Kulstov the Bloody-Handed

"How many other mortals do you wager called out to the Emperor to save them? How many do you think he answered?"

- Kulstov the Bloody-Handed Vicious and sadistic beyond even the very loose standards of the Forces of Chaos, Kulstov the Bloody-Handed is an infamous Chaos Raptor Champion who has made a name for himself even in the imaginatively cruel Eighth Legion for predatory bloodlust. Lending his nickname to his warband as their champion, Kulstov rides the tides of the Eye of Terror with his fellow Night Lords, leading a small pack of Raptors, both more and less mutated then himself. When the warband finds a target, Kulstov cares nothing for what he kills, so long as he spends the battle hunting screaming, terrified prey, before cornering them and watching the light die in their eyes.

Red Hand of Nostramo
A serial killer since the tender age of ten, Kulstov was once the son of a minor official who blended in among the untold millions in the night-shrouded city of Nostramo. His first few kills were other children and he became something of an infamous urban legend, dubbed the 'Red Hand', due to the marks of strangulation Kulstov left on their pale bodies. Enjoying the attention, and the parallel to the infamous 'red hand' tattoo that was common to doomed Nostraman hive-gangers that gave his killings a certain mystique, Kulstov continued to kill, moving from other children as he grew older to murdering adults, always keeping the same strangulation motif.

Eventually it had to end, and it did, as Kulstov found himself on Curze's personal agenda. It was the first time the young psychopath had ever felt fear, as he was hunted through the midnight streets by his soon-to-be Gene Sire. Curze caught him, tortured him for days, but eventually decided that the murderer's talents in hunting victims and spreading fear was the sort of thing that could be put to a better use.

Kulstov was slowly, tortuously transformed into a Night Lord Astartes, and when the process was over, Curze ordered the Astartes to stain his gauntlets the Sinner's Red, to reflect that the killer lived only at his lord's suffrage. Should he disobey, or should his use exceed his value, Konrad would descend on him once again, and this time, there would be no reprieve.

The coming centuries were like nothing the young Kulstov could have imagined, the raw power of an Astartes allowing him new ways to hunt and kill. Kulstov quickly became appointed to an assault squad, becoming one of the first Night Raptors. Even in the pre-Heresy days, Kulstov was vicious and cruel, even by the standards of his Raptor brothers, who were similarly maladjusted. While Raptors were there to bring terror into the heart of the foe, Kulstov always made sure the foe suffered, hunting them and enjoying their prey before zeroing in for an excruciating execution. As part of Seventh Company's First Claw, Kulstov participated in the subjugation of several worlds, who's major city's civilian populations dropped significantly when Kulstov and First Claw rampaged through. For Kulstov the spreading of fear was a secondary, though enjoyable side effect. The real fun was in the massacre.

Horus Heresy
When the Heresy came, Kulstov was instrumental in corrupting his brothers. Along with his commanding officer, Deimos, Kulstov managed to encourage the more criminal and psychotic members of Seventh Company to side with the traitors. During the massacres of Istvaan III and V, Kulstov led First Claw in hunting their scattered, confused Loyalist brothers, marking their shattered helms with a red palm print dipped in their own blood. Come the siege of Terra, First Claw flew over the chaotic battlefield like malformed falcons, finding weak spots and descending in a whirlwind of blades and claws. While they never managed to breach the walls into the citadel, Kulstov personally eviscerated hundreds of people, coating his armor in a dull sheen of ever drying blood and making him reek of viscera and fear-tainted sweat.

Tsagualsa
Unlike most of the other Night Lords, Kulstov was overjoyed when his Primarch died. The only being in the universe that had ever made the psychopath feel true fear, Kulstov had spent the years of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy living in fear, not that he would be struck down in battle, but that his service to the Night Haunter would prove insufficient. The memory of the Primarch pursuing him through the midnight streets of Nostramo haunted him throughout his immortal life and made each kill all the sweeter. When Curze died, it was like a great weight had lifted from Kulstov's shoulders, and he began to kill indiscriminately and secretly worship Chaos in defiance of his lord.

Azhmari Vulkyr
Deimos would eventually pick up a young, vicious noble from the feudal world of Ubervald, and elevate him to an Astartes. This young noble, Vulkyr, would eventually become Kulstov's rival as he rose as another Champion. Despite this, the two would eventually reach an impasse when Vulkyr killed Deimos and revealed his weakness to the entire warband, ascending to become the new Chaos Lord. Kulstov acknowledged that he had no actual interest in leading, only hunting and killing, something Vulkyr could provide. In return for his support, Vulkyr renamed the Sons of Deimos the Red Hand in honor of their most bloodthirsty champion, who lead the most imaginative killers in the Long War against the Emperor.

Notable Campaigns
COMING SOON

Personality
Cold, brutal and vicious, Kulstov attaches himself to any warband that allows him to indulge his urges in

relative peace. A stealth expert and operative for thousands of years, he is a master at planning small scale assaults, hit and run and terror tactics but his weakness is that he is not a big picture planner. He seeks simply to enjoy his Astartes immortality and personally vivisect thousands of innocents himself, becoming a figure of shadowy dread like his days in Nostramo.

Kulstov is animalistic and sadistic, like many other Raptors, and crawls around on all fours when not flying. Despite this, he is eloquent and well-spoken, though always in a monotone, while staring with blood-red eyes. He enjoys toying with people even in conversation, similar to a cat, and enjoys provoking people when they can't fight back.

Kulstov does have a certain nostalgia for Nostramo, seeing it as his first hunting grounds. He bristles under the command of non-Nostramans, though he plays this up more around Night Lords of non-Nostraman descent, just to needle them.

Kulstov, under Vulkyr now openly worships the Ruinous Powers, and keeps his armor stained in gore in tribute to the 'apex predator,' Khorne, though he pays tribute to all for when he can. He is firmly a Raptor Champion of Chaos Undivided.

Wargear

 * Mutated Mark IV Maximus Power Armor - Kulstov's power armor has twisted and mutated according to his cruel personality in the Warp, becoming more spiked, streamline, and akin to an immense bird of prey of beast. This gives him a greater degree of flexibility than most Astartes, while giving the protection of power-armor. The helm can be removed but the hands and feet are fused into the suit.
 * Lightning Claw  'Last Gasp'  - An ancient Lightning Claw that has melded with Kulstov's arm, forming a curved biomechanical talon that protrudes from his power-armor's elbow. It is capable of rending through thick armor and ceramite, and can cut through flesh and steel with ease.
 * Jump Pack  'Wings of Nostramo'  - An old an ancient pattern of jump pack, now partially organic and melded to the Night Lord's back. The two turbines have mutated into immense fanged maws that belch fire.

Relationships
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Allies

 * Red Hand Night Lords - Kulstov's warband, formerly the Seventh Company of Night Lords. Like Kulstov, their gloves are marked Sinner's Red and they are openly Chaos worshipers.

Quotes
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