Plague Drones of Nurgle

The Plague Drones of Nurgle, known also as "Blighted Swarmers," "Festerwings" and "Bubonic Buzzers," are high-ranking Plaguebearers of Nurgle who ride to war mounted on immense Daemonic insects known as Rot Flies that are the evolved -- and far less benevolent -- form of the Beasts of Nurgle.^[1a]

Role[]

Plague Drone Death Heads TWWIII — A Plague Drone of Nurgle armed with a Death Head throws it down upon the foe, as depicted in *Total War: Warhammer III*.^[2]

The title of "Plague Drone" is one that conveys commendable humility, yet it belies the power beneath.^[2] These Daemonic stewards of Nurgle's Garden ride into the mortal realm mounted upon Rot Flies -- colossal Daemon-insects whose appearance is so repugnant it leaves festering scars upon the mortal mind.^[1a]

Plaguebearers prize such steeds even above the Palanquins of Nurgle, for in their haste to punish the mortals that spurned their larval form as Beasts of Nurgle, Rot Flies will speed into battle at great pace. From their lofty positions the Plague Drones can properly tally the diseases running rife across the battlefield, as well as swiftly intervene should Nurgle's divine plans meet with heavily-armed resistance.^[1a]

The Rot Flies themselves are amongst Nurgle's most loathsome creations. They are Beasts of Nurgle that have developed a great bitterness and resentment in their once-ebullient souls towards the mortals that spurned their company. Over the millennia, a thin seed of malice grows in such a Beast's heart, feeding upon the Daemon's depression and angst until it throbs like a canker at the Daemon's core.^[1a]

When a Beast of Nurgle is struck down, banished back to the Realm of Chaos by those it wished to call its friends, the Rot Fly that lurks within begins to take over. Over the centuries that the Beast is bound to remain in the Realm of Chaos, it slowly pupates, secreting a thick mucous of negativity to protect it from the harsh reality outside. The chitinous nub of hate that lurks within the Beast grows strong on the sallow bulk of its former incarnation, and a Daemonic metamorphosis takes place. Eventually the newborn creature within the cocoon of hate bursts out of its fleshy sac as a full-grown Rot Fly, a creature of pitiless malice hell-bent on wreaking its revenge upon an uncaring universe.^[1a]

As the Rot Flies fall upon their prey, blade-sharp legs sink into soft flesh and leathery wings buzz in a flapping purr of motion. Prehensile probosces and posterior mouth-parts latch onto the faces of their victims, and the Rot Flies let out titters of mean-spirited laughter as they pluck heads from necks and swallow them whole. When facing the unremarkable warriors of the mortal realm, a Rot Fly will slowly digest all meat from a skull before spitting out a plague-infused Death Head of Nurgle that its Plaguebearer rider can hurl at the foe.^[1a]

Given the chance, though, the Rot Flies that serve as Plague Drones will hunt down the impertinent mortals that slew their previous incarnations. A special fate is reserved for such individuals. Opening their maws wider than physical law should allow, they consume their persecutors whole, keeping them trapped in their mucous-filled abdomens for eternity as punishment.^[1a]