Auruntaur

Mark of Tzeentch

The Auruntaur is a Daemon Engine of Tzeentch, created on the world of Q'Sal, located in the Screaming Vortex, a Warp rift that separates the Calixis Sector of the Segmentum Obscurus from the Koronus Expanse region of the Halo Stars. This strange world is ruled over by the powerful Sorcerer-Technocrats of the three cities of Tarnor, Velklir and Surgub. The Auruntaur was born of a catastrophic mishap within the forges of Tarnor during the last ruinous wars between the cities. The Auruntaur literally stands above any war engine produced on Q'Sal. Thus far, only one has been created as its designer and binder, R'Suleir the Grand, sacrificed himself and his life's work to bind a daemonic monstrosity to his construct. When he realised the power of the daemon he had entreated, he sacrificed the entire slave pool and all his apprentices to control the daemon. This created the single largest war creation to come from the planet. Since the loss of the original designer, however, it is unlikely that there will be another, as any construction like it would break the pact which has maintained the peace between the three cities of Q'Sal.

Only slightly smaller in height than a Reaver Battle Titan, the Auruntaur is a golden, four-legged creature of destruction, built largely of ensorcelled materials and housing a daemon of immense power. Where the main body is entirely mechanical, the centaur-like upper torso is mostly daemonic. The two arms sport relatively close-range weaponry for something of its huge size, but they are no less devastating to their targets. The right arm is mechanical, covered in spines that almost appear alive but are made of hardened brass. It is tipped with a huge, rune-etched blade capable of slicing vehicles in half. The left arm is akin to that from a gargantuan Flamer of Tzeentch, fleshy and mutable. It vomits forth great gouts of Warpflame, and creatures and vehicles alike are either altered or destroyed under these iridescent fires.

The Auruntaur has no head; instead, mounted firmly in the chest, is a single red, cyclopean eye and a platform jutting out mid-abdomen, ringed with spikes suggesting a fanged under bite. Atop the platform, bound by the final incantations of the master artificer, R'Suleir's most accomplished apprentices still struggle to maintain control of the daemon. None of them show signs of aging or fading in power, but there are many who wonder how long that will last and what will happen should any of them falter and the daemon gain control.

In generations past, the Auruntaur has awoken to action but none can fathom what drives its actions. It quelled a renegade slave rebellion in Tarnor, but also released a Warpfire plague that burned much of Velklir. It destroyed an entire section of Surgub's outskirts, crashing towers into the sea, but then marched to eradicate an invasion for blood-crazed Khornate warriors. These excursions are thankfully short-lived, few relishing the site of this massive creation marching towards its unknowable destinations. Many of the more power-hungry and mad techno-sorcerers have tried to entreat the Daemon Engine to work for them, but are met with infuriating silence. For the last two hundred Terran years, the Auruntaur has been totally inactive, standing vigil over one of the blighted areas at the equator of Q'Sal as though expecting something to emerge from the dead zone. Entire Chaos Cults have sprung up near it to worship the daemonic machine, their sacrifices perhaps to a god that does not bear witness to their rites. Many of the elite keep wary eyes and Warp-auguries focused on the Auruntaur, afraid both that the mad engine might come to life and that it will not should Q'Sal need it to survive.

Ordo Malleus Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications

The Ordo Malleus has not yet determined the technical specifications for this Daemon Engine, if such a thing is even possible.

See Also

• Chaos Vehicles

Sources

• Black Crusade - The Tome of Fate (RPG), pg. 83