Scions of the Spurned

A Duplicitous History:
Even to those who dabble in forbidden and obscure lore, the origins of the Scions of the Spurned are occluded. If the black tongues of sorcerers loyal to the warhost are to be believed, a lowly tribe from Ulgu would adopt the dark mantle in a bid to survive the onslaught of the Everchosen and his legions.

They hold that they were abandoned by Sigmar at the heights of the Age of Chaos and that it was the shadows of the realm itself that spared the timid tribespeople from decimation. When their cries of fear became desperate prayers for deliverance, it was not the cowardly God-King that answered, it was a far more ancient and dark power

The being that regarded them was known to the tribe, for its likeness had been etched into rock and bone. It was known as the First, the Lord of Shadow, the Dark Master, and more. When the gathered tribe struggled to pay homage to the multitude of names, the magnanimous prince bid they know it as Be’lakor. The insidious Dark Master took these mewling tribespeople and guided them through black rites and invocations and molded them as though made of clay.

When all was done, they were a black blade to be wielded in the service to the one who delivered them.

However, the fragmentary records and references from that benighted age tell a very different tale. In these accounts, while it is true that Sigmar had retreated to high and holy Azyr, the tribespeople held firm to their faith in him.

Far from timid, they adopted the shadows of their realm and so successfully repelled the hedonistic hosts that stalked their lands that they were feared even by the legions of Chaos.

It was during one of these shadowy raids that the tribe fell and twisted into its present form. Their king, whose name has been lost to the fog of ages, was betrayed by his own people and sacrificed before the warriors he meant to take unawares.

This duplicity and the indignation and grief caught the attention of greater powers and the tribe who struggled valiantly against the dark became terrible servants of it.

Organization:

Those in the ranks of the Scions of the Spurned, like many Slaves to Darkness, are clad in blackened armor and hate. The various bands and tribes who have grafted themselves into the host, regardless of the quality of their armaments, have all struck their former colors and march under burgundy banners and cloth. Chaos Warriors and Legionnaires and gladiators make up the bulk of the host’s strength, while sorcerers bolster the number with daemons and infernal magics.

Beyond the mass of bodies, there is the elite cadre of cavalry known as the Knights of Lancing Shadow. These warriors look down upon their footbound comrades quite literally and revel in the charge. It is said, by maddened survivors, that these Chaos Knights ride under twisting marks of faith.

Above even the proud Knights of the Lancing Shadow is yet another sworn band: The Leering. These Chosen, rumored to have weathered the gaze of Be’lakor and be found worthy, have each taken a vow of silence and are locked within armor of solid shadow. If a battle is desperate, it is said that these warriors will walk from the darkened corners of battlefield. Whether this is true or not, those who war against the Scion’s take care to light their forts and fields well.