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Black Dragons

Black Dragons
 Black Dragons Symbol.jpg
Black Dragons Marine New.jpg Blackdragonsmini.jpg
Founding Chapter: Salamanders/Unclear[Conflicting sources]
Founding: 21st Founding (M36)[1][3b]
Homeworld: Fleet-based[3c]
Colours: Black with white aquila and markings[10]
Specialty: Dragon Claws[1a]
Battle Cry "Fire and bone"[3a] or "Bless the curse".[3b][16]

The Black Dragons are long rumoured to be a Salamanders Successor Chapter.[15][5a] The chapter was founded in the cursed 21st Founding, just prior to the Age of Apostasy.[1a]

History

 
A Dragon Claw.[4]

The Black Dragons are chiefly known for their status as a Cursed Founding chapter, and for their uniquely peculiar gene-seed mutation; their Ossmodula zygote has mutated, producing bony crests on their heads and blades from the forearm and elbow. Similar to the Death Company of the Blood Angels, those with these abnormalities join a separate unit, known as the Dragon Claws. In this unit, they sharpen their protrusions to a killing edge and coat them with adamantium to turn them into horrifying Close Combat Weapons.[1a][5] These forearm blades can be retracted into the Claw's arm and then extended at will. The most extreme mutations also cause rampant growth in the rest of the Marine's skeleton; some Dragon Claws stand more than three metres tall and must wear custom power armour to fit their gargantuan frames.[3b]

There are many in the Inquisition who doubt their loyalty and several other chapters refuse to fight alongside them, including the Dark Angels and Marines Malevolent.[1a]

It is rumoured that the Black Dragon Apothecaries deliberately encourage these growths, wishing to create more of the valued Dragon Claws. This is a very dangerous practice and such gene-manipulation away from the genic template of a Space Marine is forbidden in the Imperium. When the usual 5% tithe of gene-seed is requested, the Black Dragons often resist giving it over, and sometimes have needed to be threatened with military action in order to comply with the tithe request. When they do send it in, the veracity of the gene-seed is unknown, as each passes the most stringent tests; some, therefore, believe that it is not even the gene-seed of the Black Dragons. How this is procured is a mystery, although the Adeptus Mechanicus and some ordos of the Inquisition are eager to investigate the medical practices of the Cursed Founding chapter.[1][3b]

Only the turmoil formed by the Great Rift's formation has halted the latest Inquisition investigation into the Black Dragons.[12]

During the Indomitus Crusade, a Torchbearer Fleet commanded by Custodian Alezandrios Menza delivered the technology necessary to create Primaris Space Marines and a squad of Black Dragons Greyshields, injected with the chapter's Geneseed, to the fifth company, which were accepted by chaplain Darrig.[16]

Notable battles and campaigns

Culture

While they are frowned upon and often investigated for traces of heresy, the Marines of the Black Dragons proudly bear their mutations and use them efficiently in battle. Most of their culture turns around bones and honour. Their Chaplain sits next to The High Dragon on thrones made from bones and sculpted to the likeness of their Chapter Symbol. Being implanted with the gene-seed of the Black Dragons isn’t enough to be one of them, the Rites of Bone, Rites of Fire and Rites of Claw seem to be essential to be called a battle-brother amongst the mutated Marines. Even those who do not have the mutations from the curse of their gene-seed fashion their armour in a way that resembles the bone growths their brothers have.[16]

Gene-Seed

The Black Dragons are of unknown lineage but reports of them being of Salamanders descent exist.[Conflicting sources] Like all the chapters created during the 21st Founding it's believed that the Magos Biologis charged with overseeing the Founding manipulated their gene-seed.[20] In the case of the Black Dragons this has had the effect that their Ossmodula zygote functions in an abnormal way, causing the growth of bony crests on the head, and blade-like protuberances from the forearm and elbow of some battle-brothers. Warriors afflicted with such abnormal developments are formed into a separate fighting unit, known as the Dragon Claws.[21a]

It’s rumoured that the Black Dragons' Apothecaries deliberately encourage such growths, even going so far as to knowingly implant aberrant zygotes into some initiates. This is exceptionally dangerous, and the practice is forbidden by Imperial edict, but old traditions die hard as the ferocity of the Dragon Claws is much valued by the Chapter.[21a]

The Black Dragons gene-seed is not stable. This has led to some of their number, known as Cursed Knights, to have seemingly escaped their chapter's curse, lacking the mutations their brethren have; however, this veneer of perfection hides often more extreme mutations. Other brothers suffer the worst extremes of the chapter's curse, known as Abominations.[21c] Those troops are not used by the chapter when fighting alongside imperial allies.[21b]

Each Chapter is required to send 5% of its genetic material to the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars, to enable the monitoring of the health of each Space Marine chapter, and store gene-seed with a view to founding new chapters. The Black Dragons have on several occasions been threatened with military action unless they comply with this decree and even when the Chapter has submitted gene-seed, its veracity has often been seen as suspect as each sample provided has passed the most stringent genetic purity checks without fail. While it has not been proven, many suspect that the Chapter has submitted genetic material culled from other sources. How this can be possible is unknown and the Adeptus Mechanicus is eager to fully investigate the medical practices within the Chapter.[21a]

Notable Elements of the Black Dragons

Vessels

Aircraft

Known Members of the Black Dragons

Images

 
Black Dragons Firstborn.[14]

Trivia

 

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

Conflicting sources

  • The exact lineage of the Black Dragons is unclear. Multiple sources describe them as likely being derived from the Salamanders[5a][15] and having a connection to the Chapter.[6a] However, the more recent 10th Edition Space Marine codex lists them in Chapters with an unknown founder.[19]

See also

Sources

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