Okay, Hi.
so Lammasus are awesome. they’re beings of magic with cloudy magic-resistant breath, suggested to be smarter than the wizards who ride them, described as intelligent planners who are capable of manipulating others to do their fighting for them and they have an extreme link to the father of happiness himself, his holy greatness Hashut.
we know all of this. But I want to know more…
I’ve always imagined the ashes of Azgorh having a holy or spiritual property to those most in tune with the holy father. When I say those “Most in tune” I mean those who were blessed at birth. All great Tauruses are considered either aspects, symbols, embodiments, manifestations, or a similar form of Hashut’s holiness taking a physical place in this world by Chaos Dwarven prophets. So I consider the standard Taurus blessed.
But also those who were blessed with mutations; like Bullcentaurs, Sorcerers, and even the Lammasu. These hold an especially high place in the hearts of Hashut worshippers.
The Lammasu is believed to be a rare mutation of the great Taurus. So a holy mutation of an already holy species, making the Lammasu possibly the holiest, most cherished, and prized demonstration of Hashut’s grace.
It is also worth pointing out chaos dwarves didn’t look like Chaos Dwarves until after they submitted to Hashut. Their fangs and beards black as coal were gifts of the Father of Darkness (As well as immunity to the warp storms, but I like to believe the physical changes were Hashut marking them not Chaos mutations. They all received the exact same fangs and hair colour/type. not that chaotic).
This means Fangs and Plated Beards are Hashut’s fashion, which means he is definitely to blame for placing the extremely intelligent sorcerous chaos dwarf head on the body of a great Taurus. This basically lets us know that Lammasus didn’t exist before Hashut and that Yes. they are holy creations of Hashut
But back to my point about the ashes of Azgorh. We know that great Tauruses live in the wilds of the desolation of Azgorh and all over the dark lands basically. This is explainable because great Tauruses are wild animals.
But Lammasus, and seemingly Bullcentaurs according to Forgeworld’s interpretation live in the wild. They are fully intelligent and are seen as holy, which means if they went to live in Zharr Naggrund presumably they’d be pampered like royalty and treated as superiors by all but the Sorcerer Prophets, yet both these highly intelligent species choose to live in the muck, ash, and filth of the wild dark lands.
Could this be because they feel closer to their creator, and saviour while dwelling in the desolation of Azgorh? this would support the theory that Hashut is the spirit of the Volcano itself that was given sentience due to the excessive warp storms, the natural thermal energetic rage of the volcano, and the belief energy of the desperate dwarves believing that a saviour powerful enough to help them existed.
We know the warp feeds on emotion, we know mortal emotions are powerful enough to create entities in the warp. The more you believe something has power the more power it actually ends up having.
Could the dwarf’s extremely emotional moment casting away their ancestors as useless and then believing that something out there was capable of saving them mix in a weird recipe with the warp storms and an erupting volcano and miraculously made something that was capable of saving them? is Hashut Azgorh? maybe.
I also have really started to consider the possibility of Hashut just being one of the many ways Tzeentch chooses to appear. Considering what we know of Lammassus, Hashut’s link to sorcery, and what we know of Tzeentch and just how broad his sphere can be. As well as Tzeentch’s influence east of the Mountains of Mourn. Reading the Slaves to Darkness AoS battle tome really opened my mind to this idea (the last one, not this newest release). In that book, it states Tzeentch can appear as a god of anything. Striking deals and tricking mortals are all part of his plots and schemes. Tzeentch is Impetus. The flow of time itself, and the writing of history is all Tzeentch. Change is so common. He’s weird because all the other gods’ spheres fall into his in this way. He really is the god of Chaos itself which means he is arguably a god of action. Though obviously, no Chaos Dwarf would ever accept this heresy. Hashut is Hashut. The refined children of Hashut sell goods to the barbaric Tzeentch-worshipping tribesmen who cannot make them themselves.
I’ve always loved how we don’t actually know who or what Hashut is. the open-mindedness is just fun, and the fact that I have the liberty to deep dive into Hashutism and even say different Sorcerer-Priests claim different things about the father and that like all religions, it comes in different flavours and variations based on which old dead guy you wanna quote. These religious disagreements could even be the cause of Chaos Dwarven civil disputes.
I like the idea of the sorcerous conclave being a very high school version of the German Bundestag. full of gossip, backstabbing, coalition governments, eccentric weirdos, arguments, shouting, and unique religious beliefs.
Anyways I feel as though I’ve completely fallen off my train of thought.
I wonder how aware a Lammasu is. Do Lammasu know who Hashut is? Do Lammasu Know the History of the Chaos Dwarves? Do Lammasu feel any sense of brotherhood with the chaos dwarves? do they consider themselves similar species? or are Lammasu full of themselves? do they think that Chaos Dwarves are pathetic and will never be able to actually understand Hashut? or do they see them like how chaos dwarves see slaves?
So much is unknown, and I feel like being creative. So I am going to try to answer these questions in a way I like. Please feel free to critique, alter, or disagree with any ideas I share.
It is suggested that it is less a sorcerer riding a Lammasu and more a Lammasu letting a sorcerer sit on its back. The sorcerer is not the one in control, he can make suggestions but the Lamassu is a proud creature. You cannot make a Lammasu work for you, you can only convince it to work with you by explaining your goals to it.
I like to think that the process of taming a Lammasu for your mount is extremely risky and many sorcerers see no point as more often than not you end up eaten, crushed, or both when you leave to go seek the lair of a Lammasu. I think the more industrious of the Sorcerers would see Lammasu seeking as futile, and an archaic tradition from a more sorcerous, religious, and less productive time.
