Ruinbearers

The Chaos Lord is a human who has accepted the Mark in full — no Marauder of a Marauder Tribe, but a noble, a general, a former Empire-knight, an Albéen veteran — who has seen too many battles and heard the Aspects' voice long enough to yield. He wears plate cast in the furnaces of the Marked Lands, engraved with the Mark-Maxims of his chosen Aspect, and bears a great weapon forged in the blood of a daemon he felled in proof of devotion.

He commands a band of Champions and Warriors, sometimes several Marauder Tribes. His voice changes by Aspect: brutal under the Insatiate, sweet under the Living-Rot, riddling under the Thousand-Faced, refined under the Broken Ecstasy. On the field he charges in wedge, picks the worthiest foe (a hero, another Champion, an enemy commander), undoes him, eats or does not eat by his rite. His Virtue is Transformation — every battle brings him closer to the final form, and the final form is a Daemon Prince. When he arrives, he joins the Cinder-Fortress. When he does not, he dies an advanced Marked. The Council of the Four notes.

The Daemon Prince is a Champion who has completed the transformation — a human who is no longer human, a Marked who no longer needs the flesh of birth, a being who has himself become a minor Aspect of Chaos. Four per Aspect rule the Cinder-Fortress; below, dozens (perhaps more) wander or command armies of Marked.

He bears the shape his Aspect dictates — a tanned, two-armed body for the Insatiate, a teeming mass for the Living-Rot, a shifting silhouette for the Thousand-Faced, unbearable beauty for the Broken Ecstasy. His Virtue is Manifestation. On the field he fights with the force of a minor Aspect — his weapon is part of him, his armour too, his magic does not channel, it is him. When a Daemon Prince falls, his form dissolves and his essence rejoins the Veil-Wound in the Marked Lands; he may manifest again in the following decade, or he may be consumed by higher Aspects. The Council notes.

The Exalted Champion is an advanced Marked — above the Aspiring Champion, below the Chaos Lord. He has spent at least a decade in an Aspect's service, performed a major rite (the slaying of an enemy War-Course, the felling of a minor enemy Aspect, the fouling of a sacred land), and bears on his armour the visible marks of elevation. He commands a Warrior company or a mixed band of Marked.

He fights with a great Aspect-specific weapon — axe for the Insatiate, mace-flail for the Living-Rot, shifting sword-glaive for the Thousand-Faced, silken whip for the Broken Ecstasy. His Virtue is Advancement — every battle digs the transformation a little deeper. On the field he attends the Lord, relays orders to the Marked, strikes at the front of the shock. When an Exalted Champion falls (it happens — an enemy hero may undo him), the Aspect notes; another Marked takes the elevation the following season.

The Sorcerer Lord is the supreme clergy of the Thousand-Faced (the Aspect most apt to magic) — a Marked who has abandoned the physical weapon for the channelling of corrupted Breaths. He wears a heavy robe embroidered with mark-glyphs, a rune-staff of the Way of Chaos, and the shaved scalp tattooed with the Mark-Maxims of his Aspect.

His magic is powerful and corrupted — Breaths of Death, Shadow, Metal, Fire, and the Mutation-Breath proper to Chaos. No common human Sorcerer matches him, but the cost is heavy: magic changes him, and after two decades of service he begins to lose his human form (peeling skin, surplus fingers, a third eye opening). His Virtue is Self-Sacrifice. On the field he invokes from the rear ranks, looses spells that turn enemies to Spawn or burn them with cosmic fire. When he falls (rarely — he is protected), a minor Daemon manifests on his corpse for some hours before returning to the Veil-Wound.

The Aspiring Champion is a recent Marked — a human who has taken the Mark in the last decade, still in transformation, still in proof. He has left his native land (Empire, Albion, Cathay, more rarely Erében) to gain the Marked Lands and serve the Aspect that speaks to him. His cuirass is composite — fragments of pre-Mark armour intermixed with plates cast at the Cinder-Fortress.

He fights beside an Exalted Champion or a Lord, charges forward to prove, accumulates enemy kills to earn the elevation. His Virtue is Aspiration. On the field he picks enemy heroes (the taking of a hero's head is the rite of elevation), takes the first wounds, endures more than his share. Half the Aspirants die before the decade. The remaining half become Exalted. No Aspirant remains Aspirant — he advances, or he goes out.

The Exalted Sorcerer is the second tier of the sorcerous clergy — a Marked less heavily than a Sorcerer Lord, but already beyond the common human sorcerer. He has spent at least a decade in an Aspect's service (commonly Thousand-Faced or Living-Rot, sometimes Broken Ecstasy), and his magic begins to burn in him permanently.

