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Post by CELS on Nov 13, 2004 9:38:29 GMT -5
The Daemon Wars...[/color][/size] For many millennia, the Imperium has fought a continuing battle against the forces of chaos in the Anargo sector. Constantly, the dark gods plot against mortals, seeking to conquer the material realm and consume the souls of the living. Things are rarely as they seem, however, as the war has many sides, and the forces of chaos are not as monolithic as mortals would believe. In the eternal war between chaos and the forces of order, daemons must not only outdo their own brethren, but also best daemons of rival powers.
In the Anargo sector, the followers of two daemons in particular have fought eachother for ages. The daemons are known by the Inquisition as Drakishar the Reborn, Daemon Prince of Tzeentch, and Drot'ninga, Daemon Princess of Slaanesh. The Inquisition has long known about the rivalry between these daemons, and there are many recorded conflicts between them, as well as assumptions that there are countless more conflicts that are unrecorded.
Because neither daemon has yet the power to materialise however, most of these conflicts take place in the warp, where their endless armies of daemons meet in battles unimaginable for men. When such great battles take place in the warp, they occassionaly impact upon the material realm, as warp storms break out as a reflection of the enormous powers that clash. The latest of these warp storms believed to stem from the battles between these two daemons, left much of the Dorvastor subsector in turmoil for nearly a fifty standard days in 200.M41.
There have also been conflicts within the Anargo sector, of course. From petty gangwars on Meksum to sudden and unpredictable battles between ships of the Imperial Navy, these conflicts do not usually openly display any reference to the daemons. The only significant recording of this, comes from the Chaos wars in 533.M38, when forces of Slaanesh battled forces of Tzeentch for the agriworld Uruz III, which was later exterminated.
Drakael the Reborn[/color] "And as the Great Devourer closed her hungry maw, the old prince laughed, for he was within the guarded gauntlet of his Master, the Lord of Change." From the Inquisitiorial interrogation #228/I, 'Isabel the Mad', Archaios Primus.
There is a Daemon Prince known by the Inquisition as Drakael the Reborn. Though he has been given countless names of the ages, only a few know his original name, given when he was born, and only the keepers of the Black Library knows the name given to him by his dark God. Drakael was born an Eldar in the dark times that lead to the Fall, and his spiritual corruption came quickly. Swearing allegiance to the Lord of Change, Drakael knew of the Fall several centuries before the dark happening, and watched with mixed emotions of joy and hatred as his kin suffered. Though he hated the Eldar empire with a passion, he regret the birth of a new rival of his patron, and one who hungered for his death at that. By then, however, Drakael had ascended to Daemonhood, as a Prince of Tzeentch, and was relatively safe from Slaanesh's carnage.
In the Age of the Imperium, the Inquisition first learned of Drakael in the Ultima Segmentum, where his followers are most numerous. He is called by many 'the Reborn', as he will suddenly disappear, only to reappear later with a new guise and greater power. Drakael's presence can be extremely hard to discover, and its not unknown for the Inquisition to purge a chaos cult, only to discover centuries later that these were followers of Drakael. As the Daemon Prince has increased his powers and influence, his methods become increasingly complex- several dozen different cults may be under his command at the same time, oblivious of eachother and even their very purpose.
In the twisted paintings of his followers and the ramblings of his insane prophets, Drakael appears in many different shapes. Though he is often represented as a humanoid, as befits his Eldar origins, he is also represented as a sort of serpent or - as a variation of this- especially the dragon. The true Chaos rune given to Drakael by Tzeentch is unknown by all except the Keepers of the Black Library, but the Imperial Inquisition has been able to find certain patterns in the runes and symbols assigned to him by his cults, depending on each 'phase' of his constant rebirth.
The cults of Drakael[/color]
[/li][li] The Skin-carvers, Dorvastor. In the underground of Dorvastor, the cultists known as the Skin-carvers fight a constant war against the Imperium, trying to sabotage the worship of the Emperor on the cardinal world itself, as well as making offworld attacks. The Skin-carvers mark their members with hideous scars in the form of chaotic runes or twisted drawings, and the decorations vary in size and complexity from a simple rune on the abdomen for new members and dedicated infiltrators, to body-covering patterns for their dark priests.
