"Is that the way it is then? Fine! Have your challenge, Ekaterina and for you, Dwarf, a doom!... Without challenge, how can I prove worthy? When will you challenge me? When will you prove your worth in Khorne's eyes? Come to me, Lion. Come, Unsworn. Join us in our dance. Come join us on the road. Let us baptise Khorne's path with the blood of Heroes!"
- —Lord Garmr the Gore-Wolf, one of the greatest Champions of Khorne and Chaos Lords[2a]
A Chaos Lord is a Chaos Warrior and Chaos Champion who has earned, through the shedding of blood and carnage unimaginable, the greatest favour of the Chaos Gods.
Every Chaos Lord is a mortal combatant who has earned the highest regard of the Chaos powers short of having achieved Daemonhood itself. Each is a legendary engine of mass destruction whose deeds have destroyed armies at a whim and whose skill at arms have decapitated rival Chaos Champions by the dozens.
Chaos Lords are usually the commanders of the armies and warbands of the Warriors of Chaos and they may choose to dedicate themselves wholly in body and soul to either Chaos Undivided or to one of the individual major Chaos Gods.
Role
"Chaos Lords take their blood-drenched blades into battle. Fighting endlessly, they are merciless and unrelenting in the fray."
- —Description of Chaos Lords in Total War: Warhammer.[3]
To be a Chaos Lord means to command the utmost power amongst the Northmen tribes of the Northlands, Norsca and the Eastern Steppes, and with such power and favour within their grasp, these lords of Chaos lead the armies of the Dark Gods into their horrific crusades against the weakling mortals of the south.[1a]
Of all the mortal warriors across the civilisations of the Known World, Chaos Lords are the most feared, for they are truly like gods amongst Men. Clad in baroque plate armour and rich furs, they tower above even other Champions of Chaos, who are but feeble children by comparison. A Chaos Lord's indomitable will is forged in the fires of war, their skills tempered and honed in the crucible of battle, and their blade is eternally quenched in blood.[1a]
Each Chaos Lord has travelled a long and perilous road to their pre-eminence, a road paved with the broken corpses of less successful aspirants and Chaos Champions. Regardless of their individual abilities, they are without exception powerful warriors, combining the superhuman strength of a Troll with the speed of a striking snake.[1a]
The Chaos Lord's abilities are enhanced further by mutational "gifts" granted by their divine patrons. Seeking ever more glory in the eyes of their deities, a Chaos Lord will test their mettle against the most accomplished of their foes' warriors, their forbidding challenge echoing across the field.[1a]
Those brave enough to meet a Chaos Lord's summons to combat are briefly saluted before being hacked to pieces where they stand, for to stand against a Chaos Lord is to invite a sudden and brutal death.[1a]
A Chaos Lord is not only an exceptional warrior but also a merciless conqueror. A great leader and strategist, their sheer force of will binds legions of Men and Chaos beasts alike to their service. Each Chaos Lord's name is spoken in hushed whispers across the lands of Men, their violent deeds written in the blood of their enemies. A Chaos Lord is the voice that condemns whole tribes and nations to death. Their gaze terrorises their followers into submission and grovelling obedience. [1a]
An aura of dark power surrounds each Chaos Lord, drawing ever more devotees to their banner as their legend grows. When a Lord of Chaos marches to war, the world shakes, for in their hearts, all fear that one day a Chaos Lord will come who will grind the armies of the world under their heel, and bring about an age of darkness that will never end.[1a]
Notable Chaos Lords
- Archaon - Archaon is the greatest of all Chaos Champions, the currently reigning thirteenth Everchosen of Chaos Undivided and the bringer of the End Times.
- Asavar Kul - Asavar Kul was the twelfth Everchosen, who instigated the Great War Against Chaos in the 24th Century IC.
- Egil Styrbjorn - Egil Strybjorn is the fearsome High Jarl of the Skaelings and favoured of Khorne.
- Hrothgar Daemonaxe - Hrothgar was a Chaos Lord of Khorne and the first jarl of the Vargs of Norsca. He ruled for 120 years, slew 50 individual rival Chaos Lords in single combat, ascended to minor Chaos godhood and is today worshipped by the Vargs and other Norscan tribes as "Arkhara Varg."
- Tamurkhan - Tamurkhan was a horrifically mutated Kurgan Chaos Lord of Nurgle who launched an assault against the Imperial city of Nuln out of the Far East in 2310 IC.
- Mortkin - Mortikin was one of the mightiest Chaos Lords to have ever lived, a warrior blessed by all four of the major Dark Gods.
- Vorgaroth - Vorgaroth was a hulking Chaos Champion and Chaos Lord of Khorne, blessed with the size of an Ogre Tyrant and rippling muscles of unholy power.
- Mordrek the Damned - Mordrek is a former prince of the Empire, an Elector Count and the lord of Brass Keep, who became the near-immortal instrument of the Chaos Gods.