On the field he attends a Sorcerer Lord or a minor Daemon Prince, casts supporting spells, heals (by corruption) the wounded Marked. His Virtue is Growing-Competence. When an Exalted Sorcerer rises to Sorcerer Lord (rare — the transition is dangerous, many become Spawn from magic excess), it is at a Cinder-Fortress rite presided over by a Daemon Prince. The rite is bloody. The rite succeeds or fails. The Council notes.

Morrvek Cinderjaw, Forger of Chains, is the most illustrious living Daemon Prince of the Insatiate — a former Dwarf Slayer-King who took the Mark during the Tenth Crusade against the Vermin, transgressed the Slayer interdict (self-extinction), and was elevated to Daemon Prince after two centuries of infernal service. He wears Forefather-Steel cuirass corrupted with Insatiate-glyphs, the great two-bladed axe of his old Slayer oath (reforged), and the cinder-iron chain that hangs from his belt as a token of every oath broken.

His Virtue is Sacred-Treachery. He fights with the rage of a Slayer and the patience of a Daemon Prince — a rare and terrifying blend. On the field he always picks an enemy who bears an oath (Albéen Knight of the Dawn, Watcher High Priest, Dwarf Runelord) and undoes him by oath-against-oath challenge. When the oath-bearing foe falls, Morrvek tears a fragment of the enemy's weapon for the chain. The chain now bears five hundred fragments. The Dwarf Book records Morrvek as an originating grudge; no Dwarf has dared face him in three centuries.

Skarvath, the Twice-Damned Drake, is a singular Daemon Prince — a minor dragon who took the Mark twice (first during the Collapse, second after a defeat against a Tomb Sphinx that should have killed him for good). He bears the scars of the Watcher defeat (long flank gash, missing back-scale), and the double-Mark has fused the Insatiate and Living-Rot Aspects into an unstable blend.

He fights with the Insatiate's fury and the Living-Rot's regeneration. His Virtue is Damned-Persistence. On the field he flies high, dives upon enemy Tomb Sphinxes (a personal vengeance he has pursued for three centuries), burns High Priests with infernal breath mingled with pus. No Watcher respects him — he fled his first death, blasphemy by their standard — and every Tomb Sphinx he meets challenges him. Skarvath has never lost a second duel against a Sphinx. He has slain eleven Tomb Sphinxes in his history. Setarnahar knows, and the Council of Hierophants awaits the twelfth.

The Chaos Warrior is the spine of the Marked armies — a human who has accepted the Mark deeply enough to wear the full plate of the Cinder-Fortresses and fight in heavy formation. His cuirass is black, engraved with the mark-glyphs of his Aspect, lined with iron mingled with cosmic ash. His axe or mace is forged in the same batch as his Champion's.

He forms the shock-screen of the Marked Hordes — ahead of the Marauders, behind the Champions. His Virtue is Permanence-in-March. No Chaos Warrior flees (flight is impossible — the Aspect rejects the runaway, who becomes Spawn by nightfall). On the field he advances at a heavy pace, charges on order, does not retreat. When a Warrior falls, an Aspirant takes his place in the rank. The rank holds. The Council notes. The Veil-Wound throbs.

The Chaos Marauder is the human still in first Mark — a man of the Great Northern Tribes bearing a minor Mark (often Insatiate, sometimes Living-Rot), fitted with short axe or makeshift spear, without full armour. He fights in loose formation, charges howling, strikes with the fury of a man who knows he will be Warrior or Spawn within the decade.

His formation is dense in numbers but loose in discipline — a Marauder does not hold the line as a Warrior does. He charges, he bites, he tears; he flees if the enemy is too strong, and the retreat is followed by another charge at another point. His Virtue is Disposable. The Council records nameless Marauder losses — flesh is consumable, and the Veil-Wound ever produces more. When a Marauder survives five battles, the Aspect marks him further, and he advances toward Warrior. Most do not survive.

The Forsaken is the Marked whose transformation failed in part — not quite Warrior, not quite Spawn. The Mark has twisted him into useless forms (four arms, two of them dangling, a withered leg, translucent skin), but his mind has not yielded wholly. He still fights with what he has, directed by a Champion who tolerates him out of bestial pity or tactical use.

His Virtue is Despairing-Persistence. On the field he forms the flesh-screen of a Horde — set ahead of the Warriors to absorb the first enemy shots, or in rearguard to slow a pursuit. No Aspect claims him fully (the four have touched him and none finished), and that is precisely what makes him unpredictable — he fights with the Insatiate's fury, the Living-Rot's patience, the Thousand-Faced's duplicity, and the Broken Ecstasy's extreme sensation, sometimes in a single charge. When a Forsaken falls, his body is left where it lies. The Council does not note — he had no name in the Book.

