https://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=IDthisguy&feedformat=atomAge of Sigmar - Lexicanum - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T09:16:24ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Ossiarch_Bonereapers&diff=106047Ossiarch Bonereapers2021-01-17T04:48:04Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>{{InfoFactions<br />
|Image = Ossiarch Army 01.jpeg<br />
|Image caption = An Ossiarch army.<br />
|Name = Ossiarch Bonereapers<br />
|Grand alliance = [[Death]]<br />
|Associated factions =<br />
|Main grouping =<br />
|Major characters = [[Orpheon Katakros]]<br>[[Vokmortian]]<br>[[Zandtos]]<br />
|Allies =<br />
|Core resources =<br />
|Races = [[Ossiarch]]<br />
|Mounts =<br />
|Vehicles =<br />
|Creatures = <br />
|Spell lores = [[Lore of the Mortisans]]<br />
|Prayers =<br />
|Endless spells =<br />
|Manifestations =<br />
|Artefacts =<br />
|Scenery =<br />
|Archetypes =<br />
|Warbands =<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' are brand-new form of unlife, purpose-built for war and to fulfil the vision of [[Nagash]] to create a perfect, endless army to conquer every landmass which will be known as the [[Necrotopia]]. {{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
The [[Mortarch]] [[Orpheon Katakros]] and his chief lieutenant, Arch-Kavalos [[Zandtos]] lead the Ossiarch legions composed of immortal, inviolable and incredibly potent bodies constructed from bone and each inhabited by dozens or even hundreds of mortal souls. {{Fn|1}} <br />
<br />
==History==<br />
They were kept hidden during the [[Age of Chaos]] and only in the [[Age of Sigmar]], following the [[Necroquake]] have they set out to fulfil their masters plans. {{Fn|1}} <br />
<br />
==Creation==<br />
The forms of the Ossiarch Bonereapers are created by the Mortisan craftsmen using the bones collected from the Tithe of Bones but unlike most Necromancers who simply imbue it with unlife wherever it lies via the use of Shyishan energy, the Mortisons process the material extensively, for though bone has a natural resonance with amethyst magic it is brittle and porous. Instead they mould it through arcane means into sculpted new shapes that are harder, denser and more suited to war. The spirit that animates an Ossiarch Bonereaper is also manufactured using the souls of their enemies. Souls collected are rendered and blended with elements of others to create an animus tailored specifically to the role of the construct within which it is to be interred.{{Fn|4a}}<br />
<br />
The new souls are placed crystals of vitrified grave-sand embedded their ossified forms. The only way to permanently destroy a Ossiarch is to shatter this gem, a task easier said than done as the stones were wrought by the most powerful necromantic magic.{{Fn|4c}}<br />
<br />
==The Tithe of Bone==<br />
[[File:Ossiarch Bonereapers.jpg|400px|thumb|right|]] <br />
<br />
A legion will first approach a settlement of the living with diplomacy, their Mortisans presenting the following offer – tithe your bones, or face total annihilation and be the harvest. Some civilisations plunder their graveyards for a appropriate tithe, while some even offer the limbs of their own citizens! For the most part, the tithe, although cruel can be maintained and the Ossiarchs will therefore return time and time again and claim their bone tax. Sometimes, such vast spans of time may pass between their visits that the Ossiarchs return and ask for their bone in ancient dialects now unfamiliar to a land’s inhabitants. {{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
In general, the Ossiarchs do not wish to slaughter wantonly, seeing the living as cattle - in some ways similar to the lords and ladies of the [[Soulblight]] empires. Yet there are exceptions, such as the [[Stalliarch Lords]] they being known to issue impossible terms, such as requiring the exact records of the condition of every single bone kept in the city – including those currently residing within its citizen! Those that fail are then targets for destruction. {{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
If they are resisted, or they are provided with poor or inadequate tithes, the offenders are attacked, slain and their bloody remains left to flap and flutter on the heads of long spears to act as a warning. {{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
As they expand, they follow the principles laid down in the [[Principia Necrotopia]], guidelines that ensure optimal construction. In the first phase of colonising a new region, the Bonereapers establish tithing sites which they fortify with small defences before constructing Mortisan workshops to fuel the next stage of their expansion. These will eventually grow into vast and imposing fortresses, expanding as the Bonereapers’ numbers grow to eventually resemble [[Nagashizzar]] itself,. {{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
[[File:Ossiarch Bonereapers Society.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Society structure]]<br />
<br />
==Ossiarch Empire==<br />
Although they can be found across the [[Mortal Realms]], the central stronghold of the Bonereapers is the [[Ossiarch Empire]] located adjacent to the [[Prime Innerlands]] of the [[Realm of Shyish]] across which they have begun to expand. This location, near to the [[Shyish Nadir]] allows them easy access to its vast magical power and means that they provide a permanent garrison around this valuable territory. The lands of the empire is dotted with fortresses and Ossiarch Necropolises{{Fn|3}}{{Fn|4b}}{{Fn|4d}}<br />
<br />
The Ossiarch Empire has a large navy containing ships grown from processed bone-matter but for the empire to function at maximum efficiency they have developed the art of crafting wide structures of porous osseous matter that float. Grown one by one and linked through the magic of the Mortisans they connect landmasses across vast oceans.{{Fn|4b}}<br />
<br />
==Society==<br />
All Bonereapers are, based on the souls from which they’re formed, moulded for a specific purpose codified through a caste system with Nagash at the summit. The Ossiarch's are not just warriors, there are also crafters, like the [[Ossifact]], and preachers, such as the [[Priad caste]]. The only movement between castes is downwards, as a punishment for failure. A [[Liege-Kavalos]] who fails in their role may be remade as a [[Kavalos Deathrider]], or even transformed into a mere steed if he has truly disappointed the Great Necromancer. {{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Known Legions==<br />
* [[Crematorians]]: Unlike other Ossiarch legions, they are not built to last but rather each detonates when destroyed in a shower of flaming bone. {{Fn|2}}<br />
* [[Ivory Host]]: Although they appear as both magnificent and noble in aspect, this hides a dark secret as they are forged from bestial bones and in battle often give in to a brutal animal rage, tearing, clawing and hacking away at their enemies. {{Fn|1}} <br />
* [[Mortis Praetorians]]: Orpheon Katakros' disciplined and effective personal army. {{Fn|2}} <br />
* [[Null Myriad]]: Created from some of the millions of skeletons that helped construct the [[Black Pyramid]], they are incredibly resilient to magic. {{Fn|1}}<br />
* [[Petrifex Elite]]: A nomadic force,{{Fn|2}} they are single-minded and almost indestructible. They are forged from fossils, but this does make them ponderous. {{Fn|1}}<br />
* [[Stalliarch Lords]]: Known to set impossible terms as an excuse to destroy empires of the living. {{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/10/19/what-is-the-tithegw-homepage-post-3/ What is the Tithe on Warhammer Community]<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/10/24/ossiarch-bonereapers-the-sub-factionsgw-homepage-post-1/ Subfactions on Warhammer Community]<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/10/31/the-ossiarch-bonereapers-an-empire-of-bonesgw-homepage-post-2/ Empire of Bones on Warhammer Community]<br />
* {{Endn|4}}: [[Battletome: Ossiarch Bonereapers (2019)]]<br />
** {{Endn|4a}}: Reapers of the Dead, pg.4-5<br />
** {{Endn|4b}}: The Ossiarch Necropolises, pg.10-11<br />
** {{Endn|4c}}: The Dread Works of Nagash, pg.12-13<br />
** {{Endn|4d}}: Lands of Dust and Bone, pg.22-23<br />
** {{Endn|4e}}: The Legions Immortal, pg.24-25<br />
<br />
{{Ossiarch Bonereapers}}<br />
{{Grand Alliance/Death}}<br />
[[Category: Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar factions]]<br />
[[Category: Ossiarch Bonereapers| ]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Ionus_Cryptborn&diff=105806Ionus Cryptborn2021-01-10T18:49:02Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>[[File:Ionus Cryptborn Stormcast Eternals Illustration.jpg|thumbnail|'''Ionus Cryptborn'''.]]<br />
<br />
'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a [[Lord-Relictor]], a [[Stormcast Eternals]] of the [[Hammerhands]] [[Warrior-Chamber]] of the [[Hammers of Sigmar]] [[Stormhost]]. He was originally called '''Eonid ven Denst''', a prince from [[Realm of Shyish|Shyish]]. He carries the aspect of the grave with him and few rest easy alongside him. With the power to summon and bind the storm at will, Ionus is a redoubtable foe.{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
All around the [[Brimstone Beachhead]] there are statues built in his image.{{Fn|5}} <br />
<br />
==History== <br />
Eonid ven Denst was once a Amethyist Prince{{Fn|4}} of the [[Prime Innerlands]], a secret he only shares with his fellow Lord-Relictors. He once slew the many-skulled [[Hydragor]] that wreaked havoc upon the courtiers of King [[Thanator]]'s manse. During the [[Days of Shattered Bone]] he was the only one that had the courage to speak against [[Nagash]].{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
Taken by [[Sigmar]], he was reforged as Ionus Cryptborne, Lord Relictor of the Thunderstrike Brotherhood, an Exemplar Chamber of the Hammerhands and was part of the first strike in the [[Realmgate Wars]] at the [[Brimstone Peninsula]] in the [[Realm of Aqshy]].{{Fn|3}} Noticing his arrival, Nagash taunted him with visions of his dead wife in torment - claiming that ''A tithe is owed. A tithe shall be given. A soul for a soul.''{{Fn|4}} <br />
<br />
==Relationships==<br />
[[Vandus Hammerhand]] can see past his grim and dolorous demeanour and see the hero beneath, both stormcast having a strong bond of brotherhood with each other.{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Battletome: Stormcast Eternals (2015)]]<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[War Storm (Anthology)]], by [[Nick Kyme]]<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [[The Gates of Azyr]] by [[Chris Wraight]]<br />
* {{Endn|4}}: [[Bourne by the Storm (short story)]] by [[Nick Kyme]]<br />
* {{Endn|5}}: [[Age of Sigmar: Core Book (2nd Edition)]]<br />
** {{Endn|5a}}: The Great Parch, pg. 86-89<br />
<br />
[[Category:Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
[[Category:Stormcast Eternals characters]]<br />
[[Category:Hammers of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category:Hammerhands]]<br />
[[Category:Lords-Relictor]]<br />
{{Stormcast Eternals}}</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Reforging&diff=105805Reforging2021-01-10T18:46:07Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>[[File:Anvil of Apotheosis 01.jpeg|450px|thumb|right|The Anvil of Apotheosis.]]<br />
'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is the greatest secret of the [[Stormcast Eternals]], which rescues them from certain death and allows the God-King [[Sigmar]] to reforge them, making them effectively immortal.{{Fn|1}} These men and women come from every tier of society and are reforged as Stormcasts of a specific [[Stormhost]].<br />
<br />
==Overview==<br />
Reforging is inspired by the cycle of constant reincarnation of [[Dracothion]]'s children. [[Sigmar]] and [[Grungni]] devised a process to create armies of virtually immortal [[Humans|humans]].{{Fn|3}} <br />
<br />
Sigmar plucks brave heroes from the [[Mortal Realms]] using bolts of lightning. The soul of a hero, chosen to become a Stormcast Eternal, is transported to the [[Heldenhall]] and there it feasts for three days, building its strength for the trials ahead.{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|5}} Following these three days, it makes its way to the [[Chamber of the Broken World]]. First the raw soul-stuff is literally molten and reforged in the Forge Eternal by the [[Six Smiths]], making it ready for rebirth.{{Fn|4}}{{Fn|5}} If it survives, the soul is sifted upwards into the Cairns of Tempering, where it's given the Gift of the Gods and must endure seven times seven trials. These trials were originally devised by Grungni with the aid of Sigmar and now their nature is a mistery to everyone but the two [[Deities|gods]] and the Six Smiths.{{Fn|4}} If the soul completes his trials, it's ready to be made flesh and blood once more. Upon the [[Anvil of Apotheosis]] they're broken down and rebuilt by the shock waves and the blessings of the World Hammer. From a seed of starlight and lightning sprouts a web of veins and nerve endings, then bones and finally every other organ. The new Stormcast Eternals awakens with a new body imbued with the energies of Azyr and a shard of Sigmar's divine essence.{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|4}}<br />
<br />
==Reforging side effects==<br />
[[File:Reforged Astral Templar.jpg|thumb|A heavily scarred [[Astral Templar]].]]<br />
When a Stormcast dies, his soul is transported back to the Anvil of Apotheosis, where they can be reforged again. Unfortunately, Reforging isn't perfect and those who are remade often lose a part of themselves or become altered in body and mind. A Stormcast Eternal is still human, with all hopes, fears and ambitions, but these and many other traits can be warped into something else.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
Known Reforging side effects are the following:<br />
*Memory loss{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|3}}<br />
*Identity loss{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|3}}<br />
*Emotion loss{{Fn|3}}<br />
*Scars{{Fn|3}}<br />
*Obsession with traditions from their mortal life aimed at countering other losses of memory and personality{{Fn|3}}<br />
*Lightning crackling from their eyes when furious{{Fn|3}}<br />
*Thunder rumbling under their words when speaking{{Fn|3}}<br />
*Powerful destructive impulses (typical of the [[Blackhammers]]){{Fn|5}}<br />
*Unable to accept failure, striving to achieve victory ignoring its cost (typical of the [[Hammers of Sigmar]]){{Fn|5}}<br />
*Celestial visions{{Fn|3}}<br />
*Blazes of crackling lightning around their head (typical of the [[Hammers of Sigmar]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Celestial energy in their fists when furious (typical of the [[Hammers of Sigmar]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Nimbus-like halo (typical of the [[Hallowed Knights]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Lambent celestial light from the chinks in their armour (typical of the [[Hallowed Knights]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Radiant light from their body that purifies [[Chaos]] corruption{{Fn|6}}<br />
*Blood that purifies Chaos corruption{{Fn|7}}<br />
*Abandonment of every strategy, lost to the sole power of rage and hate (typical of the [[Celestial Vindicators]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Unable to speak above a whisper (typical of the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Corpse-paleness (typical of the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Hair bleaching{{Fn|3}}{{Fn|6}}<br />
*Light trailing when they charge into battle (typical of the [[Knights of the Aurora]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Blue flames trailing when they charge into battle (typical of the [[Celestial Vindicators]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Tangible aura of wrath (typical of the [[Celestial Vindicators]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Smoking footprints (typical of the [[Knights Excelsior]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Monochromatic view of good and evil (typical of the [[Knights Excelsior]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Intent perception (typical of the [[Knights Excelsior]], not confirmed){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Wisps of amethyst energy around their body (typical of the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]]){{Fn|3}}<br />
*Tendency to collect items from the innocent dead to remember people who had been unjustly claimed by war{{Fn|8}}<br />
<br />
Even though some side effects are typical of some Stormhosts, this doesn't mean they are exclusive. For example, corpse-paleness is typical of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer, but [[Gaius Greel]] of the [[Sons of Mallus]] showed a marble white skin after an unknown number of reforgings.{{Fn|8}}<br />
<br />
==The Sacrosanct Chamber==<br />
After creating entire armies of Stormcast Eternals, Sigmar formed the [[Chamber#Tempest Chambers|Sacrosanct Chamber]] and gave its members the task of guarding every Reforging process in the following years. Stormcast Eternals of the Sacrosanct Chambers soon learned how to help the Six Smiths.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
Every day, [[Lord-Arcanum]]s and [[Knight-Incantor|Knights-Incantor]] are called to the Chamber of the Broken World to perform their duty. Thanks to them, damaged spirits or rogue souls which become [[lightning gheist]]s are recovered, but not always. Those souls who can't receive a new physical form are bound into the statues that line the Avenue of Saints. Anyone who walked it says they can hear screams from those statues.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
Following the [[Necroquake]], Sigmar loosed the Sancrosanct Chambers on the Mortal Realms to reinforce their brothers and sisters. Their absence from the Anvil of the Apotheosis made Reforging side effects more pronounced than ever, but this sacrifice was necessary to let them seek a solution to this flaw.{{Fn|3}} Now they're not the only one to seek a cure{{Fn|1}}, but they're surely the most competent thanks to their abilities and past duties.<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*{{Endn|1}}: [https://warhammerunderworlds.com/warbands/ Shadespire website, Warbands]<br />
*{{Endn|2}}: [[Mighty Battles]]<br />
*{{Endn|3}}: [[Battletome: Stormcast Eternals (2018)]]<br />
*{{Endn|4}}: [[Soul Wars (novel)]], by [[Josh Reynolds]]<br />
*{{Endn|5}}: [[Age of Sigmar: Core Book (2nd Edition)]]<br />
*{{Endn|6}}: [[Hallowed Knights: Plague Garden]], by Josh Reynolds<br />
*{{Endn|7}}: [[Hallowed Knights: Ghosts of Demesnus (short story)]], by Josh Reynolds<br />
*{{Endn|8}}: [[Eight Lamentations: Spear of Shadows]], by Josh Reynolds<br />
<br />
[[Category:Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
[[Category:Stormcast Eternals]]<br />
{{Stormcast Eternals}}</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dryads&diff=105393Dryads2021-01-04T15:21:10Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Forest Folk</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Forest Folk]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Uprising_of_the_Cult_of_the_Fated_Path&diff=102012Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path2020-12-06T06:00:58Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>{{Battle<br />
|Name = Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path<br />
|Date = Post-[[Realmgate Wars]]<br />
|Location = [[Excelsis]]<br />
|Outcome = Decisive [[Order]] Victory<br />
|Combatant1 = [[Order]]<br />
|Combatant2 = [[Tzeentch]]<br />
|Commanders1 = [[Cerrus Sentanus]]<br>General [[Synor]]<br>[[Hanniver Toll]]<br>[[Arika Zenthe]]<br />
|Commanders2 = [[Ortam Vermyre]] (WIA)<br>[[Velorius Kryn]] (KIA)<br />
|Strength1 = 1 [[Warrior Chamber]]<br>2 [[Freeguild]] Regiments<br>[[Scourge Privateers]]<br />
|Strength2 = Bulk of the [[Coldguard]] regiment<br>Tzeentch Cultists<br>[[Tzaangors]]<br>[[Daemons of Tzeentch]]<br />
|Casualties1 = Several Stormcasts [[Reforged]], [[Firewolves]] regiment disbanded, and half of the [[Ironbulls]] regiment killed<br />
|Casualties2 = Heavy, entire Coldguard regiment killed or captured<br />
}}<br />
The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' was a [[Tzeentch]] Cult rebellion in [[Excelsis]] that was put down by the combined effort of [[Stormcast Eternals]], [[Freeguild]], and the [[Order of Azyr]].<br />
<br />
==Overview==<br />
===Planning===<br />
The groundwork for the uprising began years before it was actually carried out when [[Ortam Vermyre]], [[High Arbiter]] of [[Excelsis]], became disillusioned with [[Sigmar]] coming to believe the [[Dark Gods]], specifically, [[Tzeentch]], was only worthy of his worship and would triumph eventually.{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre quickly converted his [[Palantine guard]] to the Dark Gods and began work on the uprising. First he focused on the Prophesier’s Guild, murdering those loyal to the city and replacing them with his own men. Then he gathered an army of [[Tzeentch Arcanites]] and turned almost the entirety of the [[Coldguard]] [[Freeguild]] Regiment to [[Chaos]].{{Fn|1b}}{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Finally Vermyre worked meticulously over several years to corrupt the Archmage [[Velorius Kryn]] and use his powers to tear the veil of reality and welcome in the [[Realm of Chaos]]. {{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
===Before the Uprising===<br />
A several days before the uprising, Vermyre had a vision sent to the Prophesiers’ showing them the location [[Orruks]] of the [[Shattered Shins]] gathering under [[Warboss Gurkka]]. In response Excelsis’ war council had sent most of their armies to annihilate them, leaving the city nearly defenseless.{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
Three days before the uprising, [[Armand Callis]], a [[Freeguild]] corporal in the Coldguard yet uncorrupted by Chaos, discovered a cash of [[glimmerings]] being smuggled by men loyal to Ortam Vermyre.{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
After a quick fight, Callis barely escaped with his life having received a vision of Excelsis’ destruction, but news of the incident led to [[Witch Hunter]] [[Hanniver Toll]] finding Callis. After assassins of the cult failed to kill them, the pair reached the Witch Hunter’s hideout. There Callis recounted his vision and Toll decided to immediately take the news to Ortam Vermyre, unaware of his conversion.{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre quickly revealed what he was planning and had them imprisoned. They escaped that night with the help of Fleetmaster [[Arika Zenthe]].{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
The two then warned the [[Knights Excelsior]] [[Lord-Veritant]] [[Cerrus Sentanus]] and the [[Iron Bulls]] regiment of the impending uprising.{{Fn|1b}}{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
===Uprising===<br />
While warning the Iron Bulls’ leader, General [[Synor]], the sky had opened up as Vermyre played his hand. With Velorius Kryn using the ‘’’Occulum Fulgurest’’’ housed in the prophesier’s guild to summon the Realm of Chaos above, anarchy raged through the streets of Excelsis as the forces of Tzeentch took control of key positions throughout the city.{{Fn|1b}}{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Quickly the forces of Excelsis rallied, Arika Zenthe’s [[Scourge Privateers]] fought against [[Daemons]] in the harbor. The Aircorps provided some support to the forces on the ground. While the [[Firewolves]] regiment went into the streets fighting a desperate battle against the Coldguard.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
The Iron Bulls brought their guns to bear guided by Toll to the Fulgurest in the Prophesier’s Guild building along the central street of Excelsis.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
They fought a losing battle against the more numerous Arcanites, led by Vermyre, until two-score Stormcasts of the Knights Excelsior landed into the fray with more on the way. They made a spearhead to punch through the Arcanites lines and into the Prophesier’s Guild.{{Fn|1b}}{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Callis using his vision led Cerrus Sentanus to Velorius Kryn under the Occulum Fulgurest. There Kryn was killed by the light of Sentanus’ lantern and the Occulum Fulgurest was destroyed, closing the breach in reality.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Toll dueled Vermyre and grievously injured him, but Vermyre escaped with the help of a charm of Tzeentch.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
The Firewolves were ambushed and butchered to just seventy-five men and women before being relieved. General Synor personally slew the chieftain of the Tzaangors in the city.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
The rest of cultists scattered, some took up their civilian lives in the city again.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
==Aftermath==<br />
After the battle the Coldguard were rounded up and thrown into the dungeons of the [[Consecralium]] and the Firewolves were too few to be rebuilt and was disbanded.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Pieces of the Realm of Tzeentch that appeared in the sky fell upon the city, destroying much the noble district and the veins. These were secured by the Knights Excelsior Thousands were dead but many more were saved and the city rebuilt.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Callis became a lieutenant of the Iron Bulls but later took an offer from Toll to join the Order of Azyr.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre was cursed and disfigured by Tzeentch for his failure. Thus beginning his search for the [[Silver Shard]].{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*{{Endn|1}}: [[Legends of the Age of Sigmar: City of Secrets]] by [[Nick Horth]]<br />
**{{Endn|1a}}: Act 1<br />
**{{Endn|1b}}: Act 2<br />
**{{Endn|1c}}: Act 3<br />
*{{Endn|2}}: [[Callis and Toll: The Silver Shard (novel)]] by [[Nick Horth]] <br />
<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category: Season of War]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Ortam_Vermyre&diff=102011Ortam Vermyre2020-12-06T05:58:47Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>'''{{PAGENAME}}''' was [[High Arbiter]] of [[Excelsis]] and a leader of the [[Tzeentch]] [[Cult of the Fated Path]]. <br />
<br />
==Appearance==<br />
Before the Cult of the Fated Path's uprising, he was a small man with a weak chin and a round, slightly boyish face. His hair was black, cut short, with just a hint of grey.{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
Following his defeat in Excelsis, Vermyre wore a mask of gold to hid his disfigurement.{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Before the Uprising===<br />
Ortam Vermyre was the High Arbiter of the city of Excelsis. As such he had control over the judiciary and constabulary of the city.{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
Working with local [[Witch Hunter]] [[Hanniver Toll]] and his [[Sigmar]]-given authority, the two of them slowly helped build Excelsis into a thriving [[City of Sigmar]]. They also developed a strong friendship; Vermyre became the only one Toll ever trusted as a member of the [[Order of Azyr]].{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
At some point, Vermyre became disillusioned with Sigmar believing the [[Chaos Gods]] would triumph eventually and he wanted to be on the winning side. To that end, Vermyre believed Tzeentch was the only one who could provide salvation and was worthy of his worship. He joined the Cult of the Fated Path and began preparations to bring Excelsis to its knees.{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre quickly spread his corruption. First, he turned his hand-picked [[Palantine Guard]] to the worship of the Dark Gods.{{Fn|1b}} Then he focused on the Prophesier's Guild, he soon murdered the members of the Guild loyal to Excelsis and replaced them with his own cronies. Vermyre also turned the entirety of the [[Coldguard]] [[Freeguild]] regiment and gathered an army of [[Tzeentch Arcanites]]. Finally, Archmage [[Velorius Kryn]] was also brought into the fold, after several years of careful manipulation, in order to control the Occulum Fulgurest and tear the veil of reality between Excelsis and the [[Realm of Chaos]].{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
To ensure his plan went smoothly, Vermyre had a prophecy sent out showing [[Orruks]] of the [[Shattered Shins]] gathered under [[Warboss Grukka]]. Believing that this was a chance to annihilate the Shattered Shins, the armies of Excelsis marched to war including all three chambers of Stormcast Eternals, seven of the Freeguild regiments, and two Witch Hunters with [[Flagellant]] warbands. This left only the Coldguard, [[Iron Bulls]], and [[Firewolves]] Freeguild regiments in the city.{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
===The Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path===<br />
Vermyre's plan would have gone off without a hitch had it not been for Freeguild Corporal [[Armand Callis]]. Three days before the uprising began Callis stumbled upon an illicit shipment of [[Glimmerings]]. After a desperate fight with the smugglers, Callis saw, via inhaling the shattered Glimmerings a glimpse of Vyremer's plan coming to fruition.{{Fn|1a}} Two days later, Callis was brought before Vermyre by Hanniver Toll to recount his vision and prevent it from coming to pass.{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
Vyremer had both of them captured and killed Hanniver's companion [[Kazrug]]. After trying and failing to turn Toll to his side Vyremer had both thrown in his palace dungeons. They escaped that night with help from [[Fleetmaster]] [[Arika Zenthe]], who killed dozens of his Palantine Guard. The two warned the [[Knights Excelsior]] [[Lord-Veritant]] [[Cerrus Sentanus]] and the Iron Bulls the next day.{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
At the same time, Vyremer's forces had openly taken the Prophesier's Guild and Kryn began the ritual to summon a crystalline fortress of Tzeentch over Excelsis. Whilst Vyremer's other men took over key areas of the city, the Iron Bulls, led by General [[Synor]] rallied and marched on the Prophesier's Guild.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
By this time the fortress appeared in the sky and [[Daemons]] rained down on Excelsis. The fighting was fierce but Vyremer's forces including his Fatesworn cultists, [[Tzaangors]], and [[Daemons of Tzeentch]] were able to keep the Iron Bulls at bay. Until a phalanx of Knights Excelsior came in a bolt of lightning led by Cerrus Sentanus. These Stormcasts broke through the Cult's lines and took the battle to the Occulum Fulgurest itself.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre fought Hanniver Toll in single combat and once again tried to convince Toll to join him. Toll refused again and cut off Vermyre's right hand, but Vermyre escaped Toll's wrath with a Tzeentch charm.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Kryn, on the other hand, was killed, burnt alive by the light of Sentanus' lantern. The fortress in the sky was unsummoned, only a fragment of the gigantic fortress fell into reality and crashed into Vermyre's palace along with several other districts. The remainder of Vermyre's forces were killed or driven into hiding once more. The plan that Vermyre had spent decades tending was snuffed out.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
===Quest for the Silver Shard===<br />
Maimed, bereft of allies, and hunted by his former friend Hanniver Toll; Ortam Vermyre fled the city of Excelsis. While in hiding, Vermyre received a curse of flesh-change from Tzeentch for his failure to destroy Excelsis.{{Fn|2d}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre spent the next years searching for a way to cure the corruption that crippled his body. He exhausted all his remaining wealth and contacts among the healers, wise men, and agents of the Dark Gods trying to escape his inevitable.{{Fn|2d}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre only found a solution after returning to Excelsis and finding Velorius Kryn's journals telling of the one artefact that could save him, the [[Silver Shard]].{{Fn|2d}}<br />
<br />
From there he discovered the location of the tomb of [[Occlesius]] the Realms-Walker in the abandoned city of [[Quatzhymos]] from the [[Age of Myth]]. After piecing together a map with help from [[Shevanya Arclis]], Vermyre, now under the alias of '''The Golden Lord''', with his last coin set up an expedition with her to find the abandoned city in the jungles of the [[Taloncoast]].{{Fn|2c}} <br />
<br />
Much of the expedition would die along the way, but those who remained did find Quatzhymos and reached the tomb. There Vermyre discovered, from the [[Shadeglass]] captured soul of Occlesius himself, the location of the Silver Shard; the lost city of [[Xoantica]] in the [[Fatescar Mountains]].{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
Shev betrayed him then, taking Occlesius' captured soul into the arms of Callis and Toll who had tailed Vermyre to Quatzhymos. Vermyre abandoned the rest of the expedition to predations of the [[Greenskinz]] and fled on a summoned [[Disc of Tzeentch]].{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre then bent another herd of Tzaangors to his will and set out for Xoantica.{{Fn|2d}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre still needed Occlesius to get to the heart of Xoanitca. To that end, he set up a trap for Hanniver Toll and his allies at Bilgeport by warning the [[High Captains]] of Bilgeport of the arrival of Arika Zenthe, ally of Toll, and arch-nemesis to their business of plunder.{{Fn|2e}}<br />
<br />
Toll escapes and contracts the [[Kharadron Overlords]] fleet to kill the High Captains and take him and his allies to Xoantica. Vermyre was still able to recapture Shev and Occlesius and reach Xoantica before Toll.{{Fn|2f}}{{Fn|2g}}{{Fn|2h}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre used Occlesius to quickly pass the illusion that protected the city's heart. While his Tzaangors delayed Toll. The Tzaangors also kept the [[Seraphon]] guarding the Silver Shard at bay while he claimed it.{{Fn|2i}}<br />
<br />
Vermyre having finally stolen the Silver Shard from its guardians, fought and fatally wounded the keeper of the Silver Shard, Lord [[Pa'tha'quen'tos]]. Toll then taunted Vermyre to a duel and Vermyre, empowered by the Silver Shard, quickly cut his arm from his body. Toll's companions distracted Vermyre long enough for the still breathing Pa'tha'quen'tos to cast Vermyre's soul into the shadeglass gem that previously held Occlesius' soul and sent him and the Silver Shard into the [[Aetheric Void]].{{Fn|2j}}{{Fn|2k}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*{{Endn|1}}: [[Legends of the Age of Sigmar: City of Secrets]] by [[Nick Horth]]<br />
**{{Endn|1a}}: Act One<br />
**{{Endn|1b}}: Act Two<br />
**{{Endn|1c}}: Act Three<br />
*{{Endn|2}}: [[Callis and Toll: The Silver Shard (novel)]] by [[Nick Horth]]<br />
**{{Endn|2a}}: Chapter Five<br />
**{{Endn|2b}}: Chapter Seven<br />
**{{Endn|2c}}: Chapter Eight<br />
**{{Endn|2d}}: Chapter Fourteen<br />
**{{Endn|2e}}: Chapter Twenty-Three<br />
**{{Endn|2f}}: Chapter Twenty-Six<br />
**{{Endn|2g}}: Chapter Twenty-Seven<br />
**{{Endn|2h}}: Chapter Thirty<br />
**{{Endn|2i}}: Chapter Thirty-Two<br />
**{{Endn|2j}}: Chapter Thirty-Four<br />
**{{Endn|2k}}: Chapter Thirty-Six<br />
<br />
[[Category:Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
[[Category:Tzeentch Arcanites characters]]<br />
[[Category:Cult of the Fated Path]]<br />
[[Category:Humans]]<br />
{{Tzeentch Arcanites}}</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=High_Arbiter&diff=102010High Arbiter2020-12-06T05:56:14Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Grand Conclave#Fixed Positions</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Grand Conclave#Fixed Positions]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Anvilheim&diff=102009Anvilheim2020-12-06T05:54:59Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>'''Anvilheim''' was a prosperous city of [[Sigmar]]'s empire raised by the forces of [[Order]] after the purge and cleansing of the Kingdom of [[Ulhor]]. Exactly thirteen years after it's first foundations went up it was invaded and destroyed by the Skaven of the [[Lurkspine Deeps]] war burrow, a [[Verminus]] settlement that had been hidden beneath Ulhor.{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
<br />
===Age of Sigmar===<br />
The [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]] lead a war of reconquest that sees the lands of the Kingdom of [[Ulhor]] cleansed and the [[Slaves to Darkness]] living within them purged. Though the taint of [[Chaos]] is thoroughly removed from the surface, the [[Skaven]] war burrow of [[Lurkspine Deeps]] remains hidden beneath it.{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
The Anvils of the Heldenhammer and their allies unknowingly build the city of '''Anvilheim''' atop Lurkspine Deeps and for thirteen years the Skaven watch on with avaricious eyes. During this time the city grows rich, until exactly thirteen years have passed since the first foundations of the city were laid when the Skaven finally strike.{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
The Anvils of the Heldenhammer, [[Freeguilds]], [[Ironweld Arsenal]], and agents of the [[Order of Azyr]] all put up a valiant defense against the invading ratmen, but they are outnumbered and caught by surprise. The defenders are completely shattered after a coven of [[Grey Seers]] summon [[Skreech Verminking]], who personally leads the final assault on the city's defenders.{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Battletome: Skaven (2019)]] <br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: The Horned Rat, pg. 8<br />
<br />
{{Cities of Sigmar}}<br />
[[Category: Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
[[Category: Free Cities]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Corvus_Cabal&diff=93530Corvus Cabal2020-09-27T19:39:27Z<p>IDthisguy: /* Communicaiton */</p>
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<div>The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' are assassins, thieves, cut-throats and shadow stalkers whose home is on top of the mesas of the [[Carrion Reach]] in the [[Realm of Ulgu]].{{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
They worship [[Chaos]] as the '''Great Gatherer''' who they depict as a vast prey-bird, its feathers black and perched atop a mound of stolen treasure. [[Archaon]] is seen as an avatar of the Gatherer and he will be sated with his endless wars. To gain his favour, their best killers are sent into the [[Bloodwind Spoil]] raising shrines made of their victims with offerings of looted wargear. {{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
If on a hunt, a warrior of the Cabal must return with a suitable offering to the god or be thrown from heights of the Reach. {{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Communication==<br />
They have their own language of sharp cries and complex hand gestures. {{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
They hire themselves out to [[Chaos Lords]], with their only reward being that which they can claim from the bodies of the slain. {{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
==Locations==<br />
* [[Shrouded Eyrie]]: Hidden mountaintop stronghold of the Cabal. {{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
==Notable==<br />
* [[Humans]]<br />
<br />
==Weapons==<br />
The cabal favour bladed war-picks - simple and effective being able to slit throats and pierce armour as well as to slip around shields in battle. These are often festonned in trophies.{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
==Units==<br />
===Cabalist===<br />
Killers who slice their enemies to pieces with war-picks, spears and knives prior to stripping the bodies for loot. Some have bonded with carrion birds who act as scouts and/or addiitonal weapons. {{Fn|2}}<br />
===Shadow Piercer===<br />
The leaders of those groups sent into the [[Mortal Realms]], seeking worthy tribute for their god.{{Fn|2}}<br />
===Shrike Talon===<br />
Equiped with a bizare looking but effective harness, they swoop down on their prey to tear into them with iron talons. {{Fn|2}}<br />
===Spire Stalker===<br />
Agile roof running assassins at home in the heights. {{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
==Miniatures==<br />
<center><br />
<gallery><br />
Shrike Talon M01.jpg|A Shrike Talon.<br />
Shrike Talon M02.jpg<br />
Shadow Piercer M01.jpg|A Shadowpiercer.<br />
Shadow Piercer M02.jpg<br />
Spire Stalker M01.jpg|A Spire Stalker.<br />
Spire Stalker M02.jpg<br />
Spire Stalker M03.jpg<br />
Spire Stalker M04.jpg<br />
Cabalist M01.jpg|A Cabalist.<br />
Cabalist M02.jpg<br />
Cabalist M03.jpg<br />
Cabalist M04.jpg<br />
Cabalist M05.jpg<br />
Cabalist M06.jpg<br />
Cabalist M07.jpg<br />
Cabalist M08.jpg<br />
Cabalist M09.jpg <br />
Cabalist M10.jpg<br />
</gallery><br />
</center><br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
{| width="33%" align="center"<br />
|align="center"|''Pick clean the corpse.''{{Fn|a}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Warcry Core Book]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: Corvas Cabal, pg. 14<br />
** {{Endn|1b}}: Game System, pg. 47<br />
** {{Endn|1c}}: Background Tables: Corvus Cabal, pg. 137<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [https://ageofsigmar.com/warcry/ Warcry website]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
[[Category:Warcry warbands]]<br />
[[Category:Slaves to Darkness]]<br />
[[Category:Corvus Cabal| ]]<br />
{{Slaves to Darkness}}</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Void&diff=88658Void2020-04-09T06:47:39Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Aetheric Void</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Aetheric Void]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Paladins&diff=88657Paladins2020-04-09T06:46:20Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Paladin Conclave</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Paladin Conclave]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Warrior-Chambers&diff=88656Warrior-Chambers2020-04-09T06:45:10Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Warrior-Chamber</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Warrior-Chamber]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Doomseekers&diff=88600Doomseekers2020-04-05T00:03:04Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Fyreslayer Doomseeker</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Fyreslayer Doomseeker]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Fyreslayers&diff=88599Fyreslayers2020-04-05T00:00:25Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>{{WIP|Copy-pasted needs to be rewritten}}<br />
