Khorne

"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"

- Khornate Battlecry

Khorne, known also as the Blood God and the Lord of Battles is the mighty and terrible Chaos God of War, Death, Courage, Strength, Wrath, Rage and Hate. His domain encompasses the most basic and brutal of sentient emotion and every act of killing is said to empower Him, the more vicious and bloodthirsty, the better. Khorne is Lord of war and death, but also Lord of martial honour and excellence at arms. He is said to smile upon feats of valour and blood-drenched warrior skill, and he is the patron of proud warriors who set themselves against great foes and who succeed against the odds through strength and skill. Khorne is said to exalt the brave of both sides of the battle while laying his terrible vengeance upon the cowardly and craven. Thus, a man who puts his faith in Khorne is just as likely to be an honourable warrior as he is a blood-crazed killer. Perhaps he will be both at the same time. The warriors of Khorne, though gore-maddened berserkers, take no sadistic approach to killing. For such decadent actions serve only to praise and empower Slaanesh, the honourless adversary of Khorne amongst the company of the gods, and also because all devotees of Khorne believe it is the right of any warrior to die an honourable death with sword or axe in hand. Khorne is the eldest and mightiest of the Gods of Chaos.

Khorne is known by a thousand, thousand names in the North. He is known as Kharnath, Akhar, Kjorn, Khorgar, the Axefather, the Bloodfather, the Bloodwolf and the Wolf-Father, as well as an uncounted number of other titles. The Blood God is worshiped by almost every tribe in the North, for the Northmen are warrior-peoples who exalt in the contest of arms. Particularly the Norscans, who most eagerly of all embrace Khorne's call to eternal warfare.

In the sagas of the North, Khorne is depicted as an raging, mightily thewed giant with the snarling head of a great wolf, clad in brass plate that easily turns aside any blow. His lupine head is concealed by a great winged helmet and he clutches a massive battleaxe or greatsword in his fist. Legends tell that the drawing of this dolorous weapon is the harbinger of calamity and that Khorne can split asunder reality itself with the merest strike of this blade were it his desire. Upon his fingers he bears brass rings upon which are mounted the skulls of lesser, usurper war-gods, and his terrible bellows of rage echo throughout creation and shake entire worlds to their core.

Khorne sits upon his Brass Throne atop an unimaginably tall mountain of skulls. Grizzly trophies having reaped since before creation was born and taken from members of every race. Their number is beyond counting, for every moment, the mountain grows taller as Khorne's warriors make bloody tithes to it, whether by the foes they slay in battle or by themselves slain. The mountain is said to reflect the bloodletting of mortal realms, forever feeding the already omnipotent Blood God, but never sating his infinite thirst for death. For Khorne cares not from whence blood flows, only that it flows, without cease, for all eternity. It is said, however, that Khorne welcomes his servants who died in battle into his Halls, where they are said to fight on for all eternity under the Blood God's gaze. To bring these warriors into his fold, Khorne has charged his servant, the Daemon Prince Valkia the Bloody, to descend onto the battlefield with every dawn and carry them to his gore-soaked realm. This unimaginable reward drives the grim warriors of North who serve Khorne to even greater heights of bloodthirsty strength in battle, for to enter the Halls of Khorne is a reward without equal.

Khorne is said to favour wolves as his sacred animal, for the wolf respects only strength and longs after the scent of blood. Thus, wolves and hounds often bear strong association with Khorne, particularly amongst the Norse. It is perhaps for this reason that the Flesh-Hounds of Khorne tend to take on a lupine aspect when hunting in the mortal realms. Other totemic beasts of Khorne are invariably ones of power and strength, such as lions, powerful hunting hounds, and even oxen.

The code of Khorne is a simple stricture: blood and death. His only commandment is that his followers kill and wage war without end. Every life taken in anger increases the Blood God's baleful power, and as a result, Khorne is said to look favourably upon warriors who slay even their own comrades in arms -- for all death is equal in Khorne's eyes. Amongst the devotees of Khorne, it is said that if a man lets a single day pass without battle and blood, he has wasted the day, and will incur the wrath of the Blood God. Thus, those champions of Chaos highest in Khorne's favour are despised and feared by even their fellow servants of Chaos.

