"Blood of Khaine!"
The Cult of Khaine is the Human religious organisation that worships Khaine, the god of murder and revenge, the patron deity of murderers, whose worship is outlawed throughout the Old World, and whose followers are regarded with almost as much distaste and fear as the minions of Chaos.[1a][6a][10a]
Khaine is depicted as a fanged Daemon, wielding daggers in each of his many arms -- a violent god of revenge, revered by those who seek to take the lives of others. His priests are assassins and poisoners, and more than one missing person has met their end upon Khaine's blood-soaked altars.[1a][6a]
Khaine is venerated as the "Lord of Murder" and the "Raving Dead"; he is also known as the "Scorpion Prince" in the south and east of the Old World.[1d][1e][5a][6b]
Khaine is the immortal brother of Morr, the god of the dead. Jealous of his divine brother's vast kingdom of the dead, he steals away all souls that have been murdered or slain in war, building his own dark realm of death.[8a]
By Morr's custom and stricture, a suicide is a damned soul, a thing cursed by Morr and abandoned to the infernal hells of his murderous brother Khaine. The Sylvanians believe that the flesh of a suicide attracted Ghouls from their forest lairs.[9a]
History[]
A depiction of Khaine as the god is seen by the Men of the south and the east of the Old World.[5a]
Where the Elder Gods -- already worshipped by the tribal forefathers of the Empire of Man in ancient times -- mirrored the harsh and brutal life of the northern Old World, the Classical Gods worshipped in Tilea represented more refined concepts -- such as mercy, embodied by Shallya, and wisdom, as embodied by Verena. These two are the most commonly cited among the Classical Gods and now hold great influence within the Empire. However, lesser-known deities also form part of this tradition and deserve recognition.[1f]
Among them is Khaine, the god of murder. Khaine was among the Classical deities whose cult spread into the Empire as the two cultures began to intermingle.[1f]
The Cult of Khaine is a curious case of a recognised but still forbidden religion in the Empire. Whilst regarded as a legitimate deity, a member of the pantheon of gods that make up the various faiths practised in the Old World, worship of Khaine is nonetheless outlawed, and with good reason. As a land of laws, there is no place for the rites and ceremonies demanded by the Bloody-Handed One. And so Khaine is shunned, his followers immolated, and what few temples the god has are razed to dissuade others from championing his filthy cause.[1a]
Despite his status as a forbidden god, Khaine has many followers in the Old World. Secret cults operate throughout the large communities and settlements, meeting in darkness and isolation to pay homage to their appalling master and to hatch murderous plots in the hopes of gaining his blessings. Although these cultists are undeterred from their efforts by the threat of the witch hunters' pyres, they rarely act in the open, content to manoeuvre in the shadows. Those who oppose them tend to be found in their beds, their throats slit, or perhaps strangled or disembowelled, while their unsuspecting spouses sleep on undisturbed.[1a]
Given the opposition to this cult, the Human followers of Khaine do not have a formal hierarchy. They exist in small isolated cells scattered throughout the Empire. Whilst they all share the same love of murder, there are a great number of differences between each group, with issues of dogma, purpose, and even practise being some of the most hotly debated subjects. When participating in religious ceremonies, cultists often adorn themselves in black robes trimmed in red. These symbolise the Lord of Murder's associations with his brother Morr, and also the blood that flows from a well-delivered killing.[1a][1b]
Mythology[]
Aspect of Khorne or Morr's Jealous Brother?[]
"We of the Empire know the dark lord Khaine as brother to Morr, eternal rivals for that domain of death. Those of us who know of him curse his name, even as others praise it. Within our cities and towns, secret cults are born and thrive, men of low order, assassins, footpads, cut-throats, and rank killers of all types who delight in death and murder. They gather together, plot their killings, and raise their idol to Khaine, always a grotesque effigy with a leering face and a huge, fanged mouth, with four arms, each clutching a dagger.
