"To me, sons and daughters! Forget your pain! Forget your despair! A new power is among you! To me! This is what you have become! You are the filth. You are the rubbish. You are the slime and disease that this town wishes to forget. You are where the sins of humanity have come to squat. This is what they have made you into! You have let them. You have let them drive you into this stinking pit, never lifting your hands against them, letting them tell you that you deserve it, that your station can never be any better than this. You are wrong. They are wrong. You can be so much more than this. You can be angels of destruction. You can be the deliverers of Sigmar’s holy justice. You can rise above this! You can fight with the fervour of the Lord Sigmar himself. You can be His chosen, the instruments of His will. It was for you that He bled, and for you that He fought. You are those for whom He forged this Empire. You are the inheritors of His mantle. Sigmar blesses those who fight. Rise up, and forget your despair! Rise up, and forget your sickness! Rise up, and become great!"
- —Luthor Huss, rallying the people of Eisenach.[2d]
Luthor Huss, the legendary Warrior Priest and Prophet of Sigmar
Luthor Huss, known by others as the "Prophet of Sigmar," is a legendary and zealously pious Warrior Priest of the Cult of Sigmar that has travelled the length and breadth of the Empire, preaching against corruption and rousing the faithful to seek the will of holy Sigmar. Having consigned himself to a life of eternal battle, where he believes he can best pay tribute to his mighty war-god, Luthor has since become a living nightmare of every corrupt priest, the scourge of the unfaithful and the bane of those who consorted with the Dark Gods.[1a]
Luthor Huss is a grim and determined figure of zeal, whose unwavering faith in Sigmar and his stern and almost emotionless expression has ensured the rooting of corruption wherever he goes. Many Sigmarite priests suspected of corruption have been found slain by Luthor's feet, and the tales of such grisly acts of righteous justice meted out by his hands has drove an Arch Lector of the Cult of Sigmar to demand his immediate excommunication.[1a]
However, Grand Theogonist Volkmar refused to take such drastic actions. The enigmatic smile that appears on the Theogonist's face whenever Luthor's name is mentioned has led many to think that the old man knows something important about Luthor's ultimate destiny. None are known to be sure of the Grand Theogonist's motives, but whatever the case, this lone Warrior Priest of Sigmar continues his sacred crusade against the darkness that seeks to claim the mortal world, fighting with nothing but his faith in Sigmar and the powerful swing of his mighty warhammer.[1a]
History[]
Origins[]
It is unclear where the man that would become Luthor Huss came from, nor does anyone know even his original name. All that was known was that a young boy came upon the doors of a Sigmarite temple located within the northern shores of the Empire, upon a cliff overlooking the Sea of Claws. Adso Theiss, the elderly Sigmarite priest that maintained the temple found the twelve-year-old in the cold and rain, and when asked his business, the boy simply replied that he wished to learn. What caught the Priest's attention the most was the boys piercing brown eyes, which was filled with a grim determination unlike anything he'd seen from a child.[2c]
Although Father Theiss reluctantly allowed the child to live there, the boy soon proved his worth to the old priest. The boy worked from dawn to dusk, aiding the priest in many errands and impressing the old Priest with his enthusiasm to learn the Sigmarite faith. After a month at the temple, he was reading primers designed for acolytes older than him. After two months he had progressed to the catechisms. After a year he had read the entirety of the Life of Sigmar and had begun to wrestle with Uwe Mordecai's dense and difficult Thoughts on the Nature of Faith. He surpassed his fellow acolytes in everything, and they hated him for it. Though they may trash and beat the boy, the boy held his ground and didn't fight back. In time, the old Priest gave the boy a name, which Luthor picked out of a book containing the lives of all important saints and heroes of Sigmar's faith. Out of the many names, he chose two; Aldrecht Luthor and Bohrs Huss. Thus the priest finally gave the boy a proper name; Luthor Huss.[2c]
Lessons of Faith[]
"The Ruinous Powers care nothing for why a mortal might fall into their worship – they will trick, coerce and snare whoever they can, for each fallen soul makes them a little stronger. The faith of mankind is different. We’re not tricked into the love of Sigmar. Our faith is no snare, nor can a man be coerced into a life of holiness. We must fight through our doubt to see the truth, just as a man must fight to crest the summit of a mountain. Take away that doubt, take away that struggle, and we’d be no better than the raving fallen who gibber at the sight of visions and cheap magick."
