Calibanite Lions?

[Lestat]

I'm currently reading Descent Of Angels and have a question about the Calibanite Lion Zahariel fought to gain his knighthood.

Is it just me, or does the description given of the lion sound remarkably like a Juggernaught of Khorne?

This led me to thinking - are the rest of the beasties infesting Caliban also chaos spawn/beasts/daemons? And if so, how did they come to be there?

[Focslain]

If I remember correctly Caliban is very close to the Eye of Terror, it’s possible that its’ proximity causes it to be a breeding ground for those monsters as the tendrils of chaos molded the animal population. Though this might have also effected the humans too, why it didn’t I don’t know.

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

well, maybe it did mutate the people on a sublte scale...remember when the main hero is apporached by watchers in the wood, they detect something is wrong/different with him?? i am trying to remember it but it has been a while since i read the book...

 

wolf lord kieran

[Allerka]

well, maybe it did mutate the people on a sublte scale...remember when the main hero is apporached by watchers in the wood, they detect something is wrong/different with him?? i am trying to remember it but it has been a while since i read the book...

 

wolf lord kieran

They could sense he was a psyker, before his talent manifested itself.

 

As for the beasts, it was indeed most likely caused by Caliban's proximity to the EoT. Though that is interesting that the human population seems largely unaffected by it, at least on a physical level (it's implied in Angels of Darkness it had at least a minor effect on the Lion...).

[Lestat]

So, does this mean there is aome sort of "warp-gate/rift" on Caliban which has allowed theses beasties to find their way there.

[Pacific81]

Perhaps those are not necessary.. it might simply be Caliban's close proximity to the EoT that means daemons occassionally spill into realspace and make their home there (or else the warp energies mutate creatures already living in the forests - this seems more likely as many of the monsters don't appear to come and go as normal daemons would)

[Razrhaghul]

i imagine it having the fearful effect on the people, in that their emotions, their very dread of the beasts continues their creation. cyclical i suppose.

[Allerka]

So, does this mean there is aome sort of "warp-gate/rift" on Caliban which has allowed theses beasties to find their way there.

What? No. There's no warp gates on Caliban. If there were, there'd be millions of daemons pouring out of them. It's just Caliban's proximity to the EoT means the barrier between real and warp space is a little thinner, so residual amounts of warp energy bleed through and mutate the creatures.

 

Think of it kinda like animals living near a nuclear plant having increased mutations from residual radiation in the air and water, but, in this case, the mutations are deliberately meant to make them way bigger and nastier than they'd otherwise be.

[CernunnosX]

Before it was destroyed Caliban was considered a death world. I had thought I'd read somewhere that the cuddly beasties that tended to in part make death worlds what they are were supposed to be leftover/evolved remnants of failed tyranid invasions. The idea that a Calibanite lion is a juggernaut of Khorne is neat, but to me it just seems more likely that it's a standard death world beastie.

 

Also, even armed and armored I don't see a daemon of any kind having any trouble eating a fiteen year old kid, even if he is a psyker.

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

cernunnosx, this is warhammer 40k. the more implausible the described event the quicker GW is to adopt into its background.

 

wolf lord kieran

[CernunnosX]

cernunnosx, this is warhammer 40k. the more implausible the described event the quicker GW is to adopt into its background.

 

wolf lord kieran

 

Touche' sir, touche'.

[brother Hastatus]

As Allerka said about animals living near nuclear plants, it's like the Chernobyl disaster, and the radioactive material that was blown on to Wales. The animals aren't directly from the warp, otherwise every one of them would be unique and wierd, as warp creatures are. Instead, like chernobyl, it affects the species already there. In Wales there were all sorts of problems with the sheep, with various mutations etc. So with Caliban the whole planet is affected in a similar way to the way Wales was, with each animal slightly different, but recognisable as that species none the less. And they're not mutated other than made larger and scarier.

[Bigger-than-Jesus]

As Allerka said about animals living near nuclear plants, it's like the Chernobyl disaster, and the radioactive material that was blown on to Wales. The animals aren't directly from the warp, otherwise every one of them would be unique and wierd, as warp creatures are. Instead, like chernobyl, it affects the species already there. In Wales there were all sorts of problems with the sheep, with various mutations etc. So with Caliban the whole planet is affected in a similar way to the way Wales was, with each animal slightly different, but recognisable as that species none the less. And they're not mutated other than made larger and scarier.

 

Ah, but in DoA the Beasts are all described is being completely different to on another. I'd say the planet was tainted from the EoT and that led to each beast forming.

[Lestat]

Ah, but in DoA the Beasts are all described is being completely different to on another. I'd say the planet was tainted from the EoT and that led to each beast forming.

 

So if each beastie is uniquely individual and completely different to one another, why did two Calibanite lions live on Caliban?

[Rindaris]

There weren't really 2 lions. Just 2 beasts that fit closely into the same category and were altered in nearly the same way. If they had better scientific gear I bet they would have found them very different creatures. Appearances can be deceiving.

[Deneris]

There weren't really 2 lions. Just 2 beasts that fit closely into the same category and were altered in nearly the same way. If they had better scientific gear I bet they would have found them very different creatures. Appearances can be deceiving.

 

Or... Perhaps the Knights of Lupus had been successful in actually BREEDING beasts...

 

But the Watchers in the Dark were guarding SOMETHING when Zahariel stumbled upon them... Perhaps some sort of warp-artefact (Warpstone, ala Warhammer fantasy?) or remnant of dark technology from when Caliban was firt colonized. Perhaps the beasts are actually the results of the settlers trying to alter the local flora and fauna (Dark Age of Technology, anyone?). Of course, the fauna then proceeded to EAT the settlers, forcing them to live more primitive lives and abandon the high-tech facilities/gear... Which then the Watchers detected and decided to "guard"...

[Lestat]

I'm liking this idea - gives another reason why the Knights of Lupus were wiped out.

[Ravingbantha]

Ah, but in DoA the Beasts are all described is being completely different to on another. I'd say the planet was tainted from the EoT and that led to each beast forming.

 

So if each beastie is uniquely individual and completely different to one another, why did two Calibanite lions live on Caliban?

 

 

I thikn the term "lion" is a generic term for something of it's basic properties