Dragon
Dragons are massive winged reptiles, which are extremely powerful and intelligent creatures. Dragons have existed in the Warhammer World since long before the Old Ones arrived.[22]
They are also known as Drakes, Wyrms and Serpents. [22]
Contents
Overview
Dragons are greatly feared on the battlefield. Even the least powerful dragons are quite capable of crushing entire armies, and of setting fleets and cites aflame. In the past, the Dragon Princes of Caledor each rode a dragon into battle, making them an extremely formiddable force. However due to the fading and slumber of the dragons, those days are long past. The Dragon Princes now ride sturdy Elven warhorses. However some worthy champions are still able to ride a dragon into war. These include High Elf Princes, Dark Elf Nobles, Dragon Mages, Chaos Lords and the Glade Lords of the Wood Elves. Indeed it seems the Elves have a great affinity for the race of Dragons, in contrast to the Dwarfs who are instead famous for despising and slaying the creatures who they call Drakk.
In addition the Blood Dragon Vampires hunt Dragons, desperately seeking an end to their curse by drinking dragon blood.
Behaviour
Dragons occasionally engaged in cannibalism. The dragon Maedrethnir ate dragon flesh at least twice in his life.[8].
Father of Dragons
There are two, perhaps three figures referred to as the "Father of Dragons". The first is Kalgalanos the Black, who is supposedly the ancestor of the entire dragon race.[19a] [22]Dwarf legends tell how Kalgalanos the Black was an enemy of the Dwarfs, and was slain by Grimnir, one of their Ancestor Gods, in the ancient past.
Another figure referred to in a similar manner is Urmskaladrak, who may in fact be the same as Kalgalanos. The second "Father of Dragons" is Draugnir. Legend holds that Draugnir used his fires to heat the forge of the Elven smith-God Vaul as he forged the Widowmaker, the Sword of Khaine. However the thirsting weapon took more from Draugnir than he gave, and the fate of Draugnir's line was forever tied to that of the Elves. Draugnir should not be confused with Indraugnir, who was the dragon companion of Aenarion. As dragons have been in the world since long before the Old Ones, it seems unlikely that either of these is the true original founder of the race.
At the height of Nehekhara's power, rival kings clashed with each other and the Dragons that stalked its eastern mountains - some of the mighty beasts were slain, but others were bound to the will of the monarchs. [21]
At the dawn of time, dying dragons would fly to the Plain of Bones to die.[1] This created a huge cemetery filled with skeletons of enormous proportions. When Nagash, the Great Necromancer, first cast the Ritual of Awakening, some of the skeletons were re-animated as undead Zombie Dragons, and the disgusted dragons no longer go there.[18a][20a]
Dragons dwindled in numbers as the ages passed, and are a fading presence in the Old World. Only a small number still survive there in hidden lairs, primarily in the World's Edge Mountains, and only two or three of these are awake at any given time. Only a few hatchling dragons have been born in the last thousand years.[20a][20b]
It is said that some of the more powerful Dwarf runes required dragonfire to set them into the Gromril and some had even been friends and allies to the Dwarfs in ancient times and exchanged this aid for treasure. However, the Dragons have since betrayed the Dwarfs too many times, and they will no longer trust the Drakk. [20a]
History
The Dragons are ancient creatures whose ancestors forebears lived many thousands of years before the first Elves came to the Old World and [8][19a][22] who warred with the Dragon Ogres. The air then was lighter and the world colder but this all changed with the sudden arrival of the Old Ones whose silver starboats emerged from rifts in the sky. Terrified by them, some Dragons had fled to the deepest oceans or caves but others remained on the surface to see what the newcomers would do. [8]
Soon the sun itself grew larger and the skies warmed whilst the Old Ones built temple-cities in the growing jungle - many Dragons called for them to resist the invaders but older members of their race such as Indraugnir retreated to the deep caves. Then, the Slann had raised the bulk Ulthuan from the waves, where they once only been a few volcanic peaks above the sea. Once the lands had been settled, the first Elves came to the new land and Dragons such as Maedrethnir and his parents watched the new people and noted the presence of Magic throughout the land. [8]
Physical description
Age
In Ulthuan Dragons are further sorted by their age. Growing larger and larger throughout their life they keep on gaining in resistance and strength. The lifespan of dragons is unclear, but they live to be extremely old.[7a][22]
- Sun Dragons are young and eager dragons.[7a].
- Moon Dragons are older and more experienced dragons, who lived before Aenarion's reign.[7a]
- Star Dragons are the oldest and most powerful dragons of all, mighty enough to best a Greater Daemon of Chaos.[7a]
Former editions used "Dragon", "Great Dragon", and "Emperor Dragon" instead of Sun, Moon, and Star Dragon.
Colour and breeds
There are several breeds of dragons, clearly shown by the colour of their scales (i.e.: skin). Each breed has its own kind of breath and help forge their nature. [19a]
- Black Dragons breathe a noxious gas. They are often mounted by the Dark Elves.
