Narkath

The Empire of Narkath was once a mist-shrouded nation found within the Realm of Ulgu, that was governed by the Black Dragon riding Order Serpentis. The empire fell during the apocalyptic Age of Chaos, forcing those members of the order that survived to flee to the Realm of Azyr before the closing of the gates to that heavenly realm.^[1a]

History

Age of Myth

The Empire of Narkath was established sometime during the Age of Myth and flourished for a time. Nominally it owed fealty and paid tribute to the Pantheon of Order, but the knights of the Order Serpentis flagrantly ignored the laws and mandates of the Pantheon, seeing them as weak and hypocritical.^[1a]

The actions of the Order caused many great debates in High Azyr, but they were never censured due to the constant intervention of Malerion, who saw the Order as an asset and chose to protect them for his own ends.^[1a]

Age of Chaos

But Malerion's protection could not save the empire during the ravages of the Age of Chaos, and it's glories would be shattered by armies of daemons that poured through the mountain passes that led to the empire. The Order Serpentis fought these legions for many decades, but not even they could slay them all and most of the Order's knights and dragons were slain.^[1a]

But those who survived were practical-minded aelves, who decided that the indignity of begging aid from Azyr was better than total annihilation. So they retreated, like many other cultures, to Azyr and waited out the rest of the Age of Chaos in the heavenly realm, where they brooded and prepared for the days they would return to the other realms.^[1a]

Government

The Empire of Narkath was governed by the Order Serpentis, as brutal and violent order of aelven knights who rode to battle on Black Dragons.

Geography

Narkath was a mist-shrouded land of Ulgu, accessible via a number of mountain passes. Boiling lakes of acid dotted the landscape, and black rain perpetually fell from the sky. The Order Serpentis resided in the great, claw-like castles of black iron that dominated this harsh land.^[1a]

Society

As anyone who has fought beside the Order Serpentis can attest, the Narkathians have ever been a brutal, belligerent people and when the Aelves governed over the Empire of Narkath they were no different. Among the vile deeds they practiced, slavery is perhaps one of the most noteworthy. The Order was also well known for their hostility towards neighbors, seeking any excuse they could find to wage war against them.^[1a]

Another key aspect of Narkathian society was the creation of Black Dragons, as these fell beasts are not naturally born. Instead the serpentine horrors are created by suffusing dragon eggs with dark magic and submerging them in the blood of tortured victims. The ferocious monsters created in this manner are cursed with an insatiable lust to kill and torture, rivaled only by the knights that ride them.^[1a]

At the height of Narkath's power, every knight of the Order Serpentis rode and formed a symbiotic partnership with a Black Dragon, though the death of so many Black Dragons in the Age of Chaos means the Order Serpentis of the Free Cities can only permit Dreadlords to ride the beasts.^[1a]

Sources

• 1: Battletome: Cities of Sigmar (2019)
  • 1a: The Order Serpentis, pg.44-45