A god named Khaine, a god of murder, death, and bloodshed, only the wilfully blind could not see that this is none other than the Blood Lord himself, cloaked in one of his many guises to beguile and trick those who might otherwise repel him. Some argue that they are distinct, that Khorne is a lord of battle, of open war, a Ruinous Power rather than a petty human god. But I say ye nay, for Khorne is the will to dominate all through violence, fear, and terror of all description. And all it has taken was the simplest deception to allow him into our pantheon.
And in this we are not alone, for I see visions of the twisted cousins of the conceited Ulthuans far across the waters, who have devoted themselves to his worship. They praise him high above all others and allow his priesthood free license in their cities. These so-called Brides of Khaine do cavort in his worship and bathe in cauldrons of blood, which they claim as bridal gifts. The dark elves allow his servants such influence, and all the while applaud themselves for repelling the Blood God's hordes at their borders. I look at them and I laugh in pity, for they have such pride in their independence and self-direction, and yet their very nature has allowed their immortal enemy into the very core of their society."
- —Extract from A Brief Exposition on the Darker Nature of the Elves and Their Suspected Ties with Khorne, including an excerpt from a report by Witch Hunter Captain Mathias Thulmann.[12a]
The Grieve, the blade used by Khaine to kill his brother Morr.[1i]
An unresolved question among theologians is the true nature of Khaine's divine origin -- specifically, his relationship to either Khorne or Morr. Both Khaine and Morr claim dominion over death and the dead, albeit in vastly different forms. Most scholars argue that Khaine is simply an aspect of Khorne.[6a]
According to this interpretation, Khaine's cult is a deceitful façade -- Chaos worship in a more subtle guise, crafted to mislead mortals into believing they have not fallen under the sway of the Blood God. witch hunters and many priests of Sigmar favour this view, seeing little distinction between Khorne's unrelenting bloodlust and Khaine's obsessive fixation on killing.[6a]
Another camp, however, proposes a different origin: that Khaine is the younger brother of Morr, driven by jealousy of his elder sibling's authority over death and the dead. According to this belief, Khaine covets Morr's power, and his cultists commit murder as a sacred ritual, offering souls to Khaine in an effort to bolster his strength by stealing them before Morr can claim them. To the faithful of Morr, this is the gravest heresy imaginable.[6a]
A Human legend relates that Morr appeared after the first Human died, and defended his soul from the servants of the Dark Gods that sought to consume it. As more Humans died, Morr took them under his protection.[1g]
Still others tell of the murder of Morr by Khaine, and of Morr's foundation of his realm among the dead. More than one secret Cult of Khaine among Men unswervingly believes that the blade known as The Grieve was used by Khaine to strike down Morr, and will do anything to secure it.[1g][1i]
The fundamental belief of the Cult of Morr is that the dead face grave perils if they are not sent to Morr's protection with the proper rites. Most believe such souls would be seized and tortured by jealous Khaine, or even devoured by the Ruinous Powers, and souls know this at an instinctive level.[1g]
Organisation[]
To Humans, Khaine is the patron of murder, a bloodthirsty god who craves the souls of those killed in his name. Although he is a recognised member of the Old World Pantheon, most folk shun him and his worship is proscribed in all but the most degraded communities. Khaine vies with his brother Morr, god of the dead, for the souls of the dead, but his claim extends only to the victims of murder.[5a]
Khaine's worshippers have no central authority, so depictions of their god vary. In the northern Old World he is a cloaked figure with a tall red helm, dripping blood from his left hand. Across the south and east he is depicted as a squat, grotesque figure with a leering, fanged mouth and four arms -- holding a serpentine dagger, a scorpion, a beating heart, and the fourth dripping blood.[5a]
Some confuse Khaine with Khorne, but whilst the two hunger for blood, Khaine is a patient deity who prizes artful murder over rage and violence. The Khainite philosopher Melmoch justified murder in his name as a means to channel the killing urge inherent to Humanity, which would otherwise emerge as mindless violence and feed the Chaos Gods.[5a]
Some brave theists have dared to draw comparisons between Ulric, the god of war, wolves and winter worshipped in the northern Empire and Khaine.[1f]
Worshippers[]
Khaine's followers typically come from those who have killing as a profession. Cut-throats, assassins, pit fighters, and even soldiers start out taking life as a necessity, but when it becomes a source of pride or imparts a feeling of power, the insidious whisper of Khaine drives them on to greater acts of murder.[5a]
