Ragged Knight
The Ragged Knight is an ancient Bloodthirster of Khorne.[1]
History
The Ragged Knight was born during the Steel Era of Old Earth. A holy man, calling himself Innocent, demanded that the Karthur people be burned for their sins against his God. Lord Innocent called a crusade to eradicate the Karthur, blessing the knights that answer his call with the promise that their sins shall be forgiven. In the land of Gawl, also called the Frankish Empire, they laid siege to the fortress of Albajensia. With all their sins forgiven, they burned it to the ground - massacring men, women and children. The hate, fear, rage, and bitter sense of betrayal give birth to a daemon that rises above its siblings - the Ragged Knight.[1]
Recent History
The Sorcerer Iskandar Khayon, whom it called Soulweaver, was able to bind the Ragged Knight, trapping it in one of the leatherbound tarot cards he carried. Although the daemon was pacted to him, Khayon found it unreliable and rebellious. He believed his tutelary daemon, Gyre, kept it in check.[1]
When the Emperor's Children attacked His Chosen Son, a hulk serving as neutral ground for a meeting of Khayon, Falkus Kibre, and Lheorvine Ukris, Khayon summoned the Ragged Knight. The daemon massacred eighteen of the Emperor's Children in a dozen seconds, building a throne from four of their corpses and consuming the others. At Khayon's command, it fought Telemachon Lyras, who was able to hold his own against the daemon until he struck it and was incapacitated by the burning viscera that sprayed from the wound. Ignoring the defenceless swordsman, the Ragged Knight attacked Khayon in an attempt be free and was banished by the sorcerer.[1]
Appearance
The Ragged Knight's skin is the bleeding red charcoal of scorched flesh, like the families who burned in their homes. Its armour is a fire-blackened mockery of the mailed knights whose treachery gave it birth. It carries a sword, just as those butchering knights carried swords, but graven with runic curses heralding the War God’s glory. The fire that lit the horizon as the doomed city blazed burns behind its eyes, and each of its exhaled breaths is the echo of ten thousand dying screams.[1]
Notes
The events of the Ragged Knight's birth correspond to the Massacre at Béziers, which took place on 22nd July 1209 (0555209.M2) during the Albigensian Crusade. The quote "Kill them all. Our God will know who is loyal", which Khayon attributes to Innocent, is historically attributed to his legate Arnaud Amalric.
Sources
- 1: The Talon of Horus (Novel), Part I, Chapter IV