[/li][li] The Massilian 110th, Castellan subsector. The Massilian 110th were originally doomed not a year after their founding, as they were sent on a hopeless mission in the middle of ork space. Because of a freak occurence, however, their ship was delayed in the warp, and while the other ships in the detachment were destroyed upon arrival, the Massilian 110th arrived long after the enemy had withdrawn. After this incident, Drakael appeared before the regiment as Azazel, angel of the Emperor, and has since then been worshipped as their guardian. The regiment wears lucky charms and secret symbols on pieces of paper, in devotion to their 'angel', in return for his protection and guidance.
[/li][li] The Circle of Snakes, Kolkhoz. Primarily a cult for civilians and peasants especially, the Circle of Snakes worship Drakael for protection against the orks. These cultists believe that it was Drakael who protected Kolkhoz during Waaagh! Tuskragga in M36, saving the world from the ork hordes.
[/li][li] The Cult of the Dragonlord, Archaios. The cult of the Dragonlord is a warrior cult that is preparing forwar on the side of the Alpha Legion in the Anargo sector. So far, the Cult of the Dragonlord have made no attacks against the Imperium, but their ranks are increasing and so are their resources.
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Post by malika on Nov 13, 2004 9:48:20 GMT -5
Ok...I know you are still starting, but I'll post some ideas which might be usefull What about Drakael having a small number of Eldar followers? Perhaps Crone World Eldar, or Eldar slaves he took after the Fall or something? Perhaps they could be his "honour" guard? Just an idea? It could be an idea to have Slaanesh try to leech his soul away from Tzeentch, hence some sort of internal conflict on the inside, him trying to fight off Slaanesh, perhaps he also uses the Dark Eldar method of consuming lots of souls in order to keep his Tzeentch side stronger... About Drot'ninga, she sounds intruiging...Im curious about her history, was she already there during the Horus Heresy? That could be cool, that she would still remember what happened there and that having an impact on her morality (if she has such a thing). Perhaps also more info on the battles (or perhaps even also full scale wars) the followers of these two Daemonprinces had during these many millenia.
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Post by CELS on Nov 13, 2004 14:40:02 GMT -5
Drot'ninga, Daemon Princess of Slaanesh[/color] "A human will live his life led by lust, but live an eternity in pain for love. Give them love and they will die willingly in your service."Attributed to Drot'ninga.Drot'ninga is actually far older than her patron god, Slaanesh, having risen to power countless millennia before the time of the Fall, but she eventually submitted to Slaanesh to ensure her own survival. To humans, she appears as a woman of dreadful beauty, her body young, but her eyes revealing an eternity of life. She makes promises of infinite pleasures, great glories, fantastic powers, or even true love. The latter is a very rare promise from a daemon, and because very few humans are prepared to hear such things from a daemon, many conclude that she is not a daemon at all, or even that they have been mislead about the nature of daemons. Typically, members of Drot'ninga's cults are lured by the promise of fellowship, protection and happiness. Only when members are so commited to the cult that they have nothing else, are they given some knowledge of whom they serve. Unlike many other chaos cults, the cultists of Drot'ninga are not lured by power alone, but learn to love the teachings of their cult and despise the Imperium passionately. In the cold, ruthless Imperium, too many are only a whisper away from embracing the seemingly loving cults of Drot'ninga, who offer all the things that the Imperium cannot. As a result, the servants of Drot'ninga's cults are unusually committed to their cause, meeting death without flinching. They are not forced to meet the dillemma of choosing power over loyalty, because they are already forsaken by the Emperor and his foolish servants. The cults of Drot'ninga [/color] [/li][li] Sisterhood of Eternity, Tryphon. This ancient, but small, cult on Tryphon is quite unique in the Anargo sector. Its ranks are made up exclusively of female members of the nobility of Tryphon, and new members of the cult can only be introduced if they are relatives of the founding members. In return for their worship, ritual sacrifice and occassional murder, the Sisterhood is promised long lives, wealth, healthy offspring and similar blessings. [/li][li] Cult of the Forsaken, Nagoma. Amongst those who have been banished from the civilised world on Nagoma, there are many in desperate need of fellowship and new families - someone to share their feelings of shame, loneliness or hate. At first, new members introduced to the Cult of the Forsaken are met with warmth and love without religious elements. In time however, the inducted will learn of their mistress, Drot'ninga, and will learn to hate the civilisation that banished them. [/li][li] Church of