Drachenkrieger

The Drachenkrieger, or Dragon Warriors, of the Obsidian Guard take their name from Feuerstadt’s mythical history. It is said that when humans first arrived on the planet it was populated by a race of creatures that were covered in scales harder than steel, with two great wings, a long muscular tail, four powerful legs, and a head adorned by a crown of horns that could breathe fire on their enemies. For a time the humans lived in terror of these dragons, forced to live underground so they could not be caught out by a dragon swooping down from the sky. Eventually a brave few, tired of this state of affairs, decided to take a stand and fight the dragons. But no weapon at their disposal could pierce the beasts’ hide, so they sought to steal the heart of a dragon and learn how to make dragonfire. Many of them did not survive, but those that did succeeded in their quest, slaying a dragon and forging new wargear from the remains. Out of the scales they created impenetrable suits of armor and from the heart gained the knowledge to harness the dragons’ greatest weapon to use against them. They scoured the world of the dragon menace, eventually going so far as to storm the lairs of the beasts and build cities upon the bones of Feuerstadt’s old masters. In honor of their foes strength and ferocity they took the name Dragon Warriors, or the Drachenkrieger in the native dialect of Low Gothic.

Of course this is a half truth at best and pure fiction at worst but the story yet resonates with the people of Feuerstadt. It is the tale of the brave and the damned who, in the face of overwhelming odds, took up arms to break free of the yoke of tyrants. Thus, when Lukas formed the elite tank hunters of the Tenth Legion he named them the Drachenkrieger. Instead of sewn together dragonscale armor they are garbed in artificer-wrought power armor and rather than wielding the power of the dragons they make use of Dragon’s Breath-Pattern Melta Rifles.

To be chosen for service in the Drachenkrieger is to have demonstrated courage bordering on the suicidal, stubbornness to rival a squat, and no small amount of aptitude with the traditional equipment of the unit. Consequently the vast majority of candidates come from the Legion’s Tactical Support squads. Due to the narrow recruitment pool, rigorous standards, and extremely dangerous missions there are never more than corps’ worth of Drachenkrieger at any one time. Even then it is rare to see more than a company assigned to a single battle, for they are usually reserved for the most brutal of sieges or for engaging the foe’s mightiest war machines. Typically these detachments are assigned as part of the first battalion of the corps and integrated into its command structure.

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