Thanquol
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Thanquol is an ambitious, ruthless, and cunning Grey Seer of the Skaven with a gift for avoiding death.[2a]
First appearing in the Gotrek & Felix (novel series), in which he becomes the titular duo's long-standing nemesis, he later appears in his own series of novels, Thanquol and Boneripper (anthology), which chronicle his adventures between his last appearance in Beastslayer and his reappearance in Elfslayer.
He has travelled across much of the world including Cathay, Lustria, and the Southlands and led armies against the armies of many races, often being successful although usually at a very heavy cost to the Skaven forces under his command.[2a]
Contents
History
Thanquol first appears in Skavenslayer as the skaven chosen by the Council of Thirteen to lead the army preparing to attack Nuln, after the previous leader was slain by Gotrek. Taking command of the skaven coalition, Thanquol's early efforts are spent uncovering and foiling the plans of the other leaders within his army, whom he sees as threats to his position. Paranoid and egotistical to the point of megalomania, Thanquol, like all skaven leaders, consistently blames his failures on the incompetence of his underlings and the machinations of hidden enemies within skaven society. He is also addicted to warpstone snuff, which fuels his formidable sorcerous powers but also damages his mental condition.
Though a powerful sorcerer with great and malicious ambitions, Thanquol tends to leave his plans in the paws of less capable underlings and consistently underestimates his foes, flaws which hamper his desire to rise through the ranks of skaven society. The invasion of Nuln in 2499 IC[2a] which he oversaw ultimately ended in failure due to a number of factors, including the mutation of a Clan Pestilens plague causing it to affect skaven as well as humans, the unstoppable spread of rats specifically bred to devour all available foodstuffs, and the interference of Gotrek and Felix. Despite managing to penetrate Nuln's palace with a company of stormvermin, Thanquol was prevented from murdering Countess Emmanuelle von Liebwitz and fled in his defeat, justifying his cowardice as prudent skaven caution.
After his failure to conquer Nuln, Thanquol began investigating reports that a colony of skaven had been driven from their tunnels beneath an abandoned mine and discovered the Lonely Tower. Desiring the secrets of Dwarfen engineering compiled there, Thanquol launched an attack on the engineering camp despite the shocking arrival of Gotrek and Felix at the same remote place. His forces were defeated in the Battle of the Lonely Tower, but upon learning of the airship Spirit of Grungni from his underling Lurk Snitchtongue, capturing it became Thanquol's new goal. Using his mental link with Lurk to follow the airship to Kislev, he led a force of Clan Moulder soldiers to capture the Straghov Manse, from whence he planned to ambush the airship upon its return from the Chaos Wastes. He came dangerously close to succeeding, only being foiled when a group of prisoners escaped and Max Schreiber countered the spell Thanquol was using to immobilize the airship.
Escaping his defeat with only a mutated Lurk for protection, Thanquol fled across the grass-plains of Kislev before being captured by outriders from the vast Chaos army of Arek Daemonclaw. Released by the Chaos warlord, Thanquol and Lurk were soon captured again, this time by Clan Moulder. Brought to Hell Pit to account for the loss of Clan Moulder's troops, Thanquol earned his freedom by helping the clan's leaders crush a skavenslave rebellion whipped up by Lurk. Placed in command of a Clan Moulder force sent to investigate the great gathering of dark energy near Praag, Thanquol's army came under attack by Khornate Chaos Warriors from Daemonclaw's host. The outcome of that battle is unknown, though Daemonclaw's overall host was destroyed.
After the Siege of Praag, Thanquol's path diverged from Gotrek and Felix's, and the two heroes would not encounter their 'nemesis' again for twenty years. By that point Thanquol had lost most of his former status and been banished by the Council of Thirteen to an outpost in the backwaters of Estalia. Upon learning that Gotrek and Felix were still alive and in Altdorf, Thanquol sent assassins to capture them but was once again let down by his henchmen. However, he was able to discover the address of Gustav Jaeger, Felix's father, whom he tortured to death for information on where the two had gone. When Gotrek and Felix returned to land after a misadventure beneath the Sea of Claws, they found Thanquol's forces waiting to ambush them.
