Kritislik



Kritislik, Seerlord of the Priesthood, is the current religious head of the Order of the Grey Seers and one of the greatest and most influential Seerlord within the Under-Empire. He is an ancient and powerful being within Skaven society, a Skaven who has lived for nigh thousands of years and has ever held the greatest seat within the Council fo Thirteen. Indeed, it is said that unlike other Skaven, who puts themselves above even their own god, the piety of Kritislik is legendary, for he is the only Skaven who would put himself second only to the wishes and demands of the Father of the Skaven race.

History
Very little is known about Kritislik, yet such mystery only aids in inflating the massive aura of power which clings to the greatest of the Horned Rat's chosen emissaries. What little is known about Kritislik was that he was Seerlord since the time of the Great War against Chaos. It was during the War that Clan Skyre reestablished their main stronghold within the confines of Skavenblight. In time, Clan Skyre assembled a mighty force of infernal devices and engines of destruction on a scale never before seen. It was with this gathering of newly developed apparatus that Chief Warlock Ikit Claw detected a strange rising of dark magical energies emanating from the far north. Dark omens abounded throughout the world, as Morrslieb -- the Chaos Moon -- hung low towards the earth, and showers of warpstone meteorites rained from the skies. Dark energies swept once more from the north, as the largest Chaos army ever assembled at that age and time gathered for the great slaughter that would engulf the lands of the Empire. Know to only a few within the Under-Empire, a great event was coming, and only Lord Morskittar was well prepared for the great ritual that the Grey Seers were plotting to unleash.

The Grey Seers visited every Skaven stronghold up and down the Under-way, and gave a single ultimatum -- be at the annual feast of Vermintide or suffer the wrath of the Great Horned Rat. The Grey Seers knew that this pitiful war must end, otherwise the dreams of World Domination that the Horned Rat has both gifted and demanded from his children would never been fulfilled. And so, the Grey Seers were to invoke a spell that would bring the Under-Empire to its knees in servitude towards the one true ruler of all Skavendom. Soon, entire clans made their way towards the great ceremony, while others, fearful of a trap, sent representatives of their clan to the gathering, but none dared to stay away altogether, for fear of their merciless god's wrath. For only the second time in their entire history, a member of each clan gathered at the footsteps of the Temple of the Great Horned Rat, to bear witness to the great ritual that was being performed.

The Great Summoning (2302 IC)
An atmosphere of fearful expectation could be smelt upon the assembled masses as the temple doors swung open and the full order of 169 Grey Seers filed out. Seerlord Kristislik was the last of the Thirteen Thirteens to step out, and with him carried a skin-bound book, from which he set upon an iron altar. As he spoke, leading the incantation, the very air seemed to twist and a distant ominous crackling could be heard as the grand ritual began to take shape. The Grey Seers picked up the chant and amplified their lord's voice. The intensity rose as they began the sacrifices. One by one, 169 slaves died in increasing agony, with the last one dying to the torments of the Seerlord himself. Their squeals of fear and pain reached out to the very bowels of creation where the Horned Rat gnawed at the roots of reason. The Great Bell tolled as the brooding skies began to darken and chains of lighting lashed out to illuminate the dreadful scene. Again and again rang the unholy bell, so impossibly loud that it drowned out the sounds of chanting and thunder alike. At the thirteenth toll the bell stopped, and an eerie silence filled the whole city.

In the sudden silence, the great Seerlord opened his jaw and screeched, as a massive cloud of vapor rose up and engulfed the very sky in its darkness. A titanic claw reached out from the void and ripped apart the very curtains of reality, and there he sat. With skin blacker than black, and two blood-red eyes as wide as castle gates, the Great Horned One stared out into the teeming masses of his own children. All in that city knew who they were staring at, and all knew that they are nothing but servants to their one and true ruler.

As one, the Skaven hordes fell prostrated, pressing their muzzles hard unto the cool stone, with some dropping dead from the dreadful sight. It was then that the titanic hand once more ripped through reality and reached out and scooped up a score of squealing Skaven. As his hand retreated, a score of massive yellow-fanged teeth flashed in the dark gloom as the Great Horned Rat consumed them whole. After his feast, the Horned One gazed out over his quailing children and reached out again and again. It was only after his final feasting that he withdrew his paw, and revealed to his children a gift. There standing at the very centre of the hordes laid a glowing pillar of the purest warpstone, with 13 sides, each marked by 13 blocks of glowing runes. These runes contained the unholy verminous commandments of ruination and the dictates of rulership, along with prophecies of the Great Ascendancy.

Then their lord and god, whispered to the assembled horde with a voice of a million scratching and gnawing rats. His dreaded voice spoke, and told them that their pitiful wars amused him greatly, but that this quarrelling must cease. He demanded that the Skaven must spread his corruption in order for the Skaven race to inherit the world and assure his full return. He demanded the reformation of the Council of Thirteen and swore that all must obey their commands or feel his eternal wrath. Only his favoured could touch the sacred pillar, and thus only the chosen ones could join the great Council. With his final commandments, the Horned One retreated back to the netherworld, with the crack within the fabric of reality narrowing and sealing behind him. Until finally, all was silent, their god was gone, and the horde stood silent and fearful.

The musk of fear hung heavy over the survivors as they blinked at the black pillar and reassured themselves that the Great Horned One had really been there and was really gone. Fear still gripped the teeming masses as they stared at the unholy sight, but to each of the Lords of Skavenblight, they knew that they must touch the pillar, in order for their ascendency towards the Council be assured. Lord Rakin was the first to touch the pillar. He burned with black fire until his corpse collapsed and only ashes remained. Over the long night, each Skaven Lord and Chieftain strode to the unholy pillar and places their paw upon the warp-encrusted stone. Many did not survive, as a multitude of the Ratlords burned with unholy fire, as the Horned One denied them as his chosen. Only twelve lived, with each of the Lords of Decay being imbued with an aura of dark magical energy, truly the blessing bestowed by the Horned Rat himself. From that day forward, the Council has remained unchanged. Many Skaven have touched the pillar and died. Some have survived, but none have the skill and courage to defeat the first Chosen of the Horned Rat. And so it came to pass that the Skaven were once more united under the rulership of the Thirteen.

Source

 * : Warhammer Armies: Skaven (7th Edition)
 * : pg. 25
 * : Thanquol and Boneripper: Grey Seer (Novel) by C.L Werner
 * : Chapter 2: Maze of Merciless Penance

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