Mortarch

The Mortarchs are Deathlords, immensely powerful Chosen of Nagash, some of which were a powerful force in the World-that-Was and who now serve him again in the Mortal Realms.^[1] Each of the Mortarchs have powerful relics and artefacts at their disposal and may ride to war on Dread Abyssal mounts.

History

Age of Myth

Shortly after being released by Sigmar and joining his Pantheon of Order, Nagash summoned Arkhan into being as he began to conquer the Realm of Shyish and consume other Gods of death. Once established as the only true god of death, he dispatches Arkhan to organise moving grave-sand from the edges of the realm to the centre. ^[6a]

Several centuries after his release by Sigmar, Nagash summoned into being three vampires that had inhabited the World-that-Was, Mannfred, Neferata and Ushoran to serve him, but Ushoran quickly succumbed to madness leaving only the two rivals to become Mortarchs. Both schemed to free themselves from his thrall and against each other from the very beginning as each sires a new bloodline of vampires to serve them and spreading their influence across the eight realms. ^[6a]

Known

Name	Faction	Unit	Species	Description
Arkhan the Black	Deathlords Ossiarch Bonereapers	Mortarch of Sacrament	Liche	Only Arhkan the Black is truly loyal to Nagash and it is he that the supreme lord of the undead often choses to lead his armies and carry out those tasks he would trust to no one else.
Mannfred von Carstein	Deathlords Soulblight	Mortarch of Night	Vampire	Mannfred often seems to be scheming against his lord, but just as frequently he carries out his masters will nonetheless.
Neferata	Deathlords Soulblight	Mortarch of Blood	Vampire	Queen Neferata serves him (reluctantly) not just through her armies, sorcery and skill at arms, all of which are formidable but with her vast network of spies that spans the Realms.
Olynder	Nighthaunt	Mortarch of Grief	Malignant	She commands the Nighthaunt legions being possessed of a misery that projects from her in deadly waves.
Orpheon Katakros	Ossiarch Bonereapers	Mortarch of the Necropolis	Ossiarch	Katakros is an immortal demigod of war. A military genius, he bolsters his Ossiarch Legions with iron resolve.
Ushoran	Flesh-Eater Courts	Mortarch of Delusion	Abhorrant	Once the greatest and noblest champion of Nagash, Ushoran was brought low by some cruel twist of fate, transfigured into a swollen goliath afflicted with an unquenchable thirst. It took the combined might of the other Mortarchs to subdue their cursed comrade and return him to their master.

Quotes

We are him, and he is us. But we were all someone else, once. In us is Nagash’s power made manifest. But so too are his weaknesses. Neferata is his guile, Mannfred, his ambition, and I...I am his loyalty – to others, to this realm, to those he claims as his own. What Nagash has claimed, he will hold until time’s last gleaming, even if he must destroy it to keep it

~ Arkhan to Tamra ven-Drak.^[3]