With Gotrek and Felix prisoners aboard his submersible, Thanquol planned to torture them to death in recompense for all they had done to him, but became distracted after a High Elf prisoner mentioned that they were trying to recover a Dark Elf weapon known as the 'Harp of Ruin'. Hungering to claim the Harp for himself and regain his prestige, Thanquol decided to release the duo into the path of the Druchii, hoping that they would cause enough destruction that Thanquol's forces could seize the Harp in the chaos. Thanquol's agents did succeed in stealing the Harp, but it was destroyed by Gotrek soon after and the Slayer came incredibly close to killing Thanquol himself; though the Grey Seer survived and fled once again, he lost his right hand to Gotrek's axe.
Relationship to Gotrek & Felix
Soon after first encountering them, Thanquol began to regard Gotrek and Felix as his arch-enemies, seeing them as near-demonic agents of a malign power sent to foil his otherwise perfect plans. However, his many attempts to have them killed have all ended in failure. Despite the threat he poses, the duo were for a long time far less aware of him than he was of them, knowing him only as a shadowy figure controlling the skaven. As such, Thanquol was surprised and infuriated when, upon finally capturing the pair, his declaration that their long rivalry was about to end was met with blank confusion, Felix having assumed that the Grey Seer he had once clashed with was long dead. Nevertheless, Thanquol's murder of Felix's father, Gustav Jaeger, did eventually make him the hated nemesis that he always believed he was. Felix has sworn to avenge himself on Thanquol for his father's death, just as the loss of his hand has made the fires of Thanquol's hatred for the pair burn even brighter.
Other Escapades
As well as his adventures in the novel series, Thanquol is known to have attempted to use ancient Elf stones to destroy the lands of men, a scheme which was thwarted by Commander Morgan Bernhardt and his army. He also once tried to summon a Verminlord of the Horned Rat to aid an underground assault on Karak Kadrin, but this plan failed spectacularly when he instead managed to summon Skarbrand, a Bloodthirster of Khorne, who swiftly annihilated the skaven army before fading away.
Weapons and Equipment
- 4th Edition: Boneripper, Sword. May take up to Four Magic Items.[2a]
- Boneripper: Thanquol often employs mutated Rat Ogre bodyguards for protection, each called Boneripper. The first was slain by Gotrek in the manse of Fritz von Halstadt in Nuln, the second by Felix , who threw a bomb down its throat in the Battle of the Lonely Tower. Recently, Clan Skryre gave Thanquol an important gift as a sign of reconciliation for past deeds. Clan Eshin warriors were hired to recover the body of Thanquol's first Rat Ogre, which had been on display in a freak show in Nuln. Clan Skyre reassembled the cadaver and reanimated it as a mindless machine at the order of Thanquol.
Miniatures
Thanquol
Boneripper
Thanquol on Boneripper
Thanquol on Boneripper
Thanquol on Boneripper
Thanquol on Boneripper
Quotes
| I am Grey Seer Thanquol. I am the chosen representative of their malevolent majesties, the Lords of Decay, the Council of Thirteen of holy Skavenblight and the living claws of his most vengeful divinity the Horned Rat. I am the eyes, nose and ears of Skavenblight. I am their judge and their dagger! Know me and tremble, spleenless-mouse, and beg my indulgence for your Impiety! |
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Chronicles: Thanquol and Boneripper (anthology): Grey Seer (Novel)
- 1a: Chapter Two, pg. 69
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Skaven (4th Edition)
- 2a: Special Characters, pg. 69
- Gotrek & Felix (novel series)
- Warhammer Armies: Skaven (6th Edition), p. 66 & 67