The modern societal trends for the Dawi Zharr are iron daemon convoys, automation, and meticulous daemon engineering. A lot more math is expected from the sorcerous class now than the Lammasu seeking prophecy discovering priests of yesteryear.
In Zhargon’s time, Lammasus were probably more common. The sorcerer prophets were occupying the roles of Statesmen, Holymen, and Cultural Leaders. Nowadays only a few dozen sorcerer prophets upkeep such a shiny reputation, most are so involved in the daemon sciences they do not have time to ponder religion or prophecies anymore. The modern sorcerer spends his time in the back lines keeping the daemon engines functional, seemingly long gone are the days of bejewelled palanquins, grandstands of the immortal guard, and chanting acolytes on the front lines.
Why ride on a Palanquin anymore after Astragoth Ironhand invented daemon prosthetics?
A select group of “Eccentric Weirdos” within the conclave holds on tightly to tradition. Believing the cultural, magical, and political advancements made by the sorcerers of Hashut to be the best use of their abilities. Zhargon’s discovery of the Everchosen prophecy is historic and celebrated. A sorcerer should prioritize their research into the mystical, the unknown, and the world as a whole. Advancement of the Chaos Dwarven society is worth more to this group than the advancements of the chaos dwarven empire. Slaves, Money, and Resource-Rich land is all good, but overlords suffice just fine at acquiring such. It is a waste of a sorcerer’s talents to aid in something so mundane.
To this group of sorcerous conservatives, nothing is more impressive than successfully allying with a Lammasu. It is widely known to be dangerous as the Lammasu make their lairs in cliffside caves. If the climb doesn’t kill you the sorcerous, extremely intelligent, territorial, and independent beast might. Lammasu is revered for their ancient knowledge, physical might, magical resistance, and their foresight. Lammasu are extremely mysterious. Some radical sorcerer prophets claim the Lammasu is in constant direct communication with Hashut himself as they have an undeniably suspicious amount of knowledge they have no right knowing. Lammasu have long been known for their prophetic and farseeing abilities. Often times a Lammasu will purposefully try to convey itself as omniscient, and all-knowing. Though it is unknown whether they really know everything and really “don’t wanna explode your feeble mind” or if this is just a bluff.
Lammasus are extremely manipulative and are known to lie often to trick people into getting things for them.
Upon entering the pitch-black lair of a Lammasu they will conduct a series of tests on you, before granting you the honour of even beholding the noble creature. The first test is your scent.
Most Lammasu keep a giant boulder next to the entrance of their lairs so that once their potential prey has walked in, they will seal the door and leave you in darkness.
Then you will hear exaggerated huffing and puffing and feel a warm wet and forceful wind. The Lammasu is producing a cloud of magical smoke, this smoke will flow through you and in turn the Lammasu will be able to sense any magical ability or item you possess.
If you are magicless… you have very little chance of living another second. If you are magicless but wield a magic item the Lammasu will probably move on to the next trial but only because it wishes to add the item to its collection and needs to learn more about it. Once it has learned about the item it will usually slay you and keep it. Lammasu have zero interest in working with non-magical allies.
Lammasus do collect magical items, but they refuse to own the item if they do not know the name and a bit of its story. Monster Hunters often utilize a Lammasu’s curiosity to stall, and try and figure out where the beast is hiding in the pitch-black cave.
If the Sorcerer prophet passed the scent trial, the Lammasu then asks what you seek. It wants to know why you sought it out. At this moment Lammasus value honesty above all else. This is because Lammasus love to trick inferiors and consider it extremely insulting if you attempt to trick a Lammasu. It is taken as you directly stating they are inferior to you if you attempt to trick a Lammasu.
Lammasus are very prideful and are quick to feel insulted. You can’t be too straightforward or else the Lammasu will assume you’re a two-dimensional moron and eat you. You basically need to very clearly tell the Lammasu why you want to ride it. Will it make you look better than your rival and garner support? is it because you want to rip your enemies open? Both? the more you come across as a manipulative planner the better. Remember to respect the Lammasu and come across like you know it’s smarter than you.
Lammasu Taming Recap:
So you need to be very honest in explaining to the Lammasu you are a dishonest person. You need to come across as smart, but not too smart. Inferior, but not stupid. Important but not Egotistical. Inconsequential but self-assured. Overall Lammasus are looking for the qualities of a Lammasu, and loyalty. If you behave like a Lammasu (you behave like a self-absorbed manipulative liar) yet are super loyal and respectful towards the Lammasu (never lie to it!) it will probably ally with you.
If you tell the Lammasu you saught it because you intend to be granted the honour of riding it, and you tell it why you want to ride it. It will probably laugh at you, and then eat you.
But if you’re extremely lucky fires will magically light and illuminate the magnificent beast in front of you. This is when it will present its terms. It is unknown what Sorcerers have had to agree to before in order to ally with a Lammasu.
Some speculate the Lammasu requests to keep the sorcerer in their collection of magic items when they turn to stone, some say a constant supply of magical relics is requested for the Lammasu’s services, and others claim it is magic much darker, and that the Lammasu might collect magical souls and this is how it is able to be so resistant to magic.
I think the fact Lammasus can talk opens up a realm of possibilities to make characters. The dynamic between a sorcerer and his Lammasu, and the possibility to write an ancient cocky Lammasu is really interesting to me.