While a god of wanton death and destruction, Khorne is said to have inherited a savage code of martial honour, ultimately believing the weak and helpless to be unworthy of even his scorn as well as mercy. The battle cry of the Warriors of Khorne reflects their god's love for wanton violence: "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!" they cry while in the thick of the brutal, bloody combat that they so crave. Followers of degenerate Slaanesh are effete weaklings without honour, and the devotees of Tzeentch are book-bound cowards unwilling to engage in honest battle. Khorne's sacred number is eight, and this is reflected in the organization of his armies, as well as in more esoteric matters, like the number of syllables in a daemonic creature's name. Also note that the Mark of Khorne very vaguely resembles a stylized eight.

The Lord of Rage
Khorne is the Blood God. Eternal father and inheritor of all rage. The Lord of Battles, who sits resplendent in his fury atop the colossal Throne of Skulls, amidst the endless ocean of blood within his great hall of brass. Khorne is the absolute and ultimate embodiment of murderous violence, and his influence touches the hearts of all creatures. For who amongst those who have lived and died can say they have never used his tools of strength and wrath? Who amongst living and dead can claim not to have rejoiced in his rage? The lynchpins of life are death, blood and anger, and what are Khorne's domains but the same? All life arrives in the world in his colours, just as every infant's first instinct is to cry out in rage. Each meal is brought by his means, and in that act there can be nothing but hate. If not of life, then certainly of death.

Thus it is that Khorne is the greatest and most overtly powerful of the Chaos Gods, for Khorne is eternal and ever-present. It is Khorne who drives the hordes of the North to war, it is Khorne who glimmers in the eye of the killer and he partakes of blood and battle, it is to Khorne the warrior shouts his wordless battle-cry when the red mist is upon him. His influence permeates all spheres of conflict, from the bitter argument between two priests, to the earth-shattering wars waged by the races of the Old World. All cultures, not just the hard warriors of the northlands, pay homage to him, whether they know it or not. Indeed, some scholars of heretical knowledge believe that the Elven god, Khaine, is but the Blood God Khorne in one of his multitudinous facets. Similarly, radical members of the Sigmarite cult claim the same of mighty Ulric, another bloodthirsty god of war. These fools prove ignorant of the greater truth however: That Khorne needs neither deceit nor guile to enslave mortals to his cause. The drive to conquer and dominate exists and burns in all creatures, and it is in that molten core of violence that the hand of Khorne reaches out to bring them into his service. Others turn to Khorne, unwittingly or not, to fulfill ambitions and desires. The militiaman who desires strength enough to repel his enemies so that he might see his wife and child again, the aging knight wishes the strength of his youth still coursed through his veins -- all are ultimately trapped in the grasp of the God of War.

Khorne's love of death and destruction is a divine force all on its own. He desires only killing and the perpetuation of conflict. The Blood God puts none of his ineffable will into any activity that does not result in the shedding of blood. His lands in the Realm of Chaos are cracked and barren expanses, lifeless save for the rushing rivers of blood fed by the constant battling of his chosen warriors throughout his domain. These warriors fight throw themselves into battle for the favour of Khorne -- for the Blood God cares not from whence blood flows or from where skulls are sacrificed, only that they are taken in his glorious name. Every dawn in Khorne's realm, these warriors arise again to do battle, all for the glory of Khorne.

Khorne dwells within the thatched halls of his mighty Brass Fortress. His cavernous throne room is held aloft by eight grand pillars inscribed with his wrathful commandments of martial prowess and defiance. At his side are the wolf-like Flesh Hounds, including the mighty three-headed Karanak. Some heretical scholars have described these creatures as being a bodyguard to the Blood God, but this could not be further from the truth. To Khorne, they are merely pets and hunting companions, for the Blood God has never been bested in mortal combat and thus requires no protection. Even were another one of the gods to breach the confines of his great hall, Khorne alone would emerge triumphant; such is his infinite strength and skill. The fortress itself rises many leagues into the bleeding sky, surrounded by a great moat of burning blood, filled with the souls of coward who abandoned their brothers in the midst of battle, whilst the blackened brass of the walls are wrought with monstrous carvings, depicting the infinite triumphs and rage of the occupant within.

