Eldritch Fortress

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THe Eldritch Fortress is a Chaos Dreadhold found in Chamon that was built to the exact specifications of Ephryx, the Ninth Disciple of Tzeentch. It is a colossal fortress with a metal heart and a body clad in skulls. Each tower was crested with jutting blades, and daemonic gargoyles capped every corner and and wall. The Chaos Sorcerer resided on its highest tower. Ephryx's paranoia made him keep the true power of the Eldritch Fortress a secret, even to his ally Maerac of Manticorea, who believed its magics were purely defensive.[1a]

History

Ephyrx originally built the fort around the monument to a holy artefact that the people of the Glimmerlands created in order to siphon it's magic from it. First he had his slavers enslave thousands from all races, nations and creeds. They blinded ogors to hew lead bricks of monolithic sizes and roll them upon lodestone cylinders to make the fortress. First the fortress took the shape of a rough cairn, then an iron keep, then a gilded castle until the divine light was completely hidden and by the time the Age of Sigmar arrived it had grown to a colossal size, the outer layers covered in the remains of a dozen mortal tribes. The walls were covered in thousands of skulls, but they were no longer made of bone as each night Ephryx transmuted them into copper to better channel the holy magic of Ghal Maraz and glowed with iridescent power. Ephryx planned to use this power to complete a ritual that would convert every realmgate in Chamon to a portal to Tzeentch's Crystal Labyrinth.[1a]

The Celestial Vindicators attacked the fortress resting in the Ruins of Elixia after Ephryx intentionally provoked the forces guarding the Silverway. As they attacked they destroyed the reservoirs of celestial magic using Judicator bolts and their swords. The castle's magic-eating properties manage to absorb the weaker bolts, but the stronger ones slowly tore the castle apart. Ultimately, Ephryx managed to purge the invading forces with a spell after panicking, wasting the castle power and unintentionally revealing to Sigmar that he had Ghal Maraz.[1c]

The Heldenhammer Crusade

Main article: Heldenhammer Crusade

After the Celestial Vindicators who attacked the fortress were reforged and reported the location of Ghal Maraz to Sigmar, the Heldenhammer Crusade was launched.[3a] The Stormcasts conquered the ruined city of Exilia, but the fortress vanished as they prepared to assault it, leaving only a crater behind. [2a]

After a series of battles and with the aid of Celemnis and Dracothion, a force of Stormcast Eternals led by Vandus Hammerhand managed to locate the fortress while it floated above the Silver Sea. The Stormcast assault collapsed an outer bastion of the fortress just as the Alchemist's Moon caused the sea to begin to harden, fixing the fortress in place with a wave of solid silver and preventing it from escaping as it had earlier from Exilia. Kairos Fateweaver intervened to attempt to free the fortress and drag it into the Realm of Chaos by melting the solidified sea, taking control of Ephryx in the process to better work the fortress's magics. However, Ephryx resisted the Lord of Change's control and struck Kairos during the battle for the inner keep, allowing Vandus to recover Ghal Maraz and destroy the remaining Chaos forces.[2a]

Sources