#(the axefather) khorne

[warhammer-fantasy-muses]

@skxrbrand

Concept: If Valkia were to be a Chaos God in her own right, and IF she and Khorne were to end up as rivals, I could sort of see their rivalry being akin to that of Ares and Athena from Greek myth. Not that Valkia would really represent wisdom of any kind (lol), but where Khorne would be representative of the pure unbridled carnage, slaughter and madness of war and bloodshed, and Valkia's focus would be a bit more focused on the glory and honor of engaging in combat. A perfect mirror image to Khorne's blood-soaked brutality.

I mean, she is already inspired in name, and to some extent design, by the Valkyries of Norse myth, who were greatly experienced warrior-maidens. And since IIRC she is not below using her feminine aspects to her advantage, might as well throw in a bit of Freya there as well, who is also a goddess of war, but ALSO of fertility and BEAUTY. Fertility would also be an aspect she could take, as any army needs to birth strong children to bolster its ranks.

[kharrneth]

Jax back at it again with another WIP they probably won't touch ever again! This looks very rough on purpose and is only here to communicate an idea (and cuz i didnt wanna be up all night)

But anyway...I've been talking to @alphabitchnkari on and off about what kind of physique Khorne would have and the typical bodybuilder look was kinda...obvious. I was more partial to the strongman look, since that's more "realistic" to strength from what I understand. Going for more "Thor from God of War Ragnarok" vs the MCU counterpart. I've always pictured Khorne as being a wide boy, second only to Nurgle in girth. When he puts on the armor, im sure he looks a bit slimmer, but nah.

Also...chungy, dad-bod Khorne... This also sets him apart nicely from his kids. Truly, he is the Axefather.

I've never drawn this body type before. I think it came out rather nice!

[skxrbrand]

Middenheim, City of the Wolf

It was not long at all before Skarbrand had been surreptitiously led off by the warrior fraternities of Khorne. His talent for battle and killing had caught their eye and while he was not told it was the Blood God who they venerated, the Reaper knew Blood Rites when he saw them. He would only rise so high, being foreign born and not of Midden blood, but that was okay.

Even low ranked, the Reaper had heard whispers and rumor among the other greenhorns. Captured sorcerers, wizards, mages, and other aethyr types in preparation for a great sacrifice to Khorne.

" The great letting of aethyr stained blood will be soon, I hear."

Skarbrand just made a sound of acknowledgement, swirling the contents of his tankard thoughtfully. The man next to him, smaller than him but with the bearing of a million marauders the Reaper had seen (and slain) before, kept speaking.

" You should find an offering before then. We would not want to be found wanting by the Gods."

" The gods have never found me wanting." Skarbrand replied coolly. His company laughed,

" I believe it. The Axefather has blessed you well."

---

"It's a trap then?"

Klaus' voice trembled with fury and trepidation both. Before him, in the middle of blood-drawn summoning circle, was a reddish daemon. One of Khorne's own Heralds, it's horns and head decorated in a brass ornaments boasting it's station. It nodded, confirming Klaus' fears.

"Aye, that it is. This Hallebjorn is not who he says he is. Not of my father and certaintly not your ally."

"Then what are his plans? His purposes?"

"Too labyrinthine for even me to devise." The Daemon replied with a shake of it's head, " All the same, you must stop them. A show of force, of utter destruction, will work. Enough blood can wash away the most well laid of plans."

" But we do not know where the Wolfborne lay their heads. And the other cults--"

" Pah! Other cults. Kharneth cares not from where the blood flows and he suffers not fools! If the others will not follow you, their heads will be added to the skull tally." The Daemon barked dismissively. Then it leaned in, to the very edges of the circle Klaus had made to summoning, " I will show you where the ritual is set to take place. But you will use it to summon Khorne's rage."

It waved it's hands. Red runes, bloody glyphs of the Skull King, floated before it. Klaus looked at them in wonder, then pitched backwards in terror as they burned their way into his skin. He grimaced and grunted, but hid the true depth of his pain, unwilling to appear weak before the Herald. The Daemon grinned,

" Carve them into your skin. When the ritual commences, we will turn the Wolfborne plot against them. Blood for the blood god!"

