Nurgle

Nurgle is one of the five Great Powers of Chaos. He is titled the Great Lord of Decay and represents pestilence, disease, and physical corruption. Of the five Chaos Gods he is said to be the most attentive and involved with the plight of mortals. Those afflicted by his contagions often turn to him in order to escape their suffering. The physical likeness of Nurgle is described as gigantic and bloated with corruption, with foul-coloured leathery and necrotic skin.

Nurgle is also known by the names Neiglen, Onogal and Nurglitch, derived from his Dark Tongue name of Nurgleth. Human Chaos Marauders call him Lord of Flies or the Plague Crow.

All Chaos Gods are embodiments of the hopes, fears and other emotions and concepts generated by mortals. In Nurgle's case, the source of power is the mortal fear of inevitable death and disease, and their unconscious response to that fear, which is the motivating power that drives the lives of mortals.

Nurgle's main enemy is Tzeentch, the Lord of Change, as the two draw their power from opposing sources. Tzeentch is hope and changing fortune, while Nurgle is defiance born of despair and hopelessness.

Nurgle's sacred number is seven. His symbol is the tripartite fly - often rendered as three spheres arranged in a triangle.

Background
See Also : Old Ones

The Old Ones knew their time on Earth would have to end but they wanted to make sure their world would be watched over. In order to leave behind something that would protect, guide, and further advance the denizens of the Earth. In order to do this they decided to create extremely powerful creations that would look over different areas based on the planet.

The Old Ones created different Titans for different purposes, and with every piece of the lives of the mortals below looked after the world would advance in peace.

Coruption
See Also : Tzeneech

As with most stories the time of the Noble Titans would end when Tzeneech the God of Magic, and sorcery managed to destory his protective shield. This meant that he existed without any shield against greed, coruption, or hate. These feelings creeped into him until eventually he became the First of the Chaos Gods.

Over time Tzeneech begin corrupting the other Titans, and by the time the Noble Titans learned what was happening nearly half the Titans were corupted.

Civil War
Main Article : Titan Civil War

The two sides fought an exhaustive war over the direction that the Titans were going to take the World. On one side were the Noble Titans who wanted to uplift the societies of Earth and follow the direction laid out by the Old Ones. The other side was the members of the Titans that had been corupted by the God Tzeneech. At first the Noble Titans attempted to nogotiate with the fallen, but quickly realized that they were nearly mindless drones with no nobility left in them. With diplomacy gone the two sides engaged in a massive conflict which left many on both sides destroyed, but the majority of the casualties came on the Noble side as they attempted to both defeat the Fallen, and to protect the planet. Splitting their forces between these two plans meant they were defeated, and the Fallen who came to be called Chaos begin their invasion of Earth by destroying the protective energies keeping the flow of Magi in check, and they unleashed massive amounts of energies and demons onto Earth.



War on Earth
Main Article : First War with Chaos

The forces of Chaos miscalculated how powerful the mortals had become, and in a brazen act of defiance the servents of the Old Ones managed to push back Chaos. With their armies defeated the Noble Titans swooped in during the infighting amongst Chaos and began putting into place defences as best they could in order to assist the mortals.

Mortal Followers of Nurgle
As opposed to the other Ruinous Powers of Chaos, many of Nurgle's followers do so by no choice of their own. The taint of Nurgle spreads readily among beast and humanoid alike, and the awful ailment known as Nurgle's Rot may strike even the strongest and cause him to be outcast as a leper. Despite the nature of his influence, Nurgle does take an interest in the victims of the diseases he unleashes (which he considers to be "gifts"), jovially caring for them in a manner similar to that of a loving grandfather; for this reason he is frequently referred to by his cultists as Grandfather Nurgle. This also causes some individuals that would have otherwise never been infected to seek out infectious disease or even poison themselves to earn his favor.

As the Chaos God of disease and decay, Nurgle's followers are often equally interested in the spread of disease. His followers become infected with horrific diseases which cause them to appear bloated and rotting, or wizened, sickly and pale. His Champions often become so mutated and putrid that they are impervious to pain and almost impossible to injure.

While equally as powerful as Khorne or Tzeentch when his plagues are at their peak, perhaps even more so, Nurgle's strength tends to wax and wane much more than that of the other Ruinous Powers, leaving him with little or no army one day and unstoppable hordes of rotting followers the next.



Demons of Nurgle
Nurgle and his daemons, in contrast to their morbid and putrid appearance, are jovial and friendly in demeanor. Nurgle is often referred to as Grandfather Nurgle, Father Nurgle or Papa Nurgle by his followers because of his paternal nature.

The diseases of Nurgle lend themselves well to the creation of chaos demons, and his host is by no means insignificant.
 * Nurglings are tiny, mischievous daemons, resembling a miniaturized version of Nurgle himself. They normally appear in large numbers, forming swarms which accompany armies dedicated to Nurgle. Occasionally very dedicated champions of Nurgle will become infested with Nurglings, which will live in gaping wounds and orifices on the champion's body; when the champion comes under attack, these will help defend their "home".
 * Plaguebearers are rotting, wasted creatures of vaguely humanoid size and appearance, with a single burning eye. Flies continually buzz around them, therefore making them more difficult to fight. The many diseases carried by these daemons can be used to terrible effect during battle.
 * Beasts of Nurgle are truly horrendous aberations. They have soft, sticky and mottled body of a pallid slug, webbed feet that flap uselessly, a face of writhing green tentacles, and a whiptail growth that bursts from its back and which wags constantly from side to side..
 * Great Unclean Ones are massive, bloated disease carriers, whose decaying flesh bulges with corpulent cancers. They usually carry a massive, rusted blade known as a "Plague Sword" into battle, said to be dipped in the foul pus and contagion at the base of Nurgle's throne. They generally act as the leaders and father figures for the other daemons, epitomizing Nurgle's joyful, paternal nature.
 * Epidemius is Nurgle’s chosen Tallyman, one of the seven Proctors of Pestilence and the cataloguer of all the Plaguelord’s diseases. Epidemius’ task is an unending one, and it generates a great deal of paperwork, so he rides a palanquin to share the burden – and to more easily force a path through Nurgle’s hordes. Two dozen Nurglings attend the Tallyman’s every need, providing the parchment, operating the death’s head abacus, excreting the ink for the quill pens and even defending Epidemius from harm should foolish enemy venture too close.
 * Slime Hounds are foul creatures resembling a putrid, overgrown, mutated slug.