Mengil Manhide leads his Manflayers as they stalk their prey through the Drakwald Forest.

ven amongst the Dark Elves of Naggaroth, a nation renowned for its cruelty, ruthlessness and sadistic tendencies, Mengil of Clar Karond is particularly noted for his bloodthirsty nature. Such is his cunning and his gleefully murderous behaviour that many amongst the Dark Elves regard him as an unhinged killer. While most Dark Elves would happily slit the throat of any who got in their way in order to further their own political aims or gain more personal power so long as they could get away with it, Mengil kills for the fun of it, without care or thought of the consequences. On more than one occasion, he has slain allies merely on a whim, and many believe he has only a tenuous grip on his sanity. He is seen as dangerously unpredictable, and regarded with suspicion and distrust by other Dark Elves.

Mengil's father, Kraal the Hearteater, was a cruel and powerful noble lord of Clar Karond, whose ruthless reputation ensured that none would dare to oppose him. He frequently set his sons tasks and trials as they were raised in order to weed out those he deemed too weak to carry his bloodline, and to test their loyalty to him. Those that failed his cruel tasks were slain without mercy, their hearts cut out and offered to Khaine. His youngest son Mengil was no exception, and he was routinely beaten and forced to fight his older brothers. In one such test, Kraal released a human captive, a powerful young Norseman, into the Black Forests outside of the dark city, giving the warrior weapons and a shield. The young Mengil was sent to hunt this human, and only once he returned with evidence of the kill would he be allowed back into the city. Through the icy wilderness Mengil tracked his quarry, eventually coming face to face with the Norseman. His speed and skill with the blade was enough to overcome his larger and more powerful foe, and he rejoiced in the thrill of the kill, smeared blood across his face and he drank deeply from the powerful heart of his fallen enemy, before skinning the Norseman and eating his flesh. While in the wilds, he sharpened his teeth to points, making him look particularly fearsome. Mengil wore the bloodied skin as a cloak as he walked back into Clar Karond, earning him the respect of his father and the honorific title 'Manhide'.

The favouritism that Kraal showed for his youngest and most vicious of sons was regarded jealously by his brothers, and on more than one occasion Mengil was forced to fight for his life against his brethren, killing two of his murderous siblings in one night. He ripped the skin from their bodies, and had their bloodied, skinless corpses delivered to his one remaining brother as a warning.

When he was old enough, Mengil joined the ranks of the Corsairs of Clar Karond, and his rapid rise was tarnished only by his increasing viciousness and unpredictability. Where his superiors would have him conduct lightning quick raids, slaughtering any defenders and retreating with captives before a strong defence could be formed to counter-attack, Mengil would more often than not stubbornly refuse to retreat and strike at the larger defensive force. While his skill, ferocity and powerful leadership would often ensure that he was victorious, he would generally return with few slaves, for he took perverse pleasure in killing. Even those who gave up their swords Mengil would slay, rejoicing in the flow of blood, and often continuing to hack and cut at the bodies long after life had left them. He continued his practise of skinning his defeated foes, and his father's halls in Clar Karond were bedecked with these savage trophies, reaped from all over the world. Nevertheless, this was merely a slight blemish upon his otherwise praiseworthy name, and the fact that he would sometimes turn on an ally and brutally murder him in cold blood was seen more as an eccentricity than any kind of problem.

Within half a century Mengil was himself leading the majority of raids launched from the Black Ark known as the Citadel of Spite. This was once a massive castle that guarded the south-western tip of the now sunken lands of Nagarythe before it was turned into a giant floating fortress by dark magicks. The Dark Lord of Clar Karond himself gave Mengil the honour of leading these assaults from the front, making him one of the youngest Slave Captains of any Clar Karond Black Ark. Over the next two decades, the Citadel of Spite became much hated by the High Elves, synonymous with despair and grief as it routinely raided Ulthuan's coast and shipping lanes, as well as raiding the coasts of Norsca, Bretonnia, Araby and Estalia. Though the Black Ark did not often return with many living slaves once Mengil had done with them, the terror that his brutal raids spread was regarded as pleasing to his superiors.

For a time, the Citadel of Spite controlled the entrance to the Tilean Sea, preying upon smugglers, pirates and merchants alike, and routinely slaughtering the villages to the south of Remas and near the pirate-city of Sartosa. While engaged on land on one of these raids, the Black Ark came under attack by swift moving Elven ships from Lothern, and the Black Ark was forced to retreat to deeper waters without Mengil. The captain of the Black Ark, who had seen his three predecessors slain in a mad rage by Mengil, decided not to return for the vicious warrior, and claimed that he was dead. Mengil and his men were stranded in Tilea. They made their way inland under the cover of darkness, moving into the forests and then into the southern Apuccini Mountains. After a season of preying indiscriminately on passing merchants and their hired guards, Mengil was approached by a wealthy warrior-merchant from Verezzo. He struck a deal with Mengil, and thus began the Dark Elf's new career as a paid killer. He is often used by those who wish to make an example of the target, for Mengil takes savage pleasure in skinning his foes, often leaving the skinless bodies of his victims hanging from trees or impaled on spikes in the ground. For many years, he fought at the side of his old comrade, the renegade Dark Elf known as Ean Hawkbane, until Mengil gutted, skinned and ate him one night after a disagreement.

Throughout the lands of the Old World Mengil has plied his trade, and his Dark Elves, known as the Manflayers, are rightly feared. They are employed as assassins and murderers, and are often used to eliminate rivals. Mengil took to the life as a hired killer with joyous abandon, and has even returned to Naggaroth several times where the Dark Lords readily employ him to eliminate their foes. On one such return to Clar Karond, Mengil repaid the captain of the Citadel of Spite for abandoning him those years before, and the story of that unfortunate Dark Elf 's demise is still told in dark tales. On occasion, Mengil's Manflayers will take to the field of battle, employed to infiltrate deep into enemy territory to spread terror and confusion.

USING MENGIL MANHIDE'S MANFLAYERS IN GAMES

The rules for Menghil Manhide's Manflayers, and details of how to include them in your Warhammer army, can be found here [Download PDF - 238 Kb].

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Related Links:
The Cursed Company | Dogs of War Army Lists | Dark Elf Reference Sheet