She's the Fey Enchantress. She's been there for a while I think. I certianly remember her name from either 6th Edition Bretonnia or Knights of the Grail.
Edit: Her name is mentioned in 6th Edition Bretonnia yes. Not in Knights of the Grail. Knights of the Grail portrays her as an Elf.
Yes and she had the statline of an Elf too if I remember well.
Which will make a certain plot twist later very interesting. In the sense it was something the community was thinking for decades but the way it was made was beyond terrible.
Also even if it's a spoiler but nearly everything we covered until now? It will amount to nothing. None of the good factions in the End Times have something ressembling initiative or proactivity. And the Greenskins and the Ogres are not going to be major players like at all.
I think reading all those summaries so close together gave me an actual headache. It's just. It keeps compounding on itself with it's badness.
And. WOW. One of his targets outright walked into his arms. The other was LITERALLY handed to him. I guess the hyper angry killer tree folk have been consumed by the dreaded corruption of Plot Device now? At least they're being consistent on something. Plus there's the fact they're just. Kinda ignoring the other six bloodlines. Who I imagine weren't just random smucks? And probably took some effort to obtain? The worst part is some of this would actually be really, really cool! If it had any build up or struggle or sacrifice at all. I think that makes it worse really. I feel robbed of not getting to see Mannfred's Most Excellent Heist Movie.
We start this chapter from Mannfred's perspective. After Mallobaude's death at the hands of the Green Knight in Couronne, many of the Necromancers that had joined the Black Knight dispersed. Quite a few of them decided to come into Sylvania and were dismayed to find it was a one way trip. Here, Mannfred praises Gelt in a way that is utterly Mannfred:
"Gelt's wall of faith worked only in one direction. It was genius that Mannfred could have appreciated under other circumstances, for it was a perfect combination of lure and trap, and the vampire was inclined to commend Gelt for his craft before tearing out his throat." Page 59
It is here that Mannfred senses the presence of a powerful individual, one that rivals his own power. Curious, and sick of testing method after method of breaking through the wall of faith, Mannfred attempts to find out who it is, but he fails each time. Every time he sends out an undead thrall, his control slips when he's about to get a look at the intruder. Interested in whoever this person is, and not brooking any competition in his own territory, Mannfred investigates, ending up at the Valsborg Bridge.
Brief insight into the mind of Necromancers:
"A day later, Mannfred and his foe met upon Valsborg bridge. They came alone. Each deemed that to ride at the head of an army would be taken as a sign of weakness, and knew that the shallow graves of Sylvania would yield warriors enough if the need arose." Page 60
There, it is revealed that the cloaked intruder desires what is rightfully his. A severed hand and seven books of blood inked flesh. Nagash must rise, and Mannfred could have a place at his side. Mannfred realises immediately that he is facing Arkhan, and is deeply insulted at the idea that he would raise an individual who would contest his dominance in his vision of a world dominated by darkness. This leads into what you would naturally expect, a magical duel.
Arkhan deliberately designed the encounter in a way that would allow him to test Mannfred's power, which is revealed in an inner monologue later, and he states that he was surprised at how powerful he turned out to be. Despite that, Arkhan the Black is an ancient Liche of equivalent age to Nagash and his direct disciple, so he was more than a match for Mannfred. The battle progresses in the way that you would expect from two necromancers. Spell and Counterspell, raising the dead, Mannfred summoning Wolves, Arkhan bolstering his undead, the two banishing the undead at each other's disposal and more.
Seeing Arkhan's defence start to buckle, Mannfred lets out a triumphant cry to deal the finishing blow. Unfortunately for him, a piercing ray of sunlight pierced through the dome of darkness he had created around Sylvania. Mannfred quickly withdrew, for he knew what this meant. Going any further to attempt to destroy Arkhan would almost certainly withdraw more power than he intended and disrupt the incantation that allowed for eternal night, and he could not allow that to happen. Seeing this dilemma in front of him, Mannfred quickly reassesses the situation and comes to a conclusion. He offers a truce to Arkhan. If he can't beat Arkhan without disrupting his own plans, then might as well coordinate.
Of course, Mannfred is already thinking about how he can twist things to his advantage. He knows the ritual Arkhan is planning to use, and he knows that there are ways that he might be able to make it so that Nagash is subservient to him. The idea gives him a certain heady level of power, to have control over such a powerful necromancer. Nagash was powerful, but he was a withered husk of who he used to be, so he's beginning to plot his own double cross.