the White Goddess, Archaios. In the barbaric tribes of Gotar on Archaios, the White Goddess Drona is still worshipped by many. She is the Goddess of Fertility and Beauty and is said to speak to her faithful subjects in their dreams, telling them how to best serve her. The most devoted worshippers are awarded with the highest blessing as their child is born with mutations and the mark of Slaanesh. These children are brought up within the temples of the White Goddess, their bodies hidden by ornate temple robes, and spend their lives in worship of the White Goddess. According to local legend, the Chosen of the White Goddess may awake at night and be called by the White Goddess to do her will, be it murder or seduction. In the symbol of the White Goddess, Drona, one can clearly see the likeness to the chaos rune of Drot'ninga, if one is familiar with it. [/li][li] Ertower Clan, Altarra. One of the wealthiest families on Altarra, the Ertower Clan knowingly worships Drot'ninga and several other Chaos powers, and have done so for over a century. Though they are not gifted with chaotic mutations, members of the family are often unusually long-lived and beautiful. They have tremendous powers, and are even connected with the Alpha Legion in the Anargo Sector, to whom they contribute much resources. [/li][li] Blood Brides, Meksum. Originally, the Blood Brides started out as an insignificant little coven of prostitutes in the lower hives of Meksum, who learned about the dark powers of Chaos and came to beg Slaanesh for protection against diseases and increased beauty and wealth. Drot'ninga answered their call, and they became a powerful cult, with female gangster members protecting the working prositutes from rivals and law enforcers. It was the gangsters that gave the name Blood Brides to the criminal clan, and it quickly became legend amongst the lower hives of Meksum. Many years later, the Blood Brides are a powerful crime family on Meksum, their female soldiers beautiful, yet deadly. Their prostitutes are more beautiful still, and willing to commit the most extreme acts to satisfy their increasingly rich customers. Of course, not all these customers live to tell the tale.
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Post by CELS on Nov 13, 2004 14:54:05 GMT -5
Ok...I know you are still starting, but I'll post some ideas which might be usefull Cheers Forgive me for not being clear about this. Neither of the Daemons are strong enough to materialise in the Anargo sector yet. Which is a good thing, because you really don't want a Daemon Prince loose in an Imperial sector. At the moment, these two daemons only work behind the scenes... appearing in dreams and visions, etc. In other words, Drakael exists only in the warp, so he doesn't have any Eldar bodyguards Since Drakael is a daemon prince, Slaanesh can't just suck up his soul, so he doesn't have to worry about having to devour souls like the poor Dark Eldar. The only way for Slaanesh to get Drakael, is to actually fight him in the warp. And of course, that has happened on a few occassions Drot'ninga was probably 'born' as a daemon several hundred thousand years before the HorusHeresy. Yes, she would remember what happened, but it wouldn't really have a huge impact on her morality any more than it did on Cherubael or any other old daemons. Oh, and by the way, I suspect you think that she actually believes in the things she talks about. Let me just get one thing straight. She is in no way a 'noble' daemon, who actually fights for love. She doesn't understand love. She was born from feelings of hate, envy and loneliness. She's just smart enough to see that humans have a thing for love, which she can exploit. Done. See above By the way, if anyone's actually mildly interested in what inspired me to create Drot'ninga (which is actually old norwegian for Queen, by the way), check out the following songs by the Cardigans; 'Do You Believe ?' and 'Paralyzed'. To quote the lyrics... "Do you really think That love is gonna save your soul Well I sure hope so Oh, I really really hope so But I don't think so" *Feminine evil laughter* Muahahahah
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Post by Minister on Dec 2, 2004 18:09:18 GMT -5
For my part, I would also see a cult or two of Slannesh on Dorvastor. The asture nature of life, combined with the strict controll held over imports, makes such action all the more tempting for those whose souls are weak. Mostly low-key stuff, below the radar of the Law. A few odd smuggling crates found, the odd missing vagrant... nothing that sets off the world into Witch Hunt mode. Which is just as well, as the entire population's a lynch mob waiting to happen.
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Post by Dazo on Jan 8, 2005 18:33:36 GMT -5
Can I just ask, what are your veiws on what would happen if cults from both these daemon princes were on the same world. I know you placed the circle of snakes on Kolkhoz damn you but I have a feeling the blood brides would have ended up there aswell when populations where shifted after the invasion, there was several million people moved from Meksum to kolkhoz.
