Once a champion of the Everdawn tribe, Torglug was one of the proud mortal defenders of the Lifewells. When Nurgle infected the Realm of Life with his foul touch, Torglug fought against the invading legions of Chaos until he was taken prisoner. Surviving for seventy-seven days within the Pit of Filth, he was at last undone by his own stubborn refusal to die. When he finally emerged, riddled with disease, it was as a champion of the Plague God. Turning against his former allies, Torglug seeded kingdoms and lands across Ghyran with pestilence and plague – earning the name the Despised by those who once called him brother. Pleased with his offerings, Nurgle rewarded Torglug with a bodyguard of Putrid Blightkings and the honour of corrupting the Lifewells of Ghyran. It was a task the Nurgle lord accepted with twisted pride, raising the fortifications known as the Fangs of Decay to cage the power of life he had once stood sentinel over.[1]
Overview[]
Torglug has been ravaged most mightily by diseases and plagues, and has long since found allies in pain and despair. These he brings to all who oppose Grandfather Nurgle, for there is nothing Torglug despises more than ungratefulness and the cowardice of those too frail to embrace Nurgle’s vision. The fact that he once opposed his patron bothers Torglug greatly, and he is keen to wash away the memory of his defiance in a tide of violence.[2a]
When he was merely Tornus, warrior guardian of the Everdawn tribe, Torglug was one of the most stubborn defenders of the Lifewells. He fought day and night against the invading hordes, proving so redoubtable that instead of killing him, his foes pitched him into the Pit of Filth. He survived for weeks, each of which brought some vile new development to his disease-wracked body. But still his pride would not let him accept death. He climbed from the pit on the seventy-seventh day, claimed body and soul by the power he once fought against so hard.[2a]
With each new day Torglug’s axe reaped more glory for Nurgle. Soon enough he was given the honour of poisoning the Lifewells he had previously defended. The Plague God is a forgiving sort, and Torglug’s past life became a distant memory for both disciple and divinity. Since that day, Torglug has risen high in Nurgle’s favour. He and his bodyguard of Putrid Blightkings have claimed rulership of several noxious tribes, fighting at the forefront of the hunt for Alarielle, Queen of the Radiant Wood.[2a]
Torglug is known to the sylvaneth as the Tree-cutter of Thyrr. Many sacred groves have been denuded by the edge of his blade, just as their guardians were hacked down by the score. To the Ghyranites, he is the Despised One, a hero brought low by the slow rot of mortal pride. The Viridian Ogors call him Gut-Spiller, for his axe has opened many a stomach to the foul mist of the Graven Peaks. To the daemons of Nurgle’s Manse he is Ironhood the Woodsman, for he has hacked down life-trees by the hundred to better fuel the decay spreading from his master’s garden. By a dozen other names he is known, for Torglug’s allegiance is a high prize indeed, and his tale has only just begun.[2a]
His rise to power brought him into conflict with the Celestant-Prime. Recognising a buried seed of valour under the villainous exterior, the avatar of Sigmar smote Torglug with Ghal Maraz, killing him outright – and in doing so, redeemed what remained of his soul. His essence blazed to Sigmaron, where he was Reforged as a Knight-Venator, and given the weapons he needed to wreak his vengeance upon the Chaos tyrants that had once polluted his spirit as Tornus the Redeemed.[3]