Arkhan accepts the truce, but of course, he knows that Mannfred is planning to betray him. Taking that into account, the two of them venture back to Castle Steinste, where the nine vessels fueling the apostatic enchantment of Mannfred are held. Within the chamber where they are held, Arkhan finally comes face to face with seven of his Master's books, his severed hand, the Crown of Sorcery, acquired from the Vaults of Altdorf, and now he adds his own two books of Nagash to the collection. Only a few relics until Nagash can be resurrected.
Arkhan suggests a ritual to Mannfred to break through the wall of faith momentarily so the two of them could leave Sylvania and acquire the three relics required to resurrect Nagash. The ritual requires a sacrifice of one of his vessels, for it requires a person with divine blood. Mannfred does not like it, but he agrees. The two of them choose Lupio Blaze, a Knight of the Blazing Sun, whose blood is not all that powerful so they wouldn't miss him over much. With the fairly elaborate ritual involving bleeding the last lifeblood of the Knight and black candles with tallow made of humans and all that jazz, the two of them escape Sylvania at the head of their amassed armies, then split up into different paths to get a relic for each of them and then converge for the final one.
Arkhan's goal was Alakanash, Nagash's staff, held in La Maisontaal Abbey in Bretonnia. Arkhan saw no challenge in this, for while his efforts in Bretonnia resulted in defeat, it had greatly weakened the nation. Mannfred insisted that he should be accompanied by a regiment of Drakenhof Templars, which Arkhan clearly doesn't need, and while Arkhan is well aware that they are there likely to attempt to dispose of him, he already had contingencies in place.
Mannfred's goal is to go down to Mad Dog Pass close to the Badlands where Clan Mordkin's lair lies. That Skaven Warren holds the Fellblade within its vaults, the legendary cursed sword that was used by Alcadizaar so long ago to kill Nagash for the first time, before the warpstone poison caused him to succumb not long after. What the Skaven didn't realise was that their blade was much more potent than they had expected. While Nagash had come back to life several times since the Fellblade took him down, he was cursed. Every time Nagash came back to unlife, he would be weaker than the previous iteration. This culminated in the Night of the Restless Dead, where Nagash returned to the mortal realm for merely a day before his spirit dissipated on the wind. If Nagash is to be resurrected, then the Fellblade's curse must be lifted.
The final relic is going to be the hardest challenge, which is why it requires the cooperation of both Mannfred and Arkhan's forces. It would be to acquire Morikhane, the black armour of Nagash. The warriors who had fought at Sigmar's side took the armor as a trophy after defeating Nagash so long ago, and it is now held in Heldenhame, a highly defensible fortress defended by the Knights of Sigmar's Blood.
Throughout the chapter there are descriptions of the horrific treatments that the vessels fueling the dark Sylvania enchantment are going through. It's what you'd expect. Torture and verge of death. Only two of them are awake when Arkhan arrives in the room, Volkmar and Aliathra. Incidentally, Aliathra is constantly muttering and mouthing a silent song, which Arkhan is taking as a sign of insanity but is apparently Aliathra alerting someone about something. I assume it's an Elven thing. There is a brief look at her perspective, and it's pretty miserable. She can't feel pain anymore, and she's all but blind. Mannfred feels like she's hiding something from him, so he keeps probing her mind with the Domination ability to try to find out what she's hiding. She almost breaks, when Arkhan interrupts Mannfred's probing, allowing Aliathra to gather her thoughts and strengthen her resolve. She's safe for now, as the two have to leave to acquire the relics.
Here is a map of Arkhan+Mannfred's paths:
As a conclusion to this part of the chapter, I'll do a brief review.
The problems that plague End Times still plague it in this chapter, but at least things have slowed down, and while the beginning of the chapter is taking place in the same manner as the introduction where things are told to use rather than shown (for example they go "he says that etc." instead of just having dialogue for some reason). It gives an analytical dry note to certain parts. However, the chapter does transition into a pretty long narrative piece focused on Arkhan's perspective that then shifts into Mannfred's perspective. I actually like these scheming assholes. There's just something funny about their dynamic. Arkhan mentions offhandedly that Nagash is still talking to him mentally, and that he's sounding more desperate. @storryeater made me think of this, but there are also some lines that wouldn't be out of place in a Xianxia story:
"Mannfred regarded Arkhan impassively as the liche spoke of dire fates, and of his dread master's return. The vampire still regretted his brief display of fear when the shaft of sunlight had hit the bridge, and he was determined not to lose further face.
