"The strangest thing I’ve ever seen? I once saw a cloud of butterflies drink the tears of a dying man."
- —Felix Delhoft, soldier
Personifying the change that is Tzeentch, the Sorrow Swarm is a cloud of beautiful, multicoloured butterflies. Individually, they are about the size of an apple and look like ordinary specimens, though of particularly vivid-colours. Under close inspection, their nature is clear. Each of the butterfly's legs ends in a sharp, curving claw that can pierce skin easily. On top of their slender bodies is a miniscule human head fitted with a long, dripping, pink tongue. The creature lands on a victim’s face and slices the skin, causing the creature to weep. The butterfly uses its disgusting tongue to lap up the salty fluid.[1a]
These creatures always travel in swarms of a hundred or more, each fighting the other to snatch the choicest drops. When excited, Sorrow Swarms have been known to tear out the eyes to better reach the tear ducts. Individually, these creatures do not have fighting power and can be crushed easily.[1a]
Whenever a living creature sees a Sorrow Swarm, they become overwhelmed with sadness and grief. The closer the swarm gets, the more likely such a weeping victim falls into a violent frenzy against anything nearby.[1a][1b]
Sorrow Swarms truly are an example of the strangeness found in the Chaos Wastes, but they are certainly not contained there. Swarms of these butterflies sometimes appear in the countryside in the Spring, where they attack children as they are so easy to make cry. Many villages offer free lodgings and accommodations to those who catch these dangerous pests.[1b]