- —Adso Theiss, tutoring Luthor Huss of the true meaning of Faith.[2g]
After nearly four years, Luthor Huss grew ever more powerful and strong, soon towering over every occupant within the very Temple itself. The young man spent every waking moment learning, training and conditioning himself to become an exceptional priest of the church. Not wanting to raise a mindless zealot, the elderly Father soon began to tutor the young child about the true meaning of faith, and the uniqueness of the Human spirit. Ever eager to learn more, Luthor was finally allowed to follow Father Thiess on his journey to bring comfort to the lands around his Temple. As they traveled, Father Theiss taught the young lad how to wield his Warhammer like a true Priest of Sigmar.[2g]
After four days, the two eventually reached the village of Hnel, where the old priest began the rites that would bless the inhabitants for some time. It was upon this backwater village that Luthor finally saw the world for what it is, not the imagined one that is written within the holy tomes of the Temple. Poverty and squalor was everywhere, and the people he was meant to minister, lead and protect only seemed to make him sick of their weakness. Yet the greatest revelation upon that day was that Luthor finally learned the true extent and limits of his own abilities.[2g]
A young yet beautiful girl no more then sixteen years of age was afflicted with Black Fever, and Luthor Huss, in his determination fought hard to bring the girl's soul back from the abyss of death. Through his soul, the young Warrior Priest tried to bring the girl back from the brink, but at the last moment, the soul faded away into darkness. To young Luthor, she was an angel, and he was not able to save her. As the young Priest lay wear he knelt, he held his hands to his face and finally understood the meaning of the old Priest's words. The old Priest told the young lad that he was no Priest of Morr, nor a healer. He was a Warrior Priest of Sigmar, and his duty is to the living, to give them hope, to remain strong, and to comfort them when no others will. The world are full of daemons and angels, and so the elderly priest comfort Luthor that should he live long enough, he will soon find one again.[2g]
Test of Faith[]
"You'll be alone, Luthor. You understand nothing of us. You know nothing of our temptations, for you are never tempted. A priest, oh yes. But a Man? A true Man? Never..."
- —Adso Theiss, giving Luthor Huss his final lesson.[2k]
As Luthor grew stronger, his mentor Adso Thiess grew weaker, his health finally failing. In time, the old priest could no longer do the proper rites, and made Luthor do such things in his stead. Needing a successor to the temple, the old priest gave the young Warrior Priest one last test before placing the mantle of priest upon his shoulders. Outfitted with plate armour and his mentor's warhammer, Luthor Huss came upon the town of Wiesmund and confronted the foul creature that has taken residence within the town's chapel. Before leaving, Thiess made Luthor promise that he would return to him before the old priest finally passed away that day.[2k]
Though the beast of Wiesmund was old and Luthor was in the prime of his youth, the creature was quick and still powerful. After much struggle, Luthor gathered what was left of his strength and strangled the creature until it lay limp. Yet the poison that had infected Luthor during the battle sapped him of his strength, making him fall unconscious. When he finally awoke, Luthor realised that much time had passed and became distraught at failing to keep his promise to return to Thiess before his death. Though the young priest struggled to make his way back to the temple, Luthor was keen on keeping the promise to return for the old priest's last moments of life.[2k]
Yet upon entering the temple's chapel, Luthor bore witness to an event that would change him forever. Within the chapel, Father Thiess stood upon a dark altar littered with the bones of animals. His robes were black and striped with silk, and his face bore the years of youth. When Thiess set his eyes upon Luthor, he became distraught.[2k]
Luthor, however, became enraged, all thoughts of pain from his body momentarily gone. With a roar, the young priest willingly flung himself at his former mentor, enraged at this most hurtful betrayal. After much effort, the young Luthor held his mentor down and glared at him with watery eyes, and Theiss glared back. From there, the former priest of Sigmar gave Luthor his final lesson. Only his eyes told the full story -- that his anger was with himself, with his weakness and with his cowardice.[2k]
Staring down into the warped face, Huss saw Theiss' life spread out from end to end. He saw the hopes of youth, marred by the crushing labour and disappointment of adulthood, followed by the horror, the all-consuming horror, of his soul's extinction. Fighting back his emotions, Luthor Huss let loose the killing blow. As fire raged across the temple, Luthor came after the other acolytes that had also indulged themselves in Theiss' heretical act. Yet, as he gazed upon the bloodied face of one of them, the rage within Huss finally cooled and for the first time, he saw the bloody work he had wrought.[2k]
