Festus the Leechlord image - Call of Warhammer: Beginning of The End Times mod for Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms

"Doctor Festus was once a skilled chirurgeon who founded hospices all across the province of Nordland, and was as compassionate as he was gifted. Specialising in curative unguents and salves, the good doctor cured hundreds of people every year. With Festus’ guidance, Nordland overcame outbreaks of the Screaming Ague, Blacklegge, and even the crippling Ghoulpox.

It was the onset of Gnashing Fever that marked the beginning of the end for Festus. Try as he might, the doctor could not stem the spread of this new and highly contagious disease. Festus locked himself in his laboratory, working ceaselessly to create a healing elixir. Countless sleepless nights passed, and despite his best efforts, Festus still had no cure.

Those plague victims he had managed to sequester in his laboratory were dying and he was powerless to prevent it. As the last of his test subjects shook themselves to death, Festus dropped to his knees, crying out for help. One by one, the slack-jawed corpses in Festus’ laboratory turned their heads to look at him. With one voice emanating from a score of parched throats, they promised to give Festus the knowledge necessary to cure not only this plague but all the diseases in the world, in exchange for a lifetime of service. In his desperation, Festus agreed.

In the blink of a bloodshot eye, Festus’ mind was filled with every detail of every sickness, ailment and plague known to the great god Nurgle. This drove him entirely mad, washed away his compassion and left nothing more than an intimate knowledge of disease and a desire to experiment. Festus became the Leechlord of Nurgle, who goes to war in the name of furthering his revolting studies. Though his curative powers are greater than ever before, woe betide the fool who crosses the Doctor, for he is always in need of new test subjects. It is a better fate by far to die on the field of battle than to be captured alive by Festus and used for his latest dark experiments."