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[[File:Fyreslayers going to battle.jpeg|thumb|right|Fyreslayer warriors charging into battle against daemons of Khorne.]]<br />
<br />
The '''Fyreslayers''' is a faction of fierce [[Duardin]] warriors that are the scions of the fallen duardin god [[Grimnir]]. They style themselves in his image in devotion and deference to him, going to battle wearing almost nothing, their hair waxed and dyed into elaborate mohawks and wielding magma-forged blades. Other races think that they only fight to hoard gold in their vast volcanic lairs, a rumour that they are happy to have disseminated. What they truly seek is [[Ur-Gold]] the remains of their god.{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|4}}<br />
<br />
They were one of the forces that rose up to battle after the first strikes of the [[Stormcast Eternals]] in [[Realm of Fire]]. They fought against [[Chaos]] but only if paid in [[Ur-Gold]], however if a generous enough counter-offer was made they would willingly fight alongside the forces of chaos.{{Fn|1}} <br />
<br />
==Culture==<br />
Fyreslayers are a civilization of harsh, aggressive and passionate duardin prone to sudden eruptions of violence. They are dedicated to Grimnir and obsessed with both war and gold, becoming renowned warriors with a famous ferocity for it. Every labour, vocation, effort and creations are ultimately dedicated towards war, the only profession they see as worthy. This and their faith is why they are famous mercenaries.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
===Symbols===<br />
The most important symbol of the Fyreslayers is the key, which represent both their people's ancestral tier to Aqshy and their binding covenant with Grimnir. To the Zharrgrim prieshood it has a hidden meaning, a representation of their order secret quest, symbolizing freedom from a state of constraint. Members of the priesthood carry forge keys, crafted from different metals with each rank representing their rank, with gold being the highest. The key also serve a practical purpose, those carried by Runefathers and Runemasters to unlock the doors of their forge-temples and magma-vaults.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
The rune of fire is one of the most sacred runes of the Fyreslayers.{{Fn|5}}<br />
<br />
===Fashion===<br />
Since the Age of Myth the Fyreslayers have favoured using very little armour, usually just helmet a loincloth and a girdle. They charge bare-chested into combat, believing themselves to be protected by their own fiery convictions like Grimnir.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
They also emulate the distinctive hairstyle of Grimnir and it's a vital aspect of their faith. They are shorn on the sides, while the top hair is spiked into an impressive crest, which is then dyed and held in place by a waxy substance. Each lodge has their own concoctions for such purpose, a secret which they maintain and jealously guard. Mocking a Fyreslayer's hair is often a quick way to get killed.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
Like other Duardin they have beards.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
===Religion===<br />
To the Fyreslayers Combat is vital part of their faith and that they must always be at war, be it with their foes or the foes of those who pay enough.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
The religious leader of Grimnir's faith is the [[Zharrgrim Priesthood]], which are smiths, battlepriests and keepers of the forge. Their main responsibility is locating and casting ur-gold into runes. The ultimate objective of the Priesthood and the Fyreslayers is to search for Ur-Gold and release it's energies in battle, in the hopes that Grimnir and Vulcatrix can be resurrected for the final battle of [[Doomgron]].{{Fn|17g}}{{Fn|17a}} The prieshood is known for tending the divine spark that was created by Grimnir's death in every Fyreslayer Forge, the Zharrkhul and as such as known as the priests of the undying fire.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
There are thirteen ranks in the priesthood with the [[Runemaster]] of the forge-temple at the top, with the [[Runesmiter]]s and the [[Klinkin]] beneath.{{Fn|17g}}<br />
<br />
The first priests of Grimnir were smith who forged the weapons of war by binding the fury of fire and raging battlespirit into blades using their knowledge of forging and metals. It was these first priests who discovered the true nature of Ur-Gold, as the essence of Grimnir and Vulcatrix mingled together. Since then they have further improved their skills, in both forging and battle, by tapping into the fires of [[Aqshy]] and [[Vulcatrix]] and over long exposure to the residual energies of the Godbeast they have further gained mastery over flame and magma. It these forces and connections that allow a Runesmitter to burn tunnels with liquid rock and other Fyreslayer Duardin the ability to hatch and raise Magmadroths as if by instinct.{{Fn|17g}}<br />
<br />
The elemental abilities of the priesthood has been further empowered by the magic of the Necroquake. They have gained the ability to summon more powerful elementals manifestations known as [[Magmic Invocation]]s through their war-chants or summon a [[Magmic Battleforge]] connected to [[Zharrkhul]] to ignite the war-spirit of the Fyreslayers.{{Fn|17g}}{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
===Magmadroths===<br />
[[Magmadroth]]s are fire-belching salamanders, offspring of Vulcatrix, with scorching talons that are the mounts of the Auric Runesons, Runefathers and Runesmiters.{{Fn|2e}}{{Fn|2f}}{{Fn|2g}}{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
These creatures were created by the titanic battle between Vulcatrix and Grimnir, their schorching-hot black eggs forming in flamestruck lands. These eggs were first discovered by the Zharrgrim Priesthood and learned how to raise them.{{Fn|17a}}{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
The connection to [[Vulcatrix]] provided by the Ur-Gold and mastered by the Zharrgrim Priesthood is what allows these duardin to hatch and raise Magmadroths and allow for such close bond with these creatures, a bond closer to true friendship than that of master and beast. It would be wrong to think of them as domesticated as they are far too wilful, rather they should be taken as allies{{Fn|17g}}{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
===Settlements===<br />
Magmaholds are usually settle by one lodge, through in many cases two or more can co-exist in the same Magmahold. These are usually closely related, but such situations tend to be temporary until the newest branch has grown large enough to conquer their own territory.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Forge-Temples are the sanctuaries located at the center of each [[Magmahold]]. These are the beating hearts of the magmaholds, their halls constantly sound with the clang of hammers and axe being sharpened. The air is filled with sparks, rippling and glowing red from heat of the lava that flows through the surrounding chambers to power them. So strong is the heat an ogor's eyeballs could sizzle. This is where the Zharrgrim priesthood safeguard the Ur-Gold of the lodge and fashion it into powerful runes.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
Some Fyreslayers operate forge-temples in larger cities of Order.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
The forges of the Fyreslayers are ignited by the [[Zharrkhul]].<br />
<br />
===Women===<br />
Fyreslayers to outsiders seems like a patriarchal society whose rule is clearly patrilineal, through there are rumours of powerful [[Fyrequeens]]. The truth is that they are secretive about their women as they are about Ur-Gold, as they are rare and born in very low numbers. The females are masters of hearth, healing, brewing and magmic defences and the few that have seen them claim them to be just as hot-headed, impetuous and battle-worthy as the males.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
==Diplomacy==<br />
Other factions sees the Fyreslayers as little more than moneygrubbing sellswords, due to the fact that Ur-Gold looks like common gold. Their success in combat does prove it to be worth it and many leaders will seek to enlist their services. After battle they collect their fallen and payment and return to their strongholds. This constant warring as granted them many customers and enemies beyond counting, but also very few true allies.{{Fn|17e}}{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
Despite being famous mercenaries, Fyreslayers have little use for common gold, as everything they own is forged by their people. Their mercenary actions is entirely devoted to recovering Ur-Gold, the fragments of their god, with even the smallest trace being precious beyond measure.{{Fn|17a}} <br />
<br />
===Kharadron Overlords===<br />
The [[Kharadron Overlords]] do not see the Fyreslayers as kin since they refused to take them in after fall of the Karaks. To them they are only trade partners that are likely to hold to their end of an oath. The fyreslayers only see them as distant relations and rich customers. It doesn't sit well to the zealous Fyreslayers that the Kharadron have abandoned their gods.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Since they are both duardin they are cantankerous and contemptuos of the other and while open conflict is rare it is not unheard of. However in the [[Granthium Mountains]] in [[Chamon]] there is open conflict as both sides seek to claim a deposit of [[Ur-Gold]] and [[Aether-gold]].{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
==Ur-Gold==<br />
All Fyreslayers can sense the presence of this metal to some degree, but only the Auric Runesmasters can trial it across the [[Mortal Realms]].{{Fn|5}} When a Fyreslayer swears an oath it is an unbreakable bond and will fight as if they were part of the payer's army, but they expect the same level of commitment from those that retain their services. Those that break such promises are not expected to live long enough to regret it.{{Fn|3a}}<br />
<br />
It is at the Forge-Temples that the Zharrgrim store the Ur-Gold and with fiery hammer-blows being back Grimnir's fighting spirit back to life by fashioning it into powerful runes.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
===Origin===<br />
This metal was created from the death of Grimnir and Vulcatrix, that sent their divine fragments across the lands. When these landed they buried themselves deep underground and fused with the veins of gold. It transmuted the gold and bound it with the power of those two gods, that looked just like ordinary gold.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
===Discovery===<br />
The first followers of Grimnir that discovered ur-gold knew it was connected to their god. First they tried to craft this metal into masterwork metals, but they imparted only a small portion of their power.{{Fn|17f}} Since the Fyreslayers discovered this new metal, which they named ur-gold, they have been a race possessed, despite looking nothing more than mercenaries looking for common gold to outsiders.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
Only when the first Runemasters forged this gold into runes to wear in battle did they discover its true potential. These tokens burned into the flesh of the Fyreslayers and blessed them with a fighting frenzy akin to that of Grimnir. Later they would come to hammer the runes directly into the warrior's body so the divine energies could provide even more power.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
The Zharrgrim priests continued to study the properties of this metal and not only discovered that Grimnir empowered it with rage and a fiery spirit, but that it was filled with the essence of Vulcatrix too, granting them the ability to summon elemental energies and control flame. The two spirits had bonded together and became stronger.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
===Detection===<br />
Only the Fyreslayers have been shown to be capable to detect this metal.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
===Runeforging===<br />
While all Fyreslayers can sense Ur-Gold to some degree only the Runemaster who know the sacred lore of metallurgy, fire and the spirit of battle can distinguish it from regular gold. It is they who lead the extraction, smelting the alloy to separate it into its purest form. This metal is then cast into sacred runes, most which signify an aspect of battle, like fury, endurance, loyalty to kin, strength, indomitable boldness. One even represent Grimnir himself.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
Then the Runemasters have to pound these sigils, while they are still glowing hot from the forge, into the bodies of Fyreslayers. Only through this agonising way can the rune truly fuse into the Duardin's frame. The Fyreslayers that go through this process immediately feel more connected to their god, but only in battle can they unleash their power. It is the duty of the Runesmitters to awaken the power of the runes, chanting rituals that ignite their power and unlock the battle-rage of Grimnir, augmenting the physical might and martial prowess of Fyreslayers by boosting them to supernatural levels.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
===Glimmerlust===<br />
This material is a finite resource whose power is spent when a Fyreslayer fights and to maintain such power, new runes must be replaced the spent ones. As the divine strenght of Grimnir leaves him, the Fyreslayers crave for more, and this affliction is called the Glimmerlust.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
This affliction is one of the reasons why the legends about Fyreslayers from other races tells of their avarice. It is the responsibility of the prieshood to make sure his fellow lodgemembers stay on the path of Grimnir, by making sure no warrior is given more that they are owed or that they can bear. The Runemasters are noteworthy for having learned how to temper their kind's impulsive natures. Even the Runefathers heed the advice of the priesthood on how to control it.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
==Rogue Slayers==<br />
A Fyreslayer will become completely consumed by [[Glimmerlust]] without the help of the Zharrgrim Priesthood, of which there are many grim tales of such lone warriors. Those [[Doomseekers]] that have suffered to such fate, like the [[Axe of Magorth]] or the [[Immolated Slayer]], become the reviled [[Doomvarag]]. These rabid lone wolves kill other Fyreslayers so they can take the runes from their remains.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
==Lodges==<br />
A Lodge is a Fyreslayer family or households which inhabit a Magmahold, formed around a single chieftain known as a [[Runefather]], who all claims to share descent with a common ancestor. This patriarch and his family rule the Lodge and their title passes along their chosen successor amongst their male heirs, the [[Runesons]], when they die. However some travellers tell of the [[Fyrequeens]], mighty queens of the Fyreslayers, a fact that is not spoken by the warriors of the fyrds to other races. Those that are not chosen often set out with their followers so they can establish their own lodge. When there is no declared heir when the Runefather dies, this usually is the end of that Lodge. Those that remain must then choose to follow one of their own, pledge themselves to another lodge, or take the oath to become a [[Grimnyn]], a fate similar, but not as fatalistic as that of the Doomseeker.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Each Lodge maintain their own forge-temple and Zharrgrim priesthood.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Sometimes two or more Lodges share a Magmahold.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
===First-Forged===<br />
The earliest of these were known as the [[First-Forged]], the ones Duardin who walked with Grimnir on his quest to slay Vulcatrix. These lodges no longer exist through some, like the Vostarg and the Greyfyrd claim to be their direct descendants.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
* [[Vosforge]]: Lived in the Vosforge, the largest of the magmaholds carved into the Salamander's Spine. More lodges have sprung from this bloodline than any other. Torn apart by internal strife. Name carried on by [[Vostarg]].{{Fn|17c}}{{Fn|18}}<br />
* [[Greygrend]]: Based in the mountain Harrworld which has since been leveled. Nearly all lodges that have suffered disproportionately from [[Glimmerlust]] descend from Greygrend but these [[duardin]] do not speak of their troubled heritage.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
* [[Grymdar]]: Chaos destroyed the Grymdar, their magmahold in Karadrum taken, and their [[Runefather]] slain. The refugees from that lodge formed the [[Hermdar]] and returned to reclaim their home. Yet the mountain had been riven beyond repair and so the remaining Zharrgrim priests buried the under halls in waves of lava.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
* [[Drakendreng]]: famous for their monster-slaying skills. Attracted [[Nagwroth]] the fyre serpent, who coiled around the mountain and destroyed the magmahold within. The survivors founded the [[Lofnir]] lodge and left their former hold pursuing the wounded Nagwroth to [[Ghur]].{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
===Other Lodges===<br />
* [[Angfyrd]]: After more than ten thousand years, the warriors of the Angfyrd lodge set forth on a great journey to aid its ancestor lodge against [[Taurak Skullcleaver]]. {{Fn|11}}<br />
* [[Aqshygahr]]: A Lodge that exists on the edge of the [[Realm of Aqshy]], with many nearby [[realmgates]].{{Fn|16a}}<br />
* [[Austarg]]: A vassal Lodge of the Vostarg that serve in exchange for continued alliance and Ur-Gold. {{Fn|18a}}<br />
* [[Baeldrag]]: A vassal of the Vostarg that dwell within the [[Realm of Ghyran]], with a hatred for [[Skaven]]. {{Fn|6a}}{{Fn|18a}}<br />
* [[Baeyrd]] {{Fn|6b}} <br />
* [[Blackfyrd]]{{Fn|6b}} <br />
* [[Caengan]]: Clandestine, two-toned warriors that live in the [[Realm of Ulgu]]. {{Fn|6a}}{{Fn|6b}} <br />
* [[Dostev]]: A Lodge destroyed by a horde of [[Ironjawz]]. {{Fn|18a}}<br />
* [[Drong]]{{Fn|6b}}<br />
* [[Drunbhor]]: The Runefather Beregthor spoke of the prophecy that had been passed down through generations that he and his warriors must travel to the aid of another lodge and made preparations for war. {{Fn|12}}<br />
* [[Gelvagd]]: A splinter of the Vostarg that has settled in [[Azyrheim]], where they are known as grudge-bearing, stone-hearted mercenaries. {{Fn|6a}}{{Fn|18a}}<br />
* [[Greyfyrd]]{{Fn|6a}}<br />
* [[Grumnir]]{{Fn|6d}}<br />
* [[Hermdar]]: Lodge made from [[Grymdar]] lodge refugees and noted for its hatred of tyranny.{{Fn|6a}}{{Fn|6b}}{{Fn|17c}}<br />
* [[Krelstrag]]: A Lodge that stands at the heart of the [[Earthwound Archipelago]] in the [[Realm of Aqshy]]. {{Fn|13}}<br />
* [[Lofnir]]: {{Fn|6a}}{{Fn|6b}} Ancient allies of the [[Lantic Empire]] who helped create their defensive bulwark - the [[Gilded Steamgird]], however it is also said that they betrayed the empire and destroyed the wall for the lust of [[ur-gold]].{{Fn|14}}<br />
* [[Obsgrum]]: A Lodge that formed an alliance with the Witherwood Gargants. {{Fn|6e}}<br />
* [[Sepuzkul]]: A blackened, grim Lodge scarred from it's defeat by Khornate forces. {{Fn|11}}<br />
* [[Sigyorn]]: Members of this Lodge bear uniquered tattoos, symbols of Warrior Kinship native to the Forge-Cities of the [[Realm of Chamon]]. They have allied with the [[Kharadron Overlords]] may times. {{Fn|6a}}{{Fn|6b}} <br />
* [[Tangrim]]: Grim and honourable, the Tangrim have settled in the [[Realm of Azyr]]. They accept no offers from the servants of the Dark Gods, and often ally with the [[Stormcast Eternals]]. {{Fn|6a}}{{Fn|6b}} <br />
* [[Thungur]]: This Lodge rules the glimmering peak of [[Lunarest]] in the [[Realm of Hysh]]. They have many strnage customs, and often war with the Aelves native to these lands. {{Fn|6a}}{{Fn|6b}} <br />
* [[Ulgaen]] : For five thousand years the lodge stood in the [[Hornteeth Mountains]] in the [[Realm of Ghur]] before it fell and the survivors fled, later taking the volcano of [[Steelpike]] in the [[Realm of Aqshy]] from the [[Skaven]] to form a new hold.{{Fn|10}}<br />
* [[Ulrung]]: Located in the [[Realm of Shyish]] under the highest peaks of the [[Greyspears]] they prided themselves that over all their history, many foes had battered upon the Ulfort’s gates, but always to no avail {{Fn|15}}<br />
* [[Volturung]]{{Fn|6a}}: A powerful Lodge who have a vast hold in the Voltdang in the [[Firespike Mountains]] in the [[Realm of Aqshy]]{{Fn|10}}<br />
* [[Vostarg]]: a Lodge located beneath the volcanoes of the [[Cynder Peaks]] on the sprawling magmahold of [[Furios Peak]]. {{Fn|6a}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
<br />
===Origin===<br />
These Duardin were the first to follow Grimnir, first appearing in Aqshy and then spread to ever other Mortal Realm. There are many tales of how they were created that recount how the god became their patron from their pantheon. Some claim they are his children while others believe they were made by the god from his incadescent Rage.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
===Death of Grimnir===<br />
The forge of the ancient Fyreslayers were built with the design taught by Grungni, but when Grimnir was shattered the subsequent Firestorm ignited the flames of the Forges of the Fyreslayers predecessors turning into the divine Zharrkhul.{{Fn|17f}}<br />
<br />
===Fall of Order===<br />
The forebears of the Fyreslayers were once related to those of the Kharadron, but those of the Fyreslayer swore themselves to Grimnir, while those of the Kharadron took to Grungni. When their mountain holds fell, the Fyreslayers refused to take them in and the ancestors of the Kharadron took to the skies.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
=TO BE REWRITTEN=<br />
==Origins==<br />
<br />
To outsiders, perhaps the strangest habit of the Fyreslayers is their practice of pressing metal into their flesh, for each bears runes of gold that are literally hammered red-hot into their bodies. In battle these sigils glow, radiating heat and light as if they were just pulled from the forge. The strongest of their number – with massive crests of hair and thickly corded muscles – are so studded with such runes that they too begin to glow, beards blazing, and cinders drifting from their smouldering skin. In their battle-rage the Fyreslayers go berserk, undaunted by the size or number of their foes and wading into the enemy’s midst with axes swinging, their voices raised to issue war-songs, coarse insults or barely coherent oaths to Grimnir.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
When not caught up in their emotions, Fyreslayers are pragmatic. They care little for politics, and are isolationists with scant empathy for the plight of others. Their concerns centre around fulfilling their own oaths, which usually boils down to acquiring gold by any means. Other races assume that the Fyreslayers are simply greedy, with an insatiable need to stockpile the precious metal. Would-be allies often grow quickly estranged as they witness Fyreslayers fighting alongside them one day and then against them the next. Across the Mortal Realms it is common enough to hear many call the fiery duardin unscrupulous warmongers, disloyal sellswords that are only too ready to fight alongside traitors, monsters or even worshippers of the Dark Gods.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
There is truth in such claims, for Fyreslayers do seek war and eagerly fight as mercenaries. And some of their kind have accepted coin from the most unsavoury of sources. However, the full reasoning behind their actions is known only by the Fyreslayers themselves, for gold and battle are intrinsically connected to their lost deity. The duardin do nothing to halt the dissemination of even the most base accusations of avarice, for others would be less likely to part with their gold if they knew the true power held within its gleaming lustre.{{Fn|17e}}<br />
<br />
==The fall of Grimnir==<br />
<br />
Long before the ending of the worldthat-was, Grimnir had sung his death-song. He had ventured alone into the Northlands seeking to close the polar gates that spewed forth Chaos and allowed the minions and warping power of the Dark Gods to pour forth into reality.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
During his journeys, Grimnir’s battles, deeds of valour, and tests of will were beyond count. Lost and bewildered by the insanity of the realm he had been drawn into, Grimnir did not complete his mission. However, such was his fiery determination and indefatigable strength that he was neither slain nor driven mad in the attempt.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
How long Grimnir wandered is unknown, for time has no meaning in the Realm of Chaos. Yet his tale truly begins after the destruction of the world-that-was, at the dawning of the Age of Myth. During that time of legends, the gods first discovered and walked amongst the Mortal Realms. And so it was with Grimnir, who one day awoke in [[Aqshy]] and found himself surrounded by his kin. Although weak and wearied from his dreadful journey, Grimnir recognised the duardin that attended him, and he rejoiced to be back in the lands of mortals.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
Despite his long plight, Grimnir sought to serve those who had revived him. He listened to their pleas and acted on them, hunting down and catching the godbeast [[Ignax]], whom he shackled to the Land of the Chained Sun so that all might have light and fire.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
Even as he rested from his task, another evil befell the duardin gods. Exactly what occurred during the event known as the [[Thagduegi]] – the Great Betrayal – is unclear, but the duardin pantheon broke apart. In the aftermath of traitorous acts, Grimnir and his brother [[Grungni]] were left shackled atop the tallest of the Iron Mountains of [[Chamon]]. There, bound in chains, the two might have stayed forever had not [[Sigmar]] – mankind’s heavenly god – stumbled upon them.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
When Sigmar loosened their heavy manacles, the duardin gods were freed. Both pledged oaths to repay the favour, but hot-headed Grimnir demanded he be allowed to settle the debt immediately. A rage had built up in Grimnir during his captivity, and he needed to release it before the blazing anger overcame him. It was the duardin god’s desire that Sigmar should name a mighty enemy for him to slay single-handedly, and thereby fulfil his vow.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
Sigmar greatly valued the duardin gods, for they had been steadfast allies in the past. Yet he knew also that to name an unworthy target would do great harm, for Grimnir was riled easily, and prideful over such matters. Acting impulsively, Sigmar named the godbeast that he himself thought would be the most difficult to conquer – a decision he immediately regretted.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
And so it was that the legendary duardin sought out [[Vulcatrix]], Mother of Salamanders, she who first birthed flame into the worlds.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
There are several tales that recount the last thing Grimnir did before setting out. Some say he downed a keg of ale, proclaiming it had to have been brewed by one of the legendary family of Bugman. Others tell of how he bid his brother Grungni to forge him a new axe for the monumental task, while those of the Vostarg lodge claim Grimnir helped choose the site of their original magmahold before embarking on his quest. All versions agree that it was not long before Grimnir strode into the Hills of Aqshy searching for his quarry. Grimnir went alone, but he did not go quietly, booming out his challenge every few strides, and hurling coarse speculations about his opponent’s lineage.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
When at last Grimnir came before Vulcatrix, she uncoiled endlessly like a molten river from between smokebelching peaks. Gleaming blade and burning fang met in showers of sparks, each blazing ember from those mighty strikes outshining the stars themselves as god sought to best monster.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
The Fyreslayers tell that it was Vulcatrix’s spite which claimed Grimnir’s life, for he delivered a mortal blow to his enemy but was felled by her death throes and the poisons that erupted from her rent form. So great was the heat released by the duel’s climax that a cataclysm followed: a fiery blast of noxious gases levelled mountains and created the Plains of Aqshy. The scorching of the lands, however, cleansed them of the foul sulphurous dusts that had once rendered them barren. Elsewhere, the falling embers formed the volcano Vostargi Mont, and dozens more across the realms.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
The nova-like event ignited the magics of Aqshy, and the impossible heat alloyed the divine spirit of Grimnir with the Great Salamander’s blood of liquid metal. God and godbeast were intertwined, and scattered far. Flaming ruin streaked across the skies, blazing like meteors to fall across the realms, while all across Aqshy volcanoes answered the outburst with eruptions like some final tribute.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
==Magmaholds==<br />
<br />
After Grimnir’s destruction, the god’s followers made their home in Aqshy. Here, along the vast volcanic mountain range known as the Salamander’s Spine, the first magmaholds were created. These were similar to karaks, the underground strongholds of other duardin, but there was one essential difference: the Fyreslayers chose exclusively to carve their underground passageways beneath active volcanoes.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
As the Fyreslayers became more familiar with the volatile environments in which they dwelt, they achieved greater and greater feats of engineering and stonecraft. Eventually they learned to channel rivers of magma, using the molten rock to bore new tunnels, or to form defensive barriers through which no foe could pass.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
It has been many ages since outsiders have been allowed to enter a [[magmahold]], for the Fyreslayers have grown ever more gruff and isolationist. In the Age of Myth – before the Fyreslayers were so guarded – some few did pass beyond the gates of such a fastness to describe what they saw there. Dark passages gave way to high arched chambers and many-pillared halls.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
It was said the architecture lacked some of the artisanal flair of the stonework that marked the duardin karaks, yet they were still works far beyond the most skilful human engineers. Even then, however, it was apparent that the Fyreslayers would rather carve foes than rock – such tasks were to be completed, and completed well, but it was not anyone’s life work. There was one area in which magmaholds bested karaks however, and that was in the hoarding of treasure.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Magmaholds were quickly filled with gold as the scions of Grimnir sought traces of their lost god. Most of the precious metal contained little or none of the divine spirit of Grimnir, and even that which did was soon drained. The by-product of ur-gold is simply gold, a substance that swiftly accumulated within the magmaholds. Thus, even the poorest Fyreslayer cities could boast vast ancestor-statues and rune-etched masks forged from solid gold, as well as columns that stretched out of sight bearing countless gilded braziers, which cast a brilliant gleam upon everything beneath them.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Doubtless it was the Fyreslayers’ riches – and the many enemies they made due to their mercenary ways – that drew invaders to their holdings. Not all the attacks were raids made in the name of plunder, however, for the Age of Chaos was dawning, and it was swiftly transforming into an era of terror. Wave after wave of assailants attacked civilisations across the Mortal Realms. Corruption, mutation, and plague were rampant.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
One by one the karaks were broken and the duardin driven out of their mountain holds. Enemies were everywhere – skaven and grots tunnelled from below, many tribes of men were corrupted and turned into blood-crazed killers that rampaged across the plains, beastmen stormed out of the forests, and daemon armies scoured the lands. Once driven out of their mountain dwellings, the duardin refugees were little more than prey for creatures such as troggoths, gargants, and other monsters that stalked the lands. It was a time of disaster for the duardin, save only in Aqshy, where the magmaholds of the Fyreslayers held strong.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Aided by their molten defences, Fyreslayer holds proved tough nuts for the Chaos forces to crack. It was significant also that all the Fyreslayers were followers of Grimnir, that is to say, they were warriors first and foremost. Invasion after invasion was repelled. A few magmaholds were breached and destroyed, but these were the smaller ones. Only when the followers of the Dark Gods turned to subterfuge did they meet with real success. Chaos forces, disguised as refugees from fallen kingdoms, were allowed to enter. Their targets were no longer the impenetrable walls of the magmaholds themselves, but the societies within: the lodges.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
===The cost of Defense===<br />
<br />
During the Age of Chaos, the magmaholds that survived did so by closing their gates. Refugees of broken civilisations, including many duardin from the karaks, sought the safety of the magmaholds, but were met only with silence as they battered upon iron-bound gates. Grim-faced and stoic, the Fyreslayers admitted no one.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
But even though the Fyreslayers closed their gates to those seeking sanctuary, they still marched out to bring war to the forces of Chaos.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Fyreslayer armies – known as fyrds – emerged from secret tunnels at will. Far from the magmaholds, new passages opened up, filling once more with lava in the wake of those who traversed them. These armies marched out into the Chaos-ridden lands and sold their axes to the highest bidders. Desperate tribes or besieged cities paid exorbitant prices in gold to the Fyreslayers. The violence of the times meant there was always a need for their services.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
During this time of horror and strife, the Fyreslayers multiplied and prospered. Secure in their volcanic homes and growing ever wealthier, the burgeoning populations within the magmaholds led to many splinter groups striking out in hopes of establishing their own domains. So did the Fyreslayers spread all across Aqshy, where they found the richest deposits of ur-gold and Magmadroth eggs. They followed ur-gold trails, mercenary contracts and tales of fortune into other lands until they had established magmaholds in every realm.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Where possible they gravitated towards volcanic regions, but at need they tunnelled into living mountains in Ghur, established bases amongst the sky-islands of Chamon, and hollowed out cairn peaks in Shyish. All continued to amass gold, largely through payment for their employment as mercenaries, but occasionally by seizing it from foes, or even by mining.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Unbeknownst to the Fyreslayers, however, they were not as immune to the designs of Chaos worshippers as they thought. Agents of Tzeentch, the Great Conspirator, were quick to whisper to the survivors of fallen kingdoms, reminding them not to forget who refused to open their gates to them in their darkest hour. Tales of the Fyreslayers’ mercenary ways were often stretched, and even those who successfully hired them were bewitched into believing themselves ill-used by greedy duardin.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
The Plague God Nurgle invented a new pox, one that clung to a single substance: gold. If touched, infected metal drove mortals to distraction, so much so that they would kill one another to possess it. All races that coveted gold were susceptible to the disease, and its grip on Fyreslayers, who already suffered from the glimmerlust, proved especially deadly. Several previously impregnable magmaholds were torn apart internally as the lodges that dwelt within became corrupted.{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
==Born of Flame==<br />
Also known as the Bright Realm and the Realm of Fire, Aqshy is made up of dozens of different continents. Once, these were all accessible to one another, connected by bodies of water, but they have since been fractured. Some lands were blasted apart by the battle of Grimnir and Vulcatrix, and even more were broken up by the ruinous energies released during the Age of Chaos. Now it is nearly impossible to reach the different landmasses without the use of Realmgates. Despite the size of the realm and its multitude of dangers, the fyrds of the Fyreslayers have scoured every corner of its lands searching for traces of ur-gold.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
The Fyreslayers originally hail from Aqshy, and have since spread to all the realms. It is still in the Realm of Fire, however, where their flames burn brightest. Even after long ages, more Fyreslayer lodges can be found in Aqshy than any other realm. The reason for this is simple: there are more ur-gold deposits and Magmadroth eggs to be found in the Realm of Fire than anywhere else.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
The earliest Fyreslayer settlements were founded along the vast mountain range known as the Salamander’s Spine. Accounts of how many holds were established there differ; however, the volatile nature of the region’s volcanoes has changed much of its landscape, meaning there is no way to verify any such claim. All of the forefathers of the current lodges came from this region, and it was the forges of these holds that roared to life with the supernatural flames of the Zharrkhul, the firestorm that raged over the skies of Aqshy after Grimnir met his doom.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
Once the epicentre of Fyreslayer culture, the Salamander’s Spine is now a desolate place. Most of the original magmaholds have been destroyed, and the few that remain have been ransacked many times. In spite of this historic decline, it is common for the lands and empires of Aqshy to remake themselves, starting anew after being swept clear by fire. So it proved for the Fyreslayers, although their legends tell many tales of the Salamander’s Spine and the lodges that began it all.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
'''VOSFORGE''' The original Vostarg lodge lived in Vosforge, largest of the magmaholds carved into the Salamander’s Spine. More lodges have sprung from that one mighty bloodline than any other of the first-forged. Hundreds of current lodges can trace their heritage directly back to those who came from that vast fortress. Today, the lodge that still bears the Vostarg name has made its home in Furios Peak, the largest volcano in the Cynder Peaks mountain range. The magmahold was founded by Urgom-Grimnir, the first to climb the Thousand Stairs and lay pick to stone where it now stands.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
'''THE HARRWORLD''' Of the place of the Greyfyrd’s origins, the Harrworld, nothing is ever said. The mountain that stood over the halls of the first of their line, the Greygrend, has been levelled. Nearly all lodges that have suffered disproportionately from the glimmerlust can trace their roots to the Greygrend, but these duardin do not speak of their troubled heritage.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
The Greyfyrd still maintain holds in Aqshy, including Asharak in the Bright Mountains and the Emberhalls in the Caustic Peaks, near the city of Hammerhal Aqsha. Their fastness on the Scarred Isle, however, was destroyed by Archaon during the Realmgate Wars. All of these locations are connected by the firepaths, portals that lead back to the Greyfyrd’s capital, the Gateswold in Chamon.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
'''KARADRUM''' While natural disasters and civil strife claimed some of the firstforged, it was the armies of Chaos that destroyed the Grymdar. Their hold of Karadrum was taken and the lodge’s Runefather slain. The refugees that escaped chose a new leader, and became the Hermdar lodge. Taking vows of vengeance, they stormed back to reclaim what had been their hold, freeing the captives therein from a terrible fate. Yet the mountainside had been riven beyond repair by the ferocity of the fighting, and so the remaining Zharrgrim priests caused the volcano to erupt, burying the underhalls in waves of lava.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
The Hermdar have remained in Aqshy ever since, establishing a new magmahold, the Grymhold, beneath the highest mountain in the Adamantine Chain. From there they continue to sell their martial services, most especially to the human tribes of the Flamescar Plateau.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
'''DRAKENHAL''' The first-forged known as the Drakendreng lodge were famous for their monster-slaying skills. Emulating Grimnir, they hunted the largest and most ferocious beasts they could find, and lined the gates of their magmahold, Drakenhal, with their quarry’s skulls. Perhaps it was this, or the rumoured size of their fabled treasure hoard, that drew Nagwroth the fyre serpent. Offspring of the titanic godbeast Nagendra, Nagwroth coiled around the mountain, and the ensuing battle destroyed Drakenhal.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
During that great catastrophe, the Drakendreng’s ruling dynasty was severed, and the survivors founded the Lofnir lodge. They left the ruins of their old home and pursued the wounded Nagwroth all the way to Ghur. There they established a new magmahold, Rufhal, within the domed volcano of Crownpeak. Since then, they have sought to fulfil the oaths of vengeance that their ancestors swore against Nagwroth.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
'''OTHER LOCATIONS''' Vostargi Mont is a huge volcano that rises from the Flamescar Plateau. It was formed from the falling debris created by Grimnir’s battle with Vulcatrix. Many Fyreslayers have mined the mountain, and the current stronghold is open to all lodges but ruled by the Vostarg. It is to this site that many humans made their way during the Age of Chaos, desperate to hire the skills of the Fyreslayers.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
