Dawnbringer
Dawnbringer was a warhammer of such prodigious size, it was only capable of being lifted by a Primarch and was the personal weapon of the Salamanders Legion's Primarch Vulkan. It was considered indestructible and when wielded by Vulkan, it was capable of sundering any defense set against it and brutally crushed countless foes, who faced the Primarch in battle.[1]
Dawnbringer was originally forged by Vulkan as a gift for Horus upon his rise to Warmaster. However upon meeting Horus, Vulkan sensed a darkness within him, and neglected to give the Warmaster the hammer.[2] Vulkan told Forgefather T'kell that he originally forged Dawnbringer as a gift to Horus after he captured Konrad Curze following his murder of his home planet Nostromo. Horus then placed Curze's rehabilitation in Vulkan's care. When Curze caused problems during the Compliance of Kharaatan, Vulkan knew he had to speak to Horus. By then, Horus was Warmaster and turned, and mocked Vulkan openly while thanking him for making Curze into a mighty weapon of terror. This greatly unsettled Vulkan and prompted him to destroy the hammer along with his other artefacts. However, he decided to spare 7 of them, and he took the hammer with him to Isstvan V to confront the traitors.[3]
When Vulkan was captured by Curze, Dawnbringer was brought aboard the Nightfall and placed in the center of its deathtrap-filled maze as a way to lure Vulkan through it. Vulkan was able to recover the hammer before revealing to Curze that it contained a hidden Teleporter, and he used it to escape the Nightfall and end up above Macragge[2a]. Dawnbringer survived entering Macragge's atmosphere, and was used again by Vulkan as he confronted Curze on its surface. When Vulkan was apparently slain by the Fulgurite, Dawnbringer was placed upon his chest within the Unbound Flame.[5] After his resurrection on Nocturne, Vulkan took up the newly constructed hammer Urdrakule instead.[6]
Source
- 1: The Horus Heresy Book Two - Massacre, pg. 251
- 2: Vulkan Lives (Novel) by Nick Kyme
- 2a: Chapter 31
- 3: Artefacts (Short Story) by Nick Kyme
- 4: The Hunt for Vulkan (Novel) by David Annandale Chapter 9
- 5: The Unremembered Empire (Novel) - Chapter 24
- 6: Old Earth (Novel) - Chapter 1
