War of Life

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War of Life
Rotbringers vs Sylvaneth 01.jpeg
Sylvaneth face Rotbringers at the Fangs of Decay.
Major Battles Fall of Dappelloren
Battle of Frozen Grief
Battle of Tears
Battle for the Genesis Gate
Great Epoch Age of Chaos, Age of Sigmar
Location {{{3}}}Realm of Ghyran
Status Ongoing
Combatants
{{{3}}} Grand Alliance of Order
{{{3}}} Sylvaneth
{{{3}}} Wanderers
Age of Sigmar only:
{{{3}}}Stormcast Eternals
{{{3}}}Cities of Sigmar
{{{3}}} Grand Alliance of Chaos
{{{3}}} Daemons of Nurgle
{{{3}}} Nurgle Rotbringers
{{{3}}} Clans Pestilens
{{{3}}} Slaves to Darkness
Commanders
{{{3}}} Alarielle

{{{3}}} Kurnoth
{{{3}}} Drycha Hamadreth
{{{3}}} Lady of Vines
{{{3}}} Regents of the Glades
Age of Sigmar only:

{{{3}}}Celestant-Prime
{{{3}}}Gardus Steel Soul
{{{3}}}Rotigus

{{{3}}}Bolathrax
{{{3}}}Glottkin
{{{3}}}Torglug

Losses
{{{3}}}Kurnoth slain

{{{3}}}City of Fronds destroyed
{{{3}}}Spire of Emerald Dreams destroyed
{{{3}}}Pristine Heart destroyed
{{{3}}}Lilandyr destroyed
{{{3}}}Hawthorn Glade destroyed
{{{3}}}Frondkin Glade destroyed
{{{3}}}Eiderbract Glade destroyed
{{{3}}}Springleaf Glade decimated:

all enclaves destroyed
Dappelloren destroyed
Bough-mother lost
{{{3}}}Torglug redeemed

{{{3}}}Genesis Gate sealed


The War of Life is a conflict being waged in the Realm of Life. It began in the Age of Chaos between Alarielle with her Sylvaneth and Wanderers against Nurgle with his Rotbringers and Daemons. In the Age of Sigmar Alarielle received support from Sigmar and his Stormcast Eternals.[2]

Incubation: The Age of Myth

Nurgle desired the Realm of Life the most out of all the Mortal Realms, for his plagues and pestilences are in many ways twisted echoes of the live-giving magic of that realm. Its bounteous landscapes would make most fertile laboratories for his beloved diseases. Most of all, Nurgle wished to capture Alarielle herself; only the Queen of Life would do for the Lord of Plagues! So he set about leaking corrupting influence from the Garden of Nurgle into Ghyran, allowing the foulness to grow out of sight, until the time was ripe for his daemons to spill into the realm.[6a][8a]

Infection: The Age of Chaos

Opening Stages

The hordes of diseased daemons surging from places subtly corrupted by Nurgle's invisible pestilences proved an unstoppable tide, and soon they had taken several potent fonts of life magic that they could pervert to further their patron's plans. Soon, they had enough of a foothold for daemons to attack nearly everywhere in Ghyran.[7a][8a]

Alarielle and her Regents responded with force, aided by the human and aelven inhabitants of the realm - most of whom worshipped the Everqueen in one of her aspects. Sylvaneth who had settled in other realms returned to aid their kin in their time of need. Dozens of campaigns struck out across Ghyran, the forces of life fighting against the bringers of plague. But the cost was high; several major glades of sylvaneth were wiped out completely in the fighting. Eventually, as the wars of the Age of Chaos grew worse, reinforcements from outside Ghyran were cut off, the aelves died or retreated to Azyr to become the Wanderers, and the humans likewise died, retreated to the Heavens, or converted to the worship of Nurgle. The sylvaneth of Ghyran stood alone.[8a][8c][9a]

The situation becomes so desperate that the Forest Folk, who before now had been peaceful beings who left the fighting to the Noble Spirits, are forced to take up arms and join their kin in battle.[8b]

Springleaf Falls

Springleaf Glade was, at the start of the War of Life, the most populous glade and its capital of Dappelloren the greatest greenhold in the realm. The festerbark pox tore through them like a hurricane. The devastated Dappelloren fell to a daemonic invasion and the glade's regent, the Bough-mother, was lost. Most of the glade's other enclaves fell soon after; by the time the Treelord Ancient Scrioshal managed to organize the glade's remnants at their last stronghold of Rimewald, more than three quarters of the Springleaf were dead. Rimewald itself fell at the Battle of Frozen Grief, and the scattered survivors fled into the wilderness. Scrioshal would eventually manage to create Winterleaf Glade out of the survivors of these tragedies, but Springleaf Glade was gone.[8c][8e][10a]

