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| “ | The Dark Lands were brutal and inhospitable, presenting terrible dangers. Lacking support from their kin, these renegades fully embraced Chaos, worshipping a terrible and blasphemous God known as Hashut, the Father of Darkness. | „ |
| ~ Tome of Corruption |
Hashut (pronounced "ha-SHOOT" or "ha-shut")[9], also known as the Father of Darkness, is a minor Chaos Power and the major antagonist in Warhammer Fantasy and Age of Sigmar. He is the patron deity of the Chaos Dwarfs as well as the god of Dark Industry, Hatred, Greed, and Tyranny.
The genesis of the Far Eastern Dwarfs' unholy alliance with Hashut remains shrouded in a past obscured by the cataclysmic fracturing of the world by Chaos. Even the Chaos Dwarfs themselves likely possess only a distorted and incomplete understanding of the pact they forged with their infernal deity.
Inscribed upon the twisted rune-stones of their flame-worshipping temples, however, are tales of abandonment. During the Great Rupture, the Dwarfs of Zorn Uzkul felt forsaken by their Ancestor Gods. Salvation arrived in the form of Hashut, who offered succor in exchange for unending sacrifice and unyielding subjugation. Through the Chaos Dwarfs' bloodsoaked devotion, he promised to shield them from the ravages of mutation and the sting of suffering.
For centuries, Hashut has reciprocated their offerings of flesh, blood, homage, and unwavering fealty with forbidden knowledge and potent sorceries. These dark gifts intertwined with their inherent mastery of industry and forgecraft, giving rise to daemon-infused war machines, control over the earth's molten heart, and arcane, malevolent lore that has corroded their sanity and blackened their souls. These masters of both magic and technology are known as the "Daemonsmiths," who also serve as the priesthood of their abhorrent god. The most powerful among them are the sorcerer-prophets of Hashut, the high priests of the Father of Darkness.
But the gifts of the Father of Darkness are not bestowed freely. Those who accept them pay a horrific toll. The Daemonsmiths are strange, tormented beings, exceptionally skilled at weaving magic into their ingenious creations, yet utterly cursed. Dwarfs were never intended to channel the Winds of Magic outside the tightly regulated bounds of Rune Magic, and the price for such transgression is known as the "Curse of Stone."
Each Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer will, without exception, eventually succumb to a slow and agonizing petrification. The transformation begins with their feet, which turn to cold, unyielding stone, rendering them immobile. The affliction then spreads inexorably upwards, consuming their entire body. Many, like Astragoth Ironhand, the greatest and most ancient of the sorcerer-prophets, utilize their sorcerous engineering to construct temporary steam-powered bodies, but even these artifice are ultimately overcome by the curse. Their petrified forms now stand as silent sentinels, lining the road that leads to Zharr-Naggrund, the City of Fire and Desolation, the capital of their grim empire.
According to some sources, Hashut is yet another manifestation of the god Tzeentch.[10]
Warhammer Fantasy[]
Origins[]
| “ | Hashut demands that he is honoured with fire, blood and spires that scrape the sky, the larger the fortress, the greater the monument to his greatness. | „ |
| ~ Industry of Dawi-Zharr |
Hashut is posited by arcane scholars to have been loosed upon the world during the Time of Chaos.[11]
It is implied that Hashut preceeds the race of Chaos Dwarfs, who are descended from those Dawi who lost contact with the primary colonizing host as they ventured to far east of the World's Edge Mountains too the Great Skull Land, a place obviously blighted by an ancient evil.[12] Sometime afterwards, the Time of Chaos occured and those more adventurous Dawi were thought lost to the corruptions and evil of the Chaos Gods and their creatures.
It was the Tong, the most vile of all Chaos Marauders, who fell upon the Skull Land and trapped the Dwarfs in their hold. Facing oblivion, the Runesmiths used magic to call out to the void for aid...and it was Hashut, Father of Darkness, who responded. In return for their worship, he would offer them his patronage, power, and save them from their enemies. The pact struck, the Father of Darkness whisked his new children away, ripping away the stronghold and leaving not a trace of it behind.
Hashut would demand a great empire be built in his name, forcing the newly created Dawi'Zharr to enslave the Greenskins around them, as they were too few in number to build it themselves.[13]
The Father of Darkness[]
Hashut himself is said to dwell legions beneath the earth, his realm preceeded by glowing red seams of a daemonic alchemical substance called the Blood of Hashut which is rarer than gold or even warpstone. With this substance, and the right devices, a mortal could breach the border between reality and unreality and enter the domain of the Father of Darkness. The Blood of Hashut is also present in Hashut's realm proper.[14]
It is possible Hashut has some accord with Khorne. The Machina Daemonium, a location within the Blood God's domain that forges weapons, is said to be powered by the fiery breath of the Chaos Dwarf God.[15]
Hashut is a god of darkness and thusly favours the blackness. Because of this, the Chaos Dwarves seek to blot out the light of the sun with their infernal industry and plunge the world into eternal night.[16]
Age of Sigmar[]
Hashut is present in Age of Sigmar, with designs on Thondia within the Realm of Beasts. An evil duardin god, Hashut's ideal is overwhelming force and conquest through arcane firepower. He isn't a subtle god and his followers turn whatever they conquer into a desolate volcanic wasteland.[17]
According to the Duardin, Hashut is not a Chaos God or daemonic entity, but rather an ancestor god and the one true ancestor god at that. Along with his siblings, Grimnir, Grungni, and Valaya and others, Hashut bore witness to the first of the duardin clans and had designs to raise them up and propogate them across the Mortal Realms. He is said to have bestowed the virtues of governance and prosperity upon the duardin and volunteered to conquer both Aqshy and Chamon. His siblings were doubtful of his ambitions and instead, convinced him to settle Ghur, telling their eldest brother only he could settle it's wild and beastly heart.
