# Kaldor Draigo - Will He Ever Return?



## AshArtKing (Nov 27, 2013)

*I am really interested in Kaldor Draigo.
I really wonder what he is up to in the warp...
Will he ever come back?
Anyone else have anything to say about this?*

* History*

As a simple Battle-Brother, Draigo banished the Daemon Prince M'kar the Reborn on Acralem. 
In 901.M41, during the Battle of Kornovin, Draigo would become Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights after the Daemon Prince Mortarion killed his predecessor, Geronitan. The act made Draigo fly into a rage, who assaulted the Daemon Primarch and carved his forebear's name into the fallen Primarch's heart - an insult Mortarion has never forgotten. 
However, after a second confrontation with M'kar on Acralem, Draigo has been cursed to a life trapped within the Warp, doomed to walk within the Realm of Chaos itself. To remain pure while constantly assailed by Chaos shows fortitude and personal strength that is beyond measure. He has undertaken many great exploits within the Warp: slaying the great Bloodthirster Kar'Voth, setting fire to the jungles of Nurgle's domain, defeating the six chosen Daemonettes of Slaanesh, the Six Sisters, and destroying the fortress of the Lord of Change M'Kachan. 
But while Draigo lives, he will prevail and one day, he will return.


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

Well he damn well better. Do you know how awesome a series, or even just a novel, would be on the exploits of the man. I want him to have his own books....then I will be content. Besides someone has to have the ballz to drag the Grey Knights out of their latest political debolicle.


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## Stormxlr (Sep 11, 2013)

I don't know he seems a bit too "chuck norris" of wh40k universe. Defeating daemon prince as battle brother? A bit too far fetched, i mean sent to warp and left alive? He has fav son of a writer thing going on with him. Sure he sound's cool and all but in the game he is underpowered compared to fluff and in fluff he is overpowered compared to any other chapter master.


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

Well there is some thought that he is the Knight in silver armour that falls to Slaanesh that's referanced in the Deamon Dex, even if it's not him I really hope not. His fluff is OTT drivel aimed at ADHD 12 year olds.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

He is cursed, not overpowered. 

This is Tzeentch's greater daemon's doing, he is trapped in the warp forever in the same manner as a daemon. Everything he accomplishes ultimately comes undone and is meaningless. 

The purpose is to test how long it takes for him to break. To Tzeentch, this is far more interesting than simply having him killed.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Serpion5 said:


> He is cursed, not overpowered.
> 
> This is Tzeentch's greater daemon's doing, he is trapped in the warp forever in the same manner as a daemon. Everything he accomplishes ultimately comes undone and is meaningless.


I do think that is what keeps Draigo from being truly overpowered. He will never achieve anything in the Warp, every victory over a Daemon is not a victory but merely an extension to his imprisonment, the passage of time has lost meaning and his existence has simply become an endless parade of meaningless fights and lonely treks through the Realm of Chaos.

At the moment I am not a fan of Draigo but this blog entry by LJ Goulding has made me consider the possibility that that could change.



LJ Goulding said:


> The Warhammer 40,000 universe is full of great characters. Most of them are larger than life. Almost all of them are taller than you. Especially the Space Marines.
> 
> For me, one of the most intriguing just has to be Kaldor Draigo. Throughout Codex: Grey Knights (not to mention the rest of the background!) the legendary deeds and feats of psychic prowess credited to him are almost beyond belief. But where some people perceive only the seemingly impossible, I see fantastic potential for an interesting narrative – where there’s a conflict or a contradiction, there’s usually a reason or an explanation for it in there, somewhere.
> 
> ...


I personally am interested to see if Goulding could make Draigo a more liked character, perhaps a book about Draigo's endless journey in hell. The idea behind Draigo is actually a good one imo, the lone warrior condemned to hell and fighting a never-ending war against the Daemonic that for him is simply staving off death every day and trying to survive another day, which in the Warp means little.


LotN


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## Chompy Bits (Jun 13, 2010)

I'm also in the boat with people who think his story is more tragic than anything else. Isolated, fighting a never ending battle through hell, a battle he knows he can't ultimately win. Everything he achieves is wiped out the moment he turns his back, all his efforts are inevitably futile. I don't know about you guys, but that sounds like a fucking rubbish existence to me. And he can't even do a Cartman and say "screw you guys, I'm going home", because he is _trapped_ in this existence for eternity. Kaldor Draigo is pretty much the monkey to Chaos's organ grinder right now, and Chaos is saying "dance, monkey, dance".


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

I for one as well find it rather tragic, and everything that brings back the Daemon Primarchs is a huge plus in my account! He is in the 12th Advent Day short, and a audio drama which feature himwill come in a close future.


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## HonorableMan (Apr 15, 2012)

Come on, he's Samurai Jack IN SPEHSS. If he came back, it would stop being interesting. 

Also, how the hell do you carve _Geronitan_ into someone's heart with a sword, especially if that someone is a daemon Primarch? That's a rather long name.