- Blue Dragons release lightning.
- Forest Dragons are green and belch green corrosive fumes. Most of them seem to live in the Forest of Loren.[2][3][4]
- Magma Dragons live in the Dark Lands and Blackspine Mountains, and prey on other large monsters. [17c]
- Red or Fire Dragons breathe flames.
- Sea Dragons live in the seas and oceans. They have adapted themselves to their environment and no longer posses wings.
- Shard Dragons are wingless, blade-scaled serpents that live deep beneath the earth and breathe nightmare-inducing gas. [17a]
- Warpfire Dragons are rare dragons who feed on Warpstone [17b]
- White Dragons breathe a freezing chill mist so cold that its victims are numbed and frozen.
- Zombie Dragons are undead creatures, sometimes mounted by most powerful Vampires such as Zacharias the Everliving.[1] They are able to belch fumes of pestilence from their rotting gullets. [5]
Sleep
In the distant past, dragons were commonly seen Ulthuan. Today, most dragons spend most of their lives asleep. This is a trait they share with the Dragon Ogres. As time has moved forward, dragons have slept for longer periods, and have proven more and more difficult to rouse.
Some sources say that the dragons' sleepiness began around IC -993 during the reign of Tethlis[9]. Other sources that that most dragons were asleep already in the late years of the reign of Bel-Shanaar (around IC -2750)[10]. There is some speculation that the dragons' sleep may be due to the ending of the ice age and change in climate caused by the Old Ones. Some sources suggest that the dragons willingly choose to sleep because they are losing interest in the lives of elves.[10]
Words of taming
When necessary, the elven dragon princes are able to compel the dragons to obedience using words of taming, special arcane words of power discovered by Caledor Dragontamer.[11]
Notable Dragons
Main Article: List of Dragons
- Baudros, Chaos Dragon of Egrimm van Horstmann[12]
- Bracchus, dragon of Rakarth
- Ceithin-Har, dragon of the Sisters of Twilight.[13]
- Draugnir (presumably deceased), "Father of Dragons"
- Galrauch, first of the Chaos Dragons[14]
- The Imperial Dragon, kept in the Imperial Zoo at Altdorf and sometimes ridden by Karl Franz.[15]
- Indraugnir (deceased), dragon of Aenarion
- Kalgalanos the Black (deceased), "Father of Dragons". [19a]
- Maedrethnir, son of Indraugnir and mount of Caledor I
- Minaithnir, dragon of Imrik
- Seraphon, dragon of Malekith
- Skaladrak Incarnadine: Slew entire Dwarf armies in the lands around Karak Kadrin. [19a]
- Skulex the Great, a Emperor Dragon who resides in the peaks of Norsca. [19a]
- Vranesh: A female Dragon, crimson in colour, bonded to Liandra, princess of Caledor during the War of the Beard[16]
Quotes
| They have no masters, no obligations, no code of laws. They do what they do, and that is all that can be said of them. These things: blame, regret, servitude - they have no meaning for a dragon. Risk. Splendour. Extravagance. If you had lived for a thousand ages of the world, that is all you would care about, too.
~ Imladrik, Master of Dragons to Liandra on the nature of dragons.[16] |
Gallery
Dragon
A Dragon
A Dragon
Forest Dragon
A Dragon of Caledor
High Elf Dragon
High Elf Star Dragon in Total War: Warhammer
A Carmine Dragon
Warpfire Dragon
Dragon
High Elf Dragon
Miniatures
Imperial Dragon
Emperor Dragon
Emperor Chaos Dragon
Fire Dragon
Magma Dragon
Baby Dragons
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (7th Edition) p.55
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves (5th edition) p.54
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves (6th Edition) p.31
- 4: Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War (5th Edition) pp.42-43
- 5: White Dwarf 262 AU/NZ.
- 6: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (7th Edition) p.70.
- 7: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (7th Edition)
- 7a Dragons, pg. 62
- 8: The Sundering (anthology) (Time of Legends edition): Caledor (Novel) by Gav Thorpe, pg. 838
- 9: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (7th Edition), p.39, 62
- 10: Caledor by Gav Thorpe p.153-154 of 769 (ebook)
- 11: Caledor by Gav Thorpe, p.352 of 769 (ebook)
- 12: Champions of Chaos (5th Edition)
- 13: Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves (8th Edition) p.59
- 14: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 15: Warhammer Armies: The Empire (8th Edition) p.34
- 16: Master of Dragons by Chris Wraight
- 17: Monstrous Arcanum
- 18: Warhammer Armies: Undead (4th Edition)
- 18a: Undead Gazetteer, pg. 10
- 19: Storm of Magic
- 19a: Dragon, pg. 120-121
- 20: Old World Bestiary
- 21: Warhammer Community
- 22: White Dwarf 247 (UK), Enter the Dragon, pg. 43-49
