Celestial Vindicators
The Celestial Vindicators also known as the The Vengeful, The Hate-Fuelled and The Hurricane of Blades are the sixth Stormhost of the Stormcast Eternals to be founded. They wear turquoise hued armor. Forged from heroes plucked from the most war-torn lands, they are fearless even against the might of a Bloodthirster. [1][2][9]
They carry a deep hatred for all things Chaos, making them stern and unforgiving and creating a deep bond with their brethren. This makes them vengeance incarnate, relentless in their pursuit for revenge against Chaos.[4a] The Celestial Vindicators know neither mercy nor restraint. They chant many grim war songs to better channel their fury against their foes.[9]
Contents
Recruitment
The Celestial Vindicators were recruited from those soaked in the blood of Chaos Champions, who prayed for more strength to smite their foes. Entry to the Celestial Vindicators requires an aggrieved inheritance that they must ask Sigmar for the right to exact personal revenge.[4a][9]
History
In the Realm of Metal the Celestial Vindicators try to reclaim the Silverway from the minions of Tzeentch.[3]
The Realmgate Wars saw them assault the Eldritch Fortress in the ruins of Elixia. [16a]
A Skaven Grey Seer, Kritch enlists Clan Shokryk to who create machines, storm-thing snatchers that can capture the souls of Stormcast Eternals. The first test is against a force of Vindicators commanded by Lord-Exorcist Esmodire is a total disaster and although one soul is briefly captured but it blows up the engine before returning to the Realm of Azyr and the skaven force is wiped out. [10a]
Culture
Celestial Vindicators seek to achieve a holy state of fury and there are fraternities within the Stormhost that seek out hopeless conflicts so they may fall in battle to be reforged while inflicting as much damage on the enemy as possible as they believe the reforging process would bring them closer to their goal of becoming the perfect living weapon.[18a]
Their raw fury is said to create a palpable heat but it is commonly expressed by war-songs that have inspired many preachers of Vindicarum.[18a]
Religion
They worship not only the God-king Sigmar but also the Father of Blades, an entity created from the spirits of twelve rune swords from the ancient past. In honour of the Father, they often use swords rather than hammers that many Stormcasts favour.[16a]
Wargear
The tabards worn by the Celestial Vindicators are made of a substance known as silvercloth. These finely-wrought tabards are used to identify which retinue of a Chamber that a Vindicator belongs to, identifiable by the colour of the trim around the tabard and that of the buckle that fastens it in place.[13a]
Holdings
Stormkeeps
- Fort Scarbrow: A stormkeep held by the Stormhost.[16a]
- Fort Venger: The primary Stormkeep of the Celestial Vindicators, located within the Free City of Vindicarum.[17b]
- Thunderheart Bluff: A stormkeep held by the Stormhost.[16a]
Chambers
Warrior-Chambers
- Argellonites: Fought on the Roaring Plains of the Realm of Beasts to retake the Manticore Realmgate.[6]
- Bladestorm: Fought on the Realm of Metal to retrieve Ghal Maraz[5] and on the Roaring Plains of the Realm of Beasts to retake the Manticore Realmgate.[6]
- Eviscerators: The chamber led by Kalyani Thunderblade.[20a]
- Fireblades[19a]
- Harbingers of Vengeance[19a]
- Swiftslayers: The warriors of the Swiftslayers wear black head crests and plumes to differentiate themselves from other Warrio Chambers of the Celestial Vindicators.[13a]
- Wrathsworn: Chamber that fought in the Klaxus wars, they breached the Steam Ramparts of Balyx but got slowed down at the aboreal cities of Vaxtl.[11][13a]
Exemplar-Chambers
- Warbeasts: Fought in Ursungorod [8a]
Extremis Chambers
Chambers of Unspecified Type
Notable
- Arkas Warbeast Lord-Celestant of the Warbeasts Chamber returns to his kingdom of Ursungorod as a Stormcast to free it from clutches of chaos Chaos.[8a]
- Axilon: Knight-Heraldor of the Argellonites Warrior-Chamber.[6]
- Dolmetis Knight-Vexillor of the Warbeasts Chamber [8a]
- Doridun Knight-Heraldor of the Warbeasts Chamber [8a]
- Eldroc: Lord-Castellant of the Bladestorm Warrior-Chamber, accompained by his loyal Gryph-hound Redbeak.[6]
- Esmodire: Lord-Exorcist who defeated a skaven force from Clan Shokryk. [10a]
- Evios Goldfeather: Prosecutor-Prime of the Argellonites Warrior-Chamber.[6]
- Kanlaus: Lord-Castellant of the Bladestorm Warrior-Chamber.[7]
- Kostos Volkar: Lord-Celestant[17a]
- Makos Wrathsworn: [11] Lord-Celestant? of the Wrathsworn Warrior-Chamber. [13a]
- Mykos Argellon: Lord-Celestant of the Argellonites Warrior-Chamber.[6]
- Ortus Drakehewer Lord-Celestant of the Bladestorm Warrior-Chamber after the Realmgate Wars. [15a]
- Tharros Soulwarden: Lord-Relictor of the Bladestorm Warrior-Chamber.[6]
- Thostos Bladestorm: Lord-Celestant of the Bladestorm Warrior-Chamber.
- Trachos: Lord-Ordinator [14]
Reforging
A Vindicator who is reforged must pass through the Sturmdrang Gate, a portal of black fire and only those with a powerful core of hatred survive. Those that do are gifted with a tiny amount of the simmering rage within the heart of Sigmar.[16a]
Notes
The Father of Blades may be the spirits of the Runefangs - twelve ancient magic swords forged by the legendary Dwarf Runesmith Alaric the Mad in the World-that-Was: Runefang
Sources
- 1: Warhammer: Age of Sigmar Primer, the Pageantry of War
- 2: White Dwarf Issue 75 4 July 2015, Sigmar's Chosen
- 3: White Dwarf Issue 76 11 July 2015, a New Era Begins!
- 4: Mighty Battles
- 4a: To Enter Chamon
- 5: The Realmgate Wars: Quest for Ghal Maraz
- 6: The Realmgate Wars: Bladestorm: Vengeance Eternal by Matt Westbrook
- 7: The Realmgate Wars: All-Gates
- 8: The Realmgate Wars: Warbeast (Novel)
- 9: Battletome: Stormcast Eternals (2017)
- 10: Battletome: Skaven (2019)
- 10a: Rise of the Under-empire - pg. 20
- 11: In the Walls of Uryx
- 12: Battletome: Stormcast Eternals Extremis (2016), pg 29
- 13: Battletome: Stormcast Eternals (2015)
- {[Endn|13a}}: Celestial Vindicators, pg 57-59
- 14: Ghoulslayer by Darius Hinks
- 15: Battletome: Stormcast Eternals (2018)
- 15a: Celestial Vindicators - pg. 49
- 16: Warhammer Age of Sigmar Mortal Realms Issue 16
- 16a: Stormhosts: Celestial Vindicators, I1
- 17: Broken Realms: Be'lakor
- 18: Battletome: Stormcast Eternals (2021)
- 18a: Celestial Vindicators, pg.40
- 19: War Storm
- 19a: Storm of Blades
- 20: Stormvault (Novel)
- 20a: Prologue
