force composed of the Salamanders' 3rd Company, under the command of Captain Ko'tan Kadai, caught up to Ushorak and the warband of Chaos Space Marines he had gathered around himself on the Cemetery World of Moribar while they were hunting Nihilan. While Ushorak delved into the secret crypts beneath the sepulchre world, the Salamanders and the Renegade followers of Ushorak fought savagely through the crematoria of that ash-blanketed world. At the height of the fighting, Ushorak was plunged into the central furnaces at the heart of the planet, while Nihilan tried to save his mentor but failed and was horribly burned in the process, barely surviving his horrific wounds. Eventually, from the tattered remnants of Ushorak's followers, the newly christened Chaos Sorcerer Nihilan forged the Dragon Warriors warband, determined to exact vengeance on the Salamanders and the people of Nocturne. The vengeful Nihilan was particularly determined to gain vengeance against Kadai, and proceeded to engineer the heroic Salamander officer's downfall as revenge for his own horrific wounds. Nihilan also sought the sorcerous knowledge required to resurrect his mentor from the dead, no matter the cost.

Chapter Fleet

 * Fists of Kaelor - (Hunter-class Destroyer) - The Fists of Kaelor was the small Escort-craft upon which the surviving members of the Zorn or "Wrath" went searching for their missing Captain, Captain Zartath. It is unclear how long this search truly lasted as time flows differently within the Warp - of which the Webway is a part - and reality. By the time the Fists of Kaelor was found adrift and investigated by the crew of the Salamanders’ Nova-class Frigate Forge Hammer, the vessel had been drifting in the void for quite some time, the surviving members of the "Wrath" having been placed in cryogenic sleep for an extended period of time. Little better than a floating wreck, the Fists of Kaelor was swiftly abandoned by the Black Dragons, which sought to take control of the Forge Hammer instead. It is however unclear if the Fists of Kaelor originally belonged to the Black Dragon’s Chapter Fleet or was indeed taken by force by the "Wrath". As random as their encounter with the Forge Hammer might seem, the Fists of Kaelor was precisely angled to close with the Salamanders-vessel undetected, Sergeant Urgaresh having somehow gained the information that Captain Zartath had been retrieved by the Salamanders and being held captive on the Forge Hammer.

Chapter Appearance
Black Dragons Battle-Brothers are known to display a variety of tattoos and scars on their arms, which hint at the less than salubrious backgrounds these warriors may have had before their indoctrination into the Adeptus Astartes. The terrifying mutations that their enhancement has wracked on their bodies have become almost a badge of honour for these Space Marines, and they now modify their armour to allow them to use these retractable blades in combat.

Chapter Colours
The Black Dragons primarily wear black coloured Power Armour. The Imperialis or Aquila (often substituted with a dragon variant) is white in colour. The white coloured squad specialty symbol -- Tactical, Devastator, Assault and Veteran -- is located on the right shoulder guard. A white coloured Roman numeral stenciled on the right knee guard indicates squad number. The colour of the left knee guard indicates company number in accordance with the Codex Astartes -- White (1st Company), Yellow (2nd Company), Red (3rd Company), Green (4th Company), ect..

Chapter Badge
The Black Dragons' Chapter badge is a profile of a white coloured dragon head facing forwards on a field of black.

Gallery
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