Periclitor the Foresworn is a Daemon Prince of Chaos who started out as a Chaos Lord in the Word Bearers Legion. He’s best known for wiping out a Howling Griffons strike force at Arios Point, a massacre that turned the Chapter into his sworn enemy.
From Chaos Lord to Daemon Prince
Periclitor’s climb to daemonhood began with the Castile V massacre in 832.M33, where he sealed a pact with the warp by sacrificing a thousand souls. Those victims included Ecclesiarchy missionaries and members of the Adepta Sororitas.
He kept racking up atrocities. In 888.M33 he martyred Saint Jerome, tearing apart each of the saint’s followers right in front of him. By 012.M34 he’d orchestrated the deaths of a hundred thousand souls in the Alcmena Nebula wars through bribery and sedition, and in 739.M35 he wiped out the 5th Armoured Terran Praefects. He even beat a Grey Knights force when he breached the Sentry Vault on Urus Prime.
The ambush at Arios Point
The Howling Griffons were getting ready to celebrate their Chapter’s 5,000th founding anniversary in 220.M38. Periclitor crashed the party by intercepting Chapter Master Orlando Furioso’s Battle Barge near the Arios Beacon, crippling the ship in a boarding action.
The survivors evacuated to Arios Quintus, where the 8th Company and a big chunk of 1st Company veterans got surrounded by Periclitor’s warband of Word Bearers, Night Lords, cultists, and summoned daemons. They refused to surrender and killed hundreds before being butchered to the last man.
A month later, the Howling Griffons found Furioso’s desecrated body impaled on the nose of a Thunderhawk, with the ship broadcasting its location across the system. The Chapter swore to destroy Periclitor no matter the cost, and that grudge has never gone away.
The long road to ascension
Periclitor kept working. In 237.M38 he corrupted the Sanctity IX Pedagogue into Chaos worship, and on Candlemass Eve 789.M38 he received a vision promising daemonhood was close.
He attacked Bray right after, teleporting into a cathedral to murder the Cardinal mid-sermon on Candlemass Day. The planet’s leaders responded by building up orbital defences and raising taxes to pay for them. Every time the government rejected a new tithe, Periclitor struck again, forcing them to accept ever higher costs.
Eventually the populace couldn’t pay. Bray and then the whole Trans-Kurani Sub-Sector slid into civil war. By 187.M39 the sector was in open rebellion against Terra, and the Imperium had to throw Astra Militarum regiments, Space Marine companies, and Imperial Navy fleets at the Braun IV tithe wars to try to put it down.
Key facts
- Periclitor the Foresworn is a Daemon Prince of Chaos and a former Word Bearers Chaos Lord.
- He earned the eternal enmity of the Howling Griffons by wiping out their strike force at Arios Point in 220.M38.
- His rise to daemonhood began with the Castile V massacre in 832.M33, where he sacrificed a thousand souls.
- He martyred Saint Jerome in 888.M33 and orchestrated a hundred thousand deaths in the Alcmena Nebula wars by 012.M34.
- His scheming sparked the Trans-Kurani Sub-Sector rebellion by 187.M39, which tied up Imperial forces in the Braun IV tithe wars.
FAQ
Who is Periclitor in Warhammer 40k?
Periclitor the Foresworn is a Daemon Prince of Chaos, formerly a Chaos Lord of the Word Bearers Legion. He’s infamous for the Arios Point ambush that wiped out a Howling Griffons strike force.
Why do the Howling Griffons hate Periclitor?
He ambushed Chapter Master Orlando Furioso’s Battle Barge in 220.M38 and butchered the survivors on Arios Quintus, then displayed Furioso’s desecrated body on a Thunderhawk. The Chapter vowed revenge and has been hunting him ever since.
How did Periclitor become a Daemon Prince?
Through centuries of ritual slaughter, corruption, and mass sacrifice, starting with the Castile V massacre in 832.M33. A vision on Candlemass Eve 789.M38 told him daemonhood was near, and his later atrocities sealed the deal.