The Cynder Peaks mountain range is perhaps the most volcanically active in Aqshy. Its constant eruptions bring up and spit out much that has long been buried deep. Many lodges watch where these fireballs land, for they leave craters rich in ur-gold, as well as shiny clusters of Magmadroth eggs. As the largest of the lodges, the Vostarg have claimed this lucrative region as their own.{{Fn|17c}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Age of Myth===<br />
The Fyreslayers began as the followers of [[Grimnir]] during his life in the [[Age of Myth]]. After his mutual destruction with [[Vulcatrix]], those followers, now the Fyreslayers, became possessed with gathering the material known as [[Ur-Gold]] in order to use its power and release it in battle.{{Fn|17a}}<br />
<br />
The Fyreslayers first settled in [[Aqshy]], in the [[Salamander's Spine]] mountain range creating the first [[Magmaholds]]. These holds, built only into active volcanoes, were soon filled with gold. These became the first Fyreslayer [[Lodges]], known as the [[First-Forged]].{{Fn|17b}}<br />
<br />
Whether through ill fortune, failed bloodlines, civil strife, or sheet belligerence, the First-Forged lodges break apart. Only [[Vostarg]] live on to the next generation of lodges.{{Fn|17d}}<br />
<br />
===Age of Chaos===<br />
The threats of [[Chaos]] during this age cause the Fyreslayers to shut the gates to their magmaholds, locking out refugees from broken [[Karaks]]. Meanwhile Chaos lays siege to all the major magmaholds and many of the smaller ones as well with the [[Skaven]] being the most effective against them. After a century of war though the Fyreslayers have weathered all the [[Dark Gods]] could throw at them.{{Fn|17d}}<br />
<br />
Two great migrations of Fyreslayers happen during the [[Age of Chaos]]. The '''Time of Flames''' begins after a period of cataclysmic volcanic eruptions shakes Aqshy, bringing tons of Ur-Gold to the surface with many new lodges born in the following gold-harvest. The second begins towards the end of the Age of Chaos new veins of Ur-Gold are discovered in [[Ghyran]], [[Shyish]], and [[Ghur]]. Hundreds of [[Runesons]] set off to found new lodges swelling armies as the new lodges make themselves known.{{Fn|17d}}<br />
<br />
===Age of Sigmar===<br />
When the [[Tangrim]] Lodge is paid in coin from [[Azyr]] containing ur-gold word quickly spreads to all lodges and for the first time lodges migrate to Azyr seeking ur-gold.{{Fn|17d}}<br />
<br />
During the [[Soul Wars]], all Fyreslayer cities are assailed by the dead. Magmaholds fall at a rate unheard of in the Fyreslayers' history. All the lodges in Shyish suffer losses with several destroyed and others abandoned. While the magmic powers of the Zharrgrim Priesthood are enhanced by the increase in magical energies.{{Fn|17d}}<br />
<br />
As the [[Bad Moon]] rises more often, dozens of magmaholds are assaulted and several smaller lodges are overrun.{{Fn|17d}}<br />
<br />
==The soul wars==<br />
'''The Fyreslayers weathered the Age of Chaos, defending their magmaholds and expanding during an era of terror and war. The Age of Sigmar began with promise, as the dominion of Chaos was lifted from many lands and growing civilisations offered new opportunities to earn ur-gold, yet trouble was brewing in Shyish'''{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
When Sigmar re-opened the Heavens and unleashed his Stormcast Eternals upon the Mortal Realms, he began a new era. The battles of the Realmgate Wars aided the Fyreslayers. They relieved some of the building pressure that the armies of the Dark Gods were exerting, for during the long Age of Chaos the Fyreslayers had been the only force of Order to stand firm against them. Now, with new enemies to contend with, many of the Chaos armies were drawn off to fight elsewhere. Sieges that had lasted decades were abandoned or weakened, allowing duardin counter-attacks to finally drive them off.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
This new epoch was filled with battles, for many factions that had long remained hidden emerged to strike a blow against their Chaos oppressors. The mercenary services of the Fyreslayers were in great demand, and no few lodges were forced to expand their treasure vaults. The coveted ur-gold was not merely stockpiled, however, as the constant wars allowed the Fyreslayers to release its pent-up power at rates never before seen. It was a time of great prosperity.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
As Sigmar’s alliance reclaimed lands, cities and civilisations began to be raised once more. Although the Fyreslayers did not aid in any building, they did help in their own way, for there were orruks to scour, ogor tribes to hunt down, and beastmen to beat back into the wilds.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
Over time, several Fyreslayer lodges established close ties with the new cities of Order. It was not unusual in larger settlements to see fyrds of Fyreslayers marching in and out to collect their fees. Some lodges – such as Bulder and Hermdar – developed closer ties, and the Tangrim lodge even built a forge-temple within the city of Azyrheim. Across the Mortal Realms many Runesons struck out to found new lodges, and some of these grew rich hiring out their services to the burgeoning cities. And then the winds shifted, and a time of dread omens and malign portents began.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
===Portents of Doom===<br />
<br />
Fell shadows lengthened across the Mortal Realms, and dark omens were everywhere for those that could see them. For a long time this did not include the Fyreslayers, who went about their mercenary business as usual, showing a combination of duardin practicality and gruff disdain for any form of soothsaying. Yet soon, when the sun disappeared for days on end during dark solstices, even the surliest of Fyreslayers began to feel the unnatural chill that was creeping over every realm.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
Gazing from hollow eye sockets, Nagash, Supreme Lord of the Undead and self-proclaimed ruler of Shyish, could still see much. It was Nagash’s unwavering belief that the souls of all mortal creatures should pass to him upon their death, for he was the ruler of the underworlds. He gazed upon the Mortal Realms and saw many races that withheld his due: the Sylvaneth sought to recycle the souls of their fallen, while the recently discovered Idoneth Deepkin were actually stealing souls for their own mysterious uses. Worst of all, Sigmar, who still sought Nagash as an ally in the great war against Chaos, was plucking the brightest souls of mankind to forge his Stormcast Eternals.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
Enraged, Nagash forswore all others, denouncing even former allies as thieves and betrayers, and therefore enemies. Enacting a plan long in the making, the god attempted to drown all life in a flood of necromantic magic. It was this dire event that triggered the many omens of doom that were witnessed across the Mortal Realms. While the Great Necromancer’s ultimate goal was foiled, he did succeed in unleashing a tidal wave of death magic that raged unchecked across the realms. Thus began the Soul Wars.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
===The Necroquake===<br />
<br />
Nagash’s ritual triggered a great evil, a sorcerous blast known as the Shyish necroquake, for its epicentre was in the Realm of Death. Across the realms the dead awoke, all lands were faced with invasions by spectral hosts – phantasmal horrors that sought revenge against the living – and fell magics flowed unbound throughout the realms.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
For the Fyreslayers the attacks were a shock. Lodges from all the Mortal Realms came under sudden and intense assault. Magmaholds that had held out against innumerable foes during the Age of Chaos now found their defences availed them little against spirit-armies that could materialise within their mountain strongholds, bypassing hundreds of feet of solid rock. Phantom hosts simply floated over rivers of magma that had once held back Chaos hordes.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
In Aqshy, the Vardhraz lodge fell in a single day to a surging undead horde – there were no survivors. The magmahold of Brynbak was breached for the first time in its long history. Its stout defenders managed to stave off defeat and destroy the invaders, though only through emptying their treasure vaults in order to craft enough runes for their armies. The lodge’s Vulkite Berzerkers were so overloaded with ur-gold that those who survived the hammering-in process became unstoppable killing machines, cleaving great swathes through the spectral hordes. Yet it was a victory at great cost, for many of the duardin warriors that survived the battle expired shortly after. Their hearts had burst, for even robust Fyreslayer frames are rarely able to withstand so much divine power.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
While magmaholds in all the realms were assailed, the lodges of Shyish bore the brunt of the necromantic storm. Half a dozen holds were wiped away by the Nighthaunt spearheads, and an equal number had their bloodlines severed. Some suffered a slain Runefather, while others lost their entire royal family. The Bharnak lodge lost all members of their ruling dynasty except for a single Runeson, making the matter of succession easy. Others were not so fortunate. After their patriarch fell beneath a surging tide of Chainrasps, the last remaining Runeson of the Durnhok lodge was so overcome with grief he immediately vowed to become a Doomseeker. Ever faithful, the entire lodge took a similar oath and became grimnyn, destined also to wander the realms as slayers without hearth or home.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
===Evil Tidings===<br />
<br />
The waves of undead were not the only effect of the necroquake. Just as those who were slain continued to fight, so too did many sorcerous conjurations linger long after they should have expired. Mages across the realms found the potency and longevity of their spells greatly increased.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
Buffeted by fell winds, many magmaholds in Shyish witnessed the eternal flame of their forgetemple guttering like a candle in a hurricane. Several – including those of the Ulrung and Zhuffnok lodges – were snuffed out altogether.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
With nothing but cooling embers where flames should be, the warriors of the Zhuffnok lodge underwent the ritual of grimnyn. Their deathsongs sung, they marked their faces with white skull-masks and marched out to find either hope or a glorious ending. Although the fires had gone out within their own forges, those of the Ulrung lodge did not give up hope, for the flames in their fyresteel axes still burned bright. With the runic protections of their magmahold – the Ulfort – lost, the lodge was forced to fight their way out of their own halls to escape the spectral hordes assailing them. Cast out into the gloom of the underworlds, the Ulrung began an epic journey to escape Shyish.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
There were more grim tidings. Since its discovery by the Fyreslayers, members of other races had failed to recognise ur-gold for what it truly was, save only the white-furred sorcerers of the skaven. Yet now, some of the undead forces were being drawn to large ur-gold deposits and attempting to plunder them. Where the worst of the eldritch storm thrown up by the necroquake struck, the powerful Shyishan magic had started to leech some of the ur-gold’s power.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
It was as if Nagash himself were stretching out his cold, bony fingers to pluck at the Fyreslayers’ most coveted possession. The only cure to stave off the slow siphoning of Grimnir’s spirit was to ignite the runes in the heat of battle. And there was yet another ill omen: the Bad Moon, casting its malevolent and sickly light, was on the rise.{{Fn|17h}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Warhammer: Age of Sigmar]], Beneath Clouds of War<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Warscrolls]]<br />
** {{Endn|2a}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-auric-hearthguard-en.pdf Auric Hearthguard warscroll]<br />
** {{Endn|2b}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-auric-runemaster-en.pdf Auric Runemaster warscroll]<br />
** {{Endn|2c}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-hearthguard-berzerkers-en.pdf Hearhguard Berzerkers warscroll]<br />
** {{Endn|2d}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-vulkite-berzerkers-en.pdf Vulkite Bezerkers warscroll]<br />
** {{Endn|2e}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-auric-runeson-magmadroth-en.pdf Auric Runeson of Magmaroth warscroll]<br />
** {{Endn|2f}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-auric-runefather-magmadroth-en.pdf Auric Runefather of Magmaroth warscroll]<br />
** {{Endn|2g}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-auric-runesmiter-magmadroth-en.pdf Auric Runesmiter of Magmaroth warscroll]<br />
** {{Endn|2h}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-fyreslayers-battlesmith-en.pdf Battlesmith warscroll]<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Home Games Workshop website]<br />
** {{Endn|3a}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Oathbound-Throng Oathbound Throng product description]<br />
** {{Endn|3b}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Vulkite-Berzerker-Fyrd Vulkite Berzerker Fyrd product description]<br />
** {{Endn|3c}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Vulkite-Berserkers Vulkite Berzerkers product description]<br />
** {{Endn|3d}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Auric-Hearthguard Auric Hearthguard product description]<br />
** {{Endn|3e}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Hearthguard-Berzerkers Heathguard Berzerkers product description]<br />
** {{Endn|3f}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Auric-Runemaster Auric Runemaster product description]<br />
** {{Endn|3g}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Grimwrath-Berzerker Grimwrath Berzerker product description]<br />
** {{Endn|3h}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Battlesmith Battlesmith product description]<br />
* {{Endn|4}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/blog/blog.jsp?_requestid=25143766 What's New Today: 2016/01/09]<br />
* {{Endn|5}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/blog/blog.jsp?_requestid=243498 What's New Today: 2016/01/13]<br />
* {{Endn|6}}: [[Battletome: Fyreslayers (2016)]]<br />
** {{Endn|6a}}: pgs. 22-23<br />
** {{Endn|6b}}: pgs. 46-47<br />
** {{Endn|6c}}: pg. 67<br />
** {{Endn|6d}}: pg. 13<br />
** {{Endn|6e}}: pg. 14<br />
*{{Endn|7}}: [[White Dwarf 120 (2016)]],{{Cite This}}<br />
* {{Endn|8}}: [[Battletome: Flesh-Eater Courts (2016)]],{{Cite This}}<br />
* {{Endn|9}}: [[Spear of Shadows (novel)]] by [[Josh Reynolds]],{{Cite This}}<br />
* {{Endn|10}}: [[Legends of the Age of Sigmar]] Fyreslayers - The Volturung Road by [[Guy Haley]]<br />
* {{Endn|11}}: [[Legends of the Age of Sigmar]] Fyreslayers - Four Thousand Days by [[David Guymer]]<br />
* {{Endn|12}}: [[Legends of the Age of Sigmar]] Fyreslayers - The Keys to Ruin by [[David Annandale]]<br />
* {{Endn|13}}: [[Legends of the Age of Sigmar]] Fyreslayers - Shattered Crucible by [[David Annandale]]<br />
* {{Endn|14}}: [[The Path to Glory (short story)]] by [[Evan Dicken]]<br />
* {{Endn|15}}: [https://malignportents.com/story/all-turns-to-ash/ The All turns to Ash short story on the Malign Portents website]<br />
* {{Endn|16}}: [[White Dwarf Vol 3 No 33]] (May 2019)<br />
** {{Endn|16a}}: [[The Curse-Gold Grudge (short story)]] by [[Jordan Green]], pg. 92-95<br />
* {{Endn|17}}: [[Battletome: Fyreslayers (2019)]]<br />
** {{Endn|17a}}: The Fall of Grimnir, pg. 8-9<br />
** {{Endn|17b}}: Magmaholds, pg. 10-11<br />
** {{Endn|17c}}: Born of Flame, pg. 14-15<br />
** {{Endn|17d}}: Legacy of the Lodges, pg. 22-23<br />
** {{Endn|17e}}: pg.4-5<br />
** {{Endn|17f}}: pg.12-13<br />
** {{Endn|17g}}: pg.29<br />
** {{Endn|17h}}: Soul Wars, pg.20-21<br />
* {{Endn|18}}: [[White Dwarf Vol 3 No 34]] (June 2019)<br />
**{{Endn|18a}}: The Tome Celestial: The Vostarg Lodge, pg. 30-51<br />
<br />
{{Fyreslayers}}<br />
{{Grand Alliance/Order}}<br />
<br />
[[Category: Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar factions]]<br />
[[Category: Fyreslayers| ]]<br />
[[Category: Duardin]]<br />
<br />
[[de:Fyreslayers]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Runesmiter&diff=88598Runesmiter2020-04-04T23:59:38Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Auric Runesmiter</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Auric Runesmiter]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Runemaster&diff=88597Runemaster2020-04-04T23:59:03Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Auric Runemaster</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Auric Runemaster]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Gotrek_Gurnisson&diff=88564Gotrek Gurnisson2020-03-30T03:22:18Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>{{spoiler|source= Realmslayer: A Gotrek Gurnisson Series (audio drama)}}<br />
{{spoiler|source= The Bone Desert (short story)}}<br />
<br />
[[File:Gotrek Gurnisson1.jpg|Right|thumb|Image of Gotrek from the cover of Realmslayer]]<br />
<br />
'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a [[Duardin]] [[Slayer]] who stepped into the [[Realm of Chaos]] from the [[World-that-Was]] in the [[End Times]] and eventually found himself in the [[Mortal Realms]]. {{Fn|1}} <br />
<br />
==History==<br />
He strode through a [[realmgate]] into the [[Unbak]] [[Fyreslayer]] lodge, at first thinking he was still within the Realm of Chaos. Disdainful of the strange ''dwarves'' and their stunted wingless dragon (a [[magmadroth]]) he resorted to violence – it would take many duardin to finally overcome him and throw him into a cell with [[Maleneth Witchblade]]. When [[Skaven]] attacked the hold, the young [[Battlesmith]] [[Broddur]] released him, although Gotrek was still not convinced any of it was real. The Skaven stole the [[Master Rune]] that Maleneth was seeking and fled.{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
Subsequently he sought to travel to [[Hammerhal]] Aqsha, seeking the [[Stormcast Eternals]] who he is convinced might number [[Felix Jaeger]] amongst their ranks. He is accompanied by Broddur and some of the slayers from the lodge who consider him [[Grimnir]] reborn – much to his disgust. As they travel across the [[Flamescar Plateau]] they save the young prince of [[Edassa]] and discover a plot by the forces of Chaos to infiltrate Hammerhal with a large force.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Reluctantly he enlists the aid of a [[necromancer]] [[Uthan]] who promises to take them to the city via the [[Realm of Shyish]].{{Fn|1c}} After a battle at the [[Burning Gate]] where most of his companions are slain, he finds his way to the [[Nighthaunt]] kingdom of the [[Amethyst Fords]] and another combative encounter with both the Skaven and Maleneth.{{Fn|1d}} Finally he reaches Hammerhal with Broddur and encounters a Stormcast Eternal, but no sign of Felix. He decides to get drunk and watch the city burn but is finally roused into action by the Battlesmith and the [[Aelf]] assassin who reveals herself to be a member of the [[Order of Azyr]]. Gotrek and the others disrupt a Chaos ritual seeking to harness the stolen Master Rune and he hammers it into his own flesh to prevent it. {{Fn|1e}}<br />
<br />
Following this act and to his immense annoyance, many more Fyreslayers also saw him as their warrior god reborn, a god that Gotrek considered had betrayed him.{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|1b}} Those that sought him out he made swear oaths to leave him alone and he now sought his lost axe, still accompanied by Maleneth who herself had pledged to protect the Master Rune.{{Fn|2a}} Pursued by various assassins across the [[Bone Desert]] in the [[Realm of Ghur]] they travel to the [[Eight Pillars]] to try and find the inscriptions that are rumoured to speak of the legendary [[Axe of Grimnir]], his lost weapon. {{Fn|2}} <br />
<br />
However, when the [[aelf]] is poisoned, he takes her to the [[Temple of the Lightning]] in an attempt to save her – when she recovers and after yet another attempt on her life, he confesses that he needs her as a companion and as someone to explain the world to him. {{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
{| width="33%" align="center"<br />
|align="center"|''The gods themselves have tried to betray me, slay me even. I have broken [[daemon]]s and fought deranged wizards and slain beasts and monsters that would tear apart legions of your gold-armoured champions. I have fallen from the skies amidst fire and battled through the depths of the earth for days at a time. I have been flung into an ocean of madness and filth and clawed my way out. The boy knows nothing of fear, because these realms know nothing of it. I spit on your idea of fear.''<br />
'''~ Gotrek to Maleneth.'''{{Fn|2a}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Notes==<br />
Gotrek is portrayed by the actor [[Brian Blessed]] in the Realmslayer Audio drama. {{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
==See Also==<br />
* [[lex_en_whfb:Gotrek Gurnisson|Gotrek Gurnisson]]: For the article about this character on the Fantasy Battles wiki.<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Realmslayer: A Gotrek Gurnisson Series (audio drama)]] by [[David Guymer]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: Booklet<br />
** {{Endn|1b}}: Disc One: Doomseeker<br />
** {{Endn|1c}}: Disc Two: Unremembered<br />
** {{Endn|1d}}: Disc Three: Here a Slayer Lies<br />
** {{Endn|1e}}: Disc Four: Blood and Gold<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[The Bone Desert (short story)]] by [[Robbie MacNiven]]<br />
** {{Endn|2a}}: Chapter One, pg. 11-19<br />
** {{Endn|2b}}: Chapter Thirteen, pg. 115-122<br />
<br />
[[Category: Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
[[Category: Characters]]<br />
[[Category: Duardin]]<br />
[[Category: Survivors of the World-That-Was]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Soul_Wars&diff=88456Soul Wars2020-03-23T05:21:40Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>{{Battle3<br />
|Name = Soul Wars<br />
|Image = Stormcast Eternals vs Nighthaunt 01.jpg<br />
|Date = [[Arcanum Optimar]]<br />
|Location = [[Mortal Realms]]<br />
|Outcome = Ongoing<br />
|Combatant1 = [[Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
|Combatant2 = [[Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
|Combatant3 = [[Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
|Commanders1= [[Nagash]]<br>[[Mortarchs]]<br />
|Commanders2= [[Sigmar]]<br />
|Commanders3= [[Archaon the Everchosen]]<br />
|Strength1 = [[Nighthaunt]] [[Processions]]<br>[[Ossiarch Bonereapers]]<br>[[Legion of Nagash]]<br />
|Strength2 = [[Stormhosts]]<br>[[Freeguild]] Regiments<br>[[Idoneth]] Enclaves<br />
|Strength3 = [[Varanguard]]<br>[[Slaves to Darkness]]<br />
|Casualties1= Heavy<br />
|Casualties2= Heavy<br />
|Casualties3= Very heavy<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Soul Wars''' are a series of wars that happened during the [[Arcanum Optimar]] after the [[Necroquake]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
It is a war of vengeance started by [[Nagash]] against any who denied the self-proclaimed ruler of the [[Realm of Shyish]] of his perceived due over all the souls of deceased and the [[underworlds]]. This war is led by the [[Mortarchs]] and spearheaded by the spectral hosts of the [[Nighthaunt]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
Nagash began planning to dominate Shyish and the [[Mortal Realms]] since he was released by Sigmar during the [[Age of Myth]]. He defeated and devoured many gods of death that ruled the myriad of underworlds of Shyish. After discovering vast amounts of [[Grave-sand]], the [[realmstone]] of Shyish, Nagash began sending long lines of skeletons to harvest them to build the Black Pyramid, a floating inverted pyramid in [[Nagashizzar]] as well as many smaller ones. Nagash considers the souls of the dead as rightfully his and many has withheld them from him. The Chaos Gods specially Slaanesh who devoured the souls of Aelves from the [[World-That-Was]] and the Aelf gods who stole them again, the [[Idoneth Deepkin]] who steal souls and withhold their own souls from going to the underworlds but most of all Sigmar the Soul-thief who steal the souls of heroes to forge [[Stormcast Eternals]].{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
During the [[Time of Tribulations]] Nagash almost succeeded in his goal but the skaven of [[Clan Slynk]] had infiltrated the great pyramid and corrupted the ritual resulting in the [[Shyish Necroquake]] that resulted in the creation of the Shyish Nadir, a vortex of death magic concentrated in the center of Shyish while shockwaves caused the dead to rise in trillions across the mortal realms and [[Endless Spell|Endless Magic]] is unleashed upon the realms. Thus began the Soul Wars. {{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Course of the Wars==<br />
====Opening Moves====<br />
Following the Necroquake, Nagash claimed all the souls that have died. This includes souls from Chaos, Stormcast Eternals, [[Idoneth Deepkin]], [[Sylvaneth]], and the [[Daughters of Khaine]]. To enforce this claim, Nagash has his [[Nighthaunt]] processions attack every major [[Free City]]. This leads to the [[Second Battle of Glymmsforge]], the Stormcasts protect the city but the land around it is corrupted with undeath.{{Fn|4a}}{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
Sigmar responds with the [[Resurrection Crusade]], charging his [[Lord-Arcanums]] with fifty five [[Sacrosanct Chambers]] to reclaim Shyishan territories lost during the Necroquake and find a way to reverse the flaw of [[Reforging]].{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
[[Tornus the Redeemed]] also leads several raids upon Nagash’s holdings with his brotherhood of [[Redeemed]].{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
====Siege of Sorrow====<br />
{{Main|Siege of Sorrow}}<br />
<br />
The necroquake also disturbed Sigmar's [[Stormvaults]], where Sigmar stored artifacts too dangerous and powerful to destroy, including one beneath the Free City of [[Lethis]] awakening the soul trapped within it and revealing it to Nagash. Nagash sent [[Lady Olynder]] with her [[Legion of Grief]] to open the Stormvault, known as the Midnight Tomb, and retrieve this soul. This resulted in the [[Siege of Sorrow]].{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
Due to the betrayal of some [[Fyreslayer]] mercenaries, the Legion of Grief was allowed to enter the city, attack the city's [[Stormkeep]] and move on the Midnight Tomb. At that moment the [[Celestant-Prime]] arrived and drove the [[Dead]] and their new allies from the [[Stormkeep]] in the city. Meanwhile the timely intervention of a deranged [[Flesh-Eater Court]] helped the defenders drive the Legion of Grief back from the city.{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
It was too late, however, and the Midnight Tomb was opened. The soul inside, [[Orpheon Katakros]] was freed and was taken by Nagash to be placed as the new [[Mortarch]] of the [[Ossiarch Bonereapers]].{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
====Siege of the Eightpoints====<br />
{{Main|Siege of the Eightpoints}}<br />
After being released, Katakros put all his efforts into waging war against all of Nagash's enemies. He quickly scoured the lands east of the [[Shyish Nadir]] turning them into the [[Ossiarch Empire]]. Katakros then destroyed the [[Greygaunts Chamber]] of the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]] in the [[Battle of the Daxamatic]].{{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
Katakros was then tasked by Nagash with conquering the [[Eightpoints]]. Luckily for him, the [[necroquake]] was already wrecking havoc in the Eightpoints and [[Archaon]] himself was away with most of his [[Varanguard]] attempting to free the [[Chaos God]] [[Slaanesh]].{{Fn|7a}}{{Fn|7b}}<br />
<br />
First Katakros had the [[Legion of Grief]] attack as his vanguard. In short order, the Legion conquered the fortress of [[Karheight]] around the [[Endgate]] and slew the [[Chaos Lord]] [[Namon Saskarid]]. When they could push no further into the Eightpoints, Katakros and the Ossiarch Bonereapers arrived. Katakros destroyed the Chaos warbands arrayed against him at the battle of Haradh's Torment and established an Ossiarch stronghold around the Endgate, known as the [[Arx Terminus]].{{Fn|7c}}{{Fn|7d}}{{Fn|7e}}<br />
<br />
After a long campaign, Katakros and his forces reached the walls of the [[Varanspire]] but were repelled by [[Archaon]] himself, with Katakros cut down by the [[Slayer of Kings]].{{Fn|7f}}{{Fn|7g}}<br />
<br />
Katakros survived and began plotting his next moves on the Eightpoints.{{Fn|7h}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Malign Sorcery]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: How Living Magic came to the Mortal Realms, pg. 14-15<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Battletome: Legions of Nagash (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|2a}}: The Lord of Undeath, pg. 4<br />
** {{Endn|2b}}: The Missing Souls, pg. 10-14<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [[Battletome: Skaven (2019)]], Rise of the Under-Empire, pg. 18-21<br />
* {{Endn|4}}: [[Battletome: Nighthaunt (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|4a}}: Chronicles of Terror, pg. 18-19<br />
* {{Endn|5}}: [[Battletome: Stormcast Eternals (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|5a}}: A Thousand Storms, pg. 20-25<br />
* {{Endn|6}}: [[Soul Wars: Forbidden Power]]<br />
* {{Endn|7}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]]<br />
** {{Endn|7a}}: An Age of Strife, pg. 6-11<br />
** {{Endn|7b}}: To Free A God, pg. 18-19<br />
** {{Endn|7c}}: The Veiled Lady, pg. 24-25<br />
** {{Endn|7d}}: The Undefeated One, pg. 30-31<br />
** {{Endn|7e}}: Katakros Triumphant, pg.32-37<br />
** {{Endn|7f}}: Relentless Conquest, pg. 40-41<br />
** {{Endn|7g}}: Archaon's Wrath, pg. 42-47<br />
** {{Endn|7h}}: Deathless Glory, pg. 48<br />
<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category: Arcanum Optimar]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Lieges&diff=88455Lieges2020-03-23T05:18:05Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Liege-Kavalos</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Liege-Kavalos]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Template:Khorne_Bloodbound&diff=88429Template:Khorne Bloodbound2020-03-21T06:48:30Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div><onlyinclude><br />
{|align=center border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"<br />
|colspan=2 align=center style=background:#ffd000 align=center|'''[[Khorne Bloodbound]]'''<br />
<br />
|-<br />
| [[List of Khorne Bloodbound units|Units]]<br />
| [[Blood Warrior]] - [[Bloodreaver]] - [[Gorechosen]] ([[Aspiring Deathbringer]] - [[Bloodsecrator]] - [[Bloodstoker]] - [[Skullgrinder]] - [[Exalted Deahbringer]] - [[Slaughterpriest]]) - [[Khorgorath]] - [[Juggernaut]] - [[Lord of Khorne]] ([[Mighty Lord of Khorne|Mighty]]) - [[Mighty Skullcrusher]] - [[Skullreaper]] - [[Wrathmonger]]<br />
<br />
|-<br />
| [[List of Khorne Bloodbound characters|Characters]] <br />
| [[Ahazian Kel]] - [[Akhagor]] - [[Anhur]] - [[Balghor]] - [[Blackjaw]] - [[Drane]] - [[Dravek Daemonfist]] - [[Garsa]] - [[Ghaar'eth]] - [[Gigante]] - [[Graunos]] - [[Grizzlemaw]] - [[Isengrim]] - [[Kaelgor]] - [[Kathag]] - [[Khuldrak]] - [[Korghos Khul]] - [[Koroth]] - [[Korox Tyrantscorn]] - [[Krev Deathstalker]] - [[Kurgoth]] - [[Lashkar Bloodspeaker]] - [[Baudrax]] - [[Rakhan]] - [[Riptooth]] - [[Ruhok]] - [[Scylla Anfingrimm]] - [[Selkhara]] - [[Skalok]] - [[Skarku]] - [[Skarr Bloodwrath]] - [[Skuldrak]] - [[Tarvak]] - [[The Beast]] - [[Therekal]] - [[Threx Skullbrand]] - [[Ushkar Mir]] - [[Valkia]] - [[Vehk]] - [[Volundr]] - [[Vorax]] - [[Vorgaroth]] - [[Vorhak]] - [[Vrak Brazenfist]]<br />
<br />
|-<br />
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |<!--[[Khorne Bloodbound Armoury|Armoury]] - -->[[:Category: Khorne Bloodbound artwork|Artwork]] - [[:Category: Khorne Bloodbound miniatures|Miniatures]]<!-- - [[Khorne Bloodbound Quotes|Quotes]] - [[List of Khorne Bloodbound spells|Spells]] - [[List of Khorne Bloodbound named vehicles|Vehicles]] - [[List of Khorne Bloodbound endless spells|Endless Spells]]--><br />
<br />
|}<br />
</onlyinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Navigation Templates]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Soul_Wars&diff=88428Soul Wars2020-03-21T06:45:24Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Battle3<br />
|Name = Soul Wars<br />
|Image = Stormcast Eternals vs Nighthaunt 01.jpg<br />
|Date = [[Arcanum Optimar]]<br />
|Location = [[Mortal Realms]]<br />
|Outcome = Ongoing<br />
|Combatant1 = [[Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
|Combatant2 = [[Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
|Combatant3 = [[Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
|Commanders1= [[Nagash]]<br>[[Mortarchs]]<br />
|Commanders2= [[Sigmar]]<br />
|Commanders3= [[Archaon the Everchosen]]<br />
|Strength1 = [[Nighthaunt]] [[Processions]]<br>[[Ossiarch Bonereapers]]<br>[[Legion of Nagash]]<br />
|Strength2 = [[Stormhosts]]<br>[[Freeguild]] Regiments<br>[[Idoneth]] Enclaves<br />
|Strength3 = [[Varanguard]]<br>[[Slaves to Darkness]]<br />
|Casualties1= Heavy<br />
|Casualties2= Heavy<br />
|Casualties3= Very heavy<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Soul Wars''' are a series of wars that happened during the [[Arcanum Optimar]] after the [[Necroquake]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
It is a war of vengeance started by [[Nagash]] against any who denied the self-proclaimed ruler of the [[Realm of Shyish]] of his perceived due over all the souls of deceased and the [[underworlds]]. This war is led by the [[Mortarchs]] and spearheaded by the spectral hosts of the [[Nighthaunt]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
Nagash began planning to dominate Shyish and the [[Mortal Realms]] since he was released by Sigmar during the [[Age of Myth]]. He defeated and devoured many gods of death that ruled the myriad of underworlds of Shyish. After discovering vast amounts of [[Grave-sand]], the [[realmstone]] of Shyish, Nagash began sending long lines of skeletons to harvest them to build the Black Pyramid, a floating inverted pyramid in [[Nagashizzar]] as well as many smaller ones. Nagash considers the souls of the dead as rightfully his and many has withheld them from him. The Chaos Gods specially Slaanesh who devoured the souls of Aelves from the [[World-That-Was]] and the Aelf gods who stole them again, the [[Idoneth Deepkin]] who steal souls and withhold their own souls from going to the underworlds but most of all Sigmar the Soul-thief who steal the souls of heroes to forge [[Stormcast Eternals]].{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
During the [[Time of Tribulations]] Nagash almost succeeded in his goal but the skaven of [[Clan Slynk]] had infiltrated the great pyramid and corrupted the ritual resulting in the [[Shyish Necroquake]] that resulted in the creation of the Shyish Nadir, a vortex of death magic concentrated in the center of Shyish while shockwaves caused the dead to rise in trillions across the mortal realms and [[Endless Spell|Endless Magic]] is unleashed upon the realms. Thus began the Soul Wars. {{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Course of the Wars==<br />
====Opening Moves====<br />
Following the Necroquake, Nagash claimed all the souls that have died. This includes souls from Chaos, Stormcast Eternals, [[Idoneth Deepkin]], [[Sylvaneth]], and the [[Daughters of Khaine]]. To enforce this claim, Nagash has his [[Nighthaunt]] processions attack every major [[Free City]]. This leads to the [[Second Battle of Glymmsforge]], the Stormcasts protect the city but the land around it is corrupted with undeath.{{Fn|4a}}{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
Sigmar responds with the [[Resurrection Crusade]], charging his [[Lord-Arcanums]] with fifty five [[Sacrosanct Chambers]] to reclaim Shyishan territories lost during the Necroquake and find a way to reverse the flaw of [[Reforging]].{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
[[Tornus the Redeemed]] also leads several raids upon Nagash’s holdings with his brotherhood of [[Redeemed]].{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
====Siege of Sorrow====<br />
{{Main|Siege of Sorrow}}<br />
<br />
The necroquake also disturbed Sigmar's [[Stormvaults]], where Sigmar stored artifacts too dangerous and powerful to destroy, including one beneath the Free City of [[Lethis]] awakening the soul trapped within it and revealing it to Nagash. Nagash sent [[Lady Olynder]] with her [[Legion of Grief]] to open the Stormvault, known as the Midnight Tomb, and retrieve this soul. This resulted in the [[Siege of Sorrow]].{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
Due to the betrayal of some [[Fyreslayer]] mercenaries, the Legion of Grief was allowed to enter the city, attack the city's [[Stormkeep]] and move on the Midnight Tomb. At that moment the [[Celestant-Prime]] arrived and drove the [[Dead]] and their new allies from the [[Stormkeep]] in the city. Meanwhile the timely intervention of a deranged [[Flesh-Eater Court]] helped the defenders drive the Legion of Grief back from the city.{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
It was too late, however, and the Midnight Tomb was opened. The soul inside, [[Orpheon Katakros]] was freed and was taken by Nagash to be placed as the new [[Mortarch]] of the [[Ossiarch Bonereapers]].{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
====Siege of the Eightpoints====<br />
After being released, Katakros put all his efforts into waging war against all of Nagash's enemies. He quickly scoured the lands east of the [[Shyish Nadir]] turning them into the [[Ossiarch Empire]]. Katakros then destroyed the [[Greygaunts Chamber]] of the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]] in the [[Battle of the Daxamatic]].{{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
Katakros was then tasked by Nagash with conquering the [[Eightpoints]]. Luckily for him, the [[necroquake]] was already wrecking havoc in the Eightpoints and [[Archaon]] himself was away with most of his [[Varanguard]] attempting to free the [[Chaos God]] [[Slaanesh]].{{Fn|7a}}{{Fn|7b}}<br />
<br />
First Katakros had the [[Legion of Grief]] attack as his vanguard. In short order, the Legion conquered the fortress of [[Karheight]] around the [[Endgate]] and slew the [[Chaos Lord]] [[Namon Saskarid]]. When they could push no further into the Eightpoints, Katakros and the Ossiarch Bonereapers arrived. Katakros destroyed the Chaos warbands arrayed against him at the battle of Haradh's Torment and established an Ossiarch stronghold around the Endgate, known as the [[Arx Terminus]].{{Fn|7c}}{{Fn|7d}}{{Fn|7e}}<br />
<br />
After a long campaign, Katakros and his forces reached the walls of the [[Varanspire]] but were repelled by [[Archaon]] himself, with Katakros cut down by the [[Slayer of Kings]].{{Fn|7f}}{{Fn|7g}}<br />
<br />
Katakros survived and began plotting his next moves on the Eightpoints.{{Fn|7h}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Malign Sorcery]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: How Living Magic came to the Mortal Realms, pg. 14-15<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Battletome: Legions of Nagash (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|2a}}: The Lord of Undeath, pg. 4<br />
** {{Endn|2b}}: The Missing Souls, pg. 10-14<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [[Battletome: Skaven (2019)]], Rise of the Under-Empire, pg. 18-21<br />
* {{Endn|4}}: [[Battletome: Nighthaunt (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|4a}}: Chronicles of Terror, pg. 18-19<br />
* {{Endn|5}}: [[Battletome: Stormcast Eternals (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|5a}}: A Thousand Storms, pg. 20-25<br />
* {{Endn|6}}: [[Soul Wars: Forbidden Power]]<br />
* {{Endn|7}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]]<br />
** {{Endn|7a}}: An Age of Strife, pg. 6-11<br />
** {{Endn|7b}}: To Free A God, pg. 18-19<br />
** {{Endn|7c}}: The Veiled Lady, pg. 24-25<br />
** {{Endn|7d}}: The Undefeated One, pg. 30-31<br />
** {{Endn|7e}}: Katakros Triumphant, pg.32-37<br />
** {{Endn|7f}}: Relentless Conquest, pg. 40-41<br />
** {{Endn|7g}}: Archaon's Wrath, pg. 42-47<br />
** {{Endn|7h}}: Deathless Glory, pg. 48<br />
<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category: Arcanum Optimar]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Azyrite&diff=88427Azyrite2020-03-21T06:43:40Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Azyr</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Azyr]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Stormvaults&diff=88426Stormvaults2020-03-21T06:43:14Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Stormvault</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Stormvault]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Soul_Wars&diff=88425Soul Wars2020-03-21T06:42:55Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Battle3<br />
|Name = Soul Wars<br />
|Image = Stormcast Eternals vs Nighthaunt 01.jpg<br />
|Date = [[Arcanum Optimar]]<br />
|Location = [[Mortal Realms]]<br />
|Outcome = Ongoing<br />
|Combatant1 = [[Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
|Combatant2 = [[Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
|Combatant3 = [[Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
|Commanders1= [[Nagash]]<br>[[Mortarchs]]<br />
|Commanders2= [[Sigmar]]<br />
|Commanders3= [[Archaon the Everchosen]]<br />
|Strength1 = [[Nighthaunt]] [[Processions]]<br>[[Ossiarch Bonereapers]]<br>[[Legion of Nagash]]<br />
|Strength2 = [[Stormhosts]]<br>[[Freeguild]] Regiments<br>[[Idoneth]] Enclaves<br />
|Strength3 = [[Varanguard]]<br>[[Slaves to Darkness]]<br />
|Casualties1= Heavy<br />
|Casualties2= Heavy<br />
|Casualties3= Very heavy<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Soul Wars''' are a series of wars that happened during the [[Arcanum Optimar]] after the [[Necroquake]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
It is a war of vengeance started by [[Nagash]] against any who denied the self-proclaimed ruler of the [[Realm of Shyish]] of his perceived due over all the souls of deceased and the [[underworlds]]. This war is led by the [[Mortarchs]] and spearheaded by the spectral hosts of the [[Nighthaunt]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
