Dragons are a type Giant Reptile closely associated with the Eldar Exodites.[3] Dragons have mythological imporance to the Aeldari.[1a]
Biology
Dragons were the wide variety of offspring of the giant reptiles seeded among the Maiden Worlds of the Eldar Empire to become a dominant component of the planets' ecologies. The original species may have originated from the homeworlds of the Eldar but the dragons of the Maiden Worlds were genetically engineered.[3] Dragons are carnivores, some of whom can fly and breathe fire,[4] who will naturally feed on forest prey.[8] Exodites keep a domestic stock of dragons and harvest algae to and feed them.[3] Dragons exist on Imperial worlds as well: the dragons of Crowe's World live in swamps and hunt goats, a morsel which hunters also bait the dragons.[12]
Dragons exist in a wide variety of morphologies from the diminutive Raptorhound[5] to the tremendous Brachiosaur.[6] Dragons became central to the lifestyles of the Eldar Exodites in the wake of the Fall of the Eldar who herd working dragons such as the Megasaur,[3] also known as Megadon[7] which exodites trade the meat of with the Craftworld Eldar.[7] Exodite Dragon Knights are known to ride various species but are most well known for their horse-sized Raptors, winged Pterosaurs, and the prestigious Carnosaurs.[6]
Dragon's End
The stories of the Imperial Knights of House Griffith hold that they hunted to extinction a fire-breathing species of Giant Reptile known as a Dragon, which flew amidst the thermal plumes of their homeworld, Dragon's End.[10] Whether or not this Dragon was a variety of Eldar Dragon or simply a creature with similar morphology is unclear.
Mythology
Eldar Myth states that dragons are fire-breathing serpents said to represent wanton destruction.[1b] It is the Dragon Aspect which the World Spirits of the Exodites manifests when it attempts to sweep itself clean of life and begin anew.[9] It for the Dragon Aspect of Khaine that the Fire Dragons are named, and it is said that during the Rhana Dandra the Phoenix Lord Fuegan will bind a dragon with a chain formed of retribution which will stretch across the universe.[1a]
The children of Saim the Cosmic Serpent are sometimes referred to as Dragons,[2] it is unclear if that includes the Weaver Serpents who are also Saim's children.[11]
Sources
- 1: Codex: Craftworlds (8th Edition):
- 2: White Dwarf 511, pg. 82
- 3: White Dwarf 126 (UK), pg. 29-40 - Knights
- 4: The Path Forsaken (Audio Drama) (Digital)
- 5: Ghost Warrior (Novel), Chapter 11 - Foreshadowing
- 6: The Infinite and the Divine (Novel), Chapter 6
- 7: Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pgs. 16-17
- 8: The Carnac Campaign: Spirit War (Short Story), pg. 57
- 9: Path of the Incubus (Novel), Chapter 22
- 10: Codex: Imperial Knights (6th Edition) - House Griffith
- 11: Codex: Harlequins (8th Edition), pg. 22
- 12: Farseer (Novel), Chapter Seventeen
Heretic Tomes
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