"And skulls for his throne!" Klaus replied through clenched teeth and burnt flesh.

[cystus-the-malignant]

Hey, I cannot sleep cuz insomnia is a bitch. Would you mind telling your opinion on the other 3 Chaos Gods? I can already make a safe assumption about what you think of Nurgle.

 Khorne: Honestly, in my list I did a while back, I was way too cruel. Khorne is one of the most well thought out gods of blood and war I’ve seen. Khorne is exactly how he should be, ruthless, prideful, powerful, and uncaring of where slaughter happens. Khorne makes it known, he cares not from whence the blood flows, only that it flows in his name. However, pity to the man who would kill the weak. Sure, you can slaughter indiscriminately, but if you JUST kill children, and those who cannot fight back? If you keep giving The Axefather of A Thousand and One Severed Skulls a bunch of tiny, weak ass skulls? You will find a fate far worse than even one such as Angron could devise. Khorne is anger, bloodshed, war, violence, and murder. But he is also courage, tactical prowess, honor, and strength. Khorne may be unquenchable in bloodthirst, but Khorne demands that the blood be strong.

Tzeentch…oh boy…Tzeentch. As a Nurglic, I would generally be considered to hate him, but I can’t bring myself to do so. Tzeentch is The Great Puppeteer, The Grand Schemer, The Weaver of Fate. His schemes are so intricate I can’t help but admire it all. The crystalline motifs of his primary part of the warp, the oft used avian themes in his daemon units that points to the wisdom of owls and other birds, the absolute disregard for natural flesh. That last bit especially, Tzeentch is known for being a mutating bastard, and no servant of The Master of Machiavelli is left unchanged. I make it well known I’m a damn slut for body horror, and Tzeentch scratches that itch oh so well.

Slaanesh….um…fuck…lets put my cards on the table. I don’t fucking know how to feel about The Prince of Pleasure, The Lord of Lust, The Epoch of Excess, I genuinely don’t. Slaanesh is cool, but I often feel as though…there’s so much of Slaanesh you can find in the other gods? Slaanesh isn’t just sex, Slaanesh embodies excess in all facets. So…what about excessive body augments? Tzeentch has that, same with excessive craving of knowledge and power. Okay…fighting? Khorne, come on, that’s too easy. Okay…gluttony? Sorta, but Gluttony is so rarely featured in Slaaneshi lore, and often we see massively fat Nurglics rather than hedonistic piles of flesh that call themselves Slaaneshi. Don’t get me wrong, Slaanesh has amazing ideas and designs, I love their daemon units for the more simplistic approach, and noise marines? COME NOW, DO YOU THINK I DO NOT HEAR THE VOICES TOO? But, too common, Slaanesh is forced to be boiled into this badly misrepresented god of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, because that’s all that’s left. I love the idea of it, Doomrider is fucking amazing, so is Lucius, who is a perfect example of a different side of Slaanesh. They just feel weak often, but no chaos god is truly weak, they’re all fucking great. 

Now, as an added bonus, because I feel so generous right now, and because I forgot to answer this right away, I’m gonna post a single song for each chaos god, to represent them right.

Khorne: Blood For The Blood God by Debauchery

(debauchery actually have a lot of song for Khorne)

Tzeentch: Ahriman of The Thousand Sons by Rostau

(Rostau broke up a while ago, they also have a song for tyranids, just a warning, this song is drone metal, and it won’t be the easiest listen for some people)

Nurgle: Nurg-let by HMKids

(HMKids are odd, dunno if they even still make music, however they’ve made TONS of warhammer music, such as the amazing ‘ERE WE GO for the orks)

Slaanesh: Dirge of Slaanesh by Michael O

(Michael is just the poster, the actual song is from the film A Serbian Film, a fitting movie for Slaanesh, and the voice clips are from Dawn of War...I think)

[ask-angron-40k-blog]

☭ The time is nigh, Chosen of The Axefather. Come let us fight to the death, none will survive my pox! NONE WILL SURVIVE THE ENTROPY GRANDFATHER NURGLE HAS GIFTED ME!