Nagash began planning to dominate Shyish and the [[Mortal Realms]] since he was released by Sigmar during the [[Age of Myth]]. He defeated and devoured many gods of death that ruled the myriad of underworlds of Shyish. After discovering vast amounts of [[Grave-sand]], the [[realmstone]] of Shyish, Nagash began sending long lines of skeletons to harvest them to build the Black Pyramid, a floating inverted pyramid in [[Nagashizzar]] as well as many smaller ones. Nagash considers the souls of the dead as rightfully his and many has withheld them from him. The Chaos Gods specially Slaanesh who devoured the souls of Aelves from the [[World-That-Was]] and the Aelf gods who stole them again, the [[Idoneth Deepkin]] who steal souls and withhold their own souls from going to the underworlds but most of all Sigmar the Soul-thief who steal the souls of heroes to forge [[Stormcast Eternals]].{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
During the [[Time of Tribulations]] Nagash almost succeeded in his goal but the skaven of [[Clan Slynk]] had infiltrated the great pyramid and corrupted the ritual resulting in the [[Shyish Necroquake]] that resulted in the creation of the Shyish Nadir, a vortex of death magic concentrated in the center of Shyish while shockwaves caused the dead to rise in trillions across the mortal realms and [[Endless Spell|Endless Magic]] is unleashed upon the realms. Thus began the Soul Wars. {{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Course of the Wars==<br />
====Opening Moves====<br />
Following the Necroquake, Nagash claimed all the souls that have died. This includes souls from Chaos, Stormcast Eternals, [[Idoneth Deepkin]], [[Sylvaneth]], and the [[Daughters of Khaine]]. To enforce this claim, Nagash has his [[Nighthaunt]] processions attack every major [[Free City]]. This leads to the [[Second Battle of Glymmsforge]], the Stormcasts protect the city but the land around it is corrupted with undeath.{{Fn|4a}}{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
Sigmar responds with the [[Resurrection Crusade]], charging his [[Lord-Arcanums]] with fifty five [[Sacrosanct Chambers]] to reclaim Shyishan territories lost during the Necroquake and find a way to reverse the flaw of [[Reforging]].{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
[[Tornus the Redeemed]] also leads several raids upon Nagash’s holdings with his brotherhood of [[Redeemed]].{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
====Siege of Sorrow====<br />
{{Main|Siege of Sorrow}}<br />
<br />
The necroquake also disturbed Sigmar's [[Stormvaults]], where Sigmar stored artifacts too dangerous and powerful to destroy, including one beneath the Free City of [[Lethis]] awakening the soul trapped within it and revealing it to Nagash. Nagash sent [[Lady Olynder]] with her [[Legion of Grief]] to open the Stormvault, known as the Midnight Tomb, and retrieve this soul. This resulted in the [[Siege of Sorrow]].{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
Due to the betrayal of some [[Fyreslayer]] mercenaries, the Legion of Grief was allowed to enter the city, attack the city's [[Stormkeep]] and move on the Midnight Tomb. At that moment the [[Celestant-Prime]] arrived and drove the [[Dead]] and their new allies from the [[Stormkeep]] in the city. Meanwhile the timely intervention of a deranged [[Flesh-Eater Court]] helped the defenders drive the Legion of Grief back from the city.{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
It was too late, however, and the Midnight Tomb was opened. The soul inside, [[Orpheon Katakros]] was freed and was taken by Nagash to be placed as the new [[Mortarch]] of the [[Ossiarch Bonereapers]].{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
====Siege of the Eightpoints====<br />
After being released, Katakros put all his efforts into waging war against all of Nagash's enemies. He quickly scoured the lands east of the [[Shyish Nadir]] turning them into the [[Ossiarch Empire]]. Katakros then destroyed the [[Greygaunts Chamber]] of the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]] in the [[Battle of the Daxamatic]].{{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
Katakros was then tasked by Nagash with conquering the [[Eightpoints]]. Luckily for him, the [[necroquake]] was already wrecking havoc in the Eightpoints and [[Archaon]] himself was away with most of his [[Varanguard]] attempting to free the [[Chaos God]] [[Slaanesh]].{{Fn|7a}}{{Fn|7b}}<br />
<br />
First Katakros had the [[Legion of Grief]] attack as his vanguard. In short order, the Legion conquered the fortress of [[Karheight]] around the [[Endgate]] and slew the [[Chaos Lord]] [[Namon Saskarid]]. When they could push no further into the Eightpoints, Katakros and the Ossiarch Bonereapers arrived. Katakros destroyed the Chaos warbands arrayed against him at the battle of Haradh's Torment and established an Ossiarch stronghold around the Endgate, known as the [[Arx Terminus]].{{Fn|7c}}{{Fn|7d}}{{Fn|7e}}<br />
<br />
After a long campaign, Katakros and his forces reached the walls of the [[Varanspire]] but were repelled by [[Archaon]] himself, with Katakros cut down by the [[Slayer of Kings]].{{Fn|7f}}{{Fn|7g}}<br />
<br />
Katakros survived and began plotting his next moves on the Eightpoints.{{Fn|7<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Malign Sorcery]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: How Living Magic came to the Mortal Realms, pg. 14-15<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Battletome: Legions of Nagash (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|2a}}: The Lord of Undeath, pg. 4<br />
** {{Endn|2b}}: The Missing Souls, pg. 10-14<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [[Battletome: Skaven (2019)]], Rise of the Under-Empire, pg. 18-21<br />
* {{Endn|4}}: [[Battletome: Nighthaunt (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|4a}}: Chronicles of Terror, pg. 18-19<br />
* {{Endn|5}}: [[Battletome: Stormcast Eternals (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|5a}}: A Thousand Storms, pg. 20-25<br />
* {{Endn|6}}: [[Soul Wars: Forbidden Power]]<br />
* {{Endn|7}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]]<br />
** {{Endn|7a}}: An Age of Strife, pg. 6-11<br />
** {{Endn|7b}}: To Free A God, pg. 18-19<br />
** {{Endn|7c}}: The Veiled Lady, pg. 24-25<br />
** {{Endn|7d}}: The Undefeated One, pg. 30-31<br />
** {{Endn|7e}}: Katakros Triumphant, pg.32-37<br />
** {{Endn|7f}}: Relentless Conquest, pg. 40-41<br />
** {{Endn|7g}}: Archaon's Wrath, pg. 42-47<br />
** {{Endn|7h}}: Deathless Glory, pg. 48<br />
<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category: Arcanum Optimar]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Soul_Wars&diff=88424Soul Wars2020-03-21T06:40:43Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Battle3<br />
|Name = Soul Wars<br />
|Image = Stormcast Eternals vs Nighthaunt 01.jpg<br />
|Date = [[Arcanum Optimar]]<br />
|Location = [[Mortal Realms]]<br />
|Outcome = Ongoing<br />
|Combatant1 = [[Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
|Combatant2 = [[Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
|Combatant3 = [[Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
|Commanders1= [[Nagash]]<br>[[Mortarchs]]<br />
|Commanders2= [[Sigmar]]<br />
|Commanders3= [[Archaon the Everchosen]]<br />
|Strength1 = [[Nighthaunt]] [[Processions]]<br>[[Ossiarch Bonereapers]]<br>[[Legion of Nagash]]<br />
|Strength2 = [[Stormhosts]]<br>[[Freeguild]] Regiments<br>[[Idoneth]] Enclaves<br />
|Strength3 = [[Varanguard]]<br>[[Slaves to Darkness]]<br />
|Casualties1= Heavy<br />
|Casualties2= Heavy<br />
|Casualties3= Very heavy<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Soul Wars''' are a series of wars that happened during the [[Arcanum Optimar]] after the [[Necroquake]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
It is a war of vengeance started by [[Nagash]] against any who denied the self-proclaimed ruler of the [[Realm of Shyish]] of his perceived due over all the souls of deceased and the [[underworlds]]. This war is led by the [[Mortarchs]] and spearheaded by the spectral hosts of the [[Nighthaunt]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
Nagash began planning to dominate Shyish and the [[Mortal Realms]] since he was released by Sigmar during the [[Age of Myth]]. He defeated and devoured many gods of death that ruled the myriad of underworlds of Shyish. After discovering vast amounts of [[Grave-sand]], the [[realmstone]] of Shyish, Nagash began sending long lines of skeletons to harvest them to build the Black Pyramid, a floating inverted pyramid in [[Nagashizzar]] as well as many smaller ones. Nagash considers the souls of the dead as rightfully his and many has withheld them from him. The Chaos Gods specially Slaanesh who devoured the souls of Aelves from the [[World-That-Was]] and the Aelf gods who stole them again, the [[Idoneth Deepkin]] who steal souls and withhold their own souls from going to the underworlds but most of all Sigmar the Soul-thief who steal the souls of heroes to forge [[Stormcast Eternals]].{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
During the [[Time of Tribulations]] Nagash almost succeeded in his goal but the skaven of [[Clan Slynk]] had infiltrated the great pyramid and corrupted the ritual resulting in the [[Shyish Necroquake]] that resulted in the creation of the Shyish Nadir, a vortex of death magic concentrated in the center of Shyish while shockwaves caused the dead to rise in trillions across the mortal realms and [[Endless Spell|Endless Magic]] is unleashed upon the realms. Thus began the Soul Wars. {{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Course of the Wars==<br />
====Opening Moves====<br />
Following the Necroquake, Nagash declared the [[Soul Wars]] in which he claimed all the souls that have died. This includes souls from Chaos, Stormcast Eternals, [[Idoneth Deepkin]], [[Sylvaneth]], and the [[Daughters of Khaine]]. To accomplish this Nagash has his [[Nighthaunt]] processions attack every major [[Free City]]. This leads to the [[Second Battle of Glymmsforge]], the Stormcasts protect the city but the land around it is corrupted with undeath.{{Fn|4a}}{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
Sigmar responds with the [[Resurrection Crusade]], charging his [[Lord-Arcanums]] with fifty five [[Sacrosanct Chambers]] to reclaim Shyishan territories lost during the Necroquake and find a way to reverse the flaw of [[Reforging]].{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
[[Tornus the Redeemed]] also leads several raids upon Nagash’s holdings with his brotherhood of [[Redeemed]]. While in Azyr many cowards and traitors are given the [[God-King’s Brand]] by the [[Order of Azyr]] and [[Lord-Veritants]] protecting Azyr against the undead.{{Fn|5a}}<br />
<br />
====Siege of Sorrow====<br />
{{Main|Siege of Sorrow}}<br />
<br />
The necroquake also disturbed Sigmar's [[Stormvaults]], where Sigmar stored artifacts too dangerous and powerful to destroy, including one beneath the Free City of [[Lethis]] awakening the soul trapped within it and revealing it to Nagash. Nagash sent [[Lady Olynder]] with her [[Legion of Grief]] to open the Stormvault, known as the Midnight Tomb, and retrieve this soul. This resulted in the [[Siege of Sorrow]].{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
Due to the betrayal of some [[Fyreslayer]] mercenaries, the Legion of Grief was allowed to enter the city, attack the city's [[Stormkeep]] and move on the Midnight Tomb. At that moment the [[Celestant-Prime]] arrived and drove the [[Dead]] and their new allies from the [[Stormkeep]] in the city. Meanwhile the timely intervention of a deranged [[Flesh-Eater Court]] helped the defenders drive the Legion of Grief back from the city.{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
It was too late, however, and the Midnight Tomb was opened. The soul inside, [[Orpheon Katakros]] was freed and was taken by Nagash to be placed as the new [[Mortarch]] of the [[Ossiarch Bonereapers]].{{Fn|6}}<br />
<br />
====Siege of the Eightpoints====<br />
After being released, Katakros put all his efforts into waging war against all of Nagash's enemies. He quickly scoured the lands east of the [[Shyish Nadir]] turning them into the [[Ossiarch Empire]]. Katakros then destroyed the [[Greygaunts Chamber]] of the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]] in the [[Battle of the Daxamatic]].{{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
Katakros was then tasked by Nagash with conquering the [[Eightpoints]]. Luckily for him, the [[necroquake]] was already wrecking havoc in the Eightpoints and [[Archaon]] himself was away with most of his [[Varanguard]] attempting to free the [[Chaos God]] [[Slaanesh]].{{Fn|7a}}{{Fn|7b}}<br />
<br />
First Katakros had the [[Legion of Grief]] attack as his vanguard. In short order, the Legion conquered the fortress of [[Karheight]] around the [[Endgate]] and slew the [[Chaos Lord]] [[Namon Saskarid]]. When they could push no further into the Eightpoints, Katakros and the Ossiarch Bonereapers arrived. Katakros destroyed the Chaos warbands arrayed against him at the battle of Haradh's Torment and established an Ossiarch stronghold around the Endgate, known as the [[Arx Terminus]].{{Fn|7c}}{{Fn|7d}}{{Fn|7e}}<br />
<br />
After a long campaign, Katakros and his forces reached the walls of the [[Varanspire]] but were repelled by [[Archaon]] himself, with Katakros cut down by the [[Slayer of Kings]].{{Fn|7f}}{{Fn|7g}}<br />
<br />
Katakros survived and began plotting his next moves on the Eightpoints.{{Fn|7<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Malign Sorcery]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: How Living Magic came to the Mortal Realms, pg. 14-15<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Battletome: Legions of Nagash (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|2a}}: The Lord of Undeath, pg. 4<br />
** {{Endn|2b}}: The Missing Souls, pg. 10-14<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [[Battletome: Skaven (2019)]], Rise of the Under-Empire, pg. 18-21<br />
* {{Endn|4}}: [[Battletome: Nighthaunt (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|4a}}: Chronicles of Terror, pg. 18-19<br />
* {{Endn|5}}: [[Battletome: Stormcast Eternals (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|5a}}: A Thousand Storms, pg. 20-25<br />
* {{Endn|6}}: [[Soul Wars: Forbidden Power]]<br />
* {{Endn|7}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]]<br />
** {{Endn|7a}}: An Age of Strife, pg. 6-11<br />
** {{Endn|7b}}: To Free A God, pg. 18-19<br />
** {{Endn|7c}}: The Veiled Lady, pg. 24-25<br />
** {{Endn|7d}}: The Undefeated One, pg. 30-31<br />
** {{Endn|7e}}: Katakros Triumphant, pg.32-37<br />
** {{Endn|7f}}: Relentless Conquest, pg. 40-41<br />
** {{Endn|7g}}: Archaon's Wrath, pg. 42-47<br />
** {{Endn|7h}}: Deathless Glory, pg. 48<br />
<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category: Arcanum Optimar]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Soul_Wars&diff=88414Soul Wars2020-03-20T06:40:50Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Battle3<br />
|Name = Soul Wars<br />
|Image = Stormcast Eternals vs Nighthaunt 01.jpg<br />
|Date = [[Arcanum Optimar]]<br />
|Location = [[Mortal Realms]]<br />
|Outcome = Ongoing<br />
|Combatant1 = [[Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
|Combatant2 = [[Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
|Combatant3 = [[Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
|Commanders1= [[Nagash]]<br>[[Mortarchs]]<br />
|Commanders2= [[Sigmar]]<br />
|Commanders3= [[Archaon the Everchosen]]<br />
|Strength1 = [[Nighthaunt]] [[Processions]]<br>[[Ossiarch Bonereapers]]<br>[[Legion of Nagash]]<br />
|Strength2 = [[Stormhosts]]<br>[[Freeguild]] Regiments<br>[[Idoneth]] Enclaves<br />
|Strength3 = [[Varanguard]]<br>[[Slaves to Darkness]]<br />
|Casualties1= Heavy<br />
|Casualties2= Heavy<br />
|Casualties3= Very heavy<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Soul Wars''' are a series of wars that happened during the [[Arcanum Optimar]] after the [[Necroquake]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
It is a war of vengeance started by [[Nagash]] against any who denied the self-proclaimed ruler of the [[Realm of Shyish]] of his perceived due over all the souls of deceased and the [[underworlds]]. This war is led by the [[Mortarchs]] and spearheaded by the spectral hosts of the [[Nighthaunt]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
Nagash began planning to dominate Shyish and the [[Mortal Realms]] since he was released by Sigmar during the [[Age of Myth]]. He defeated and devoured many gods of death that ruled the myriad of underworlds of Shyish. After discovering vast amounts of [[Grave-sand]], the [[realmstone]] of Shyish, Nagash began sending long lines of skeletons to harvest them to build the Black Pyramid, a floating inverted pyramid in [[Nagashizzar]] as well as many smaller ones. Nagash considers the souls of the dead as rightfully his and many has withheld them from him. The Chaos Gods specially Slaanesh who devoured the souls of Aelves from the [[World-That-Was]] and the Aelf gods who stole them again, the [[Idoneth Deepkin]] who steal souls and withhold their own souls from going to the underworlds but most of all Sigmar the Soul-thief who steal the souls of heroes to forge [[Stormcast Eternals]].{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
During the [[Time of Tribulations]] Nagash almost succeeded in his goal but the skaven of [[Clan Slynk]] had infiltrated the great pyramid and corrupted the ritual resulting in the [[Shyish Necroquake]] that resulted in the creation of the Shyish Nadir, a vortex of death magic concentrated in the center of Shyish while shockwaves caused the dead to rise in trillions across the mortal realms and [[Endless Spell|Endless Magic]] is unleashed upon the realms. Thus began the Soul Wars. {{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Malign Sorcery]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: How Living Magic came to the Mortal Realms, pg. 14-15<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Battletome: Legions of Nagash (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|2a}}: The Lord of Undeath, pg. 4<br />
** {{Endn|2b}}: The Missing Souls, pg. 10-14<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [[Battletome: Skaven (2019)]], Rise of the Under-Empire, pg. 18-21<br />
<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category: Arcanum Optimar]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Soul_Wars&diff=88413Soul Wars2020-03-20T06:40:15Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Battle3<br />
|Name = Soul Wars<br />
|Image = Stormcast Eternals vs Nighthaunt 01.jpg<br />
|Date = [[Arcanum Optimar]]<br />
|Location = [[Mortal Realms]]<br />
|Outcome = Ongoing<br />
|Combatant1 = [[Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
|Combatant2 = [[Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
|Combatant3 = [[Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
|Commanders1= [[Nagash]]<br>[[Mortarchs]]<br />
|Commanders2= [[Sigmar]]<br />
|Commanders3= [[Archaon the Everchosen]]<br />
|Strength1 = [[Nighthaunt]] [[Processions]]<br>[[Ossiarch Bonereapers]]<br>[[Legion of Nagash]]<br />
|Strength2 = [[Stormhosts]]<br>[[Freeguild]] Regiments<br>[[Idoneth]] Enclaves<br />
|Strength3 = [[Varanguard]]<br />
|Casualties1= Heavy<br />
|Casualties2= Heavy<br />
|Casualties3= Very heavy<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Soul Wars''' are a series of wars that happened during the [[Arcanum Optimar]] after the [[Necroquake]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
It is a war of vengeance started by [[Nagash]] against any who denied the self-proclaimed ruler of the [[Realm of Shyish]] of his perceived due over all the souls of deceased and the [[underworlds]]. This war is led by the [[Mortarchs]] and spearheaded by the spectral hosts of the [[Nighthaunt]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
Nagash began planning to dominate Shyish and the [[Mortal Realms]] since he was released by Sigmar during the [[Age of Myth]]. He defeated and devoured many gods of death that ruled the myriad of underworlds of Shyish. After discovering vast amounts of [[Grave-sand]], the [[realmstone]] of Shyish, Nagash began sending long lines of skeletons to harvest them to build the Black Pyramid, a floating inverted pyramid in [[Nagashizzar]] as well as many smaller ones. Nagash considers the souls of the dead as rightfully his and many has withheld them from him. The Chaos Gods specially Slaanesh who devoured the souls of Aelves from the [[World-That-Was]] and the Aelf gods who stole them again, the [[Idoneth Deepkin]] who steal souls and withhold their own souls from going to the underworlds but most of all Sigmar the Soul-thief who steal the souls of heroes to forge [[Stormcast Eternals]].{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
During the [[Time of Tribulations]] Nagash almost succeeded in his goal but the skaven of [[Clan Slynk]] had infiltrated the great pyramid and corrupted the ritual resulting in the [[Shyish Necroquake]] that resulted in the creation of the Shyish Nadir, a vortex of death magic concentrated in the center of Shyish while shockwaves caused the dead to rise in trillions across the mortal realms and [[Endless Spell|Endless Magic]] is unleashed upon the realms. Thus began the Soul Wars. {{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Malign Sorcery]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: How Living Magic came to the Mortal Realms, pg. 14-15<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Battletome: Legions of Nagash (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|2a}}: The Lord of Undeath, pg. 4<br />
** {{Endn|2b}}: The Missing Souls, pg. 10-14<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [[Battletome: Skaven (2019)]], Rise of the Under-Empire, pg. 18-21<br />
<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category: Arcanum Optimar]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Soul_Wars&diff=88412Soul Wars2020-03-20T06:39:48Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Battle<br />
|Name = Soul Wars<br />
|Image = Stormcast Eternals vs Nighthaunt 01.jpg<br />
|Date = [[Arcanum Optimar]]<br />
|Location = [[Mortal Realms]]<br />
|Outcome = Ongoing<br />
|Combatant1 = [[Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
|Combatant2 = [[Grand Alliance of Order]]<br />
|Combatant3 = [[Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
|Commanders1= [[Nagash]]<br>[[Mortarchs]]<br />
|Commanders2= [[Sigmar]]<br />
|Commanders3= [[Archaon the Everchosen]]<br />
|Strength1 = [[Nighthaunt]] [[Processions]]<br>[[Ossiarch Bonereapers]]<br>[[Legion of Nagash]]<br />
|Strength2 = [[Stormhosts]]<br>[[Freeguild]] Regiments<br>[[Idoneth]] Enclaves<br />
|Strength3 = [[Varanguard]]<br />
|Casualties1= Heavy<br />
|Casualties2= Heavy<br />
|Casualties3= Very heavy<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Soul Wars''' are a series of wars that happened during the [[Arcanum Optimar]] after the [[Necroquake]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
It is a war of vengeance started by [[Nagash]] against any who denied the self-proclaimed ruler of the [[Realm of Shyish]] of his perceived due over all the souls of deceased and the [[underworlds]]. This war is led by the [[Mortarchs]] and spearheaded by the spectral hosts of the [[Nighthaunt]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
Nagash began planning to dominate Shyish and the [[Mortal Realms]] since he was released by Sigmar during the [[Age of Myth]]. He defeated and devoured many gods of death that ruled the myriad of underworlds of Shyish. After discovering vast amounts of [[Grave-sand]], the [[realmstone]] of Shyish, Nagash began sending long lines of skeletons to harvest them to build the Black Pyramid, a floating inverted pyramid in [[Nagashizzar]] as well as many smaller ones. Nagash considers the souls of the dead as rightfully his and many has withheld them from him. The Chaos Gods specially Slaanesh who devoured the souls of Aelves from the [[World-That-Was]] and the Aelf gods who stole them again, the [[Idoneth Deepkin]] who steal souls and withhold their own souls from going to the underworlds but most of all Sigmar the Soul-thief who steal the souls of heroes to forge [[Stormcast Eternals]].{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|2a}}{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
During the [[Time of Tribulations]] Nagash almost succeeded in his goal but the skaven of [[Clan Slynk]] had infiltrated the great pyramid and corrupted the ritual resulting in the [[Shyish Necroquake]] that resulted in the creation of the Shyish Nadir, a vortex of death magic concentrated in the center of Shyish while shockwaves caused the dead to rise in trillions across the mortal realms and [[Endless Spell|Endless Magic]] is unleashed upon the realms. Thus began the Soul Wars. {{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Malign Sorcery]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: How Living Magic came to the Mortal Realms, pg. 14-15<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Battletome: Legions of Nagash (2018)]]<br />
** {{Endn|2a}}: The Lord of Undeath, pg. 4<br />
** {{Endn|2b}}: The Missing Souls, pg. 10-14<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [[Battletome: Skaven (2019)]], Rise of the Under-Empire, pg. 18-21<br />
<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category: Arcanum Optimar]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Excelsis&diff=88411Excelsis2020-03-20T06:19:15Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Excelsis''' is one of the [[Cities of Sigmar]] built after the [[Realmgate Wars]]. It's located in the [[Coast of Tusks]] on [[Realm of Ghur|Ghur]] and is described as prophecy-rich.{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|2}}<br />
== History ==<br />
Excelsis was founded after the end of the [[Realmgate Wars]], around the [[Spear of Mallus]] a fragment of the [[World-That-Was]]. This stone allowed to see the future and help make the city rich and relevant. The Spear of Mallus grew to be so important that the currency of Excelsis, [[Glimmering]]s, would be made solely from fragments of this stone. Said fragments would allow their owners to see, if for a while, the future, hence why Excelsis is described as being rich in prophecy.{{Fn|1}} In more than thirty years, Excelsis' borders were expanded and its population doubled until there was no space left for housing. Excelsis's craftsmen decided to keep building anyway, making the city a labyrinthine network of alleyways called Veins.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
The [[Knights Excelsior]] sense the taint of [[Chaos]] corruption and respond with a brutal purge, known as the First Purge of Excelsis, that lays waste to almost a quarter of the city's populace. This is where [[Cerrus Sentanus]] becomes known as the White Reaper.{{Fn|9}}<br />
<br />
The city was devestated in the [[Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path]], with both the Archmage and High Arbiter betraying the city. Much of the city was destroyed and two [[Freeguild]] regiments were disbanded. But the uprising was put down and the city rebuilt afterwards.{{Fn|2c}}{{Fn|4}}<br />
<br />
At the beginning of the search for the [[Eight Lamentations]], Excelsis was besieged by a substantial skaven army under the command of [[Kretch Warpfang]], [[Grand High Clawmaster]] of [[Clan Rictus]].{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
== Government ==<br />
<br />
Excelsis is ruled by the [[High Arbiter]], who wields both the powers of the courts and the constabulary. He lives in the Palace of the High Arbiter and has his personal bodyguards called the [[Palatine Guard]].{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
== Military ==<br />
<br />
Excelsis is a very well defended city. It's protected by some [[Stormcast Eternals]]' [[Warrior-Chamber]]s, Freeguild regiments and many other types of defense. Sometimes the Warrior-Chambers march to war and they can be accompanied by one or more regiments of the city guard.{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
=== Stormhosts ===<br />
<br />
There are Warrior-Chambers from three Stormhosts in the city:<br />
*[[Knights Excelsior]]<br />
*[[Sons of Mallus]]<br />
*[[Knights of the Aurora]]<br />
<br />
=== Freeguild regiments ===<br />
<br />
There are ten regiments based in Excelsis which includes artillery and [[Steam Tank]]s from the [[Ironweld Arsenal]]. Each regiment has its own bastion inside the city.<br />
Known Excelsis regiments are the following:<br />
<br />
*[[Bronze Claws]]{{Fn|3}}<br />
*[[Coldguard]], a regiment who almost totally betrayed the city during the Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path.{{Fn|2c}}<br />
*[[Firewolves]], a regiment which was almost completely destroyed in the Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path.{{Fn|2c}}<br />
*[[Iron Bulls of Tarsus]], a regiment of green-jacketed soldiers existing since the early days of the city.{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
Excelsis lacks natural deposits of metal and so silksteel is vital for outfitting the local regiments - it is obtained from arachnids found within the Ulwhyr forest. It is thin and light, possessing a great amount of tensile strength, enabling it to be made into light, padded armour that stops blades and arrows as surely as steel plate. {{Fn|4}}<br />
<br />
=== Air Corps ===<br />
<br />
A part of Excelsis defence formed by a variety of aircraft, including [[Gyrocopter]]s.{{Fn|2c}}<br />
<br />
=== Palatine Guard ===<br />
<br />
The Palatine Guard is a group of soldiers charged with the defense of the Palace of High Arbiter. They're hand-picked veterans, blue-blooded Azyrites trained in the art of war from youth. They wear rich purple tunics and breaches, cream tabards, shining gold greaves, pauldrons, helms and breastplates armour covered with intricate scripture and engravings of [[Ghal Maraz]]. Their helms are full-faced, with a scale neck-guard, sculpted to represent a [[star-eagle]] in flight and with a tapered dome that ends in a voluminous white and blue plume. They're equipped with halberds and hardwood repeater crossbows, but some of them also carry a silver rapier on one hip. During the uprising of the [[Cult of the Fated Path]], the Palatine Guard betrayed the city folllowing the High Arbiter [[Ortam Vermyre]].{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
=== Dispossessed ===<br />
Underground regions of Excelsis are home to [[Dispossessed]] [[Duardin]]. During the attack by Clan Rictus the Duardin fought back Skaven sappers underground countering hundreds of Skaven tunnelling attempts. {{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Landmarks==<br />
===Consecralium===<br />
The Consecralium is the White Reaper's fortress. A great bridge leads to a door tall enough for a [[Giant|gargant]] and wide enough for a ship, engraved with several images and with great holes from which protrude the snouts of colossal ballistae.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
===The Eeyrie===<br />
A vast fotification that hangs above the tip of Malleus appearing as a cross between a [[Stormkeep]] and a massive sky-ship. It is constructed from marble, iron and gold with pennents of more than a dozen Stormhosts. It is held aloft by aeroavulum engines. {{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
It has various perch-gantries which lead, through portals into the interior of the structure. Within are sparring chambers, barracks, armouries, feasting halls and strategic cartogravia. Entry is reserved for those who could fly to it or had vehicles that allowed them to do so such as the [[Swifthawk Agents]]. {{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
===The Floating Towers===<br />
The Observatories and workshops of the [[Collegiate Arcane]] which orbit the Spear of Mallus were cast into the air not long after the Stormcast Eternals of the Knights Excelsior raised the wedge of black iron and dark stone they called the Consecralium.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
=== The Harbor ===<br />
Being a coastal city, many dock in and sail from Excelsis' harbor. The port was constructed in the style of the tribes who’d fished the waters of the bay for generations with structures made from the bones of leviathans, fused together with a mixture of sun-baked mud and animal dung. {{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
There are always some duardin seadogs, barrel-shaped steam-cogs and aelvean tide-cutters docked in the harbor and sometimes even giant iridescent crustaceans used as ships by [[Scourge Privateers]] who, taking advantage of the market within the harbor, immediately start to gut and skin captured monsters. The market offers many goods and is sprinkled with whalebone stalls of fishermen and hunters, tents of many colors with exotic treasures from distant cities and many other places.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
A aether-berth has been installed for the benefit of the [[Kharadron Overlords]] vessels that trade at the city. It rises high into the sky - a tower of bone and wood topped by a globular watch-station crafted from bronze and steel whilst anchor-jetties extend in seemingly haphazard fashion from the curves of the station. {{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
===Ilythraein Observatory===<br />
A slim floating construct of the [[Eldritch Council]] that hangs high above the tip of Mallus, it has towers and minarets and hovers on streamers of golden light.{{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
===Khar-Khazdul===<br />
The embassy-port of the [[Kharadron Overlords]], it is a vast brass orb with countless gun batteries, docking platforms and crystal viewing ports. {{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
=== Palace of the High Arbiter ===<br />
The Palace of the High Arbiter is centre of power located in the noble quarter of Excelsis. It is an architectural marvel of the Azyrite form, with soaring towers and gleaming domes capped with the lightning iconography of the God-King. The great gates leading into compound bear the engraved image of [[Saint Rubeus]] clutching his blessed warhammer in one bleeding fist and with his eyes fixed rapturously upon the heavens. From the gates, a pathway of glittering blue marble leads to the main dome of the structure. High on the roof above, there's a mechanical representation of the celestial realm with whirling and glimmering occulary spheres.<br />
<br />
The path leading to the main hall cuts through the estate garden and on the inner wall there are magical spheres writhing with electrical energy. After passing the great front doors to the main dome, the ceiling bears a depiction of the [[Hammers of Sigmar]] descending from the heavens on bolts of azure lightning to strike the first blow against the forces of [[Chaos]], made by an artist called Varangino. Then there's a long corridor lined with portraiture and busts of patricians and warriors which ends in a long, wide dining chamber carved from a wood so light it almost looks like bone and with winding streams of amber running within the surface.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
=== Prophesier's Guild ===<br />
The Prophesier's Guild is an ornate domed structure that dominates the centre of Excelsis. It's whre the city's valuable stock of secrets and prophecies is vetted and auctioned. Behing this structure towers the great occulum fulgurest, a [[Collegiate Arcane|Collegiate]]-designed machine whirling and crackling with storm-siphoned energy and mists from the Spear of Mallus. These containers loom over the great hall, secured behind a heavy fence of copper bars that reach some twenty feet into the air. In front of them there are seven raised and heavily secured and armoured bunkers with viewing ports and a bolted access tube.{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
===Other Locations===<br />
<br />
*'''Abbey of Remembered Souls''': an abbey to which faithful pilgrims go after their dangerous journey to Excelsis.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
==Notable Citizens==<br />
* [[Aelf]]<br />
** [[Shevanya Arclis]]: Explorer and scholar, who some call a Tomb Raider. {{Fn|6}}<br />
** [[Arika Zenthe]]: Aelf Fleetmaster of a [[Scourge Privateers]] fleet. She's an ally of Hanniver Toll and she helped the city during the Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path.{{Fn|2}}<br />
* [[Duardin]]<br />
** [[Jorik Grunndrak]]: The Master of the Arsenal, the most senior member of the [[Ironweld Arsenal]] in Excelsis. Older even than the [[Warden Kings]] who held council in the deep citadels below Excelsis. Rumour has it that he’d seen Sigmar close the last Gates of Azyr, and helped craft the runes that kept the [[Three Brethren]] inviolate for five centuries.{{Fn|3}}<br />
** [[Kazrug]]: A duardin warrior who worked with Hanniver Toll. He is missing an eye and had it replaced with a blue gemstone.{{Fn|2}}<br />
** [[Makkelsson]]: Artillery Engineer and a paragon of [[Duardin]] virtues – gruff, observant and stubborn beyond reason.{{Fn|3}}<br />
* [[Human]]<br />
** [[Armand Callis]]: former corporal of the Coldguard. He took part in the victory over the [[Cult of the Fated Path]] and joined Hanniver Toll in his work.{{Fn|2}}<br />
** [[Hennerdorf]]: Alumnus Verita during the [[Time of Tribulations]]{{Fn|5}}<br />
** [[Claudio Herzborg]]: Senior Gunmaster in the city, As a scion of the ancient [[Houses of Thunder]] his blood was of the purest Azyrite stock which he took pains to remind others at every available opportunity.{{Fn|3}}<br />
** [[Revard]]: General of the Firewolves.{{Fn|2c}}<br />
** [[Synor]]: General of the Iron Bulls of Tarsus.{{Fn|2}}<br />
**'''Tor''': Armand Callis' uncle. Killed by the Cult of the Fated Path.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
** [[Hanniver Toll]]: [[Witch Hunter]] of the [[Order of Azyr]].{{Fn|2}}<br />
* [[Stormcast Eternals]]<br />
** [[Gaius Greel]]: Lord-Celestant of the Sons of Mallus. {{Fn|3}}<br />
** [[Cerrus Sentanus]]: Lord-Veritant of the Knights-Excelsior, also called '''The White Reaper'''. He lives in the Consecralium and his is a feared figure throughout the city, sometimes used in stories to scare kids.{{Fn|2b}}<br />
** [[Martoris Skywarden]]: Commander of the Eeyrie and member of the [[Knights Excelsior]]. {{Fn|7a}}<br />
** [[Sora]]: A female Stormcast Eternal of the Sons of Mallus, the friendliest of the [[Iron-sides]], though that wasn’t saying much.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
===Gangs===<br />
* '''Fate’s Favoured''' Lines of tiny script cover their faces and shorn scalps, tattoos that record their fates which have been whispered to them by the Spear of Mallus and then transcribed by the hand and needle wielded by the Burning Man, the gang’s mysterious leader.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Flora and Fauna==<br />
* [[Dream-spiders]] Spiders the size of rats with iridescent bodies, they spin webs of unfulfilled prophecy - but giving in to the colourful lure of the webs risks a dreamer winding up just one more smiling, blood-drained corpse in the back alleys of Excelsis. {{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Trade==<br />
Minerals are imported from the city of [[Skythane]] which sits to the north, high in the [[Gryphspine]] mountains. {{Fn|8a}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Season of War]] gaming aid from the [[WH AoS app]], The Seeds of Hope.<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Legends of the Age of Sigmar: City of Secrets]]<br />
**{{Endn|2a}}: Act One.<br />
**{{Endn|2b}}: Act Two.<br />
**{{Endn|2c}}: Act Three.<br />
*{{Endn|3}}: [[Spear of Shadows (novel)]]<br />
*{{Endn|4}}: [[Callis and Toll: The Old Ways]]<br />
*{{Endn|5}}: [https://malignportents.com/story/the-great-and-the-good/ The Great and the Good short story on the Malign Portents website]<br />
*{{Endn|6}}: [[Callis and Toll: The Silver Shard (novel)]]<br />
* {{Endn|7}}: [[Blacktalon: First Mark (novel)]]<br />
** {{Endn|7a}}: Chapter Five, pg. 90-100<br />
* {{Endn|8}}: [[White Dwarf January 2020]] <br />
** {{Endn|8a}}: Skies of Slaughter, pg. 53<br />
* {{Endn|9}}: [[Battletome: Cities of Sigmar (2019)]], Honour and Glory, pg.10-11<br />
<br />
[[Category: Cities]]<br />
[[Category: Realm of Ghur]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Excelsis&diff=88410Excelsis2020-03-20T06:17:41Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Excelsis''' is one of the [[Cities of Sigmar]] built after the [[Realmgate Wars]]. It's located in the [[Coast of Tusks]] on [[Realm of Ghur|Ghur]] and is described as prophecy-rich.{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|2}}<br />
== History ==<br />
Excelsis was founded after the end of the [[Realmgate Wars]], around the [[Spear of Mallus]] a fragment of the [[World-That-Was]]. This stone allowed to see the future and help make the city rich and relevant. The Spear of Mallus grew to be so important that the currency of Excelsis, [[Glimmering]]s, would be made solely from fragments of this stone. Said fragments would allow their owners to see, if for a while, the future, hence why Excelsis is described as being rich in prophecy.{{Fn|1}} In more than thirty years, Excelsis' borders were expanded and its population doubled until there was no space left for housing. Excelsis's craftsmen decided to keep building anyway, making the city a labyrinthine network of alleyways called Veins.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
The [[Knights Excelsior]] sense the taint of [[Chaos]] corruption and respond with a brutal purge, known as the First Purge of Excelsis, that lays waste to almost a quarter of the city's populace. This is where Cerrus Sentanus becomes known as the White Reaper.{{Fn|9}}<br />
<br />
The city was devestated in the [[Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path]], with both the Archmage and High Arbiter betraying the city. Much of the city was destroyed and two [[Freeguild]] regiments were disbanded. But the uprising was put down and the city rebuilt afterwards.{{Fn|2c}}{{Fn|4}}<br />
<br />
At the beginning of the search for the [[Eight Lamentations]], Excelsis was besieged by a substantial skaven army under the command of [[Kretch Warpfang]], [[Grand High Clawmaster]] of [[Clan Rictus]].{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
== Government ==<br />
<br />
Excelsis is ruled by the [[High Arbiter]], who wields both the powers of the courts and the constabulary. He lives in the Palace of the High Arbiter and has his personal bodyguards called the [[Palatine Guard]].{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
== Military ==<br />
<br />
Excelsis is a very well defended city. It's protected by some [[Stormcast Eternals]]' [[Warrior-Chamber]]s, Freeguild regiments and many other types of defense. Sometimes the Warrior-Chambers march to war and they can be accompanied by one or more regiments of the city guard.{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
