After over a century of searching, Archaon had claimed the title of Everchosen. All that he needed now was a coronation. The daemon prince Be'lakor, thoughts of treachery extinguished by fear and reverence, performed the ceremony that made Archaon the Lord of the End Times, and the Everchosen immediately began mustering the largest army ever seen in the Old World. It was from that day forward that the last spark of Archaon's humanity was extinguished; from then until the end of days, Archaon, finally, fully embraced the destiny that lay before him.[6a]
The absence of the Witch King left General Kouran Darkhand, Master of the Black Guards, to take command of the city's defenses, where he fought Valkia twice in single-combat. Despite surviving the initial onslaught, there was no discernible way for the Druchii to end the siege. The stark nature of their situation fractured the Lords and Ladies of the Black Council, revealing the value of Malekith's strong hand on the tiller of the realm and their ineptitude without his guidance. When Malekith at last returned in the third month of the siege, he wasted no time. He mounted his great black dragon Seraphon and pushed back the Bloodied Horde from Naggarond's gates. However, Malekith's wrath and annoyance were apparent. With much of Naggaroth lying in ruin, and the forces of Chaos only forestalled, not defeated, he would be forced to delay his intended invasion of Ulthuan and recall the invasion fleet back into harbour to be prepared for a counter-attack.[1c]
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Though nearly one-third of Malekith's army was lost on the journey, the Witch King continued on with silent determination, going as far as to isolate himself from his generals. Some forty leagues short of Ghrond, Malekith's army was blocked by a massive horde of Daemons led by a mighty Bloodthirster of Khorne. Though powerful, the Witch King could not be denied entrance, and with the daemon's defeat, Malekith entered the Tower and found his mother. Morathi told her son that the End Times were nigh and that upon the shores of Ulthaun, not Naggaroth, that his destiny awaited him. Morathi's wisdom came with a significant caveat however. Though she did not deny the finality of the hour nor the rightfulness of his quest for the Phoenix Throne, she could not sanction an invasion while Naggaroth burned behind them. She bluntly warned that should he pursue that path, should he return to the lands of his birth, it would destroy everything that had ever made him her son. Prideful to the last, Malekith abandoned his mother and gathered what remained of his entire people to set sail on a fleet of Warships so massive that it stretched from horizon to horizon. Thus, upon the same hour that Teclis banished the daemons from the shores of Ulthuan, did the last great host of Naggaroth embark upon their fleet of Black Arks. Without a backwards glance to his burning Kingdom, Malekith looked fixed upon the land of Ulthuan, determined that, this time, there would be no going back.[3b]
Days after Gilles' recoronation as Royarch, plague broke out in the southern dukedoms of Quenelles and Carcassonne. Then came the Warpstone meteors, blazing across the night sky and landing in multiple locations across the realm. Within days, mutation began to run rife amongst the populace, and Beastmen warherds by the hundreds began to ravage the lands without resistance. Shrines, villages, and towns were quickly lost, including the Dukedom of Bordeleaux's capital city after it was sucked into a Warp rift. With a quarter of their population slain, another quarter left the kingdom and sought refuge within the Empire. Seeing the horrors that had begun to plague his homeland, King Gilles summoned his heralds and declared the last and grandest Errantry War in their history. Within days, thousands of Knights had flocked to his banner, and the forces of Bretonnia began to mobilise to face the agents of Chaos in combat.[1g]
With the first two prongs of the Skaven invasion finally destroyed by the efforts of the Lizardmen, what remains of the Skaven invaders all converged upon the third and last formation of Skaven armies sent to capture and destroy the Temple-City of Xlanthuapec, the City of Mist. Instead of attacking as a single colossal horde, a rivalry between Plaguelord Skrimanx, Archdeacon of Disease and Plaguelord Blistrox, Spreader of the Word has resulted in two separate attacks coming from the north and south, hoping to penetrate the unnatural fog that forever clings to the Second City of the Lizardmen.[4f]
The battle lasted for nearly two days and one night, but the Dwarfs have managed to emerge victorious, with the lands surrounding them choked with the uncountable bodies of dead beastmen, the largest victory the Dwarfs have ever won against the Children of Chaos. However, nearly 8/10th of the Slayer Kings forces were killed in the ensuring battle, and taking his duty as king of his people, he begrudgingly led the survivors home, whilst a small force of Dwarf rangers continued their march towards Templehof.[1o]
Gelt felt revulsion unlike anything he has ever felt before, and in despair the former Supreme Patriarch fled the scene upon Quicksilver. Weren't it for the mask, everybody could see Gelt's tears running unchecked down he cheeks. He had betrayed everything. Within days, the Church of Sigmar denounced the works of Gelt, and the Auric Bastion was abandoned by the Sigmarite Priests. In time, the Walls fell, and the Hordes poured out like a tide. This time, there is no escape, and the Imperial Legions would make one last daring stand upon the city of Heffengen.[1s]
Grappling hooks lashed ships together and fierce boarding actions were fought with sword, spear and club. The waters were swarming with Mortis Sharks, and Harkon watched a rotting leviathan rise out of the waves to consume a small craft whole before submerging again. With targets on either side, the Black Coffin opened up with a rolling bombardment, while cannonades swept opposing decks clear with grapeshot. Never before had such a naval battle taken place. Golden-plated warbarges rammed high-decked cogs, and skeletal crews dueled while liquid fire spread all around them. The battle raged for two full days, illuminated only by the burning ships and the ethereal glow of spectres. Not until the last warbarge was sunk, did the fighting finally stop. Harkon's fleet, although but a fraction of its former glory, was victorious. The Battle of the Delta was won and the skull of King Kalhazzar stood as a trophy next to Luthor Harkon's desk.