He just wished the intruder would come to the point. How he hated the desiccated creature before him. Arkhan's history was one of defeat and grovelling servitude. Now he came to Sylvania demanding to be treated as a conquering lord, or even as an equal? It was unthinkable. It was beyond arrogance." Page 61
"Let Mannfred think that he was the master, thought Arkhan. The vampires had always been prideful and wayward; they had no concept of loyalty, and lived only for their own capricious pleasures. This one was the worst of a particularly rebellious bloodline, his desires often gorged, but never sated. Whether the vampire realised it or not, he would be Arkhan's puppet from this moment on, and it would surely be little consolation to Mannfred that his strings had been woven from his own upstart ambitions.
Nagash would rise, Arkhan swore, and Mannfred, willingly or not, would play his part." Page 62
At least we're getting to the Nagash parts of the book. Next is the Battle of La Maisontaal Abbey.
One way? How the fuck does it only work one way? It's a giant wall of blessed metal I don't even... what? How did they even get past the garrison? Is there no garrison? Is there a necromancer railroad helping these guys???
Anyway. I have to agree. That does sound pretty adorable. Pretty much exactly how you'd expect two scheming, backstabbing dhar addled lunatics to treat one another. Though I've always been a sucker for those kinds of relationships. Though of course they have them separate right away so we won't get more for awhile... which seems a little silly. Since I doubt either of them would want to be out of each others sight. Especially since there'd be nothing stopping Arkhan running back through the wall to mess shit up. Also while they're both strong as fuck, things are so dangerous right now going alone is a real risk for them.
One way? How the fuck does it only work one way? It's a giant wall of blessed metal I don't even... what? How did they even get past the garrison? Is there no garrison? Is there a necromancer railroad helping these guys???
From how I understood the snippets, it's a magical wall, not a physical wall. And the border region around Sylvania probably too long to garrison effectively? Especially against two pretty powerful sorcerors
One way? How the fuck does it only work one way? It's a giant wall of blessed metal I don't even... what? How did they even get past the garrison? Is there no garrison? Is there a necromancer railroad helping these guys???
Anyway. I have to agree. That does sound pretty adorable. Pretty much exactly how you'd expect two scheming, backstabbing dhar addled lunatics to treat one another. Though I've always been a sucker for those kinds of relationships. Though of course they have them separate right away so we won't get more for awhile... which seems a little silly. Since I doubt either of them would want to be out of each others sight. Especially since there'd be nothing stopping Arkhan running back through the wall to mess shit up. Also while they're both strong as fuck, things are so dangerous right now going alone is a real risk for them.
I should clarify that it's while it's consistently described as a wall of faith, there is one line earlier on that says it's an "invisible wall" and that apparently there are religous relics floating on the air itself to create that wall. Don't ask me how it works because they literally never explain it. The narrative skips over all the details to say that it's a wall, it's invisible (but that's only mentioned like once) and that some unspecified relics are fueling it. I imagine that there might be a garrison, but obviously it would be undermanned. Sylvania is pretty big and the wall would have to be equally big to keep it contained. The Empire is also pretty stretched at the moment.
I should also mention that I said that Arkhan and Mannfred left Sylvania at the head of an army each, although I believe it's a small one because they slipped by unnoticed and their goal is to only reveal themselves to the Empire at Heldenhame. That is why Arkhan takes such a circitous route to La Maisontaal instead of going through the Empire.
From how I understood the snippets, it's a magical wall, not a physical wall. And the border region around Sylvania probably too long to garrison effectively? Especially against two pretty powerful sorcerors
I should clarify that it's while it's consistently described as a wall of faith, there is one line earlier on that says it's an "invisible wall" and that apparently there are religous relics floating on the air itself to create that wall. Don't ask me how it works because they literally never explain it. The narrative skips over all the details to say that it's a wall, it's invisible (but that's only mentioned like once) and that some unspecified relics are fueling it. I imagine that there might be a garrison, but obviously it would be undermanned. Sylvania is pretty big and the wall would have to be equally big to keep it contained. The Empire is also pretty stretched at the moment.
I should also mention that I said that Arkhan and Mannfred left Sylvania at the head of an army each, although I believe it's a small one because they slipped by unnoticed and their goal is to only reveal themselves to the Empire at Heldenhame. That is why Arkhan takes such a circitous route to La Maisontaal instead of going through the Empire.