Some join secret cults, which exist in the shadows, hidden from the attention of the law and the respected religions. These groups plot to murder victims through guile and stealth -- preferring strangulation, slashed throats, and a furtive blade to open combat. These cults vary in their ceremonies, structure, and their preferred methods of murder but share consistent themes -- rituals are conducted in black robes trimmed in red, victims are killed regularly and usually carved with symbols of Khaine such as the scorpion. Beyond this they follow their own practices. Some conduct sacrifices in subterranean shrines, while others fight one another to kill the weakest among them.[5a]
Other Khainites are solitary -- the reclusive assassin, the itinerant loner, or the hidden serial killer. A small number of necromancers revere Khaine for his opposition to Morr and the belief that he is more willing to release murder victims for their vile magicks.[5a]
Temperament[]
Cultists of Khaine are secretive and clandestine, and take all possible precautions to avoid being identified as members of the cult. Yet their practises make their presence all too obvious, over time.[1b]
Whenever possible -- and at least once a month, if not more -- victims are snatched from the streets of towns or from country roads and ritually sacrificed. This foul act is preceded by the carving of holy symbols upon the body of the victim, and concluded with the slitting of their throat. Victims are then dumped in a nearby body of water, ditch, or back alley.[1b][1c]
Variations on this procedure exist, naturally, but the regularity with which it must be performed is almost universal. Only those who will not be missed any time soon, or those who can be taken without witnesses, are kidnapped. Once a body is found, assuming that the elements or scavengers have not destroyed the evidence, a knowledgeable investigator could easily recognise the hallmarks of the cultists' work...for all the good it does them. The method and motive become clear to the officer in question, but of the true identities of the perpetrators, few clues are left.[1b][1c]
Not all victims of the cult are killed in a ritualised manner, however, for the cult preaches that a chance to commit murder should not be passed up. The truly devout relish these murders of opportunity, performed in the alleys behind houses of ill repute and on lonely roads at night.[1c]
Several of the cult's priests act as its leaders, but beyond their positions it is organised fairly haphazardly. Most of the cultists are lay members, the only requirement being that they have a "bloodied hand." Prospective cultists who have second thoughts about committing the deed invariably wind up as the group's next victim.[1c]
Cultists of Khaine do not believe they will enter Morr's Realm. Instead, they hold that they will be taken to fight in eternal battle within Khaine's Halls after their death. They believe that those bearing mutations are banned from this afterlife and cast into the void.[4a]
Relations With Other Cults[]
The proscribed cults, such as those of Khaine and the Chaos Powers, are regarded with bitter hatred by the priesthoods of the Old World Pantheon, an attitude which they return.[10a]
Notable Khainite Orders[]
- Artisans - The Artisans are a select group of aristocrats who strive to perfect the art of murder. Each member competes to perpetrate the most aesthetically satisfying assassination, which should take place in public, reflect something unique about the victim's character, and have absolutely no motive beyond the pursuit of artistic excellence and the veneration of Khaine. Each ‘piece' is given a title and may take months to plan and execute. The society meet once a year in a different Old World city and often plan their artistry to coincide with this occasion. There is an understanding amongst the Artisans that each of them is a legitimate potential victim.[5a]
- Four Arms of Khaine - The Four Arms of Khaine is a primary order of the Cult of Khaine as perceived by Humans.[5a]
- Order of the Bloodied Hand - The Order of the Bloodied Hand is a primary order of the Cult of Khaine in the god's Human guise.[5a]
- Khaelhermanir - The Khaelhermanir is a depraved cult of assassins bent on some corrupted worship of the Murder God.[12a]
Area of Worship[]
Cultists of Khaine can be found throughout the Old World, despite the fact that his worship is forbidden and punishable by death. His followers are drawn to places of depravity and suffering more than any others, for their activities are all the more easy there. Still, places of upright morals and devout worship of the righteous gods of the Old World are by no means safe from their predations.[1b]
Khaine is an almost exclusively Human god (although, one should not mistake the Khaine venerated in the Empire for the Cult of Khaine that exists among the Elves), and his worship is predominantly restricted to large towns and cities -- his cults thrive on Human contact and quickly tear themselves apart if they find themselves without a steady source of victims.[1b]
