Even by the absurd standards of Warhammer 40,000, there are characters who can easily surpass almost all others. One user wonders why everyone fears him, as he’s just a single fighter. What he overlooks, however, are the advantages of having good connections to the Blood God Khorne.
The gifts of Chaos grant supernatural power, but only to those who prove themselves worthy. In most cases, a Chaos Cultist ends up as a victim in some ritual at best, or at worst as a host for a demonic Chaos spawn.
However, a significant exception is the Chaos Space Marines, the sons of those Primarchs who betrayed the Emperor during the Great Brother War and turned to the Chaos Gods. As Astartes, they are already genetically enhanced super-soldiers, and the corruption of Chaos only makes them stronger.
They often still lose to their loyal brothers for various reasons. However, there are some traitors who can pose problems even for legendary Space Marines. One of them is Khârn, the adjutant of Angron of the World Eaters (formerly the War Hounds), who has since ascended to become a Daemon Prince.
Khârn appears in several stories and is regarded as one of the most feared followers of Chaos. And for good reason.
Only the Prince of Khorne is stronger than Khârn
Among all followers of the Chaos God Khorne, Khârn is considered the strongest mortal, surpassed only by his “father” Angron – who has long ceased to be a human (or Space Marine) and has ascended to become a Daemon Prince.
However, Khârn was already an excellent fighter before his fall. He frequently dueled, sometimes against some of the best fighters of the Imperium, such as Sigismund, the founder of the Black Templars.
As the first World Eater, he has also survived having the Butcher’s Nails implanted: nails driven into the brain to enhance rage and aggression.
Further operations have only heightened his bloodlust and driven his thirst for murder to the point that Khârn even had a kill counter installed in the visor of his power armor – a gift from Horus himself.
A bloodlust so great that his own legion crumbles beneath it
Since Khârn lived even before the Horus Heresy, in the 30th Millennium, he was able to build a considerable reputation through his long life span and battles. He was known as an excellent but unstable fighter.
Only one friend, Argel Tal, managed to pacify him during this time – and was subsequently removed from the picture by Erebus, the first traitor, so that he would not stand in the way of the growing bloodlust of the emerging Khorne Berserker.
Khârn has not only slaughtered other Astartes en masse, he even killed one of the strongest Pariahs without fully realizing what he was doing.
The act for which he eventually became famous, however, he committed against his own legion: during the fight against the Emperor’s Children, Khârn went through his own ranks with a flamethrower to drive the World Eaters and prevent their retreat. Anyone who tried to stop him was killed, which ultimately earned Khârn the title of “the Traitor.”
This massacre eventually led to the World Eaters being torn apart as a legion.
“You feel the veil around him thin out”
Even though all of this may sound quite brutal, such stories are not too unusual by Warhammer standards. On Reddit, a user questions how such a thing can be enough that Khârn’s name alone is sufficient to instill fear and terror: “Surely a few guys should be able to defend against him, right?”
The community then clarifies that Khârn is not just an excellent fighter, but also Khorne’s favorite – so much so that the Blood God has (presumably) even brought him back from the dead. This brings certain effects:
He is the chosen one of the Blood God. You have to imagine, when you stand before him, you can feel the veil thinning and all sorts of chaotic nonsense make you nauseous. It’s a total morale killer.
Nknk- on Reddit
Millennia of slaughter have contributed to his reputation, and in battle he wields the legendary chain axe Gorechild, which can slice through armor, flesh, and bone alike with ease. Khorne’s blessing also makes him immune to psychic powers and allows him to manifest demonic entities around him.
All of this contributes to the fact that no one wants to fight Khârn, and his name alone instills fear. However, the affection of a Chaos God is not always advantageous, as shown by a Slaanesh-corrupted Space Marine: A traitor in Warhammer 40,000 is constantly resurrected because his death is much too amusing for a god.
