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Warhammer 40K: Be’Lakor – The First Daemon Prince

4 Minute Read
Mar 24 2023

Today we delve deep into the shrouded tale of Be’lakor – the first mortal to ascend to daemonhood.

Be’lakor is the Dark Master, the First Prince of Chaos and the One Who Heralds the Conquerors. A Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided, he beholds each of the Chaos Gods equally. Like a petulant first-born son, he is jealous of anyone that wins the favor of Chaos. And thus he seeks to undermine them.

Be’lakor’s Shrouded History

Be’lakor was the first mortal elevated to Daemonhood by Chaos. Legend and rumour hide his true origins. Be’lakor himself does much to hide his true origin and history. But nonetheless legends tell of Be’lakor ruling over mortal empires since the dawn of time, the Daemon Prince conquering a world and subjugating its people, forcing them to worship him as a god. When the race would fall into decline, ruined by Be’lakor’s greed and malevolence, the Daemon would move on, finding a new burgeoning race to be his playthings.

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Several times, the Daemon Prince is said to have been the lord of sector spanning empires, a dark, Daemon god ruling over a thousand worlds and billions of loyal followers. Even the Grey Knights know very little of his history. What little information there is on him suggests that he has been ruling over mortal empires since the dawn of time, only to abandon them when they would fall into decline.

Be’lakor has a bitter jealousy towards anyone who wins the favour of the Dark Gods, and will plot against them. However, what he believes to be his free-will, is just a part of the rivalry between the Chaos Gods themselves.

One soul who succeeded in escaping Be’lakor’s grasp is Ahzek Ahriman, who bound the Daemon Prince after tricking him into thinking he had lured Ahriman into a trap. In exchange for being released from Ahriman’s control, Be’lakor reluctantly agreed to relinquish his claims on the soul of the Sorcerer Ctesias.

Relics of Be’lakor

Relics and the ruins of dead worlds still exist that suggest there may be some truth to these legends; whether their source was Be’lakor or not is more difficult to say. The Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Magos Kyber has spent his life piecing together the history of Be’lakor in his exploration of the galactic wilderness, hunting down ancient relics of the Dark Age of Technology. Following the faint trail left by Be’lakor’s passage through history, Magos Kyber has found winged statues carved from the fossilized bones of psykers, crumbling scrolls of human skin that show thousands of tiny figures bowing down before a dark winged shape and stygian horn-fragments sealed in sacred caskets. Unaware of Be’lakor’s true nature, Kyber has become convinced that all these objects are linked to one alien overlord, an ancient creature that has existed for millions of years in various guises and is behind countless vile deeds.

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However Be’lakor is manipulating Kyber. The Daemon Prince placed the first clues to his existence in Kyber’s path. This lead the Magos to the ruins of a world he once ruled. From this seed of curiosity, Kyber has discovered new systems, planets and ruined empires long forgotten by Be’lakor. While the Daemon helps Kyber from the shadows, the Magos gathers up the hidden and forgotten legacy Be’lakor has left behind.  Ultimately returning the Daemon Prince’s lost objects of power, while also erasing his existence from history.

Black Crusades

Be’lakor has recently begun to influence events around Abaddon the Despoiler. He is rumored to have manipulated the Daemon Prince Tallomin in aiding Abaddon assaulting Cadia during the Third Black Crusade, and informed Abaddon of Drecarth the Sightless‘s treachery, ultimately leading to the destruction of the Sons of the Eye during the Sixth Black Crusade. By the time of the Thirteenth Black Crusade, Be’lakor has worked his way into Abaddon’s inner circle.

In 999.M41 he allied with the Warsmith Shon’tu in a plan to hijack the Phalanx and use it to bombard Terra. In the ensuing Battle of the Phalanx, Be’lakor’s Daemonic hordes battled the Imperial Fists 3rd Company. Ultimately however Be’lakor was foiled by the Legion of the Damned.

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Be’lakor & Abaddon the Despoiler

Since the formation of the Great Rift due to the destruction of Cadia, Be’lakor has pledged his daemonic legions in the service of Abaddon and his Black Legion, though his intentions remain unknown.  The First Prince entered the Arks of Omen series of Chaos raids when he unexpectedly appeared on The Rock, to thwart Vashtorr the Arkifane’s plans.  A furious Vashtorr was later chided by Abaddon for ever putting his trust in Be’lakor in the first place.

Learn More of the Damned Daemon Princes
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Author: Larry Vela
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