Drazhar

"Though his aptitude for murder is legendary, my interest in Drazhar lies elsewhere. None of the Drukhari whose minds I have seen know what he is or where he came from. But they do fear him, and rightly so. I suspect even the mighty Vect questions what this silent executioner is capable of. Could it be true that he is but dust encased in armour, like my own accursed brothers -- and if so, is there a way that I can bend him to my will? I must be patient in this regard, but time will tell."

— Ahzek Ahriman, Arch-sorcerer of the Thousand Sons

Drazhar, the "Master of Blades," occupies the esteemed position of Executioner, the greatest champion of the Drukhari Order of Incubi.

Drazhar is lethality personified and is believed by many Craftworld Aeldari and Drukhari to have also once been Arhra, the first Phoenix Lord of the Striking Scorpions Aspect Warriors before he was corrupted and began to walk the Path of Damnation.

History[]

Origins[]

Drazhar - Master of Blades — Drazhar, Master of Blades and Drukhari Incubus Hierarch.

Amongst the insular ranks of the Drukhari Incubi, Drazhar remains an enigma. All that is known is that he entered the Great Shrine of the Incubi unannounced and unbidden, clad in ancient segmented armour of a senior member of their order. He proceeded to cut his way through into the inner sanctum, leaving a trail of dismembered hands and fallen blades on the flagstones. When Drazhar approached the shrine's enthroned Hierarch, he saluted him in challenge.

Enraged at the upstart's contempt for proper protocol, the Hierarch rose from his throne, entered the candlelit dueling circle and assumed a battle stance. The Hierarch's overconfidence and smug superiority quickly evaporated when the challenger launched himself with deadly mantis-like speed, striking with his Demi-klaives in a furious assault.

Within Terran minutes the duel was over, and the newcomer stepped over the Hierarch's dismembered body. The challenger was entitled to take the throne by all rights, but Drazhar merely cleaned his blade of the Hierarch's blood and made a simple bow.

The mysterious appearance of this upstart gave rise to circumspection, many wild theories and unanswered questions. It was soon confirmed within a matter of solar weeks that none of the Incubi shrines across Commorragh had ever heard of Drazhar, or recognised his unique and ancient wargear. Some whispered that he was actually Arhra, the fabled Dark Father of the Incubi incarnate and the Fallen Phoenix of the Asuryani Striking Scorpions Aspect Shrine.

DrazharMini — Drazhar, the Drukhari master of Blades.

Others say that his armour is merely filled with nothing more than bone-dust. What was soon confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt was that no matter how skilled his opponents were, Drazhar always emerged victorious when challenged.

He has never shown any inclination to take up the position of Hierarch or Klaivex, though the Master of Blades' merciless skill in the battle arts of the Incubi is unparalleled. Drazhar instead holds an esteemed position within the Incubi order as Executioner, the champion of his order.

Drazhar is taller and more lithe than other Incubi, able to move lightning quick, striking his foes with his pair of grimly-filigreed Demi-klaives at any that dare even raise a weapon in his direction. His uncanny ability to move almost supernaturally-fast enables the Master of Blades to dart through even the most chaotic melee to cut his chosen foe down before they are even able to raise a blade or twitch their trigger fingers.

Those chosen as Drazhar's prey have few options other than to commend themselves to the gods they hold dear, for once they are marked by the Master of Blades they have only seconds to live.

Drazhar has become an integral part of the Great Shrine of the Incubi since his dramatic appearance, but has famously never spoken, nor even removed his helmet, not even to eat or sleep. Even the name Drazhar is ceremonial, meaning only "living sword" in the Aeldari Lexicon. The most that can be expected from Drazhar by way of conversation is an occasional slight nod or tilt of the head, and it is only the most senior Incubi that are accorded even this scant courtesy.

The lords of the other Incubi shrines treat the Master of Blades with extreme suspicion, for Drazhar alone remains incorruptible by emotion or pride, unlike the other Incubi lords whose black hearts still flicker with a small flame of ambition. He simply exists to kill -- nothing more, nothing less.

Regardless of any suspicions that may be held against Drazhar, in him the Incubi ideal of violent perfection is exquisitely personified. His every strike exemplifies the tenets of his order, and each life he claims serves as a gruesome liturgy for his dark brethren.

Those Incubi who fight in the presence of Drazhar set aside their deep-seated jealousy, and are driven by his unquestionable skill to even greater extremes of martial expertise. Drazhar invariably becomes the locus of murder on the battlefield, the calm centre in a storm of beautifully enacted violence.

