The Kabal of the Tormented Sky

The Kabal of the Tormented Sky

Illya Rathian's raiders of realspace...

The Tormented Sky are a small kabal that has had to fight hard to survive in the unforgiving lower tiers of the Commorrite power structure. Archon Rathian is a mysterious figure, who seems driven by an unquenchable rage, something that sees him lead his forces against the lesser races of the galaxy with a fervour of a warrior keen to prove himself, not one sitting atop a kabal.

Where this zeal comes from is unknown to most outside his kabal, indeed much of the history of the Tormented Sky remains indistinct to the wider Dark City.

Allies

The kabal patronises the Wych cult of the Blade's Caress whose lithe warriors often accompany kabalites on raids.

The kabal also works with the Haemonculous Coven The Masters of Metamorphosis, keeping the artisans of flesh well stocked with raw materials in return for regenerating fallen kabalites.

Rathian's Long Harvest

Feeding off the misery and terror of others can take many forms, something the practically immortal Dark Eldar can experiment with and perfect over the course of many decades, even centuries. Rathian, perhaps limited by the stature of the Tormented Sky, has "cultivated" a string of worlds in realspace where the inhabitants of selected cities and settlements are raided then revisited over time, to rekindle the fears that grow with each appearance of the terrors from the webway.

Rathian's kabal have become the stuff of nightmares on many worlds; preying on successive generations of terrified inhabitants. In some cases when a "visit" is anticipated, natives leave offerings of hapless individuals (sometimes numbering dozens, or hundreds) in the hopes of staving off a larger harvest of citizens. These attempts in turn amuse and anger the archon, who relishes humbling those who think themselves strong. In one notable raid, Tormented Sky kabalites razed a township and slaughtered everyone except the 40 young women offered as a sacrifice, leaving them amidst the ruined bodies and buildings of their home.

Rathian enjoys taunting the warriors of other races, from Ork warbosses to mighty astartes. The Tormented Sky have been chased across worlds, disappearing into the webway, only to reappear to harass the same foe in a different system months or even years apart.