There have always been cults of murder in the eastern Empire -- dark forests breed dark minds, or so the saying goes. The closed nature of communities in the east, coupled with an intolerance and mistrust of strangers, makes it all the easier for a local cult to take root amongst native folk and operate without drawing too much attention. Although the dead rest uneasily in the eastern Empire, and supernatural horrors abound, not all unexplained murders can be pinned at the door of the Undead.[1b]
Holy Sites[]
Cultists of Khaine can be found throughout the Old World, but there are no significant centres of worship for such a fragmented religion. Towns, cities, and ports with shifting populations tend to harbour more cultists, as victims are easier to find and discovery less likely. Temples and shrines depend on cult membership -- from a richly-appointed chamber in an assassins' guild to a stinking oubliette beneath the butchers' quarter.[5a]
Beneath Wurtbad is a large, bowl-shaped temple known as the "Cradle of Blades" where cult leaders from across the Empire meet each year, but they are too disparate and headstrong to coordinate real alliances. On the Middenheim-Erengrad Road is "The Forest Inn", a coaching house which has become a secret temple to Khaine, preying on unwary travellers.[5a]
At the heart of a magically hidden island on an Imperial river is said to lie a stone chapel of Khaine, formerly erected to Morr. Even from some distance away, anyone with Second Sight can see Shyish and Dhar gathered, churning around it, carrying a sense of sweaty terror. All the murderous deaths in the area have caused concentrations of these winds to gather and stagnate, leaving many souls unable to move on. The building is kept in fair condition despite its spiritual corruption; the stone is crumbling and the few Morrite carvings defaced, but the wood-tiled roof keeps the rain out.[7a][7b]
The altar is the dominant feature within the chapel. It is a solid, rough-carved block of dark grey stone, large enough to bear a sizable coffin. The image of a raven carved on its surface has been defaced and crudely replaced with scratched and painted symbols of Khaine (mostly daggers, but also skulls and horned heads).[7b]
Cult of Khaine in Marienburg[]
Encompassing assassins, murder-worshippers, and necromancers, the Cult of Khaine has its adherents among those who lust for power in Marienburg. And killing is power: power over those weaker than yourself, power over those who are stupid enough to trust in the protection of mortals or whimpering gods. Cultists prey mostly on the lower classes and visitors to the city who would never be missed -- sailors, for example. Insane by any definition used in polite society, they are also dedicated to protecting any [[Undead] who find their way to Marienburg.[11a]
Venk Kataswaran, proprietor of the Golden Lotus dreaming house, wants to seize control of the body-trade within the city, and thus become the leader of the Khainite cultists in Marienburg.[11c]
During the plague that ended the reign of Boris the Incompetent, a cult of Khaine took root in Marienburg. At its height, the cultists summoned and bound a servant of Khaine, a spirit of hate known only as the "Voice in the Well", feeding the corpses of their victims to the well in which it was bound. Eventually, the cult was smashed, but the Daemonic spirit was not discovered, and its room was sealed behind a false wall and forgotten.[11b]
Now it has a new worshipper, a weak fool who listens to its creed of hate and murder, who regularly feeds it flesh and blood. The Daemon binds the souls of each new victim to its severed head and forces it to say nice things to its cultist. When the Daemon is hungry for more worship, it consumes the captive soul and tells Willibrord Molendijk that he must bring home another. The Daemon is bound to the well, its only powers being the seduction of weak minds, binding and compelling souls offered in sacrifice, and the granting of one spell. It can be dismissed only by a ritual exorcism performed by priests of Morr.[11b]
Penances[]
Those who defy Khaine's strictures usually make recompense by becoming their cult's next victim. Cunning followers can restore favour by conducting an act of spectacular murder, such as slaughtering a priest of Morr in broad daylight or butchering an entire room of guildsmen.[5a]
Symbol[]
Khaine's symbols, though never brazenly displayed, are of the scorpion and the serpentine dagger. Dedicated followers may have a tattoo of a scorpion's stinger on the flesh between their thumbs and forefingers, while others bear the mark beneath their left eyes.[1b]
Higher-ranking Khainite cultists may also have more extensive tattooing on their backs, forearms, or on their loins. All cultists carry special daggers, noted for their wavy blades, and where possible they incorporate the image of the scorpion into their accessories, jewellery, or even clothing.[1b]
Rats are called "Khaine's lapdogs" in the Empire.[2a]
All manner of charms and amulets are sold in the noisy markets of the Empire, all supposedly blessed by one god or another. Although most are fakes, belief is a powerful thing, and Imperials certainly believe in their superstitions.
