Abyssal Terror
Abyssal Terrors, also known as a Winged Nightmares[4a] or a Hellsteed[need citation] is a term given to a wide variety of terrifyingly powerful monsters, living or undead, that serve as combat mounts for only the most war-like Vampires[1a][2a].
Description
Some of these monsters are creatures of Chaos born from the mountains[1a], hybrids between wolf and eagle afflicted with insatiable hunger[1a]. Some others are giant vultures with reptile head catch in the far North or giant bats with stinged tail[1a]. Thay also can be the resurrected hybrids of rapacious beasts or monsters through the use of Necromancy[1a]. They all are nightmarish creations that were given bodies of writhing blood and flayed skin thanks to the use of science and Dark Magic. The most common of these variants are generally winged creatures[1a][2a] and they are seen as a masterpiece for the dark arts of necromancy[4a].
Most Abyssal Terrors are inevitably borne to war on ragged wings, allowing their Undead masters to strike at the heart of the enemy army. Some use to say the latter-day Von Carsteins were known for their use of a huge wolf-headed variant with slavering jaws and leathery wings[need citation] while the Grand Theogonist's chronicles tell that Vlad von Carstein's lieutenants rode zombified wyverns and griffins[1a]. The exposed spinal columns and bony tails of this particular mount oozed with a numbing poison that drew all warmth from those it infected.[2a]
Other then being forced into servitude, when a powerful Necromancer or Vampire wishes to create a Abyssal Terror of his own, the creation process has more to do with the unholy combination of mad science and dark sorcery than in any natural process[need citation]. The most talented of the Vampires that create them, such as the hidden brotherhood of the Necrarchs, draw a twisted amusement from such blasphemous births[need citation].
Necromancers and Vampires use parts harvested from a wide variety of monsters, fusing bone with ragged muscles and sinew together[1a]. Their vile creation is finally given animus when Morrslieb is at its fullest and a portion of that cyclopean moon's power is invested in the beast as it lurches and twitches upright. With its birth, the creature is forever bound to the will of its Undead masters[2a].
History
The Lichemaster summoned several of them to aid him at the Battle of the Cairns in 2497 IC[3a].
Weapons and Equipment
Some Terrors have Sword-Claws which are fused to their bones by Necromancy whilst some have elongated tails with venom-tipped protrusions. [1a]
- 6th Edition: [3a]
They are ridden by the fiercer Vampire Lords and Master Necromancers[1b][4b] and such powerful lords as Frederick Van Hal[1a], Mannfred von Carstein[1b] and Arkhan the Black[1a], whose mount is very peculiar as it has a chariot form built around a beating heart and wings of a Manticore[1a].
Gallery
Vampire on Abyssal Terror
Miniatures
Winged Nightmare
Vampire Lord on Abyssal Terror
Sources
- 1: Thore, G., Warhammer : Vampire Counts (7th Edition), 2008.
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (8th Edition)
- 3: White Dwarf #311
- 3a: Army of the Lichemaster, pg. 100
- 4: Cavatore, A., Warhammer : Vampire Counts (6th edition), 2003.
