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Blackmane, also called the "Howler of the Night," is a legendary Fenrisian Wolf who was an important character in the myths and legends of the barbarian tribes of the Death World of Fenris. Said to be large even for a Fenrisian Wolf, Blackmane possessed supernatural powers and was a fell lieutenant of Morkai, the Deathwolf, the two-headed wolf-god of the dead in Fenrisian myth.

Blackmane was said to possess the ability to raise the dead from their graves with the power of his mournful calls. After the Primarch Leman Russ, the Wolf King of Fenrisian legend, defeated Morkai in battle and tamed the wolf-god, he slew Blackmane and turned the great wolf's pelt into a magical cloak that allowed him to pass without harm through the Gates of Death and return when his people needed him. Morkai now guards those portals, waiting for his master's return.

At present, one of the largest and most ferocious breeds of Fenrisian Wolf, the Blackmaned Wolf, is named after the mythological Blackmane. One of these creatures was slain by the young Space Wolves aspirant Ragnar Thunderfist, a deed which was commemorated in his new by-name of "Blackmane," and later, became his Great Company's totem and title -- the Blackmanes -- when he rose to become the youngest Wolf Lord in that Chapter's history.

Sources[]

  • Codex: Space Wolves (5th Edition), pp. 55, 88
  • Codex Supplement Space Wolves (9th Edition), pp. 22
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