Happy Krampus Night!

Howdy Guys and Girls -  and a happy Krampus Night everyone!

I guess most of you (who aren't living in Austria or Bavaria) will now ask - what is a Krampus? So, here is a little introduction:

The Feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated in parts of Europe on 6th December. In Alpine countries, Saint Nicholas has a devilish companion named Krampus. On the preceding evening of December 5th, Krampus Night or Krampusnacht, the wicked hairy devil appears on the streets. Sometimes accompanying St Nicholas and sometimes on his own, Krampus visits homes and businesses. The Saint usually appears in the Eastern Rite vestments of a bishop, and he carries a ceremonial staff. Unlike North American versions of Santa Claus, in these celebrations Saint Nicholas concerns himself only with the good children, while Krampus is responsible for the bad. Nicholas dispenses gifts, while Krampus supplies coal and the ruten bundles.

A Krampuslauf is a run of celebrants dressed as the beast, often fueled by alcohol. It is customary to offer a Krampus schnapps, a strong distilled fruit brandy. These runs may include perchten, similarly wild pagan spirits of Germanic folklore and sometimes female in representation, although the perchten are properly associated with the period between winter solstice and 6 January.

These runs are usually pretty cool, and if you are in Austria or Bavaria during the 5th of december, you should take a look! Fitting with that, I have a little 30k poem for you all, hope you enjoy it :P

Hear the bells, Empmas bells, ringing in the distance, 

Past the moon, across the sky, we knew him in an instant.

A small lad from the town, in the valley far below;

Shouts "look up!" to all, “I can see Frekis' bright red nose!”

Way up there, the small Wolf, pointing out the way,

The gangs all here, as twelve more appear, to guide old Russ’ sleigh.

Russ brings a special glee, a sparkle to the eye;

But brats take haste, and U'zuhl comes, to darken up the sky.

A jolly old soul with a heart of gold, Leman Russ is coming;

With cloven hoofs and goatish horns, the U'zuhl sends em’ running.

As good ol' Russ, will fill with toys, his magical grey sack;

The U'zuhl has a birch club, strapped across his back.

Much larger then his counterpart, with gore from head to toe;

Two horns as large as antlers, and claws where hands should go. 

All the naughty children, in rusty chains are bound;

They'll smell the stench of brimstone, as it rises through the ground.

The earth will start to rumble, there’s fire all around;

The pits of hell will open wide, and he’ll throw the children down.

So sinister a creature, this frigid hungry beast;

Will eat their burning bodies, for a crispy Empmas treat.

As Russ leaves our snowy town,

The remaining kids will gather 'round,

For their friends they'll shed a final tear,

And know that the Skulltaker will be back in a year ...

Original Text © Kenneth Widman

And now - the man of the hour - U'Zuhl, the Skulltaker:

The Skulltaker

U'Zuhl, the Sacred Executioner, Daemonic Herald of Khorne

It is said that when Khorne created U'Zuhl, the first thing it did was decapitate the first creature it saw, another Bloodletter, which pleased the Blood God immensely. When U'Zuhl finally took its 888th skull for Khorne, it was anointed as the Sacred Executioner of Khorne and took the title Skulltaker.

In the midst of every battle he participates in, Skulltaker seeks out the mightiest foes on the battlefield so that he may slay them himself with his serrated Hellblade. Those who flee this confrontation are cut down without remorse, while those who stand their ground usually suffer the same fate, though at a slower and far more painful pace. Skulltaker likes to take its time with foes, dismembering them limb by limb yet not taking their life until the end to prolong its pleasure in the slaughter. Only when its opponent is a limbless horror upon the ground does it offer up death, grabbing their head, intoning the eight Words of Sacrifice while it uses sorcery to wreathe the victim's head in hellfire, burning away flesh and muscle until only a bare, charred skull remains. Skulltaker then rips the skull from the body and places it within the grisly sack it carries, which contains all the other skulls it has liberated from their owners during the battle.

When Skulltaker returns to Khorne's Brass Citadel within the Realm of Chaos in the Warp, it presents its newest trophies to the Blood God. Khorne impales these skulls upon the brass spikes of his keep. The skulls of opponents who presented a particular challenge he allows Skulltaker to keep as trophies. Skulltaker then weaves them into the horrific Cloak of Skulls he wears using fleshy sinew taken from the bodies of other victims.

It was pretty cool to paint him up, and the cape was my first real attempt at non-metallic gold - pretty happy with the outcome ^,^

Hope you liked my little post!

regards,
Lady Atia