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Attention, Empire Citizens!
This article or this section of the article contains information regarding the Storm of Chaos campaign and its aftermath, which is now considered a non-canon, alternate timeline.
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"With the coming of doom shall march a lowly boy. Anger shall be his nourishment, and blood his wine."
- —The "Prophecy of Fate," taken from the Celestine Book of Divination by Necrodomo the Insane
The Norscan Chaos Lord and Champion of Khorne Haargroth the Blooded of the Graelings, fighting the Dwarfs during the Storm of Chaos.
Haargroth the Blooded is an infamous Champion of Khorne, Chaos Lord and the jarl of the Graeling tribe of northern Norsca. Though formerly a goatherd, he proved his mettle in combat when he butchered a Beastmen warlord with his own axe. By chance, the weapon was blessed by Khorne, the Chaos God of war and murder, and set Haargroth on the path to glory.
Soon enough, his frame began to swell with god-gifted muscle and he towered over his fellow Norscans, thus establishing his power over the tribe. When the chieftain, himself a powerful Champion of Chaos, returned to his hall and found Haargroth seated on his throne, the incensed warlord challenged the warrior to battle. That night, the Graelings had a new leader.
Haargroth led his people on many great raids and invasions against their enemies. His longships had even ranged as far south as the mangrove-lined shores of Lustria in the New World. His savagery and bloodthirst were such that even the other tribes of Norsca dreaded the coming of his warriors, who were soon known informally as the "Slaughterers of Haargroth." Soon, his victories were beyond counting, and the plunder he had reaped from his raids had made the Graelings wealthy.
But Haargroth sought only the thrill of battle and the exultation that could be garnered from the clash of arms with a powerful opponent. To that end, he led his tribe to the Chaos Wastes, decimating the many horrible creatures of that place in search of a foe whose blood would honour Khorne.
Eventually, Haargroth duelled Archaon, the thirteenth Everchosen of Chaos Undivided. Though Haargroth was mighty beyond all mortal perception, not even he could stand long against a man bestowed with the ultimate blessings of all four of the major Chaos Gods. But rather than slaying Haargroth, Archaon recognised his strength and worth and offered him generalship over one of his armies. Thus, Haargroth became one of Archaon's lieutenants in the Storm of Chaos campaign the Everchosen waged against the civilised realms of the Old World, as had been prophesied centuries before the Chaos Champion's birth by the mystic Necrodomo the Insane.
History[]
Saga of the Blooded[]
The icon of the Norscan tribe of the Graelings as depicted in Total War: Warhammer.
The warrior who would one day rise to occupy the highest echelons of the Blood God Khorne's favour was once no more than a lowly orphan goatherd. A child without a father is at great risk in Norsca, for without anyone to teach him the ways of axe and sword, Haargroth was deemed unfit to join the men on the summer raids, doomed to a life of ridicule, without favour in the eyes of the dread deities of Norsca. However, this changed one fateful day.
While the chieftain of the Graelings was off raiding with his bondsmen, Haargroth tended to the goats as was his charge. One of the animals was found missing, however, having wandered off into the woods. Within the forest, Haargroth came across the bloody remains of the animal, having been feasted upon by a Beastman warlord, his snout still dripping with the creature's blood.
Haargroth saw the Beastman's axe resting at one side away from his grasp, and he felt a voice urge him to take revenge. Rage smouldering in his heart, the young Norscan took up the battleaxe and struck the Beastman with such fury that he had almost hacked him in two from shoulder to belly. Again did Haargroth strike the creature, and again and again until he had reduced the mighty Beastman warlord into a bloody stain on the ground. With this single act of anger, Haargroth took the first steps towards glory and power.
The axe, as it transpired, was a Daemon Weapon of Khorne, bound with the essence of one of his foul Bloodthirsters, the Greater Daemons of the Blood God. As Haargroth rose up from the carnage he had wrought, he was astonished to see the blood upon the axe-blade vanish, as if absorbed by the weapon itself.
Haargroth saw the axe's rough, wooden handle morph into flawless, shining stone and the weapon become encrusted with harsh runes in the Dark Tongue. At once, Haargroth realised which amongst the Chaos Gods had picked him out for greatness. Skinning the corpse of the Beastman and wearing its bloody fur about him as a cloak, Haargroth emerged from the woods a changed man.