Warriors of Khorne
"By Kharnath's blood! Let me die with a sword in my hand!"

- Broendulf, Chaos Marauder Khorne is a Warrior God, and a clear patron for a warrior race such as the Northmen. He is perceived as an angry, raging god who rewards bloodthirsty feats of arms, and whose bellows of rage echo throughout all existence. He is the embodiment of the mortal desire to kill, sitting upon his dreadful throne of carven brass atop his mountain of skulls; representing both his unmatched lust for death and unapproachable mastery over all spheres of conflict. The followers of Khorne are a brutal lot, merciless, they kill for the love of killing. They are always ferocious and brilliant warriors, albeit unstable and often uncontrollable ones. As Khorne condemns the use of trickery and magic as dishonourable, there are no wizards who entreat the Blood God. Indeed, were a caster of spells to beseech Khorne for power, he would likely strike be down in an unspeakably brutal manner. Instead, the servants of Khorne count amongst their number Warrior-Priests known as Bloodfathers, their power being not of magic or spell, but of strength of sinew and steel. Amongst the men of the North, it is said that no man can best a Warrior-Priest in battle -- for there is no trick of sword and axe that Khorne has not revealed unto them. The servants of Khorne, for all their single-minded purity of purpose, can often have highly varied appearances. However, all them share some common qualities. To prove themselves before their god, each man must already have proven himself on the battlefield and paid a mighty tithe of skulls at his altar. Thus, these men are possessed of great strength and courage, but this is not through grace of the soul, but through their dark bloodlust and their fervent desire to appease their hungry god.

Khorne maintains a titanic following amongst the people of the Northlands. For life in the far north is harsh and brutal, so utterly filled with war and violence that it is only prudent that the people there take a war god for their patron. Most notably, there are none more dedicated to Khorne's will than the bloodthirsty Norscans. Indeed, anyone living in the northern territories of the Empire has likely seen first-hand how the rage of Khorne has transformed the already fearsome Marauders from above the Sea of Claws into living engines of destruction that could cut an oak tree in two with a single sweep of their axes. Whenever the fur-clad warriors of the Norse emerge from their longships, their only desire may be to kill, maim and destroy in the name of their Blood God. Indeed, many tribes of Norsca embrace Khorne fully, dedicating themselves utterly to his creed of death and ruin -- the Gorehunt, Snaegr, Schwarzvolf, Blood-Drinkers, Skraevold, Ironpelt and Aeslings, all mighty tribes of Norsca who fight in the name of Khorne. Crying his black name, willing themselves up into such a furious rage that they bite their shields and gnash their teeth before throwing themselves into the fray with vicious abandon and slaying all foolish enough to oppose them, the blood-crazed Khornate berserkers of Norsca are truly ferocious opponents and many have been undone by their hand.

There are no temples dedicated to Khorne, for it is said amongst his followers that he cares not for such things. His temple is the battlefield, the clashing of sword and axe his hymns, the wordless battle-cries of rage made by warriors as they charge the enemy lines his litany. However, there do exist a multitude of small shrines dedicated to his glory, albeit fewer than one would expect, given his legions of followers and they are more often than not simply mounds of skulls reaped from the battlefield. Most of these shrines are located in the settlements of the Norscans, unsurprisingly, given their zealous worship of the Blood God. But some also exist in the few permanent encampments and hidden cities of the Hung and Kurgans. Indeed, it is often said that Khorne is the easiest of the Dark Gods to worship. Or at least the most simple; for where the veneration of the others requires the building of great, soaring temples and complex ritual, Khorne is worshiped solely through battle -- the lives taken in vicious combat themselves sacrifices to his glory.