Drazhar is one of very few Commorrites whose atrocities are widely admired within the Dark City. The deeds of this enigmatic bladesman are often spoken about, particularly by those Drukhari who managed to secure his services on a realspace raid. There are countless stories of his macabre work, such as the time he personally butchered every Imperial defender in the spire of Hive Tarson, or when he singlehandedly dispatched a trio of Custodian Guard at close quarters.

Blood of the Phoenix[]

In the Era Indomitus, Drazhar was employed by Commorragh's Supreme Overlord Asdrubael Vect, to hunt down Yvraine, the prophet and high priestess of the Ynnari, the new cult of Aeldari drawn from all the species' kindreds who worshipped Ynnead, the newborn Aeldari god of the dead.

During the Drukhari Raid on Saim-Hann, Drazhar nearly slew Yvraine but was denied his prize by Jain Zar, the Phoenix Lord of the Howling Banshees, who intervened, which allowed Yvraine to escape.

Drazhar next feigned retreat through the Saim-Hann craftworld's Webway portal and managed to trap his pursuers -- Jain Zar and her Howling Banshees -- in the Aelindrach region of the Shaa-Dom sub-realm of Commorragh. Drazhar unleashed an ambush upon the unsuspecting Asuryani which slew them to the last warrior while he took enormous satisfaction in personally cleaving Jain Zar in two. Drazhar gave the Storm of Silence's Phoenix Armour to the Mandrakes of Aelindrach to ensure she could never be reborn again, as he believed the corruption of that realm would prevent any future Exarch from joining with the gestalt spirts of all the Phoenix Lords contained within the Phoenix Armour.

Sensing the death of a great Phoenix Lord and feeling great guilt as its cause, Yvraine petitioned her patron Ynnead, the god of the dead, to grant Jain Zar another life, and the god agreed. So it was that with the divine aid of Ynnead, the Howling Banshees Exarch Quitui'yenh donned the Phoenix Armour and the Banshee Mask of Jain Zar and was able to merge her own mind with all the other bearers of the Storm of Silence's legacy back to the beginning of the Aspect Shrine on Asur.

Born anew, Jain Zar slew many of the dark Mandrake denizens of Aelindrach and activated an ancient portal that led from Comorragh to the lost, ruined craftworld of Zandros. There she rejoined Yvraine and her Ynnari once more.

Upon learning that Jain Zar was resurrected, Drazhar set off to the lost craftworld of Zandros himself to fight and slay her again. However, he did not foresee that Jain Zar was now imbued with Ynnead's divine energy and mastery over life and death. In an epic duel that resembled the fight solar decades before in 928.M41 between the Phoenix Lords Karandras and Arhra that had also been fought on Zandros, the two clashed in bloody battle, and Drazhar was slain by Jain Zar.

After the battle, a Drukhari survivor of Drazhar's Zandros assault force, Klaivex Dara'kinia Thremense, discovered the discarded armour and mask of Drazhar. She donned them, and was immediately subsumed by Drazhar's personality, providing some evidence that the rumours that Drazhar is indeed a fallen Asuryani Phoenix Lord may be true.

Wargear[]

Drazhar is clad in an ornate and archaic version of the Incubus Warsuit, the traditional armour of the Incubi. This marvel of Aeldari technology offers protection similar to that of Artificer Armour, without hampering the Master of Blades' lethal speed in the least.

The ornate and cruel-looking helmet of the suit incorporates the traditional Tormentor weapon of the Incubi, in this case crafted from the Spirit Stone of an Asuryani Exarch, and in each hand, Drazhar holds one of his Demi-klaive blades. The mastery he has attained with these paired Power Weapons is unparalleled, and allow him to dispatch almost any foe who has the temerity to stand before him.

Few are those with the skill to offer Drazhar a worthy challenge, and these individuals soon find themselves praying for death, as Drazhar slowly dismembers them with the razor-like slashes of his twin weapons.

Sources[]

Blood of the Phoenix Rulebook (Boxed Set) (8th Edition), pp. 10-15, 38
Codex: Drukhari (8th Edition), pg. 53
Codex Dark Eldar (3rd Edition), pg. 36
Codex Dark Eldar (5th Edition), pg. 52
Codex: Dark Eldar (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 155-156
Psychic Awakening: Phoenix Rising (8th Edition), pp. 17, 56, 58
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