Adrastapol - Notable Campaigns: Betrayal of Houses Hydrax and Medusos (Unknown Date.M31) - Following the glorious expansion of the Imperium of Man during the Great Crusade, Adrastapol becomes one of the countless battlefields of the Horus Heresy when both House Hydrax and House Medusos declare for the Warmaster Horus Lupercal. Waging a war of conquest on their former brothers-in-arms, High King Rhoderic Tan Chimaeros leads an alliance of the remaining Loyalist Houses against the Traitors of Houses Hydrax and Medusos, annihilating them.First Ork War (Unknown Date.M41) - Initially known as "The Ork Wars", this first invasion of Adrastapol by xenos was recently renamed in the wake of the Second Ork War. Unprepared for an attack on their world, the Nobles struggled to respond adequately to the invasion of WAAAGH! Skarjaw. Belonging to one of the most savage and feral tribes of his race, an off-shot of the Snakebites klan, Skarjaw and his Greenskins rode to battle on towering warbeasts known as Squiggoths, great beasts which can easily pose a threat to Imperial Knights. The defenders of Adrastapol became painfully aware of this fact when House Manticos' ancestral home and fortress were destroyed by the invaders. Under the aegis of House Chimaeros, the remaining Knight Houses revived their ancient alliance and met the Orks on the field of battle. Much to its shame, the Knights of House Pegasson failed to stop Skarjaw's progress towards the Draconspire, the mighty fortress of House Draconis. With many House Draconis' Nobles in the field, the Draconspire was left virtually undefended. Only Squires and a handful of Knights residing there under the authority of Gatekeeper Tolwyn Tan Draconis remained. Recognising that if Skarjaw attacked, the Draconspire would fall, the young Gatekeeper decided to launch a suicidal attack on the Greenskins in the hope of slaying Skarjaw and thus fracturing the WAAAGH!. Bolstering his meager forces with several dozen Squires who were forced to take their Ritual of Becoming early, Tolwyn Tan Draconis took to the field and completely surprised the Orks. Warlord Skarjaw and his personal Squiggoth mount were slain and Skarjaw's underlings began to fight amongst themselves for leadership of the WAAAGH!. Although the remaining Orks were leaderless, it took several Terran years to track and eradicate the Greenskin survivors of the First Ork War, many of whom turned feral and scattered. The Knights of Adrastapol mercilessly hunted down the remaining Orks and Squiggoths until their homeworld was declared purged from the xenos filth which had tainted it.Donatos War (Unknown Date.M41) - The Donatos War holds a special place within the chronicles of House Draconis both for the heavy toll it took upon the Adrastapolian Knights and for the glory they gained in bringing this rebellious world back to loyalty to the Emperor. Through the laxity of its rulers, Chaos Cults had taken power on the Industrial World of Donatos Primus, overthrowing the Imperial planetary government in place and killing the local planetary governor with the help of Chaos' most dangerous warriors: a warband of Chaos Space Marines. Seeking to further his own goals, the enemy leader -- the Word Bearers Dark Apostle Varakh'Lorr -- led his Word Bearers to fight the remaining Loyalist regiments of the Donatosian Planetary Defence Forces and the incorruptible Adeptus Arbites. While vastly outnumbered, the Loyalists were able to hold some cities and to issue a general call for aid before astrotelepathic communication broke off. The Imperium acted with uncustomary swiftness, despatching a sizeable army of Astra Militarum regiments under the general command of High King Tolwyn Tan Draconis of Adrastapol. Hailing from such different worlds as Cadia, Mubraxis and Tanhollis, these regiments of the Imperial Guard would support the gathered might of no less than six houses of Imperial Knights: the high king's own household, House Draconis, and its allies from Houses Minotos, Chimaeros, Pegasson, Wyvorn and Manticos. After initial success that left the Imperial forces ready to strike at the very heart of the enemy's strength, the Imperial reconquest of Donatos Primus was put in jeopardy when fully half the contingent of Imperial Knights turned Renegade and followed Viscount Gerraint Tan Chimaeros into secession. Visibly in league with the Word Bearers, the Renegade Knights of Houses Chimaeros, Wyvorn and Manticos turned their guns upon their former allies who only escaped total destruction by the heroic sacrifice and tactical accumen of High King Tolwyn. To oppose Gerraint's claim to the throne, the Loyalist survivors chose Tolwyn's son and designated heir, Danial Tan Draconis, as their new king. Danial was a young Knight many saw as unfit for the task ahead. With barely 50 Knights remaining out of several hundred, the remaining Imperial Knights could not assault their enemies head-on but needed to tread carefully. A limited counterattack turned into another disaster as House Chimaeros succeeded through duplicity and Chaos sorcery in leading the remaining survivors into another ambush that proved equally murderous. Left with little more than two dozen Knights, High King Danial finally assumed the true mantle of the high king of Adrastapol and led his Knights in a desperate but ultimately successful second assault on the Valle Electrum which eliminated all the enemy commanders and paved the way for ultimate Imperial victory.Salvation of