There’s no denying it – evil is fun. In fiction, that is. Heroes are all well and good, but villains get the best lines, the best outfits, and the best maniacal cackles. In the worlds of Warhammer, where there’s a very fine line between heroism and villainy, the bad guys are undeniably awesome.
Archaon, Horus, Nagash – these are just a few of the iconic bad guys from the 41st Millennium and the Mortal Realms. Their names are legend, and you know their dastardly deeds – but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Black Library’s books have shone a light on loads of amazing villains. Here are few that we love to hate.
Trazyn the Infinite
Those familiar with the Necrons’ legions on the tabletop will no doubt have heard of Trazyn the Infinite, the body-swapping archivist famed for his awe-inspiring collection of historical relics.*
Although the Necrons are often content to use their technological superiority to run rings around the clumsy mortal races of the galaxy, a conflict against their own kind can span centuries as ageless beings plot labyrinthine gambits against each other. This is definitely the case when Trazyn and Orikan the Diviner collide in The Infinite and the Divine, with neither pulling any punches when it comes to scheming against the other.
If pinching priceless artefacts and manipulating the legal proceedings of a Necron court case sound sufficiently diabolical to you, make sure to follow the elder archaeovist’s millennia-long feud in the ebook and MP3 audiobook.
Vorx
When you think of iconic Death Guard characters, Mortarion or Typhus probably come to mind – but only if you’ve not made Vorx’s acquaintance.
Vorx is the protagonist of The Lords of Silence, a novel by Chris Wraight about the Death Guard warband of the same name. He’s a treacherous, untrustworthy, scheming, murderous savage. Naturally, he’s a delight to read about.
Vorx allies with the Word Bearers to attack Sabatine, the home world of the White Consuls, and was the driving force in achieving a major victory for Chaos. Not only did he kill the beleaguered Space Marines’ Chapter Master, but he also managed to thwart the Word Bearers’ plans to claim the planet for themselves, instead turning Sabatine into a plague-ridden paradise. By Nurgle’s standards, anyway. Last time we saw Vorx, he was called to join Mortarion in the Plague Wars – who knows what’ll happen when he returns?
You can experience Vorx’s victories in the paperback, ebook and MP3 audiobook editions of The Lords of Silence.
Lady Olynder
Some of the best villains are born from tragedy. Lady Olynder sort of qualifies – if you squint. In life, she was… not very nice, dedicated to improving her position through scheming and plotting. Eventually, she achieved her ultimate goal, a kingdom which she ruled as the Mourning Bride. The tragedy kicked in when her lands were beset by Nurgle’s plagues, and she lost everything – including her life.
Nagash, ever the prankster, raised her to unlife, doomed to forever haunt her former lands, and cursed to feel the sorrows of the living. Once again, she fought her way to prominence among the dead, and her efforts were rewarded with command of the Nighthaunt armies and the title of Mortarch of Grief.
In Lady of Sorrows by C L Werner, Olynder is the malevolent force the heroes are trying to overcome – but her cunning and guile ensure that she’s ahead of them every step of the way, and seeing how her schemes unfold is one of the great joys of the story. You can grab the paperback, ebook and MP3 audiobook to see for yourself.
These three monsters are just the tip of the villainous iceberg. Who are your favourite reprobates from the Warhammer settings, and are there any you’d like to know more about? Let us know on Facebook, and you might just find your beloved baddies explored in a future article.
* Of which some are… less than pleased to be there.