"I have been here before - I slaughtered Baron Lucus, just as I will do you, if it pleases me."
- —Archaon, reflecting on his victory over Lucus the Younger.[3]
Baron Lucus the Younger was the prideful grandson of the famed Grail Knight, Lucus of Brilloinne.
History[]
When Archaon’s forces laid siege to Brilloinne Castle, the Bretonnian trebuchets took a heavy toll on the Chaos army. The first slab of masonry to fall dashed the brains of the Chaos Giant known as the Corpsemaker over a twenty yard area. As further projectiles ploughed through the ranks of Archaon’s infantry, leaving bloody furrows in the ground filled with the mangled bodies of the slain, he raised his sword and bellowed a challenge to the lord of the casde, calling him a coward and daring him to fight.[1]
Baron Lucus, the arrogant warden of Brillionne Castle, took Archaon’s challenge as an insult to his honour. So it was that he opened the gates and sallied forth to meet Archaon. Several hundred noble warriors lowered their lances as Bretonnian chargers galloped to meet the Chaos menace. As the cavalry surged onwards, Pegasus Knights flew high above, Baron Lucus at their head atop a mighty Hippogryph.[1]
With Lucus’ army committed, Archaon smiled grimly and signalled his reserves to the fore. From behind a hidden ridge rode close to a thousand Chaos Knights, and the ground trembled at their passing. From his vantage, Lucus could see snorting metal machine-beasts amongst the Chaos horde, brass behemoths who barged their way to the fore, their riders yearning to spill the blood of their foes.[1]
Bretonnian and Chaos Knights clashed like two opposing tidal waves of steel and muscle, lances on both sides punching through enemy breastplates in explosions of gore. The Knights of Bretonnia fought with courage and valour, but they proved weak weapons against the unyielding might of the Skullcrushers of Khorne. Axes slashed left and right as the Juggernaut cavalry carved a gory path through their foes.[1]
The Pegasus Knights dove to intercept the stampeding Juggernauts, but Vilitch the Curseling unleashed bolts of sorcery that engulfed the winged steeds, bathing them in the magical fires of change. In an instant, the Pegasi were transformed into dozens of different forms, none of which could fly, and so they plummeted to their doom.[1]
Heroic Intervention[]
Lucus plunged into the fray, stabbing with a sword of shining gold as his Hippogryph’s claws slashed left and right, cutting through Chaos armour as if it were paper. Faced with this new threat the Chaos lines parted, and a hulking Slaughterbrute lumbered forwards.[1]
Those knights brave enough to charge the over-muscled monster died in an instant, swatted aside like bothersome insects. Lucus’ Hippogryph leaped at the Slaughterbrute, and though Lucus’ sword was aimed true, it found nothing but air. The creature was shackled to the will of Jharkill, one of Archaon’s champions.[1]
Jharkill even now manipulated the creature’s actions through the movements of a wooden puppet, parrying Lucus’ blade with the skill of a master fencer. Again and again Lucus failed to land a blow, and he realised the giant beast was mocking him, toying with his foe before delivering the deathblow.[1]
Growing bored of his opponent, Jharkill extended his control, and in the blink of an eye the Slaughterbrute grasped hold of the Hippogryph and tore its wings off, showering blood and feathers everywhere, before smashing the beast into a pulp with repeated blows of its battering-ram-sized fists. The Slaughterbrute then picked Lucus up in one giant claw and crushed him like an egg. It was too much for the Bretonnians and, as they fled from the gory sight, Archaon’s forces cut them down...[1]
Trivia[]
Lucus the Younger is occasionaly mentioned in Total War: Warhammer by Archaon whenever he interacts with a Bretonnian character.