The Chaos Knight is the mounted Warrior — Champion or advanced Marked, mounted on a corrupted destrier (a horse that has spent a season or more at the Cinder-Fortresses, that has accepted the Mark by exposure to the Veil-Wound). The destrier is greater than a common horse, swifter, viler; it bites enemies, crushes pikemen, howls with a cry that breaks human horses.

The Chaos Knights' charge is the deadliest in any Marked army. Six ranks deep, lance low, destrier at gallop — no human formation holds. On the field they charge in wedge, pierce enemy lines, pass through to the rear, then wheel and charge again. Their Virtue is Advanced-Shock. When a Knight falls (it happens — a Dwarf Irondrake or an Albéen Knight of the Dawn can undo him), the destrier fights on, sometimes longer than the rider. The Council notes.

The Marauder Horseman is the mounted Marauder — man of a Marauder Tribe on a Northern pony, fitted with short axe or javelin, trained in harassment rather than shock. His formation is loose, his charge punctual, his withdrawal swift. He does not hold ground; he harasses it.

On the field he harries enemy flanks, hurls javelins at short range, flees before the riposte. His Virtue is Marauder-Mobility. He scorns — moderately — the Chaos Knights who surpass him (he aspires to become one some day), and he scorns — wholly — the Marauders afoot who cannot ride. When he survives ten raids, the Aspect marks him further, and he may rise to a corrupted destrier to become Knight. Most do not survive ten raids. The Northern marches are long, Imperial patrols many, Dwarf shafts true.

The Chaos Warhound is the corrupted wolf-dog of the Cinder-Fortresses — a dog broken in then exposed to the Veil-Wound for a season, that comes out greater, viler, marked with small mark-glyphs that have surfaced spontaneously on the pelt. No common human hound is its like.

A Hound-Master (ever a Marauder specifically trained) guides them by guttural cry and whip. On the field they precede the Knights' or Marauders' charge, bite the enemy horses, tear enemy skirmishers. His Virtue is Marked-Frenzy. No psychology touches him — a Chaos Warhound knows no fear, only hunger and thirst. When the Master falls, the Hounds turn feral, charging friendly ranks as readily as enemy. The Council bears this risk; the Hounds are worth more than they cost.

The Chosen Warrior is a Chaos Warrior specifically selected by his Aspect for further elevation — a second Mark cumulative on the first, a deeper transformation, a promise of elevation to Champion within the decade. He wears the common Warrior plate, but with additional plates forged of a Daemon Prince's blood, and his weapon is engraved with a whole Mark-Maxim (rather than mere glyphs).

On the field he fights beside the Champion or Lord, takes the hardest blows, strikes at the front. His Virtue is Chosen-in-Service. He knows he will become Champion (perhaps Exalted) if he endures, and this certainty makes him more dangerous than common Warriors. No Chosen has fled in the Marked history (flight would be rejection by the Aspect; rejection would mean Spawn within the hour). When a Chosen falls, the Aspect notes; another Warrior is chosen the next month.

The Chosen Knight is the mounted Chosen — a Chosen Warrior who has received a corrupted destrier alongside the second Mark. The destrier itself is chosen (not by chance, but named by the Aspect in person during a Cinder-Fortress rite). The Rider-Destrier pair bears the elevation as a single entity.

Their charge is yet deadlier than the common Chaos Knights' — a greater destrier, a longer lance, a double-Mark that amplifies the fear. On the field they charge in absolute wedge, pierce enemy ranks, pass through, wheel, charge again. No human formation has held more than two charges against a Chosen Knight company. When a Chosen Knight falls (it happens against a Knight of the Dawn with Shard, against a Tomb Sphinx in protective wedge), the destrier presses on; he sometimes fights until battle's end before returning to the Veil-Wound.

The Chaos Ogre is a Vermont Ogre who has accepted the Mark — neither Beastman nor Marauder, but a mutated brute whom the Way of Chaos has touched by contagion. Three metres at the shoulder, two massive arms, double jaw, hide black or grey by dominant Aspect. He fights with a mace-flail or great axe, without full armour (his hide has become his cuirass).

On the field he charges in vanguard of Marauder Hordes, strikes with a force that crushes horses and plate, sometimes eats fallen foes in mid-battle (it is ritual, and the Aspect approves). His Virtue is Marked-Massiveness. The Council tolerates his presence as useful, but does not count him in the Champion hierarchy. When an Ogre falls (it happens — his triple-Mark makes him unpredictable and sometimes fragile at crucial times), the body is generally lost. The Council records the loss as a grudge against the foe that felled him.

The Chaos Troll is a mountain troll who has spent a season in the Marked Lands and taken the Mark (commonly Living-Rot, which fits troll regeneration naturally). Marking amplifies his abilities — regeneration faster, hide more toxic, jaw wider. He fights with bare fists (weapons are superfluous when one regenerates), or sometimes a stone mace.

