Vashtorr
 Vashtorr the Arkifane[3] | |
|---|---|
| Title(s) | The Arkifane |
| Species | Daemon |
| Type | Demi-God |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Affiliation(s) | |
Vashtorr the Arkifane is a powerful Daemon king[10a] and the ruler of the Forge of Souls. He claims to forgo allegiance to any Chaos God and commands his own army known as the Cult of the Arkifane.[2][4]
Overview
Having long kept himself shrouded from most races, Vashtorr is a demi-god of inventors, engineers, scientists, and artisans. He is empowered by acts of curiosity (like Slaanesh) and innovation (like Tzeentch) in the Materium, shorn of morality and driven to its darkest extremes. He has only manifested a handful of times in galactic history, and some crypto-scholars maintain he was created amidst the reckless arms race of some ancient galaxy-spanning war. Others propose he was brought about by the horrors of the Dark Age of Technology, where he proved a patron to many of its technological horrors.[2] He is also said to have been empowered by events such as the rise of the Necrons, the Cursed Founding, and the creation of Primaris Space Marines.[1]
Vashtorr is not a slave of any of the four great Chaos Gods, instead maintaining his own sphere of influence and unique role within the Warp. He is the lord of the Forge of Souls, having grown powerful bartering souls with any Daemon or damned individual that seeks his services in the acquisition of Daemonic weaponry. Others are simply enslaved to his will and forced to join the ranks of his own armies.[2]
Unlike most of his kind, Vashtorr rarely lies or conceals his true objectives. He establishes explicit contracts with clear terms and conditions. He has kept the wrath of The Four at bay due to the usefulness of his Daemon Engines to the armies of the Great Game, serving as its premier arms dealer. However, he is far from defenseless, and sports his own host of powerful techno-daemonic monstrosities.[2] His activities have nonetheless attracted the ire of other Daemons, most notably Be'lakor.[1]
Despite all he has achieved, Vashtorr has grown dissatisfied with his status. He seeks to become a fifth Chaos God in his own right. To that end, he seeks to fulfill a prophecy involving fragments of the mysterious Key and entered into an alliance with Abaddon the Despoiler. His proposal to Abaddon initiated the construction of the Arks of Omen and the war involving them.[2]
During the Arks of Omen Campaign, Vashtorr led his own Ark Orac Unleashed in an invasion of The Rock, Fortress-Monastery of the Dark Angels and home to a Key-Fragment. However his carefully laid plans were spoiled as the Arkifane was on the cusp of victory thanks to the intervention of his hated rival Be'lakor, who suddenly appeared aboard The Rock with a host of his own. Be'lakor's forces were able to stagnate Vashtorr's advance into the Rock long enough for Imperial reinforcements to arrive. Enraged, Vashtorr engaged Be'lakor in a great duel that was largely even, with the Dark Master's shadow-sorcery a match for Vashtorr's technological abilities. However after scolding Vashtorr for his hubris, Be'lakor departed the war zone and seeing his plans were in ruins, Vashtorr quickly left as well. Afterwards, the Arkifane told Abaddon that not all was lost and he began devising a new plan focused around the Somnium Stars.[5]
In the Somnium Stars, the vengeful Unforgiven fleet discovered that Vashtorr had converted the ruins of Caliban into a mechanical monstrosity known as the Wyrmwood. In the subsequent Battle of Idolatros, Vashtorr lost his Ark of Omen Orac Unleashed and saw Angron defeated by the returned Lion El'Jonson, but succeeded in activating The Key. Now, the Arkifane seeks The Lock and with it The Weapon.[6]
Vashtorr next appeared during the later stages of the Pariah Crusade. In command of the Wyrmwood, Vashtorr was able to manipulate Magos Ghelf into opening a Warp Rift in the Nephilim Sector which has allowed his forces to pour into the region.[8]
Vashtorr was later summoned by the Iron Warriors Warsmith Kraverek and the Dark Mechanicum Disciples of Nul sect through the body of an ancient Chaos Android.[10a] Vashtorr was apparently bound by the Traitors, who forced him into an alliance in order to seize the Attilan Gate from Belisarius Cawl. However this was just a ruse, Vashtorr was merely pretending to be bound by the Traitors in order to gain access to Cawl. The Arkifane dispatched a Daemon named Silik to the Forge of Souls, where it gathered a massive army of Soul Grinders led by the Daemon Prince N'Thragor to attack Ulvheim in order to bring out Cawl.[10c] After the Last Battle of the Pit ended in apparent failure, Vashtorr revealed his ruse to Kraverek as well as the knowledge that the Warsmith was in fact not sent by Abaddon at all, he was merely using the mission to try and empower himself and maintain discipline among his troops. Kraverek was then forced into subservience. Vashtorr's true objective had been to draw out Cawl and attempt to influence him.[10d]
Abilities
Vashtorr has demonstrated several unholy powers, the most mundane of which is his power to fly extremely swiftly without aerodynamic wings - his wings are made up of four metal scythe-like blades. These blades are also capable of projecting destructive energy, arcing like lightning. He can exude a cloud of foul-smelling fog - industrial pollutants - to hide his form and choke his enemy's airways. He is capable of perceiving every single component in an enemy's technologically advanced weaponry, and absorb the energy that they fire at him. He can then redirect that energy, both to heal himself of his wounds, and to send it back at his opponents as energy blasts. His warcries contain malicious scrapcode.[7]
Vashtorr is capable of imposing his will upon any artificial device created by mortal hands, corrupting its systems with his own consciousness. This is done by infecting said devices with parasitic warp organisms that resemble nematodes, which burrow their way into the power networks, communication arrays, and cogitator banks of machines. Vashtorr's understanding of technology has no limits, enabling him to infect anything regardless of complexity. Once his control has been imposed, he can turn the device against their creators in any way he deems fit. Technology may operate in a way contrary to the users will, stop operating all together, or simply explode.[9]
Wargear
Images
See Also
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Community: Watch the Warhammer Preview Online 2022 Right Here (Posted on 18/11/2022) (Last accessed on 18/11/2022)
- 2: Arks of Omen: Abaddon, pgs. 15-16
- 3: Warhammer Community: Strike A Bargain With Vashtorr the Arkifane – The Most Honest Daemon You’ll Ever Meet (posted 30/1/2023) (last accessed 30/1/2023)
- 4: Warhammer Community: Vashtorr’s rules revealed – Join the Cult of the Arkifane with a Free Army of Renown (posted 8/3/2023) (last accessed 8/3/2023)
- 5: Arks of Omen: Vashtorr, pgs. 28-37
- 6: Arks of Omen: The Lion pgs. 39-43
- 7: Wrath of the Soul Forge King, Battle For the Rock, pg. 7
- 8: Crusade: Pariah Nexus, pgs. 40-43
- 9: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (10th Edition), pg. 27
- 10: Archmagos (Novel):