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===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 [[Chapter Master|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.{{Fn|16}}
==Gene-Seed==
The Black Dragons are of unknown founding but reports of them being of [[Salamanders]] decent exist,{{Fn|Conflicting sources}} and 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]].{{Fn|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 inflicted with such abnormal developments are formed into a separate fighting unit, known as the Dragon Claws.{{Fn|21a}}
It’s rumoured that the Black Dragon [[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.{{Fn|21a}}
The Black Dragons gene-seed is no stable, leading to some of their numbers, known as [[Cursed Knights (Cursed Founding troops)|Cursed Knights]], to seemingly having escaped their chapter's curse and lacking the mutations their brethren’s have but this veneer of perfection hides often more extreme mutations. And other brothers suffering the worst extremes of the chapter's curse, known as [[Abominations (Cursed Founding troops)| Abominations]].{{Fn|21c}} Those troops are not used by the chapter when fighting alongside imperial allies.{{Fn|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 has on several occasions been threatened with military action unless it complies 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 submit 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.{{Fn|21a}}
==Notable Elements of the Black Dragons==
*{{Endn|18}}: [[The Vorago Fastness (Short Story)]]
*{{Endn|19}}: [[Codex: Space Marines (10th Edition)]], pg. 64
*{{Endn|20}}: [[White Dwarf 260 (UK)]], pgs. 98-102 — ''[[Index Astartes]]: The Cursed Founding: an investigation into a mysterious Space Marine founding''
*21: [[Chapter Approved 2004]] — ''The Cursed Founding''
**{{Endn|21a}}: pg. 6
**{{Endn|21b}}: pg. 8
**{{Endn|21c}}: pg. 9
[[Category:Black Dragons| ]]
[[Category:Later Foundings]]
[[Category:Salamanders Successor Chapters]]
[[Category:Cursed Founding]]
[[de:Black Dragons]]
[[fr:Black Dragons]]