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Post by Kage2020 on Jan 12, 2005 23:26:39 GMT -5
For some reason, I haven't replied before... This is an example of the type of integration that we need with the worlds of the Anargo sector and, for the most part, is something that can be 'ported in with relative ease. Excellent work, CELS. (No Anargo cults... *sniffle*)
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Post by CELS on Jan 13, 2005 14:43:54 GMT -5
Thanks, Kage! It was actually very fun to write this, as a break from the world-building and what not.
As for the [apparent] lack of cults in the Anargo system; I would be thrilled if people helped creating more cults and making the daemon wars even more complex and integrated with the Anargo sector and beyond. This is in no way intended to be any kind of solo-project, like my SRs and articles. In other words... why don't you contribute, if you want?
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Post by TheGlyphstone on Jan 14, 2005 18:21:24 GMT -5
I've been considering crafting a small cult of wyrd psykers centered on Karnak, and possibly planets along the trading routes. They'd be primarily pyros, and call themselves the "Torch Bearers" or something suitably fiery. I came up with this a little while ago, but still a couple of problems:
1) I have no idea how common wyrds are, except that they're very rare. 2) A (technically) non-Chaos-worshipping cult would break the norm, but then it doesn't belong in this thread. Should a new thread be started to discuss cults in general? 3) I don't want to cause disruption in the Sector with another cult.
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Post by Lordof on Jan 14, 2005 22:42:29 GMT -5
I had worked on some background where there was a cult which had several cells working indipendant of each other and they held an uprising across several worlds causing massive damage to the infrastructure on some of the worlds.
But it was a fair bit premature and didn't suceed in taking over any planet properly.
(It is actually meant as a cover story explaining how an =][= character of mine got his Daemon weapon, he set off the uprisings to divert attention so he could raid a temple and have ample time to break the seals to steal the weapon bound within. He had no hope for the uprisings to suceed and generally didn't care)
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Post by Zholud on Jan 15, 2005 9:44:57 GMT -5
Minor change of Blood Bribes pieceBlood Brides, Meksum. Originally, the Blood Brides started out as an insignificant little coven of prostitutes in communal eselsees of Meksum, places which do not belong to any clan and thus used as a place for trade and collection of misfits and outcasts, exiled from eselsees. Lack of owner leads to absence of repair and lack of medical protection. The Bribes learned about the dark powers of Chaos and came to beg Slaanesh for protection against diseases and increased beauty and wealth. Drot'ninga answered their call, and they became a powerful cult, with female gangster members protecting the working prostitutes from rivals and law enforcers. It was the gangsters that gave the name Blood Brides to the criminal clan, and it quickly became legend amongst the eselsees of Meksum. It is important to note that the Bribes are able to charm their consumers, who then decide to take them as a personal concubine and even sometimes leaving them some funds in their testaments. It is rumoured that several imperial governors get used to the forbidden pleasures rendered by this cult. If this is a case, it seems entirely likely that the Bribes moved their members outside the planet as well. Many years after the original founding (Somewhere about M32), the Blood Brides become a powerful crime organisation on Meksum, their female soldiers beautiful, yet deadly. Their prostitutes are more beautiful still, and willing to commit the most extreme acts to satisfy their increasingly rich customers. Of course, not all these customers live to tell the tale. Most often used symbol of the Bribes is skull, ¾ of which are red. It has 2 wings in its upper part, both turned right with wing-ends. A knife protrudes from skull’s nose. Idea behind symbol – the original cabalistic sign for the demon turned 45 decrees clockwise. ¾ of circle is skull’s head, arrow is knife, wings are ends of lines. The brute approximation is on the picture Don’t laugh…
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Post by Destecado on Jan 15, 2005 12:59:00 GMT -5