Battle Theme: Halo 3 - Warthog Run

Battle intro: “Such spirit from such a small man! Come then! Challenge the might of a Primarch!”

Victory: “Vile little nobody, aren’t you?“

Defeat: “Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows...even I am vulnerable to this rule...“

Taunt: “No, but seriously, who the hell are you?“

Reacting to Taunt: “Crass words from such a little man!“

Tie: “It seems Nurgle bolstered your constitution first...“

Perfect Victory: “I’m sending you back to the Garden in pieces, nephew!“

Final Finisher: “Remain as ignored and ignoble as you came!“

[warhammer-fantasy-muses]

NORSCA--

A trail of blazing destruction and gore-covered snow banks were evidence enough of where the Gourmand had strode upon the lands of Norsca, and it made Valkia's tracking of him stupendously easy. But to actually get him to cooperate would be another thing entirely. As she had told her Beloved, he was the shining example of a Khornate daemon, full of rage, fiery conviction, and brutality in combat. But to her, it was unrefined. Sloppy. He was no true instrument of Khorne; he was a blunt. A dull, crude weapon to clobber against a skull, not a fine blade to sever it from its neck. But she would show him what kind of consequences his performance would have.

Striding over another hilltop, she would come to stare upon another scene of carnage and slaughter, the tangy scent of iron still fresh in the air, along with sulfuric smoke and ashes. A whole small settlement, laid to waste, burned in flames, and bathed in blood. And there she saw him; The Goregrinder. The Cannibal. The so-called 'Gourmand'; Kha'Zhubon. The Bloodthirster having occupied himself with throwing a feast in the middle of the town's square. Frowning, Valkia shot into the air, and came crash-landing in the center of town as well, the force of her landing tipping over a huge cauldron of skull brew that had stood simmering, the crimson beverage spilling onto the streets as Valkia now stood ankle-deep in it, scowling up at Kha'Zhubon. The various Furies and Bloodletters he had accumulated as a result of his slaughter-path bayed and snarled at the Gorequeen, but all were wise enough not to attack her.

"Goregrinder! Your failure in your mission to reclaim DeathAxe Monolith has not gone unnoticed by the Axefather, and he has found you lacking! Your failure to take the presence of a Lord of Change seriously lead you to being tricked, deceived, and foiled by the simplest of tricks the Changer could ever employ."

Kha'zhubon stayed silent throughout the Valkyrie's tongue-lashing of his person and his accomplishments during that skirmish. Honestly though, was it even a skirmish? It would've been child's play, had there not been such surprising resistance from the Exiles! His eyes wander to the tipped-over cauldron, and back to Valkia.

"... THAT WAS PERFECTLY FINE SKULL BREW YOU WASTED, GORE-WENCH." he snarls, as Valkia bares her fangs at his disrespect. "THE LORD OF CHANGE WOULD HAVE BEEN CHILD'S PLAY. HE WAS DIMINISHED FROM THE PRESENCE OF OUR FATHER'S ENERGIES, EVEN I COULD TELL. ACKNOWLEDGING HIS PRESENCE WAS NOT MY ERROR! IT WAS THE DAMN TRAITOR EXILES PUTTING UP A DEFENSE I COULD NOT HAVE PREDICTED. KHORNATE AND PLEASURE-KIN WORKING TOGETHER--" he spat on the ground, and even Valkia herself had to subdue a gag from herself. It sickened her as well. And in the back of her mind, the voice of her 'trusty' shield Locephax whispers;

"Well well well~~ Your dear-old Daddy's boys and my Lavish Lord's kin working as one? I would DIE to see such a day... if I were not so graciously dead already, ho ho ho~! Truly makes you wonder how close our lieges still are, does it not, little girl~?" a quick smack of Valkia's elbow against the shield's 'face' earns a silent shriek from Locephax, and then silence before she speaks again;

"Your statement might hold truth, Cannibal, but ultimately the reason for your failure is not important. Only know that Khorne wishes for you to better yourself. Join me in the south, along with fellow Bloodthirster Va'rrick. We have been called to retrieve an object of immense importance." after hearing who he was to pair up with, Kha'Zhubon grumbles and rolls his head, his ruffled mane shaking briskly.

