To Wander Into Court: Flesh Eater Courts Lore 3.0

[@l8ter270]

I love this faction from the very start. People might forget that in the age of Chaos most people survived by becoming slaves to darkness or ghouls. They are a horrifying concept with slaanesh levels of horror brought to actual combat.

[@moriskurth628]

The novel Ghoulslayer actually displays those "glimpses of reality" among the Ghouls themselves really well, where some of them see some tiny "cracks" in their delusions. There, the Ghoul King believes himself to be this righteous king, reclaiming his realm from a horde of rebelling, unwashed barbarians. In truth he's invading a foreign one, with soldiers that are actually wearing lacquered armor and feather cloaks appearing almost like savage cavemen in furs, wielding clubs and knives, rather than the swords and scythes they actually have (the kingdom is in Shysh, so no surprise they wield scythes). However, that is not enough. After the King took a castle, he found one of the defenders still alive. And, being this noble and just monarch, the Ghoul King wants to take the man prisoner, question him to find out why these people are rebelling, so he can make it right to them, and stop it without further fighting, so he kneels down next to him and starts asking some questions. Of course, the rebel (a defending soldier) is completely freaking out, because there's some unknown, giant monstrosity looming over him. Kinda fed up, the Ghoul King puts a hand over the rebel's mouth to shut him up, and maybe calm the man down. Unfortunately, his hand has giant claws, so rather than shut him up, he tears his head to shreds, not knowing where all this blood is coming from, and why the man doesn't stop screaming. Yet, rather than this becoming a moment of clarity, the Ghoul King then "wakes up" at a victory feast, being confused as to how he got there, since just a moment ago he was on a battlefield trying to take a prisoner, with his beloved wife, the Ghoul Queen, assuring him he is just exhausted from the long campaign, and that maybe he should eat something to regain his strength. The King agrees, and digs into the meal in front of him. On another instance, one of the Barons or Lords of the King reports that he has witnessed some disturbing things, that his soldiers and officers seemingly started eating the remains of the rebels left on the battlefield. The King, just pats him on the shoulder and laughs it off, saying the poor man is just tired and just seeing things, and once the kingdom is reclaimed he'll see it were just some hallucinations from lack of sleep (ironic, I know). Another time he saw his soldiers climbing up the walls of a rebel stronghold with their bare hands, and, rather than realizing they have claws, he chalks it up to their unbridled enthusiasm and vigor. Or his "horse" turning into a "grand dragon" in the final battle? A blessing from the Great Wolf (they were kinda implied to be Ulric worshippers, as they drop some rather specific terminology), to aid him in his noble endeavor, not him having been mounted on a horrific, winged bat-creature from the start. Even Meleneth, Gotrek's companion, falls under the illusion for a moment, questioning why they are fighting this noble ruler, rather than help him against this unwashed, savage rabble, before snapping out of it. Also, the Ghoul King's relationship with his Queen was actually pretty cute. They actually, genuinely loved eachother. A noble king and his queen fighting side by side, taking back what was taken from them in glorious battle... and then you remember they are gore-covered cannibal monsters. It kinda portrays the Ghouls as their own victims, trapped in an illusion they have no control over, not knowing they are committing atrocities and devouring corpses, all while trying to do the right thing. And every time you are on the verge of breaking free, take a look through that crack into reality... the moment you talk to another Ghoul, trying to share your concerns, you're dragged right back in because someone else assures you it was just a trick of the light. Because how do you believe what you saw when the people you trust tell you there isn't anything?

[@jonathanwatson4484]

Pretty scary really, I had an idea for an army I am working with, an court and nighthuant, basically the nighthuant was once an great king however there bloodline fell to ruin the latest bieng there great great grandchild the ghoul king itself, and due to the nighthuant king nature of his curse he bound to serve any who carry his blood and mask, he ends up serving the court with an sense of pure revulsion and horror for his own bloodline, the story ends with the ghoul king talking of the noble victory, and the nighthuant king for an brief moment looks at the ghoul king it bound to and basically say in clear English "noble? Don't you see it sire of mine?"

[@DavisXero]

I NEED more FEC lore. I started in 40K for 20 years, then finally decided to dip into fantasy, which at this point became Age of Sigmar and that change led me to your channel. You introduced me to the Flesh Eater Courts and I quickly switched from a Seraphon fanboy, to a part of the Great Delusion. Currently waiting on my army box and I have to say; I cannot thank you enough for introducing me to this faction. Never in my life has a fantasy race captivated me in such a way!

[@wrathofthetentacool7192]

I'm definitely dipping my toes into the FEC. I'm just in love with the horror of it all. Like, Imagine just going about your business thinking you're a farmer delivering your crops to the royal castle, and meanwhile everyone else sees this malnourished little Gollum character gnawing on some bones while carrying a sack made of skin filled to the brim with corpse pieces up to a crumbling ruin

[@LordOmnissiah]

To me it seems Ushoran’s delusion is a mix of his time in Nehekhara, his kingship of Strigos, the bestial madness that emerged after his kingdom got wrecked, and his brief time as regent of the Bretonnia province of Mousillon. I think Ushoran was actually completely insane when he manifested in the Mortal realms to the point of being non functional and so Nagash shoved a hunk of grave sand into his skull to act as a lynchpin and focusing point for death energy. He was then shoved into the cage with the intention that it would either fix him or seal him away forever. However due to the process being interrupted the end result is that instead of fully fixing him it somehow merged all these disperate personas and memories into one single consistent delusion and the crown, his blood, and grave sand are acting as a transmitter for his madness.

