Grief

"*I saw him, he the Knight of Anguish. I saw him kill the whole battalion, all two thousand men. Not once did he pause. Not once did he show mercy. And throughout it all, he screamed. Screamed and screamed and screamed. I can still hear it. Echoing through my mind like the suffering of a billion, billion souls in agony. There was nothing as harrowing as that wailing sound. No snapping bones under mailed fists, no rending flesh by pointed tendrils, no cries from men as they are torn limb from limb, matched the anguish in that noise, and the suffering that fueled it.*"
—Former Imperial Guard Commissar Kurdic Maine prior to his execution.
The creature known as **Grief**, is a denizen of the Immaterium - a Neverborn - or in layman's terms, a daemon. This foul and enigmatic creature has beguiled Mankind for millennia, being first sighted around the 33rd Millennium, and leaving a trail of death and devastation on a planetary-wide scale through the known galaxy.

## History

The Enigmatic and mysterious figure known to Imperial scholars as "Grief" is by origin and nature a Daemon of the Immaterium. It was originally thought Grief was a champion of chaos due to his humanoid appearance, but after recurrent sightings and multiple reported deaths, it has been decided that Grief was not born of the material plane.

Grief is one of the many, many forms of life that are created within the swirling vortex of the Warp, but is one of the few that has actively caught the attention of Imperial Scholars. His first sighting was during the 33rd Millenium, where he appeared on the war torn world of Liias II and began slaughtering both Imperial and chaos forces alike. He would appear without warning, wrapped in shadows and black smoke, and begin impaling foes upon the numerous black tendril like appendages protruding from his back. After weeks of slaughter on both sides of the trenches, he was finally put down by the direct fire of two squads of Chaos space marines of the Black Legion warband. His body was never recovered and it has since been found that upon death his body evaporates into the black smoke that surrounds him. He would later be seen across the Galaxy, each time appearing on a world rife with suffering and misery and under siege or control by the forces of Chaos.

Once he appears on a planet he will run rampant, killing without discrimination or reason. It has been theorised by imperial scholars that Grief is one of the rare Daemons that holds a hatred for its kin, which would explain his assaulting of both imperial and chaos forces, and why he seems to actively seek out engagements that the forces of chaos are involved in. Grief has butchered and devastated on worlds across the length and breadth of the Galaxy, slaughtering the forces of chaos and anyone else that gets in his bloody path.

## Personality

Little is known of anything close to a personality that Grief possesses, as the only noises that escape his helm are tormented cries of anguish and agonising screams of pain. Where Daemons of Khorne kill and slaughter for its own sake, Grief seems to kill out of a rage and fury born of a self-hatred and inner torment. This is further added credence to by his jerky movements and bodily spasms, apparently wracked by pain on a near constant basis. Grief seems drawn to a combination of suffering, misery and the presence of chaos, possibly due to the wish to drown out his own suffering in the suffering of others, but if so, why would he targets chaos particuarly? It is possible that it is the major chaos gods that are responsible for his torment, or perhaps it is the infliction of suffering in general he abhors, but if so, why would he deal out such suffering? Such questions remain unanswered, and since his apparent disappearance in the late 38th Millenium, few have bothered to try and find an answer.

## Abilities

Grief's apparent primary weapon are the long, tentacle-like whips protruding from his spine, which spear and impale victims. The range to which Grief can reach with these is unknown but he does not actively attack from a distance, seeming to prefer being close. It is however unknown as to whether Grief can "Sense" through these tendrils, as they have been seen sliding through viewports and slaughtering those inside without Grief apparently looking inside to find his victims. He will also use any weapon that happens to be on hand, from steel poles to swords, though will rarely employ guns or ranged weaponry, preferring to eviscerate his opponents personally. Griefs other ability involves the ability to dissolve into shadows and a visible black smoke, which seems to constantly exude from his armour. Aside from these he has been known to kill victims with his own hands, either ripping them limb from limb or beating them bloody with mailed fists.

### About:

"*Suffering. Thats what he is. He is suffering, miserable anguish. Yet he does not revel in that which he is. He is a slave to his suffering. Poisoned by his sustenance. His existence sustained by that he abhors. What cruelty of fate gave birth to such a creature?*"
— Valkyura Warpschild
"*For days we heard it. The screams. At first, we thought a whole army must be crying out in pain, some chaos legion of agony, but it was only him. His screams alone. We spent days hearing it as he slaughtered all he could find. He never found us, so we survived. Other squads, were not so fortunate.*"
—Lophess Ovair of the Obsidian Blades
"*I like to think we broke that fortress, that they surrendered to our might, that they feared us more than death. I know it's not true. They surrendered to escape that thing. To escape its murderous rampages, and to silence its harrowing calls.*"
— Vigra Boriz of the Warmachines Chapter.
"*I thought the screams of the Death Company were painful to listen to. They are nothing compared to this.*"
—Chief Librarian Leadros Kerventes of the Wings of Salvaxes
"*I feel your suffering, daemon. I share it.*"
—Inquisitor Jacob Flux, talking to Grief on a battlefield