Dragon Court

"These extreme leaders believe they and their members are the rightful and chosen rulers of mankind...born to rule by the purity of their blood"

- Vigor Verona, describing the Court The Imperial Royal Dragon Court is a European alchemical order and the main antagonists of Map of Bones by James Rollins. They are descended from German aristocrat Gnostics who were allowed to practice their beliefs in secret. They were always hidden within the Catholic Church, biding their time until their plans for revenge were ready.

The Court works to find ancient knowledge of how to purify perfect monatomic gold, allowing them to create a superconductor weapon that they will use to create a new world order.

Leaders:

 * The Grand Imperator
 * Baron Raoul de Sauvage

Soldiers:

 * Yaeger Grell
 * Renard
 * Bernard
 * Pelz
 * Kurt
 * an unknown number of henchmen

Allies:

 * Dr. Alberto Menardi
 * Seichan (later defected)

Biograpgy
The Dragon Court was founded on traditions of Gnosticism, alchemy, and world domination. They were declared legal by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor in the 15th century. Prior to this the Court managed to recruit members during the Western Papal Schism. One such family was the de Sauvages.

In the 21st century, Baron Raoul de Sauvage became the leader of the Court. 10 months before Map of Bones, his men in Cairo discovered writings about the purification of monatomic gold, a powerful substance known to the ancient greats to have amazing properties. With the help of Vatican ally Dr. Menardi, Raoul created a test formula of monatomic gold to be used as a weapon.

Modern Attacks:
The Dragon Court tests their new weapon by poisoning Communion wafers with it at a Mass in Cologne. Raoul and his men storm the cathedral and use electromagnet pulses to activate the gold, electrocuting most of the parishioners. While gunning down the survivors, Raoul steals the relic Bones of the Three Magi in the Church. In reality, these bones are monatomic gold sculptures crafted by ancient alchemists; the Court wishes to use them as weapons.

As a result of this attack, the Court finds itself pitted against Sigma Force, a covert U.S. Ops squad.

Trivia

 * Although Map of Bones states that the Dragon Court's "sovereignty is even recognized by the EU, similar to the Knights of Malta," there is no real life Dragon Court. While Nicholas de Vere, a real-life deceased writer, claimed to be the leader of a "Dragon Court," his claims are regarded as fringe conspiracy or roleplay online and never achieved public recognition. This is further shown in sites like www.dragoncourt.net, which are alchemical mystic sites and not an actual fraternal order as depicted by James Rollins