=== Stormhosts ===<br />
<br />
There are Warrior-Chambers from three Stormhosts in the city:<br />
*[[Knights Excelsior]]<br />
*[[Sons of Mallus]]<br />
*[[Knights of the Aurora]]<br />
<br />
=== Freeguild regiments ===<br />
<br />
There are ten regiments based in Excelsis which includes artillery and [[Steam Tank]]s from the [[Ironweld Arsenal]]. Each regiment has its own bastion inside the city.<br />
Known Excelsis regiments are the following:<br />
<br />
*[[Bronze Claws]]{{Fn|3}}<br />
*[[Coldguard]], a regiment who almost totally betrayed the city during the Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path.{{Fn|2c}}<br />
*[[Firewolves]], a regiment which was almost completely destroyed in the Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path.{{Fn|2c}}<br />
*[[Iron Bulls of Tarsus]], a regiment of green-jacketed soldiers existing since the early days of the city.{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
Excelsis lacks natural deposits of metal and so silksteel is vital for outfitting the local regiments - it is obtained from arachnids found within the Ulwhyr forest. It is thin and light, possessing a great amount of tensile strength, enabling it to be made into light, padded armour that stops blades and arrows as surely as steel plate. {{Fn|4}}<br />
<br />
=== Air Corps ===<br />
<br />
A part of Excelsis defence formed by a variety of aircraft, including [[Gyrocopter]]s.{{Fn|2c}}<br />
<br />
=== Palatine Guard ===<br />
<br />
The Palatine Guard is a group of soldiers charged with the defense of the Palace of High Arbiter. They're hand-picked veterans, blue-blooded Azyrites trained in the art of war from youth. They wear rich purple tunics and breaches, cream tabards, shining gold greaves, pauldrons, helms and breastplates armour covered with intricate scripture and engravings of [[Ghal Maraz]]. Their helms are full-faced, with a scale neck-guard, sculpted to represent a [[star-eagle]] in flight and with a tapered dome that ends in a voluminous white and blue plume. They're equipped with halberds and hardwood repeater crossbows, but some of them also carry a silver rapier on one hip. During the uprising of the [[Cult of the Fated Path]], the Palatine Guard betrayed the city folllowing the High Arbiter [[Ortam Vermyre]].{{Fn|2b}}<br />
<br />
=== Dispossessed ===<br />
Underground regions of Excelsis are home to [[Dispossessed]] [[Duardin]]. During the attack by Clan Rictus the Duardin fought back Skaven sappers underground countering hundreds of Skaven tunnelling attempts. {{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Landmarks==<br />
===Consecralium===<br />
The Consecralium is the White Reaper's fortress. A great bridge leads to a door tall enough for a [[Giant|gargant]] and wide enough for a ship, engraved with several images and with great holes from which protrude the snouts of colossal ballistae.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
===The Eeyrie===<br />
A vast fotification that hangs above the tip of Malleus appearing as a cross between a [[Stormkeep]] and a massive sky-ship. It is constructed from marble, iron and gold with pennents of more than a dozen Stormhosts. It is held aloft by aeroavulum engines. {{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
It has various perch-gantries which lead, through portals into the interior of the structure. Within are sparring chambers, barracks, armouries, feasting halls and strategic cartogravia. Entry is reserved for those who could fly to it or had vehicles that allowed them to do so such as the [[Swifthawk Agents]]. {{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
===The Floating Towers===<br />
The Observatories and workshops of the [[Collegiate Arcane]] which orbit the Spear of Mallus were cast into the air not long after the Stormcast Eternals of the Knights Excelsior raised the wedge of black iron and dark stone they called the Consecralium.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
=== The Harbor ===<br />
Being a coastal city, many dock in and sail from Excelsis' harbor. The port was constructed in the style of the tribes who’d fished the waters of the bay for generations with structures made from the bones of leviathans, fused together with a mixture of sun-baked mud and animal dung. {{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
There are always some duardin seadogs, barrel-shaped steam-cogs and aelvean tide-cutters docked in the harbor and sometimes even giant iridescent crustaceans used as ships by [[Scourge Privateers]] who, taking advantage of the market within the harbor, immediately start to gut and skin captured monsters. The market offers many goods and is sprinkled with whalebone stalls of fishermen and hunters, tents of many colors with exotic treasures from distant cities and many other places.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
A aether-berth has been installed for the benefit of the [[Kharadron Overlords]] vessels that trade at the city. It rises high into the sky - a tower of bone and wood topped by a globular watch-station crafted from bronze and steel whilst anchor-jetties extend in seemingly haphazard fashion from the curves of the station. {{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
===Ilythraein Observatory===<br />
A slim floating construct of the [[Eldritch Council]] that hangs high above the tip of Mallus, it has towers and minarets and hovers on streamers of golden light.{{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
===Khar-Khazdul===<br />
The embassy-port of the [[Kharadron Overlords]], it is a vast brass orb with countless gun batteries, docking platforms and crystal viewing ports. {{Fn|7a}}<br />
<br />
=== Palace of the High Arbiter ===<br />
The Palace of the High Arbiter is centre of power located in the noble quarter of Excelsis. It is an architectural marvel of the Azyrite form, with soaring towers and gleaming domes capped with the lightning iconography of the God-King. The great gates leading into compound bear the engraved image of [[Saint Rubeus]] clutching his blessed warhammer in one bleeding fist and with his eyes fixed rapturously upon the heavens. From the gates, a pathway of glittering blue marble leads to the main dome of the structure. High on the roof above, there's a mechanical representation of the celestial realm with whirling and glimmering occulary spheres.<br />
<br />
The path leading to the main hall cuts through the estate garden and on the inner wall there are magical spheres writhing with electrical energy. After passing the great front doors to the main dome, the ceiling bears a depiction of the [[Hammers of Sigmar]] descending from the heavens on bolts of azure lightning to strike the first blow against the forces of [[Chaos]], made by an artist called Varangino. Then there's a long corridor lined with portraiture and busts of patricians and warriors which ends in a long, wide dining chamber carved from a wood so light it almost looks like bone and with winding streams of amber running within the surface.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
=== Prophesier's Guild ===<br />
The Prophesier's Guild is an ornate domed structure that dominates the centre of Excelsis. It's whre the city's valuable stock of secrets and prophecies is vetted and auctioned. Behing this structure towers the great occulum fulgurest, a [[Collegiate Arcane|Collegiate]]-designed machine whirling and crackling with storm-siphoned energy and mists from the Spear of Mallus. These containers loom over the great hall, secured behind a heavy fence of copper bars that reach some twenty feet into the air. In front of them there are seven raised and heavily secured and armoured bunkers with viewing ports and a bolted access tube.{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
===Other Locations===<br />
<br />
*'''Abbey of Remembered Souls''': an abbey to which faithful pilgrims go after their dangerous journey to Excelsis.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
<br />
==Notable Citizens==<br />
* [[Aelf]]<br />
** [[Shevanya Arclis]]: Explorer and scholar, who some call a Tomb Raider. {{Fn|6}}<br />
** [[Arika Zenthe]]: Aelf Fleetmaster of a [[Scourge Privateers]] fleet. She's an ally of Hanniver Toll and she helped the city during the Uprising of the Cult of the Fated Path.{{Fn|2}}<br />
* [[Duardin]]<br />
** [[Jorik Grunndrak]]: The Master of the Arsenal, the most senior member of the [[Ironweld Arsenal]] in Excelsis. Older even than the [[Warden Kings]] who held council in the deep citadels below Excelsis. Rumour has it that he’d seen Sigmar close the last Gates of Azyr, and helped craft the runes that kept the [[Three Brethren]] inviolate for five centuries.{{Fn|3}}<br />
** [[Kazrug]]: A duardin warrior who worked with Hanniver Toll. He is missing an eye and had it replaced with a blue gemstone.{{Fn|2}}<br />
** [[Makkelsson]]: Artillery Engineer and a paragon of [[Duardin]] virtues – gruff, observant and stubborn beyond reason.{{Fn|3}}<br />
* [[Human]]<br />
** [[Armand Callis]]: former corporal of the Coldguard. He took part in the victory over the [[Cult of the Fated Path]] and joined Hanniver Toll in his work.{{Fn|2}}<br />
** [[Hennerdorf]]: Alumnus Verita during the [[Time of Tribulations]]{{Fn|5}}<br />
** [[Claudio Herzborg]]: Senior Gunmaster in the city, As a scion of the ancient [[Houses of Thunder]] his blood was of the purest Azyrite stock which he took pains to remind others at every available opportunity.{{Fn|3}}<br />
** [[Revard]]: General of the Firewolves.{{Fn|2c}}<br />
** [[Synor]]: General of the Iron Bulls of Tarsus.{{Fn|2}}<br />
**'''Tor''': Armand Callis' uncle. Killed by the Cult of the Fated Path.{{Fn|2a}}<br />
** [[Hanniver Toll]]: [[Witch Hunter]] of the [[Order of Azyr]].{{Fn|2}}<br />
* [[Stormcast Eternals]]<br />
** [[Gaius Greel]]: Lord-Celestant of the Sons of Mallus. {{Fn|3}}<br />
** [[Cerrus Sentanus]]: Lord-Veritant of the Knights-Excelsior, also called '''The White Reaper'''. He lives in the Consecralium and his is a feared figure throughout the city, sometimes used in stories to scare kids.{{Fn|2b}}<br />
** [[Martoris Skywarden]]: Commander of the Eeyrie and member of the [[Knights Excelsior]]. {{Fn|7a}}<br />
** [[Sora]]: A female Stormcast Eternal of the Sons of Mallus, the friendliest of the [[Iron-sides]], though that wasn’t saying much.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
===Gangs===<br />
* '''Fate’s Favoured''' Lines of tiny script cover their faces and shorn scalps, tattoos that record their fates which have been whispered to them by the Spear of Mallus and then transcribed by the hand and needle wielded by the Burning Man, the gang’s mysterious leader.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Flora and Fauna==<br />
* [[Dream-spiders]] Spiders the size of rats with iridescent bodies, they spin webs of unfulfilled prophecy - but giving in to the colourful lure of the webs risks a dreamer winding up just one more smiling, blood-drained corpse in the back alleys of Excelsis. {{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Trade==<br />
Minerals are imported from the city of [[Skythane]] which sits to the north, high in the [[Gryphspine]] mountains. {{Fn|8a}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Season of War]] gaming aid from the [[WH AoS app]], The Seeds of Hope.<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Legends of the Age of Sigmar: City of Secrets]]<br />
**{{Endn|2a}}: Act One.<br />
**{{Endn|2b}}: Act Two.<br />
**{{Endn|2c}}: Act Three.<br />
*{{Endn|3}}: [[Spear of Shadows (novel)]]<br />
*{{Endn|4}}: [[Callis and Toll: The Old Ways]]<br />
*{{Endn|5}}: [https://malignportents.com/story/the-great-and-the-good/ The Great and the Good short story on the Malign Portents website]<br />
*{{Endn|6}}: [[Callis and Toll: The Silver Shard (novel)]]<br />
* {{Endn|7}}: [[Blacktalon: First Mark (novel)]]<br />
** {{Endn|7a}}: Chapter Five, pg. 90-100<br />
* {{Endn|8}}: [[White Dwarf January 2020]] <br />
** {{Endn|8a}}: Skies of Slaughter, pg. 53<br />
* {{Endn|9}}: [[Battletome: Cities of Sigmar (2019)]], Honour and Glory, pg.10-11<br />
<br />
[[Category: Cities]]<br />
[[Category: Realm of Ghur]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Fomoroid&diff=88409Fomoroid2020-03-20T06:12:04Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''{{PAGENAME}}s''' are a race of cyclopic builders who had formerly served the lords of the [[Allpoints]]. They are native to the Allpoints and were enslaved to build the [[Varanspire]].{{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*{{Endn|1}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]], Domain of Archaon, pg. 12-16<br />
<br />
{{Mortal Realms Races}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
[[Category:Races]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Freeguilds&diff=88408Freeguilds2020-03-20T06:08:04Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Freeguild</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Freeguild]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Fomoroid&diff=88407Fomoroid2020-03-20T06:03:58Z<p>IDthisguy: Created page with "'''{{PAGENAME}}s''' are a race of cyclopic builders who had formerly served the lords of the Allpoints. They are native to the Allpoints and were enslaved to build the V..."</p>
<hr />
<div>'''{{PAGENAME}}s''' are a race of cyclopic builders who had formerly served the lords of the [[Allpoints]]. They are native to the Allpoints and were enslaved to build the [[Varanspire]].{{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*{{Endn|1}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]], Domain of Archaon, pg. 12-16<br />
<br />
[[Category:Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
[[Category:Races]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Anvilgard&diff=88406Anvilgard2020-03-20T05:58:33Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Anvilgard''' is a heavily fortified port city that borders the sweltering jungle of the [[Charrwind Coast]] in the [[Realm of Aqshy]] also known as the Crucible of Life. The city is located in a strategic location which watch over both the [[Golvarian Passage]] and a highly contested and valuable stretch of ocean filled with precious resources and long-lost treasures.{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|3a}}<br />
<br />
The nearby volcanoes are constantly erupting and drowning areas of the jungle in molten lava, which infuses the flora with [[Aqshyian]] magic causing the flora to grow back with unnatural aggressiveness. In order to stop the growth from overrunning the city noxious defoliants, developed by [[Ironweld]] alchemists, are released into the air by great dragonheaded guard towers causing plant life to wither and die. Although harmless to the city's inhabitants, it shrouds the streets in a semi-permanent grey murk.{{Fn|6b}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
<br />
A city first founded under the direction of the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]], growing from the fortified towns that were built after the [[Realmgate Wars]]. Surrounding Anvilgard on all sides is a dense, sprawling jungle which is further encircled by a series of active volcanoes. Into this wilderness the [[Order Draconis]] ride out to test themselves against the ferocious monsters that populate the area.{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|5b}}<br />
<br />
At the beginning of the [[Time of Tribulations]], Anvilgard's [[Swifthawk Agents]] are tasked with locating [[Lord-Ordinator]] [[Varangenesis]], the scouts are led by [[Gossamon]] of the Winged Helm who dies from poisoned wounds after a successful engagement with a much larger force of [[Slaaneshi]] cavalry.{{Fn|4}}<br />
<br />
The sea-lanes of Anvilgard were plagued by [[orruk]] pirates from a floating shanty-port known as the [[Blista Bakk]] and the shadowy cabal of criminals known as the [[Blackscale Coil]] pressures [[Anvilgard's Grand Conclave]] into launching a naval invasion. [[Scourge wolfships]] surround Blista Bakk and rain fiery missiles on its rusty ramparts while [[Freeguild]] marines are unloaded from [[steam-galleons]] with reinforced [[prow-rams]] that smashed their way into its harbour. After the docks are cleared the [[Scourge Privateers]] unleash several [[Kharibdysses]] driven to a mindless rage and soon the Blista Bakk sinks into the [[Searing Sea]].{{Fn|6a}}<br />
<br />
==Society==<br />
<br />
The morose traditionalism of the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]] has been sown deep into the soul of the city. Anvilgardians are dour and hardy frontier folk, distrusting of others and beholden to superstition and ancient folklore. Despite the intractability of its populace, Anvilgard draws many visitors from faraway lands. However behind the noble exterior the city is rife with illicit trade and criminality.{{Fn|3a}}{{Fn|6b}}<br />
<br />
==Politics==<br />
The city is ruled by the [[Grand Conclave of Anvilgard]]. However a cabal of outcasts known as the [[Blackscale Coil]] manipulates the conclave using a combination of blackmail, threats and murder. This organisation is ruled by a shadow council of [[aelves]], including [[Fleetmasters]] of the [[Scourge Privateers]], [[Sorceresses]] of the [[Darkling Covens]] and [[Beastmasters]] of the [[Order Serpentis]] and has agents of all races in every military and social stratum of the city.{{Fn|6b}}<br />
<br />
==Economy==<br />
The city's shipyards bustle with activity, with merchant fleets, nomadic tribesmen and foreign traders all flocking to the markets to sell produce and trinkets looted from the scattered ruins of the [[Searing Sea]]. [[Aelven]] corsairs regulate this busy trade, maintaining order with merciless efficiency.{{Fn|3a}}<br />
<br />
==Military==<br />
Anvilgard has a powerful navy with [[steam-galleons]] and [[wolfships]] of the [[Scourge Privateers]]. It has numerous [[Freeguild]] marine regiments such as the [[Rumrunners]]. {{Fn|6b}}<br />
<br />
They also employ members from the following armies [[Stormcast Eternals]], [[Dispossessed]], [[Devoted of Sigmar]], [[Darkling Covens]] and [[Order Serpentis]].{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==See Also==<br />
* [[Lore of Dark Sorcery]]<br />
* [[Anvilgard Armoury]]<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [https://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Age-Of-Sigmar-Anvil-Guard-2017 Warriors of the Great Cities: Anvilgard product description]<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [https://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Warhammer?N=737771287+3061707315&Nr=AND%28sku.siteId%3ANZ_gw%2Cproduct.locale%3Aen_NZ_gw%29&Nrs=collection%28%29%2Frecord%5Bproduct.startDate+%3C%3D+1506849240000+and+product.endDate+%3E%3D+1506849240000%5D Anvilgard product listing]<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Season-Of-War-Firestorm-2017-eng Season of War: Firestorm Rulebook (2017)]<br />
** {{Endn|3a}}: pg. 8<br />
* {{Endn|4}}: [[Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Malign Portents]] - The Time of Tribulations, pg. 33<br />
* {{Endn|5}}: [[Age of Sigmar: Core Book (2nd Edition)]]<br />
** {{Endn|5a}}: Aqshy, Realm of Fire, pg. 84-85<br />
** {{Endn|5b}}: The Great Parch, pg. 86-89<br />
* {{Endn|6}}: [[Battletome: Cities of Sigmar (2019)]]<br />
** {{Endn|6a}}: Honour and Glory, pg.10-11<br />
** {{Endn|6b}}: Anvilgard, pg.20<br />
<br />
[[Category:Realm of Aqshy]]<br />
[[Category:Cities]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Fleetmasters&diff=88405Fleetmasters2020-03-20T05:57:35Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Black Ark Fleetmaster</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Black Ark Fleetmaster]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Hammerhal&diff=88404Hammerhal2020-03-20T05:53:01Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[File:Firestorm-Hammerhal.jpg|Right|thumb|The walls of Hammerhal Aqsha]]<br />
'''{{PAGENAME}}''', also known as the '''Twin-Tailed City''', is the greatest and the spirit capital of the [[Cities of Sigmar]], cities built after the end of the [[Realmgate Wars]] around the [[Realmgates]] claimed by the [[Stormcast Eternals]]. It's known as the Twin-tailed City because it's two settlements, '''Hammerhal Aqsha''' and '''Hammerhal Ghyra''', ruled as one, one on each side of the [[Stormrift Realmgate]].{{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
Before being reclaimed, thirty chambers struck at both sides of the [[Stormrift Realmgate]] battling the [[orruk]] tribes who worshipped it as the [[Maw of Mork]]. Their tribal kingdoms had long fought over the mystic portal, raising sprawling fortifications upon its twinned thresholds and invading one another through its crackling depths. Given common purpose by the Stormcast attack, the [[Morkmaw tribes]] unified. Only after long years of fighting - and with the aid of the [[Hallowed Knights]], the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]] and several other [[Stormhosts]] - did [[Sigmar]]'s warrior at last defeat the orruk scourge. To the [[Hammers of Sigmar]] went the honours of raising the first [[Stormkeep]]s around the Realmgate.{{Fn|4a}} The city that followed was named after them.{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|12b}}<br />
<br />
Reaching up from the bedrock on both sides of the Stormrift, Sigmar's warriors discovered rich outcroppings of [[realmstone]]. Formed from the concentrated magics of the [[Mortal Realms]], these volatile crystals were a valuable yet dangerous source of arcane power first harnessed by the renowned architect [[Valius Maliti]]. The energies that poured from their central lodeshards were crucial in speeding along the construction of Hammerhal, fuelling the efforts of the [[Ironweld Arsenal|Ironweld]] engineers to raise new defences and expand the city's boundaries. It was the engineers who - with the aid of the [[Lord Relictor]]s - caged the energies of the realmstone, building elaborate [[sigmarite]] machinery around them to harness their volatile sorcerous emanations. In Hammerhal Aqsha, those wrathful energies powers a vast shield of flickering lightning, while Hammerhal Ghyra funnels them into protective wards to confuse and misdirect hostile invaders.{{Fn|4c}}<br />
<br />
As one of the new cities reclaimed by order during the [[Age of Sigmar]] in the [[Great Parch]] it starts to thrive as philosophy, art and fashion begin to develop once again.{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
In the [[Time of Tribulations]] the two hundred and forty-four [[Lords of the Heavenhall]] debated fiercely about what action to take before [[Morathi]] the High Oracle of [[Khaine]] arrived. She quickly addressed them all and stated that ''This council must put aside its differences immediately and send every available army to [[Realm of Shyish|Shyish]], or the forces of [[death]] will overwhelm us.'' Despite some initial opposition she convinces them to send the cities armies to join her own in attacking the [[Realm of Shyish]] {{Fn|8}}<br />
<br />
In the aftermath of the [[Necroquake]] the dead arose across the Realms and in Hammerhal Ghyra they clawed their way out of the tombs in the Azyrite necropoli or the blessed soil of the [[Shadeglens]] and the defenders of the city were hard pressed to destroy them.{{Fn|10a}} Meanwhile in Hammerhal Aqsha, forgotten armies of [[deathrattle]] warriors suddenly stirred themselves and tore free from the boiling mud-flats and marched on the walls.{{Fn|10b}}<br />
<br />
At the start of the [[Arcanum Optimar]] the [[Endless Spell]] known as the [[Purple Death]] was unleashed upon the streets of Hammerhal.{{Fn|11}}<br />
<br />
==Twin-Tailed City==<br />
[[File:Stormrift Gate 01.jpg|Right|thumb|400px|The City of Hammerhal and the Stormrift Gate seen from Hammerhal Aqsha]]<br />
<br />
===Hammerhal Aqsha===<br />
Hammerhal Aqsha is a bustling metropolis located in the [[Great Parch]] in [[Realm of Aqshy|Aqshy]]. It's a harsh and heavy fortified place with towering bastions and batteries. It's many pendants and banners dance on hot, angry winds. It is protected by lighting shields while mobile forts seek to expand the city boundaries.{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|12a}}<br />
<br />
The cities defences are maintained by the genius of the [[Ironweld Arsenal]], which have a strong presence in the city. The surrounding land is purified by the self-flagellating processions of [[Devoted of Sigmar]].{{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
In exchange for a steady supply of foodstuff from Ghyra, Aqsha provides a constant stream of molten rocks.{{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
===Hammerhal Ghyra===<br />
Hammerhal Ghyra is located in the [[Jade Kingdom of Verdia]] in [[Realm of Ghyran|Ghyran]] is a city of golden domes and celestial spires. This city channels the lava that flows from Aqsha into carefully cut trenches that forms a wall of fire that hold back the plants of Ghyran.{{Fn|1}} The air is noted by many visitors as tasting of cinders and smoke and the atmosphere as wet and humid. {{Fn|3b}} It is known as a stronghold of [[aelf]]-kind and many [[Free Peoples]]{{Fn|1}} with parts of the city given over to vast groves of trees.{{Fn|3c}}<br />
<br />
==Politics==<br />
The [[Grand Conclave]] of lords, chosen from amongst the best and brightest of [[Azyrheim]], govern this city.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Society==<br />
As the foremost sanctuary for the free peoples of the realms, Hammerhal's population has grown both in size and diversity. [[Darkling Covens]] thrive in the grimmer quarters of the city. [[Wanderers]] live in nomadic caravans and treetop camps in the gardens of Ghyra. The industrial expertise of the [[Dispossessed]] is vital for the constantly expanding cities. Due to the constant expansion regions of the city are swift to rise and fall in prominence, with formerly vital trading posts fading into insignificance. The vast populations of [[aelves]], [[duardin]] and [[humans]] has also caused a housing crisis and widespread inequality. While the noble quarters such as the gleaming spire-towers of Goldpath or the garden villas of Sanctor Tulis are the envy of the realms, millions more citizens live in crime-ridden slums such as the Cinderfall district and the gloomy warrens of Blackwood Town. While life in these districts may be bleak they breed tough, hard-bitten souls who make for excellent soldiers and are given a path to glory and renown through service in the [[Freeguild]].{{Fn|13a}}<br />
<br />
==Economy==<br />
By day, thousands of [[airship]]s, [[skycutter]]s ,[[lava-cog]]s and Sylvaneth winged beetle mounts make their way to dock at the city's trading districts through the immense chasm that runs through the city which forms a natural trading route, and the rift-docks echo to the sounds of sailors and labourers shifting a bewildering array of exotic cargo and livestock from their vessels to the merchants' stalls and the dockside warehouses. [[Riftsider]]s tend to be hardy, practical folk, well-muscled and sun-beaten from many years of physical toil undertaken in the blazing heat.{{Fn|4b}}{{Fn|13a}}<br />
<br />
There is a constant flow of molten rock from Aqsha to Ghyra and in return Ghyra supplies vast shipments of grain, meat and [[Aqua Ghyranis]].{{Fn|1}} Ghyra imports both stone and timber for building as the inhabitants are forbidden from logging in the realm as per the ancient laws of [[Alarielle]], this is strictly enforced by the local [[Sylvaneth]].{{Fn|3e}} Ghyra uses its carefully channelled flow of molten rock to direct broad defensive canals in order to hold back the overwhelming fecundity of the Realm of Life.{{Fn|4c}} There is almost nothing that cannot be found within Hammerhal's sprawling market districts and the vaults of Hammerhal are filled with wonders and treasures from across the realms, claimed through battle or exploration.{{Fn|13a}}<br />
<br />
==Military==<br />
Hammerhalians prize martial ability and stubborn resolve and its standing armies are amongst the largest and best-equipped available to the God-King. The line infantry of the city's [[Freeguilds]] are known as the [[Goldjackets]] who are famed for their fighting ability and unwillingness to retreat. Each of the city's seven military guilds is descended from one of the ancient tribes that [[Sigmar]] brought with him to the Realm of Heavens before the [[Gates of Azyr]] were closed and are fiercely proud of their heritage, carrying artefacts of rare provenance woven from [[Hyshian]] [[suncloth]] and stitched with the skin and bones of martyrs that are carried into battle to inspire the soldiers. In the only instance if these colours falling into enemy hands, the [[Griffon Spears]] [[Freeguild]] embarked upon a suicidal cavalry charge against a [[greenskin]] horde eight times their number known as the Forlorn Charge. The Twin-tailed City can deploy almost any specialist formation ranging from handgunners and swordsmen backed up by all manner of auxiliary formations, chosen according to the needs of the campaign including [[Shadow Warriors]], fleets of [[Gyrobombers]] or the magical war machines of the [[Collegiate Arcane]]. {{Fn|13a}}<br />
<br />
An entire district of Hammerhal Aqsha was transformed into the [[Acadamae Martial]], a combined training ground and barracks, complete with mustering fields where officers of the city's armies study and the renowned [[Dragoon-Generals]] of Hammerhal are the elite graduates of these schools.{{Fn|13a}}<br />
<br />
The city is defended by several armies, including twelve chambers of Stormcast.{{Fn|1}} The [[Hallowed Knights]] are part of this powerful force and have sworn an oath that ''Hammerhal Ghyra will not fall while the faithful stand.''{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
==Locations==<br />
===Locations in Aqsha===<br />
[[File:Cinderfall_District.JPG|Right|thumb|Map of the Cinderfall District.{{Fn|4}}]]<br />
<br />
* '''[[Acadamae Martial]]''': An entire district of the city transformed into a combined training ground and barracks with mustering fields where the officers of the city's great armies can study the theoretics of cavalry movement and infantry formations. {{Fn|13a}}<br />
* '''Adramar Rift''': At the northern edge of Cinderfall District lies the unfortunate by-product of the tectonic trauma caused by the foundation and excavation of Hammerhal Aqsha. The city's rifts have either been filled with [[duardin]] mines and engineworks, or left as impressive reminders of the scale of civil engineering within the grand city. The Adramar Rift cuts through several major districts and is the main thoroughfare by which merchant trader airships travel through the city.<br />
* '''Alchemists Guild'''.{{Fn|5a}}<br />
* '''Ash Hand Burrows'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Ashbark Tower'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Black Dust Alleys'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Black Fields'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Blackglass Guilds'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Blackwood Town'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Bloom Gate Terrace'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Bones of [[Kazarig]]'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Brass Mire'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Briar Bridge'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Briargate Wood'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Candle Town'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Charcoal Hill'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Cinderfall District''': Cinderfall was once a prosperous and highly trafficked trading zone, but the ever-expanding nature of Hammerhal Aqsha meant that eventually the affluent merchant houses and foreign traders moved on to pastures new. In their place rose the [[Spice Guilds]] and criminal gangs, tempting a different class of trader to the great rift-docks that border the northern edge of the district. A remnant of he former Grand Bazaar remains in the form of the bustling Riftmarket, but the air of legitimacy is now a front for the trade of illicit goods and a thousand different flavours of vice.{{Fn|4d}}<br />
** '''House Venargo's mansion''': Just outside the Riftmarket stands a large mansion built in the Azyrite style that seems strangely out of place amid its ramshackle surroundings. A black iron fence surrounds the complex and guards are stationed at the front gate at all times, wearing fur-collared longcoats over silver breastplates engraved with the sigil of [[House Venargo]] (an open palm bearing a radiant diamond) and ceremonial masks they never remove. The family Venargo controls the trade and maybe nearly the entirety of the vice within Cinderfall and its surrounding districts.{{Fn|4e}}{{Fn|5a}}<br />
**'''Baugren's Bountiful Bazaar''': A slightly grimy but impressively large converted warehouse operating under the thinnest facade of respectability, the bazaar is filled with many varied and esoteric items and staffed by a human called [[Baugren]].{{Fn|5a}}<br />
** '''Chapel of the Shattered Blade''': This is a shabby, run-down church of worship to Sigmar. It venerates [[Saint Rubeus]], a legendary [[Warrior Priest]] who led the first consecration of the city and fell in battle against the orruk hordes of the [[Bloodscalps]]. The chapel is usually attended to by Brother [[Bargo Culven]].{{Fn|5a}}<br />
** '''The Guild of Certified Thaumaturgists''': A ramshackle array of spiral towers and smoke-belching laboratories with a sign that claims this Hammerhal Aqsha's centre of alchemical and metallurgical knowledge. The guild was set up by a group of students thrown out of the city's famed Alchemists Guild for dangerous or unethical experiments, usually both. {{Fn|5a}}<br />
** '''Red Yugol's Revelrie''': At the southern edge of the market district lies this garishly painted field of tents bedecked with banners, flags and leering masks. Faces painted like beasts of the wild, dressed in colourful rags and brandishing rattles, drums and tambourines, Red Yugol's entertainers prance and caper about, beckoning, cajoling and threatening tourists, drunken sailors and travelling merchants into entering the Revelrie. At the very centre of the grand marquee dwells the enigmatic soothsayer and compere [[Red Yugol]] himself.{{Fn|5b}}<br />
** '''The Riftmarket''': Running parallel to the Adramar Rift at the northern edge of the city is the mass of tents, warehouses, shopfronts and forums that makes up the Riftmarket. Merchants and traders from across the [[Mortal Realms]] flock here to sell all manner of ephemera, from exotic creatures to precious magical items. The largest and most extravagant stall belongs to an [[aelf]] named [[Asterion]].{{Fn|5c}}<br />
** '''Toil's End''': Underneath this bar, [[Olrig]] runs a free-for-all underground fighting tournament where a number of notable local brawlers compete in bloody, bare-knuckle bouts.{{Fn|5c}}<br />
[[File:Hammerhal_Aqsha.png|Right|thumb|Map of the western side of Hammerhal Aqsha.{{Fn|4}}]]<br />
[[File:Hammerhal_Aqsha_1.jpg|Right|thumb|Map of the eastern side of Hammerhal Aqsha.{{Fn|4}}]]<br />
* '''Cinderworm'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Cinnabaric Vaults'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Cogworks'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Crystalarium'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Deep Gate Fields'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Forest of the Braken Gate'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Forest of the Oaken Gate'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Forest of the Vine Gate'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Fyre Pots'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Ghyrous Vents'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Gnarled Gate Wood'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Goldenpath''': A complex of gleaming crystal spires.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Great Catedral o Sigmar'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Halls of Shaping'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Heart of Rubeus'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Heartfire Promontory'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Jadeheart Glades'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Kindle Heights'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Lavafall District'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* The '''Narrows'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Onyx Shore'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Perspicarium'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Pillars of Infinity'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Pyromancer's Tor'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Raven Bridge'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Rhuin Peak'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Rune Key Tower'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Scorched Bone Marshes'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Soot Cloud Gardens'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Storm Horn'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Stormfall'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Tallow Park'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''The Cauldron'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''The Cleave'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Thorn Gate Thicket'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
* '''Willow Gate Woods'''.{{Fn|4}}<br />
<br />
===Locations in Ghyra===<br />
* '''Aether Dock''': A ring of stacked warehouses with a canopy of high altitude quays and berths.{{Fn|3a}} Due to the nature of the realm, these are all plagued by growths of vines, mould and weeds.{{Fn|3b}} Thousands of [[airships]], [[leaf-boats]] and [[sky-cutters]] arrive and depart the city every day. {{Fn|3e}}<br />
* '''Fire-Bastions''': Constructed by the [[Ironweld Arsenal]] and constantly fed by lava from the realm of fire via immense stone runnels to keep the flora of Ghyran from overwhelming the city. As the flow is redirected, so new tunnels are created and old empty ones are built over, although some express concerns about what can inhabit them.{{Fn|3d}}<br />
* '''Shadeglens''': Ancient burial gardens whose caretakers are pledged to [[Alarielle]].{{Fn|10}}<br />
<br />
==Notable Citizens==<br />
===Aelves===<br />
* [[Alnaryn]]: [[Loremaster]].{{Fn|4h}}<br />
* [[Asterion]]: Merchant of the Riftmarket.{{Fn|5c}}<br />
* Ambassador [[Selendti Llyr-Xiss]]: A priestess and diplomat who in the [[Time of Tribulations]] represented the temples and their warriors on the [[Stormrift Conclave]].{{Fn|9}}<br />
* [[Kemli]] the Silent: A mute aelf who fights under Toil's End.{{Fn|5c}}<br />
* [[Vizrin Kyre]]: Aelf [[Black Ark Fleetmaster|Fleetmaster]], and captain of the sky-ship known as the ''[[Hel's Claw]]''.{{Fn|4g}}<br />
<br />
===Duardin===<br />
* [[Drobjorn]]: He was the High Artillerist of the [[Dispossessed]] during the [[Time of Tribulations]].{{Fn|9}}<br />
* [[Golnir Coalbeard]]: Duardin [[Cogsmith]]. Close friend of Arvios Sunhelm.{{Fn|4i}}<br />
<br />
===Humans===<br />
* [[Arvios Sunhelm]]: [[Lord-Castellant]] of the [[Exemplar Chamber]] of the Hammers of Sigmar known as [[Engloriams]].{{Fn|4f}}<br />
* Lord [[Aventis Firestrike]]: Magister of Hammerhal and a judiciary representative of the Stormcast Eternals during the [[Time of Tribulations]].{{Fn|8}}{{Fn|9}}<br />
* [[Bargo Culven]]: Priest of the [[Church of the Shattered Blade]].{{Fn|5a}}<br />
* [[Barragust]]: High Despot of the [[Order of Azyr]] during the [[Time of Tribulations]].{{Fn|8}}<br />
* [[Brutar]]: High Castellan during the [[Time of Tribulations]]{{Fn|8}}<br />
* [[Estimion]]: Lord General of the Hammerhal Aqsha Chamber Strategic during the [[Time of Tribulations]].{{Fn|6}}<br />
* [[Evandelle]]: Wallmistress of the High Artisans during the [[Time of Tribulations]]{{Fn|8}}<br />
* [[Katrik le Guillion]] She was Prime Commander during the [[Time of Tribulations]]{{Fn|9}}<br />
* [[Sevastean Mench]] Master Patriarch during the [[Time of Tribulations]]{{Fn|8}}<br />
* [[Lug Liefson]]: Ex-[[Free Peoples#Freeguilds|Freeguild]] halberdier who fights under Toil's End.{{Fn|5c}}<br />
* [[Ysmeralde von Leithenstine]]: Imports Doyenne during the [[Time of Tribulations]]{{Fn|9}}<br />
* [[Olrig]]: Toil's End barkeeper.{{Fn|5c}}<br />
* [[Osrua]] of the Gilded Abacus<br />
* [[Hexedentia Vimm]], She was the newly-appointed mistress of the Hammerhal Cog-forts during the [[Time of Tribulations]]{{Fn|9}}<br />
* [[Elethrus Vinx]]: She was the Supreme Pontifex during the [[Time of Tribulations]]{{Fn|8}}<br />
* [[Red Yugol]]: Owner of Red Yugol's Revelrie.{{Fn|5b}}<br />
<br />
===Soulblight===<br />
* [[Doyenne Dalvia]] the Red Widow of Toursonne, Sanguinarch and agent for Queen [[Neferata]]{{Fn|7}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* [[Lore of Cinder]]<br />
* [[Hammerhal Armoury]]<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Season of War]] gaming aid from the [[WH AoS app]], The Twin-Tailed City.<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Warhammer?N=2070689437+131843791&Nr=AND%28sku.siteId%3AUS_gw%2Cproduct.locale%3Aen_US_gw%29&Nrs=collection%28%29%2Frecord%5Bproduct.startDate+%3C%3D+1509627000000+and+product.endDate+%3E%3D+1509627000000%5D Hammerhal product listing]<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [[Hammerhal & Other Stories]] - Hammerhal by [[Josh Reynolds]]<br />
** {{Endn|3a}}: pg.19<br />
** {{Endn|3b}}: pg.20<br />
** {{Endn|3c}}: pg.21<br />
** {{Endn|3d}}: pg.23<br />
** {{Endn|3e}}: pg.30<br />
* {{Endn|4}}: [[Shadows over Hammerhal]], Guidebook<br />
** {{Endn|4a}}: pg.12<br />
** {{Endn|4b}}: pg.17<br />
** {{Endn|4c}}: pg.18<br />
** {{Endn|4d}}: pg.22<br />
** {{Endn|4e}}: pg.24<br />
** {{Endn|4f}}: pg.56<br />
** {{Endn|4g}}: pg.58<br />
** {{Endn|4h}}: pg.60<br />
** {{Endn|4i}}: pg.62<br />
* {{Endn|5}} [[Shadows over Hammerhal]], Adventure Book<br />
** {{Endn|5a}}: pg.22<br />
** {{Endn|5b}}: pg.23<br />
** {{Endn|5c}}: pg.24<br />
* {{Endn|6}} [https://malignportents.com/story/the-offer/ The Offer story on the Malign Portents website]<br />
* {{Endn|7}}: [https://malignportents.com/story/the-crimson-connoisseur/ The Crimson Connoisseur story on the Malign Portents website]<br />
* {{Endn|8}}: [https://malignportents.com/story/cause-celebre/ The Cause Celebre story on the Malign Portents website]<br />
* {{Endn|9}}: [https://malignportents.com/story/the-great-and-the-good/ The Great and the Good short story on the Malign Portents website] <br />
* {{Endn|10}}: [[Soul Wars (novel)]] by [[Josh Reynolds]] <br />
** {{Endn|10a}}: Chapter Five<br />
** {{Endn|10b}}: Chapter Seven<br />
* {{Endn|11}}: [[Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Malign Sorcery]] - Magic Unending, pg. 18-19<br />
* {{Endn|12}}: [[Age of Sigmar: Core Book (2nd Edition)]]<br />
** {{Endn|12a}}: Aqshy, Realm of Fire, pg. 84-85<br />
** {{Endn|12b}}: The Great Parch, pg. 86-89<br />
* {{Endn|13}}: [[Battletome: Cities of Sigmar (2019)]]<br />
