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{{DeathGuardPortal}}
'''{{PAGENAME}}Thagus Daravek, the Battle-King and Lord of Hosts,''' was a prominent [[Death Guard]] [[Chaos Lord|Sorcerer Lord]], who commanded the massive Warband known as the [[Legion Host]] within the [[Eye of Terror]] during the [[Legion Wars]].{{Fn|1a}}
==Overview==
Daravek became the main rival for [[Abaddon]] and the growing [[Black Legion]], as each sought to become the new [[Warmaster]] of [[Chaos]] and succeed the [[Primarch]] [[Horus Lupercal]]. The two Chaos Lords clashed frequently and Abaddon sent the [[Ezekarion]] [[Iskandar Khayon]] to assassinate Daravek six times, but the [[Sorcerer]] always returned to his Lord in failure{{Fn|1a}}. Their conflict finally came to a head when Abaddon took the majority of his forces and tried to exit the Eye of Terror in order to obtain the [[Daemon]] sword [[Drach'nyen]]{{Fn|1b}}. Once Daravek learned that only a fraction of the Black Legion's strength was left behind to guard their holdings, the Chaos Lord led his Warband to ravage the worlds controlled by Abaddon. Afterwards he pursued Abaddon's main fleet as Daravek also coveted Drach'nyen, which he believed would grant him the favour of the [[Chaos God]]s and allow him to become the premier leader of the forces of [[Chaos]]{{Fn|1c}}. Using means unknown to the Black Legion, Daravek found Abaddon's fleet near the edge of the Eye of Terra and launched an attack that destroyed several of their ships. Having already suffered severe losses after trying to force their way out of the Eye of Terror, Abaddon readily agreed when Daravek offered to meet with him on neutral grounds{{Fn|1d}}. The two soon met on the dead [[Craftworld]] [[Taial'shara]] and each brought with them several of their Warband's leaders. Before they began their negotiations though, Daravek suggested they hold a duel between two of their Warband leaders, which was customary when opposing Chaos Lords met with each other within the Eye of Terror. Abaddon once again agreed and selected Khayon, while Daravek selected the [[Iron Warriors]] Chaos Lord [[Ulrech Ansontyn]].{{Fn|1c}}
During the duel between their champions, Daravek gloated to Abaddon about how his Warband had invaded the Black Legion's worlds and slaughtered the forces they had left to defend them. This enraged Khayon and he defeated Ulrech in a frenzy of attacks. He did not kill the Iron Warrior though and instead offered Ulrech a place within the Black Legion, but when it looked like Ulrech would accept the offer Daravek decapitated him. This caused Khayon to attack the Chaos Lord, but to the shock of everyone Daravek used his psychic powers to completely dominate the Sorcerer and forced the Ezekarion to kneel before him. He then laughed and told a dismayed Khayon, that he had defeated the Black Legion Sorcerer during the battle of [[Drol Kheir]] and then had bound Khayon's spirit to him before making the Sorcerer forget their encounter{{Fn|1c}}. Before further conflict could break out between the two groups though, the [[Warp Ghosts|Warp Ghost]] [[Ashur-Kai Qezremah|Saronos]] suddenly appeared and deescalated the situation. When both groups confronted him, Saronos offered them a deal: He could lead one of the Warbands out of the Eye of Terror, but would only do so to the Chaos Lord whose offerings met the Warp Ghosts' price. Saronos refused to detail what exactly the Warp Ghosts wanted, but though Daravek offered them ships, slaves and many of the things he possessed, it was Abaddon who won the deal; when he simply told Saronos, the Warp Ghosts could take what they needed from him. An enraged Daravek threatened Saronos, but returned to his fleet as the Warp Ghost left with Abaddon's group to the Black Legion's flagship the [[Vengeful Spirit]]{{Fn|1e}}. The Death Guard Chaos Lord then watched on, as Abaddon's fleet entered the Warp and escaped from the Eye of Terror.{{Fn|1f}}
Despite this set back though, Daravek still had a psychic connection with the Black Legion Sorcerer Khayon and he used this to guide Legion Host's fleet out of the Eye of Terror as well. When they neared the [[Cadian Gate]], they found Abaddon's fleet engaged in battle with the [[Black Templars]] [[Chapter]] and quickly fell upon the Black Legion's ships. Now trapped between two foes, Khayon, who was acting in Abaddon's stead aboard the Vengeful Spirit, ordered the Black Legion's fleet to break through the Black Templars blockade and escape into the Warp. Khayon then ordered the Vengeful Spirit to attack Daravek's fleet, in an attempt to goad the Chaos Lord into invading the Black Legion's flagship{{Fn|1g}}. Daravek did not hesitate to do so and led a massive boarding attack on the Vengeful Spirit and personally killed many of its defenders. Before he could reach its bridge however, he was confronted by Khayon and the two fought each other - though this time his attempt to psychically dominate the Sorcerer failed. Khayon had prepared himself for their encounter and had finally realized how Daravek had been able to dominate him. It was not Khayon's soul that Daravek had bound to him, but Khayon's past Daemon familiar [[Gyre]]; which had previously been destroyed in battle with a clone of the [[Primarch]] [[Horus]]. After Gyre had been sent back into the Warp, Daravek had secretly summoned it and bound it to him, which forced the Daemon to turn upon Khayon, though it still had a psychic connection to the Black Legion Sorcerer. It was this connection that had allowed Daravek to have a hold on Khayon, but with Gyre drawn out from the Chaos Lord, that advantage was at an end. Without this hold on the Sorcerer, Daravek was easily overwhelmed by Khayon and was then decapitated by the Sorcerer{{Fn|1h}}. After his death, Daravek's body was crucified above the Vengeful Spirit's oculus{{Fn|1i}} and his Warband soon stopped their attack on the Black Legion's fleet and separated into groups that fled into the Warp. These groups then preyed upon the unsuspecting [[Imperium]] worlds of [[Segmentum Obscurus]]{{Fn|1h}}, though some would eventually join their former enemies and become apart of the Black Legion.{{Fn|1i}}
==Source==
*1: [[Black Legion (Novel)]]
**{{Endn|1a}}: Chapter 1 **{{Endn|1b}}: Chapter 6
**{{Endn|1c}}: Chapter 9
**{{Endn|1d}}: Chapter 8
