"The Architect could have changed me, given I alone have a body packed with muscle. Instead he gave me my brother's. This I knew was the true boon, because that's how I learnt to dominate... to control... and take what is mine."
- —Vilitch the Curseling[3]
Vilitch the Curseling[1a]
Vilitch the Curseling, also known as the "Master of Misrule" and the "Twisted Twin," is a powerful mutant Sorcerer Lord of Tzeentch, the Chaos God of change and intrigue. Vilitch was permanently fused to his more muscular warrior brother, Thomin, by the will of the Changer of Ways.[1a]
History
Origins
The icon of Vilitch the Curseling and his Puppets of Misrule Warriors of Chaos army in Total War: Warhammer III.
Once among the tribes of the Northmen there was born a pair of twins; one healthy, strong and handsome to look upon, and one wretched, weak and tiny. Though the tribe's leaders expected the wholesome son to become a great warrior, it was the runt Vilitch who was to change their fate forever.[1a]
The twins had a difficult birth, and their mother died soon afterwards, for it took all her strength to nourish the greedy infants. As they grew up, Thomin -- the thriving twin -- excelled in the hunt, and soon rose to lead the tribe's youngest warriors. The weakling Vilitch, on the other hand, was universally despised for his ugliness and frailty. He was forced to perform his dead mother's chores and, humiliatingly, was denied the use of a sword. Thomin used to beat Vilitch for the slightest infraction and, despite the runt's pleas, his father would not intervene.[1a]
As they grew up, Thomin became well-muscled and athletic, quickly learning the ways of the warrior. Vilitch barely managed to scrape by as an apprentice to the tribe's shaman, where he learnt a few meagre cantrips and a little knowledge about the Ruinous Powers that dwelt beyond the veil. Every night, the runtling prayed fervently to Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways, to reverse their fates, to make him the strong one and his brother the slave. The Great Sorcerer, who delights in anarchy, eventually agreed to Vilitch's selfish request.[1a][5b]
One Geheimnisnacht, when the Chaos Moon Morrslieb passed its closest to the Known World, Vilitch awoke to find that his body and that of his sibling Thomin had melded together. His brother's intellect had been added to his own, and there was nothing left of Thomin's mind save for a drooling automaton enthralled to Vilitch's command.[1a][5b]
The Master of Misrule leading his puppets to battle.
The grotesque fusion of warrior and runtling that staggered out of the twins' tent glowed with the power of Chaos Sorcery. Vilitch's budding magical abilities had been enhanced a hundredfold, and the hulking body to which his withered frame had been fused was now possessed of diabolic strength. Laughing maniacally at his newfound powers, Vilitch embarked upon a bloody killing spree, sending crackling arcs of pure change into those who had looked down upon him in the past and forcing the body of Thomin to throttle any who tried to stop him. By the time the sun set, the village had been consumed by sorcerous fire and the streets ran with molten flesh.[1a][5b]
But Vilitch's story did not end there. The malformed sorcerer-twin hunted down all of the warrior elite of his tribe and used his dire powers to enslave their minds, making them little more than walking puppets that lived and died according to his whims. Now, wherever the Curseling plots and schemes to further his own power, a band of hard-bitten veteran Chaos Warriors marches at his side, each of them under the fearful command of the disturbing creature that they know only as the "Twisted Twin."[1a][5b]
In 2515 IC, Vilicth incinerated the Kislevite town of Tzeskagrad, his laughter infecting even those who were caught in the flames.[5a]
Conspiring against the Everchosen
"A great lie -- the kind that takes the lives of men, their futures and their very souls -- is predicated upon the foundations of seeming truths. These truths rely on details that are an antidote to incredulity -- as a life-saving potion might be to a poison -- incredulity that would destroy the lie."
Concept art of Vilitch the Curseling for Total War: Warhammer III.
