With his limbs restored and his faith in Sigmar renewed the Emperor Karl Franz departed from Limshof atop the winged steed Quicksilver on his long journey back to the Imperial capital, leaving his trusted ally Balthasar Gelt behind to clean up the mess left from the Chaos attack and to then rendezvous with the Knights of the Black Bear currently stationed up in Kislev.

A few weeks passed as the wizard did his best to restore the town to a perceived level of normality, mending their tools and using his alchemical abilities to produce gold for them so they could afford repairs. The villagers of Limshof were a superstitious lot and soon resisted Gelt’s advances to better their situation, believing his methods to be unnatural. As such, Gelt requested reinforcements from the 8th Ostland Swordsmen regiment to maintain the peace and keep him safe as he pressed on, keen to complete his mission and move on from this place.

One day a local hermit by the name of Adric Greenwood arrived at the town’s gates, demanding that the townsfolk come see what he’d found in the forest. Balthasar and a handful of swordsmen including their commander, a skilled but war-weary soldier by the name of Sergeant Markus Kruber, ventured deep into the forests behind the hermit until they eventually reached a ravine running through the woods. Adric showed them along the stream until finally they came to its foot where Greenwood revealed a familiar face to Gelt, the exiled Bloodthirster of Khorne Skarbrand was lying there totally unconscious with half his face torn, revealing the jagged bones of his skull beneath.

Upon seeing the body Kruger immediately became anxious, threatening the hermit as he ordered his men to clear the surrounding area for ambushes. As Kruber’s men checked the perimeter Balthasar made his way to the Bloodthirster’s body to investigate.

Balthasar was confused, he was sure Skarbrand had died. Heck, he’d made a point of it when he lured the bloodthirster into N’kari’s lair and proceeded to drop a mountain on the two of them. Nothing could survive all that, surely? Yet here the daemon was, unaware of its surroundings but breathing nonetheless.

The swordsmen soon returned, announcing no signs of an ambush and thus Kruber decided to let the hermit go who promptly fled back into the forest before the sergeant considered changing his mind.

Gelt: “This…thing still breathes sergeant.”

Kruber: “Then we have a duty to kill it, my lord.”

Gelt: “I’m not so sure about that sergeant, perhaps I could study it?”

Kruber: “What? Here?”

Gelt: “Of course not. No, back in Limshof I mean.”

Kruber: “That would pose incredible risk to the populace my lord, a populace we are supposed to be here to protect.”

Gelt: “I know that…but I have a greater mission, sergeant. What if upon studying this beast I could find a weakness, some means we aren’t yet aware of by which to kill these things more readily. Or better yet, what if I could redeem this creature? Turn it against its kind. I could…”

Kruber: “This is outlandish speculation my lord. What we have here is the opportunity to destroy this daemon without resistance. The promise of study simply isn’t worth the risk this poses to the local population. We cannot let this go to waste!”

Gelt: “You’re not listening, sergeant. If I can turn one daemon, I might be able to turn them all.” Gelt’s eyes suddenly glistened even brighter than his mask “I could save the future sergeant, we could save the world. I have to try. Besides, what makes you think we can kill this thing? It survived a mountain’s collapse, what’s your sword going to do to it?”

Kruber: “This blade has been in my family for generations. It has never failed me and never will. My strikes will be true and together with your magic, we shall slay this thing once and for all.”

Gelt: “I can do this sergeant, we can save the world. And even if the worst comes, who’s really to say that the lives of a few villagers are worth the continued survival of the Empire?”

Kruber: “I do my lord. And when that beast wakes and slaughters the people of Limshof as well as my men, while you find some way to escape back to the Reikland, I will be left behind to explain what happened to their families. To explain that they died due to the hubris of a single wizard, my lord.”

….

• Laugh React: Balthasar looked at the unconscious daemon some more before coming to a conclusion. “You’re right. The risk is too great. Thank you sergeant for keeping my priorities straight.”

And thus the two gathered around the daemon and prepared to finish it off. Balthasar used the essence of Chamon to harden Markus’ long sword to the extent it could pierce the greater daemon’s flesh and so the Ostland sergeant proceeded in his mission, hacking his blade into the bloodthirster’s neck over and over again. Eventually the daemon became aware it was under attack and woke but it was too late by then as with only two more blows, Markus Kruber successfully parted Skarbrand’s head from the rest of its body.

….

• Angry React: As Kruber and Gelt debated on how to proceed, Skarbrand suddenly woke and immediately grabbed Gelt by the neck. Kruber and his swordsmen charged toward the daemon only for Skarbrand to snap the wizard’s neck as if it were a toothpick before running straight at the swordsmen. Each one fought valiantly against the daemonic behemoth before them but none were a match for the Drinker of Blood who proceeded to slaughter them, even crushing Kruber’s body against a nearby tree-stump.

With the swordsmen dealt with, Skarbrand let out a piercing battlecry, summoning hundreds of blood letters and worshippers of the Blood God to his side as he attavked the town of Limshof. It turns out this wasn’t the same Skarbrand who’d fought N’Kari after all, for in death the Blood God had decided to absorb his soul and give him a new chance at life. The only reason why this new body had appeared unconscious at first was because it hadn’t yet been fully integrated with the daemon’s soul. Now that Skarbrand and his new body were one, he was ready to annihilate the people of Limshof and everyone beyond that. Skulls for the skull throne!

….

Eventually Kruber saw there was no way of getting through to his superior officer and thus ordered his men to fetch a cart and a large rug to transport this creature into town without being spotted.

Once back in Limshof, Balthasar ordered the swordsmen to clear one of the barns to make space for the greater daemon and his surgical equipment.

Kruber: “We don’t have any surgeons to convey such an operation, my Lord.”

“We don’t need a surgeon, you’ve got me.” Gelt claimed as he pulled a few rusty grooves from one of his many pockets and transmuted them into a set of golden surgical tools.

And thus the barn was cleared, the daemon placed within it and Balthasar Gelt leapt into action as he pulled out a scalpel and proceeded to slowly cut away at the base of Skarbrand’s skull.

Suddenly a wave of rage hit Balthasar the bloodthirster’s mind lashed out in self-defence, growling as fiercely as it could muster while Gelt did his best to break through that cavalcade of psychic barrage “Shut up daemon! I’m trying to help you here.”

Skarbrand’s mind responded “HELP. ME. WHY?”

Gelt: “Your body has been significantly damaged by that rockfall you encountered and judging by the way your frontal lobe is flapping, I’m guessing you may have suffered some damage to your mind as well. But don’t fear, I’ll soon mend that for you.”

Skarbrand: “HELP. ME. WHY?”

Gelt: “Because you’re the answer to my questions…and I have a lot of them. So stop resisting daemon, you’ll only make this harder on yourself. Thinking about killing me doesn’t actually kill me after all.”

Skarbrand’s mental attacks ceased for a moment.

Gelt: “Thank you. Now, tell me what it feels like to have betrayed your own kind monster. To be a good daemon.”

Skarbrand’s mind: “I. LOYAL. KHORNE.”

Gelt: “You weren’t always though. The Changer showed you something that lead to you falling from grace. What was it?”

Skarbrand: “….”

Gelt: “Tell me demon!”

Skarbrand still remained silent.

Gelt: “You won’t tell me…or perhaps you can’t tell me.”

Suddenly Gelt realised the truth, Skarbrand no longer even remembered what it was that led to his demotion. Being a simple beast, the Blood God had long since removed those memories from his mind. Gelt continued to slice his way through the demon’s scalp, stitching the daemon’s mind back together as best he could until he was finally content that Skarbrand wouldn’t die.

Gelt: “I’ve just saved your life, daemon. Now I’m going one step further. I’m going to save your soul.”

Skarbrand’s mind spoke again: “DAEMONS. NO. FREE. SOULS.”

Gelt: “Oh, no? Well, imagine if you did daemon. What then? What would happen then? I’m going to find your lost memories, and I’m giving them back to you.”

Skarbrand: “NO!”

The bloodthirster resisted, launching its mental defences once more but Balthasar continued to press on, fiddling with the electrical pathways inside the daemon’s brain using his metallic instruments to create links to those lost memories.

….

• Sad React: As Balthasar went on with his quest to understand and redeem the daemon a shockwave suddenly burst through Skarbrand’s chest, sending Balthasar flying back as Skarbrand’s organs erupted in a tide of blood that covered the entire barn.

“No, dammit!” Balthasar yelled as what just happened dawned on him. It seems the Blood God would rather kill his own spawn than risk them gaining a single scent of independence or worse, rebelling against him.

….

The daemon’s mind let out a powerful shriek, calling reinforcements from its followers in the warp yet as the daemon’s mind continued to lash out against the wizard, Gelt only grew more and more determined. His head shook, blood dripped from his nose and coursed down the sides of his mask but he continued nonetheless, possibly even risking a seizure of his own at this rate. “I’m never going to stop daemon. Your kind certainly wouldn’t. You see, all those years ago when I began, I was just running. I was training to be an alchemist but it was just a job, just a way of getting myself out ofa life in Marienburg’s slums (the Doodkanal). But then I was sent to fight my first chaos invasion. That’s where I met you lot. Only then did I finally understand who I was. Only once I had seen streets bathed in gore did I realise my purpose. Balthasar Gelt would stand against the ruinous powers, always, no matter the cost!”

Balthasar cut deeper into the daemon’s mind, haemorrhaging more of the daemon’s mental pathways in search of its lost memories until finally, an electrical charge ignited inside the Bloodthirster’s head.

Skarbrand: “I. I. REMEMBER.”

Balthasar transmuted his tools further, adding an inversed attachment such that he could connect himself to Skarbrand, thus allowing himself to share in Skarbrand’s vision. His eyes faded to black as the two minds’ synced up.

Balthasar opened his eyes to see a glimmering light in a distant black void, a spark that grew and grew in size as dirt and matter coalesced around it until finally, he began to realise what he was being shown. The birth of a planet!

The gold wizard watched in sheer wonder as the rock he saw before him grew larger in a sped up fashion, eventually bringing forth the advent of life, metallic transports and even immense cities crafted from metal and electricity. Of course, he had no means to qualify what he was actually seeing, for he had no knowledge of the Imperium or its many thousands of hive worlds. Yet even then he found it beautiful.

Skarbrand: “I. REMEMBER!”

Gelt snapped out of the vision and returned to Skarbrand “I don’t understand. Your kind come from another world. Surely this cannot be new to you?”

Skarbrand: “CHAOS. DESTROYED. MILLION WORLDS.”

“Oh great, just the kind of news I wanted to hear.” Balthasar interjected sarcastically.

Skarbrand: “NEW. WORLDS. BORN. … RESISTANCE. FUTILE.”

Gelt: “Resistance to what, daemon?”

Skarbrand: “LIFE. RETURNS. LIFE. CONTINUES. … RESISTANCE. FUTILE.”

Gelt: “So, you saw a world’s birth and decided to learn something? I’m impressed to be honest. I never knew your kind had it in you. But sure, let’s work with this. You saw the truth daemon, I want you to remember how you felt in that moment. You saw a world being born, just one among many other rebirths and you realised the truth in Ruin’s futility! So tell me daemon, you saw the emptiness of your campaign, now look inside and tell me what you really see, what you really need!”

• Love React: Skarbrand shook all confused, the first original thought he’d ever been able to have as Balthasar’s tinkering had surely left him beyond the blood god’s control by now.

Skarbrand: “PURPOSE.”

Balthasar: “You need a purpose? Well we all need a purpose. What’s yours?”

Skarbrand: “NO. KNOW.”

Balthasar: “You don’t know? Well, that isn’t good enough. If you don’t know your purpose, I’ll give you one. Your purpose daemon, is to protect this world. To make amends for the devastation your brothers and sisters have wreaked across this world and others. Repeat that daemon. What is your purpose?”

Skarbrand: “PROTECT. WORLD.”

Balthasar: “Well done daemon, or shall I say Skarbrand, defender of the Empire? Make us proud.”

And so as Balthasar unhooked himself from the bloodthirster’s body, Skarbrand began to wake up. A good and free daemon, ready to fulfil its new purpose at the side of the Empire…..

• Wow React: Skarbrand shook still heavily confused, seeing glimpses of the world Balthasar described.

Skarbrand: “SEE. WORLD. SEE. LIFE.”

Balthasar: “Good. That is good. Continue to look into my mind daemon, let my mind guide your soul into deliverance. Continue daemon, tell me what do you see?”

Skarbrand: “SEE. BEAUTY. SKARBRAND. SEE….. HATRED!”

Balthasar: “Hatred?”

Skarbrand: “SKARBRAND. SEE. HATRED. OF. CHAOS!”

Balthasar: “No, no, no. There must be more than that to see. There has to be more than that. Looking deeper daemon! You’re so close!”

Skarbrand: “DEATH. TO. CHAOS! DEATH. TO. CHAOS! DEATH. TO. CHAOS!!!”

Balthasar: “No daemon! See more than that! I beg you, please!”

Skarbrand: “DAEMONS. EVIL! DAEMONS. DIE!”

Suddenly, Skarbrand woke from his coma and knocked the alchemist wizard back against a wall of the barn. Gelt begged the beast to calm down and complete his conditioning but Skarbrand took no notice as he tore Gelt’s instruments from his exposed brain, smashed through the opposing side of the barn and ran for the hills of the forest, keen on hunting and killing any daemons he came across.

As the daemon vanished from view, the alchemist was immediately beset by regret for his failure. True victory would have been a good daemon, not some wild brain-damaged beast.