Background
"He who
fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a
monster...when you gaze too long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes
back."
-Friedrich Nietzsche
The Legend so far……..
The fifth Daemon War takes place 50 years after what scholars
would later call the fourth Daemon War. The original recorded Daemon Wars
involved rival daemons battling for power in far away lands or in the Chaos
wastes, but since then, the Wars have been brought into increasing contact with
the mortal realms. Mortals themselves, including the elves, have been forced to
become much more concerned and intervene with these uprisings as the stakes and
consequences have grown ever greater.
The last war saw the most destruction and bloodshed, sown all
over the globe from the Old World to Ulthuan. Once again, the stone that had
been the object of the first two wars took its place in the final act of a
prophecy, the prophecy of the return of Eablis. The stone finally revealed
itself to be the none other than the stone of Eablis, a magical artefact
trapping the essence of the banished fifth Greater Dark God within. At the
height of the conflict, which took place on the shores of Ulthuan, several
great battles took place, the City of Tor Ivlesse was sacked, the Greater
Daemon Amon Chakai was slain and numerous great heroes were also lost.
Tyrannoc, Ielnar, Ilris, and Silver to name but a few. In the final moments of
the war, a twist of fate entwined the two prophecies together and brought forth
a new shadow into the legends. Bahl’al brought about the prophesised
destruction of Eablis, but by throwing himself and the stone of Eablis into the
void, he also set into motion the prophecy of the Fifth Daemon War.
The Fifth Daemon War ~ Hearts of the Destined
By sacrificing himself and destroying the God Eablis for all
eternity, Bahl’al had unwittingly preformed the Gods of Chaos a great service. Since
coming into the world, the gods had battled to rid their realm of Eablis and
only succeeded in trapping the god in a stone, the details of which are lost in
time. Some would argue that Bahl’al was compelled to throw himself into the
void by the Chaos Gods, commanding his Daemonic side. By this time, however, at
the end of the last war, Bahl’al had almost rid, or at least gained control of
the daemonic entity that plagued his soul.
It is commonly believed that a cosmic battle took place within
the void that Bahl’al threw himself into. As Eablis’s existence dissipated, in
a final act of malice it attempted to drag Bahl’al with it into oblivion, but
the Chaos Gods rallied behind Bahl’al pulling the elf out of the closing void
before the screaming Eablis could seize a hold of him.
And so Bahl’al survived. The destroyer of a God, he was now also
favoured by the Dark Powers who suspected that perhaps he was the next chosen
of Chaos, should Archaon fail. By channelling their powers through Bahl’al in
their last confrontation with Eablis, the Gods had awoken something dark and
sinister that lurked in the shadows of Bahl’al’s mind. Something Bahl’al had
learned to loathe and fear. Something that Bahl’al had forced away over the
centuries. With new ambition burning through his soul, Bahl’al set out on many
quests for power over the years that followed that Fourth war. And as his name
grew, so did his power and his favour in the eyes of the Dark Gods.
So it was the Gods eventually communicated to Bahl’al through the
damned being that was Amon Chakai. Amon had failed his patron God Tzeentch in
the last war and had been condemned to rot in the realm of Nurgle. Well aware
of Amon’s maddened lust for power, the Gods saw fit to torment him further. It
was to be Amon who would carry out the ritual that would mark the new champion
of Chaos chosen by the Gods.
In his message to Bahl’al, Amon spoke of a test laid out by the
Gods to see if he truly was the next chosen of chaos. Amon spoke of the hearts
of the destined: Four hearts that had to be collected and sacrificed upon the
shrine of Ultimate Darkness in the time of the eclipse. Four hearts from the
four Daemons that were destined to be their patron god’s champions. Their
names, Oz, SlythRa, Pantaphrak and Zegroth. Along with the hearts, Bahl’al was
told of a ritual book and dagger that must also be collected and used for the
dark ceremony. Bahl’al was also told that as well as the four daemons
mentioned, there would be others who would seek to complete the ritual for their
own devises or to destroy the hearts.
And so with the trial laid forth, Amon was taken out of the Realm
of Nurgle and imprisoned in a grey temporal void where he could see all, but do
nothing. But Amon Chakai had other plans. The appearance of a twin tailed comet
in the night sky marked the beginning of war. Between this event and eventual
eclipse, the items needed for the ritual must be collected, for the ritual
itself must be completed upon the moment of the eclipse.
Over the fifty years since the fourth war, Amon had been
concentrating his considerable will upon the walls of his prison. Slowly but
surely, Amon created for himself a tiny hole through which he escaped and it
was not long after the sighting of the twin tailed comet that Amon Chakai
walked the lands once more.
He would seek to complete the ritual to regain favour in
Tzeentch’s eyes and attain powers untold. As is the case with Oz who is still
out of favour from his patron God, Khorne. Zegroth had been granted little time
out of the Realm of Chaos since his death in the third war, and he hopes for
release by proving himself in this quest. And for Slythra, already favoured by
Nurgle for slaying Amon, perhaps this war is to be his last test before he
finally earns the title of first chosen of Nurgle and the right to sit by the
right hand side of his patron god.
Far away in the land of chill sorcerers of the witch king delve
into their magicks and portents for they know a dark shadow looms over
Naggaroth where the final part of the prophecy is written to be acted out. In
the white towers of hoeth in far away Ulthuan, the lore Keepers and mages are
in deep in study, desperately trying to find writings on the conclusion of the
prophecy and how to combat its evil.
With news from the elves of the growing danger in the north, the
Emperor has mobilised much of the Empire’s military might to the north, to
guard against the risk of any possible attack. The Witch King has also
assembled his forces and strengthed positions around the northern watchtowers that
mark the boundary between Naggarroth and the Chaos Wastes, ready for the
inevitable assault from Daemons. Ready also to seize the magical hearts for
himself when the Daemon Lords come.
And rumours grow that in Ulthuan, numerous heroes from the last
wars are at the head of vast armies, ready to sail east over to the Old world
and the Chaos wastes. Ready for the final clash between good and evil.
The Fifth Daemon war looks set to commence…………..
