Crone Hellebron, Hag Queen and high priestess of the Cult of Khaine, celebrates Death Night.
Death Night is a holiday of savage violence and sacrifice sacred to Khaine, the Elven god of murder and war, that happens once a year, where the Druchii Witch Elves of Naggaroth descend on the streets of their cities in unbridled celebration of their bloody lord. This event is a time of terror for all in Naggaroth. The boulevards and alleys echo with manic drumming and shrill pipes, while thick clouds of blood-red incense drift around twisted mansions. Through the smoke prowl roving bands of Witch Elves, murder in their hearts.[1a][2a]
The Witch Elves are driven into an insatiable lust for blood by a concoction of poisonous herbs called witchbrew, which only the Death Hags, the high priestesses of the Witch Elves, knew how to prepare to prevent them from killing the Witch Elves themselves. Under the direction of their Hag Queens they steal away any Dark Elves they find, often breaking into houses to drag the inhabitants to their bloody altars. The victims are sacrificed before the Cauldrons of Blood, restoring the beauty of Witch Elves and hags, which slowly fades until it is restored the next Death Night.[1a][2a]
History[]
When the exiled Dark Elves first landed on the continent of Naggaroth in the wake of the Sundering, the temples of the Cult of Khaine present on their Black Arks quickly became havens of worship. At the same time, the Cult of Pleasure dedicated to Slaanesh also quickly took root due to the lack of any threat of persecution. Both vied for the support of Malekith, and the Witch King knew that only one religion should dominate his new realm.[2a]
Malekith needed to unite his people quickly in order that he could make his plans to seek vengeance on the High Elves. He decided against intervention in the struggle between the followers of Khaine or Slaanesh, as to do so would only turn the followers of one cult against him. He strictly forbade a religious war; the Elven civil war of the Sundering had already taken its toll on the Dark Elves, but he also knew that in doing so he was encouraging an underground battle of dark intrigue and evil machinations. This appealed to Malekith's twisted sense of pleasure, and he let the two factions fight for control of his people's religious allegiance.[2a]
The temples of Khaine already had many agents who secretly stalked the streets of the newly-founded Druchii cities. Over many decades they had become skilled in the art of subterfuge, and their Khainite Assassins had perfected their gruesome methods as they secretly dispatched Malekith's foes in Ulthuan. Under the devious guidance of Hellebron, High Priestess of Khaine, the followers undertook a secret war against the worshippers of Slaanesh. Whilst Hellebron used her caustic tongue in the courts of Naggarond to undermine the support of Morathi, she positioned her servants tactically within the Dark Elf nobility.[2a]
But Morathi proved every bit the equal of her rival. Just as it seemed that Hellebron would prevail, she revealed the discovery of an ancient gift from Khaine. These were the powerful Cauldrons of Blood, which had the power to restore youth to those who bathed in them. Rumours spread quickly through the realm of Naggaroth that Morathi was favoured by Khaine. The loyalties of the Dark Elves were torn between Morathi, a sorceress who openly worshiped Slaanesh, and Hellebron, the High Priestess of Khaine. Because many of the Brides of Khaine now pronounced Morathi their queen, a stalemate had been reached, and Hellebron knew that if she did not act fast she would quickly lose support.[2a]
In a move that only the head of a cult as bloodthirsty as Khaine's could conceive, the deadlock was broken. At the command of Hellebron, hundreds of Dark Elf sorcerers and nobles who supported Morathi were taken from their beds and slain on the altars of Khaine. The screams of the dying echoed into the cold night air, and it is said that even Morathi herself was forced to take flight on her Dark Pegasus to escape the murder. This night became known as "Death Night" and has since carved itself a permanent place within the history of the Dark Elves and indeed the whole world of Mallus.[2a]
The next morning, Malekith summoned Hellebron and her priestesses to his palace, and as they entered the main hall, a murmur grew amongst the nobles who had gathered. Hellebron had somehow constructed her own Cauldron of Blood, and now led a procession of the most stunning Dark Elf women. Gone were the haggard wrinkles and sagging flesh, replaced by a smooth and beautiful youthful complexion. Hellebron's own beauty rivaled that of even Morathi herself. All knew that Dark Magic had been wrought, and from that day the priestesses of Khaine became known as Witch Elves.[2a]
In a desperate but cunning move, Morathi declared herself the Queen of the Cult of Khaine, outmaneuvering the devious ambitions of Hellebron. The enraged Hellebron was placated by Malekith, who granted the cult recognition by allowing the Witch Elves to stalk the streets once each year on the anniversary of Death Night, taking prisoners wherever they should find them. Since that day, the devotees of Khaine have been loyal subjects to Malekith.[2a]
A Typical Death Night[]
For one night each year the Dark Elves in the cities of Naggaroth must lock their doors and shutter their windows. Anybody found out on the streets will be dragged to the altars of Khaine to suffer a long and painful death. The assassins pick the locks securing the houses of certain nobles and other high-ranking Dark Elves, then the Witch Elves will burst in to take entire families to be sacrificed to the god of murder.[2a]
It is said that they bring their victims to the height of pleasure before they plunge them into a torment of pain and suffering the likes of which no mortal could ever envision in their worst nightmares. The screams of their victims can be heard until the sun rises and then an eerie silence follows as each Dark Elf gives thanks to Khaine that they and their family were spared the slaughter.[2a]
In Har Ganeth, the Dark Elf desire for murder and blood is kept in abeyance by the strictest laws in Naggaroth. Only on Death Night are these laws put on hold and the Druchii permitted to unleash their true instincts. Bloody excess and wanton slaughter flood the boulevards and plazas, all under Crone Hellebron's intense gaze. In the Death Night's aftermath her followers are sated, their murderous impulses gratified for now.[3]
Yet in the wake of Death Night, some Dark Elves remain unsated in their bloodlust and insatiably hungry for murder and violence. The remnants of those who fought in the streets of Har Ganeth during Death Night form a "Blood Voyage," crews for which riches have no interest and murder is the only goal. Typically they set their sights on Ulthuan and the High Elves, although if somehow bereft of their usual nemeses the aimless murderers must find an outlet for their rage elsewhere, and look to their leader, Hellebron, to direct them.[3]
Eternal Youth[]
It was after the first Death Night that the Witch Elves discovered their attractiveness faded and that their voluptuous appearance reverted to that of an old crone over the course of the year, but that they would be able to magically restore their beauty again come the next Death Night.[2a]
While the youth and beauty of Morathi never fades, even Hellebron's is now almost expended, for the sorceress deliberately withheld from her the deepest secrets needed to use the Cauldrons of Blood. Therefore, ever more sacrifices to Khaine are needed to fill Hellebron's cauldron each year, and yet the rejuvenating effects last for a smaller length of time on each occasion.[3]
It is on Death Night, re-invigorated by the blood of the slain, that the Hag Queens are at their most beautiful and frenetic. Over the course of the following year they slowly revert to their true haggard appearances but, for that one night, they are wanton avatars of lustful slaughter -- true daughters of Khaine, god of war and murder.[1a]