The sight sent a shockwave through the legions, as the Nehekharan army remembered the hatred that filled them when they last saw those vile sigils in their time with the living. With a howl, thousands of Nehekharan spirits called out the Vampire Queen to show herself and atone for her sins. Even as the battle began in earnest, there was yet no sign of the Queen of Lahmia. Archer legions of Khalida darkened the skies just as King Tharruk thundered forward, almost getting overwhelmed before his Tomb Guards joined the fray. On Khalida's left, Hassep upon his warsphinx cleaved through the battlelines. Upon the far left flank, Prince Settuneb and his Chariot Legions stood ready to intercept any enemy counterattack. The Battle of Ruined Lahmia was not a single, decisive conflict but a running battle which lasted for days.[1w]
The last days of Ulthuan have arrived. For too long, this mighty continent stood on the brink of sinking to the depths, held up only by the powers given to the Great Vortex at the center of the inner sea. Now, if the world were to have a chance to survive, the powers held within must be unleashed. And so do two forces vie for control of the Vortex; on one side stands a false savior whose rage shall engulf his race whilst the others stands as a denied King, long neglected but now has revealed the true fire which once burned him to cinder.
Alarielle's foresight had not only been the salvation of the elves, but of other creatures also. Rescued from Ulthuan's demise through chance or design, many wild beasts sought new homes beneath Athel Loren's eaves. The forest absorbed the newcomers as readily as It had the elves, and bound them seamlessly Into the weave. Prides of white lions prowled the glades, harpies nested amongst the crags and monstrous hydras swam in the hidden lakes. The dragons of Caledor sought refuge amongst the caves of Wydrioth, phoenixes in the fires of Vaul's Anvil. Thus did only one faction truly suffer from the elves' change of fortune. The beastmen, ever a curse upon Athel Loren, found the forest defended as never before. The high elves and dark elves - the former seeking a distraction from their guilt and the latter an abeyance of ennui - gladly threw themselves Into the extermination of the beastmen. The Children of Chaos were slaughtered in their thousands and driven into the darkest depths of the forest. But the threat of the beastmen was not ended. The power of Chaos was still rising and the herds continued to multiply. At the first full moon after the sinking of Ulthuan, Alarielle at last gave herself in marriage to Malekith. In the preceding days, Malhandir had borne the Everqueen in a procession to every hall in Athel Loren. It was a tourney of pomp and ceremony rivalling the grandest days of old Ulthuan. A thousand-strong honour guard accompanied their queen and the banners of three realms were lowered In allegiance wherever Malhandir carried her. It was a solemn event and, for many, an uneasy one. This sense of foreboding was deepened when Alarielle at last arrived in the firclit King's Glade. In all his long life, Malekith had knelt before none save his father, but he knelt in respect to the Everqueen as she trod the petal-strewn path to his side. The ceremony of joining was to have been conducted by Naieth the Prophetess. However, another had taken her place, her midnight dress dark against the shadows and the stars in her hair a match for those gleaming high above. Thus was the union forged not by mortal words, but by the blessing of Lileath herself - the last survivor of the elven pantheon. 2ff7e9595c
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