On the field he advances slowly but inexorably, takes sword-blows as a sponge takes water, strikes when the enemy has spent his volley. His Virtue is Cosmic-Regeneration. The only way to kill him for good is fire, and the Council sets his Trolls on the flanks rather than the front for that reason. When a Troll falls to fire (it happens — a Dwarf Flame Cannon burns him), the Council records the loss. When he falls to ordinary blade (never), he rises again within hours. The Veil-Wound laughs.

The Chaos Spawn is a Marked whose transformation utterly failed — neither surviving Marauder, nor risen Warrior, nor Champion through the veil: a human whose Mark twisted the flesh without leaving the mind coherent behind. He has no human form left, no articulate thought, no recognisable Virtue. He is rage and hunger, mingled in twisted flesh.

He fights with claw-maces, surplus limbs, open mouths where no face should grow. His formation is a mass — not a formation. On the field he is loosed in the enemy's direction and the corruption is trusted to guide him to the right ones. No Spawn lives long (the Mark continues to twist until full collapse) — a season or two, sometimes more if the Aspect preserves him on whim. When he falls, the body dissolves into ash and black fluid. The Council records the nameless loss — he had no name since his Mark.

The Chaos Chariot is the Hordes' charge-engine — a two-wheeled chariot made of minor-Daemon bone welded to the black metal of the Marked Lands' forges, drawn by two corrupted destriers, driven by a Champion or advanced Marked. Axle-blades engraved with mark-glyphs, a platform set with spikes, a long-poled banner.

Its Virtue is Advanced-Shock. On the field it charges in wedge with the Knights, scythes through enemy ranks, pierces enemy lines. Faster than a human chariot, deadlier than a Saurian one, sturdier than a Vermin one. When the Chariot falls (an Albéen lance through a destrier's heart sometimes), the Driver survives if he can, and the surviving Marked destrier fights on alone. The Council notes. The Veil-Wound throbs.

The Chimera is a composite monster — a creature made at the Cinder-Fortresses by blending several beasts through Thousand-Faced sorcery. Three heads (lion, dragon, goat), a massive body, short wings able to glide, a serpent-tail. Each head has its own breath — fire for the dragon, paralysing roar for the lion, venom-bite for the goat.

On the field she glides upon enemy flanks, strikes from three angles at once, looses the breaths. Her Virtue is Multi-Form. The only effective way to bring her down is to mark her with several shooting sources at once, to deny regeneration between blows. No Chimera reproduces (each is unique, made by sorcery), so every loss is final. The Council notes. The Thousand-Faced composes a new Chimera within the decade.

The Warbeast Chariot is the mixed version of the Chaos Chariot — instead of two corrupted destriers, a mixed team (Marked boars, Vermont bears that have taken the Mark, sometimes a great wolf from the Veil-Wound) drawn by a Champion driver and a Marauder hurler. The team is unstable, the trajectory unpredictable, the effect impressive.

On the field it charges in zigzag, unsettles enemy formations expecting a straight charge, scythes the flanks. Its Virtue is Unpredictability. When the Chariot falls (a panicked team tears itself in two opposing directions), the War-beasts break free and charge independently — still favourable to the Council. The loss of the Chariot itself is rare; the War-beasts replace quickly (the Vermont produces every year, the Aspect marks them).

The Doom Cannon is the Cinder-Fortresses' powder engine — no copy of the Dwarf cannon (the Marked despise Dwarf engineering), but the Way of Chaos's own creation. The tube is forged of minor-Daemon bone welded to corrupted iron, the chamber engraved with mark-glyphs, the shot of lead mingled with cosmic ash.

It fires at long range, strikes with force that pierces the thickest plate, and every shot leaves behind a trail of black ash drifting slowly across the field. Its Virtue is Distant-Defilement. The crew is four Marauders and an Engine-Sorcerer (a specialised Exalted Sorcerer), and every shot requires a priming-spell to steady the combustion. When the Cannon falls (a Tomb Sphinx can shatter it, a Dwarf Irondrake too), the Engine-Sorcerer weeps and the Fortress forges a new one within six months.

The Chaos Giant is the Marked version of the Vermont giant — caught young by the Northern Marauders, exposed to the Cinder-Fortresses for two decades, brought out adult with two to five visible Marks (horns, black skin, third eye, double jaw). Larger than the Beastman Cyclops, more controllable, more strategic.

On the field he serves as a fulcrum to the Horde — about him Marauders gather, Champions take direction, the Sorcerer Lord's spells channel from his height. His Virtue is Marked-Presence. He strikes with a corrupted-iron-shod tree-trunk club, hurls rocks he picks up, crushes chariots and horses that come too close. When he falls (rarely — heavy to bring down, and the Marked protect him), the Council records the loss as a grudge against the foe that undid him. The Cinder-Fortress raises another within three decades.