Celestial Dragon Guard

The Celestial Dragon Guard are the elite warriors of Grand Cathay and officially serve as the personal legion of the Dragon Emperor, his loyal defenders and bodyguards. As the Celestial Empire has expanded, more and more Dragon Guard have been added to the elite body known as the "Celestial Host," which now numbers enough that they can be dispatched to battlefields all over the Far East. Their arrival represents an exponential increase in power for any force of the Grand Imperial Army.^[1]

The Celestial Dragon Guard are the personal bodyguard of the Dragon Emperor and the Moon Empress. As the most elite mortal warriors in the empire, they enjoy the finest weapons and armour and are almost always led by a member of the Celestial Empire's Dragon-blooded nobility.^[2a]

The Celestial Dragon Guard are formidable soldiers, easily the equal to the best mortal troops of other realms of the Known World. Supplementing their natural skill, they are given the best armour and weapons in the empire -- often carrying Celestial blades and armour forged in the workshops of Kunlan. Their presence on the battlefield almost guarantees victory for the Cathayans, and other troops in the army always draw courage from the sight of the Dragon Emperor's personal troops.^[2a]

Wielding halberds in the Cathayan style, the Celestial Dragon Guard are natural opponents to the armoured and the massive, as capable of spearing a beast from the Chaos Wastes as a man from his horse. However, as the most well-trained military units in Grand Cathay, they are capable of defending against charges from anything -- be it Chaos Warrior or Skavenslave. The Dragon Guard is superior to their brothers among the Jade Warriors in every way except for the reality that their ranks are far smaller.^[1]

Celestial Dragon Crossbowmen[]

When the Celestial Host -- the combined name for the various tactical sections of the Celestial Dragon Guard -- makes war, it does so in style and with power. Celestial Dragon Crossbowmen are armed with "Dragon Crossbows," which are actually Cathayan Repeater Crossbows that fire multiple, armour-piercing bolts with a high rate of fire that are able to rip through almost any type of armour or flesh. Celestial Dragon Crossbowmen are fiercely trained in how to maintain a consistent wall of fire.^[1]

Shielded, with the best armour forged in Grand Cathay, very little can stand up to a hail of bolts from Celestial Dragon Crossbowmen. Should they be attacked in melee, they are still capable of holding their own.^[1]

Great Longma Riders[]

Those Dragon-blooded who join the Celestial Host often band together with their flying Longma mounts as Great Longma Riders, giving the Celestial Dragon Guard a powerful flying cavalry unit.^[1]