With Behemat’s death at the end of the Realmgate Wars, gargants scattered across the Mortal Realms felt the fall of their forebear. Combined with the beginning of Nagash’s machinations, which would lead to the Soul Wars, the arrival of the Nighthaunt profoundly affected the gargants. Accustomed to solving every problem through brute force, they now found themselves facing something entirely unknown: enemies they could not simply crush. The fear and uncertainty this caused would eventually turn into rage.

The Necroquake

At first, the gargants watched the Nighthaunt with curiosity, but it was not long before they began fighting them as they would any other enemy. They soon discovered that their blows were almost useless against the spirits, while the spectral weapons of the Nighthaunt were more than capable of wounding them. For the first time, their absolute faith in physical strength began to falter.

Lady Olynder, the Mortarch of Grief, was among the first to teach the gargants what it truly meant to feel fear. Hundreds of gargants witnessed death that day. At Olynder’s command, the spirits tore most of them apart, while other Nighthaunt hunted down those who fled, flaying them alive. Those who managed to escape did so with their minds haunted by nightmares.

The survivors of what would become known as the Massacre of Greatpeaks began telling tales of spectres they could not stomp beneath their feet, and whose terror could shake even a gargant. These stories quickly spread throughout the Mortal Realms, eventually becoming almost a self-fulfilling prophecy: the more the gargants feared the Nighthaunt, the less effective they became against them. For the first time, their confidence began to crumble.

The situation changed thanks to an alliance between the Bjarl Stomps and the Drakopie Orruk tribe, who joined forces to confront a procession of Nighthaunt at the Asp River. The gargants discovered that the orruks were capable of smashing the spectres apart thanks to the power of their Waaagh! energy. In a sense, Nagash’s Necroquake had amplified magical power across the Mortal Realms and, as a result, strengthened the Waaagh! energy inherent in all creatures of Destruction. As beings of Destruction themselves, the gargants also felt this surge of power, even if they could not fully understand how it worked.

The leader of the Bjarl Stomps took the name Ghostcrusher, and their victory inspired other gargants to take up the fight against the dead once more. Their restored confidence soon turned into fury, marking the beginning of a new war against the undead.

Several Mega-Gargants later took part in the siege of Cryptfang, alongside Gordrakk and Skragrott. Cryptfang was one of the Stormvaults, hidden repositories in which Sigmar had sealed away powerful artefacts and dangerous enemies. The siege reached its climax when one of the Mega-Gargants climbed onto Cryptfang’s dome and brought the entire structure crashing down beneath its immense weight, burying everything within. With the combined armies of Order closing in, the destruction of the vault brought the siege to an end.

Era of the Beast

The final years of the Soul Wars brought yet another great change to the Mortal Realms. While the forces of Nagash sought to extend their dominion, Alarielle prepared her response. The goddess of life performed a powerful ritual that unleashed an immense surge of life magic across the realms, counteracting the lingering effects of the Necroquake.

However, this explosion of energy had unexpected consequences. Ghur, the Realm of Beasts, reacted with particular violence. The land itself began to stir, and the realm’s savage nature awakened with unprecedented force. Mountains trembled, beasts grew more aggressive, and a primal energy began to spread among the creatures of Destruction.

For the gargants, this was especially significant. Since the death of Behemat, their race had been undergoing a gradual transformation. More and more Mega-Gargants were appearing, and a belief had spread among the tribes that one day, one of their kind would grow large enough to take their father’s place and become the new World Titan. The growing power of Ghur only fuelled these hopes, as well as the aggression of the Sons of Behemat.

The wave of life-giving energy unleashed by Alarielle shook Ghur so violently that it shattered the prison in which Kragnos had been trapped since the Age of Myth. Freed after countless ages, the being known as the End of Empires immediately began roaming Ghur, seeking enemies and civilisations to destroy.

Many gargants became fascinated by Kragnos. For a race that respected strength above almost every other quality, a being capable of bringing down fortresses and making the earth tremble simply by walking seemed worthy of admiration.

Among those who rejected Kragnos, however, was one of the mightiest Mega-Gargants in all the Mortal Realms: Brodd.

Brodd was no ordinary gargant chieftain. During the Age of Chaos, he had already led gargants in defence of the place where Behemat slept against forces seeking to corrupt the World Titan. Far from inspiring devotion, the appearance of Kragnos filled Brodd with contempt. To him, the End of Empires was no successor to Behemat, but a false idol occupying a place that rightfully belonged to his father and his race.

There were even more extreme gargants: the Beast-smashers. Imbued with the savage energies of Ghur, they had no desire to follow Kragnos. Instead, they wished to hunt him, seeing the End of Empires as perhaps the greatest prey any gargant could ever bring down.

And so the Sons of Behemat entered the Era of the Beast divided between those who admired Kragnos, those who wished to hunt him, and those who followed King Brodd. Yet they all shared the same certainty: since the death of Behemat, the gargants had been growing ever larger, more numerous and more ambitious.

I hope you enjoyed the second part of our Sons of Behemat lore series! Next week, we’ll be back with a new chapter covering all the latest additions and changes coming with the new Battletome.

And remember, you can find all the latest releases at our sponsor, WarGen Wargames, with a 20% discount. On top of that, if you use our code ILOVETGH, you’ll get an additional 5% off.

See you in the next chapter!

---

Would you like to learn more about Age of Sigmar? Is there a particular topic you’d like us to cover in future articles or videos?

Let us know in the comments! You can also send us your suggestions through our Instagram page.

Your feedback helps us keep creating the content you really want to see.