Slaanesh
 | |
| Titles | Dark Prince of Chaos Prince of Excess Prince of Pleasure |
| Status | Active |
| Type | Chaos God |
| Domains | Lust Desire Sexuality Greed Gluttony Temptation Hedonism Indulgence Excess Pleasure Pain Joy Sadness Perfection |
| Aspects | Gorlaz[4] Slaaneth[1] Loesh the Serpent Shornaal the Prideful Shornaal [6a] |
| Affiliation | Beastmen Daemons of Chaos Norsca Warriors of Chaos |
| Followers | Cult of Gorlaz[4] Cult of Pleasure |
| Adjectives | Slaaneshi |
| Symbols | 6 Male and Female symbol combined |
| Enemies | Khorne |
|
Attention, Adept of the LEXICANUM!
This article needs some improvement on its citations. |
Slaanesh is the Chaos god of lust, excess, pleasure, perfection and hedonism.
Contents
Overview
Slaanesh typically appears in a form which is male on the left side and female on the right, with two sets of devilish horns growing from its head. It can however assume any form; male, female, hermaphrodite or asexual, but prefers male bodies.
The name of Slaanesh derives from his Dark Tongue name of "Slaaneth"[1], from which also derives the other names he is known by. Slaanesh is known as Loesh the Serpent to the Tokmar of the Eastern Steppes and as Shornaal the Prideful to the Skaeling of Norsca, while in the more civilised lands of the south he is known as the Dark Prince of Chaos, Prince of Excess or Prince of Pleasure.
The Hung worship him as Shornaal. [6a]
Slaanesh is opposed to Khorne, whose demand for bloody self-sacrifice is completely at odds with Slaanesh's principle of a life of self-indulgence and pleasure.
Pronunciation
Slaanesh is pronounced Slah-nesh or Slaar-nesh.[3]
Symbols
Slaanesh's sacred number is six, and his symbol is a combination of the traditional symbols for male and female.
Cult of Slaanesh
Slaanesh is worshipped through the most perverse and decadent self-indulgence, often in the form of great orgies involving every vice of mankind.
Although motivated more by self-indulgence than in furthering their power, the Slaaneshite cults flourish in number, Slaanesh's principle of indulging in every whim and vice making him the most popular of the Chaos Gods in the Old World.[2]
Slaanesh's followers are found in large cities and towns of the civilized lands, as well as among the Northmen of the Chaos Wastes.
Slaaneshi warbands are especially feared for their excessive practise of slave hunting, looting and acts of rape/murder. Followers of Slaanesh in the far north tend to make great use of various drugs - especially hallucinogenic fungus and roots - to lose any fear of pain or getting wounded before entering a battle.
The Elves had their own cults of Slaanesh a long time ago - the so-called Cults of Pleasure, which led to the long Civil War, the creation of the Dark Elves and their subsequent exile in Naggaroth. During the Storm of Chaos Dark Elf and human followers of Slaanesh allied and started a large scale invasion of Lustria to fight the Lizardmen and loot the artifacts of the Old Ones. This unholy alliance was led by Morathi, the hag queen and mother of the Witchking Malekith.
There are followers of Slaanesh among the ranks of the Beastmen as well. Bestigors that are dedicated to the service of the Prince of Pleasure are called Slaangors.
Daemons of Slaanesh
- Daemonettes are Slaanesh's lesser Daemons and most numerous servants. Particularly powerful/devoted Daemonettes may become personal handmaidens to the Dark Prince known as a Herald of Slaanesh. The Heralds are often sent on personal business by Slaanesh himself, and can often be found gathering dark secrets of various mortal rulers for their god's pleasure, or presiding over the perverse ceremonies of the Slaaneshi pleasure cults.
- Seekers of Slaanesh are Daemonettes mounted on the backs of Steeds of Slaanesh. The speed of the steeds is unearthly, faster than any mortal mount. The Seekers are sent by Slaanesh most often to gather individuals or souls of particular interest to the Dark Prince and, needless to say, rarely come back empty-handed.
- Fiends of Slaanesh are strange, nightmarish daemons with a head something akin to an anteater with a long, probing tongue, and a body similar to a scorpion. The Fiends skitter around on four humanoid legs that end in cloven hooves and, similar to the Steeds of Slaanesh, move with a supernatural speed and grace that is almost mesmerizing. It is said that the fiends are byproducts of Slaanesh's dreaming mind, and so their color varies depending upon his current mood- though they are most commonly various muted shades of white.
- The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh is known as the Keeper of Secrets. The Keepers have the most variable appearance of all the greater daemons, perhaps even more so than Tzeench's Lord of Change, because their appearance depends entirely on the whims of Slaanesh at the time of their creation. Most commonly they appear with a head that is bovine or female in appearance however, and they always have four arms- two of which end in vicious claws or pinchers. The Keepers are the fastest of the Greater Daemons and tend to be the most balanced as far as capabilities go. They lack the sheer killing power of Khorne's Bloodthirster, but tend to be slightly tougher as their unmatched speed allows them to slaughter most opponents before they are even able to raise a sword to strike at the daemon. The Keepers may also be sorcerers where the Bloodthirsters may not. Nurgle's Great Unclean Ones are much more tenacious, but are easily beaten out by the Keepers in speed and killing power. The Lords of Change are of course the masters of sorcery, but are beaten or matched by the Keepers in every other arena.
- Chariots of Slaanesh are the daemonic Chariots used by Slaanesh. These chariots are built for maximum speed and are adorned to attract and allure enemies on the battlefield for distraction, causing them to be less capable opponents in battle. Slaaneshi chariots are pulled by a pair of Steeds of Slaanesh and crewed by Daemonettes.
Gallery
Altar of Slaanesh
Quotes
| Some call us Daemons, true...but others know us as saviours. We bring convalescence to the soul, bathe it in rapture. Bring ecstasy. Why would you shun that? Let the pious eke out their miserable mortal lives. Break the circle, let me in, I have such sights to show you.
~ Virkusulutesh, Attendandt of the Darkling Prince. [5] |
Sources
- 1: Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned, pg. 80
- 2: The Enemy Within (campaign, volume 1, 1986)
- 3: White Dwarf Vol 3 No 40 Worlds of Warhammer, pg. 9
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Karak Azgal, pg. 9
- 5: Total War Warhammer III
- 6: Legend of Sigmar (anthology): Empire (Novel)
- 6a: Chapter Twenty: The Last Days, pg. 620
Uncited
- Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness
- Warhammer Armies: Chaos (4th Edition)
- Warhammer Armies: Realm of Chaos (5th Edition)
- Warhammer Armies: Champions of Chaos (5th Edition)
- Warhammer Armies: Hordes of Chaos (6th Edition)
- Warhammer Armies: Beasts of Chaos (6th Edition)
- Warhammer: Storm of Chaos
- Warhammer Armies: Daemons of Chaos (7th Edition)