Haargroth, his manner transformed beyond all recognition and strengthened by the divine favour of Khorne, strode boldly into the hall of the Graelings. Seeing as how he was drenched from head to toe in blood and was swathed in the skin of a Beastman, few men dared to challenge the goatherd turned warrior. Taking the chieftain's seat in the meadhall, Haargroth established his dominance over the hunters, elders and other non-warriors left in the tribe.
As the summer ended, the Graelings' chieftain returned from the raids, his longships rich with plunder. His warriors bellowed the songs of their valour as they entered the hall. As was tradition, the chieftain was to enter last. When he crossed the threshold, he was not met by Chaos Marauders roaring his name, but only stunned silence and a hulking warrior in red Chaos Armour seated upon his throne.
The chieftain, a Champion of Chaos in his own right, roared and charged Haargroth, his own axe readied for a murderous strike. All assembled in the meadhall watched in astonishment as Haargroth caught the chieftain's axe and deflected it, lodging it in the wood of the hall. Before he could wrench it out, the chieftain was struck down by Haargroth's Daemon-axe. With that, the Graelings bellowed Haargroth's name and accepted him as their new leader.
Slaughterers of Haargroth[]
The raiding season had been lean for some of the Norscan tribes, and now in order to survive, they had to go to war with neighbouring tribes in order to seize the necessary resources. With the first snowfalls of winter, the restful silence of the village was broken by the warhorns and battle-cries of a rival Norscan tribe. The Graeling warriors took up their axes and marched out to defend themselves, with Haargroth at their head.
When the enemy tribe charged the Graelings, it was Haargroth who stood unmoving at the helm, his battle-axe at the ready. In the fighting that transpired, Haargroth's axe rose and fell with such blinding speed and crushing power that soon mounds of decapitated heads and hacked-off limbs accumulated around him.
Inspired by his bravery, Haargroth's fellow Graelings willed themselves into a battle-frenzy and roared out the name of Khorne as they slaughtered the warriors of the other tribe. Soon, the raiders were butchered to a man, with none of the Graelings having fallen. The victorious Graelings then carried Haargroth the Blooded, as he was now known, back to the hall of their tribe in triumph.
Strengthened by the bloodshed Haargroth had wrought, his axe had twisted into a weapon of terrifying ornamentation -- its full power now realised. This was not the only change, for the many victories Haargroth had gained in battle had earned him the additional favour of Khorne, who bestowed upon the warrior such strength and power that he resembled a beast more than a man.
Throughout the winter, Haargroth led his warriors to victory in many bloody battles against the neighbouring tribes of Norsca, filling the cold valleys with blood. Soon, Haargroth's savagery was infamous even amongst the barbarians, the brutality of his warriors such that the other tribes named them the "Slaughterers of Haargroth." The name soon stuck.
Over the course of the next several years, Haargroth led the Graelings on daring longship raids. His raiders pillaged the lands of Naggaroth to the west, as well as the softer lands of the Empire and Bretonnia, and even as far south as the shores of Lustria. With each victory, Haargroth made certain to solidify the loyalty of his warriors, offering the best among them their pick of the plunder and gifting them with magnificent armour and weapons blessed by the Dark Gods. And to remind them of his prowess, he always stood first in the battle-line, facing the lion's share of the peril of combat and tearing bloody swathes through the enemy lines.
In time, the Norscans returned to their unholy homeland and restarted raids against their neighbours. Constantly looking for fresh foes to feed his blade, Haargroth came to realise that the strength of his warband was such that there were none amongst the tribes of Norsca and the Kurgan that could offer him a challenge. Thus, he resolved to lead his tribesmen to the depths of the Chaos Wastes itself in search of a worthy adversary.
In the Service of Archaon[]
North did Haargroth and his warriors travel, and there they faced off against the monstrous abominations that dwelt near the great rift of the northern Polar Gate. Though his enemies still fell to his bloodlust and fury, Haargroth was pleased to test himself against the Chaos beasts of the Chaos Wastes.
