The Emperor’s battle with the Dragon of Mars, led to the creation of the Mechanicus and eventually the return of the Emperor to the Red Planet itself!
Courtesy of our friends at Lexicanum
The Dragon of Mars is an ancient, exceedingly powerful entity that is currently imprisoned in the Noctis Labyrinth on Mars. There are hints that point to it possibly being one of the C’tan, more specifically Mag’ladroth the Void Dragon, but it has not been explicitly stated that this is the case.
Overview
The Dragon of Mars was supposedly defeated in combat by the Emperor on ancient Terra and later imprisoned under the surface of Mars. It has remained there for millennia, its influence affecting the inhabitants of that planet and leading to the creation of the Adeptus Mechanicus. It is watched over by a series of individuals known as the Guardians of the Dragon – much of the information known about the Dragon comes from these Guardians due to their ability to share the creature’s memories, the veracity of these memories is debatable however.
It’s all the Dragon remembers… Or at least a version of its memories. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not sometimes. I listen to its impotent roars of hatred as it watches from its gaol on Mars and write what comes out…But truth, as of all things, is a moving target. What of this is real and what is fantasy…well, who can tell.”
Adept Semyon, Guardian of the Dragon
History
According to Adept Semyon, one of the versions of the Dragon’s memories shows him fighting the Emperor near the city of Cyrene, in Libya, around the 11th or 12th century (i.e., the first or second century M2), but also as a soldier serving Emperor Diocletian (who ruled from 284-305.M1), which implies that this battle is the origin of the story of Saint George and the Dragon.
In this account, the Emperor (described as a lone warrior knight in golden armour and a scarlet-plumed helmet, riding on a mighty charger of midnight-black and wielding a tall lance of purest silver, from which flew a long red and white banner depicting a soaring eagle grasping a bolt of lightning) fought the Dragon (described as being half crawling beast with talons like scythe blades and half loathsome bird, with an immense scaled head, a tail twenty metres long, malignant fire in its eyes, plate-like scales rippling like liquid mercury, and the light of devoured stars shining in its breast) and defeated it by thrusting his sword at a weak spot beneath the Dragon’s left wing and then tied his banner around the helpless Dragon, although he stated that he was unable to destroy it completely.
Whether this describes a literal conflict or an allegorical one is unclear – it is implied that, at some point between the time of this battle and the Age of Strife, the Emperor brought the Dragon to Mars and imprisoned it in the Labyrinth. However, as the only given record of this is the recollections of the Guardians, the exact truth is unclear. What is known is that, by the 31st millenium, the Dragon lies imprisoned beneath the Noctis Labyrinth on Mars.
Relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus
Adept Semyon, the Guardian of the Dragon, claims that with the Dragon sealed in Mars, the Emperor orchestrated the rise of the Mechanicus, using the Dragon’s dream that would trigger the creation of the first machines of the priests of Mars.
Guardians of The Dragon
The role of the Guardians of the Dragon is to keep the bounds of the Dragon maintained, they are souls chosen by the Emperor for this task and their lifespans are vastly extended.
Up to the time of the Horus Heresy Adept Semyon was the Guardian, around this time he passed the knowledge of all his antecedents and the Emperor’s will onto Adept Dalia making her the new Guardian of the Dragon. She is known to have held this position for around ten thousand years.
Around the time of Dalia’s elevation to Guardian, the book which contained the secrets of the Guardians of the Dragon vanished from its place in the Noctis Labyrinth, an event said to have dire consequences in the future:
Only much later, when Dalia dared return to the silver cavern, did she see that the book containing the grand lie of Mars had been taken. Ten thousand years would pass before the next Guardian was drawn to the Noctis Labyrinth, but by then the damage had been done.”
Prison of the Dragon
The Daemon Hrangore claims that the daemons eat the souls of those that the Sleeping God of Mars eat their lifeforce, deep in the Noctis Labyrinthus a great chamber of basalt, with machines of antique silver towering around it flickering beams of unimaginable energy flowed in a glittering arc to a vast sarcophagus on the floor made of gold and adamantium.
However the Guardians of the Dragon say he is bound into a cavern beneath the Noctis Labyrinth.
Similarities with the C’tan
It can be interpreted that the Dragon may in fact be the C’Tan Mag’ladroth, commonly known as the Void Dragon. The Dragon of Mars is described as having many qualities which could indicate that it is one of the C’tan, these include:
- The Dragon of Mars once lived in space, between the stars. (Unclear whether this info comes from the Akasha, the Warp, the Dragon’s memories or Semyon.)
- The Guardian Semyon asks Dalia whether “the others” have already devoured all the stars – possibly a reference to the C’tan and their star-eating tendencies.
- Dalia recognizes the Dragon of Mars as an incredibly old, powerful and exotic life-form which “had brought entire civilisations into existence and then snuffed them out on a whim” – this could be interpreted as a reference to the C’tans’ relationship with the Necron/Necrontyr race.
- In the memories of the Dragon of Mars it is said that he waged war against his own kind, which left him in a weakened state, so he hid on Terra. – this could possibly refer to the older canon materials which state that the C’tan warred amongst themselves (or post ret-con the Necron uprising against the C’tan).
- In the description of the Dragon it is stated that his breast shone with the light of the stars he had devoured – possibly a reference to the C’tans’ role as star devouring entities.
- During his fight with the Emperor, the Dragon’s scales are described as being silver in colour, harder than steel and yet rippling like liquid mercury when struck hard enough – this is very similar to the Necrodermis which the C’tan’s bodies were made from.
- Codex: Necrons (3rd edition) relates a conversation between Abaddon and the Daemon Hrangore, where an entity dwelling in the Noctis Labyrinth is described – although few details are given, the simple fact that this is in the Necron Codex would certainly imply a connection.
- Codex: Necrons (3rd edition) also describes an assault on Mars by a Necron fleet, although their intention is unknown it does imply a connection between the Necrons and Mars.
Find our more about the Dragon, and the Noctis Labyrinth
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
