Arch-Kavalos Zandtos

"The crime isss life! The sentence iss death!"

– The Dark Judges, 'Judge Dredd'

Arch-Kavalos Zandtos is a Liege-Kavalos of the Mortis Praetorians Bonereaper Legion, serving as Katakros' top lieutenant. He is one of the rare Bonereapers that's made using only one original soul. His steed also looks more draconic compared to the more amalgamated equine-porcine look other Kavalos steeds have, and at the meta level is a popular choice for conversions.

History

Origins

In life, Zandtos was a refined assassin with an autistic fixation on death, and like Katakros, he was also from Flezich in Ghur. Zandtos spent most of his life as an assassin-mortician. For over sixty years, he was sent after targets, riding out by himself to meet them before dismounting and dueling them. Zandtos was also a skilled fighter, to the point that he strived to make the deathblow as careful and clean as possible, inflicting it with almost loving care. Unlike other assassins, he also cleaned and interred his victims, even if that meant digging a grave for them and scooping up their organs and severed body parts.

When Zandtos died, like many Flezichans, he went to the underworld of Ossia. Given Ossia revolved around hard work being its own reward, this was Zandtos' idea of paradise. Even though Zandtos retained his combat skill in undeath, he enjoyed tending to the dead and undead alike as a mortician. Then one day Sigmar came along and brought living people to Shyish. They were loud and passionate, killing their enemies with great violence and leaving their corpses messy. This enraged Zandtos, every time he saw this angering him more until he reached the tipping point, where he began a one-man campaign of genocide against any living beings in Shyish.

At an unidentified point in time after Katakros arrived in Ossia, Zandtos approached Katakros and offered his services, seeing Katakros as someone who could help fulfill his genocidal ambitions. Eventually, Zandtos rose to the rank of Katakros' general.

Age of Chaos

In the Age of Chaos Zandtos fought alongside Katakros, and was present when Katakros annexed Necris under the rule of Ossia.

Age of Sigmar

Zandtos joined Katakros after he was freed from the Stormvault, and helped him reclaim Ossia and Necris from the forces of Chaos. He was also gifted with the weapon The Dark Lance, a lethal blade that increase the force of its wielder's blows and focuses their intent. In the case of Zandtos, it intensified his desire for death above all to the point he lost his desire to bring order and tidiness to the underworld. He also became aware of the city of Lethis and developed a massive hate-boner (lol) for it.

Since the coming of the necroquake, Zandtos forsook the mortician's code of dignity and repose in death and now in battle he leaves behind the disorder and carnage he once despised. It's gotten to the point that even Katakros has had to order Zandtos to restrain himself.

He was present in the War of the Eightpoints, leading Katakros' armies across the land to fight and hunt the forces of Chaos. He fell in the Battle of the Varanspire, leading a Deathrider charge against the Varanguad when Archaon himself returned. Archaon countercharged, with Dorghar smashing many Deathriders and Zandtos himself to splinters.

Fortunately for Zandtos his soultrap gem, weapons and badges of office were retrieved by his retainers, who implemented a tactical retreat so he could be restored, all in accordance with Katakros' plan.

After he was restored and the end of the Necroquake, Zandtos got what he wanted when Katakros charged him with destroying the city of Lethis in Shyish. Especially since, unlike most times, Katakros told him to show no restraint AND gave him full charge of the mission.