The Dragon Warriors are a warband of Chaos Space Marines. The Dragon Warriors are specialists in short-range firefights and melee combat. They also prefer the use of Melta and Flamer weapons. The Dragon Warriors are dedicated to the destruction of both the Salamanders Chapter and their homeworld of Nocturne and have long considered the Salamanders to be their greatest foes. The Dragon Warriors are led by the Chaos Sorcerer and former Salamander Librarian Nihilan, who forged the warband from the Chaos Space Marines who had followed his former master and tutor Vai'tan Ushorak, a former Chaplain of the Black Dragons Chapter before he became corrupted by Chaos. Ushorak was slain by the Salamanders on the Cemetery World of Moribar, and Nihilan became obsessed with gaining revenge against the Salamanders and finding some means of resurrecting his old mentor.
Warband History
Dragon Warriors Warband Colour Scheme
Notable Campaigns
- Assault on Moribar (Unknown Date.M41) - A strike force composed of the Salamanders' 3rd Company, under the command of Captain Ko'tan Kadai, caught up to the deranged former Chaplain of the Black Dragons, Vai'tan Ushorak, and his warband of Chaos Space Marines on the Cemetery World of Moribar. 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 the Renegade Salamanders Librarian 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 Chaos Space Marines 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.
- Stratos Campaign (Unknown Date.M41) - A small group of Dragon Warriors under the command of the Chaos Sorcerer Nihilan orchestrated the uprising of a Chaos Cult, the so-called Cult of Truth, on the Imperial Mining World of Stratos to serve as a distraction while they secretly recovered an artefact known as the decyphrex from the depths of Stratos' floating loft-city and capital of Cirrion. The Salamanders' 3rd Company responded to Stratos' astropathic distress call and Nihilan had the added enjoyment of arranging for the death of the Salamanders' Captain Ko'tan Kadai, the commander of the Space Marine force who had nearly killed him after he had gone Renegade decades before on the Cemetery World of Moribar.
- Cholercaust Blood Crusade (Unknown Date.M41)- An unknown number of Dragon Warriors joined the Khornate Blood Crusade of the Cholercaust. The diverse Chaos forces followed the route of the ancient Keeler Comet deep into Imperial territory under the leadership of the mysterious Daemon Prince known as "The Pilgrim." The Chaos forces met their end on the Cemetery World of Certus-Minor and were annihilated.
- Second Assault on Nocturne (975.M41) - After the death of his old foe Captain Kadai, Nihilan enlisted a warband of Iron Warriors to mine a special ore known as fyron from the world of Scoria. It was during this time that the Chaos Sorcerer entered into a daemonic pact with the daemon Engel'saak in order to enhance his already formidable psychic powers. The daemon told Nihilan of a forbidden tome that possessed the fell knowledge of the the ancient Nocturnean Corpsemasters that had the ability to resurrect the dead. With this forbidden knowledge, Nihilan hoped to resurrect his own former master, the charismatic Renegade former Dragon Warriors Chaplain Vai'tan Ushorak. In return for the daemon's knowledge and the enhancement of his powers, the Chaos Sorcerer provided Engel'saak a host body, enabling the daemon to enter the material realm as a Daemonhost and wreak havoc on the Salamanders Chapter. It was during this conflict that Nihilan finally revealed his nefarious plan: utilising a Seismic Cannon that was emplaced on his flagship, the Chaos Cruiser Hell-Stalker, he created a shaft that delved deep into Mount Deathfire, the sacred mountain of the Salamanders on Nocturne. Within the mountain, the Chaos Sorcerer was able to breach the hidden sacred shrine that contained one of the lost books of the Primarch Vulkan, known as the Tome of Fire. The Chaos Sorcerer was confronted by the Salamanders Epistolary Pyriel, his fellow former Neophyte-in-training, whom he defeated in a psychic battle that resulted in the Salamander psyker's death. Though it was a pyrrhic victory, Pyriel's sacrifice was not in vain, as the Salamanders' Chief Librarian Vel'cona arrived to face his former pupil before Nihilan could make good his escape. The Chief Librarian and the Chaos Sorcerer battled within Mount Deathfire, but unfortunately Nihilan made good his escape due to the timely intervention of his personal bodyguard, Ramlek. Vel'cona was able to destroy Ramlek upon an anvil that mysteriously materialised out of nothing. The Chaos Sorcerer managed to escape, still intent on resurrecting his former master Ushorak and taking revenge against the Salamanders. Nihilan's current whereabouts are unknown.
- 13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - The Dragon Warriors took part in the massive Chaos assault on the Cadian Gate during Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade.
Notable Dragon Warriors
- Chaos SorcererNihilan - Nihilan is a former Librarian of the Salamanders Chapter who has become a Chaos Sorcerer after being trained by the former Black Dragons Chaplain Vai'tan Ushorak. After Ushorak was slain on Moribar by the intervention of the Salamanders' 3rd Company, Nihilan became obsessed with both enacting revenge upon the Salamanders and with finding some sorcerous means of resurrecting his old mentor.
- Ghor'gan (Deceased) - A Chaos Space Marine of the warband and member of The Glaive, Nihilan's personal cadre of elite bodyguards. Ghor'gan was slain on the world of Scoria by Hazon Dark'ir, a Veteran Sergeant of the Salamanders' 3rd Company.
- Ramlek - A Chaos Space Marine of the warband and member of the Glaive.
- Erkine - A Chaos Space Marine of the warband and member of the Glaive.
- Nor'hak - A Chaos Space Marine of the warband and member of the Glaive.
- Thark'n - A Chaos Space Marine of the warband and member of the Glaive. Thark'n replaced Ghor'gan after he was slain on Scoria.
Warband Fleet
- Hell-Stalker - The Dragon Warriors make use of a former Astartes Battle Barge transformed by the Warp into a possessed, twisted Chaos Battleship. The Hell-Stalker was outfitted with a rare weapon known as a Seismic Cannon that was used to burrow deep down into Mount Deathfire on Nocturne in an attempt to recover a portion of the Salamanders' sacred Tome of Fire.
Warband Appearence
Warband Colours
The Dragon Warriors wear almost entirely dark red Power Armour with a black trim and black power pack. Their Power Armour is also painted with a texture similar to a reptile's scales, referring to their namesake. Their helmets often feature chaotic additions, an example of which being horns.
Warband Badge
The Dragon Warriors' Badge is an orange coloured dragon wreathed in flames of the same colour while its jaws are open. Its body is twisted in such a way that it forms a figure 8. This is centred on a field of dark red.
Sources
- Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 20
- Heroes of the Space Marines (Anthology), "Fires of War" by Nick Kyme
- Tome of Fire (Salamanders Novel Series):
- Salamander (Novel) by Nick Kyme
- Firedrake (Novel) by Nick Kyme
- Nocturne (Novel) by Nick Kyme
Gallery
A Dragon Warrior in combat