Very nice work CELS. The reasons for his hatred of his own race are probably lost to history. It may be interesting though if it was something like a puritanical hatred of the debauched society that the elder had fallen into. You had groups of elder (the Craftworld Eldar) fleeing the depravity of their society…maybe Drakael had his own form of addressing the depravity. He may have originally sold his soul or come into the servieof the lord of change in an attempt to remake elder society…to turn them away from their depraved natures. Drakael may have served his master well, killing “sinners” and sowing the seeds of the downfall of the decadent elder society. Of course, the fall of that society saw the creation of Slaanesh. It could be that Drakael was about to be consumed by Slaanesh with the rest of the elder on the homeworlds, but Tzeentch snatched him away at the last moment. Tzeentch told him that he had served him well and elevated him to the status of Daemon prince…unfortunately his physical body had been destroyed in the fall, but he can reform his essence over and over again thanks to Tzeentch…which is where the name Drakael the reborn comes from. Tzeentch cryptic praise of his servant may point to the lord of change having a hand in the birth or creation of Slaanesh. Even if he did not take a direct hand, the changes wrough on the elder through the fall much of the galaxy may have been what he was after. The birth of Slaanesh cause many of the severe warp storms to abate, thus allowing for wide spread travel to again begin among the stars. This would bring cultures that were previously separated into contact and conflict with eachother…which may have been Tzeentch plan all along. The death of the elder and the birth of Slaanesh were but a means to an end. I’m short of time at the moment, but I’ll post more later. quote author=TheGlyphstone link=board=Chaos&thread=1100356709&start=8#0 date=1105744884]I've been considering crafting a small cult of wyrd psykers…but still a couple of problems: 1. I have no idea how common wyrds are, except that they're very rare.[/quote] According to the new rules and fluff for Wyrds on the Necromunda website, approximately 10% of the Necromundan population display some manner of psychic mutation. Many of these individuals only display minor mutations which can be expressed as being “lucky” at cards or being highly empathetic. I highly recommend taking a look at the rules and fluff (accessed through the link above). With regards to the topic at hand, there is a section about Daemonic Possession of Wyrds, but the fluff and rule might also prove useful in the discussion of defining psykers in the ASP.
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Post by TheGlyphstone on Jan 15, 2005 14:06:38 GMT -5
Very useful, Destacado. If 10% of Necromunda's population are Wyrds of some sort, it doesn't seem unreasonable at all for Wyrds to emerge elsewhere (such as the Anargo Sector).
I'm going back to Karnak with my notes on the Torch Bearers, so I don't hijack this thread any further.
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Post by CELS on Jan 16, 2005 5:07:06 GMT -5
Glyphstone... I'm not sure about the concept of wyrd cults, 'Stone. Destecado didn't say that 10% of the Necromundian population are wyrds (that would be ridiculous), but that 10% have some kind of psychic mutation (almost equally ridiculous, but there you go). If I recall correctly, Wyrds are extremely rare, at least on most worlds. Maybe they've changed the fluff, but in the old days, a Wyrd was not just a regular psyker, but a psyker who could draw upon the energy of the warp at will, like some alpha level psykers. If a wyrd is now just a plain untrained psyker, then a cult like this is no problem. But then, I have to ask... why are you posting about this here? Unless this cult is connected to the Daemon Wars, you're going way Off-T, and I'll thank you to start a new thread to continue your discussion elsewhere Lordof... As I told Glyphstone, I'm going to have to ask you to continue your discussion elsewhere unless you're suggesting something related to the Daemon Wars. Zholud... I was hoping to get some discussion going here, rather than just having individual world-builders march in here and tell me how things are going to be, so I hope the stuff you wrote is not supposed to be set in stone First of all, there are very few cults that I want to be that old (M32). Eventhough there's a chaos presence on most worlds for millennia, the cults themselves usually only last for a short while before they are discovered. Second, I really wanted the Blood Brides to be a rather 'young cult'. A few centuries, perhaps. It fits their imagery, I think. Cults like the Church of the White Goddess or the Skin-carvers, those I could see existing for millennia. Oh, and what's an eselsee? I couldn't find it in the dictionary... Also, they're called Blood Brides. Not Blood Bribes I also don't get the symbol of the Blood Brides. The wings don't have to be turned right, if you just... well, here's a crude drawing. On the left is the original chaos rune. In them middle is the rune turned 45 degrees. On the right is my suggestion, without colour. The dagger is behind the skull, rather in front. Forgive my arrogance, but I think it looks cooler when it's not coming out of its nose Destecado... Thanks for your input. The idea of Drakael actually wanting to improve the Eldar society at first is quite nice, but I definitely want him to become a daemon prince before the Fall. I'm also very keen on calling him the Reborn because he keeps disappearing and reappering in different guises all the time, since this is critical to the whole idea. To suggest that Tzeentch actually wanted Slaanesh to be born, as a means to an end, is very interesting, but I'll need a way to make it 'fluff transparent', so that I'm not forcing this idea on others. And yes, all this history will probably be lost to history, and unknown to all except the Black Library, but it's still interesting to write it
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