"... HMFH. MYSELF ALONE WOULD BE FINE. BUT IF IT IS THE WILL OF THE GOREFATHER... THEN I GUESS I WILL NOT OBJECT." that comment of being fine on his own had immediate consequences, as suddenly, a streak of blazing flame sings through the air in a semi-straight line, and the tip of Slaupnir embeds itself into one of his horns, before exploding in a violent blaze, blasting it off as Kha'Zhubon howls in rage and pain. The spear then reforms within Valkia's outstretched hand, as she slams it to the ground. The Bloodthirster's eyes glare with venomous hatred down at the Daemon Prince, who just scowls back.

"And SUCH arrogance is what caused your failure to begin with, Goregrinder! I shall not have the same tolerance as your Father, my Beloved Kharneth, would have! From now on, YOU will answer to ME! I will be the judge of your character, and believe me; I am as ruthless as I am devoted! Failure to comply will be met with IMMEDIATE discipline! Understood!?" she'd bark straight in the daemon's face, at which even Kha'Zhubon, with his superior size and bulk, could do nothing but utterly balk. Her stature might be small, but her roaring voice was like having the gaze of his Father upon him, almost as if an aura of Kharneth himself had manifested around her being. So this is how deeply her devotion ran within her... begrudgingly, yet sheepishly, he'd lower his head and gaze to the gore-soaked dirt.

"... UNDERSTOOD, GOREQUEEN."

[warhammer-fantasy-muses]

What does zhubon think of valkia and Khorne being together?

"... IT IS NOT OF MY BUSINESS. WHAT THE AXEFATHER AND GOREQUEEN DO IS ABOVE MY STATION. THOUGH THEIR UNION DOES SEEM TO ONLY EMBOLDEN OUR GLORIOUS FATHER, AND THAT IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME."

[skxrbrand]

The winds bear the howling rage of Khorne once more, and Skarbrand is all too familiar with the fury that follows the gale; Valkia. The Gorequeen crashes down before Skarbrand, wings unfurling to reveal her visage-- and it was twisted with pure malice, and disgust.

"How much more debasement of yourself are you willing to put yourself through, exiled whelp? Truly, I am disappointed... and disgusted. As if fraternizing with our eternal blood-sworn enemy is not enough, you ALLOWED that vile tempter to plant a spawn within you?"

Valkia.

How many moons has it been since he's seen the Blood Queen, yokemate of Khorne? The Mother Blood to his Axefather? The Reaper dimly recalls being sent to bring the Brass Bull to heel...and of the GoreQueen clipping the end of his beard with Slaupnir.

But unlike those times, Skarbrand does not quail. While Valkia has stayed the same, ever loyal to Khorne, the Reaper has changed. Massively. He looks at her with rebellious contempt.

" For worthy skulls and honorable battles? Much." Is his simple reply. Her words rankle him. 'Our'?

" I have made an ally of that enemy, Axemother. Father has cast me out. I owe him no allegiance, no subservience. What covenants I make and with whom are not his concern."

[kharrneth]

Vicarious Siblicide

I think another reason Kharneth particularly enjoys the act of families destroying each other, particularly siblings killing each other, is because he harbors a desire to kill his own siblings but can’t realistically do this lest he destroy all of time and space. There have been at least two instances in canon where biological mortal siblings parted ways to worship rival gods and in doing so, became murderous rivals themselves:

The Gottlieb Twins, mentioned in the Liber Carnagia, were the first example. Both raced against each other for the blessings of their god, with Slaanesh’s champion failing and turning into a Chaos Spawn and Khorne’s Chamion succeeding and becoming a Daemon Prince.

The second instance was with Valkia and her half-brother, Edan. Valkia, of course, goes the way of Khorne, but Edan ends up becoming a worshipper of Slaanesh and trying to eliminate Valkia and her daughters, who all follow Kharneth, so that he can place himself as Chieftain and turn the Tribe towards the Serpent instead of the Axefather (also as Merroc’s only son, being chieftain was kind of his birth right anyway).