Season of Shame

In an effort to turn the tide of the war, Alarielle attempts a great ritual. Whatever happened next was so terrible that the Everqueen chooses to hide it from her children beneath a veil of enchanted forgetfulness that affects all sylvaneth, and so it became known as the Shrouded Season. What is known about this time is that the mad Outcasts, who can only hear the Song of War, appear soon after.[7b][8c]

Harvestboon Blooms

In a small ray of light, the Harvestboon Glade appears, soon growing to become a major glade. Their youthful dynamism proves effective, and they become the glade most invested in taking back the lands lost to Nurgle.[8c][8d]

Desperate Sowing

Desperation leads Alarielle to plant the soul-pod of the wild and spiteful spirit known as Drycha in the vale of Hamadrithil. The resultant creature proves uncontrollable and as dangerous to the sylvaneth as to their enemies, and Alarielle is forced to declare Drycha Hamadreth an Outcast. This suits Drycha just fine, and she begins to style herself "Regent of the Outcasts" in mockery of the Regents of the Glades who lead the Everqueen's children.[7b][8c]

Fall of a God

When a force of Daemons of Nurgle invade Kurnotheal, the hunter-god Kurnoth leads a Great Hunt to drive them from his lands despite being in his winter season and greatly diminished from his full power. This proves fatal, and he falls at the Battle of Tears. A wargrove from Heartwood Glade brings the disastrous news of the defeat to Alarielle along with the fallen god's spear.[8c][8f]

Season of Sorrow

The death of her consort is Alarielle's breaking point. She retreats from the world and hides away from the war, taking up residence in the hidden vale of Athelwyrd. As goes Alarielle, so goes Ghyran; the sylvaneth follow their goddess's lead and retreat to their remaining strongholds, hiding away behind veils of magic and conducting a guerrilla war as they hope for a miracle to save them. Only the truly determined - like Alarielle's seneschal, the Lady of Vines - or the truly mad - like the Outcast Queen Drycha Hamadreth - continue their campaigns of aggression against the invaders.[3b][8c]

Rebirth and Renewal: Age of Sigmar

Sanctuary No More

The Stormcast Eternals sent to Ghyran are charged with a mission beyond simply securing a foothold in the Realm of Life. In hopes of resurrecting the ancient Grand Alliance, Sigmar has charged them with bringing news of his campaign to Alarielle.[3a] Unfortunately, their attempts to reach her lead Nurgle's fortress to her as well, and she was forced to flee. The shock and trauma of having her last fortress breached caused her to begin to shift her aspect, and she retreated into a soul-pod carried by the Lady of Vines, who led the sylvaneth and their Stormcast de facto allies away on the Cascading Paths.[4a]

Misplaced Vengeance

As the goddess flees, rumours spread among the sylvaneth. Drycha claims the Everqueen has been killed and gathers a huge wargrove of Outcasts and other revenge-minded sylvaneth to exact a bloody price on the invaders.[8c]

A Sprawling Corpse

Not all the Stormhosts are caught up in Drycha's rampage or Alarielle's flight. In the Scabrous Sprawl, the Knights Excelsior, the Anvils of the Heldenhammer, and other stormhosts struggle against the skaven only to find that the forces of Chaos have corrupted the slumbering Behemat, the World-Titan and father of gargants. As the godbeast stirs, the Stormcasts attempt to summon Sigmar's Great Bolts to strike him down. Only the intervention of the Celestant-Prime fells the titan.[5a]

Rebirth of a Goddess

After being planted atop Blackstone Summit, Alarielle is reborn from her soul-pod in her war aspect. She calls a meeting of the Royal Moot in its entirety, and begins to plan her campaign to seal the Genesis Gate, the Arcway between Ghyran and the Allpoints.[6b][8c]

Sealing the Wound

With the Stormcast Eternals by her side, Alarielle leads her sylvaneth to attack the Genesis Gate. She breaches the Ring of Corruption and brings down the Glottkin. Finally, she purifies the land about the realmgate and seals it tight, preventing further incursions from the Allpoints.[6c][8c]

Trivia

  • Many of the battles of the War of Life was fought over deposits of Realmstone of Ghyran as many nurglites and their skaven allies sought to corrupt it.[1]

Source