To hear Azyrite preachers tell it, the barbarian throngs known as the Darkoath are soulless monsters who live only for slaughter, but the truth is that these honour-bound warriors live by a creed that helped them weather the most brutal times imaginable – the Age of Chaos. With the new Darkoath Army Set just cresting the horizon, it’s time we dug into who the Darkoath really are, behind the axes.
Given their ruthless behaviour, savage appearance, and habit of calling on malevolent deities for favour in battle, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Darkoath are dedicated servants of the Chaos Gods. However, many tribes know nothing of the wider nature of Chaos, instead beseeching aspects of the Ruinous Powers as guardian spirits. A tribe might ask the Blood Crow or Saal-Tesh of the Pit to hear their oaths, and unlike many other mortal warriors they pay homage to no one particular deity – in fact, the Darkoath look down on those tied to a single god, scorning them for their submissive devotion.
Despite the dispassionate and transactional way the Darkoath interact with their patrons, the Chaos Gods are only too happy to reward them for their sacrifices and offerings. Warriors surge with power while screaming sworn oaths to the heavens, and the slaughter they commit pleases their deities all the same.
Not all gods have earned the same respect in the eyes of the Darkoath. Those who preach deceitful ideals of order and justice earn a special contempt. This antipathy rises into a boiling hatred for the worst of them all – Sigmar, the Craven God, who holds himself the saviour of the realms, yet abandoned his flock to the Age of Chaos.
Though the doors of Azyr are now open and the Dawnbringer Crusades strike out to reclaim Sigmar’s domain, the Darkoath only sneer at the Sigmarites and their self-righteous campaign. Unlike Sigmar, their own gods have never forsaken them, and though their whims may be capricious and their punishments are cruel, the power they bestow upon those who prove their worth cannot be denied.
The need for self-reliance in a world consumed by Chaos turned the Darkoath into a harsh and ruthless people, but they are far from mindless berserkers. Their bonds of kinship are forged in blood and iron, and their way of life has nevertheless preserved countless tribes through ages rife with ruin and madness.
In fact, the familial ties that bind each tribe are a source of nourishment for their foul patrons, who love nothing more than to see a devoted companion or family member ritually butchered in times of great need. They reserve the greatest boons for the hardest sacrifices – a cost the tribes know well, as the warped might of a Wilderfiend can only be called to the battlefield with the ritual murder of their most beloved kin.
This constant cycle of hardship, sacrifice, and combat has honed the Darkoath tribes into some of the most dangerous human warriors in the Mortal Realms, and their resilience means they can be found thriving in every corner of the known world. Their dedication to the old ways that preserved their tribes through the Age of Chaos gives them a burning desire to see the so-called civilised world reduced to rubble, making them ideal foot soldiers for Archaon’s legions.
A great tragedy of the Darkoath is that, for all their independence, most are yoked to the will of the Everchosen. Tribes who do not bend the knee are often set upon by rivals, seeking to gain Archaon’s favour, while many others are content to swear fealty to the Eightpoints – especially when it means enacting vengeance on Sigmar and his followers. Besides, the march of the Everchosen’s armies always provides ample opportunities to capture sacrifices and swear ever-greater oaths.
Sounds like an appealing life, doesn’t it? Start your own tribe of die-hard warriors when the Darkoath Army Set goes up for pre-order this Saturday.