"Leave Luccini by the Great East Road, bearing left at the foothills of the Apuccini mountains. Carry straight on through the Border Princes until you come to the top of the Black Gulf. Pass Barak Varr at night to avoid paying the tolls. Turn sharp left through Death Pass then sharp right by the volcano. Bear left between the Plain of Bones and the Broken Teeth and then follow the coast of the Sea of Dread for 300 miles. Through the delta and the Dragon Isles are directly in front of you. Can't miss 'em."
The Dragon Isles in the Sea of Dread of the Far East.
The Dragon Isles are a small group of islands located within the Sea of Dread in the Far East. Located south of the Mountains of Mourn and east of the Southlands,[6a] the islands are separated by the Shattered Stone Bay from the mainland.[7a] The Dragon Isles consist of three large islands and several smaller ones.[6a]
Geography[]
The primordial jungle of the Dragon Isles is a cloying, hostile swampland punctuated by the towering trunks of ancient trees. Their canopy all but blocks out the sparse sunlight filtering through to the snake-infested morass below, but far deadlier creatures stalk through the shadows of this forgotten land. Long severed from the Lizardmen species that once sought to direct them as creatures of war, the denizens of this primeval jungle have reverted to the level of pure predators. The great lizards of the Dragon Isles are exceptional hunters, and any who stray upon their territory quickly become their prey.[4a]
From the slenderest serpent to the mightiest Thunder Lizard, the Dragon Isles are host to an ecosystem dominated entirely by reptiles. The lost kin of the Lizardmen of the Southlands that once lived there degenerated or wiped each other out in futile tribal wars, whilst the larger species thrived at their expense. Now the Dragon Isles are host to a species of monstrous, scaled beasts that lumber through a landscape that has changed little since the dawn of time itself.[4a]
Most of the great lizards are gigantic, some many times larger than a Stegadon and with a temperament to match. Some are so large they can cross deep lakes without becoming fully submerged, and must eat almost constantly to fuel their massive frames. Terradons soar on thermals high above the plateaus on which they make their nests, sharp eyes scanning for movement in the jungle below, and in turn the fabled Great Wyrms wheel and cry above them.[4a]
Packs of Cold Ones stalk among the trees, senses attuned to the sharp scent of warm blood, while Horned Ones flit past them like lethal shadows. Salamanders slither through the swamplands, spitting gouts of fire at unwary prey that stray too close. Stegadons clash with Carnosaurs in the depth of the jungle in titanic struggles that can last for days on end, with the loser inevitably consumed by the victor.[4a]
But it is when invaders land upon the Dragon Isles that the true might of these beasts is unleashed. The great lizards of the Dragon Isles are fiercely territorial, and it is not without reason that this land, despite being rich in precious minerals such as diamonds, lapis lazuli and jade, remains uncharted.[4a]
Any who stray to the borders of the forest will be met by a primal tide of claws and teeth as the jungle comes alive and either drives off or devours the interlopers. Beside this, the Dragon Isles have an ingrained mystical defence that is the legacy of their Slann creators. This arcane shield protects the local creatures from enemy magic.[4a]
Notable Locations[]
- Lizard Sea - Sea to the east of the Dragon Isles.
- Sea of Storms - Sea to the north-west of the Dragon Isles.
- The Claws - A group of isles to the south of the Dragon Isles.
Lizardmen of the Dragon Isles[]
Similar to the temple-cities of the Southlands, the Lizardmen colonies on the Dragon Isles were cut off from their masters many centuries ago, but the degradation of their culture was much more rapid and pronounced.[3a]
Without any Slann to lead them, the local Skinks and Saurus have reverted completely to barbarism, becoming little more than beasts and destroying what little remained of their former glory in bitter conflict. Whether the Slann of Lustria have attempted to establish communications with the lost kin or have simply abandoned them to their fate is unclear, but certainly there has been little or no contact between Lustria and the Dragon Isles for hundreds of years.[3a][5a]
None of the explorers who have attempted to establish colonies upon the Dragon Isles have succeeded, and thus the fate of the Lizardmen here is also accepted as part of the grand design of the Old Ones.[3a]
Contacts with Other Races[]
Tilean exploratory journeys and trade routes, including to the Dragon Isles.[1b]
Despite the dangers, the Dragon Isles occasionally attract adventurers. The Tilean explorer Luka Huarugoin reached the Dragon Isles after crossing the Worlds Edge Mountains and the Dark Lands and descending the River Ruin. He returned home through the Plain of Bones and Death Pass.[1c] Other soldiers of fortune that have been tempted into visiting this mysterious archipelago include Count Egmund Baernhof and the infamous Thorson Grint.[1a]
Dwarf King Byrrnoth Grundadrakk of Barak Varr is known to have killed the Sea Dragon Mauldekorr in a bay off the coast of the Dragon Isles.[2a]
Game History[]
In Warhammer Chronicles 2004 a Great Lizards army list was used in conjunction with Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen 6th Edition to play an army comprised of feral dinosaurs from the Dragon Isles without a leader. This army fights with tooth and claw and nothing more.[4a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War (5th Edition)
- 2: White Dwarf 307
- 2a: pg. 46
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (6th Edition)
- 3a: pg. 72
- 4: Warhammer Chronicles 2004 (6th Edition)
- 4a: pp. 28-33
- 5: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (7th Edition)
- 5a: pg. 35
- 6: Warhammer: Rulebook (8th Edition)
- 6a: pp. 160-161
- 7: Warhammer Armies: Ogre Kingdoms (8th Edition)
- 7a: pp. 14-15
- 8: Total War: Warhammer II