A black tooth is a very rare amulet linked to Khaine.[1h]
Strictures[]
- Do not let an opportunity to kill pass you by. Each such moment is a blessing given by Khaine.[1c][5a]
- Murder by the hand of another is good, murder by your own hand is better.[1c]
Divine Lore of Khaine[]
A Human priest of Khaine unleashes the miracle known as the Bloody Hand.
The disparate cults of Khaine, the Lord of Murder, do not share their lore; indeed, few are even aware of the existence of other cults dedicated to their bloody god. The following prayers are an example of the miracles that a typical Human priest of the Scorpion Prince has at their disposal.[1d][1e]
- Bloody Hand - The priest chants their dark dedications to the Scorpion Prince, and their hands begin to drip blood, marking them as Khaine's chosen. The priest's hands drip the blood of the murdered, splashing on their foes in combat to devastating effect.[1e]
- Dagger of Khaine - The priest's prayers imbue their dagger with Khaine's lust for blood, providing it with increased precision and magical qualities.[1e]
- Eternal Torment - The priest speaks their prayers over the body of a recently deceased corpse, and claim the soul for Khaine. The spirit (and corpse) becomes immune to necromantic spells and will never know Morr's peace as it is sent screaming to the Lord of Murder's Dark Realm. It is said those souls sent to Khaine sometimes return to do the bidding of his priests; if this is true, it is a very rare event.[1e]
- Hidden Blade - The priest chants prayers in their enemy's face, misdirecting the foe from the true threat: the Hidden Blade. A dagger flashes from an unexpected direction, held by a hand and arm that appears as one of the priest's own, yet cannot be.[1e]
- Sting in the Tail - The priest's prayers draw the killing power of the scorpion to their blade.[1e]
- The Lord of Murder - The priest chants their prayer and are filled with the killing power of Khaine. The extra attacks that result can only be used in combination with a dagger.[1e]
Notable Khainites[]
- Flusskapitän Meinard Links - Previously only a killer for commercial reasons, Links found the faith in Khaine offered him something he didn’t realise he was missing: divine meaning.[7b]
Trivia[]
Khaine's name is a play on the biblical character of Cain, who became the first Human murderer after killing his brother Abel out of envy. This can also explain why Khaine is worshipped by the Humans of the Old World, with Morr as his slain brother, as the latter deity is god of the dead.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Salvation (RPG)
- 2: The Black Plague: Dead Winter (Novel) by C.L. Werner
- 2a: Ch. 7
- 3: Brunner the Bounty Hunter Omnibus (Novel) by C.L. Werner
- 3a: "What Price Vengeance?"
- 4: Ulrika the Vampire - Bloodsworn (Novel) by Nathan Long
- 4a: Ch. 15
- 5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Archives of the Empire Vol. III (RPG)
- 5a: pp. 50-51
- 6: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Sigmar's Heirs (RPG)
- 7: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Something Knocking (RPG)
- 8: White Dwarf 258
- 8a: pg. 12
- 9: The Black Plague - Dead Winter (Novel) by C.L. Werner
- 9a: Ch. 9
- 10: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Apocrypha Now (RPG)
- 10a: pp. 25-26
- 11: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Marienburg - Sold Down The River (RPG)
- 12: Liber Chaotica (Lore Book)
- 12a: pp. 66-67 (Digital)