Kaela Mensha Khaine
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Kaela Mensha Khaine is a god in the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes created by Games Workshop. In the Warhammer Fantasy universe, his name is spelt Khaela Mensha Khaine.
[edit] Warhammer 40,000
In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Khaine is a god of the Eldar associated with battle, war and conflict. Many scholars believe him to be a manifestation of the Eldar's racial passion as manifested in battle and warfare. "Kaela Mensha" is not technically part of Khaine's name, but is a title he bears. It roughly translates to "bloody-handed", a reference to the blood which eternally drips from his hands as a reminder of his murder of the ancient Eldar hero, Eldanesh.
During the war of heaven, Khaine fought and defeated the Nightbringer, shattering his necrodermis, although the resulting metal shards pierced his flesh, substantially weakening him. It is also said that this event precipitated the eventual fall of the Eldar. The final paroxysms of the defeated Nightbringer separated the boundaries between the warp and the materium, causing death to become a permanent state for the hitherto immortal Eldar, and obliterating all prospects of reincarnation.
Khaine is one of the two surviving gods of the Eldar. In the old pantheon, he was second only to Asuryan himself in power, and was often shown as the enemy of Vaul. He is also the most violent and reckless of the gods. Asuryan was so appalled by his murder of Eldanesh, a mortal, that he cursed Khaine and made his hands drip eternally with the blood of Eldanesh so that everyone would remember what he had done.
Khaine is also believed to have been assaulted, defeated, and dominated by Slaanesh sometime after Slaanesh's awakening in the 29th millennium (Imperial Calendar). Following this, Khorne, Chaos God of war, battled Slaanesh for Khaine, rightly claiming the Eldar deity as belonging to him. During their struggle, Khaine escaped and divided his spiritual essence in the material universe in the form of many immense iron statues situated at the heart of each Craftworld. By sacrificing an Exarch to Khaine on the eve of battle, the Avatar becomes a fiery, animated manifestation of the god, including the blood dripping from his hand, and leads the Eldar army into battle.
Khaine's precise nature in the Warhammer 40,000 cosmology is not defined, although due to his interaction with the Chaos Gods, he appears to be an entity of the Warp, although not appearing to be as power-hungry and demonstrably evil as some others of this ilk (such as the Chaos Gods). Recent background materials published by Black Library (such as Xenology), imply that Khaine and the rest of the Eldar gods are in fact members of the first sentient species known as 'the Ancients', also known as the Old Ones, which were the creators of the Eldar and many other races of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
[edit] Warhammer Fantasy
Within the Warhammer Fantasy universe Khaine is worshipped primarily by the Dark Elves and High Elves. However, in this instance his full title is Khaela Mensha Khaine, with an 'h' that is not present in the Warhammer 40,000 Khaine; the meaning of "Khaela Mensha" remains the same.
The High Elves worship Khaine as a war god, similar to his Warhammer 40,000 incarnation. He is primarily worshipped during times of war, as he is seen to be a bloodthirsty deity, and worship of him during peacetime is not considered appropriate. Khaine had a tremendous influence over the formative period of the High Elven kingdom, as the first Phoenix King, Aenarion, brought a great curse upon himself and his family by claiming Khaine's sword. This curse still affects the current heirs of Aenarion's legacy, the twins Tyrion and Teclis.
The Khaine that is worshipped by the Dark Elves is described as a god of murder. This suits the harsh society of Dark Elves, who view any sign of weakness as a fatal flaw. Holidays dedicated to Khaine invariably involve killing, such as the Harvest of Souls and Death Night. Fueled by the social Darwinism of Dark Elf culture, devotees of Khaine elevate killing to an art form and will gladly kill anyone - friend or foe - who displays vulnerability.
The primary Temple of Khaine resides in the fortress city of Ghrond in Naggaroth. It is a seat of great power, as the worship of Khaine is officially the state religion. Morathi (the Queen Mother) and Crone Hellebron (the High Priestess of the temple) both claim supreme dominance of the temple. Both are kept in check by Malekith, the Witch King of the Dark Elves.
It has been implied that Khaine is the Chaos god Khorne by another name, or possibly a minor aspect of Khorne who has gained his own consciousness. This is vehemently disputed by the Dark Elves, who see Khorne as a crude brute in comparison to the refinement and subtlety that defines their god of murder.
