Chaos Furies

"I watched as the Furies picked over the corpse, squabbling in harsh tongues as they argued over the juiciest morsels from the feast."

—Liber Malefic^[1a]

Chaos Furies (sing. Chaos Fury) are Lesser Daemons that are not embodiments of any of the four major Chaos Gods that exist within the Realm of Chaos. They are essentially nothing more than yowling shards of malevolent magical energy -- Chaos in its purest form. Furies are easily subjugated by other Daemons, whom they regard with a mix of dread and awe, and with little in the way of intelligence, they are utterly subservient to the whims of the Dark Gods, and shift in aspect and power as the balance of the dark pantheon alters.^[1a]

Furies are fierce creatures with great, leathery wings. Their faces have more in common with Dragons than they do with Humans, as they are twisted into snarling visages full of sharp angles and wicked fangs set beneath searching, feral, red eyes. ^[2a]

Since Chaos Furies lack the power and malevolent purpose of serving a particular Ruinous Power, they are among the weakest of the Lesser Daemons, though more than a match for most mortals. They haunt forlorn places, always searching for lone or injured travellers. It is believed they infest the mountains all over the Empire, and they harass and destroy caravans laden with arms and supplies.^[2a]

Role

Chaos Furies swarm at the edges of a battle, avoiding the thickest fighting if they can.^[1a] Cowards, they fight battles in which they have the decided advantage, picking off isolated individuals.^[2a] Only when they sight a vulnerable victim do the Furies descend, a wailing mass from which there can be no escape. The only true defence against such an attack is to stand your ground, fending the Daemons off until the magic that binds them to the mortal plane fades away.^[1a]

Chaos Furies are also cruel, so when they have a victim, they like to toy with it first, ripping at the flesh just enough to inspire fear and set it running where they follow for a while. Once they've tired of the sport, they kill their prey in the most painful manner they can devise.^[2a]