Kairos Fateweaver – oracle, seer, historian, and blind greater daemon of Tzeentch
Kairos Fateweaver leads the Oracles of Tzeentch in Total War: WARHAMMER III. Stranded outside the Chaos Realms by the scream of a dying god amid his invasion of Grand Cathay, Kairos is an odd figure to say the least. A victim of the whims and curiosity of Tzeentch, Kairos was hurled into the Well of Eternity in an attempt by the Changer of Ways to finally understand the intricacies of time and fate.
As with almost everything in Warhammer, and surrounding Tzeentch especially, it worked – with a catch. Kairos emerged with two heads, one with complete knowledge of the past, unclouded by nostalgia or memory, experiencing it as-if reality. The other sees the infinite possibilities of the future, glimpses of times yet to come and the endless variations of what awaits. He is blind to the present, unable to process time as it passes like a normal mortal or daemon.
Want to know more? We sat down with lead writer Andy Hall to pick the infinite chasms of his mind about this most favoured of Tzeentch’s daemons.
Thanks for joining us Andy – any additional background or interesting tidbits about Kairos?
Let’s start with the basics for those that don’t have an A-level in Daemonology…
At the heart of the Impossible Fortress – Tzeentch’s ever-changing castle within the Realm of Chaos – lies the Well of Eternity. In its stygian depths are said to be the answers to all things. But even The Changer was wary of looking into it and so unceremoniously hurled the daemon known to mortals as Fateweaver into the void of the Well.
It pleased Tzeentch greatly that Kairos eventually climbed back out of the well, but this time he was changed; split in twain, his right head can perceive the future, his left head witnesses the past, but both are blind to the immediate present. And yet, Kairos emerged from the Well able to see things even hidden to his master, and so was pronounced as Tzeentch’s Oracle.
To your original question, well, we wanted to make sure the dual aspect of Kairos’ character was fully represented in the game. So, we actually employed two actors to provide the voice(s) of Kairos; one has taken his future voice, the other his left head that only sees the past. And they sound delightfully creepy, especially when they talk in concert.
What’s he doing at the time of WARHAMMER III’s campaign?
Kairos is upon the mortal plane in the midst of a grand scheme, focusing on his desire to breach Grand Cathay. As is typical of a servant in the higher echelons of Tzeentch’s court, a mere assault on the Great Bastion is but one vector of his attack. However, events even unforeseen by Kairos Fatewaever soon take precedent… And that’s when things get really interesting!
Why did we pick him to be our Tzeentch legendary lord for launch?
As Tzeentchian characters go, he’s certainly a compelling choice. The way he perceives reality gives him strengths and weaknesses, that we can play on both on the campaign layer and in battle. He also has a very distinctive silhouette compared to Sathorael, who has been in the franchise since WARHAMMER 1 so we wanted to make sure that Tzeentch players felt they were getting something different and fresh to just another Lord of Change. Then, of course, there is his magical ability, which was always going to make him a fun character to play.
Ah, yes, tell us more about his arcane skills.
Well, Kairos is an extremely powerful caster – move over Teclis! In the game we’ve given him an incredibly unique mechanic to reflect this – he knows all of the Tzeentch lore but can also tailor his spells, battle-to-battle, using fragments of the eight main lores. This gives him a unique set each time he flies into battle.
Sounds… magical. Thanks Andy!
That’s a little intro to Kairos – he’ll also be the star of our first Legendary Lord mechanics post in a couple of weeks (plenty to get through between now and then…) Follow your plans to completion and you may yet bring Kairos a victory.
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