Those who excel in Khorne's faith receive his daemonic blessings -- mutation. These alterations almost always serve to increase the deadliness of the recipient, bestowing incredible strength or a beast-like visage. Indeed, the greatest of Khorne's servants sometimes ascend to daemonhood, such as Urlfdaemonkin, or Valkia the Bloody. Those who bear the Mark of Khorne, the daemonic stigmata of his favour, become true terrors of the battlefield, consumed with the desire to seek out worthy foes and slay them in savage combat, even if they be fellow servants of Khorne. For the Blood God look most well of all upon those who sacrifice friend and enemy alike upon his altar. The Mark of Khorne fills the warrior with the merest portion of Khorne's rage, and this alone is enough to propel them into battle as if they have become possessed. Warriors bearing the Mark of Khorne are invariably more muscular and powerful than any other servant of Chaos, and have some outward sign of their blessing; such as a scar that eternally weeps blood, the reddening of the whites or pupils of their eyes, or perhaps they shall have Khorne's rune branded onto their flesh.

Invariably however, the mutations of the Blood God are displayed proudly by the Norscans, as well as the other races of the north who worship the Blood God. Serving as a vivid reminder of the Blood God's existence and as an inspiration to those who are yet to win his dark favour.

Manifestation
Devotees of Khorne believe that their god's brass throne sits atop a mountain of skulls amidst a sea of boiling blood within his great hall of blackened brass. Each skull of the mountain is a grizzly trophy of a champion victorious, or the remains of a champion defeated. The mountain is said to grow ever higher with the warfare of the mortal worlds. In the stygian shadow of the eaves of the Hall, it is said that there rests a mighty anvil, where the furnace-daemons forge mighty weapons, armour and other artefacts for the favoured followers of Khorne.

No creature could look upon Khorne in his full, terrible aspect and survive. Such is the horror of his mien. There do, however, exist depictions of Khorne from the legends of the Norse and others that tend to portray him as an impossibly muscular figure of titanic stature, clad in bronze armour of intricate design capable of turning aside any blow. His visage is said to be that of a snarling wolf superimposed upon a human form, and is enclosed by a great winged helm. At his side rests a great rune-covered battleaxe or sword; this terrible weapon is known variously as the Warmaker or the End of All Things and is said to be capable of rending asunder reality itself and laying waste to worlds with a single strike.

Rivalry
Khorne despises the other gods of Chaos with a passion. Particularly Slaanesh, who is his diametric opposite amongst the gods. The self-indulgent sensuality of the Prince of Pleasure is an anathema to the warrior-code of Khorne. Just as Khorne's doctrine of honour, duty and self-sacrifice is the bane of Slaanesh's dogma of self-indulgent pleasure seeking. As a result, the daemonic servants of Khorne and Slaanesh are quick to engage each other in battle, and their mortal counterparts are no less eager in that respect. As for Slaanesh himself, he can never hope to withstand Khorne in battle, for the Blood God is the oldest and greatest of all the Powers of Chaos while Slaanesh is the youngest and weakest. It is thus clear that any confrontation the Darkling Prince were to make with the Axefather would end with the former much worse off. Indeed, Slaanesh was once maneuvered by Tzeentch into waging a war with Khorne, which led to Slaanesh's humiliation at the Blood God's hand, in his own rage, Slaanesh is said to have cursed his own servants to damnation, no doubt doubly amusing the mighty Blood God.

Khorne has little respect for Tzeentch, the Trickster God. Seeing the Raven as a coward and weakling, little better than Slaanesh. This is no doubt caused by the Blood God's antipathy for sorcery, which Tzeentch is lord of. While Tzeentch could never hope to stand against Khorne's fury, the Trickster possesses his own abilities and mastery which allow him to stand on an almost level playing field with the god of war. Though Khorne is undoubtedly the strongest of the gods, Tzeentch does not conduct himself fairly, being the most subtle and maddening of the Chaos Gods. Though the Changer delights in taunting and baiting Khorne, he knows not to draw his ire too greatly, for the vengeance the Blood God would wreak would be horrible indeed, and is more quick to flee from any martial altercations with the Lord of Skulls than to play into his hands by challenging him, as any physical battle between the two would no doubt end for the worst for the Changer. Whenever the Blood God attempts to strike, Tzeentch flees from the field of battle and melts into the shadows, no doubt infuriating Khorne all the more.

Nurgle is abhorrent to Khorne also. Though not quite to the extent of Slaanesh. The Crow God sits and waits in pestilence and, if it were his way, would happily fester unmoving for aeons while waiting for his schemes to come to fruition. Nurgle is quite happy for his followers to avoid direct combat, content for them simply to spread his plagues. To Khorne, such an approach is the epitome of cowardice and weakness, and does not have the honour of bloody combat. The Axefather revels in direct action, while Nurgle favours passivity. The corpulent slovenliness of Nurgle runs counter to the vital, active aspect of Khorne. Nurgle believes that his will shall be realized by the careful building and stewardship of his blessings, whereas the Blood God cares only for destruction.

Daemonic Servants of Khorne
The daemons of Khorne are much like their god: raging, bloodthirsty and incomparably deadly. Even the least of their number is a truly terrible foe. Whether this is down to their being skilled warriors, raging beasts, or even both. It is a terrible fate for a mortal man to face a daemon in battle, and it is even moreso when the daemon is of Khorne's vile pantheon, for their overriding purpose as dealers of violent death is only all too obvious.

The Daemons of Khorne are their god in microcosm - unrelenting embodiments of fury and bloodthirsty martial pride.


 * Valkia the Bloody: Foremost amongst the number of the dread lords of Chaos who follow the Blood God is this fell warrior-queen of Norsca - Valkia the Bloody. Known also as the Shield-Maiden of Khorne, she is said to be the paramour of the wrathful war-god. Khorne is not known for his affections - his passions being chiefly of rage, hate and bloodthirst. Yet the sagas of the Norse teach that he looks upon her with something approaching fondness, this warrior he returned from the dead to carry out his will. Valkia is charged by her master to descend onto the battlefield each dawn and to pay more tithes to his throne of bones, and also to choose those warriors who will fight on in his halls after their death. When Valkia arrives onto the battlefield in her armour of dripping gore and bearing her barbed spear Slaupnir, the warriors of Chaos who honour Khorne fight with even greater vigour, for they know the Blood God watches them, testing their strength, judging their worth, and that to kill forever in his realm is a prize beyond all measure.


 * Urlfdaemonkin: Another great daemonic servant of Khorne, and one of his mightiest champions in former life, Urlfdaemonkin, born as Urlf, was once a chieftain of the Snaegr tribe of Norsca - ardent worshipers of Khorne and savage warriors who are the scourge of all southern lands. Urlf was reckoned to be the greatest warrior and leader amongst them, and was raised up to daemonhood by Khorne for his strength. Urlf became venerated by his tribesmen as a lesser daemon-god of Chaos in his own right, and he is summoned by his tribesmen under the moon of his ascension to bestow the blessings of Khorne upon the acting chieftain, on the eve before the warriors of the Hall of the Snaegr take to the south to harvest great tithes of blood and skulls for the Blood God.


 * Bloodthirsters: Bloodthirsters are not only the greatest of Khorne's daemonic creations, but also the greatest of daemonkind entire. Virtual gods of war, they stride the battlefield, their axes meting out death and ruination with even the least of strikes. It is the fury of war given form, the unfettered primal rage of the world made manifest. Such is to be expected of a creature whose only master is the ultimate god of bloodletting, slaughter and murder. A Bloodthirster's iron hard flesh is covered in coarse fur and brass armour, slick with the blood of innumerable victims. The face of the Bloodthirster is like that of a snarling hound, a visage alive with horrific savagery. In one hand it bears an ensorcelled axe that thirsts after death and slaughter, and the other hand it holds a long, barbed lash that can flay away the flesh from a victim's bones with a single crack.