As the first-sired of the divine siblings, Hashut was within his rights to ignore their suggestions, but since they were kin and not subjects, he relented. He broke the god-bulls and erected the citadel of Ur-Zorn in the mountains of Korrok. But even this, Grungi, Grimnir, and Valaya witnessed with jealousy. And in that jealously, accusations flew that the artifice of the citadel of Hashut's other works were achieved through the use of beastly spirits. Hashut denied this, having love for his sister and her concern for the souls of their people, and swore an oath no such thing had taken place. However, Grungi denigrated Hashut's works and instead boasted of his own mechanical wonders wrought in Ghur. This opened the door for the siblings to give open insult to the eldest. The Duardian called this " Thagduegi" or "the Great Betrayal", and to Hashut's view, the disrespect of his siblings had rendered his vows null.
And so, Hashut cracked into the Realm of Chaos and learned to bend daemons to his will. He braved the dangers of the nether-realm, seeking the Forge of Souls and stealing some of it's power. There, he ascended in his divinity and began to quest for revenge against his insulting kin-gods. He forged "gifts" that would ruin his siblings, but Grungi -- himself a peddler of lies and deceptions -- sensed Hashut's malice and partially intercepted it. He chained himself and his siblings to the mountains of Chamon, where they had held council long ago, until the rage infected into them passed. In the meantime, their followers marched on Ur-Zorn.
Valaya went again to confer with her sibling, but he was no longer fettered by the desire to appease and so the two gods did battle. Hashut, newly empowered by his forray into the Realm of Chaos, was stronger than his sister and only a desperate, and base, gamble by Valaya saw her able to sunder his physical form. This cost her dearly and she passed from the sight of the Duardin people. Back on the mortal plane, Ur-Zorn had been breached and defiled, it's wonders destroyed or defaced and it's masters put the sword. The followers of the other three gods did everything in their power to erase Hashut and his followers.[18]
Characteristics[]
The Bale Taurus is said to resemble the God of Darkness.
The Father of Darkness is often portrayed as a great raging bull by his followers.[19] Grim and malignant, he is said to be wreathed in smoke and in shadow. Though a Chaos God, albeit a minor one, many theorize he is instead an Arch-Daemon or some other malign creature of chaos. He is closely associated with greed, fire, hatred, and tyranny and his gifts come at a terrible price. In return for his patronage and power, Hashut thirsts for blood, sacrifices, and slaves. Along with physical mutation, Hashut has imparted upon his followers secrets and sorcery that, when fused with the industry of the Chaos Dwarves, allows them to bring machine-daemon hybrid monstrosities to life among other deadly devices.
The Bale Taurus, huge winged bulls with burning flesh, are also said to resemble the Father of Darkness, making them much sought after by the Chaos Dwarfs.[20] The Bull Centaurs are taur-like half-bull, half Dawi-Zharr that the Chaos God Hashut finds pleasing.[21]
Followers[]
| “ | One day Hashut shall rise from his slumber and trample the world beneath his brazen hoves. The dead shall outnumber the living and those that remain shall be dragged in chains to the pits of Zharr to toil for the great glory of Hashut. And all will be blessed darkness. | „ |
| ~ Astrogoth Ironhand, High Priest of Hashut |
The followers of Hashut are known as the Hashuti or Hashutites.[22]
Chaos Dwarfs[]
| “ | One of the most hotly contested parts of Dwarf history involves the Chaos Dwarfs. The Dwarfs still deny their existence, hiding a deeper fear behind the façade of bravado and indignation. But, despite their denials, the Chaos Dwarfs do exist, and are just one more cog in the war engine of Chaos that musters for each new incursion. | „ |
| ~ Tome of Corruption, "Of Dwarfs and Chaos" |
The Dawi-Zharr.
The Chaos Dwarfs, called the Dawi-Zharr, are the primary worshippers of the bovine God Hashut. They serve their nightmarish god through both war and commerce, buying slaves and capturing soldiers in which the use for mass blood sacrifices to their destruction-hungry god. Though Dwarves are resistant to mutation and typically shun casting magic as a reckless and dangerous tool (as well as being biology incapable of being wizards or sorcerors), the Dawi'Zharr make use of both. Over the centuries, small tusks and horns differentiate them physically from their Dawi-kin, but more than that, the mind of the Dawi'Zharr is a twisted perversion of the standard Dwarf. They are proud, calculating, merciless and malicious.