A wave of nausea, as profound as that conjured up by the creature in Weismund, shuddered through him. He staggered to his feet, holding his bloody hands in front of him. It was then that he realised with the force of a sudden revelation that the acolytes had all known about the old priest's damnation, and that only Huss, pious, gloomy Huss, had been too wrapped up to notice, lost in an austere world of doubt, prayers and scripture.[2k]
For the first time, Huss felt the gnawing of a terrible, all-consuming doubt. He heard the boom and crash of a tower falling in on itself in the temple, and the noise of it struck at his heart. As the fires spread and the remaining inhabitants of the temple fled to the forest, Luthor Huss stood like a statue as the last words of his former tutor rang again and again in his mind. From then on, Huss knew he could never understand the weakness of others, and has instead decided that none shall ever again become emotionally close to him so that they won't suffer the folly of his own blindness.[2k]
As Huss looked to the east, the young Warrior Priest of Sigmar stood up and walked down the hill. Once he started walking, he knew he would never stop. This would be his crusade, to remain alone, insulating Humanity from his dreadful blindness and fighting evil as penance for his sins.[2k]
Founding of Faith[]
"He said that nothing had changed. He said that seeking witches was easy, but that seeking saints was hard, and that his task in that respect was not yet over. I knew then that he wouldn’t come back with us, and could sense his desire to return to the wilderness once his strength had returned. The last thing he said to me was that I should remember where the soul of holiness lay – not in the deeds of noble men spoiled by learning, but in the lives of the simple, the ones for whom the Lord Sigmar had cared when alive. If the Empire was destined for salvation, he told me, then it would come from them."
- —Lukas Eichmann, Witch Hunter.[2n]
In the years following his departure unto the world, Luthor Huss has sought out evil wherever he went. Yet Luthor Huss could never run away from his past forever, and upon the lands of Drakwald the Priest will finally come face to face with his own destiny. During his time there, the lone warrior priest followed a trail of destruction wrought by a horde of zombies that had recently arisen from the dead. One such location, upon the ruins of Helgag, the lone warrior priest stumbled upon a lone survivor, a bruised yet beautiful girl known simply as Mila. When the hordes had dispersed, the lone warrior priest pressed onward, but was unexpectedly followed by the young girl. The girl reminded Luthor too much of the sick girl many years ago, and could not bear to relive the experience again. He feared attachment, for he believed such emotions made him vulnerable and weak. And so Luthor tried to leave her behind, having travelled several miles ahead of her before he stopped and noticed that she still continued to follow.[2a]
In a rare act of kindness, the Warrior Priest went back for her, comfort her and brought her along on his journey towards the town of Eisenbach. From there, he rallied the townsfolk to the town's defense, rousing the downtrodden into religious fanatics capable of beating back the dark tide.[2d] When the Undead Hordes came, the Warrior Priest and his fanatics fought them down to the last. But the foolish girl still followed him into battle, and Luthor fought all the harder to keep her safe. She soon became precious to him, as if her presence alone gave him hope and happiness that he never felt before. He could not risk losing her, not again and so after battles end, he left alone at dawn once more.[2f]
He traveled alone through the dark forest of the Drakwald.[2f] Deeper and deeper did Luthor Huss delve into the heart of darkness, even as horrors beyond counting began to chase him through the forest.[2i] Finally, the Priest came upon an abandoned stone temple, where he fought a bitter last stand against a warband of Beastmen. But out of the thickets, a small Imperial Army led by Witch Hunter Eichmann crested over a hilltop and fell upon the Beastmen hordes with a fury. Luthor was wounded badly, but as the battle raged the Witch Hunter came to his aid and dragged the wounded priest out of the Temple. But as he came outside, he saw her. She rode amid a small group of cavalry, flanked by swordsmen, her blonde hair looking silver in the starlight. She was shouting something, waving her sword around in that clumsy way of hers, just as she had done that night in Helgag. He smiled at that, unconsciously, just as he’d always smiled when she came close to him. Amid all the filth and fear and violence, she was a rare jewel of purity. She came back.[2j]