** {{Endn|13a}}: Hammerhal, The Twin-Tailed City. pg.12-13<br />
<br />
[[Category:Realm of Aqshy]]<br />
[[Category:Great Parch]]<br />
[[Category:Realm of Ghyran]]<br />
[[Category:Everspring Swathe]]<br />
[[Category:Hammerhal]]<br />
[[Category:Cities]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Acadamae_Martial&diff=88403Acadamae Martial2020-03-20T05:51:55Z<p>IDthisguy: Created page with "The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' are the greatest colleges of warfare and strategy in the Mortal Realms, outside of Azyrheim. Situated in Hammerhal Aqsha where an entire dis..."</p>
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<div>The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' are the greatest colleges of warfare and strategy in the [[Mortal Realms]], outside of [[Azyrheim]]. Situated in [[Hammerhal Aqsha]] where an entire district has been given over to a combined training ground and barracks. There officers of Hammerhal can study the theoretics of cavalry movement and infantry formations.{{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
The renowned Dragoon-Generals of Hammerhal are the elite graduates of these august schools.{{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*{{Endn|1}}: [[Battletome: Cities of Sigmar (2019)]]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Realm of Aqshy]]<br />
[[Category:Great Parch]]<br />
[[Category:Hammerhal]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Lord_Relictor&diff=88402Lord Relictor2020-03-20T05:32:24Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Lord-Relictor</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Lord-Relictor]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Corsair&diff=88401Corsair2020-03-20T05:30:49Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Black Ark Corsair</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Black Ark Corsair]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Fleetmaster&diff=88400Fleetmaster2020-03-20T05:28:56Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Black Ark Fleetmaster</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Black Ark Fleetmaster]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=User:IDthisguy&diff=88399User:IDthisguy2020-03-20T05:25:28Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>I read a lot of the Age of Sigmar novels (list below) and I have a Stormcast Eternals army (Hammers of Sigmar) and a Fyreslayers army that I'm still building up as well as Battletomes for Everchosen (which was a bad idea), Nighthaunt (accidentally), Fyreslayers (1.0 and now 2.0), and Stormcast Eternals (1.0, 2.0, and 3.0).<br />
<br />
==Stuff I should do at some point==<br />
<br />
* Everything from Scourge of Fate<br />
<br />
* Revamp Eightpoints page<br />
<br />
* Add pictures for Ortam Vermyre, and a bunch of other guys<br />
<br />
* Revamp Callis and Toll pages (add pictures)<br />
<br />
* Add pages for minor characters in The Red Feast<br />
<br />
* More Book Pages<br />
<br />
* Add more to Soul Wars page<br />
<br />
==Stuff I've read==<br />
<br />
Order of books is guided primarily by the will of the Chaos Gods:<br />
<br />
- Wrath of the Everchosen<br />
<br />
- Gods' Gift by David Guymer<br />
<br />
- Seven Words by David Guymer<br />
<br />
- The Red Feast by Gav Thorpe (Great except for the last five chapters)<br />
<br />
- Blood Gold by Gav Thorpe<br />
<br />
- Black Pyramid by Josh Reynolds (His name comes up a lot in this list, also this book is awesome)<br />
<br />
- Scourge of Fate by Robbie MacNiven (the classic Varanguard story)<br />
<br />
- a Dirge of Dust and Steel by Josh Reynolds<br />
<br />
- Ghosts of Demesnus by Josh Reynolds (I was really disappointed with this one)<br />
<br />
- The Red Hours by Evan Dicken<br />
<br />
- The Resolute by Josh Reynolds<br />
<br />
- Spear of Shadows by Josh Reynolds (his name comes up a lot in this list)<br />
<br />
- Pantheon by Guy Haley<br />
<br />
- Plague Garden by the great J Reynolds (the classic Stormcast Eternal story)<br />
<br />
- Heart of Winter by Nick Horth<br />
<br />
- The Learning by David Guymer<br />
<br />
- The Sea Taketh also by David Guymer (I remember this one primarily because it has merchant Orruks and Ogors)<br />
<br />
- The Tainted Heart by CL Werner (This one is always the hidden gem of Age of Sigmar books but I digress)<br />
<br />
- City of Secrets by Nick Horth (the classic Age of Sigmar story)<br />
<br />
- Callis & Tol: The Silver Shard by Nick Horth (the classic Age of Sigmar story's sequel)<br />
<br />
- Callis & Tol: The Old Ways by Nick Horth<br />
<br />
- The Realmgate Wars: Bladestorm (This one was incredibly boring and I never finished it)<br />
<br />
- The Path to Glory by Evan Dicken (More Lantic Empire lore when?)<br />
<br />
- Auction of Blood by Josh Reynolds (I remember picking this up out of sheer curiosity and being really confused by it afterward)</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Maldoros&diff=88398Maldoros2020-03-20T05:23:37Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>'''King {{PAGENAME}}''' is an [[Abhorrant Ghoul King]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
Following the [[Necroquake]], [[Nagash]] sent vast armies under the [[Mortarch of Grief]] to breach [[Lethis]] and the [[Stormvault]] beneath, when the [[Anvils of the Heldenhammer]] call for aid, King Maldros brings his court to the defence of the city. {{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Source==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[White Dwarf Vol 3 No 36]], <br />
** {{Endn|3a}}: [[Tome Celestial: The Sempiternals]] pg. 18-35<br />
<br />
[[Category:Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
[[Category:Flesh-Eater Courts characters]]<br />
[[Category:Vampires]]<br />
[[Category:Abhorrant Ghoul Kings]]<br />
{{Flesh-Eater Courts}}</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Gutrot_Spume&diff=88397Gutrot Spume2020-03-20T05:21:26Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>[[File:Gutrot Sprume.jpg|thumb|The Gutrot Spume miniature.]]<br />
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'''{{PAGENAME}}''', the Lord of Tentacles is a powerful [[Rotbringer]] in the service of the Chaos god [[Nurgle]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Appearance==<br />
A vast rot deformed champion of Nurgle who’s left side is a swirling mass of seven tentacles undulating around a central brutal snapping beak. He is clad in foul leather and cracked plate armour including a helm with a single horn. {{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
He was once a tribal chieftain dwelling on the coastline of the [[Ocean of Blades]] but during the [[Age of Chaos]] he sought to impress the new gods by leading his fleet to slay a vast [[rot kraken]]. During the battle, the great beast destroyed his fleet and dragged him under the waves, but he fought on to the last, stabbing it even as it did so. {{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
Noticing him, Nurgle granted him dominion over the kraken, Spumes own form swelling and transforming to partially mimic the creature. With his surviving crew and ships transformed as well, Gutrot became a powerful force in the service of the lord of flies, his flagship – a gargantuan rotting hulk now perched atop the kraken itself. {{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
In the [[Age of Sigmar]] he fought [[Lorrus Grymn]] of the [[Steel Souls]] atop the [[Profane Tor]] and was later comprehensively defeated after the closing of the [[Genesis Gate]] by the goddess [[Alarielle]] and he was thrown into the garden once more. {{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
There for a time he commanded a black galley searching the swamps for lost souls drawn into the garden. Finding the stormcast Lorrus Grymn alone in the garden he captured him as a prize, seeking approval once more from his god. He enlisted the assistance of the witch [[Urslaug]] and in turn discovered her betrayal in time. Eventually he found his way to gift him to [[Father Decay]], Lord High Admiral of the Plague-Fleets at the heart of the garden, the [[Inevitable Citadel]] itself. In the ensuing fight with the rescuers led by [[Gardus Steel Soul]] he was struck and wounded by a star fated arrow. {{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
Later in the age he attacked the city [[Hammerhal]] Aqsha with a powerful force including the [[Drowned Men]] and the [[Hands of Filth]] and although they were beaten back, plague and disease were spread through the outer districts of the city. {{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
During the [[Siege of the Eightpoints#Battle of the Varanspire|Battle of the Varanspire]] Gutrot Spume's [[Drowned Men]] aided [[Archaon]]'s attack by sailing down the Soulsplinter River and unleashing his [[Blightkings]] to attack the [[Mortis Praetorians]].{{Fn|3a}}<br />
<br />
==Powers==<br />
Like all rotbringers, Gutrot is unnaturally resilient, in combat he relies on his axe as well as the tentacles and maw of his left hand side. {{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
He commands vessels in the name of his god, their number and nature determined by his present standing with Nurgle. The kraken-flagship, [[Lurska]] {{Fn|2}} and his other galleons can produce copious amounts of slime that enable them to sail over land as easily as oceans,{{Fn|1a}} they can even take to the skies on pox-clouds! {{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
Gutrot's favoured warband is the [[Drowned Men]], experts in naval and aerial combat.{{Fn|3b}}<br />
==Personality==<br />
Proud and noted to possess boundless confidence. {{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Quotes==<br />
{| width="33%" align="center"<br />
|align="center"|''Did ye think me dead, then after the dirgehorn blew its last note. Almost was. But I’m made of sterner stuff than that. Blessed of Nurgle, I am.''<br />
'''~Gutrot to Lorrus Grymn'''.{{Fn|2}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Notes==<br />
The novel Plague Garden describes his early history somewhat differently as he enters Nurgle’s garden after the pursuit and capture of a [[Abak]] treasure ship heading for [[Sartos]] whose captain was a champion of Nurgle. The god himself drew the ships into his realm and only Spume flourished on the plagued seas that they found themselves sailing. Finally he reached the citadel of Nurgle and professed his loyalty. {{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Battletome: Maggotkin of Nurgle (2018)]] <br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: Rotbringer Lords, p35<br />
** {{Endn|1b}}: Annals of Entropy, p21<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Plague Garden (novel)]] by [[Josh Reynolds]]<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]]<br />
** {{Endn|3a}}: Archaon's Wrath, p42-47<br />
** {{Endn|3b}}: The Drowned Men, p99<br />
<br />
[[Category:Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
[[Category:Nurgle Rotbringers characters]]<br />
{{Nurgle Rotbringers}}</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Varanspire&diff=88396Varanspire2020-03-20T01:49:02Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>[[File:Varanspire Fortress 01.jpg|thumb|right|The inside one of the eight circles of the Varanspire]]<br />
[[Archaon’s]] main stronghold in the [[Mortal Realms]], the '''{{PAGENAME}}''' is located in the [[Eightpoints]].<br />
<br />
==Overview==<br />
[[File:Varanspire Walls 01.jpg|thumb|right|The outer walls of the Varanspire]]<br />
The Varanspire is under a massive [[realmgate]] to the [[Realm of Chaos]] in the sky and the center of the Eightpoints. It is protected by spiked walls manned by hordes of warriors, daemons, and monsters sworn to Archaon. The walls are divided into eight concentric circles, each taller than the last, with the first circle in the center, corresponding to each of the eight circles of the [[Varanguard]]. Each circle’s fortifications are controlled by the master of its respective Varanguard circle.{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|3a}}<br />
<br />
In the heart of the Varanspire, the massive citadel that rises above the walls, lies the Chamber of the Vanquished where Archaon’s throne stands. While he has never sat in it, his [[Realm Lords]] still gather and bow under its shadow to lay their trophies and triumphs before it.{{Fn|3a}}<br />
<br />
Around the walls are armies, traders, worshippers, champions, and slaves of the [[Chaos Gods]] all clustered underneath the Varanspire’s shadow to partake in rituals, sell trinkets, gain favor, or muster for a campaign of the Dark Gods.{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
The strategic location of the Varanspire inside the Eightpoints allows Archaon’s armies to move wherever he needs them.{{Fn|4b}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
Following the [[War of the Allpoints]] in which Archaon gained control of the newly renamed [[Eightpoints]], the Varanspire was raised during the [[Age of Chaos]].{{Fn|3b}}{{Fn|3c}}{{Fn|4a}}<br />
<br />
Archaon has not set foot in the Varanspire in centuries though, vowing not to rest upon his throne until his final victory is won.{{Fn|4c}}<br />
<br />
During the [[Soul Wars]], [[Orpheon Katakros]] [[Siege of the Eightpoints|attempted to lay siege to the Varanspire]], but was driven back by Archaon.{{Fn|5}}<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* Varanspire has a few [[Ravening Direflock]]s nesting on it's crenelations.{{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_AoS_BeastsOfChaos_Ravening_Direflock.pdf Ravening Direflock warscroll]<br />
*{{Endn|2}}: [[Scourge of Fate (novel)]], Part Three<br />
*{{Endn|3}}: [[Battletome: Everchosen (2015)]]<br />
**{{Endn|3a}}: The Empty Throne, 17-18<br />
**{{Endn|3b}}: The Knights of Ruin, 23-26<br />
**{{Endn|3c}}: The March of Chaos, 29-32<br />
*{{Endn|4}}: [[Age of Sigmar: Core Book (2nd Edition)]]<br />
**{{Endn|4a}}: Age of Chaos, pg. 30-41<br />
**{{Endn|4b}}: Gates are Lost and Held, pg. 52-53<br />
**{{Endn|4c}}: The Everchosen, pg. 154-155<br />
*{{Endn|5}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]]<br />
<br />
[[Category: Eightpoints]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Nagendra&diff=88395Nagendra2020-03-20T01:45:53Z<p>IDthisguy: /* History */</p>
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<div>{{InfoDeities<br />
|Image =<br />
|Name = Nagendra<br />
|Titles = Great Wyrm{{Fn|2}}<br>Father of Serpents{{Fn|2}}<br />
|Domains = <br />
|Type = Godbeast<br />
|Status = Deceased<br />
|Aspects =<br />
|Home = <br />
|Relatives = [[Nagwroth]](Child){{Fn|4}}<br />
|Affiliation = None<br />
|Followers = <br />
|Adjectives = <br />
|Symbols =<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Nagendra''' is a '''Great Wyrm''' and the '''Father of [[Serpents]]'''.{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
At the start if the [[Age of Myth]] he fights [[Ignax]] for control of [[Realm of Aqshy]]'s heartlands. This duel is so devastating that the eastern islands of the [[Great Parch]] are heavily damaged and broken by their fight. When Ignax shreds his flanks, the flesh that falls off take form of the serpents of the south. Ignax defeats Nagendra, but the conflict leaves her exhausted and weak enough to be captured and shackled to the [[Land of the Chained Sun]].{{Fn|2}}<br />
<br />
At some point Nagendra had a child named [[Nagwroth]] who would go on to destroy the [[magmahold]] of the [[Drakendreng]] first-forged lodge.{{Fn|4}}<br />
<br />
Some say he was slain by [[Sigmar]] later during the [[Age of Myth]]. It is rumored that the [[Writhing Serpent]] is the spirit of Nagendra.{{Fn|3}}<br />
<br />
The [[Splintered Fang]] say that he was slain by Ignax, and his flesh fell away to create the snakes of the realms.{{Fn|5}} They seek the ancient temple to the Great Wyrm, '''Nagendra’s Gullet''' which lies within the [[Skullpike Mountains]] in the [[Bloodwind Spoil]]. {{Fn|6a}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Malign Portents]]<br />
* {{Endn|2}}: [[Age of Sigmar: Core Book (2nd Edition)]] - The Great Parch, pg. 86-89<br />
* {{Endn|3}}: [https://malignportents.com/destiny/5/ Dread Solistice – Week 5: The Black Hungers ]<br />
* {{Endn|4}}: [[Battletome: Fyreslayers (2019)]] - Born of Flame, pg. 14-19<br />
* {{Endn|5}}: [[Warcry Core Book]], Nagendra's Gullet, pg. 102-103<br />
* {{Endn|6}}: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/varanscribe/ The Varenscribe force builder]<br />
** {{Endn|6a}}: '''Nagendra's Gullet''' quest.<br />
<br />
{{Mortal Realms Deities}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Characters]]<br />
[[Category:Deities]]<br />
[[Category:Zodiacal godbeasts]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Siege_of_the_Eightpoints&diff=88394Siege of the Eightpoints2020-03-20T01:39:17Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>{{Battle<br />
|Name = Siege of the Eightpoints<br />
|Image = Slaves to Darkness vs Ossiarch Bonereapers 01.jpg<br />
|Conflict = [[Soul Wars]]<br />
|Date = [[Arcanum Optimar]]<br />
|Location = [[Eightpoints]]<br />
|Outcome = Pyrrhic [[Chaos]] Victory<br>[[Endgate]] controlled by [[Death]]<br />
|Combatant1 = [[Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
|Combatant2 = [[Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
|Commanders1 = [[Orpheon Katakros]] (WIA)<br>[[Lady Olynder]] (banished)<br>[[Arch-Kavalos Zandtos]] (WIA)<br>[[Kurdoss Valentian]]<br />
|Commanders2 = [[Archaon the Everchosen]]<br>[[Tongueless Lord]]<br>[[Namon Saskarid]] (KIA)<br>[[Be'lakor]]<br>[[Marakarr Blood-Sky]]<br>[[Gutrot Spume]]<br />
|Strength1 = [[Mortis Praetorians]]<br>[[Stalliarch Lords]]<br>[[Crematorians]]<br>[[Null Myriad]]<br>[[Legion of Grief]]<br />
|Strength2 = [[Legion of Chaos Ascendant]]<br>[[Legion of the First Prince]]<br>innumerable [[daemons]] and [[Chaos]] Warbands<br />
|Casualties1 = Heavy<br>Destruction of the Mortis Praetorians<br />
|Casualties2 = Heavy<br>Complete annihilation of many warbands<br />
}}<br />
'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a conflict of the [[Soul Wars]] during which the armies of [[Grand Alliance of Death|Death]] under [[Orpheon Katakros]] alongside [[Olynder]] laid siege to the Chaos-held [[Eightpoints]] under the rule of [[Archaon the Everchosen]]. {{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
Since the [[Necroquake]] and the beginning of the Soul Wars the undead armies of [[Nagash]] have swept across the [[Mortal Realms]], overrunning and destroying many Free Cites and attacking the decentralised empires of [[Chaos]]. The mortal armies of the Dark Gods were already embroiled in grinding wars of attrition against the [[God-King]]’s forces and plagued by a drastic increase in greenskin raids now found themselves swarmed by spectral horrors and shambling hordes of risen dead. {{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
The fortified sub-realm of the Eightpoints lies at the very centre of the cosmos, equidistant from each of the Eight Realms connected to them by immense arcway portals. It is a strategic location of unmatched importance and the domain of Archaon the Everchosen, Exalted Grand Marshal of Chaos whose stronghold, the [[Varanspire]] – a monumental fortress-citadel haloed by a swirling crown of infernal magic from which spills the raw, protean energy of Chaos into reality. The loss of many important transitory routes during the Realmgate Wars greatly impacted on the Everchosen’s ability to redirect his hordes across such distances in an instant, isolating many Chaos fiefdoms. Still, only a fool would question the dominance of the Dark Gods in the Mortal Realms. Sigmar’s great cities occupy but a small bridgehead in a near-infinite expanse of territory. While the Eightpoints and the Varanspire still stand, the armies of the Everchosen cannot truly be defeated, and the threat of their dark crusades will always loom on the horizon.{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
Nagash still remembers when Archaon himself cut him down before the gates of [[Nagashizzar]], and the bite of the Everchosen’s dread sword, the Slayer of Kings. If the control of the Arcways were seized and fortified by undead sentinels unfailingly loyal to Nagash, it would further strengthen his grasp upon the Mortal Realms but even for Nagash’s near-limitless legions, such a conquest would be tremendously costly, with no surety of success. But now Nagash has a being whose mastery of the battlefield perhaps exceeds even that of the Three-Eyed King, Orpheon Katakros who was freed by Lady Olynder and the [[Legion of Grief]] from [[Lethis]] during the [[Siege of Sorrow]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Prelude==<br />
The [[Realmgate|Endgate]] connecting [[Realm of Shyish|Shyish]] to the Eightpoints has been under constant siege by waves of undead. Thus Archaon ordered the construction of the fortress of [[Karheight]] to guard the gate to [[Gothizzar]] in the Realm of Death. An immense edifice fashioned from cursed metal and reinforced by the darkest sorceries, this [[Dreadhold]] had been constructed to allow the forces of Chaos to fall back though the Endgate in case Gothizzar fell, ensuring that anything attacking through the Endgate could be immediately contained and destroyed. Katakros in turn had prepared for this and called Lady Olynder to bring her [[Nighthaunt]] armies that could not be contained by mere physical fortifications.{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
In addition the Necroquake had caused manifestations of living magic that swept across the Eightpoints, transforming entire regions into desolate wastelands ruled by untapped magic. Worse still, these living spells coalesced into hunting packs, drawn instinctively together to better bring ruin down upon their prey. Even the Everchosen’s most powerful sorcerers could barely contain these rogue magics while scores of lesser conjurers were slain in failed attempts to bind spells to their will. All who dwelt within Archaon’s domain swiftly learnt to flee when they saw the blazing light of magic upon the horizon. Further Archaon himself was absent from his dark throne, taking away the majority of his elite [[Varanguard]] with him in order to free [[Slaanesh]]. The great lords of the Eightpoints would have to face the full might of Nagash’s legions alone. {{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
The command of the Varanspire garrison fell to the Chaos Lord [[Namon Saskarid]] a veteran of the [[Bone Wars]] of Shyish, Saskarid had long battled against Nagash’s armies at the Everchosen’s side and was whispered to be close to rising up to become a member of the Varanguard itself. In such turbulent times, any of the arcways could come under assault, and so all had to be safeguarded at all costs. From his warcamp at the foot of the Varanspire, Saskarid attempted to organise a continent-spanning defence against potential threats, even as the Eightpoints was brutalised by the ongoing effects of the necroquake. The [[Gaunt Summoner]] known as the [[Tongueless Lord]] sensed the concentration of amethyst magic gathering about the Shyish arcway and worked his rituals to perform haruspicy upon the entrails of still-living prisoners. <br />
<br />
His crystals focused upon Dreadhold Karheight at the far edge of the Corpse Wastes. The auguries of Death hung over that place like a funeral shroud. Immediately, he sent a psychopomp messenger to the court of Lord Saskarid, warning him to summon the hordes and make for the Shyish arcway in all haste. Saskarid immediately ordered his coven of Sorcerers to burn the sigil of the Everchosen into the skies above Karheight, rival warbands across the continent ceased their butchery at once and flocked towards the distant symbol and the promise of slaughter. Lord Saskarid mustered his elite guard of [[Chaos Knight]]s, the [[Deathsworn]] and began the march to the Dreadhold upon his [[Karkadrak]] mount. {{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
==Battle of Karheight==<br />
Meanwhile in Karheight the Endgate spewed hundreds of undead [[Chaos Warrior]]s, once the defenders of Gothizzar they had been resurrected by [[Necromancy]] and thrown at their former comrades on the other side. They made their way across the open ground towards the battlements of the Dreadhold but the trenches stretching before Karheight in zigzagging lines were each filled with molten metal; many of the oncoming horde simply stumbled into these ditches and were instantly incinerated. Great sluice-works built into the fortress wall spat flesh-melting liquid and screaming Marauders hurled axes and javelins down upon the mass of bodies as they lurched unwittingly into the spike-traps and killing pits littering the ground. Cheers and howls of laughter rang along the ramparts of the Dreadhold, but the more experienced Chaos Warriors knew that such cumbersome foes heralded the coming of something far worse. {{Fn|1b}}{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
The Shyish arcway once more rippled open and an entire Nighthaunt procession poured out of the Endgate, rimefrost spreading before them and creeping across the parapets. Soaring above physical defences [[Chainrasp]]s descended upon the defenders en-masse, swiping away with rusted, incorporeal weapons that passed through armour and hide to stop the hearts of their victims, [[Bladegheist Revenant]]s whirled and spun in a dance leaving dozens of corpses in their wage and Spirit Torments drifted eerily above the slaughter, drawing the best souls of the slain into their cursed padlocks. Facing the undead was a massive horde of experienced and deadly followers of Chaos including murderous fiends from the [[Blood Bulls]] tribe, reaver champions of the [[Eyetakers]], the gold-encrusted [[Gilded One's]] and the flyblown zealots of the [[Putridae]]. Even though trails of ectoplasmic matter flowed like blood as gheists were rent by cursed blades that tore through spirit-stuff as surely as if it had been mortal flesh the defenders were driven from the walls and forced to retreat into the central courtyard of Karheight.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
===Charge of Saskarid=== <br />
Just as the undead began to descend upon the surrounded defenders, horns blared in the horizon announcing the arrival of Lord Saskarid who led the charge to Karheight at the head of his Deathsworn knights. The entire fortress was shrouded in emerald light due to the sheer thickness of the storm of Nighthaunts surrounding it. In blinding rays of silver light the Silver Tower of the Tongueless Lord pierced the gloom, limned in the witchfire of the countless daemons that spilled from its ramparts and raced towards the undead. The Gaunt Summoner had unleashed the [[Unbound Flux]], spreaders of insanity and destroyers of reason. Heralds of [[Tzeentch]] bombarded the undead with sorcerous flamebolts, each fiery missile exploding in a kaleidoscopic burst of madness that destroyed the minds of even long-dead spirits. The clash of the ethereal and the daemonic unleashed a boom of thunder that split open the earth and sent a shock wave rippling across the battlefield. The Tongueless Lord himself led the aerial attack alongside his most trusted Magisters riding upon Discs of Tzeentch at his side. The sorcerers of Tzeentch melted the walls of the Dreadhold into eldritch streams of boiling gold, smothering scores of Nighthaunts and opening a path for Saskarid and his cavalry charge. {{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
The Chaos Lord and the Deathsworn charged through the helpless Nighthaunts and inspired by the glorious spectacle of the seneschal of the Varanspire in battle, the defenders of Karheight renewed their efforts, hurling themselves upon their ghostly foes with abandon. However the Nighthaunt host outnumbered the Chaos force many times over, and more were pouring through. A whirling cyclone of gheists rose high into the sky to surround the Silver Tower of the Tongueless Lord and cut off the daemonic reinforcements. The Eightpoints was bathed in an eerie witchlight that blotted out even the raging Chaos portal that encircled the crown of the Varanspire. From hundreds of miles around, the storm of Death could be seen flaring on the horizon. Saskarid was filled with hate and impossible strength by the Chaos Gods and he blasted a path through wave after wave of Chainrasps. But he knew that he could only delay the inevitable and they would soon be overwhelmed. Fighting his way through undead hordes he emerged upon the ramparts of the Dreadhold and looked at the Shyish arcway. It was akin to looking upon a ruined dam, a ceaseless torrent of water bursting through its sundered cracks, except the "water" was composed entirely of incorporeal undead. But upon the Corpse Wastes, the vast expanse of jagged bluffs and open plains that stretched towards the Varanspire, now half-obscured by the dwindling light and chilling mists summoned by the dead another army was charging towards the ruined Dreadhold.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Drawn by the sigil of the Everchosen an army of Warbands had united as one deadly force. Symbols ranging from the eye of [[Nochseed]], the horned skull of the [[Untamed Beasts]] to the devouring serpent of the [[Splintered Fang]] were displayed in banners and flesh while Ironclad warriors of the [[Iron Golem]]s charged alongside sadists of the [[Unmade]]. The vanguard consisted of warriors of the Untamed Beasts who hurled hooked harpoons into the mass of Nighthaunts followed by Ogor Breachers of the Iron Golems barrelling through the fray. Graceful swordartists of the [[Cypher Lords]] leapt and spun past their undead foes while Raven-cloaked agents of the [[Corvus Cabal]] rained destruction from above.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
===Arrival of the Veiled Lady===<br />
The charge of Saskarid succeeded in pushing back the undead host from the walls of Karheight and it appeared as if the undead host would be pushed back all the way up to the Endgate. But unknown to them this was merely the vanguard of a greater invasion. An aura of freezing cold heralded the coming of the [[Mortarch]] of Grief. The wave of utter hopelessness, a choking miasma of grief and loss that drained the will to fight from even the most heartless of killers caused an overwhelming wave of sorrow among the Chaos reinforcements and during this moment three spectral funerary carriages erupted from the Endgate that trailed arcs of balefire as they smashed into the Chaos ranks crushing their bodies beneath their wheels or blasting others with blasts of purple magic. Saskarid’s Deathsworn tried to drive lances through their cloaked coachmen, but the ghostly carriages flickered in and out of reality, and many of the knights’ thrusts struck nothing but empty air. Clouds of black rose petals floated down from the darkening sky only to wither mid air accompanied by a mournful dirge. Two skull-faced, spectral maidens glided through the portal; one was clutching a sealed blackwood casket, the other a shattered hourglass. As they prostrated Lady Olynder entered the Eightpoints. Those who looked upon her were stricken with purest desolation and many warriors simply collapsed to their knees, prefering a quick death over the sheer despair.{{Fn|1d}}<br />
<br />
Raising the Staff of Midnight high, the Lady Olynder unleashed a keening wail to summon the full force of Lady Olynder’s retinue. Diamond-shaped formations of Hexwraiths galloped across the skies, blazing with evil balefire and hordes of Chainrasps swept towards the Chaos forces, followed by whirling tempests of [[Spirit Host]]s and [[Dreadscythe Harridan]]s that shrieked in animalistic fury as they hacked and carved their prey apart. Outnumbered and lost in the grip of primal terror, hundreds of Marauders and entire warbands broke and ran, streaming through the breach in the fortress wall and fleeing across the open plain towards the distant Varanspire. <br />
<br />
The Tongueless Lord called his remaining Magisters and soared back to the safety of his Silver Tower, daemons of the Unbound Flux swarming forward to cover his retreat. No sooner had he entered the summit of his great spire than the entire shimmering structure folded in upon itself, disappearing in a blinding burst of cerulean light and abandoning his allies to their fate. Lord Saskarid instead of dishonouring himself in the eyes of the Dark Gods charged towards the white lady, cleaving the spectral mounts from underneath [[Hexwraith]] riders with his infernal weapons while Deathsworn knights thundered at his side. Lady Olynder turned towards the Chaos Lord and stretched out a slender hand and curled her fleshless fingers like a dying spider contracting its limbs which caused the skin to slough away from the bones of Chaos Knights. Merely a dozen paces from Olynder the Karkadrak of the Chaos Lord took its last breath. Fallen, Saskarid looked up towards the face of the Mortarch of Grief as she slowly raised her veil, peeling back wisps of ghostly matter. At the momeng Lord Namos Saskarid saw the true face of the Veiled Lady he knew a moment of pure terror before his heart burst in his chest.{{Fn|1d}}<br />
<br />
===Fall of Karheight===<br />
The supernatural pall brought forth by Lady Olynder spread out from the Endgate, smothered entire regions in farkness. The Legion of Grief in an ethereal tide engulfed the routed Chaos forces, brutally massacring everyone from Chaos Knight to Marauder as they attempted to run away in sheer terror. Stretches of land that once echoed with the bestial howls of mutated predators and bloodthirsty killers were now eerily silent, the only interruption was by a rhythmic tread of an army on the march and glimpse the glimmer of speartips in the darkness. Even the scrying crystals of the Tongueless Lord could not penetrate the veil of darkness that the Nighthaunts brought with them. {{Fn|1d}}<br />
<br />
The Gaunt Summoner felt fear, not towards the approaching armies of the dead but his own master. With the [[Chaos Lord]] gone it would be he that would suffer the full wrath of the Everchosen when Archaon returned. Thus Tongueless Lord turned to his spymasters in the [[Cult of a Thousand Eyes]], the Tzeentchian network with agents embedded all across the Eightpoints, and as they heard their master’s call, they wielded their influence to assemble a fearsome Chaos host while summons and threats were dispatched to each warlord and warlock that dwelt within sight of the Varanspire, demanding they make at once for Karheight. Thus an army of Sorcerers, Daemon Princes and Magisters were assembled and if they failed the Tongueless Lord would unleash an arcane inferno upon them that would obliterate even these cursed wraiths of the underworlds.{{Fn|1d}}<br />
<br />
==Battle of the Forest of Eyes==<br />
With Archaon’s prime castellan slain, there was no single figure to unite the disbanded hordes. Thus multiple Chaos Lords sensed an opportunity to fill the power vacuum and claim their own share of the glory. From the [[Famine Hills]] came the [[Darkoath Warqueen]] [[Marakarr Blood-Sky]] with a vast horde of Marauders so large that when they took to the march, they blotted out the earth for miles around, Lord [[Crawen Caryx]] of [[Fell Keep]] led the [[Red Thousand]], a host of Chaos Warriors wearing crimson plate, draped in salamander hides and armed with red-hot infernal blades and axes marching beneath the glow of the Gorecradle, a smouldering [[Chaos Warshrine]], [[Thlorg]] the Bilespewer came from the bubbling [[Flesh Marshes]] riding a [[Manticore]] and leading the [[Blessed Sons]], filth-smeared raiders and hulking, pus-bloated warriors in rotten green plate, the fly sigil of [[Nurgle]] emblazoned upon their chests. They made their way to the Shyish arcway, picking up stragglers from the disastrous sacking of Karheight along the way. The fleshless spy-birds of Katakros observed the Chaos armies and relayed the information to their master.{{Fn|1e}}<br />
<br />
===Chaos Resurgent=== <br />
The Legion of Grief had driven the fleeing Chaos forces back as far as the Forest of Eyes when they encountered the thousands that made up the vanguard of Marakarr Blood-Sky’s army. The Forest of Eyes was so named for the unblinking gaze of the [[Souleater Spiders]], infused with daemonic power they prey upon the souls of the slain. Upon a carpet of skittering, shining bodies, Lady Olynder’s pursuing army crashed into the great Marauder horde that the Warqueen had assembled. The warriors that fell were instantly swallowed up by the tide of tiny arachnids that into the openings of their bodies to tear their spirits and trap them upon the glittering webs that filled the forest. Even the Nighthaunts were not immune to the webs that were spun from strands of unnatural sorcery and could ensnare the dead as easily as the living.{{Fn|1e}}<br />
<br />
While Lady Olynder was locked in a war of attrition, the Red Thousand hurled themselves into the fray with Lord Crawen Caryx himself charging at their fore, bellowing his praises to the god he knew as the Butcher King and drove into the flanks of the Legion of Grief. Lady Olynder dispatched a flanking force of Hexwraiths led by [[Kurdoss Valentian]], the Craven King, to drive the Red Thousand back but as they rose into the skies they were set upon by thick clouds of buzzing flies. Thlorg the Bilespewer and a putrid flight of [[Plague Drone]]s intercepted Valentian’s force while the Sorcerer himself unleashed blasts of acidic bile that sprayed over the Hexwraith riders. Bilespewer had struck a pact with the [[Droning Guard]] of [[Septuklus]], a legion of Nurgle daemons that specialised in airborne attack. Valentian and his foremost champions forced their way through the confusing tangle of limbs and membranous wings and plunged to earth, determined to fulfil their Lady’s command only to see a horde of bloated Chaos troops seeping across the Corpse Wastes. With the arrival of the Blessed Sons there was now no path to reach the Red Thousand. {{Fn|1e}}<br />
<br />
===Tide of Sorcery===<br />
The Nighthaunts were driven from the Forest of Eyes back onto the open plain. There a tide of living magic swept towards the Forest of Eyes and struck the rear of Lady Olynder’s procession. [[Ravenak's Gnashing Jaws|Gnashing jaws]] snapped as [[Burning Head|Blazing skulls]] carved winding trails of flame across the ground, followed by a [[Suffocating Gravetide|tide of displaced earth and rotting corpses]]. At the head flew the Tongueless Lord and it swept through the Nighthaunt army in a surge of fire and devastation and the ethereal nature of Lady Olynder’s procession provided no defence. Kurdoss Valentian chose to retreat with the remaining Hexwraiths instead of suffering the lingering agony and humiliation as his shattered essence was slowly reformed while Lady Olynder commanded her procession to fall back to the Shyish arcway. However the spectral legions had performed their task, delaying the armies of Chaos long enough to leave them unprepared to the next wave.{{Fn|1e}}<br />
<br />
<br />
==The Battle of Haradh’s Torment==<br />
:"Know this - any man or woman who fought at Haradh's Torment and survived will be blessed with the favor of the Ruinous Ones. Anyone who lived through that bloodbath is worthy of bearing a shield for me."<br />
-'''Marakarr Blood-Sky'''{{Fn|1f}}<br />
===Arrival of the Undefeated One=== <br />
Katakros the Undefeated entered the Eightpoints upon a [[necro-titan]] fashioned from the polished skeletons of slaughtered foes, observing the results of the Legion of Grief from high. Marching through the Endgate in perfect order came the finest many legions of the Ossiarch Bonereapers. They included pristine warriors of the [[Mortis Praetorians]], gleaming cavaliers of the feared [[Stalliarch Lords]] on their soul-forged mounts. Katakros had even summoned liege-lords of the [[Crematorians]] and the [[Null Myriad]] to his grand crusade, along with their elite phalanxes. However the multitudinous hordes of Chaos that dwelt within the Eightpoints outnumbered even the mighty Ossiarch host many times over but emotions as fear or nervousness were alien to the Mortarch of the Necropolis. {{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
Katakros was determined to draw his foes to battle at a site of his choosing and he chose [[Haradh’s Torment]], a rocky mountain that rose from the Corpse Wastes to the north of the Varanspire, its razor-sharp peaks curled inwards like grasping fangs rising from the earth. With the banks of the acidic Black River on its right and an impassable chain of sharp-rocked cliffs to its left, it was in a highly strategic position. The great, fortified highway to the Endgate passed beneath the mountain, and so any reinforcements marching north to Karheight must pass within its zone of control. Though lines of ballista towers and direflame-spewing emplacements protected the highway, these had been overrun by packs of howling Bladegheist Revenants while ranks of Mortek Guard spearmen advanced up the arterial road to cut down isolated formations of Chaos Warriors as they went.{{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
===Ambush at Impaler's Pass===<br />
<br />
The narrowest point of the highway lay at Impaler’s Pass, where it carved through the largest of the mountainous edifices, a sheer drop to the gushing Black River on one side. While still a league wide with space enough for the Mortarch to deploy his elite cavalry, the dreaded [[Kavalos Deathriders]] it was also sufficiently narrow that enemies advancing towards his army would be forced into a bottleneck. Here, Katakros decreed, his force would hold and defeat an enemy three times their size.{{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
The tripartite Chaos force was united in an uneasy alliance by the Tongueless Lord. The horde of Marakarr Blood-Sky formed the vanguard, this immense army made its way along the road towards the Shyish arcway under the pitch-blackness of the long night with only the flickering torches of thousands of Marauders and horsemen could be seen. They charged into [[Impaler's Pass]], which was narrow enough that it channelled the immense barbarian horde into a single, vast river of bodies.{{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
Here the Darkoath Warqueen’s host spied thousands of Ossiarchs standing in tight formation at the far end of a gradually rising slope of scree and bone. Their shields were locked and readied, their [[nadirite]] spears glinting dully in the half-light. Blood-Sky’s forces surged forwards to crush their foes into dust. From behind the ranks of the Ossiarch infantry, dozens of [[Mortek Crawler]]s crept into position. With their trajectory calculated by war viziers the machines unleashed their volleys of great cauldrons of tormented soul-stuff that bathed the battlefield in ethereal light before smashing down amidst the surging mass of bodies to explode in a screaming eruption of unholy energy, waves of madness and fear bursting forth and striking those nearby instantly dead. Nadirite spears thrust out and tore the life from their and in turn Ossiarch Bonereapers were hacked to pieces by axes or clubbed to dust by flails, but the slight rise of the scree slope gave the Mortek atop it a natural bracing point, while the increasing number of butchered Marauder corpses that littered the ground made it ever more treacherous for Blood-Sky’s own warriors.{{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
