Grey Seer: A Thanquol & Boneripper Novel (Warhammer)

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With Gotrek and Felix prisoners aboard his submersible, Thanquol planned to torture them to death in recompense for all they had done to him, but became distracted after a High Elf prisoner mentioned that they were trying to recover a Dark Elf weapon known as the 'Harp of Ruin'. Hungering to claim the Harp for himself and regain his prestige, Thanquol decided to release the duo into the path of the Druchii, hoping that they would cause enough destruction that Thanquol's forces could seize the Harp in the chaos. Thanquol's agents did succeed in stealing the Harp, but it was destroyed by Gotrek soon after and the Slayer came incredibly close to killing Thanquol himself; though the Grey Seer survived and fled once again, he lost his right hand to Gotrek's axe. As a massive Rat Ogre, the original Boneripper was a completely (more or less) organic being. He was a three-armed monster, one arm bearing a sword, the other a firearm, and the final limb ending in a set of fearsome claws. The head of the beast was skeletal with fearsome red eyes, feeding into a shaggy mane of fur. [2b] Thanquol is shrewd and constantly re-evaluates his plans, always probing for different angles or new benefits to be gained. That so many of his assignments go so disastrously wrong, is not, as he has so often assured the council, anything like his fault. [10a]A Skaven of great cruelty, Thanquol has been at the forefront of causing misery and mayhem to both his enemies and the Skaven race. Such mayhem includes Thanquol ruthlessly taking command as the supreme commander of the Nuln Campaign to overthrow the city with a force of nearly 10,000 warriors and war-machines. [1c] The Grey Seer has also saved the infamous Clan Moulder city of Hell Pit from the clutches of a horrific Chaos invasion by personally taking command of the city's innumerable Legions for himself. [4a] Unfortunately for Thanquol, these two warriors had also managed to kill off the deadly assassin of Clan Eshin, and one of his greatest Assassin, and a pupil to Deathmaster Snikch himself failed him and fled in hiding. It took weeks to find his cowering assassin, but upon his discovery, Thanquol dragged the shamed Assassin into the great gathering of the Skaven invasion force. There, Chang Squik, grovelled in the dirt, pilling excuses on how he was betrayed, how he had inexperienced Gutter Runners, how his enemies were forewarned of their coming, and worst of all how it was not his fault. The other War-leaders of Clan Skab and several other Clans stood with him, chittering and hiding their laughs behind armoured fists. [1c] Though a powerful sorcerer with great and malicious ambitions, Thanquol tends to leave his plans in the paws of less capable underlings and consistently underestimates his foes, flaws which hamper his desire to rise through the ranks of skaven society. The invasion of Nuln in 2499 IC [2a] which he oversaw ultimately ended in failure due to a number of factors, including the mutation of a Clan Pestilens plague causing it to affect skaven as well as humans, the unstoppable spread of rats specifically bred to devour all available foodstuffs, and the interference of Gotrek and Felix. Despite managing to penetrate Nuln's palace with a company of stormvermin, Thanquol was prevented from murdering Countess Emmanuelle von Liebwitz and fled in his defeat, justifying his cowardice as prudent skaven caution.

Staff of the Horned Rat - A magical staff normally issued to all Grey Seers, this staff was another of the possessions Thanquol inherited from his former master Sleekit. The staff is tipped with a bronze icon of the Horned Rat. It is from this staff that most of Thanquol's sorcerous powers manifest before being cast towards his enemies as spells of devastating power.Brother Skavens! Consider this... Until the coming of Vermek Skab, the Council of Thirteen placed me in command of this army. Since Vermek Skab is sadly no longer with us, the leaders place in the rear must still fall to me by edict of the Council. Of course, if any of you wishes to challenge the Council's ruling I will notify them of this at once." There's a lot going on with the narrative, as the parallel stories could stand on their own, but C.L. Werner does a brilliant job of keeping things moving without bogging down the narrative. Thanquol's story provides a really great look into Skaven society, while the story of Johann Dietrich and the smugglers shows us the underbelly of Altdorf. In addition to being parallel stories, Werner does a great job of making the two societies mirror each other. Hier kommt die Antwort. Natürlich versuchte er den Ruhm der Gehörnten Ratte zum Wohle der gesamten Skavenheit zu vermehren! Und natürlich stieß er dabei auf den Widerstand seiner nichtswürdigen Untergebenen und kleingeistigen Rivalen... link: http://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/warhammer_lcg/card-of-the-week/cotw3/warhammer-invasion-card-greyseer-thanquol.png

Soon after first encountering them, Thanquol began to regard Gotrek and Felix as his arch-enemies, seeing them as near-demonic agents of a malign power sent to foil his otherwise perfect plans. However, his many attempts to have them killed have all ended in failure. Despite the threat he poses, the duo were for a long time far less aware of him than he was of them, knowing him only as a shadowy figure controlling the skaven. As such, Thanquol was surprised and infuriated when, upon finally capturing the pair, his declaration that their long rivalry was about to end was met with blank confusion, Felix having assumed that the Grey Seer he had once clashed with was long dead. Nevertheless, Thanquol's murder of Felix's father, Gustav Jaeger, did eventually make him the hated nemesis that he always believed he was. Felix has sworn to avenge himself on Thanquol for his father's death, just as the loss of his hand has made the fires of Thanquol's hatred for the pair burn even brighter. He could see Grey Seer Thratsnik, his body ablaze with magical energies from his consumption of Vecteek’s paw, leaning across the table once more. The grey seer laid his hand upon the table. Gradually, the power burning through him began to seep down his arm, gathering in his outstretched hand. Thratsnik raised his knife. In his mind’s eye, he was watching Thratsnik put the final touch to the trap he had left behind, the snare for any who would seek to recover the Hand of Vecteek. The grey seer’s own dismembered paw lay before him on the table, saturated with magical energy. It might still serve as a potent talisman for anyone with the knowledge to tap into its energies. But Thratsnik had planned his revenge too well for that. He set his knife against the severed hand. Across the palm, so faintly that it might be overlooked, he made a mark, scratched a symbol which no sorcerer could gaze upon without a feeling of terror. Skarbrand the Exiled One has been unleashed upon this plane of existence. [7q]Lumbering, witless flea-food! Kill that filthy beast, you brainless oaf-thing! Kill-kill! Kill-kill!" You thought you knew better than Grey Seer Thanquol how to do what the Nightlord told you to do! Now you know how wrong you were! I should let you all rot-fester! Let your bones warm the bellies of snakes!"