Dakhera II (Unknown Date.M41) - While still recovering from the losses of the Donatos War, the Knights of Adrastapol sent aid to the beleaguered world of Dakhera II. Led by First Knight Jennika Tan Draconis, five lances of Draconis Knights as well as four lances from House Pegasson and a single lance from House Minotos annihilated the pirates preying on this defenceless world. Assault on Pyrodiah (Unknown Date.M41)- The Imperial planet of Pyrodiah was revealed to be a Necron Tomb World when undying Necron Warriors emerged and laid siege to major settlements across the planet. A force of Knights from House Draconis on Adrastapol responded to eliminate the Necrons alongside Space Marines of the Deathwatch and regiments of the Mordian Iron Guard. While a Deathwatch Kill-team infiltrated the Necrons' tomb complex to plant purgatory warheads to destroy the Necron's central control systems, four lances of Knights commanded by First Knight Jennika Tan Draconis fought their way through to the fortress-cathedrum of the planetary governor, Juliandros Beatifica, to evacuate her. Kill Team Azkarael, led by the Dark Angels Deathwatch Watch Captain Azkaerel, succeeded in destroying the Necrons' main tomb complex, while the House Draconis Knights were able to fight their way through the Necron phalanxes and extract the planetary governor, bringing her before the Segmentum Command so she could answer for her incompetence in leading the defence of the world.Second Ork War (Unknown Date.M41) - Barely five standard years after the successful conclusion of the Donatos War, Adrastapol was invaded by the hordes of WAAAGH! Killfist. The Ork Warlord Gorgrok Killfist of the Deathskulls klan was a far cry from the savage Skarjaw responsible for the First Ork War. Great Ork combat walkers, from Gorkanauts and Morkanauts to Stompaz and even Gargants, marched behind hordes of Orks in blue warpaint; whole squadrons of captured Imperial tanks kicked up dust alongside the Orks' own ramshackle creations. While High King Danial Tan Draconis' attempt to modernise the planetary defences and infrastructure of Adrastapol had considerably bolstered his world's defences, the reluctance of House Minotos to comply with these initiatives left the Knight World vulnerable. Given fair warning of the Orks' arrival by the unexpected appearance of Inquisitor Tane Massata of the Ordo Malleus, the defenders mustered themselves for war and evacuated the countryside. While their actions inflicted significant casualties on the Orks, the Knight Houses soon found themselves cut off from each other and beleaguered in their primary fortresses. As the Greenskins landed in greater numbers, the Knights' secondary fortresses either had to be evacuated or were overrun. First House Minotos, then House Draconis were forced to fall back to the safety of their ancestral keeps, the Iron Maze and the Draconspire, both of which quickly come under siege. Defending the highlands and the mountainous plateaus of the Adraspotine Mountains, House Pegasson fared little better. It was then that the Knight of Ashes returned to Adrastapol. Leading a small band of Freeblade Knights, Luk Kar Chimaeros found the Draconspire already beleaguered but managed to briefly contact his friend High King Danial Tan Draconis. Tasked with lifting the siege of the Draconspire, the Knight of Ashes and his small army travelled to the seat of House Pegasson, the Eyrie, where they were received by Marchioness Lauret Tan Pegasson. Quelling the dissensions within her own Exalted Court, the Marchioness agreed to personally accompany the Knight of Ashes and pledged the support of her 50 Imperial Knights and the entire Pegasson Air Force, reputedly the finest pilots on Adrastapol. Using House Pegasson's fleet of heavy bulk-landers to transport their Knights to the lands of House Minotos, the Imperial reinforcements reached the Iron Maze, just as the Orks penetrated its outer defences. Disembarking on Heroes' Ridge, a tall hill overlooking the Ironfields, Marchioness Lauret led her Knights in a daring shock-assault, trapping the Orks between her force and the walls of the Iron Maze whilst her household air force made sure the Orks could not escape the hammer and the anvil. Despite heavy casualties, by the end of the afternoon the siege of the Iron Maze was lifted and the victorious Knights of House Minotos, humbled by the support of House Pegasson and the determination of the Knight of Ashes, joined the counterattack. Redeployed swiftly with the help of the Pegasson Air Force, both Houses attacked Killfist's great horde as it lay siege to the Draconspire where Imperial resistance was on the verge of collapse. Just as the Knight of Ashes and the Adrastapolian Knights launched their attacks, Killfist's personal retinue of Meganobz broke through the final ring of fortifications. The Ork warlord and the high king clashed in the Draconispire's throne room. While Danial Tan Draconis ultimately killed the Ork Warlord, this was only possible because the Knight of Ashes had broken through and routed the Orks in the throne room. While House Pegasson and House Minotos pinned the enemy's reserve in place, the surviving House Draconis Knights mounted up and led the final counter-charge which defeated the Orks' super-heavy reserves and routed the horde. Although follow-up operations lasted for well over a Terran year, Adrastapol was saved on that day and a new unity of purpose was forged between the three victorious Houses.