The Chaos Dwarfs are speculated to supply the Legions of Chaos with armor and weapons, in return for slaves.[23] Some even theorize that the Juggernauts of Khorne, daemonic-machine hybrids of war, are themselves the product of Dawi'Zharr efforts.[24] Only the Skaven rival their sheer technological prowess.
Some Dawi Zharr bear Hashut's blessing more cleary than others. His sorcerors, called Daemon-smiths, are the casters of Dawi-Zharr society. They can use the Lore of Hashut to overcome enemies, but their own lives are eventually forfeit for this power as the Dwarf constition was never meant to host magic. Therefore, each Daemon-smith begins a slow process of petrification where they turn to stone from their toes to their horns. It is the Sorcerors of Hashut,doubling as both lords and priests, who rule Zharr Naggrund and they do so with an iron fist.
Bull Centaurs are Dawi'Zharr that bear Hashut's bovine-esque mutations, having been overwhelmed with Chaos Corruption at the beginning of the Chaos Dwarf's history. They are twisted and mutated with a bullish aspect, making them physically the most similar to the evil patron god. They serve as sentinel and shock troops, being immensely powerful mutants. Only a few are born in a generation, usually at the cost of their mother's lives. However, some are the direct product of tampering by the Hashuti Sorcerors, who do not even spare their own offspring in the endeavor of trying to create more Bull Centaurs.[25]
K'daai Daemons[]
| “ | The Chaos Dwarfs certainly have a daemonic side. Nowhere is it better illustrated than through the monstrous K’daai; Chaos Daemons that were enslaved and bound in iron war armour. They are the Scions of Fire, and they serve the Daemonsmiths of the Chaos Dwarfs. | „ |
| ~ Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs[26] |
A K'daai Fireborn.
Like the other Chaos Gods, Hashut has daemons who serve and kill in his name. Called the K'daai Zharr, they are somewhat distinct from the typical Chaos Daemon, though roughly analogous to the Lesser and Greater Fiends seen from the primary Chaos Powers.
The K'daai are the result of the Dawi'Zharr ambition to make use of the infernal powers while bypassing the typical dangers associated with consorting with daemons. In order to do this, the stuff of daemons is combined with the fell machinery of the Chaos Dwarfs, enslaving the daemon to the Sorceror's will and giving it form and shape to enact that will. Drawn from the magma of the earth and birthed in the boiling blood of Hashut's sacrifices, the K'daai are near mindless elemental beings of utter destruction. They can only be created by the most talented of Hellsmiths and no few Sorceror-Prophets have met their end in this extremely long and arduous process.
A K'daai Destroyer.
The smaller creations are called K'daai Fireborn or K'daai Manburners. The larger creations are called K'daai Destroyers and they are often designed in the likeness of the Bullfather himself. Massive and powerful, such is the intensity burning within the daemon that they will destroy their own bindings as much as the enemy before them.[27]
Quotes About Hashut[]
| “ | Hashut stifles your hedonistic needs. Let Slaanesh set you free! | „ |
| ~ Keeper of Secrets to a Chaos Dwarf Lord |
| “ | Hashut is a cockroach of a daemon to be crushed under my exalted heel! | „ |
| ~ Keeper of Secrets to a Chaos Dwarf Lord, Poor Relations |
| “ | Prince and Blazing Bull as one! | „ |
| ~ N'Kari to Dwarf Lord, Alliance Created |
| “ | Father of Darkness, watch closely as I butcher your thralls! | „ |
| ~ Skarbrand |
| “ | Hashut's hatred cannot defeat Khorne's rage! | „ |
| ~ Skarbrand |
External Links[]
- Hashut on the Warhammer Fantasy Wiki
- Hashut on the Warhammer: Age of Sigmar Wiki
[]
References[]
- ↑ Monstrous Arcanum: K'daai Fireborn
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer Fantasy III (PC Game)
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer Fantasy III (PC Game)
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer Fantasy III (PC Game)
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer Fantasy III (PC Game)
- ↑ Liber Chaotica: The Book I (Liber Khorne)
- ↑ Bull Taurus Warscroll
- ↑ The World of Warhammer (1998)
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer III (PC)
- ↑ The World of Warhammer (1998)
- ↑ Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos.
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome of Corrution
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome of Corrution
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer Fantasy III (Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs)
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer Fantasy III (PC Game)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy RP: Old World Bestary (85)
- ↑ The Horns of Hashut (Age of Sigmar)
- ↑ Let Us Speak of Hashut, the Father of Darkness (Warhammer Community)
- ↑ The World of Warhammer (1998)
- ↑ Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos
- ↑ Legacy Armies: Chaos Dwarfs (The Old World)
- ↑ Total War: Warhammer Fantasy III (PC Game)
- ↑ Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome of Corruption
- ↑ Liber Chaotica: The Book I (Liber Khorne)
- ↑ Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos
- ↑ FORGE OF THE CHAOS DWARFS: INTRODUCING DRAZHOATH THE ASHEN
- ↑ Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos