Kaldor Draigo

Overview

Kaldor Draigo is the Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights. He was trapped in the Realm of Chaos and wanders it still, fighting daemons in their own domain. He returns to realspace more and more often to fight beside his Chapter.

He wields the Titansword, a relic of the Grey Knights, and wears armour inscribed with prayers. He is trapped in the Warp, but has appeared in realspace on occasion to fight alongside his brothers. He carved his name on the heart of Mortarion. Kaldor Draigo is Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights. He took power in 901.M41 after Mortarion killed his predecessor. He carries the Titansword and has walked the Warp for a long time, trapped in the Realm of Chaos and fighting daemons there. His deeds made him a legend even among the Grey Knights.

Origins

Draigo's saga began on Acralem, where he defeated the daemon prince M'kar. He became Supreme Grand Master on the plains of Kornovin after Mortarion slew his predecessor, Geronitan.

Draigo first won lasting fame in 799.M41 during M'kar the Reborn's invasion of the Vidar Sector. Leading the 3rd Brotherhood alongside the Astral Knights, the Flesh Tearers and Imperial Guard regiments, he took the fight to the daemon prince on Acralem. Draigo dealt M'kar the death blow and carved the daemon's true name onto his own heart, which bound him in a way that later proved decisive.

Codex: Grey Knights (5th edition, pp. 14-17) says his legend began while he was still an ordinary battle-brother of the 3rd Brotherhood, when he banished the Daemon Prince M'kar the Reborn on Acralem. That victory began a feud that would shape his life. The Character Encyclopedia lists him as the forty-eighth Supreme Grand Master and calls him the Saviour of Acralem. In 999.M41, the 7th-edition codex records, he went back to Acralem alone, hoping to end the Chapter's ancient quarrel with M'kar for good. After that fight he was cursed to wander the Realm of Chaos.

Key events

1. Defeated M'kar the Reborn on Acralem.
2. Struck down Mortarion at Kornovin and carved Geronitan's name onto the daemon primarch's heart, starting a lasting feud.
3. Returned to Acralem two centuries later and was cast into the Warp.
4. Wandered the Realm of Chaos, slaying daemons and burning gardens of Nurgle.
5. Has manifested more often since the Great Rift, bringing visions back to his brothers.

C. Z. Dunn's novel Pandorax has a dead Grey Knight, Lexek Hasimir, sit up on his bier and tell Draigo that the Damnation Cache on Pythos has opened. With no time to gather his brotherhoods, Draigo called on an old oath binding the Dark Angels to help the Grey Knights. Azrael called it blackmail until Draigo told him a secret he had learned from interrogating a traitor Astartes. After that, Azrael committed the whole Chapter on condition that the Dark Angels had operational command. During the sealing ritual, the Nurgle Daemon Prince J'ian-Lo seized Draigo and teleported both of them into the void, where Draigo could not be heard speaking its true name. Draigo beheaded it anyway and threw the head into space.

Battles & campaigns

• Succession: He took office after Mortarion killed the previous Supreme Grand Master.
• The Realm of Chaos: He wanders the Warp, fighting and disrupting the daemons in their home.
• Era Indomitus: He fights in the new age of daemonic incursions.

Personality

Pure, resolute and unbroken. Endless war in the immaterium has only hardened his faith.

He is pure and steadfast, his faith unbroken by the horrors of the Warp. He is focused on his mission to fight daemons and protect humanity. His isolation has made him a legend among the Grey Knights.

Weapons & Vehicles

Nemesis Force WeaponsPsychic Weapon

Psychically attuned silvered blades, halberds and daemon hammers forged exclusively for the Grey Knights of Titan, channelling the wiel…

Storm BolterRanged Weapon

A twin-barrelled, double-chambered automatic bolter wielded one-handed by Space Marine Terminators, Grey Knights and battle tank pintle…

The Emperor's SwordRelic Weapon

The flaming golden greatsword of the Emperor of Mankind, forged through lost science and psychic mastery, now wielded by resurrected Pr…

Grey Knights PaladinsElites · Unit

The elite champions of the Grey Knights, who must complete eight deadly quests before taking their seat in Titan's Hall of Champions.

Nemesis DreadknightHeavy Support · Unit

A huge psychically-powered exoskeleton worn by a Grey Knight, built to fight daemon princes on equal terms.

Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.

Connections

Characters (2)

• 
  Torquemada Coteaz ally · The Inquisition

  Coteaz has fought alongside Grey Knights.

• 
  Mortarion enemy · Death Guard

  Draigo struck down Mortarion at Kornovin and carved a name onto the daemon primarch's heart.

Factions

• Grey Knights primary faction

Related units (7)

LibrarianTerminatorsGrey Knights Strike SquadGrey Knights PaladinsGrey Knights PurifiersGrey Knights Interceptor SquadNemesis Dreadknight

Some links are thematic parallels (marked "parallel") rather than recorded meetings. See the connections web.

Legacy

Draigo is the Grey Knights' Supreme Grand Master, lost in the Warp yet still fighting. He wanders the Realm of Chaos, appearing in realspace when the Emperor's foes are at their strongest. To the Grey Knights he is proof that purity of soul can endure even in the heart of the Warp. To the daemons he is a nightmare who carved his name into the heart of Mortarion. His wandering through the Warp gives the Grey Knights a commander who knows the enemy's realm firsthand, though at a terrible personal cost. Draigo remains the Grey Knights' greatest legend and Mortarion's sworn enemy.

The 5th-edition codex lists his deeds in the warp. He killed the Bloodthirster Kar'Voth, burned the jungles of Nurgle's garden, defeated the Six Sisters of Slaanesh and destroyed the fortress of the Lord of Change M'Kachen. The short story Knight of Titan suggests he wandered into an old world where sorcery rode the winds and a self-made god-king stood against the Dark Gods, a deliberate nod to Warhammer Fantasy. Since the Great Rift, the 8th-edition codex says he has visited the Grand Masters to seek their counsel, and the Terminus Decree has been seriously considered. The 10th-edition codex adds that if he cannot escape his curse soon, the Chapter will have to choose a new Supreme Grand Master.

Appearances & sources

• Codex: Grey Knights background
• Grey Knights short fiction
• Era Indomitus campaign books