Thanquil Squeelasher

"The bell-bell tolls for you, elf-thing. A sign was promised, and a sign-sign was given."

- A sinister Thanquil threatens a contingent of Drow

At a Glance
Thanquil Squeelasher was a powerful Skaven prophet who, alongside Ikkit Vermintide  and  Queek Skulltaker,   lead a cataclysmic war on the denizens of  The Underdark during the Age of Adventure.

U nlike his compatriots who believed that enslaving the Underdark and surface world would please the "God of Chains" Torog, Thanquil was a devotee of a sect who followed "The Horned God" -- a deity who bore a terrifying resemblance to Nerull, the deceased God of Hatred, Pain, Murder, and Sacrifice. Having received a vision from the "Horned God" depicting the future of Dark Sun, Thanquil believed that allies would be needed for the coming holy war - allies in the form of slaves who would be used as fodder and sacrificial offerings to combat the nearing apocalypse. Thanquil's devotion to his "Horned God" was largely humoured by other Skaven as madness inspired Torog.

Speaking with a stutter, Thanquil's soft-spoken demeanour hid a mind blinded by religious certainty. He was not beyond sacrificing captured or defeated foes, something explicitly frowned upon by his compatriots ("dead slaves can't work"). Despite his frothing zealotry, Thanquil's motives were strangely aligned with the protection of the mortal plane (albeit for the Skaven's benefit) and the belief that when the "Horned God" inevitably returned He would murder "Her End-Times". Because of this blind faith, Thanquil had also (on more than one occasion) mistook signs of The "Horned God's" rebirth -- leading to some disastrous results for other Skaven as Thanquil would break rank, abandon formations, or outright disappear in the middle of military operations to seek out the possible messianic return of his God.

History
Very little is known of the true origins of Thanquil Squeelasher, what his previous affiliations were, nor even early records of his first few exploits. All that is certain was his great ambition and the need to grow more powerful and wealthy amongst his many and jealous kin. Like all of his kind, Thanquil was born from one of the many breeder mothers that provided Skavenblight with an inexhaustable supply of warriors and slaves for the clans. Unlike his brethrens however, he was blessed with an extremely rare case of having grey-hued fur and stubs of growing horns. With his birth discovered by The Rat King, Thanquil was ordered to forfeit his station in Skavenblight and become indoctrinated into the legendary "Grey Seers" -- prophets and sorcerers of The Rat King itself.

After many long years of somewhat faithful service under his Skaven overlords, Grey Seer Thanquil gained a considerable reputation amongst his kin as one of the Under-Empires most powerful of seers and a capable leader of great cunning and intelligence. Thanquil's allegiance to the Rat King and the faith of Torog would radically shift after a particularly painful vision in which he saw a "Horned Rat" or "Horned God" rising up to "Murder the Eater of Suns". From this point forward Thanquil openly spouted his end-times hysteria, mistaken for madness by The Rat King and other Skaven. But as his horns began to grow, some wondered if there was some truth to Thanquil's fervour...

Age of Adventure
A unique figure amongst the hordes of Skaven who lived in The Underdark, Thanquil was charismatic, problematic, gifted, and cursed. His contributions to the Age of Adventure included:
 * Formed the Cult of the "Horned Rat" (or Cult of the "Horned God") in Skavenblight, an organization humoured by The Rat King as it kept many slaves slavering for murder, making them more efficient soldiers.
 * Successfully captured the Goblin warbands who had captured the Drow city of Bhaerden, giving the Skaven a large contingent of fresh slaves. However, rather than breaking their wills and returning them to Skavenblight, Thanquil began to sacrifice them as offerings to The Horned Rat in exchange for safe passage through The Echoes. The Rat King soon heard of this and dispatched Ikkit Vermintide to stop the sacrifices, which she did, but not before the Goblin warlords had been sacrificed, leaving only "rookie" slaves and depriving them of any real tactical use.
 * Received a vision from The Horned God showing the temporary unification of The Nine Clans which would last for a period of 20 years. Knowing that even a temporary armistice would be devastating to the Skaven agenda and plan for the End-Times, Thanquil captured key Drow diplomats, posing as other clans, thereby ensuring an divided Drow committee.
 * Pleased with Tranquil's progress, The Rat King  saw Thanquil's zealotry as a perfect fit to lead a battalion of Skaven to covertly capture the Drow of Cloakhaven. Marching on the city, Thanquil inexplicably broke rank and disappeared, babbling that he had received a vision of "The Horned God"'s return. With his forces out in the open, the inhabitants of Cloakhaven were able to mount their defences and arm a counterattack. When Tranquil finally returned, Skaven losses were cataclysmic, and it was only the appearance of Queek Skulltaker's battalion that prevented word of the Skaven's maneuvers from reaching The Nine Clans.
 * Blessed by The Horned God with another vision, this time of a sorcerous spell, Thanquil released the Red Pox on the inhabitants of Bulvenilstra, driving them into a Hatred-fueled rage against each other. While the Pox was sated by the magics of Baylin Aball, the mysterious way in which it appeared and vanished left the Drow in the dark as to its origins.
 * With Bulvenilstra weakened, Tranquil accompanied Ikkit Vermintide and Queek Skulltaker in their siege of the city, beginning the first open-war conflict between Skaven and Drow.