The Damned Bargain: Cherubael and the Fall of Gregor Eisenhorn
The Daemon Prince Bound in Flesh
Cherubael, known as the Cherub of Bael, was once a powerful Daemon Prince, but his fate became far more complex when he was trapped within a daemonhost. Originally in the service of the infamous Heretic Quixos, a renegade Inquisitor who sought forbidden knowledge, Cherubael was bound in flesh and used as a tool of destruction. However, his master was eventually slain by Gregor Eisenhorn, an Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos. Though Eisenhorn initially despised Cherubael, he soon found himself relying on the daemonhost’s immense power, which would ultimately set him on a path of Radicalism. Currently, Cherubael is sealed within the body of Godwyn Fischig, a former ally of Eisenhorn, forced to endure imprisonment in mortal flesh once more.
The Fall of a Daemon Prince
Before his enslavement, Cherubael ruled as a Daemon Prince over the feral world of Clanar II, where primitive tribes worshiped him as a god. His dominion was shattered when Inquisitor Quixos defeated him, binding his essence into a mortal warrior’s body. Thus began Cherubael’s long existence as a daemonhost, a tool wielded by his captor rather than the ruler he once was. He remained in service to Quixos for many years, acting as both an advisor and a weapon, until his master was slain by Eisenhorn. Though seemingly enslaved, Cherubael remained a cunning manipulator, always seeking a way to break free of his mortal prison.
A Fateful Bond with Eisenhorn
Unlike Quixos, Eisenhorn did not trust Cherubael but failed to sever their connection completely. The daemonhost could see fragments of the future through the Warp and recognized that Eisenhorn was destined to set him free. Over the course of a century, Cherubael subtly guided Eisenhorn toward Radicalism, ensuring that the Inquisitor would eventually take actions that would benefit his release. After a long and brutal struggle, Eisenhorn managed to banish Cherubael from his host body, destroying it on the world of Farness Beta. Though he believed the daemonhost was gone forever, Cherubael had already set events in motion that would bring him back into Eisenhorn’s life.
Enslavement and Reliance
Despite his initial triumph, Eisenhorn eventually resummoned Cherubael, binding him once more into a host body and sealing him within a void-vault, where he would suffer eternal imprisonment. However, when Eisenhorn found himself outmatched in battle against the heretic Fayde Thuring and his Corrupted Titan, the Cruor Vult, he turned once again to the forbidden power of Cherubael. Over time, Eisenhorn came to depend on the daemonhost more and more, using him as a weapon against some of his most dangerous enemies. Cherubael played a key role in the defeat of the Heretic Pontius Glaw, as well as the daemonhosts of the Divine Fratery, whom he destroyed with a disturbing sense of pleasure.
A Twisted Partnership
Cherubael’s relationship with Eisenhorn continued to shape the Inquisitor’s fate, even as his allies and fellow Inquisitors viewed it as a dangerous heresy. Their uneasy alliance reached a climax on Sancour, where Cherubael rescued the clone of Elizabeth Bequin, a woman deeply tied to Eisenhorn’s past. The fact that Eisenhorn relied on a daemonhost to save someone so important to him was a clear sign of how far he had fallen. Though bound by chains of sorcery, Cherubael was never truly powerless. He remained a shadow over Eisenhorn’s soul, a constant reminder that no matter how much an Inquisitor fights against darkness, sometimes the greatest enemy is within.