Though the foulness of the Chaos Wastes strengthened the euphoria of his savagery, it soon became clear to Haargroth that no foe could stand long against him, and that he would not soon again know the true joy of battle. Raging, the Norscan howled out a barbarous prayer to his god, and asked Khorne to send him a worthy foe to kill.
Suddenly, a storm broke the bleeding skies of the Chaos Wastes. Hulking Daemons wielding brutal axes fell upon the Norscans as the many-coloured mist of the Northern Wastes enveloped them. In the confusion, Haargroth was separated from his horde. Lost in the fog, the Norscan heard the thunder of iron-shod hooves and the heavy breathing of a beast. Before him stood a mighty Daemonsteed, and atop it was a towering Chaos Knight in black plate wielding a flaming sword. Upon the blackened steel of the breastplate, Haargroth saw the sacred runes of all the major Dark Gods emblazoned upon the black knight, including that of Khorne. For this was Archaon, the thirteenth Everchosen of Chaos Undivided, truly a foe worthy of Haargroth's might.
Realising the Chaos Gods had answered his call, Haargroth let out a bloodcurdling roar as he charged the unknown warrior, his axe raised above his head for a devastating strike. He brought down his axe in a mighty blow that would have destroyed any lesser foe many times over, but to his shock, he found his attack easily blocked by the Chaos Knight's massive kite shield.
Having weathered the Khornate berserker's assault, the Lord of the End Times readied his own offensive. His blade came alive with blackened flames and arced down upon Haargroth, tearing through his armour and setting his wound alight with Daemonic fire. Struck down to the ground, Haargroth awaited the killing blow and the chance to drink at the Blood God's right hand.
Yet, to his surprise, the warrior did not slay him. He declared his name; Archaon Everchosen, Anointed of Chaos, and presented Haargroth and his Northmen with a choice; either continue resisting him and die, or swear eternal fealty to him and be given command of one of his armies. Having finally crossed paths with a warrior even stronger than himself, Haargroth accepted the offer, and joined his horde of berserking Norscans and slavering Bloodbeasts to the apocalyptic armies of the Dark Redeemer. Their target were the realms of the Old World, where Archaon intended to unleash a new Chaos incursion that would sweep the civilised kingdoms of Men away in what would be named the Storm of Chaos.
Death at Sokh[]
After Archaon's defeat at Middenheim, which ended the Storm of Chaos campaign in the defeat of the forces of Chaos under the command of the thirteenth Everchosen, Haargroth and his legion of blood-hungry warriors rejoined him as he fled to the Imperial settlement of Sokh.[3]
The first forces of the Empire to enter the town after Archaon's defeat were the Teutogen Guard, led by the Ar-Ulric himself, Emil Valgeir. The midday sun flashed bright on their armour, a spear of white that plunged into the crimson-armoured warriors of Haargoth, the Bloodied One.[3]
The Ar-Ulric roared a challenge, and Haargoth ploughed through the flank of the Teutogens towards him, trailing dismembered bodies and severed heads. Haargroth killed at least three dozen victims to reveal the Ar-Ulric, whose enscorcelled warhammer smashed into Haargoth's helm with such force, that it drove the Chaos Lord's head into his chest, bringing his reign of terror to an end.[3]
Miniatures[]
.JPG "Haargroth (Umbau).JPG (14 KB)")
Game History[]
Haargroth never received an official miniature in Warhammer tabletop game. Rather, players were encouraged to create a conversion for him out of different kits. An official conversion for Haargroth did exist, courtesy of Games Workshop, and was comprised of an Orc warboss' axe, a Bloodletter's body, and the head of the classic Archaon miniature.
Haargroth is the only one of Archaon's lieutenants to have received an original look distinct from the standard Exalted Champion tabletop models, unlike his fellows.
Haargroth was the first of Archaon's lieutenants to receive a background article in White Dwarf magazine.
A character very similar to Haargroth the Blooded, Thorgar the Blooded One, was the protagonist of the Chaos campaign of the Warhammer: Mark of Chaos PC game. Like Haargroth, Thorgar was also a Norscan and was dedicated to Khorne.
Trivia[]
Haargroth's name is most likely derived from that of the semi-mythological Danish king Hrothgar, who is also a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf.