Rotwater
From Age of Sigmar - Lexicanum
Rotwater or Rotwater Blight is the swamp that formed around the Oak of Ages when it crashed into Ghyran. Located in Drydenwald in Verdia, Rotwater and surrounds have played a pivotal role in the history of the realm.[1a]
Contents
Locations
- Oak of Ages Past: The remnants of the Oak of Ages.[2a]
- River Vitalis: A river that flows from the Oak of Ages Past.[2a]
- Athelwyrd: Alarielle's last redoubt in the Age of Chaos, hidden behind multiple layers of illusions.[2a]
- Glade of Horned Growths: A forest glade containing a corrupted realmgate leading to the Garden of Nurgle.[2a]
- Vulturine Geysers: Springs befouled to spew only diseased liquid.[2a]
- World Pimples: Huge infected sores on the realm.[2a]
History
Before the Ages
- The remnants of the Oak of Ages lands in Ghyran.[1a]
Age of Myth
- Alarielle awakens and creates the sylvaneth. The Oak of Ages Past becomes a place of pilgrimage for both the goddess and her children.[3a]
Age of Chaos
- Perhaps due to lingering taint from the World-That-Was, the Oak of Ages Past and Rotwater become the first place in Ghyran touched by the power of Nurgle. The swamp spouts disease-laden green fogs that contaminated people, lands, and even Realmgates, including the nearby Gates of Dawn.[1a] One end of the Oak of Ages Past becomes corrupted, sprouting tentacles and strange mouths. However, the other end remains uncorrupted and the River Vitalis remains clear.[2a]
- Alarielle, broken by the constant losses of the War of Life - including that of her consort, Kurnoth - retreats to Athelwyrd in despair. Most sylvaneth likewise retreat to their hidden enclaves.[4a][5a]
- Pupa Grotesse, a Great Unclean One, further corrupts the region by ensconcing himself in the River Vitalis. His diseased body befouls the water, turning the river into the putrid Gelid Gush.[2a][4a]
Age of Sigmar
- A contingent of Stormcast Eternals of the Hallowed Knights destroy Pupa Grotesse at the Battle of Rotwater, allowing the River Vitalis to flow clear once more. However, when they attempt to contact Alarielle, they inadvertently reveal the way into Athelwyrd to Nurgle's followers. The Stormcasts, Alarielle, and the goddess' sylvaneth attendants are forced to flee.[2b]
- Years later, Alarielle returns to Rotwater to perform the Rite of Life and banish the final traces of the Necroquake from the Mortal Realms. As part of the rite, Rotwater is purified and the Oak of Ages Past returned upright. The pulse of life magic causes a riot of new growth, pushing the last of the corruption out of the land.[6a]
Sources
- 1: Mighty Battles
- 1a: Where Strides Bolathrax, pg. 197-203
- 2: The Realmgate Wars: Quest for Ghal Maraz
- 3: White Dwarf October 2019
- 3a: World of Warhammer, pg. 8-11
- 4: White Dwarf October 2019
- 4a: World of Warhammer, pg. 10-13
- 5: Battletome: Sylvaneth (2019)
- 5a: The Great Cycles, pg. 18-21
- 6: Broken Realms: Kragnos
- 6a: The Rite of Life, pg. 4-9