The Darkoath Warqueen herself led the attack upon the leftmost flank of the Ossiarch line to reach the artillery engines and Lord [[Crawen Caryx]] and his Red Thousand joined her assault. The heavily armoured Chaos Warriors smashed through the Mortek line. Caryx and his followers excelled when lines of combat splintered into pockets of frenzied brutality. After fighting through broken Ossiarch lines Blood-Sky and Caryx had reached the line of Crawlers, where they set about butchering their skeletal attendants and smashing the winch pulleys and swinging arms of the siege weapons halting the killing rain of necromantic energy. From above, Thlorg the Bilespewer descended alongside his daemonic minions, while the heavy infantry of the Blessed Sons pushed along the very edge of the cliff that dropped to the gushing Black River below. While the [[Necropolis Stalker]]s darted forward to drive the elite Blessed Sons they failed each time. Bleeding thick, viscous gore from dozens of wounds, the [[Blightking]]s ground on, methodically hacking their undead foes to splinters causing the Mortek lines to fail. For Katakros everything was going as he planned with the Chaos forces taking his bait but he did not show any outward satisfaction.{{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
===Katakros Triumphant===<br />
Unknown to the Chaos forces while Mortarch Katakros’ armies were arranging themselves in defensive formation atop the slopes of Haradh’s Torment Arch-Kavalos [[Patru Zandtos]], the Dark Lance of Ossia had eparted the crown of the mountain alongside many hundreds of Ossiarch Cavalry from the Stalliarch Lords. Their soul-constructed steeds allowed Zandtos and his army to ride through a series of deadly switchbacks and steep, treacherous cliffs to the banks of the Black River where the path was even near vertical in some places. Completing their journey without a single loss the cavalry circled behind the Chaos army undetected due to the pall of night summoned by Lady Olynder and her Nighthaunts. Suddenly hundreds of nadirite-shod hooves thundered into the valley of Impaler’s Pass with Arch- Kavalos Patru Zandtos himself riding at the tip of the spear. His glyphs of rank blazed bright green in the darkness as he smashed into a mob of tightly packed Chaos Marauders, his lance bursting through toughened leather and flesh in a messy splatter, his horned steed’s grinding hooves crushing many more foes to paste.{{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
As the tips of the wedge formations blasted open a path, the greater bulk of the riders widened the breach. Unable to fall back, pressed together too closely to form ranks and repel the ferocious charge, the warriors of Chaos were butchered or were forced to jump into the flesh-melting currents of the Black River while others were ground to a pulp against the cliffs of Haradh’s Torment or simply suffocated amidst a stifling press of bodies. In a single, surgical strike, Zandtos had carved the triumvirate army in two. The Mortek warriors swiftly reformed and came on anew, their numbers buttressed by shattered warriors refashioned into fighting shape by the incantations of Mortisan Boneshapers. Thlorg the Bilespewer was the first to fall, his Manticore impaled by the lance of Zandtos causing him to fall down only for his head to be crushed by the hooves of the Dark Lance’s war-steed a split second after he looked up.{{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
The Red Thousand was lost to battle madness beneath the glare of the [[Gorecradle]], with Lord Crawen Caryx, drenched in blood and bone-dust, carving apart all who strayed near him with his reaperblade even as the Ossiarchs began to encircle him. All the while, the [[Tongueless Lord]]’s magic sent whirling gouts of witchflame tearing through the Bonereapers’ ranks, transmuting many Mortek Guard into bubbling pools of molten metal and in turn Mortisan Soulreapers sent icy bolts of cursed soul-energy that dragged his arcane barriers to their limits. Marakarr Blood-Sky saw that the battle was lost and gathering her foremost tribal chieftains to her side, she sent their warriors crashing into the undead cavalry, trying to drive them from the mouth of Impaler’s Pass and force open a route to freedom. The sheer numbers of [[Marauder Horsemen]] hurling axes and javelins at the Ossiarch riders created a rain of missiles that seemed like a downpour of steel rain while other Kavalos Deathriders dragged down by barbarians to be hacked and torn apart. Arch-Kavalos Zandtos seeing that the enemy was regrouping and that his Deathriders would soon be caught by the sheer mass of onrushing troops, commanded his warriors to rally towards him. Marakarr Blood-Sky drove her warriors onwards, forcing them through the small gap left by the retreating cavalry and out of the meat-grinder of Impaler’s Pass while Ossiarchs were distracted by the last stand of the Red Thousand. The Red Thousand destroyed many times its number but were in the end killed off until only Crawen Caryx, still stood, impaled a dozen times by nadirite spears and roaring his defiance at the dead. Mortarch Katakros gave an almost imperceptible nod of respect and then ordered his Necropolis Stalkers forward to dismember him. With the battle over in a masscre, Katakros did not pursue the routed enemies, instead began his work on the next phase of his strategy of conquest.{{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
==Siege of the Arx Terminus==<br />
While Katakros had won a magnificent victory the Eightpoints was immense and home to endless throngs of Chaos worshippers. Facing large numbers. warped and untrustworthy terrain and the predatory madness of the region’s monstrous wildlife he could not afford to wait for the arrival of supply lines. Thus a stronghold of bone and soulmatter that would act as a supply post from which to reinforce his armies while also being able to break any one seeing to besiege it was needed. Thus did the Mortarch of the Necropolis give the order to fall back to the Endgate. Gothizzar Harvesters began scooping up torn remains of the dead, stripping the flesh with iron-hard fingers and then depositing the ivory remnants in the gory receptacles upon their ridged backs while great caravans of the macabre devices trailed back towards the ruins of Karheight. With the vast haul of bones and soul-stuff harvested from the battlefield of Haradh’s Torment and Lady Olynder’s many victories across the Corpse Wastes, Mortisan engineers were able to achieve remarkable results in a very short timeframe. The near mindless necro-thralls of the builder caste received these materials and, under the direction of their masters, began to construct Katakros’ grand vision. Soon, the black iron buttresses of the Chaos Dreadhold had been almost entirely reshaped or torn down, replaced with winding towers of bone and sinew reaching ever higher like gigantic spinal columns. Mortisan Boneshapers sculpted vicious impaling hooks that would line the walls of the ever expanding Ossiarch stronghold while Soulmasons installed Mortek Crawlers, soulspear launchers and a variety of other hideously lethal war machines in key defensive positions along the bone walls. Mortarch Katakros himself directed its construction, adjusting the defences to the minutest detail, ordering spirit-hurling siege weapons to be deployed so as to cover the widest possible area and extending the perimeter walls so that they would funnel any besiegers into a series of murderous channels. {{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
The new fortress resembled a bony hand reaching out through the Endgate, each of its seven ‘fingers’ a formidably fortified wall in its own right, lined with traps and weapon emplacements. Beneath it was subterranean catacombs stretching deep beneath the earth. Home to workshops and soul-rendering chambers of the Mortisan caste, they also contained sepulchral cantonments and weapon foundries large enough to create thousands of fresh Ossiarch soldiers each day, as long as it had a steady supply of materials. A far larger tower rose from the centre of the structure, from its summit, Katakros could oversee every facet of the Arx Terminus and conduct with precision any defence that might be required. Katakros named this massive fortress the "[[Arx Terminus]]" and awaited a test of its capabilities. {{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
=== The Arx Terminus Besieged ===<br />
Already, more Chaos forces were converging on the Endgate, the majority haileing from the Bloodbound Warhorde known as The [[Flayed]], known for wearing the bleached bones of those they butchered as armour, and ritually flaying their own flesh before battle in a gruesome offering to the Blood God. They were led by the [[Mighty Lord of Khorne]] [[Ghorun Thrax]], a pale and silent giant that speaks only when battle was joined, even then roaring indecipherable threats and oaths in an ancient tongue that can be understood only by Khorne’s daemonic servants but nonetheless inspired a furious battle-frenzy in those who heard it. <br />
<br />
The Chaos host spilled over the horizon as a great tide of tattooed flesh and muscle. Soon they poured between the fingers of the Arx Terminus and soul-reaper ballistae spat torrents of pure death magic from the walls, blasting scores to dust and ash while great chains of magically reinforced bone erupted from the earth to corral the attackers and making them easy targets for the necromantic artillery. Skull-capped siege towers forged from brass rumbled towards the walls to disgorging thousands of battle-mad Bloodreavers and Blood Warriors but Mortek defenders on the walls methodically slew each figure that rushed at them, while teams of labour-thralls upended amphorae filled with tormented spirit-matter that turned those below into leathery corpses. Three times did The Flayed push beyond the walls into the interior of the fortress and one time Ghorun Thrax himself led an assault that smashed open the gates of the Mortarch’s Seat. where he and his most fearsome Skullreapers were met by formations of Immortis Guard, who carved the raging fiends apart with their glaives while scythe-wielding Mortisan priests reaped the spirits of the living. After cleaving apart two Morghast Archai, Thrax was struck by a hail of necromantic energy from several Deathmages that withered the flesh on his right arm and one side of his face. The howling Lord of Khorne was driven from the tower and sent hurtling over the wall of the Arx Terminus. While this did not kill him, the Flayed lost all cohesion and degenerated into mindless savagery and were either killed off or forced to flee. {{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
The other worshippers of Chaos faced a similar fate. The splayed-hand design of the Arx Terminus was such that the arcane weapons mounted upon each outstretched wall could cover the next, creating an all-encompassing web of fire and necromantic magic that the besiegers were forced to endure before they even reached the fortifications. The bodies of those that died formed a rampart for their fellows, but the Mortisan priests used their necromantic spells upon the corpse piles, commanding them to ensnare and tear apart those who set foot upon them. Chaos Gargants tore and smashed at the walls but the Arx Terminus was designed to withstand such punishment and even as the walls were damaged Boneshapers and Soulmasons wove spells of remaking that knitted together fractures and closed breaches. The Mortek Crawlers that lined the walls continued to fill the skies with a deadly rain of glowing balefire that unleashed madness and terror wherever it fell. With no way past the deadly interlocking defences of the Arx Terminus the Chaos armies were torn apart as a satisfied Katakros observed from above. The tattered remnants were soon fleeing from the shadow of the Arx Terminus, leaving their dead behind as yet more fodder for the Ossiarch legions.{{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
==Advance Towards Varanspire==<br />
With the highways cleared all the way to the Citadel of Ruin and the most pressing of his enemies routed, the Mortarch of the Necropolis began the advance towards Archaon's center of power. While the Tongueless Lord hurled horde after horde at the oncoming Ossiarchs each was crushed and the relentless march continued. At the [[Gate of Flayed Hearts]], thousands of purple-skinned beastmen and hulking [[Bullgor]]s emerged from the twisted copses to attack the flanks of his columns and Katakros himself disembowelled the one-eyed [[Bray-Shaman]] that led this ambush. At the [[Bridge of Molten Screams]], Necropolis Stalkers and a retinue of his elite Immortis Guard fought for more than a day to find a way through the ferocious defence upheld by the [[Carrion Hounds]]’ chosen shields. Mounted Marauders attacked the columns of marching undead to delay the Mortarch’s advance but were swiftly driven off either by Zandtos and his Stalliarch Lords or by the Mortek warriors’ spears. {{Fn|1h}}<br />
<br />
Katakros left nothing alive in his wake, totems and pillars of worship were smashed asunder, forests burned and fleeing foes scythed down by Deathriders. The decree of Katakros was ‘Leave nought but ash and silence,’ and his warriors fulfilled his order with merciless precision, transforming the anarchic wilderness of the Eightpoints into a sterile wasteland. The Mortarch sub-divided his forces into smaller cohorts as they progressed and when such a detachment encountered a sizeable enemy force, they would form squares and give battle while the Emissarian caste dispatched urgent messages to nearby forces. The enemy is lured by the chance of victory against an outnumbered foe, only for Ossiarch reinforcements to swiftly appear upon the horizon. The necro-factories of the Arx Terminus devoured shipment after shipment of bone taken in the aftermath of Olynder and Katakros' victories and provided a continuous stream of Mortek reinforcements. Racing ahead of the Ossiarch cohorts were Lady Olynder's Nighthaunts. The battle at the Forest of Eyes had depleted the Legion of Grief, but the aura of death and horror that swirled about the Arx Terminus provided fine fodder for the Veiled Lady. She summoned forth fresh hosts of Chainrasps and other spectral killers from the underworlds and, under a pall of choking sorrow, resumed her war against the living with greater intensity than before.{{Fn|1h}}<br />
<br />
==Battle of Angazkul-Grend==<br />
The armies of Death marched through the armoured bridge-forts on the border of the Corpse Wastes and into the industrial hellscapes beyond. Known as Angazkul-Grend meaning Ironskull Forgesprawl in the tongue of its corrupted duardin slavemasters, here gargantuan forge-bellows spew sulphur and ash into the air while masses of withered and tormented slaves toil their agonising lives away to fashion the weapons and daemon engines for Archaon’s endless legions. Immense chitinous behemoths thrust spiked proboscises deep into the earth, eagerly lapping up the cursed metals that flowed far beneath the crust of the Eightpoints. The blackened, skeletal outlines of nightmarish factories stretched into the distance as far as the eye could see. Katakros planned to raze it to the ground.{{Fn|1h}}<br />
<br />
During the first phase Mortek Crawlers bombarded the industrial sprawl, each emerald missile unleashing a swirling cloud of tormented spirit-stuff and the sheer intensity of the barrage caused vast areas of Angazkul-Grend to be swallowed up by raging spirit-storms that spread like wildfire. When the bombardment ended Mortek Guard advanced into the tangled, metal jungle but Angazkul-Grend would not fall easily. The duardin slavemasters unleashed their daemonic siege-cannons and other deranged creations while labyrinthine alleys and smoke-spewing workhouses were used for ambushes by packs of Chaos Warriors. An entire district of of Angazkul-Grend was controlled by the deranged cultists known as the Unmade and they launched constant raids upon the undead interlopers. {{Fn|1h}}<br />
<br />
But in the end defiance faltered and the Ossiarchs dragged out all living beings and slew them, leaving piles of bodies for the Harvester engines and when a structure was too heavily defended it was bombarded with steles inscribed with soul-shredding curses. Battling through the forgesprawl the formations of Mortek Guard reached the far side of the forge-sprawl and emerged upon the banks of the Soulsplinter River, an enormous, winding tributary filled with screaming, burning souls instead of water. Beyond it was the outer fortresses of the Citadel of Ruin, Katakros had finally arrived at the gates of Varanspire.{{Fn|1h}}<br />
<br />
==Battle of the Varanspire==<br />
===Archaon's Wrath===<br />
The arrival of the Everchosen was heralded by a large number of supernatural phenomena such as mountains ranges erupting in torrents of boiling blood, plains writhing as each blade of razorgrass instantly transformed into a hissing, three-headed serpent. Clouds of crimson, violet and viridescent flame screamed across the skies, lakes boiled, Forests burned and the Dark Gods roared in triumph. Then came a black host, resplendent in the ruinous panoply of Chaos joined by daemonic forms that boiled from the skies in untold numbers. Bloodthirsters flew alongside Screamers of Tzeentch and flocks of filth-dripping Plague Drones while Seeker Chariots of Slaanesh charged in search of fresh souls to torment. It was the [[Legion of Chaos Ascendant]], a force of purest desolation unleashed only on rare occasions when the Ruinous Powers made common cause. Leading this army was Archaon the Everchosen himself.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
Katakros immediately dispatched a volley of orders and with efficiency that would have been impossible for any mortal army, the Ossiarch formations turned to meet this new enemy. They formed a line along the banks of the Soulsplinter River. Despite himself, the Mortarch of the Necropolis felt a shiver of anticipation ripple through his lifeless form. This was the battle he had been fashioned for, a test beyond anything that he had yet faced. If his death mask of a face had been capable of forming the expression, Katakros would have smiled broadly.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
Archaon was furious at being forced to abandon his quest to free Slaanesh giving the aelven gods an opportunity to move Slaanesh to some other hidden corner of Uhl-Gysh. The Varanguard drove their own daemonic steeds in the wake of their master. The Eight Circles had sent their mightiest killers to scour the Eightpoints clean and these were the Knights of the Empty Throne, heralds of the Everchosen. Mortek Crawlers unleashed streams of witchfire into the sky which fell into the mass of advancing bodies, blasting armoured riders from their mounts. At the command of his liege-lord, Arch-Kavalos Zandtos led his Deathriders forward in their thus-far-impenetrable wedge formations towards the charging Varanguard. Kavalos riders were flying through the air in pieces, smashed by the heavier daemonic steeds of the Varanguard but in turn Zandtos and his champions managed to thrust their lances through helms into warped and twisted faces. However the Deathriders could not shatter their foes with the force of their momentum and the Varanguard repelled their every desperate charge. Archaon himself sent Dorghar straight into the heart of the Deathrider formation which lashed out with hooves and whip-like tails while its three daemonic heads ate ossified armour and cursed soul-stuff. Zandtos fell on the banks of the Soulsplinter and his body was crushed to splinters. His retainers retrieved the soultrap gem, weapons and marks of office that belonged to the Arch-Kavalos so the Dark Lance of Ossia would be remade anew. Katakros had expected it and Zandtos had bought time for the Mortarch to fully deploy his army.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
===Arrival of the Dark Master===<br />
Lady Olynder’s legion was sweeping above the ruins of Angazkul-Grend, screaming towards the flank of the Everchosen’s host. However the tide of gheists were engulfed by snaking bolts of shadow magic and bursting from the black clouds came the bat-winged form of Be’lakor, the Dark Master and the Legion of the First Prince, formed of the daemonic footsoldiers of Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh. His own immense daemonic force crashed into the Nighthaunts as a wave, their cursed blades and unnatural magic more lethal to the ethereal forces than the weapons of mortals. {{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
With Olynder's forces locked in combat the Ossiarchs were in even greater peril as warhosts of Slaanesh smashed into the formations of the Mortek line. The normally fractious [[Hedonites of Slaanesh]] put aside all differences, the Invaders of the Lurid Haze battled alongside the Pretenders of the Faultless Blades and the Godseekers of the Scarlet Cavalcade. Surrounded by a miasma of sickly incense, the worshippers of Slaanesh eagerly indulged their passion for violence. But even they could not breach the formations of the Bonereapers. Through the Soulsplinter River came [[Plague bearers]] of the [[Munificent Wanderers]], led by the [[Great Unclean One]] known as Thrombolhox the Giving who were welcomed by Katakros’ elite Mortis Praetorians and the shore was soon clogged with rotten blood and fragments of splintered bone. Then filth-stained sails appeared on the horizon as plague-hulks drifted down the Soulsplinter River, bearing the corroded trident of the [[Drowned Men]] , the followers of [[Gutrot Spume]]. The rotting hulls vomited hordes of bloated Blightkings that fell upon the Ossiarch legions. Despite this relentless onslaught Katakros’ flanks held strong, and his Mortek Crawlers continued to rain death and were able to grind down their enemies. {{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
Katakros ordered his Morghast troops to support Lady Olynder, and the armoured sentinels took to the skies. But before they could reach Lady Olynder they were struck by a storm of blazing red comets. Encased in armour of midnight black, four [[Bloodthirsters]] of the [[Baleful Lord's]] had intercepted them and sent several Morghast Archai tumbling from the sky but Morghast Harbingers counterattacked by leaping upon the backs of the greater daemons to hack and stab.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
===The Tide Turns===<br />
The Ossiarch legions fought with unflinching skill and even lesser Ossiarchs managed to slay many times their number before being destroying. The Ossiarch Bonereapers formed an island of black and bleached bone amidst a sea of many-coloured forms, its borders slowly eroding. Katakros unleashed all of his Gothizzar Harvesters into the assault and they scythed, smashed and trampled through the Chaos hordes. Kept unnaturally sharp by Shyishan magic, the Harvesters’ blade-limbs could hew through even the thickest daemonic hide and the Great Unclean One known as Grolthlurrp the Merry was carved by a dozen Harvesters while his rancid innards were dragged out by their subsidiary limbs. Despite the resistance the Legion of Chaos Ascendant drove its way through the Ossiarchs’ shieldwall. {{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
To the warbands and reaver hordes of the Eightpoints, the slaughter was akin to a vision of glory and they charged from their lairs to fight alongside the infernal creatures that they worshipped as gods. The Mortek line wavered even as Hekatos officers reshaped their lines with consummate skill but it was like trying to plug the holes in a broken dam and for every fore killed ten more surged forward to take their place.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
Suddenly Be’lakor struck a blow against Lady Olynder, driving the Blade of Shadows through her as she unleashed a death-scream that rose above the clangour of battle and stole the life from many who heard it. While even Be’lakor’s ensorcelled sword could not end the curse of Lady Olynder her essence was banished from the Eightpoints. Without her leadership the Nighthaunts were swiftly overrun by the Legion of the First Prince. Sensing that the end was near Katakros sent forth his reserve formations, including the Scions Praetoris, the most trusted champions amongst his elite Immortis Guard. Each of them were created from the souls of warriors who had fought with him for centuries beyond counting. Despite slaying countless enemies even they could not change the inevitable.{{Fn|1i}} <br />
<br />
<br />
===The Duel===<br />
As Dorghar circled the battlefield on high, Archaon saw the leader of the enemy. Unlike Archaon, Katakros did not fight at the forefront of his armies and instead he observed from a ridge of razor-sharp rocks overlooking the banks of the Soulsplinter River. Phalanxes of Immortis Guard stood sentinel over their master, and a twenty-strong retinue of Morghast Archai formed a shield of ossified armour around him.The sheer fury coursing through Archaon’s veins as he met the skeletal lord’s gaze caused hot blood to pour from the skies, and the Soulsplinter burst its banks in a flood of molten soul-stuff, drowning undead and daemonic beings alike. Archaon upon the Steed of the Apocalypse crashed into the Ossiarch general and entire volleys of cursed spirits unleashed against him were devoured by Dorghar’s monstrous heads or the necromantic magic dissolved in the heat of the Everchosen's rage. Katakros raised Inda-Khaat and took up the Shield Immortis to meet the Everchosen.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
Archaon completely destroyed the bodyguards of the Mortarch and Katakros gestured forwards with Inda-Khaat ordering his attendants to charge forward. His Prime Necrophoros, bearing aloft the Mortarch’s personal banner, managed to wound Dorghar before a backhand swing of the Everchosen’s blade took off his skull and Karash, his Liege-Immortis, exchanged a flurry of blows but was soon bitten in half by the daemonic beast and in the end all met a violent end.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
Katakros shrugged off his robe and stepped forwards ignoring the threats by Archaon. Katakros fended off the jaws of one head with the Shield Immortis and sank his glaive into the beast’s neck and as the beast reared away, Archaon slammed his blade into the Mortarch’s shoulder, gouging through bone and armour. Katakros ducked aside, each subsequent blow missing him by mere inches as they duelled at impossible speed and fury. Then Dorghar struck and Katakros raised his shield a fraction too slowly. Monstrous jaws clamped around his chest and then the Slayer of Kings descended and blackness consumed him.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
==Aftermath==<br />
While the Battle of the Varanspire resulted in the Ossiarch Bonereapers’ vast army being wiped out and the destruction of Mortarch Katakros's body while Lady Olynder was banished back to Shyish. But Death now controlled the Endgate and Katakros took another body in the Arx Terminus where lines of new bodies were being built for Katakros so each time he falls he will rise again within the fortress with even greater knowledge about the enemy. However despite his resurrection normally removing the pain of previous wounds Katakros noted that the the wound caused by the Slayer of Kings to his previous body continued to cause him pain.{{Fn|1j}}<br />
<br />
Katakros sent summons for more reinforcements from Shyish and the Impaler's Pass was reinforced and more Chaos Dreadholds were put under siege. The defences of the Endgate were being continuously upgraded with more interlocking networks of ballista towers and defensive trenches, building a second line of defences in case the Arx Terminus falls.{{Fn|1j}}<br />
<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: An Age of Strife, pg.6-9<br />
** {{Endn|1b}}: Domain of Archaon, pg.13-15<br />
** {{Endn|1c}}: Long Haunted Night , pg.20-21<br />
** {{Endn|1d}}: The Veiled Lady , pg.24-25<br />
** {{Endn|1e}}: A Tide of Sorcery , pg.26-27<br />
** {{Endn|1f}}: The Undefeated One , pg.30-31<br />
** {{Endn|1g}}: Katakros Triumphant , pg.32-35<br />
** {{Endn|1h}}: Relentless Conquest , pg.40-41<br />
** {{Endn|1i}}: Archaon's Wrath , pg.42-45<br />
** {{Endn|1j}}: Deathless Glory, pg.48<br />
<br />
[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category: Soul Wars]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=File:Slaves_to_Darkness_vs_Ossiarch_Bonereapers_01.jpg&diff=88393File:Slaves to Darkness vs Ossiarch Bonereapers 01.jpg2020-03-20T01:37:56Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>== Summary ==<br />
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== Copyright status: ==<br />
{{copyright}}<br />
== Source: ==<br />
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/01/29/why-you-need-to-read-wrath-of-the-everchosengw-homepage-post-1/</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Kavalos_Deathriders&diff=88392Kavalos Deathriders2020-03-20T01:31:39Z<p>IDthisguy: Redirected page to Kavalos Deathrider</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[Kavalos Deathrider]]</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Namon_Saskarid&diff=88391Namon Saskarid2020-03-20T01:30:02Z<p>IDthisguy: Created page with "'''Chaos Lord {{PAGENAME}}''' was a veteran of the Bone Wars and castellan of the Varanspire during the Soul Wars. He was about to ascend to the Varanguard..."</p>
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<div>'''[[Chaos Lord]] {{PAGENAME}}''' was a veteran of the [[Bone Wars]] and castellan of the [[Varanspire]] during the [[Soul Wars]]. He was about to ascend to the [[Varanguard]] before the [[Siege of the Eightpoints]]. During the siege, he led a charge into the lines of the [[Nighthaunt]] attacking [[Karheight]], briefly halting their assault. Saskarid was soon driven back by Nighthaunt reinforcements and slain by [[Lady Olynder]] in the same battle.{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|1b}}{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*{{Endn|1}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: Domain of Archaon, pg. 12-16<br />
** {{Endn|1b}}: Long Haunted Night, pg. 20-21<br />
** {{Endn|1c}}: The Veiled Lady, pg. 24-25<br />
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[[Category:Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
[[Category:Slaves to Darkness characters]]<br />
{{Slaves to Darkness}}</div>IDthisguyhttps://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Siege_of_the_Eightpoints&diff=88390Siege of the Eightpoints2020-03-20T01:11:59Z<p>IDthisguy: </p>
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<div>{{Battle<br />
|Name = Siege of the Eightpoints<br />
|Conflict = [[Soul Wars]]<br />
|Date = [[Arcanum Optimar]]<br />
|Location = [[Eightpoints]]<br />
|Outcome = Phrric [[Chaos]] Victory<br>[[Endgate]] controlled by [[Death]]<br />
|Combatant1 = [[Grand Alliance of Death]]<br />
|Combatant2 = [[Grand Alliance of Chaos]]<br />
|Commanders1 = [[Orpheon Katakros]] (WIA)<br>[[Lady Olynder]] (banished)<br>[[Arch-Kavalos Zandtos]] (WIA)<br>[[Kurdoss Valentian]]<br />
|Commanders2 = [[Archaon the Everchosen]]<br>[[Tongueless Lord]]<br>[[Namon Saskarid]] (KIA)<br>[[Be'lakor]]<br>[[Marakarr Blood-Sky]]<br>[[Gutrot Spume]]<br />
|Strength1 = [[Mortis Praetorians]]<br>[[Stalliarch Lords]]<br>[[Crematorians]]<br>[[Null Myriad]]<br>[[Legion of Grief]]<br />
|Strength2 = [[Legion of Chaos Ascendant]]<br>[[Legion of the First Prince]]<br>innumerable [[daemons]] and [[Chaos]] Warbands<br />
|Casualties1 = Heavy<br>Destruction of the Mortis Praetorians<br />
|Casualties2 = Heavy<br>Complete annihilation of many warbands<br />
}}<br />
'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a conflict of the [[Soul Wars]] during which the armies of [[Grand Alliance of Death|Death]] under [[Orpheon Katakros]] alongside [[Olynder]] laid siege to the Chaos-held [[Eightpoints]] under the rule of [[Archaon the Everchosen]]. {{Fn|1}}<br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
Since the [[Necroquake]] and the beginning of the Soul Wars the undead armies of [[Nagash]] have swept across the [[Mortal Realms]], overrunning and destroying many Free Cites and attacking the decentralised empires of [[Chaos]]. The mortal armies of the Dark Gods were already embroiled in grinding wars of attrition against the [[God-King]]’s forces and plagued by a drastic increase in greenskin raids now found themselves swarmed by spectral horrors and shambling hordes of risen dead. {{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
The fortified sub-realm of the Eightpoints lies at the very centre of the cosmos, equidistant from each of the Eight Realms connected to them by immense arcway portals. It is a strategic location of unmatched importance and the domain of Archaon the Everchosen, Exalted Grand Marshal of Chaos whose stronghold, the [[Varanspire]] – a monumental fortress-citadel haloed by a swirling crown of infernal magic from which spills the raw, protean energy of Chaos into reality. The loss of many important transitory routes during the Realmgate Wars greatly impacted on the Everchosen’s ability to redirect his hordes across such distances in an instant, isolating many Chaos fiefdoms. Still, only a fool would question the dominance of the Dark Gods in the Mortal Realms. Sigmar’s great cities occupy but a small bridgehead in a near-infinite expanse of territory. While the Eightpoints and the Varanspire still stand, the armies of the Everchosen cannot truly be defeated, and the threat of their dark crusades will always loom on the horizon.{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
Nagash still remembers when Archaon himself cut him down before the gates of [[Nagashizzar]], and the bite of the Everchosen’s dread sword, the Slayer of Kings. If the control of the Arcways were seized and fortified by undead sentinels unfailingly loyal to Nagash, it would further strengthen his grasp upon the Mortal Realms but even for Nagash’s near-limitless legions, such a conquest would be tremendously costly, with no surety of success. But now Nagash has a being whose mastery of the battlefield perhaps exceeds even that of the Three-Eyed King, Orpheon Katakros who was freed by Lady Olynder and the [[Legion of Grief]] from [[Lethis]] during the [[Siege of Sorrow]].{{Fn|1a}}<br />
<br />
==Prelude==<br />
The [[Realmgate|Endgate]] connecting [[Realm of Shyish|Shyish]] to the Eightpoints has been under constant siege by waves of undead. Thus Archaon ordered the construction of the fortress of [[Karheight]] to guard the gate to [[Gothizzar]] in the Realm of Death. An immense edifice fashioned from cursed metal and reinforced by the darkest sorceries, this [[Dreadhold]] had been constructed to allow the forces of Chaos to fall back though the Endgate in case Gothizzar fell, ensuring that anything attacking through the Endgate could be immediately contained and destroyed. Katakros in turn had prepared for this and called Lady Olynder to bring her [[Nighthaunt]] armies that could not be contained by mere physical fortifications.{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
In addition the Necroquake had caused manifestations of living magic that swept across the Eightpoints, transforming entire regions into desolate wastelands ruled by untapped magic. Worse still, these living spells coalesced into hunting packs, drawn instinctively together to better bring ruin down upon their prey. Even the Everchosen’s most powerful sorcerers could barely contain these rogue magics while scores of lesser conjurers were slain in failed attempts to bind spells to their will. All who dwelt within Archaon’s domain swiftly learnt to flee when they saw the blazing light of magic upon the horizon. Further Archaon himself was absent from his dark throne, taking away the majority of his elite [[Varanguard]] with him in order to free [[Slaanesh]]. The great lords of the Eightpoints would have to face the full might of Nagash’s legions alone. {{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
The command of the Varanspire garrison fell to the Chaos Lord [[Namon Saskarid]] a veteran of the [[Bone Wars]] of Shyish, Saskarid had long battled against Nagash’s armies at the Everchosen’s side and was whispered to be close to rising up to become a member of the Varanguard itself. In such turbulent times, any of the arcways could come under assault, and so all had to be safeguarded at all costs. From his warcamp at the foot of the Varanspire, Saskarid attempted to organise a continent-spanning defence against potential threats, even as the Eightpoints was brutalised by the ongoing effects of the necroquake. The [[Gaunt Summoner]] known as the [[Tongueless Lord]] sensed the concentration of amethyst magic gathering about the Shyish arcway and worked his rituals to perform haruspicy upon the entrails of still-living prisoners. <br />
<br />
His crystals focused upon Dreadhold Karheight at the far edge of the Corpse Wastes. The auguries of Death hung over that place like a funeral shroud. Immediately, he sent a psychopomp messenger to the court of Lord Saskarid, warning him to summon the hordes and make for the Shyish arcway in all haste. Saskarid immediately ordered his coven of Sorcerers to burn the sigil of the Everchosen into the skies above Karheight, rival warbands across the continent ceased their butchery at once and flocked towards the distant symbol and the promise of slaughter. Lord Saskarid mustered his elite guard of [[Chaos Knight]]s, the [[Deathsworn]] and began the march to the Dreadhold upon his [[Karkadrak]] mount. {{Fn|1b}}<br />
<br />
==Battle of Karheight==<br />
Meanwhile in Karheight the Endgate spewed hundreds of undead [[Chaos Warrior]]s, once the defenders of Gothizzar they had been resurrected by [[Necromancy]] and thrown at their former comrades on the other side. They made their way across the open ground towards the battlements of the Dreadhold but the trenches stretching before Karheight in zigzagging lines were each filled with molten metal; many of the oncoming horde simply stumbled into these ditches and were instantly incinerated. Great sluice-works built into the fortress wall spat flesh-melting liquid and screaming Marauders hurled axes and javelins down upon the mass of bodies as they lurched unwittingly into the spike-traps and killing pits littering the ground. Cheers and howls of laughter rang along the ramparts of the Dreadhold, but the more experienced Chaos Warriors knew that such cumbersome foes heralded the coming of something far worse. {{Fn|1b}}{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
The Shyish arcway once more rippled open and an entire Nighthaunt procession poured out of the Endgate, rimefrost spreading before them and creeping across the parapets. Soaring above physical defences [[Chainrasp]]s descended upon the defenders en-masse, swiping away with rusted, incorporeal weapons that passed through armour and hide to stop the hearts of their victims, [[Bladegheist Revenant]]s whirled and spun in a dance leaving dozens of corpses in their wage and Spirit Torments drifted eerily above the slaughter, drawing the best souls of the slain into their cursed padlocks. Facing the undead was a massive horde of experienced and deadly followers of Chaos including murderous fiends from the [[Blood Bulls]] tribe, reaver champions of the [[Eyetakers]], the gold-encrusted [[Gilded One's]] and the flyblown zealots of the [[Putridae]]. Even though trails of ectoplasmic matter flowed like blood as gheists were rent by cursed blades that tore through spirit-stuff as surely as if it had been mortal flesh the defenders were driven from the walls and forced to retreat into the central courtyard of Karheight.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
===Charge of Saskarid=== <br />
Just as the undead began to descend upon the surrounded defenders, horns blared in the horizon announcing the arrival of Lord Saskarid who led the charge to Karheight at the head of his Deathsworn knights. The entire fortress was shrouded in emerald light due to the sheer thickness of the storm of Nighthaunts surrounding it. In blinding rays of silver light the Silver Tower of the Tongueless Lord pierced the gloom, limned in the witchfire of the countless daemons that spilled from its ramparts and raced towards the undead. The Gaunt Summoner had unleashed the [[Unbound Flux]], spreaders of insanity and destroyers of reason. Heralds of [[Tzeentch]] bombarded the undead with sorcerous flamebolts, each fiery missile exploding in a kaleidoscopic burst of madness that destroyed the minds of even long-dead spirits. The clash of the ethereal and the daemonic unleashed a boom of thunder that split open the earth and sent a shock wave rippling across the battlefield. The Tongueless Lord himself led the aerial attack alongside his most trusted Magisters riding upon Discs of Tzeentch at his side. The sorcerers of Tzeentch melted the walls of the Dreadhold into eldritch streams of boiling gold, smothering scores of Nighthaunts and opening a path for Saskarid and his cavalry charge. {{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
The Chaos Lord and the Deathsworn charged through the helpless Nighthaunts and inspired by the glorious spectacle of the seneschal of the Varanspire in battle, the defenders of Karheight renewed their efforts, hurling themselves upon their ghostly foes with abandon. However the Nighthaunt host outnumbered the Chaos force many times over, and more were pouring through. A whirling cyclone of gheists rose high into the sky to surround the Silver Tower of the Tongueless Lord and cut off the daemonic reinforcements. The Eightpoints was bathed in an eerie witchlight that blotted out even the raging Chaos portal that encircled the crown of the Varanspire. From hundreds of miles around, the storm of Death could be seen flaring on the horizon. Saskarid was filled with hate and impossible strength by the Chaos Gods and he blasted a path through wave after wave of Chainrasps. But he knew that he could only delay the inevitable and they would soon be overwhelmed. Fighting his way through undead hordes he emerged upon the ramparts of the Dreadhold and looked at the Shyish arcway. It was akin to looking upon a ruined dam, a ceaseless torrent of water bursting through its sundered cracks, except the "water" was composed entirely of incorporeal undead. But upon the Corpse Wastes, the vast expanse of jagged bluffs and open plains that stretched towards the Varanspire, now half-obscured by the dwindling light and chilling mists summoned by the dead another army was charging towards the ruined Dreadhold.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