[@jonathanwatson4484]

Good theory, we don't really know much due to the records of the carrion king bieng destroyed, perhaps that shard of gravestone he had embedded on his head was cracked from the large concentration of death magic.

[@SoulRuninFree]

I forgot about the muosillon part and isn’t there another strigoi in the border princes I don’t remember his name and he has Avery similar stick to these guys

[@janmesar6804]

They, along with Skaven and maybe mono-god Chaos armies except Khorne, are the most original backgrounded armies in Aos. FeC have this King Lear-esque vibe to them which to me it's awesome

[@joshuaalt9448]

I’ve been playing FEC since shortly after I got into the game six years ago. I started painting my army stock standard, but the delusion of my court has always been the same: The King of Candy Land and his loyal subjects defending the realms against the Gumdrop Rebellion! Now, I’ve started painting my army cotton candy colors with candy canes and glittery polish with chocolate rocks and thrones. The candy canes are just bleached bone swirled with blood. You can do anything with them!

[@janmesar6804]

Bro this is sick! Love it!

[@samsimpson7880]

WD 281 had probably the best short story I've ever read in it. All about the FEC but it was a 'choose what happens next' type adventure which gave the writer a lot of leeway to take the delusions and possibilities on different directions. Definitely worth checking out if you haven't already!

[@SoggiestJoe]

LETS GOOO! just when I needed something to get me hyped for Flesh eater Courts🤙🤙

[@auroralee]

Bold of you to assume I am a *"totally sane and reasonable human being..."*

[@juanpraetoru3843]

I always liked the strigoi in WHF, but they were not expanded like some of the other clans. This was undoubtedly the way to go.

[@RumForBreakfast]

It really does feel like a cooler version of the Bretons in Warhammer

[@user-ig7dd6id5o]

I love that it’s like a plague of insanity. That jus makes it seem so much more dangerous

[@CadianColors]

So this gave me a cool idea; what if instead the castle came to you? I see some spooky Dracula-esque castle in my mind that can show up unbidden anywhere in the realms. Not only have villagers been going missing in the dead of night, but crops have started to wither and die and livestock are found mutilated in places they shouldn't be. Eventually the whole town is running out of food, and has no choice but to investigate the mysterious castle...

[@buddhaqueen5999]

Loving this series of Lore man keep up the great work

[@jonathanalston1552]

Thanks for these videos Doug!! Ramping up my hype nicely 😂

[@40KWill]

There is a ghoul (crypt born) character in the Lady of Sorrows novel. It seems from that novel that Cities of Sigmar in the realm of death freely interact with them but don't treat them super well

[@d-emprahexpects]

Doug, true Lore Master of AoS! 🤟

[@evanraynolds8699]

you know, i've always had this headcanon about the courts. namely, part of the horror is how little actually changes when viewed through there madness. sure they see nagash as the sigmar figure and all that, but 99% of the realms is controled by chaos or destruction. nothing about them needs to change for the flesh eater courts to seem heroic.

[@Arcodus]

This is good stuff, pleae keep it coming.

[@jeckles]

Good stuff, fun series

[@jacobdominguez916]

I caved and got the two recent box sets 🙄

[@albinhermansson5771]

Can chaos corrupted worshippers fall into the delusion? Or vice verse, can a ghoul fall to chaos?

[@dinklewinkal465]

I would think it's like orcs. Yes but in very special circumstances. And I don't think chaos can on the fact that they would need to break the delusion to control them and then they aren't ghouls they just werdos

[@vermelsilk5833]

The issue here with the "psycic" power this ghoul king can project upon multiple humans is... How in the living lands are you supposed to fight them as Cities of Sigmar? In lore is sounds like you walk up to them and now the army is lost and joining the enemy lines instead of fighting - going by this story.

[@Dark_Templar28]

I might have to halt in my grave lords and switch up to fec.

[@Basil_Ghothickovitch]

What are ghouls in a typical fantasy setting? Weak or average undead enemies, maybe a little more dangerous than skeletons. No purpose for existence except as a source of loot and EXP. Warhammer Ghouls: degenerate humans under the rule of degenerate vampires... who live in a magical Matrix! And they are all happy! And as I understand it, the ghoul cults spread the blood of Ushoran in wine so that all the people become are happy too! Only once have I seen more interesting ghouls: in the old and forgotten RTS "Persian Wars". There, the ghouls are based on Arabian tales, but have guns, tanks and artillery made of bones, metal ballistic missile launchers and genetic experiments in crossing ghouls and hyenas. Ghoul centaurs. And yes, the story is about Sinbad the Sailor who is looking for King Solomon's Ring in the desert.

[@SuperEagle112]

I was looking for a new warcry warband. And I was tired of playing smashers. So I was looking at the hunters of huanchi. But I have such a fun time animating how warriors are being mangled in battle and to be honest, little lizards being squished isn’t funny. It’s sad. Homeless schizophrenics high on fentanyl and swinging a razor blade around is funny when they get hit with a Warhammer. So that’s what I went with.

[@LordInvocatus]

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