Dragon Ogre

Dragon Ogres, also known in the old tongue as Shartaks, Sharunocks or Garthors, are creatures which appear in Games Workshop’s Warhammer Fantasy universe.

Description
Standing at least twice the height of a full-grown man, Dragon Ogres are enormous monsters with the torso of a heavily-muscled man and the lower body of a dragon or great lizard, in much the same way as a centaur. They are possessed of prodigious strength and durability, are completely immune to lightning (indeed, they thrive upon its rejuvenating power), and will never truly die unless killed in battle.

The Dragon Ogres were in existence long before the Tribes of Man first made their homes in the Old World, and some say that they existed even before the fall of the Old Ones opened the great polar Chaos Gates and unleashed their warping influence upon the world. As one of the oldest races in the world, they have maintained a rivalry with the Dragons of the Warhammer World since time immemorial. It is said that during the greatest thunderstorms over the World’s Edge Mountains, these creatures can be seen battling each other from the highest peaks, hurling great boulders at one another in an effort to claim dominance over all others of their kind.

It should be noted that whilst Dragon Ogres are beings in the service of Chaos, unlike most such creatures they are rarely seen to possess any of the mutations gifted to the other creatures who call those powers their masters. Whether this is due to their ancient pact with the Dark Gods is unknown.

History
Many long years ago, after the Polar Gates opened and Chaos spewed forth into the Warhammer World, the Dragon Ogre race was in decline. Fewer and fewer were being hatched during each birthing, and their war with the Great Drakes was causing their numbers to decline almost to the point of extinction. To this end, they made a pact with the Powers of Chaos: they would serve these Dark Gods in exchange for immortality, and the survival of their species. Since that day, the Dragon Ogres have put themselves at the command of the Chaos Gods, fighting alongside their mortal armies whenever needed.

However, their immortality has given them a tendency to drop into a deep sleep between battles, and only the mighty storms sent by the Chaos Gods are capable of awakening a Dragon Ogre from its deep slumber. During these periods, Dragon Ogres can be seen stirring from their mountain lairs, powerful bodies stretching and tendons cracking as they make their way to the tallest mountaintops in order to bathe themselves in the invigorating bolts of lightning which grant them the power to march forth and do battle in the service of their evil masters.

Shaggoths
These beings are the individual Dragon Ogres which once bartered with the Chaos Gods themselves for the future of their race. Ancient beyond belief and even more powerful than their descendants with a great mane of bushy hair (hence their name), Shaggoths are said to be able to grow to colossal sizes, with the oldest - a creature known as Krakanrok the Black - said to have grown as large as a small mountain. Thus it is fortunate for the mortal races indeed that these entities can only be awakened to do battle rarely, and even then only during times when the Chaos Gates vomit forth their magic in full flood.

Ancient prophecy tells that when the End Times come, a storm of such magnitude will be visited upon the world that these fell beings will awaken with lightning in their eyes and vent their full fury upon those who oppose the will of Chaos.