Drawn by the sigil of the Everchosen an army of Warbands had united as one deadly force. Symbols ranging from the eye of [[Nochseed]], the horned skull of the [[Untamed Beasts]] to the devouring serpent of the [[Splintered Fang]] were displayed in banners and flesh while Ironclad warriors of the [[Iron Golem]]s charged alongside sadists of the [[Unmade]]. The vanguard consisted of warriors of the Untamed Beasts who hurled hooked harpoons into the mass of Nighthaunts followed by Ogor Breachers of the Iron Golems barrelling through the fray. Graceful swordartists of the [[Cypher Lords]] leapt and spun past their undead foes while Raven-cloaked agents of the [[Corvus Cabal]] rained destruction from above.{{Fn|1c}}<br />
<br />
===Arrival of the Veiled Lady===<br />
The charge of Saskarid succeeded in pushing back the undead host from the walls of Karheight and it appeared as if the undead host would be pushed back all the way up to the Endgate. But unknown to them this was merely the vanguard of a greater invasion. An aura of freezing cold heralded the coming of the [[Mortarch]] of Grief. The wave of utter hopelessness, a choking miasma of grief and loss that drained the will to fight from even the most heartless of killers caused an overwhelming wave of sorrow among the Chaos reinforcements and during this moment three spectral funerary carriages erupted from the Endgate that trailed arcs of balefire as they smashed into the Chaos ranks crushing their bodies beneath their wheels or blasting others with blasts of purple magic. Saskarid’s Deathsworn tried to drive lances through their cloaked coachmen, but the ghostly carriages flickered in and out of reality, and many of the knights’ thrusts struck nothing but empty air. Clouds of black rose petals floated down from the darkening sky only to wither mid air accompanied by a mournful dirge. Two skull-faced, spectral maidens glided through the portal; one was clutching a sealed blackwood casket, the other a shattered hourglass. As they prostrated Lady Olynder entered the Eightpoints. Those who looked upon her were stricken with purest desolation and many warriors simply collapsed to their knees, prefering a quick death over the sheer despair.{{Fn|1d}}<br />
<br />
Raising the Staff of Midnight high, the Lady Olynder unleashed a keening wail to summon the full force of Lady Olynder’s retinue. Diamond-shaped formations of Hexwraiths galloped across the skies, blazing with evil balefire and hordes of Chainrasps swept towards the Chaos forces, followed by whirling tempests of [[Spirit Host]]s and [[Dreadscythe Harridan]]s that shrieked in animalistic fury as they hacked and carved their prey apart. Outnumbered and lost in the grip of primal terror, hundreds of Marauders and entire warbands broke and ran, streaming through the breach in the fortress wall and fleeing across the open plain towards the distant Varanspire. <br />
<br />
The Tongueless Lord called his remaining Magisters and soared back to the safety of his Silver Tower, daemons of the Unbound Flux swarming forward to cover his retreat. No sooner had he entered the summit of his great spire than the entire shimmering structure folded in upon itself, disappearing in a blinding burst of cerulean light and abandoning his allies to their fate. Lord Saskarid instead of dishonouring himself in the eyes of the Dark Gods charged towards the white lady, cleaving the spectral mounts from underneath [[Hexwraith]] riders with his infernal weapons while Deathsworn knights thundered at his side. Lady Olynder turned towards the Chaos Lord and stretched out a slender hand and curled her fleshless fingers like a dying spider contracting its limbs which caused the skin to slough away from the bones of Chaos Knights. Merely a dozen paces from Olynder the Karkadrak of the Chaos Lord took its last breath. Fallen, Saskarid looked up towards the face of the Mortarch of Grief as she slowly raised her veil, peeling back wisps of ghostly matter. At the momeng Lord Namos Saskarid saw the true face of the Veiled Lady he knew a moment of pure terror before his heart burst in his chest.{{Fn|1d}}<br />
<br />
===Fall of Karheight===<br />
The supernatural pall brought forth by Lady Olynder spread out from the Endgate, smothered entire regions in farkness. The Legion of Grief in an ethereal tide engulfed the routed Chaos forces, brutally massacring everyone from Chaos Knight to Marauder as they attempted to run away in sheer terror. Stretches of land that once echoed with the bestial howls of mutated predators and bloodthirsty killers were now eerily silent, the only interruption was by a rhythmic tread of an army on the march and glimpse the glimmer of speartips in the darkness. Even the scrying crystals of the Tongueless Lord could not penetrate the veil of darkness that the Nighthaunts brought with them. {{Fn|1d}}<br />
<br />
The Gaunt Summoner felt fear, not towards the approaching armies of the dead but his own master. With the [[Chaos Lord]] gone it would be he that would suffer the full wrath of the Everchosen when Archaon returned. Thus Tongueless Lord turned to his spymasters in the [[Cult of a Thousand Eyes]], the Tzeentchian network with agents embedded all across the Eightpoints, and as they heard their master’s call, they wielded their influence to assemble a fearsome Chaos host while summons and threats were dispatched to each warlord and warlock that dwelt within sight of the Varanspire, demanding they make at once for Karheight. Thus an army of Sorcerers, Daemon Princes and Magisters were assembled and if they failed the Tongueless Lord would unleash an arcane inferno upon them that would obliterate even these cursed wraiths of the underworlds.{{Fn|1d}}<br />
<br />
==Battle of the Forest of Eyes==<br />
With Archaon’s prime castellan slain, there was no single figure to unite the disbanded hordes. Thus multiple Chaos Lords sensed an opportunity to fill the power vacuum and claim their own share of the glory. From the [[Famine Hills]] came the [[Darkoath Warqueen]] [[Marakarr Blood-Sky]] with a vast horde of Marauders so large that when they took to the march, they blotted out the earth for miles around, Lord [[Crawen Caryx]] of [[Fell Keep]] led the [[Red Thousand]], a host of Chaos Warriors wearing crimson plate, draped in salamander hides and armed with red-hot infernal blades and axes marching beneath the glow of the Gorecradle, a smouldering [[Chaos Warshrine]], [[Thlorg]] the Bilespewer came from the bubbling [[Flesh Marshes]] riding a [[Manticore]] and leading the [[Blessed Sons]], filth-smeared raiders and hulking, pus-bloated warriors in rotten green plate, the fly sigil of [[Nurgle]] emblazoned upon their chests. They made their way to the Shyish arcway, picking up stragglers from the disastrous sacking of Karheight along the way. The fleshless spy-birds of Katakros observed the Chaos armies and relayed the information to their master.{{Fn|1e}}<br />
<br />
===Chaos Resurgent=== <br />
The Legion of Grief had driven the fleeing Chaos forces back as far as the Forest of Eyes when they encountered the thousands that made up the vanguard of Marakarr Blood-Sky’s army. The Forest of Eyes was so named for the unblinking gaze of the [[Souleater Spiders]], infused with daemonic power they prey upon the souls of the slain. Upon a carpet of skittering, shining bodies, Lady Olynder’s pursuing army crashed into the great Marauder horde that the Warqueen had assembled. The warriors that fell were instantly swallowed up by the tide of tiny arachnids that into the openings of their bodies to tear their spirits and trap them upon the glittering webs that filled the forest. Even the Nighthaunts were not immune to the webs that were spun from strands of unnatural sorcery and could ensnare the dead as easily as the living.{{Fn|1e}}<br />
<br />
While Lady Olynder was locked in a war of attrition, the Red Thousand hurled themselves into the fray with Lord Crawen Caryx himself charging at their fore, bellowing his praises to the god he knew as the Butcher King and drove into the flanks of the Legion of Grief. Lady Olynder dispatched a flanking force of Hexwraiths led by [[Kurdoss Valentian]], the Craven King, to drive the Red Thousand back but as they rose into the skies they were set upon by thick clouds of buzzing flies. Thlorg the Bilespewer and a putrid flight of [[Plague Drone]]s intercepted Valentian’s force while the Sorcerer himself unleashed blasts of acidic bile that sprayed over the Hexwraith riders. Bilespewer had struck a pact with the [[Droning Guard]] of [[Septuklus]], a legion of Nurgle daemons that specialised in airborne attack. Valentian and his foremost champions forced their way through the confusing tangle of limbs and membranous wings and plunged to earth, determined to fulfil their Lady’s command only to see a horde of bloated Chaos troops seeping across the Corpse Wastes. With the arrival of the Blessed Sons there was now no path to reach the Red Thousand. {{Fn|1e}}<br />
<br />
===Tide of Sorcery===<br />
The Nighthaunts were driven from the Forest of Eyes back onto the open plain. There a tide of living magic swept towards the Forest of Eyes and struck the rear of Lady Olynder’s procession. [[Ravenak's Gnashing Jaws|Gnashing jaws]] snapped as [[Burning Head|Blazing skulls]] carved winding trails of flame across the ground, followed by a [[Suffocating Gravetide|tide of displaced earth and rotting corpses]]. At the head flew the Tongueless Lord and it swept through the Nighthaunt army in a surge of fire and devastation and the ethereal nature of Lady Olynder’s procession provided no defence. Kurdoss Valentian chose to retreat with the remaining Hexwraiths instead of suffering the lingering agony and humiliation as his shattered essence was slowly reformed while Lady Olynder commanded her procession to fall back to the Shyish arcway. However the spectral legions had performed their task, delaying the armies of Chaos long enough to leave them unprepared to the next wave.{{Fn|1e}}<br />
<br />
<br />
==The Battle of Haradh’s Torment==<br />
:"Know this - any man or woman who fought at Haradh's Torment and survived will be blessed with the favor of the Ruinous Ones. Anyone who lived through that bloodbath is worthy of bearing a shield for me."<br />
-'''Marakarr Blood-Sky'''{{Fn|1f}}<br />
===Arrival of the Undefeated One=== <br />
Katakros the Undefeated entered the Eightpoints upon a [[necro-titan]] fashioned from the polished skeletons of slaughtered foes, observing the results of the Legion of Grief from high. Marching through the Endgate in perfect order came the finest many legions of the Ossiarch Bonereapers. They included pristine warriors of the [[Mortis Praetorians]], gleaming cavaliers of the feared [[Stalliarch Lords]] on their soul-forged mounts. Katakros had even summoned liege-lords of the [[Crematorians]] and the [[Null Myriad]] to his grand crusade, along with their elite phalanxes. However the multitudinous hordes of Chaos that dwelt within the Eightpoints outnumbered even the mighty Ossiarch host many times over but emotions as fear or nervousness were alien to the Mortarch of the Necropolis. {{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
Katakros was determined to draw his foes to battle at a site of his choosing and he chose [[Haradh’s Torment]], a rocky mountain that rose from the Corpse Wastes to the north of the Varanspire, its razor-sharp peaks curled inwards like grasping fangs rising from the earth. With the banks of the acidic Black River on its right and an impassable chain of sharp-rocked cliffs to its left, it was in a highly strategic position. The great, fortified highway to the Endgate passed beneath the mountain, and so any reinforcements marching north to Karheight must pass within its zone of control. Though lines of ballista towers and direflame-spewing emplacements protected the highway, these had been overrun by packs of howling Bladegheist Revenants while ranks of Mortek Guard spearmen advanced up the arterial road to cut down isolated formations of Chaos Warriors as they went.{{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
===Ambush at Impaler's Pass===<br />
<br />
The narrowest point of the highway lay at Impaler’s Pass, where it carved through the largest of the mountainous edifices, a sheer drop to the gushing Black River on one side. While still a league wide with space enough for the Mortarch to deploy his elite cavalry, the dreaded [[Kavalos Deathriders]] it was also sufficiently narrow that enemies advancing towards his army would be forced into a bottleneck. Here, Katakros decreed, his force would hold and defeat an enemy three times their size.{{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
The tripartite Chaos force was united in an uneasy alliance by the Tongueless Lord. The horde of Marakarr Blood-Sky formed the vanguard, this immense army made its way along the road towards the Shyish arcway under the pitch-blackness of the long night with only the flickering torches of thousands of Marauders and horsemen could be seen. They charged into [[Impaler's Pass]], which was narrow enough that it channelled the immense barbarian horde into a single, vast river of bodies.{{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
Here the Darkoath Warqueen’s host spied thousands of Ossiarchs standing in tight formation at the far end of a gradually rising slope of scree and bone. Their shields were locked and readied, their [[nadirite]] spears glinting dully in the half-light. Blood-Sky’s forces surged forwards to crush their foes into dust. From behind the ranks of the Ossiarch infantry, dozens of [[Mortek Crawler]]s crept into position. With their trajectory calculated by war viziers the machines unleashed their volleys of great cauldrons of tormented soul-stuff that bathed the battlefield in ethereal light before smashing down amidst the surging mass of bodies to explode in a screaming eruption of unholy energy, waves of madness and fear bursting forth and striking those nearby instantly dead. Nadirite spears thrust out and tore the life from their and in turn Ossiarch Bonereapers were hacked to pieces by axes or clubbed to dust by flails, but the slight rise of the scree slope gave the Mortek atop it a natural bracing point, while the increasing number of butchered Marauder corpses that littered the ground made it ever more treacherous for Blood-Sky’s own warriors.{{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
The Darkoath Warqueen herself led the attack upon the leftmost flank of the Ossiarch line to reach the artillery engines and Lord [[Crawen Caryx]] and his Red Thousand joined her assault. The heavily armoured Chaos Warriors smashed through the Mortek line. Caryx and his followers excelled when lines of combat splintered into pockets of frenzied brutality. After fighting through broken Ossiarch lines Blood-Sky and Caryx had reached the line of Crawlers, where they set about butchering their skeletal attendants and smashing the winch pulleys and swinging arms of the siege weapons halting the killing rain of necromantic energy. From above, Thlorg the Bilespewer descended alongside his daemonic minions, while the heavy infantry of the Blessed Sons pushed along the very edge of the cliff that dropped to the gushing Black River below. While the [[Necropolis Stalker]]s darted forward to drive the elite Blessed Sons they failed each time. Bleeding thick, viscous gore from dozens of wounds, the [[Blightking]]s ground on, methodically hacking their undead foes to splinters causing the Mortek lines to fail. For Katakros everything was going as he planned with the Chaos forces taking his bait but he did not show any outward satisfaction.{{Fn|1f}}<br />
<br />
===Katakros Triumphant===<br />
Unknown to the Chaos forces while Mortarch Katakros’ armies were arranging themselves in defensive formation atop the slopes of Haradh’s Torment Arch-Kavalos [[Patru Zandtos]], the Dark Lance of Ossia had eparted the crown of the mountain alongside many hundreds of Ossiarch Cavalry from the Stalliarch Lords. Their soul-constructed steeds allowed Zandtos and his army to ride through a series of deadly switchbacks and steep, treacherous cliffs to the banks of the Black River where the path was even near vertical in some places. Completing their journey without a single loss the cavalry circled behind the Chaos army undetected due to the pall of night summoned by Lady Olynder and her Nighthaunts. Suddenly hundreds of nadirite-shod hooves thundered into the valley of Impaler’s Pass with Arch- Kavalos Patru Zandtos himself riding at the tip of the spear. His glyphs of rank blazed bright green in the darkness as he smashed into a mob of tightly packed Chaos Marauders, his lance bursting through toughened leather and flesh in a messy splatter, his horned steed’s grinding hooves crushing many more foes to paste.{{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
As the tips of the wedge formations blasted open a path, the greater bulk of the riders widened the breach. Unable to fall back, pressed together too closely to form ranks and repel the ferocious charge, the warriors of Chaos were butchered or were forced to jump into the flesh-melting currents of the Black River while others were ground to a pulp against the cliffs of Haradh’s Torment or simply suffocated amidst a stifling press of bodies. In a single, surgical strike, Zandtos had carved the triumvirate army in two. The Mortek warriors swiftly reformed and came on anew, their numbers buttressed by shattered warriors refashioned into fighting shape by the incantations of Mortisan Boneshapers. Thlorg the Bilespewer was the first to fall, his Manticore impaled by the lance of Zandtos causing him to fall down only for his head to be crushed by the hooves of the Dark Lance’s war-steed a split second after he looked up.{{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
The Red Thousand was lost to battle madness beneath the glare of the [[Gorecradle]], with Lord Crawen Caryx, drenched in blood and bone-dust, carving apart all who strayed near him with his reaperblade even as the Ossiarchs began to encircle him. All the while, the [[Tongueless Lord]]’s magic sent whirling gouts of witchflame tearing through the Bonereapers’ ranks, transmuting many Mortek Guard into bubbling pools of molten metal and in turn Mortisan Soulreapers sent icy bolts of cursed soul-energy that dragged his arcane barriers to their limits. Marakarr Blood-Sky saw that the battle was lost and gathering her foremost tribal chieftains to her side, she sent their warriors crashing into the undead cavalry, trying to drive them from the mouth of Impaler’s Pass and force open a route to freedom. The sheer numbers of [[Marauder Horsemen]] hurling axes and javelins at the Ossiarch riders created a rain of missiles that seemed like a downpour of steel rain while other Kavalos Deathriders dragged down by barbarians to be hacked and torn apart. Arch-Kavalos Zandtos seeing that the enemy was regrouping and that his Deathriders would soon be caught by the sheer mass of onrushing troops, commanded his warriors to rally towards him. Marakarr Blood-Sky drove her warriors onwards, forcing them through the small gap left by the retreating cavalry and out of the meat-grinder of Impaler’s Pass while Ossiarchs were distracted by the last stand of the Red Thousand. The Red Thousand destroyed many times its number but were in the end killed off until only Crawen Caryx, still stood, impaled a dozen times by nadirite spears and roaring his defiance at the dead. Mortarch Katakros gave an almost imperceptible nod of respect and then ordered his Necropolis Stalkers forward to dismember him. With the battle over in a masscre, Katakros did not pursue the routed enemies, instead began his work on the next phase of his strategy of conquest.{{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
==Siege of the Arx Terminus==<br />
While Katakros had won a magnificent victory the Eightpoints was immense and home to endless throngs of Chaos worshippers. Facing large numbers. warped and untrustworthy terrain and the predatory madness of the region’s monstrous wildlife he could not afford to wait for the arrival of supply lines. Thus a stronghold of bone and soulmatter that would act as a supply post from which to reinforce his armies while also being able to break any one seeing to besiege it was needed. Thus did the Mortarch of the Necropolis give the order to fall back to the Endgate. Gothizzar Harvesters began scooping up torn remains of the dead, stripping the flesh with iron-hard fingers and then depositing the ivory remnants in the gory receptacles upon their ridged backs while great caravans of the macabre devices trailed back towards the ruins of Karheight. With the vast haul of bones and soul-stuff harvested from the battlefield of Haradh’s Torment and Lady Olynder’s many victories across the Corpse Wastes, Mortisan engineers were able to achieve remarkable results in a very short timeframe. The near mindless necro-thralls of the builder caste received these materials and, under the direction of their masters, began to construct Katakros’ grand vision. Soon, the black iron buttresses of the Chaos Dreadhold had been almost entirely reshaped or torn down, replaced with winding towers of bone and sinew reaching ever higher like gigantic spinal columns. Mortisan Boneshapers sculpted vicious impaling hooks that would line the walls of the ever expanding Ossiarch stronghold while Soulmasons installed Mortek Crawlers, soulspear launchers and a variety of other hideously lethal war machines in key defensive positions along the bone walls. Mortarch Katakros himself directed its construction, adjusting the defences to the minutest detail, ordering spirit-hurling siege weapons to be deployed so as to cover the widest possible area and extending the perimeter walls so that they would funnel any besiegers into a series of murderous channels. {{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
The new fortress resembled a bony hand reaching out through the Endgate, each of its seven ‘fingers’ a formidably fortified wall in its own right, lined with traps and weapon emplacements. Beneath it was subterranean catacombs stretching deep beneath the earth. Home to workshops and soul-rendering chambers of the Mortisan caste, they also contained sepulchral cantonments and weapon foundries large enough to create thousands of fresh Ossiarch soldiers each day, as long as it had a steady supply of materials. A far larger tower rose from the centre of the structure, from its summit, Katakros could oversee every facet of the Arx Terminus and conduct with precision any defence that might be required. Katakros named this massive fortress the "[[Arx Terminus]]" and awaited a test of its capabilities. {{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
=== The Arx Terminus Besieged ===<br />
Already, more Chaos forces were converging on the Endgate, the majority haileing from the Bloodbound Warhorde known as The [[Flayed]], known for wearing the bleached bones of those they butchered as armour, and ritually flaying their own flesh before battle in a gruesome offering to the Blood God. They were led by the [[Mighty Lord of Khorne]] [[Ghorun Thrax]], a pale and silent giant that speaks only when battle was joined, even then roaring indecipherable threats and oaths in an ancient tongue that can be understood only by Khorne’s daemonic servants but nonetheless inspired a furious battle-frenzy in those who heard it. <br />
<br />
The Chaos host spilled over the horizon as a great tide of tattooed flesh and muscle. Soon they poured between the fingers of the Arx Terminus and soul-reaper ballistae spat torrents of pure death magic from the walls, blasting scores to dust and ash while great chains of magically reinforced bone erupted from the earth to corral the attackers and making them easy targets for the necromantic artillery. Skull-capped siege towers forged from brass rumbled towards the walls to disgorging thousands of battle-mad Bloodreavers and Blood Warriors but Mortek defenders on the walls methodically slew each figure that rushed at them, while teams of labour-thralls upended amphorae filled with tormented spirit-matter that turned those below into leathery corpses. Three times did The Flayed push beyond the walls into the interior of the fortress and one time Ghorun Thrax himself led an assault that smashed open the gates of the Mortarch’s Seat. where he and his most fearsome Skullreapers were met by formations of Immortis Guard, who carved the raging fiends apart with their glaives while scythe-wielding Mortisan priests reaped the spirits of the living. After cleaving apart two Morghast Archai, Thrax was struck by a hail of necromantic energy from several Deathmages that withered the flesh on his right arm and one side of his face. The howling Lord of Khorne was driven from the tower and sent hurtling over the wall of the Arx Terminus. While this did not kill him, the Flayed lost all cohesion and degenerated into mindless savagery and were either killed off or forced to flee. {{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
The other worshippers of Chaos faced a similar fate. The splayed-hand design of the Arx Terminus was such that the arcane weapons mounted upon each outstretched wall could cover the next, creating an all-encompassing web of fire and necromantic magic that the besiegers were forced to endure before they even reached the fortifications. The bodies of those that died formed a rampart for their fellows, but the Mortisan priests used their necromantic spells upon the corpse piles, commanding them to ensnare and tear apart those who set foot upon them. Chaos Gargants tore and smashed at the walls but the Arx Terminus was designed to withstand such punishment and even as the walls were damaged Boneshapers and Soulmasons wove spells of remaking that knitted together fractures and closed breaches. The Mortek Crawlers that lined the walls continued to fill the skies with a deadly rain of glowing balefire that unleashed madness and terror wherever it fell. With no way past the deadly interlocking defences of the Arx Terminus the Chaos armies were torn apart as a satisfied Katakros observed from above. The tattered remnants were soon fleeing from the shadow of the Arx Terminus, leaving their dead behind as yet more fodder for the Ossiarch legions.{{Fn|1g}}<br />
<br />
==Advance Towards Varanspire==<br />
With the highways cleared all the way to the Citadel of Ruin and the most pressing of his enemies routed, the Mortarch of the Necropolis began the advance towards Archaon's center of power. While the Tongueless Lord hurled horde after horde at the oncoming Ossiarchs each was crushed and the relentless march continued. At the [[Gate of Flayed Hearts]], thousands of purple-skinned beastmen and hulking [[Bullgor]]s emerged from the twisted copses to attack the flanks of his columns and Katakros himself disembowelled the one-eyed [[Bray-Shaman]] that led this ambush. At the [[Bridge of Molten Screams]], Necropolis Stalkers and a retinue of his elite Immortis Guard fought for more than a day to find a way through the ferocious defence upheld by the [[Carrion Hounds]]’ chosen shields. Mounted Marauders attacked the columns of marching undead to delay the Mortarch’s advance but were swiftly driven off either by Zandtos and his Stalliarch Lords or by the Mortek warriors’ spears. {{Fn|1h}}<br />
<br />
Katakros left nothing alive in his wake, totems and pillars of worship were smashed asunder, forests burned and fleeing foes scythed down by Deathriders. The decree of Katakros was ‘Leave nought but ash and silence,’ and his warriors fulfilled his order with merciless precision, transforming the anarchic wilderness of the Eightpoints into a sterile wasteland. The Mortarch sub-divided his forces into smaller cohorts as they progressed and when such a detachment encountered a sizeable enemy force, they would form squares and give battle while the Emissarian caste dispatched urgent messages to nearby forces. The enemy is lured by the chance of victory against an outnumbered foe, only for Ossiarch reinforcements to swiftly appear upon the horizon. The necro-factories of the Arx Terminus devoured shipment after shipment of bone taken in the aftermath of Olynder and Katakros' victories and provided a continuous stream of Mortek reinforcements. Racing ahead of the Ossiarch cohorts were Lady Olynder's Nighthaunts. The battle at the Forest of Eyes had depleted the Legion of Grief, but the aura of death and horror that swirled about the Arx Terminus provided fine fodder for the Veiled Lady. She summoned forth fresh hosts of Chainrasps and other spectral killers from the underworlds and, under a pall of choking sorrow, resumed her war against the living with greater intensity than before.{{Fn|1h}}<br />
<br />
==Battle of Angazkul-Grend==<br />
The armies of Death marched through the armoured bridge-forts on the border of the Corpse Wastes and into the industrial hellscapes beyond. Known as Angazkul-Grend meaning Ironskull Forgesprawl in the tongue of its corrupted duardin slavemasters, here gargantuan forge-bellows spew sulphur and ash into the air while masses of withered and tormented slaves toil their agonising lives away to fashion the weapons and daemon engines for Archaon’s endless legions. Immense chitinous behemoths thrust spiked proboscises deep into the earth, eagerly lapping up the cursed metals that flowed far beneath the crust of the Eightpoints. The blackened, skeletal outlines of nightmarish factories stretched into the distance as far as the eye could see. Katakros planned to raze it to the ground.{{Fn|1h}}<br />
<br />
During the first phase Mortek Crawlers bombarded the industrial sprawl, each emerald missile unleashing a swirling cloud of tormented spirit-stuff and the sheer intensity of the barrage caused vast areas of Angazkul-Grend to be swallowed up by raging spirit-storms that spread like wildfire. When the bombardment ended Mortek Guard advanced into the tangled, metal jungle but Angazkul-Grend would not fall easily. The duardin slavemasters unleashed their daemonic siege-cannons and other deranged creations while labyrinthine alleys and smoke-spewing workhouses were used for ambushes by packs of Chaos Warriors. An entire district of of Angazkul-Grend was controlled by the deranged cultists known as the Unmade and they launched constant raids upon the undead interlopers. {{Fn|1h}}<br />
<br />
But in the end defiance faltered and the Ossiarchs dragged out all living beings and slew them, leaving piles of bodies for the Harvester engines and when a structure was too heavily defended it was bombarded with steles inscribed with soul-shredding curses. Battling through the forgesprawl the formations of Mortek Guard reached the far side of the forge-sprawl and emerged upon the banks of the Soulsplinter River, an enormous, winding tributary filled with screaming, burning souls instead of water. Beyond it was the outer fortresses of the Citadel of Ruin, Katakros had finally arrived at the gates of Varanspire.{{Fn|1h}}<br />
<br />
==Battle of the Varanspire==<br />
===Archaon's Wrath===<br />
The arrival of the Everchosen was heralded by a large number of supernatural phenomena such as mountains ranges erupting in torrents of boiling blood, plains writhing as each blade of razorgrass instantly transformed into a hissing, three-headed serpent. Clouds of crimson, violet and viridescent flame screamed across the skies, lakes boiled, Forests burned and the Dark Gods roared in triumph. Then came a black host, resplendent in the ruinous panoply of Chaos joined by daemonic forms that boiled from the skies in untold numbers. Bloodthirsters flew alongside Screamers of Tzeentch and flocks of filth-dripping Plague Drones while Seeker Chariots of Slaanesh charged in search of fresh souls to torment. It was the [[Legion of Chaos Ascendant]], a force of purest desolation unleashed only on rare occasions when the Ruinous Powers made common cause. Leading this army was Archaon the Everchosen himself.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
Katakros immediately dispatched a volley of orders and with efficiency that would have been impossible for any mortal army, the Ossiarch formations turned to meet this new enemy. They formed a line along the banks of the Soulsplinter River. Despite himself, the Mortarch of the Necropolis felt a shiver of anticipation ripple through his lifeless form. This was the battle he had been fashioned for, a test beyond anything that he had yet faced. If his death mask of a face had been capable of forming the expression, Katakros would have smiled broadly.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
Archaon was furious at being forced to abandon his quest to free Slaanesh giving the aelven gods an opportunity to move Slaanesh to some other hidden corner of Uhl-Gysh. The Varanguard drove their own daemonic steeds in the wake of their master. The Eight Circles had sent their mightiest killers to scour the Eightpoints clean and these were the Knights of the Empty Throne, heralds of the Everchosen. Mortek Crawlers unleashed streams of witchfire into the sky which fell into the mass of advancing bodies, blasting armoured riders from their mounts. At the command of his liege-lord, Arch-Kavalos Zandtos led his Deathriders forward in their thus-far-impenetrable wedge formations towards the charging Varanguard. Kavalos riders were flying through the air in pieces, smashed by the heavier daemonic steeds of the Varanguard but in turn Zandtos and his champions managed to thrust their lances through helms into warped and twisted faces. However the Deathriders could not shatter their foes with the force of their momentum and the Varanguard repelled their every desperate charge. Archaon himself sent Dorghar straight into the heart of the Deathrider formation which lashed out with hooves and whip-like tails while its three daemonic heads ate ossified armour and cursed soul-stuff. Zandtos fell on the banks of the Soulsplinter and his body was crushed to splinters. His retainers retrieved the soultrap gem, weapons and marks of office that belonged to the Arch-Kavalos so the Dark Lance of Ossia would be remade anew. Katakros had expected it and Zandtos had bought time for the Mortarch to fully deploy his army.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
<br />
===Arrival of the Dark Master===<br />
Lady Olynder’s legion was sweeping above the ruins of Angazkul-Grend, screaming towards the flank of the Everchosen’s host. However the tide of gheists were engulfed by snaking bolts of shadow magic and bursting from the black clouds came the bat-winged form of Be’lakor, the Dark Master and the Legion of the First Prince, formed of the daemonic footsoldiers of Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh. His own immense daemonic force crashed into the Nighthaunts as a wave, their cursed blades and unnatural magic more lethal to the ethereal forces than the weapons of mortals. {{Fn|1i}}<br />
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With Olynder's forces locked in combat the Ossiarchs were in even greater peril as warhosts of Slaanesh smashed into the formations of the Mortek line. The normally fractious [[Hedonites of Slaanesh]] put aside all differences, the Invaders of the Lurid Haze battled alongside the Pretenders of the Faultless Blades and the Godseekers of the Scarlet Cavalcade. Surrounded by a miasma of sickly incense, the worshippers of Slaanesh eagerly indulged their passion for violence. But even they could not breach the formations of the Bonereapers. Through the Soulsplinter River came [[Plague bearers]] of the [[Munificent Wanderers]], led by the [[Great Unclean One]] known as Thrombolhox the Giving who were welcomed by Katakros’ elite Mortis Praetorians and the shore was soon clogged with rotten blood and fragments of splintered bone. Then filth-stained sails appeared on the horizon as plague-hulks drifted down the Soulsplinter River, bearing the corroded trident of the [[Drowned Men]] , the followers of [[Gutrot Spume]]. The rotting hulls vomited hordes of bloated Blightkings that fell upon the Ossiarch legions. Despite this relentless onslaught Katakros’ flanks held strong, and his Mortek Crawlers continued to rain death and were able to grind down their enemies. {{Fn|1i}}<br />
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Katakros ordered his Morghast troops to support Lady Olynder, and the armoured sentinels took to the skies. But before they could reach Lady Olynder they were struck by a storm of blazing red comets. Encased in armour of midnight black, four [[Bloodthirsters]] of the [[Baleful Lord's]] had intercepted them and sent several Morghast Archai tumbling from the sky but Morghast Harbingers counterattacked by leaping upon the backs of the greater daemons to hack and stab.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
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===The Tide Turns===<br />
The Ossiarch legions fought with unflinching skill and even lesser Ossiarchs managed to slay many times their number before being destroying. The Ossiarch Bonereapers formed an island of black and bleached bone amidst a sea of many-coloured forms, its borders slowly eroding. Katakros unleashed all of his Gothizzar Harvesters into the assault and they scythed, smashed and trampled through the Chaos hordes. Kept unnaturally sharp by Shyishan magic, the Harvesters’ blade-limbs could hew through even the thickest daemonic hide and the Great Unclean One known as Grolthlurrp the Merry was carved by a dozen Harvesters while his rancid innards were dragged out by their subsidiary limbs. Despite the resistance the Legion of Chaos Ascendant drove its way through the Ossiarchs’ shieldwall. {{Fn|1i}}<br />
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To the warbands and reaver hordes of the Eightpoints, the slaughter was akin to a vision of glory and they charged from their lairs to fight alongside the infernal creatures that they worshipped as gods. The Mortek line wavered even as Hekatos officers reshaped their lines with consummate skill but it was like trying to plug the holes in a broken dam and for every fore killed ten more surged forward to take their place.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
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Suddenly Be’lakor struck a blow against Lady Olynder, driving the Blade of Shadows through her as she unleashed a death-scream that rose above the clangour of battle and stole the life from many who heard it. While even Be’lakor’s ensorcelled sword could not end the curse of Lady Olynder her essence was banished from the Eightpoints. Without her leadership the Nighthaunts were swiftly overrun by the Legion of the First Prince. Sensing that the end was near Katakros sent forth his reserve formations, including the Scions Praetoris, the most trusted champions amongst his elite Immortis Guard. Each of them were created from the souls of warriors who had fought with him for centuries beyond counting. Despite slaying countless enemies even they could not change the inevitable.{{Fn|1i}} <br />
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===The Duel===<br />
As Dorghar circled the battlefield on high, Archaon saw the leader of the enemy. Unlike Archaon, Katakros did not fight at the forefront of his armies and instead he observed from a ridge of razor-sharp rocks overlooking the banks of the Soulsplinter River. Phalanxes of Immortis Guard stood sentinel over their master, and a twenty-strong retinue of Morghast Archai formed a shield of ossified armour around him.The sheer fury coursing through Archaon’s veins as he met the skeletal lord’s gaze caused hot blood to pour from the skies, and the Soulsplinter burst its banks in a flood of molten soul-stuff, drowning undead and daemonic beings alike. Archaon upon the Steed of the Apocalypse crashed into the Ossiarch general and entire volleys of cursed spirits unleashed against him were devoured by Dorghar’s monstrous heads or the necromantic magic dissolved in the heat of the Everchosen's rage. Katakros raised Inda-Khaat and took up the Shield Immortis to meet the Everchosen.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
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Archaon completely destroyed the bodyguards of the Mortarch and Katakros gestured forwards with Inda-Khaat ordering his attendants to charge forward. His Prime Necrophoros, bearing aloft the Mortarch’s personal banner, managed to wound Dorghar before a backhand swing of the Everchosen’s blade took off his skull and Karash, his Liege-Immortis, exchanged a flurry of blows but was soon bitten in half by the daemonic beast and in the end all met a violent end.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
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Katakros shrugged off his robe and stepped forwards ignoring the threats by Archaon. Katakros fended off the jaws of one head with the Shield Immortis and sank his glaive into the beast’s neck and as the beast reared away, Archaon slammed his blade into the Mortarch’s shoulder, gouging through bone and armour. Katakros ducked aside, each subsequent blow missing him by mere inches as they duelled at impossible speed and fury. Then Dorghar struck and Katakros raised his shield a fraction too slowly. Monstrous jaws clamped around his chest and then the Slayer of Kings descended and blackness consumed him.{{Fn|1i}}<br />
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==Aftermath==<br />
While the Battle of the Varanspire resulted in the Ossiarch Bonereapers’ vast army being wiped out and the destruction of Mortarch Katakros's body while Lady Olynder was banished back to Shyish. But Death now controlled the Endgate and Katakros took another body in the Arx Terminus where lines of new bodies were being built for Katakros so each time he falls he will rise again within the fortress with even greater knowledge about the enemy. However despite his resurrection normally removing the pain of previous wounds Katakros noted that the the wound caused by the Slayer of Kings to his previous body continued to cause him pain.{{Fn|1j}}<br />
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Katakros sent summons for more reinforcements from Shyish and the Impaler's Pass was reinforced and more Chaos Dreadholds were put under siege. The defences of the Endgate were being continuously upgraded with more interlocking networks of ballista towers and defensive trenches, building a second line of defences in case the Arx Terminus falls.{{Fn|1j}}<br />
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==Sources==<br />
* {{Endn|1}}: [[Soul Wars: Wrath of the Everchosen]]<br />
** {{Endn|1a}}: An Age of Strife, pg.6-9<br />
** {{Endn|1b}}: Domain of Archaon, pg.13-15<br />
** {{Endn|1c}}: Long Haunted Night , pg.20-21<br />
** {{Endn|1d}}: The Veiled Lady , pg.24-25<br />
** {{Endn|1e}}: A Tide of Sorcery , pg.26-27<br />
** {{Endn|1f}}: The Undefeated One , pg.30-31<br />
** {{Endn|1g}}: Katakros Triumphant , pg.32-35<br />
** {{Endn|1h}}: Relentless Conquest , pg.40-41<br />
** {{Endn|1i}}: Archaon's Wrath , pg.42-45<br />
** {{Endn|1j}}: Deathless Glory, pg.48<br />
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[[Category: Age of Sigmar]]<br />
[[Category: Soul Wars]]</div>IDthisguy