40K Lore: Ulrik the Slayer
Today we delve deep into Ulric the Slayer, the oldest living Space Wolf with a past as grey as the Fenrisian mist.
Ulrik the Slayer, also known as Grandfather Lupus and Guardian of the Sons of Russ, is Wolf High Priest of the Space Wolves.
History
As indicated by his snow-white hair, Ulrik is the oldest Wolf alive (excluding Dreadnoughts), older even than Great Wolf Logan Grimnar, who has served theChapter for 700 years.
Ulrik won renown during the First War for Armageddon, while serving as a Wolf Guard in the Great Company of Wolf Lord Kruger. When his Company stormed head-on into the attacking Chaos Space Marines of the World Eaters, Lord Kruger fell in combat with three hulking Khorne Berserkers. Though he had lost his own weapon, Ulrik leapt to defend his dying Lord, slaying the three Berserkers in a bloody melee. His battle fury was so awe-inspiring that Angron Daemon Primarch of the World Eaters felt compelled to offer a grim salute.
The day after the Imperium’s victory on Armageddon, Ulrik was renamed “the Slayer” and his fellow Wolf Guards voted him as Kruger’s replacement. To general astonishment, Ulrik declined, being one of the few, if not the only, Wolves to refuse such a promotion. At heart, Ulrik believed he was a warrior, not a leader.
In the aftermath of the war, the human defenders of Armageddon were declared tainted by the Administratum and the Inquisition, and rounded up, en masse, sterilized, and relocated to slave labour camps. Logan Grimnar was enraged by this treatment of the Wolves’ allies, and it was only Ulrik’s counsel that prevented this rage from exploding into open war against the Administratum.
Instead of ascending to Wolf Lord, Ulrik accepted the rank of Wolf Priest, and discovered his true calling: the selection and training of new recruits to the Chapter. With years of combat experience and accrued wisdom, Ulrik is both a fine teacher and a great mentor for any aspiring Wolf.
In recent years, however, Ulrik has become even more aggressive in combat, rushing headlong to meet the most deadly of enemies with no regard for his own safety.
Wargear
Like all Wolf Priests, Ulrik is equipped with a Crozius Arcanum, a Fang of Morkai, and a Wolf Amulet. He also carries a Plasma pistol.
In recognition of his status, Ulrik has been gifted with the sacred Wolf Helm of Russ, fashioned by the Emperor‘s own artificers and given to Leman Russ at the founding of the Space Wolf Chapter. It gives Ulrik a penetrating gaze that reinforces the morale of any Wolves who catch sight of him, while striking terror into any enemies unlucky enough to do so.
Canon Conflicts
- According to one early White Dwarf article, Ulrik (misspelled Ulric) was responsible for recruiting Logan Grimnar into the Space Wolves and fought during the First War for Armageddon as a Blood Claw. This does not make sense, when Grimnar also fought in the First War, before Ulrik became a Wolf Priest.
- Also, his description as an advisor to Grimnar, who convinces him not to retaliate against the Adminstratum after the First War ends, is inconsistent with the description of his role as a Wolf Guard during that War, and only becoming a Wolf Priest in the aftermath.
- Other sources also credit Ulrik with recruiting Ragnar Blackmane, which is inconsistent with the novel Space Wolf by William King, in which Ragnar is recruited by Ranek Icewalker
Learn More of the Space Wolf Wolf Priests
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