On Saturday, we revealed the extraordinary new miniature for Ka’Bandha (though how anything that big can still be referred to as a miniature is beyond us). But who is this gigantic Bloodthirster, and why is he so angry at Sanguinius?
Ka’Bandha is a Bloodthirster, one of the Greater Daemons of Khorne.* The Imperium first encountered him on the world of Signus Prime, where Horus had sent Sanguinius and his sons on the pretext of repelling a xenos invasion and, potentially, to pursue a cure for the Red Thirst.** Angry Space Marines on a planet inhabited by a Bloodthirster and his daemonic minions – what could possibly go wrong?
As ferocious fighting erupted across the planet, Sanguinius and Ka’Bandha met at the centre of the maelstrom – an Angel and a Daemon facing off. At first, the giant Bloodthirster teased the Primarch, claiming that they were more similar than he cared to admit. He also revealed Horus’ planned treachery, driving Sanguinius into a fit of rage and goading him into stabbing Ka’Bandha in the chest.
This REALLY upset the Daemon, who promptly swatted Sangiunius to the ground. Rather than slaying him there and then, the Bloodthirster paused to mock the defeated angel by slaughtering so many of his sons that the psychic backlash rendered the Primarch unconscious.*** The message was clear – I could kill you any time that I want.
Battered and seething, Sanguinius would have to wait until the Siege of Terra to claim his vengeance. As Ka’Bandha chopped his way through the Imperial Palace, the only obstacle still standing between the Greater Daemon and the Eternity Gate – and the Emperor’s throneroom beyond – was Sanguinius.****
Once again, the Greater Daemon smashed Sanguinius to the ground. As he stood over the broken angel, preparing to deal a blow that would decide the Horus Heresy, the Primarch summoned his last reserves of strength and power. With a huge effort, he grabbed the Bloodthirster and rose up high into the air. He broke the beast’s back across his knee and hurled his defeated foe into the traitorus horde, before slamming the Eternity Gate shut.*****
With its body broken, the spirit of the Bloodthirster was cast back into the warp where it would spend millennia planning its vengeance upon the Blood Angels.
We’ll have more news on the new Ka’Bandha miniature as we get nearer to his release date – sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss any other updates from the Age of Darkness. In the meantime, grab yourself a Bloodthirster notebook to keep track of all of the skulls that Ka’Bandha takes in the name of Khorne (or even just your shopping list).
* Learn about some of the most famous Greater Daemons.
** Find out more about the Red Thirst and the Black Rage.
*** Read all about this fight and its aftermath in the Horus Heresy novel Fear to Tread.
**** Check out some of the Siege of Terra highlights that led to this epic confrontation.
***** Learn more in Saturnine.