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

HonorableMan said:


> Come on, he's Samurai Jack IN SPEHSS. If he came back, it would stop being interesting.
> 
> Also, how the hell do you carve _Geronitan_ into someone's heart with a sword, especially if that someone is a daemon Primarch? That's a rather long name.


Well said. His background is tragic(ly stupid). He is simultaneously the most powerful warrior ever(?) and chaos's yoyo. The story of him and Mortarion is fairly ridiculous. Maybe the Emperor was powerful enough to do that, but Draigo doesn't only strain the credibility and suspension of disbelief he breaks it, with a mound of crap.


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## Achaylus72 (Apr 30, 2011)

NO, he is never to return he is a play thing to the Gods of Chaos.

Just a question, where does he get his ammunition from? i suspect Chaos Ammo R US.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Kreuger said:


> Well said. His background is tragic(ly stupid). He is simultaneously the most powerful warrior ever(?) and chaos's yoyo. The story of him and Mortarion is fairly ridiculous. Maybe the Emperor was powerful enough to do that, but Draigo doesn't only strain the credibility and suspension of disbelief he breaks it, with a mound of crap.


Hmm, really? Mortarion is a Daemon Prince, and as such is vulnerable to weapons and abilities that would be extra burny to daemons. Also, it isn't really just a case of Draigo vs Mortarion either. 

Keep in mind Mortarion had just fought the Grey Knights Grandmaster Geronitan, we have no way of knowing how damaged he already was. Grey Knights carry anti daemon weapons, are tattooed head to toe in anti daemon wards, and constantly recite anti daemon prayers in battle. Plus who knows how many anti daemon trinkets they could be carrying at any time. They also receive the best training the Imperium can provide, and are selected from the best warrior psyker physiologies humanity can produce. For Mortarion to defeat two such individuals in a row (not to mention who knows how many grey knight grunts he fought in between and beforehand) would have been quite impressive on his part. 

Given the circumstances, I don't really find the story all that ridiculous at all.


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

I respectfully disagree. 

In the heat of battle when Draigo takes his vengeance how can we envision this?

As it was mentioned earlier it's so cumbersome as to strain credibility. After slaying Geronitan and however many regular grey knights Mortarion is exhausted? Drained of power? And Draigo attacks.

How does Draigo hold this immensely powerful daemon primarch quiescent while he tears open his rib cage? 

Further how does he inscribe geronitan's name, rubber stamp, ballpoint pen, quill, power sword, or nemesis-force-pocket-knife? And then when it's all over he simply let's him go like an unwanted pet?

I find it highly questionable that the act of tearing Mortarion open and digging through his innards with a force weapon wasn't sufficient to banish him, or that Draigo could hold him and prevent him from dematerializing and returning to the warp if wanted to.

And again it's highly questionable if Mortarion has a physical heart (or any organs) at all which one might write a friend's name.


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

I've said it before, and until I hear something more plausible I'll stick to my guns. You have to take into consideration the sources of the stories being told in the Codices and the Index Astartes articles. Many of them don't strike me as what you would call "eye-witness accounts". In Draigo's case, a lot of sounds (purposefully, I would assume) as legend - not as something other Grey Knights have witnessed and recorded. The tone of the tale certainly changes after Draigo is stolen into the Warp. If that's the case, then who is to say to what degree the tale has been embellished, corrupted, or allegorized in the process of arriving to the Grey Knights?


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Kreuger said:


> I respectfully disagree. In the heat of battle when Draigo takes his vengeance how can we envision this?


Well this could just be failure of imagination on your part. Let's see. 



Kreuger said:


> As it was mentioned earlier it's so cumbersome as to strain credibility. After slaying Geronitan and however many regular grey knights Mortarion is exhausted? Drained of power? And Draigo attacks.


A daemon expends energy simply by being in the materium, it's why they are predominantly confined to the warp. When they became daemon princes, the chaos primarchs became subject to this weakness just as any daemon would. So it is entirely feasible that Mortarion could have been drained to some degree. Especially since he was fighting grey knights. 



Kreuger said:


> How does Draigo hold this immensely powerful daemon primarch quiescent while he tears open his rib cage?


Does it say that Draigo held him down? If Mortarion was already diminished it probably wasn't necessary. 



Kreuger said:


> Further how does he inscribe geronitan's name, rubber stamp, ballpoint pen, quill, power sword, or nemesis-force-pocket-knife? And then when it's all over he simply let's him go like an unwanted pet?


Whatever the method, it was probably that which ended up banishing him. Daemons are psychic beings, perhaps it was a psychic graffiti?  



Kreuger said:


> I find it highly questionable that the act of tearing Mortarion open and digging through his innards with a force weapon wasn't sufficient to banish him, or that Draigo could hold him and prevent him from dematerializing and returning to the warp if wanted to.


Daemons are resilient but still have weaknesses. Prayers, psychic (or anti psychic) abilities for instance. 



Kreuger said:


> And again it's highly questionable if Mortarion has a physical heart (or any organs) at all which one might write a friend's name.


Daemons are psychic beings. Like I said, it could well have been a psychic mark.


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## Chompy Bits (Jun 13, 2010)

I personally hold the opinion that all his apparently awesome feats is just Chaos really trolling him, trying to make him believe he is actually achieving something, giving him false hope. After all, it doesn't really cost them anything to screw around with him like that. Everything he does is ultimately undone again anyway.

The fact that he is supposedly so badass and powerful is _the whole point_. Chaos took the greatest warrior the Imperium could throw at it and turned him into a toy, simply there for the Chaos Gods' amusement. To me, it's the ultimate example of the futility of trying to defeat Chaos.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Phoebus said:


> I've said it before, and until I hear something more plausible I'll stick to my guns. You have to take into consideration the sources of the stories being told in the Codices and the Index Astartes articles. Many of them don't strike me as what you would call "eye-witness accounts". In Draigo's case, a lot of sounds (purposefully, I would assume) as legend - not as something other Grey Knights have witnessed and recorded. The tone of the tale certainly changes after Draigo is stolen into the Warp. If that's the case, then who is to say to what degree the tale has been embellished, corrupted, or allegorized in the process of arriving to the Grey Knights?


Dead on. This is exactly what I think about the Codex based lore, it is allegorical and mythic. Look at the quotes in the Codex from Guilliman and then look at him in the Horus Heresy, do you really think that he would have actually said something like this quote that is attributed to him.

*"Speak not to me of Abaddon, blackest of hearts, basest of fiends. Who else amongst the hosts of the traitors embraced damnation with such a fierce glee?"*

He sounds like a poet, and utterly unlike the Guilliman that the books actually depict.

And it's the same here. The GK Codex doesn't explain the battle very well, and I think that once it is fleshed out and real detail is given it will turn the battle from a joke into something quite good. And as to how Draigo immobilized Mortarion, I think he used some kind of holy one shot weapon. Like the vial of the Emperor's tears that Crowe used to sanctify the ground when he fought the Skulltaker. My own idea is a stake made from the Emperor's own armour, something that Draigo could only use once before it was destroyed.


LotN


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## AshArtKing (Nov 27, 2013)

Serpion5 said:


> Hmm, really? Mortarion is a Daemon Prince, and as such is vulnerable to weapons and abilities that would be extra burny to daemons. Also, it isn't really just a case of Draigo vs Mortarion either.
> 
> Keep in mind Mortarion had just fought the Grey Knights GrandmasterGeronitan, we have no way of knowing how damaged he already was. Grey Knights carry anti daemon weapons, are tattooed head to toe in anti daemon wards, and constantly recite anti daemon prayers in battle. Plus who knows how many anti daemon trinkets they could be carrying at any time. They also receive the best training the Imperium can provide, and are selected from the best warrior psyker physiologies humanity can produce. For Mortarion to defeat two such individuals in a row (not to mention who knows how many grey knight grunts he fought in between and beforehand) would have been quite impressive on his part.
> 
> Given the circumstances, I don't really find the story all that ridiculous at all.


I agree k:


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## MidnightSun (Feb 10, 2009)

Lord of the Night said:


> Look at the quotes in the Codex from Guilliman and then look at him in the Horus Heresy, do you really think that he would have actually said something like this quote that is attributed to him.
> 
> *"Speak not to me of Abaddon, blackest of hearts, basest of fiends. Who else amongst the hosts of the traitors embraced damnation with such a fierce glee?"*
> 
> He sounds like a poet, and utterly unlike the Guilliman that the books actually depict.


In case others don't have access to Heresy books, here's an example of his words in a similar situation:

_"Lorgar of Colchis. You may consider the following. One: I entirely rescind my previous offer of solemn ceasefire. It is cancelled, and will not be made again, to you or to any other of your motherless bastards. Two, you are no longer any brother of mine. I will find you, I will kill you, and I will hurl your toxic corpse into hell's mouth."_ - Guilliman, sending a vox to Lorgar during the war on Calth.

_"I will kill him. I will literally kill him. With my bare hands"_ - Guilliman, to Chapter Master Marius Gage, on Lorgar during the war on Calth.


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

MidnightSun said:


> _"Lorgar of Colchis. You may consider the following. One: I entirely rescind my previous offer of solemn ceasefire. It is cancelled, and will not be made again, to you or to any other of your motherless bastards. Two, you are no longer any brother of mine. I will find you, I will kill you, and I will hurl your toxic corpse into hell's mouth."_ - Guilliman, sending a vox to Lorgar during the war on Calth.


Love that quote! :good:


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## WrentheFaceless (Oct 25, 2013)

The Samurai Jack of 40k is probably the best comparison I've seen of Draigo.


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## Deadeye776 (May 26, 2011)

No, Kaldor Draigo is never coming back. To do so, we'd have to see into the future.


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