There are probably more instances, but basically Kharneth enjoys a sort of vicarious thrill in his followers killing their siblings, particularly if the sibling is a follower of another god. They are doing something he cannot easily (or perhaps even feasibly) do, but dearly wishes to: kill his siblings.

[warhammer-fantasy-muses]

"Even an animal backed into a corner is a dangerous one. In fact, it is even more dangerous than one in the open." A sagely nod comes from Valkia, as she reiterates Kharneth's statement of the Change-Lords, but with her own words. But her focus was now squarely on Khorne once more, as her Beloved strode towards her and places a hand upon her shoulder.

For just a brief, ever-fleeting moment... that face of hers, oh-so often twisted into a visage of permanent, snarling rage and anger... softens. Her humanity bleeds through, if only for a mere moment's notice, as a smile is dangerously close to curling her lip upwards. But she frowns again as her Lord and Lover's will is declared, that she'd take Kha'zhubon and join Va'rrick to hunt another of Khade's shards.

As two hands now hold her shoulders, and slide off of them, she quickly raises her two hands to stop one of them -- his left hand -- from fully falling off, as she offers but a small, tender caress along the back of his hand, before she lets it drop.

"And your will shall be done, O glorious Axefather, and All-Mighty God of Blood."

With a firm nod up towards him, and another brief series of pats onto Karanak's head, her wings fan open wide, as she positively bursts off the floor of his throne room, and takes off out towards the hellish landscapes of his realm, and to take flight into the Mortal Realm to her old home, to find that bastard of a glutton...

@kharrneth

"𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃." Is Khorne's simple response. " 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐊. 𝐂𝐎𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒. 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐀 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐂𝐎𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐄 𝐀𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐀𝐗𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐄."

Zhubon hadn't died, at least. There were still plenty of opportunities to make up for the loss, and without delay. Karanak, unaware of the contents of the conversation, is just happy to have not only one master, but two petting him. He makes a happy sound. To a mortal, he may as well be snarling his little soul out.

Khorne looks down at her as she speaks to him. He is an expressive God, at least when it comes to any emotion that isn't rage, but there is a softness in otherwise luminous red eyes. The Grand Reaper just hums, placing a large hand on her shoulder.

"𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓. 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇. 𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐕𝐀'𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐄-𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃. 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐏 𝐀 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄, 𝐌𝐘 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍."

Two hands now. They linger, before slipping off of Valkia's shoulders.

"𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄."

[skxrbrand]

Bloodstarved.

Skarbrand had heard of the so-called condition, supposedly befalling any of Khorne’s daemon followers should their bloodlust fall into...unacceptable levels. It certaintly seemed like a feature the Blood God would burden his creations with. All the better to ensure to blood never stopped flowing; that the axefather would never have to wait too long, if at all, between battles for his fill of sanguine satisfaction. But, in all his long and incredibly blood campaigns, Skarbrand had never seen it. Never gave it any mind. They were rumors and whispers more at home with the Tzeentchian cowards and not among true daemons, like his brothers in blood.

But then he felt a curious gnawing in his stomach. Like hunger, but far more intense. From where they sat across from him, Skarbrand could hear the plaintiff howls of the souls trapped within. They were as hungry as he was to spill blood. There might have been some credence to the rumor. 

Hunger, is unsated for long enough, eventually dulled for a time. But this feeling did not. It deepened as the days turned into night and back into days, Skarbrand finding his senses raised to a keen edge. His sense of smell was keenest of all and in that keenness did the Reaper smell them.

The Slaaneshi.

Hunger and Millenniums of faithfully following the blood gods edicts regarding that lot won out over any self restraint the daemon had demonstrated over those long days. He tottered to his hooves, hefting his twin axes, allowing his nose to lead him to where those disgusting pleasure daemons were surely cavorting and glutting themselves on fine wine and sweetmeats. Reveling and ruining.

Little did they know, that was about to come to a very abrupt, very bloody end.