Chaos Daemons

The Chaos Daemons are a race from the fictional "Warhammer 40,000" & "Warhammer" universe. They are from the obscure dimension in the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer universe known as The Warp. Servants of the 4 gods of chaos, they walk and roam all over the warp, from Khorne bloodletters to chaos furies. The gods are almost always in constant war with each other, in a conflict that has raged on since the beginning of time. Ultimately they are a race which has served the Chaos Space Marines but with the release of their own codex they have become an army of their own.

The 4 Gods of Chaos

To understand Chaos, which is in itself impossible, one must first understand the warp. The warp is a dimension adjacent to ours, in which emotions and thoughts can become living things, which can manipulate the warp and indeed the minds of mortals. These creatures are sustained by the thoughts of mortals, and seek more and more of these thoughts. For these creatures to gain this, specifically thoughts which taste fine to them, mortals must worship them, and in return those who worship a certain god are gifted with abilities and powers beyond imagination, for instance those gifetd by Tzeentch are granted powers over sorcery and arcane knowledge, while those gifted by nurgle are granted viral based mutations, such as exra limbs or other such things. It should be known, however, that too many blessings can often result in the person becoming a warp spawn, forever mindless and feral.

Khorne

"Khorne is the Blood God, Lord of War, Taker of Skulls. He is wrath incarnate, filled with a never-ending lust to dominate and destroy, to conquer and kill. The Blood God is broad and muscular, with the face of a savage snarling dog. Khorne wears heavy overlapping plates of armour fashioned from brass and blackened iron. His every word is a growl of endless fury and these roars of ire echo out across his land. Upon a throne of brass, Khorne sits atop a mountainous dais made of the skulls of his champions and their defeated opponents. Beside him rests a great two-handed sword, capable of laying waste to worlds with a single blow. This fell blade is known by various names, including Woebringer, Warmaker, the End of all Things and Bloodfeeder."

The backbone of Khorne's army are the legions of Khorne's bloodletters and flesh hounds. Slim, muscular, and humanoid in shape demons, which look the most like the cliché demons of western society. Their skin is the color of red-gore. The strength of their long sinewy limbs is infamous, as is the ferocity of their charges and the grim battle lust with which they tear apart anybody who stands before them. They use their sharp claws and their mighty hellblades to exterminate their foes. Next are the flesh hounds of Khorne. The Flesh Hounds of Khorne are savage beasts that relentlessly hunt down the enemies of Khorne. They are reptilian in appearance and their skin is also the color red-gore. They roam the lands of Khorne in the endless fields of bone and the edges of the seas of blood. They hunt in packs, numbering in the hundreds and are a threat to anyone who roams in their territory, even bloodletters must tread with caution in these lands. Maybe their most recognizable features are their collars. Gifts from Khorne himself, these collars don't only protect them physically but also ward them from spells and psychic attacks. These collars make them the bane of any sorcerer or psyker. Another famous creature of Khorne are the Juggernauts of Khorne. These fusions of machine and demon are dangerous to anyone who stands in their way. They have the shape of a bull but are covered with powerful armor all over. The helmet they wear has a huge blade which resembles a horn, making them look like rhinos also. They are mounted by the strongest demons and the strongest of space marines who follow Khorne. at first the beast is dangerous to the rider as it is to the enemy but once the rider masters the juggernaut, it becomes the most dangerous war-mount anyone can dream of riding. The last of the most notable demons of khorne are the Greater Daemons of Khorne, the Bloodthirsters. These resemble bloodletters but are much larger, much, much, larger. Their bodies are covered with horns and have huge wings on their backs. They command the armies of Khorne and have an unmatchable lust for blood and slaughter. Their bodies are covered in their ancient and war-torn brass and iron armor which protects them from ranged attacks and melee together. Once someone is in melee combat with a bloodthirster, their fate is as good as sealed. Not even the other greater daemons of the rival gods can stand against a bloodthirster. Only the absolute mightiest of heros can even hope to stand a chance against war personified.

"Slay without pity; triumph without remorse. You are the legions of Khorne, his favorite warriors. You shall bring defeat defeat and death to His enemies. You shall crush their worlds under your heel. To battle! Let blood flow in His name!" Rorath'rath the skullwearer

Slaanesh

Slaanesh is the dark prince, the deified manifestation of the ideas of ecstasy, debauchery, hedonism, and pleasure in all things. He is known the show himself as a hermaphroditic or androgynous human of irresistible beauty, taking on the guise of whatever the mortal he/she visits finds most tempting.

Slaanesh was created by what was called the Fall by the Eldar, when their civilization began seeking whatever pleasures they desired, following a hedonistic lifestyle of masochism, sadism, and debauchery. And, due to their long lives and vast intelligence, they could seek more inventive ways to gain their pleasure. However, eventually their negative thoughts and actions created Slaanesh, and at his birth he let out a scream causing a massive tear in the fabric of reality, what is now called the Eye of Terror. The Fall also split the Eldar in two, creating the Dark Eldar, who refused to give up their debauchery and hedonism. However both the Dark Eldar and the Eldar are enemies of Slaanesh.

Slaanesh's followers usually begin to find pleasure in all things, even simple things: pain, healing, life, death. They live in a lifestyle of exorbitance and as though they are in an inescapable high.

The followers of Slaanesh are known as Daemonettes who seek pain and pleasure in attacking enemies. Like their god they are androgynous beings that emanate an aura of unnatural beauty. In place of hands they have crab-like claws which offer agonizing pleasure to those who are struck by them.

Occasionally, daemonettes will ride steeds of Slaanesh, graceful beasts that run like the wind. When daemonettes take to battle on these creatures they are known to their foe as Seekers of Slaanesh.

Nurgle

"While the mortal realm is laid waste by blight and pestilence, the lands of nurgle thrive on disease and corruption. Tended by the dark lord of decay, this unwholesome realm is home to every pox and affliction imaginable and foetid with the stench of rot." Chaos daemon codex

Nurgle, lord of decay and disease. His huge body and frame is made up entirely of slime, rotting corpses and garbage as well as any other unpleasant things you can imagine.

An oddity of chaos, Nurgle is almost jovial in his spreading of plauges, seeing them as "gifts" to those infected. With his millions of viral toxins available, he sees them as almost an evolution, seemingly striving to better those who would follow him by poisoning them over vast periods of time. As such, has gained the nickname "Grandfather Nurgle" by his followers.

The followers of Nurgle are the plaguebearers. Small versions of Nurgle or bits broken off him grown into Nurglings, festering growths wrought with teeth, claws and pestilence.

Among his agents, the most vile and disgusting are the Great Unclean Ones. Armed with a plague sword dipped in the fetid pools beneath Nurgle himself, and massive girth and durability from aeons of infection, they are the living embodiment of Nurgle on the battle field. Being greater daemons, they are very capable of not only spreading Nurgle's plauges, but striking fear in the most stalwart of commanders due the sheer size and power they possess.

"All things must wither and die. Let root rot and bower blight, to feed the pestilence of abandoned hope."Aghalhor, the bringer of poxes

Tzeentch

Tzeentch is the god of change and the master of sorcery. His realm is woven from the raw fabric of magic, threaded upon deceit and conspiracy. Of all the outlandish landscapes of the realm of chaos, Tzeentch's Domain is the most bizarre and incomprehensible.

"Curiosity begets knowledge, Knowledge begets curiosity, Only great Tzeentch sates both" The teachings of Tz'Kul'Anak

References

*White dwarf341 Games Workshop, May 2008