He was still smiling when the beast shot out from the shadows, hidden by the curving line of boulders near the water’s edge. She saw it coming, but it was far too strong and far too quick. She managed to get her sword up to block the first of the axes, but the second buried itself deep in her chest, nearly severing her head from her body. Huss started forward, shaking the hands of the witch hunter from his arms, suddenly choked with horror. Luthor roared her name, and as he tried to run down the hill, his legs failed him and he crashed himself upon the dirt. As tears ran unchecked down the priests cheeks, Mila gave one last glance and an outstretched hand towards Luthor before her soul left this world. Huss tried to crawl towards her, but fell on his face. He dragged himself a yard or two further before he felt hands gripping his armor, hauling him up again. Huss looked up one last time, catching a glimpse of the bloodied tangle of blonde hair in the distance, discarded amid the gore and mud. Then darkness took him.[2j]
When he woke up once more, he wasn't the same again. He barely spoke, even when the Witch Hunter interrogated him. He never looked up as he trodden alongside the army as they made their way to the very heart of this dark wilderness; the ruins of Gallowsberg.[2l] Even as battle and bloodshed was all around him, Luthor Huss grimly marched towards the source of all his nightmares, one that he knew all too well. A Bray-Shaman awaited him, but it was no random Beastmen, but the same acolyte Luthor hated in his childhood, the one that always beat him, hated him and tried to kill him. As Luthor Huss became ensnared in an unholy ritual circle, his body convulsing in pain, the creature once known as Acolyte Hirsch gave Luthor a choice. Join the darkness, abandon the weakness of Humanity and lead the strong against the Empire of Man. Even as pain and eventual death seared through his body, even as Luthor felt doubt like he never had before, through the pain and smoke the Priest uttered one reply; No.[2m]
Then everything stopped. Luthor was bathed in Golden Light and he could not see. An angelic voice spoke to him, telling him that he had chosen one of two destinies, and that he has passed the test. Luthor felt no reassurance and replied that he doubted, but the angel reassured him that all men doubt and that he is only human. Then, upon the floor lay an old sword, once wielded by the same girl that followed him for so long. The priest asked who she is, and all the angel replied was;
"Why did I come back for you, Luthor Huss? Because once, in another world, you came back for me."
In an instant, a flash of golden light burst forth and the priest rose up like a Phoenix and fought the Bray-Shaman with a time-worn sword and his mighty Warhammer, shining with golden light and his eyes glowing golden fire. The shaman's staff burst, and the creature was demolished by waves of hammer blows. In that instant, against all hope, the horrors of the Forest were destroyed by his wrath and the Imperials were victorious. When the Priest led the ravaged army out of the wilderness, he left soon after, giving the Witch Hunter his motives before he disappeared from sight. Since that time, he has traveled the Empire, not merely to hunt down evil but to protect that which is precious above all; the Empire's people.[2n]
End Times[]
Constant Drachenfels, now the Undead spirit known as the Nameless, possessing the body of Luthor Huss.
During the End Times, Luthor Huss played a crucial role in the battle against the forces of darkness. Initially, he was possessed by the Nameless, a powerful Undead entity who had betrayed the Liche Nagash and turned to serve the Chaos Gods. The Nameless used Huss as a vessel to carry out its malevolent plans.[5a]
During the battle for Sylvania, the Vampire Lord Vlad von Carstein, Nagash's Mortarch of Shadows, confronted the Nameless. Vlad, understanding the power of faith over the Undead, reminded Luthor Huss of his faith in Sigmar. Vlad's words served as a catalyst, helping Huss to recall his devotion and realise that his possession by the Nameless was a test of his faith.[5a]
Emboldened by the reminder of Sigmar and his deep devotion to the God-King, Luthor Huss managed to break free from the Nameless' control. With a wordless cry, the power of his faith in Sigmar manifested as a raging column of holy fire that engulfed him, purging the Undead taint from his body. This explosion of faith-fueled Divine Magic caught the Nameless, who was unable to escape from Huss' body in time, and it evaporated like a shadow in the noon-day sun, thus finally ending the dark legacy of Constant Drachenfels.[5a]
Personality[]
"You prevailed, children. Remember this day. Remember that you always had the power to defeat the unholy. It was within you, waiting to be unlocked. You always had the power. All you needed was the freedom to believe. All you needed was to be shown the path to unlocking that freedom. In Sigmar, all things are possible. All you needed, all any of us has ever needed, was faith."
