Beast Kharne

“… The enemy attacked in their thousands. They threw their bodies at our walls like rocks hoping to chisel away our defences. Our trebuchets rained fire and still they came, our archers killed hundreds and still they came, our shield wall killed hundreds more and still they came, their ladders barely reached our battlements and I personally threw their decimated bodies back into the writhing sea of whence they came. Our fury was not enough, our training was not enough, our walls crumbled before their might, our blades lost their edge before they ran out of bodies to send.’‘When I surveyed the battlefield after that first day, I saw our defeat etched in stone, for what can Eight thousand men do against a hundred thousand? My despair lasted as long as a whisper for I realised that we are not men but warriors created in the image of the God of War. We were carved from the granite of wrath for one purpose. Every muscle in my body, every sinew tells me this is it. This is the war that Kormak foresaw when he created the Clan. This war would be long, it would be gruelling but those that survive will lay the foundation for the future of the clan or assist in digging its grave.” - Excerpt from ‘The Vampiric Wars’ by Commander Beast KharneBeast Kharne is the Commander of the VIII Legion of Clan Kormak and greatest mortal warrior in the realm.
== Early Life ==
Born in 1000AD in The End to Hord Kharne, the head of the Kharne family and Commander of the VIII Legion. From a very early age, Beast Kharne showed his martial prowess and understanding of combat. By age 14 Beast Kharne had won 2 fighting tournaments and was already inducted into the VIII Legion. At age 16 Beast Kharne went into battle for the first time at Kormak Outpost against a contingent of the army of Magheimr. It was there he successfully killed Arthur Flint, son of the Dovan Flint, the King of Magheimr. As Beast Kharne raised the decapitated head of Arthur Flint the Magheimr army knew the battle was over and fled back to their ships. Only 20% of these fleeing ships made it back to Magheimr as Hord Kharne ordered them destroyed.
== Defence of Ceon ==
In 1025AD Beast Kharne is sent with 200 men of the VIII Legion to collect on a large shipment of iron ore the Clan ordered. They were sent as a show of strength and to make sure they weren't assaulted by pirates on the trip back to Dagger Post. They were supposed to be in Ceon for a week but on the 4th day a scout spotted an approaching army.
This army was from the Daemon Plains and were made-up of mutated humans and Orks. They numbered over 4,000. They came with one goal in mind, destruction.
Since Beast Kharne was in command of this expedition he made the decision to stay a defend Ceon. Kharne spent the next 2 days securing Ceon for attack, reinforcing the walls, preparing the civilians to fight he taught them to use bows and spears. The small contingent of Empire soldiers stationed there quickly realised they need the Clan soldiers in order to have a chance in the coming battle.
On the 7th day, the approaching horde could be seen from atop the walls of Ceon. As soon as the first wave was in range Beast Kharne ordered the archers to fire. The reached the walls with ease and immediately begun attacking the gate and climbing the walls. At the end of the first day, the attacking army retreated much to the puzzlement of the defenders as they thought it was a mindless horde.
The next day, the horde came again and more ferocious. They say that Beast Kharne was blessed by Kormak that day as he fought like a man possessed; his strength was unyielding. At the end of that day, the defenders emerged victorious and some of the civilians bowed down before Beast Kharne believing him to be a god in human form. Beast Kharne had only 17 men left of the original 200 but Ceon was saved and allowed for great relations between Ceon and Dagger Post in the years following the battle.
Upon his return, Beast Kharne is promoted to Hersir.
== Becoming Commander ==
In mid 1034AD Hord Kharne steps down as commander of the VIII Legion to better focus on leading the Kharne family. In his absence, a choice becomes clear; Beast Kharne is the clear successor. Not only is he the eldest son of Hord Kharne but he might possibly be the strongest warrior in the clan. Within 2 weeks of Hord Kharne stepping down, Beast Kharne is named the commander of the VIII Legion.
In Late 1034AD, while on a patrol route, the Flagship ship of the VIII Legion - 'The Righteous Fury' - in sunk by the pirate Edward Blackwell. When the news hits Dagger Post, Beast Kharne is furious. His fury is taken to the seas when he board his ship the 'Wolfborn' and begins hunting the seas for 'The Silent Executioner' which is Edward Blackwells ship. After a month of searching the seas and razing every pirate ship he finds, Beast Kharne finds 'The Silent Executioner' docked in Sapnir. Beast Kharne boarded the ship under the cover of darkness with 10 warriors at his back and found only sleeping crewmen. After slaughtering the crewmen, Beast Kharne burned the ship and gave the signal to sack the town. The fury of three hundred warriors of the VIII Legion descended on this town. They found Blackwell and his crew quickly in one of the taverns.
Edward Blackwell and his crew tried to fight but they were clearly outmatched. Not one survived except for Edward himself, Beast Kharne easily disarmed him knocked him out. Beast Kharne tied him to the front of the 'Wolfborn' and there he remained until he died of thirst. Beast Kharne then mounted Edwards skull to the front of his warship and it remains there to present day.
== The Disciples of Kharne ==
"Each scar is a lesson... The dead don't scar." - Beast Kharne in 1035
In early 1034AD, Beast Kharne adopted a young Varin of StoneHeart to be his disciple. The training was intense and painful as Beast Kharne refused to train with anything but real weapons resulting in many injuries. After 2 years of training with Varin, Beast Kharne adopts another disciple; Bjorn of Horks Keep.
Every day spent at Dagger Post, the training regimen was: Run 15 miles, 50 log presses and 50 stone lifts. At the conclusion of these workouts, Varin and Bjorn will then enter the training cages and train with whoever Kharne threw at them that day. Some days it was great warriors, others would be boys of a similar age, sometimes Kharne himself would brutalise them all in the name of creating the greatest warriors in the realm. As the two disciples got older, they found themselves getting bigger and stronger as well as losing less and less in the training cage.
After 6 years of extreme training, Beast Kharne sees his two disciples as worthy of the VIII Legion.