 * Bloodletters: Khorne's Chosen, the Naked Slayers, the Takers of Skulls. These are the lesser daemonic creatures of the Khornate pantheon, deadly warriors believed to have been the foremost of Khorne's mortal warriors in life and whose will is as implacable and blood-hungry as Khorne himself. Sharp, needle-like teeth stud the daemon's slavering jaws, and rippling muscles lay barely concealed under its scaly red hide, knotted sinews that give the daemon enough strength in its jet black claws to rend apart even the strongest armour. Their might is guided by a killer instinct that surpasses that of mortal men, for a Bloodletter's thoughts are free of any compunction other than to slay Khorne's foes and reap skulls for their lord. Each Bloodletter bears a jagged steel blade known as a Hellblade, eternally wreathed in fire and said to be able to feed on the souls of mortals.


 * Flesh Hounds: Flesh Hounds are rapacious wolf-like daemons, with heavily jawed heads both vaguely reptilian as well as savagely lupine. Their razor-sharp teeth and sword-like claws can tear apart both armour and flesh with ease. They are highly capable hunting beasts, able to track prey to impossible levels. The hide of a Flesh Hound is tough and ruddy, with rows of iron plates run into their flesh by iron rivulets in the shape of Khorne's rune. Flesh Hounds are lithe, yet powerful, able to dart aside from a swordsman's strike and pull a rider off his saddle in the same motion. Each Flesh Hound bears a brass circlet about its neck, forged in the heat of Khorne's rage at the great forge in the eaves of his hall. Thus empowered, the Flesh Hounds of Khorne are immune to the effects of hostile magic, for Khorne is loathe to see his servants felled by the perfidious practices of the arcane.
 * Juggernauts: Juggernauts are massive creatures part daemon and part ensorcelled steel and sinew. They are mighty beasts of groaning iron and brass, taller than a man and possessed of crushing mass. The hide of a juggernaut is composed of rivetted and fused metal plates, decorated with icons of Khorne and bathed in the lifeblood of its victims.


 * The Skulltaker: Travelers of the Realm of Chaos tell of a fearsome wanderer to appears before the various strongholds dotted throughout the twisted landscape. There, he bellows out a terrible challenge, demanding that the greatest warriors of that fastness emerge from it and face him in battle. Those who do are inevitably slain by the wanderer's berserk fury, for he is Uzuhl, the Skulltaker, first amongst Khorne's Bloodletters. Astride his great Juggernaut, Khul'tayran, he seeks to face the greatest warriors of the mortal and immortal realms and claim their skulls for Khorne's throne. He is swifter and stronger than his fellow Bloodletters, and is said to possess knowledge of every weakness an enemy bears. Even so, the Skulltaker bears a mark upon one of his horns, the hammer blow of Ghal Maraz, a legacy of the time he challenged Sigmar Heldenhammer to battle in the ancient days of the Empire and was bested for the first and only time.


 * Skarbrand the Exiled One: Once, the Bloodthirster known as Skarbrand was foremost among the number of Khorne's greater Daemonic servants, having battled long in his lord's name and having won victories beyond counting. In all the infinite years of Khorne's existence, none had placed more skulls at the base of his throne than Skarbrand, or spilled more blood of warrior and innocent alike for his glory, thus did Skarbrand enjoy Khorne's favour like no other. Yet, pride proved Skarbrand's downfall, as Tzeentch fanned the fires of his ego until he sought to usurp Khorne as the Lord of Battles, and one day, while the god's back was turned, Skarbrand summoned all his great strength for a single strike upon him. Though Skarbrand was mighty beyond all comprehension, a destroyer of worlds, who killed entire cities with single sweeps of his axe, he could not hope to harm the Blood God. Enraged at this insolence, Khorne's furious gaze fell upon Skarbrand. Cursing the daemon's name, Khorne took him up in his armoured fist and crushed him, throttling all rationality and thought from the daemon before throwing the daemon deep into the Realm of Chaos. For 8 days and nights, Skarbrand flew through the sky of the Realm of Chaos, lighting a trail of flaming blood until he finally smashed back to the earth. Bereft of all reason and inhibition, the Bloodthirster is now a witless embodiment of unreasoning fury, and slaughters entire worlds daily in his unholy madness. Khorne spares no more thought for Skarbrand, but laughs as he sees the Bloodthirster serving him more completely in damnation than he ever did in glory.