- —Luthor Huss, after the Victory at Eisenbach.[2f]
Luthor Huss, instilling the faithful with his zeal.
Luthor Huss embodies the very epitome of a Warrior Priest of Sigmar in both faith and strength of arms. He is a towering giant of a man, unwavering in his devotion, unceasing in his pursuit of corruption, and shows almost no weakness to those around him. Ever since he came upon the Temple many years ago, Huss was determined with a will beyond that of any child. He would spend every waking moment trying to improve himself in both mind, body and soul. The boy was not afflicted with vice of any kind, and was resolute and pious in the extreme.[2f]
Yet herein lies Huss' one and only weakness. Luthor Huss believes himself protected from all forms of doubts and temptations, yet his inability to associate oneself with doubts and weakness, to simply be Human, ensures that Huss can never truly understand the complexity and strength of the Human spirit. He has read the lives of saints and wants to be one himself, but he cannot fathom that he is simply a Human being, in both flesh and mind like anyone else and that those he ministers to are the very same. As his former mentor once told him, the ability to acknowledge and conquer one's doubt is one of Humanity's greatest and most honorable strengths.[2k]
It wasn't until the events that transpired in the Gallowsberg that Huss finally understood the true strength of real faith, where the soul of holiness lay -- not in the deeds of noble men spoiled by learning, but in the lives of the simple, the ones for whom Sigmar had most cared when the God-King was still mortal. If the Empire was destined for salvation, then it would come from them.[2m]
Since this revelation, Huss has done all he could to protect the Empire's people, by seeking to instill in them the necessary fervor to fight their fears and doubts and protect all that which they hold dear. His mighty stature and booming voice gives those around him the same zeal that burns within himself, lending them the strength they need to rise from the dirt and fight the darkness that continues to assail the mortal world. It is within the hearts of Sigmar's people that Luthor Huss truly found the strength to fight on.[2n]
Miniatures[]
Canon Conflict[]
The novel Luthor Huss by Chris Wright contrasts with the 8th Edition Empire armybook about Luthor Huss. In the novel, Luthor Huss' tutelage began within the north, along the coast of Nordland, while in the armybook it is stated that it began within Wissenland.
Another contrast between the novel and the armybook occurs during the events in Wiesmund. In the novel the town was already destroyed and there was no battle between a horde of Beastmen, but rather a single duel fought between a young Luthor Huss and a Beastman Bray-Shaman within the ruins of the town.
Trivia[]
Luthor Huss took his name from two saints of the Sigmarite cult, Aldrecht Luthor and Bohrs Huss; however the name of Luthor Huss itself is actually an amalgamation of two famous Protestant reformers in the real world; Martin Luther and Jan Hus.
Jan Hus was a former Czech priest, theologian and philosopher of the early fifteenth century who became a Church reformer and the inspiration for Hussitism, a key Christian theological predecessor to Protestantism, and a seminal figure in the Bohemian Reformation. Hus is considered to be the first reformer of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, even though some prefer to designate the English theorist John Wycliffe as the first to truly propose major reforms to medieval Catholic theology. Hus' teachings had a strong influence on later reformers, most immediately in the approval of a reformed Bohemian religious denomination which led to the fifteenth century wars of religion in Bohemia known as the Hussite Wars and, over a century later, on the ideas of Martin Luther. Hus was burned at the stake for heresy by the Catholic Church's Council of Constance in 1415.
Martin Luther was a German priest, Augustinian friar and renowned theologian whose protest against the corrupt practices of the early modern Roman Catholic Church became the catalyst for the start of the Protestant Reformation in Europe in 1517.