In 2518 IC, Vilitch approached the Chaos Lord Archaon. Offering the thirteenth Everchosen-in-waiting aid in finding the final missing artefact of the Six Treasures of Chaos, the Crown of Domination, the Curseling wished him in return to assault Brilloinne Castle in the Bretonnian Marches of Couronne. In exchange for the dark artefacts that Lucus of Brilloinne had hidden there for safekeeping, Vilitch would reveal the means to locate the Crown of Domination, and thus allow Archaon to finally claim the mantle of the Everchosen.[4a]
Archaon noticed that the Curseling bore the mark of Be'lakor, hinting that the Twisted Twin was conspiring with the first Daemon Prince to usurp his place as the Everchosen. When confiding this to his sorcerous advisor, Khezula Sheerian, the Chaos Sorcerer told him that it was just as likely that Vilitch intended to double-cross Be'lakor as well, given that there was no love lost between Tzeentch and the Dark Master.[4a]
Vilitch the Curseling and his brother Thomin in their full panopoly of war.[5b]
When assaulting Brilloinne Castle, Archaon's warband fought against the Bretonnian army lead by Lucus the Younger, and it was revealed that Vilitch had already defeated them and transformed the Bretonnians into Chaos Spawn. Hiding their true appearance, the Curseling revealed his treachery once Archaon entered the former Grail Chapel of the castle.[4b]
With his army being decimated by the resurgent Chaos Spawn, Archaon confronted their master and bested him in a duel. Forcing Vilitch to reveal who could show him the location of the Crown of Domination, the Curseling directed him to Dreadpeak, where Be'lakor awaited him. Before Archaon could kill the Tzeentchian sorcerer for his treachery, Vilitch transformed into mist and fled.[4b]
End Times
During the End Times, Vilitch the Curseling was placed in charge of the Siege of Averheim in the Empire by Archaon, leading the so-called "Legion of Flame." At the start of the End Times, Vilitch led his hordes of Fireborne south. His armies crossed the River Lynsk and began to press into Ostland, unconcerned with their losses. His army besieged Castle von Rauken, where he was delayed for a time by the brilliant defence of Aldebrand Ludenhof, the Elector Count of Hochland.[6a] Thanks to reinforcement from the Reiksguard, Ludenhof was able to turn the tide and meet Vilitch at the Battle of Lubrecht.[6b]
Vilitch suffered a setback in the form of a bullet from a Hochland Long Rifle fired by the Elector Count, causing his army to break apart and withdraw after their leader's apparent retreat. Fortunately, the shot had only struck Thomin's vacant skull.[2d][6b]
However, even with the combined might of Chaos and the Skaven hordes, Vilitch was unable to break through that Imperial city's walls.[2a] Emperor Karl Franz then led a daring assault into the Chaos forces to destroy the Hellcannon batteries that were slowly tearing the city apart. Vilitch's forces were then ravaged by the combined might of the Dwarfs and the Empire, commanded by the Incarnates of Azyr and Aqshy, Karl Franz and Ungrim Ironfist.[2b]
Vilitch and Thomin, forever bound as one.
Seeking to turn the tide in his favour, Vilitch summoned the Herald of Tzeentch known as the Changeling from the Forge of Souls to infiltrate Averheim and kill the Incarnates. This attempt failed, as the Winds of Magic invested in Karl Franz allowed him to see through the deceptions of the Daemon and destroy it effortlessly.[2b] It was then that the thirteenth Everchosen Archaon personally led his army south to finish what his incompetent minion could not.[2c]
In a desperate breakout attempt, the Imperial forces attacked Vilitch's camp at Bolgen up the River Aver through a bridge of storms summoned by the emperor. In response, Vilitch desperately summoned a legion of Daemons, but due to the haste with which the ritual had been conducted, only hundreds instead of thousands manifested.[2e] Fighting against the emperor and finding himself overpowered, Vilitch followed the retreating Imperial forces through the bridge of storms, blinded by rage and humiliation.[2f]
While Vilitch was inside the portal, both exits closed, imprisoning him within the Realm of Chaos. Thinking himself lost forever, he suddenly found himself back within Tzeentch's realm. Confused as to why he was saved by his divine patron when he had not requested any aid, the answer was not to his liking.[2f]
Vilitch's silent and brutish conjoined brother Thomin spoke for the first time in ages, revealing that it was he who had requested aid. Realising his peril too late, Vilitch's mind was wiped clean as his brother, so long subservient to his will, took control of the pair. "Vilitch" the Curseling was no more.[2f]
Wargear
- Vessel of Chaos - Vilitch enjoys the patronage of the Great Sorcerer and as part of Tzeentch's fickle plans, he has gifted the Twisted Twin with a dark crucible -- a powerful artefact that is able to harness and store a great reservoir of unstable magical energy to enhance his abilities as a Chaos Sorcerer.[1a]
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