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Origins “Who are you, Valko, to defy me? In my veins run the blood of kings and gods. I never needed vindication from the rest of you. The storm was all the evidence I needed. You untried whelp, you are nothing!” Final words of the Unremembered, moments before being stabbed in the back The Imperial Dragons Chapter was a crusader force that fought and bled across the galaxy since their formation during the 5th Founding, back during the 33rd Millennium. Like many other sons of Dorn, the Imperial Dragons were of zealous stock, filled with a fury barely held in check until meeting the foe on open ground. For four thousand years, the Chapter participated in battles and wars that spanned the breadth of the Imperium. Honor and glory was every Marine’s right to take, and the Imperial Dragons took much. With a level of respect for their ancient heroes bordering on veneration, the Dragons kept careful track of their lengthy rolls of victory and honored the duties of their Apothecaries. The Imperial Dragons were held in great esteem by those who held high ranks within the greater Imperium. They were favored great authority in the many campaigns and crusades waged by Imperial forces. It was from such a lofty height that the Imperial Dragons suffered their first true blow. Though far from mortal, it had the most grievous aspect of coming from within. In the 37th Millennium, a cancer grew in the Imperial Dragons. Its exact origin and nature is unknown, the truth dying alongside the conspirators. The corruption came to the Chapter’s attention when the traitors from within struck and captured the Sword of Okhlos, the venerable Battle-Barge once seen combat as a vessel of the Imperial Fists Legion and now serving as the fleet-based Chapter’s Fortress-Monastery. In a bid for power, the now-reviled First Captain of the Imperial Dragons struck down his Chapter Master, naming himself lord. Recent, unexpected setbacks on a major campaign were cited as evidence that his now slain lord was no longer worthy in the eyes of the Emperor. Elements of the veteran First Company that were among the other fighting Companies of the Chapter opened fire on their brothers, attempting to decapitate Company leadership and forcibly take command. These insurrectionists were aided by the Chapter’s Librarium, which had itself been largely consumed by a corrupt few. Only three Company commanders survived the assassination attempts. An intense war followed as brother fought brother. Many within the usurped Companies and commandeered Chapter vessels refused to forsake their vows, and tension between the traitors saw the First Captain lose the support of the Librarium. Before climaxing, the internecine war dragged in Imperial Guard regiments and the Inquisition. With defeat imminent, the First Captain’s sins returned full circle. The battles ended as Vanov, former First Company Champion and whose gene-seed had come directly from the First Captain’s progenoids, slew his own lord for his failures and escaped with those veterans who followed him. The end of the traitors saw the beginning of the loyalists’ penitence crusade. With only three Captains and barely half of the Chapter remaining, the Imperial Dragons took what resources were left of them and embarked on a century long hunt for those traitors who yet lived. By Inquisitorial decree, they were restricted from recruitment or replenishment for the duration of the Crusade, forbidden to choose a Chapter Master from amongst them until they are declared cleansed. What was left of the Imperial Dragons was divided among the Captains, whose legends were beginning to grow in the wake of the devastation. For a century, the Imperial Dragons splintered after the fading trails left by the traitors. The remnants of the First Company, led by Vanov, had declared themselves for Khorne. Though ever on the move, the slaughters left behind by the Sky Piercers warband, as they had named themselves, made them easy to track. Much more difficult to track was the corrupted Chapter Librarium, led by the former Chief Librarian Hristo Veselin. The unnamed force was insidious, landing upon worlds and fomenting rebellions and uprisings. Captured cultists told tales of Marines wearing Imperial Dragon colors, splashed with yellow to mar Chapter icons, but had little evidence of how they arrived or departed, or to where. After a century had passed, the Imperial Dragons had failed in their quest. The Sky Piercers had joined a larger Iron Warriors warband, disappearing into the Eye of Terror. The Yellow Insurrections, as the Imperial Dragons had begun to refer to the rebellions sparked by Veselin’s band of sorcerers, became so widespread that it was impossible to pinpoint where the traitors were. As such, the Inquisitorial Cohort that accompanied them refused to declare them purified, and instead had the Chapter renew its oath of penitence. For a second century, the Imperial Dragons continued the penitence crusade. This second century did prove more fruitful, as the heroics of Captain Bogomil Kosta saw to the capture and execution of many of former battle-brothers that had followed Veselin into damnation. The Sky Piercers, however, had taken over the Iron Warriors warband despite all odds, and remained at large. However, by then the Inquisitor Lord who had been tasked with their censure had passed, and the former acolyte that took his place was made of less stern stuff. The Imperial Dragons were finally granted reprieve, and deemed pure in the Emperor’s eyes. Nonetheless, centuries of hunting down those who had betrayed them from within had left an indelible mark, and the Imperial Dragons emerged from this period utterly changed from their former self. Gone was their aloof nature, their sense of self-worth, their grandiose and overly confident nature. They had grown more insular and closed off, paranoid of not only others but of themselves. Morbidity had crept into the Chapter. No longer did they see the past as something to prove themselves against, to surpass. Now the venerated past represented their former height, from which they had fallen far and could never hope to achieve again. The penitence crusade may be over, but not the hunt. Homeworld “Creire will serve the purposes of our Grand Company perfectly. Like us, it is the oldest. Like us, the lesser kingdoms are formed from their blood, though greatly watered down. Return it to the prominence it deserves.” Grand Captain Kaloyanov Genadiev, studying the history of the kingdoms of Si’giu The Imperial Dragons, like many other sons of Dorn, were a fleet-based Chapter for much of their history. With the destruction of their flagship, the Sword of Okhlos, and the over-all worn down nature of the fleet after the two centuries’ long penitence crusade, the Imperial Dragons were granted the right to an Imperial world to utilize as their base and to recuperate losses from its population. The world of Si’giu is young by planetary standards, its primordial oceans split by a single supercontinent like the Pangaea of Terra’s own prehistoric past, balanced by a single, small island continent that is nearly at the opposite end of the world. This supercontinent is home to many feudal kingdoms, often at war and prone to shifting alliances. When the Imperial Dragons descended, the isolated, barren island continent had been made the site of the Chapter’s Fortress-Monastery, its construction only just begun when the Chapter arrived. The Grand Captains determined that they would need recruits used to eternal war, to prepare them for what awaits them among the stars. Each Grand Company chose a single kingdom to patron, and those recruited to the Chapter would be tested by bringing these three kingdoms to dominance before joining the 10th Company as scouts. Over the millennia, these three kingdoms, believing themselves divinely inspired and aided, have split the titanic landmass between them. Ages of peace are quickly ended by design, the Imperial Dragons having forged the world into the living representation of war that they had wanted. Combat Doctrine “We of the Nesebar line are what you would call . . . rash, yes. But while we may be cut off from the rest of you, so far ahead, we are also the first to reach the enemy’s throat. And by that virtue, the first to cut it.” Grand Captain Bogomil Kosta, to his second in command, Captain Nayden Bakalov The Imperial Dragons epitomize the stubborn ideals of their Primarch. Any battle the Chapter is involved in becomes a storm of hell for both sides, within which the Chapter endures while their enemies falter. Their former predilections as urban war specialists remained when the Chapter was split into three Grand Companies, however over the millennia since each Grand Company has developed its own individuality on the battlefields. The Grand Company Nesebar is an assault heavy force, preferring to remain on the offensive at all times and strike with overwhelming force. The Grand Company Tarnovo has the tendency to over-think its strategies, planning each battle with exacting detail. War, as fought by the Grand Company Tarnovo, is one where there ought to be no surprises, no upsets. Only the death of the foe. Organisation “We were once mocked by my brother Grand Captains. I was raised among them solely because we were all that was left. My blood did not have the lengthy history as theirs did. Well, they shall mock us no more.” Grand Captain Mladen Valko, scrutinizing the battle plans for bringing the Sky Piercers to the executioner’s block The Imperial Dragons’ former Codex organization was deliberately stripped from the Chapter at the onset of its centuries’ long penitence. The Inquisition had forbidden them to elect a new Chapter Master, or to reform their veteran 1st Company. As such, the Chapter reformed itself into three ad hoc formations, each led by a hero of the civil war. These Grand Captains, taking an old Legionary title not seen since the heady days of the Great Crusade, took command of not only their own Companies, but also split the remaining Companies amongst them. Only the 10th Company of recruits and scouts remained independent, for its use and importance to each was equal and paramount. Of these Grand Captains, Kaloyanov Genadiev of the venerable Ohrid line commanded the lion’s share of four Companies, while Mladen Valko, of the young, untried Tarnovo line, was in command of only his own Company. After the two centuries of relentless war, the Imperial Dragons had between them four Companies. Finally released from penitence, the Chapter licked its wounds and recuperated. However, once returned to full strength, the formation triad had left an indelible mark. After two centuries following these Grand Captains, the choice of who would rise to become Chapter Master was a difficult one. None of the Grand Captains was willing to relinquish his authority to one of the others, and so a compromise was reached. The Grand Captains would continue to split the Chapter between them, three Companies each, while the responsibilities and duties of leading the Chapter, without the authority of being over-all master, would be given to the commander of the 10th Company. The commander of the 10th Company would double as Si’giu’s Imperial Governor. The triumvirate has remained ever since. Each Grand Company consists of three Companies, the commander of the first of which holding the title Grand Captain and in command over the other two Companies, autonomous from the other Grand Companies. To ensure no repeat of the terrible internecine war, each Captain and Grand Captain is paired with a Chaplain. These Chaplains, themselves students in the art of war and master strategists, are there to advise and aid the officers, as well as to ensure they remain on the true path. The first Company of each Grand Company holds the veterans of that Grand Company. Though more diluted than the 1st Companies of other Chapters, being the veteran hundred of only three hundred Marines, and having very few suits of Tactical Dreadnought Armor, it nonetheless fulfills the role of the elite. The second Company of each Grand Company is equivalent to a regular Battle-Company, forming the backbone of all action any Grand Company may see. The final Company of a Grand Company is a Reserve Company, though its make-up is more varied than a regular Reserve Company, and varies again between each Grand Company’s favored uses. Beliefs “I advised him to argue to retain the Grand Companies with his brother Grand Captains. It will create hardship and strife, but it will also defend us from the sins of our past, and strengthen us to meet the dangers that await us. I also longed to see him placed in command of us all, but this is right.” Chaplain Apostol Rayko to Captain Deyan Bozhidar, second-in-command of Grand Company Ohrid The Imperial Dragons place an extreme importance on genetic legacy, to the point of recording the genetic line of every Marine. When the progenoid glands are removed, and each gland is removed as soon as they have matured, the donor is noted and their name added to the growing branches of heredity. Every inductee to the Chapter is made aware of whose gene-seed he is being implanted with, and by careful study of the genetic records, they can trace their genealogy through the mists of time, reciting all those whose blood they now share. There is no equality along these hereditary lines. Some are more glorified than others, based upon the heroic deeds of the Marines listed upon them, and these are the lines that have earned a name. The lines containing the ancient Chapter Masters and Grand Captains are highest of all. When the Chapter was betrayed from within, those lines were utterly purged so that none could trace their heritage back to them. The hereditary lines are named for its founders, many Marines adding their line’s name to their own out of respect and reverence. When recruits begin their implantation process, from which line the recruit is given gene-seed is decided based upon their actions and potential shown to the Chapter’s careful watchers. Those who show the greatest promise are granted gene-seed from the greatest lines. Since heritage is so important, the Imperial Dragons have an unfortunate habit of punishing themselves whenever they perceive that they have not lived up to their line or are not doing enough to raise it further. To die having provided nothing for the Chapter’s genetic heritage is a sin, to bring the line down with you out of incompetence or cowardice the worst sin of all. However, these beliefs vary from Grand Company to Grand Company, in no small part because of their own heritages. Those of Grand Company Ohrid, so named for its founding Grand Captain was a scion of the Ohrid line, are the most concerned with heritage, being named for the gene-line most directly linked to Imperial Dragons’ founding lord. Likewise, those of Grand Company Tarnovo are the least concerned. They are more aware that their heritage is not the sole factor in their worth. Their founding Grand Captain, Mladen Valko, was of the Tarnovo line, a line whose legacy extended only four generations, when Naum Tarnovo had gained sufficient glory to give his line its name. Though, it has been said that if it were not for Tarnovo’s legacy, that line would have been named for Mladen Valko. Indeed, many Marines, including Captain Nikifor Valko, have taken the Valko name over Tarnovo. Gene-seed “You will remember me. Erase my name. Forget my lineage. I am the greatest warrior this Chapter has ever produced. I will live forever, for you will never kill me.” Chaos Lord Vanov, to Grand Captain Mladen Valko With such particular care given to their gene-seed because of their beliefs, the gene-seed kept has suffered no degradation over the millennia, remaining as pure as it was when the Chapter was first formed, developing no further mutations as was commonplace when the Imperial Fists marched as a Legion. When tithes are demanded, it is from the lesser lines that it is provided, to ensure the genetic legacy of the Chapter remains strong in the times to come. It is perhaps for this reason that the Imperial Dragons hold the Dark Sentinels in poor favor, despite the Chapter having been formed from Imperial Dragon gene-stock. As they are the caretakers of the Chapter's gene-seed repositories, Imperial Dragon Apothecaries are afforded great respect and honor. Theirs is a sacred duty for all Chapters, but to the Imperial Dragons they are of paramount importance. It is the Apothecarion that keeps careful records of the Chapter's many gene-lines, kept tagged, collated and filed. The choice of gene-seed to be implanted into an initiate has always been their domain, though they listen often to the wise counsel of their in the 10th Company. However, unlike other Chapters that place such heightened importance on the Apothecarion, the Imperial Dragons do not field more of such specialists than is normal. Though the high regard of the Apothecaries does see a large increase in the number of potential brothers to join their fraternity, so too does it see an increase to the already strict criteria and selection process. Battle Cry By the blood of my ancestors! http://i.imgur.com/uCV5JEy.jpg From left to right: Grand Company Tarnovo Grand Company Ohrid Grand Company Nesebar 10th Company