Cursed Skies

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The Cursed Skies are a magical phenomenon created by the Daemon Prince Be'lakor, the Dark Master that disrupts the ability of the souls of slain Stormcast Eternals to return to Azyr for reforging.[1a] While they originally appeared in Chamon, Cursed Skies are known to appear throughout the Mortal Realms.[2f]

Appearance and Effects

The Cursed Skies often appear as discoloured clouds with leering, daemonic faces.[2e] When a Stormcast dies under the Cursed Skies, their soul streaks upwards from their body but instead of travelling to Azyr becomes trapped in the clouds. In battles where many Stormcast die under Cursed Skies, lightning gheists can be seen darting back and forth, searching for a way through the tempest.[2e]

History

Conception

Be'lakor had long desired to understand and pick apart the nature of the Mortal Realms and the Realmgate network that connected them.[2a] He had his agents destroy the prophetic engine called Tepok's Eye in order to hide his plans from the Seraphon and surreptitiously revealed to them the location of the Silver Tower of the Gaunt Summoner, Eater of Tomes.[2b] The destruction of the Silver Tower and the damage done to the realmgate network of Chamon where it crashed allowed him to confirm the final details of his scheme.[2a] When the great powers of the Mortal Realms were distracted by other conflicts, he set his plans in motion.[2b]

Corruption

First, Be'lakor had his agents free Lord-Veritant Keiser ven Brecht from his imprisonment by Morathi to bring word of the Fall of Anvilgard to Sigmar, ensuring the God-King would want a reckoning with his erstwhile ally.[2b] Then, he led his legions to Dolorum in Shyish, where he brokered a temporary alliance with Lady Olynder while her master Nagash was occupied with his war with Teclis.[2c] The Mortarch's Nighthaunt legions struck out at targets of opportunity in the Realm of Metal, allowing the Dark Master's agents to attack and further destabilize realmgates in Chamon already damaged by the crash of the Silver Tower.[2d]

Completion

As his legions struck at the Gate of White Gold, hired Skaven infiltrators detonated a warpstone bomb in a second Silver Tower, sending an arcane shockwave through its linked realmgates. The Gate of White Gold imploded, sending Chaos energies into the skies. The same happened at the other realmgates targetted across Chamon, spreading the Cursed Skies across the realm. The souls of the Sigmarite Brotherhood Stormhost defending the gate, unable to return to Azyr when slain, were collected by the Nighthaunt as payment for their help with Be'lakor's plan.[2e]

Vindicarum

Main article: Siege of Vindicarum

Be'lakor's armies marched under the cover of the Cursed Skies to Vindicarum, as the Dark Master determined that sacking the most faithful of Sigmar's great cities would finally make him favoured over Archaon in the eyes of the Dark Gods.The daemonic hordes nearly overwhelmed the city, despite the Hallowed Knights under Gardus Steel Soul reinforcing the defenders, until a great Kharadron armada arrived and finally drove Be'lakor off. [1a] However, the Cursed Skies remained and soon began to spread to other realms.[2f]

Sources