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"Nakai earned his epithet due to his solitary nature, for instead of pledging himself to a single temple-city, he goes wherever the Great Plan deems it necessary – whenever the Lizardmen are in dire need; when catastrophe threatens their existence. He is revered by the Skinks, who adorn him with tokens of his many battles fought in preservation of his race and the furtherance of the Great Plan."

—Description of Nakai the Wanderer[6]

Nakai, also called Nakai the Wanderer, is a Lizardmen Kroxigor Ancient. He is a revered creature, regarded by Skink Priests as a powerful jungle-spirit made manifest. He has travelled all over the Known World and is a mighty protector of the Lizardmen[1b], appearing anywhere out of the jungle during times of need, before disappearing once more.[3c] He famously appeared at the Defence of Itza, wreaked havoc at the Red Fields and was recently reported at the Great Reckoning.[1b]

Nakai's presence is a tangible portent that a battle of great import is about to take place. When he appears, the Skink Priests treat him with great deference, adorning him with ceremonial wargear and renewing the gold plates and sacred decorations that are hammered into his toughened skin and horns, before he enters battle. In the aftermath of such major events, they do the same, adorning his massive, battle-scarred body with ceremonial tokens. Over the millennia of victories, Nakai has become quite festooned with such golden tributes.[1b][3c]

History

1 nakai 04b

Nakai in combat against the forces of the Empire as depicted in Total War: Warhammer II.

Nakai's body, protected by much heavier natural armour than the Kroxigor of later spawnings, is covered in scars and battle wounds that he has sustained over the years. Over the course of history he has survived the most heinous of injuries, wounds that would prove fatal for any other creature.[3c]

Warhammer 2 Nakai

The appearance of Nakai at a battle always rallies the Lizardmen and is usually proof of the critical nature of the conflict for the Great Plan.

It is believed that Nakai was originally spawned in the temple-city of Tlanxla during the time of the first spawnings, before the city's destruction during the Great Catastrophe when Chaos first entered the world with the destruction of the Old Ones' Polar Gates. Ever since, the gnarled Kroxigor has appeared all across the Lustrian continent throughout the centuries, usually just hours before a battle takes place. Sometimes, the appearance of Nakai is all that has alerted isolated temple-cities of a forthcoming raid.[3c]

Nakai The Wanderer The Hunter and the Beast

The Kroxigor Ancient Nakai the Wanderer is summoned to the site of a crucial battle for the Lizardmen by the Skink Priests, as depicted in Total War: Warhammer II.

His own temple-city in ruins, Nakai travelled to Itza where he participated at the Defence of Itza during the Chaos invasions of the Great Catastrophe. It was in this titanic battle that Nakai rose to prominence. He killed four score of the foul Daemons holding the vital Bridge of the Stars on his own until reinforcements arrived, earning him great honour.[3a] So great was the tally of Daemon-things reaped by the Kroxigor that day that it is said such creatures fear the site as they do no other place in the mortal world, hearing the death knell of uncounted numbers of their kin echoing down the millennia.[5a] He was thought slain, until his reappearance nearly three thousand years later.[3a]

Nakai appeared again during the Rise of Sotek. The Skaven's Clan Pestilens had brought forth an especially powerful Rat Ogre, its strength and vitality only increasing as the clan and it unleashed ever more disease and filth upon their foes. The two huge creatures sought each other out from the very start of the battle, which soon became a mere backdrop to the titanic clash. Foul diseases leaked from the wounds Nakai inflicted upon the Rat Ogre, coming close to overwhelming the mighty Kroxigor. At the last, Nakai cut the beast down, but in so doing was splattered with stinking gore.[4a]

The Kroxigor was immediately gripped by a fierce fever and collapsed into a deep coma. Fearing he might perish, the Skink Priests attended to him with the most potent balms and ointments they could concoct. After many long months, the Kroxigor's fever broke, and he regained consciousness, staggering to his feet and making off once more in search of those enemies who would defile the realms of the Lizardmen.[4a]

In 930 IC, Nakai aided the Slann Lord Xltep in defeating the shambling hordes of drowned Zombie Pirates commanded by Luthor Harkon at the Battle of the Eclipse, thus preventing the Vampire Lord who ruled the Vampire Coast from penetrating and spreading his corruption into the interior of Lustria.[3b][1a]

Wargear

Spirit of the Jungle

Sigil of the Spirit of the Jungle Lizardmen army commanded by Nakai in Total War: Warhammer III.

Nakai often appears out of nowhere, and disappears just as quickly, erupting from the jungle or marshes to attack enemies of the Lizardmen. He is drawn by a lust for fighting, and as a battle rages on, the likelihood of his appearing greatly increases. Should Nakai withdraw from battle, the path behind him will be blocked by vines and creepers.[7]

  • Blessed Mark of the Old Ones - Nakai is an albino, touched by the divine hands of the Old Ones. His albinism marks his greatness and makes him easily recognizable to his allies and enemies alike.[7]
  • Sacred Blade of Quetzl - This magical blade hums with great mystic power and has felt Nakai's hand for all its existence. As such, it has attained almost a sentient awareness, and often draws Nakai's hands to its targets, or blocks blows the ancient beast is unaware of. This strange weapon spirit is often claimed to be a manifestation of Quetzl, the Old One worshipped as a war god by the Lizardmen, and that Nakai is his instrument in the mortal world.[7]

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