Crull, Captain of the Devourers

[Daemonkin_888]

Hi all,

 

I've written a short piece about my self-made protagonist, and was wondering what people thought of it. Any opinions would be appreciated.  What do you think of the way it's written?  Do the analogies work?  Do you understand what I'm trying to say?  Is there anything you disagree with?  Is there anything you'd add or change?

 

Cheers, guys!

 

 

 

Many consider the World Eaters to be a relatively shallow Legion, their sole desire epitomised by the war-cry “BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!” However, I disagree; I believe them to be a potential gold mine of background, yet I feel their potential is blighted by the impression that they have no feelings, no personality, and no desires beyond killing, maiming and burning. This is a great shame. Given Angron’s tragic past, the Legion’s descent to insanity and the amalgam of emotions induced by the Butcher’s Nails, they have the right to be considered one of the most tragic of the eighteen Legions.

The protagonist I have created is a Khorne Lord named Crull. Crull was once the captain of Angron’s retinue, the Devourers. But no longer. Following the Siege of Terra, he deserted the World Eaters along with a portion of the Devourers and the 1st Company.

Before I even had a name for my protagonist, I knew it was mandatory for him to have goals beyond killing. Like any Khorne Lord, Crull slaughters in Khorne’s name, but slaughter is his means to an end rather than the end itself. This begs the question “What does he hope to gain from slaughtering millions in Khorne’s name?”

Freedom.

Though it is not physical freedom that he seeks - rather, freedom from a broken past and from Angron’s blight on his mind and once-beloved Legion. He watched as Angron ascended to daemonhood, thus granted permanent reprieve from the torment of the Nails. As he watched, he swore that, one day, he too would be granted the same.

As well as having a goal beyond killing, I want readers to be able to empathise with Crull - to pity him, even. But is it possible to empathise with a destroyer of worlds, let alone pity one? The answer is “yes – but not wholly”, for we are mortals attempting to comprehend the inner-workings of a demi-god. This is the same for any Legion. It is like trying to describe colour to a blind man: he has no experience of such a concept, and therefore will never truly know what colour is. He will be able to imagine it, but that is all.

However, it is perhaps easier to empathise and pity Crull and the World Eaters than any other Legion. Despite their genetic lineage and demi-god statures, I feel the World Eaters are likeable to a modern dysfunctional family. Consider the relationship between a parent and a teenager. Many teenagers argue with and claim to hate their parents most of the time, if not all of the time. However, they are still family; despite any negative feelings they have for each other, love will always be a constant - and love is not an emotion that can be easily suppressed.

Even in the grim darkness of the far future, Crull experiences this same mix of love, hatred, resentment and disappointment. Along with the rest of his Legion, he despises Angron for the murder of Gheer, the former Legion Master; the perversion of his would-be sons’ minds; his failure to reciprocate the affection offered to him, and his shunning of any who attempted to grow close to him. But equally, he is their Primarch, their gene-sire, their father. In spite of all he has done, they still love him in the way that a son loves a father.

Though despite the accuracy of this analogy, it only goes so far. You must not attempt to understand Crull on a human level, for he is not human, and to humanise him would be a grave folly. Nor must you believe his actions are righteous. However, I hope readers will be able to empathise with him as much as is humanly possible. His actions may not be what you would do were you in his position, but if you can understand the emotions driving them, I’ll feel I have succeeded.

This quote sums up not only Crull, but the majority of the Legion as well. It summarises their opinions of Angron and their Legion’s present state.

“You ask why I forsook my Primarch and deserted my Legion. I did neither.

“A Primarch is a father to those under his command, a being for whom one would throw himself into the bowels of Hell itself should he will it. Angron is not such a being. A Primarch neither wills his Legion to mutilate its soul, nor casts his sons aside in favour of broken memories. To this end, I have no Primarch.

“My Legion is dead, its soul perverted by insanity’s touch long before the madness of Skalathrax. It died the day the Emperor presented us with our long-awaited gene-sire: the day we ceased to be the War Hounds, and became the Eaters of Worlds.”