The Tong are described as some of the most horrific looking tribes of Northmen among the Chaos Wastes.
The Tong are one of the most infamous Chaos-worshipping Human tribes of the Chaos Wastes, feared by all other Northmen. They are the tribe closest to the heart of the northern Chaos Wastes, where the northern Polar Gate lies and the wastes transition into the true Realm of Chaos.
The Tong are one of the few tribes of the eastern Chaos Wastes that appear to be their own separate people, distinct from the Kurgan and Hung. One tribe, the Tsavags, was known to have subjugated lesser tribes of Kurgan and Hung after establishing their own empire of Chaos under their "Glorious King," Teiyogtei Khagan.
The ancestral lands of the Tong lie close to the twisted borders where the Chaos Wastes transition into the Realm of Chaos proper, where they are frequently forced to defend themselves from marauding mutant beasts and predatory monsters.[4a]
History[]
The Kurgan and the Hung are both examples of the savage tribes of Men that live in the Chaos Wastes. There are countless other tribes of insignificant size individually, but when combined, they become a formidable force. Among them, there are those who strike fear even into the hearts of those servants of Chaos who dominate the Chaos Wastes.[1a]
Centuries ago, there emerged a great host of warriors from the distant east called the Tong. They carved a bloody swathe through the lands, destroying any tribe that got in their way. Not even the Kurgan could stand against them. Those who tried were utterly destroyed. These raiders were the Tong. The reason for their success stemmed for their complete and total disregard for their own well-being. They threw themselves onto the spears and swords of their enemies to hack their way to the other side. If disarmed, they rent their foes with their bare hands.[1a] Rumors abounded that these were Daemons in Human form.[2a] One by one, they cut a path through the Kurgan hordes, then, inexplicably, they stopped and turned back the way they had come. The Tong vanished, and the tribes of the Eastern Steppes regained their strength.[1a] A century or more passed before the Tong were heard from again.[2a]
The icon of the Tong's Warriors of Chaos army as depicted in Total War: Warhammer III.[3]
While the twelfth Everchosen of Chaos Undivided, Asavar Kul, defeated his rivals and gained the Crown of Domination from the first Daemon Prince Be'lakor, the Tong readied a new offensive, marching forth from their distant lands once more. The hordes of Chaos spilled out of the Chaos Wastes and invaded Kislev as recounted in dozens of tales about the Great War Against Chaos, but in their footsteps came the despoilers of the east. Thankfully, the Tong never joined the rest of the forces of Chaos. Instead, this horde turned south to slaughter the wandering tribes of Men.[1a] The Tong's assault was a great incursion of Chaos that went unnoticed by the records of the Empire, the Dwarfs and even those in far distant Grand Cathay, for the Tong never crossed the Worlds Edge Mountains but instead laid waste to many of the wandering tribes of Men, Orcs, Goblins and the other mortal races that dwelled in those dark lands.[2a]
None recall the Chaos Lord who led the Tong's invasion, but it is remembered that as the greater horde approached it was the banners of the Tong that were at the fore of it. Some tribesmen had heard stories of the depravations of the Tong and fled before them; others had not, and instead rode to join them -- only to be cut down like wheat as they offered their hands.[2a] When the Tong broke through the defenders, they wiped out warband after warband of Hobgoblins, burning and killing everything in their path. The horde raged for five years, seeking out the greatest tribes and killing them all.[1a] After five years had passed there was not a single tribe in those lands that had not been vanquished or had not fled before them.[2a] Their bloodlust slaked, the Tong returned, unchallenged, back to the north, vanishing into the depths of the Chaos Wastes.[1a]
Since the Great War Against Chaos, the Tong have never resurfaced as a horde, as it is claimed that their homeland was destroyed and the greatest of their tribes, the Tsavags, fell to the sword of a horrible Daemon. From time to time, a small warband might emerge, joining the occasional Chaos incursion, but thankfully never in the numbers they presented centuries ago.[1a] As one of the tribes closest to the pulsating heart of Chaos, the Tong peoples are one of the most mutated and hideous of the Northmen tribes, and among their most indomitable fighters. As the darkness of the north begins to swell once more they are the first to join the ranks of the coming Chaos incursions and remain among their central core of fierce mortal warriors.[2a]
Notes[]
The unnamed Chaos Lord who led the second great Tong invasion in the Far East might be the legendary Teiyogtei Khagan, leader of the Tsavag tribe who led the Tong on a great conquest of the Eastern Steppes and created one of the largest Chaos empires in the history of the Known World.
Canon Conflict[]
There is an inconsistency in the canon lore concerning the location of the Tong's original homeland. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption states that the Tong came from the Far East, whilst the background book Liber Chaotica described them as coming from the west. Canon maps which show the location of the Tong have them located north of Norsca, somewhere within the Chaos Wastes.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption (RPG)
- 1a: pg. 156
- 2: Liber Chaotica (Background Book)
- 2a: pg. 24
- 3: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
- 4: Warhammer: The Old World website
- 4a: Explore the Old World (Interactive map)