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Skarbrand is a Bloodthirster, once Khorne's greatest general, cast out for daring to strike the Blood God. He is wrath incarnate.
He wields two axes, Slaughter and Carnage, and his presence fills the battlefield with a red tide of rage. Unlike other Bloodthirsters, he has no host of his own; he fights alone, or at the head of whatever warriors his fury drags into battle. He is too dangerous even for Khorne's other servants to command. Skarbrand was once among the greatest of Khorne's Bloodthirsters. Tzeentch himself, through whispers and manipulation, stoked his rage until Skarbrand struck a blow at Khorne himself. As punishment, the Blood God cast him across the Realm of Chaos and drove out everything but his fury. He is now the Exiled One, a creature of pure rage whose bellow sends friend and foe into killing frenzy.
Origins
Tzeentch goaded Skarbrand's hubris until he struck Khorne. The Blood God cast him across the Realm of Chaos, breaking his wings.
Before his fall, Skarbrand was among the mightiest Bloodthirsters, and by most accounts Khorne's favoured general. Tzeentch manipulated him into attacking his own god, and Khorne hurled him from the Brass Citadel. His fall shattered his wings and left him in permanent exile, unable to rejoin the Blood God's host.
Before his fall, Skarbrand was one of Khorne's greatest champions. Background material credits him with destroying the First Palace of Slaanesh and killing Nurgle's great poxviathan. He took his axes, Slaughter and Carnage, after a battle against the mightiest Bloodthirsters, and they hold the spirits of defeated enemies. Codex: Chaos Daemons says Khorne threw him from the top of the Brass Citadel. He flew through the warp for eight days and nights, leaving destruction across the gods' realms, and his landing carved out a vast canyon and tore his wings to shreds. Exile made him more useful: with no loyalty or reason left, he spills oceans of blood for a god he can no longer serve deliberately.
Key events
- Struck Khorne and was exiled from the Brass Citadel.
- Has rampaged across countless worlds since his exile, drawing Khorne's mortal followers to him.
- His aura of rage spreads to everyone near him, so that even his allies turn to slaughter.
- Attacked Guilliman's forces in the Maelstrom during the Terran Crusade, slaying the Emperor's Champion Marius Amalrich.
- Was defeated by Guilliman in personal combat.
Grey Knights background places him with Task Force Pure Steel on the burning world of Phaedes Ekron, where Justicar Tarn died trying to stop him from cutting his way out of an ambush. The background records many more appearances. He attacked the Vorpal Swords during the Gheistos Cataclysm. In 975.M41 he appeared on the Cadian fortress world of Lutoris Epsilon, where his aura drove the Guardsmen to kill each other. Rumour says Dante split him in two at the Gates of Pandemonium. In Gathering Storm he joined the Masque to invade Biel-Tan through the webway from the maiden world of Ursulia, but the craftworld's Avatar defeated him.
Gathering Storm: Rise of the Primarch describes his attack on Fateweaver's Blackstone Fortress. He rejected the Lord of Change's plan to keep Guilliman alive and stormed the fortress to take the Primarch's head. When Cypher and Sylandri freed Guilliman, the two Greater Daemons briefly joined forces against him, and only Marius Amalrich's sacrifice allowed Guilliman to defeat the Exiled One. He later led a Khornate host in the Blood Crusade.
Battles & campaigns
- The Exile: Khorne cast him out from the Brass Citadel.
- Endless wars: Daemons and mortals alike are swept into his rage.
- Battles beside the Khornate legions, when they choose to follow him.
Personality
Unrelenting rage, with no sense of strategy.
He is driven entirely by rage, especially rage at himself for his betrayal of Khorne. He has no strategy beyond destruction, and he despises Tzeentch for tricking him. His fury is so intense that it overwhelms everyone near him, making him a weapon of mass slaughter rather than a commander.
Weapons & Vehicles
The screaming, blood-drenched motorised war-axe of the World Eaters and Khorne Berzerkers, trading all defensive finesse for bone-shatt…
The legendary mica-dragon-toothed chainaxe forged for Primarch Angron and rebuilt for Khârn the Betrayer, tearing through ceramite and …
The Echo of the First Murder—an ancient, bound Daemon greatsword wielded by Warmaster Abaddon the Despoiler that rends reality and woun…
The lesser daemons of Khorne, red-skinned horned warriors who hack down their foes with burning hellblades.
Frenzied melee warriors of Khorne, driven to murderous rage by the Butcher's Nails implanted in their brains.
A fast, close-assault daemon engine that tears through vehicles and fortifications with power fists, magma cutters and lasher tendrils.
Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.
Connections
Characters (5)
Roboute Guilliman enemy · UltramarinesGuilliman fought Skarbrand inside a Blackstone Fortress during the Terran Crusade.
Angron fellow servant of Khorne · World EatersBoth are among Khorne's most wrathful champions; neither is subtle.
Kairos Fateweaver rival · Chaos DaemonsSkarbrand opposed Kairos's plan to keep Guilliman alive but imprisoned.
Khorne banished · Chaos DaemonsSkarbrand was tricked by Tzeentch into striking Khorne, and was cast out of the Brass Citadel in disgrace.
Factions
- Chaos Daemons primary faction
Related units (3)
Also in this faction
Some links are thematic parallels (marked "parallel") rather than recorded meetings. See the connections web.
Legacy
Skarbrand is the Exiled One, the Bloodthirster whose wrath is so total that Khorne cast him out of the Brass Citadel. He spreads a red mist of fury that turns friend and foe alike into frenzied killers. His rampages are a natural disaster, terrible to whoever is closest, and his clash with Guilliman in the Terran Crusade showed that even a Primarch must fight at his limit to beat him. Skarbrand is what happens when Khorne's rage is turned on his own servant.
Appearances & sources
- Codex: Chaos Daemons
- Warhammer Age of Sigmar background (Skarbrand also appears there)
- Daemons of Khorne background