It being a barrier of pure divine energy only makes the one way thing more confusing honestly. There's even less reason to be one way! Though I suppose it at least explains why it stops flying creatures. I wonder if it's more like a dome? Probably best not to speculate since well. No explanation. Damn. Maybe they aren't explaining to preserve the mystery of how exactly the Holy Wall 2: Electric Boogaloo Gelt is working on will go wrong?
Also ah. My bad on the alone thing. Not the best way to describe them splitting up.
The next part is quite interesting, because it provides a lot of insights into Arkhan's character. End Times isn't good by any stretch of the imagination, but there is some actual substance when they decide to focus on characters and develop them as individuals. Wish they did that more often.
A part that I'm not sure that I like is the way that they so nonchalantly drop lore bombs in such an offhand manner as if we're expected to know what they're talking about. I've read enough books that I can connect the dots and tell that what they're doing is confirming theories and implications that have been part of their books or the community for a while now, but for someone out of the loop it can seem overwhelming and confusing. An example is them just casually dropping the fact that Arkhan the Black was the one who corrupted Duke Maldred of Mousillon, the guy who started the Affair of the False Grail, and that Mallobaude is "his adopted son". Since Maldred died in the 2300s IC, I assume the phrasing here is super awkward and they mean to say that Mallobaude was Arkhan's adopted son, because I'm pretty sure Louen Leouncour isn't a time traveller who went back in time to have an illegitimate son that would be raised by Maldred.
I probably won't make a post for this today, but I finished the La Maisontaal Abbey section, and I've come to the conclusion that I like Arkhan the Black as a character. He's surprisingly fun.
Okay so the first and unavoidable problem with End Times is Archaon sucks. Even before he got beaten up by Grimgor, which to be fair isn't the most de-badassifying thing they could do, he still suffers from the fact that his backstory is undercooked, Chaos Undivided mitigates a lot of the interesting stuff about Chaos, Belakor is a more interesting representative of Chaos Undivided, as an extension of that, WFB is full of villains with way more charisma and interest than Archaon (even Darth Momma's Boy), and to cap it all, Archaon constantly gets GW's favouritism at the expense of making the setting more interesting.
Okay so the first and unavoidable problem with End Times is Archaon sucks. Even before he got beaten up by Grimgor, which to be fair isn't the most de-badassifying thing they could do, he still suffers from the fact that his backstory is undercooked, Chaos Undivided mitigates a lot of the interesting stuff about Chaos, Belakor is a more interesting representative of Chaos Undivided, as an extension of that, WFB is full of villains with way more charisma and interest than Archaon (even Darth Momma's Boy), and to cap it all, Archaon constantly gets GW's favouritism at the expense of making the setting more interesting.
Don't worry, my feelings on Archaon are similar. I'm willing to give Archaon a chance and see if the books do anything interesting with him, but I'm also equally willing to rip him to shreds and I expect to do so when the time comes. I'm very well aware of the degree to which the narrative twists itself to have him come out on top.
Honestly the funniest thing about Archaon is that his original lore spent a great deal of time and effort establishing that he had once been a Templar of Sigmar, that he had discovered some kind of lore in a Sigmarite abbey that shattered his faith, and that he feels personally betrayed by the gods. So the implication is that he found something that undermined the story that the Gods tell their worshippers and so committed himself to Chaos out of a desire for vengeance against the whole world. Fairly stock, but serviceable.
And then later on they reveal that the big dark secret Archaon discovered in the abbey's records was that... he had Norscan blood.
That's it. That's the reason he flipped.
He was part Norse and so immediately assumed he was already damned by Chaos and the gods were lying to him about any possibility of salvation or grace, so he went to go become the Everchosen.
Honestly the funniest thing about Archaon is that his original lore spent a great deal of time and effort establishing that he had once been a Templar of Sigmar, that he had discovered some kind of lore in a Sigmarite abbey that shattered his faith, and that he feels personally betrayed by the gods. So the implication is that he found something that undermined the story that the Gods tell their worshippers and so committed himself to Chaos out of a desire for vengeance against the whole world. Fairly stock, but serviceable.
And then later on they reveal that the big dark secret Archaon discovered in the abbey's records was that... he had Norscan blood.
That's it. That's the reason he flipped.
He was part Norse and so immediately assumed he was already damned by Chaos and the gods were lying to him about any possibility of salvation or grace, so he went to go become the Everchosen.
Honestly the funniest thing about Archaon is that his original lore spent a great deal of time and effort establishing that he had once been a Templar of Sigmar, that he had discovered some kind of lore in a Sigmarite abbey that shattered his faith, and that he feels personally betrayed by the gods. So the implication is that he found something that undermined the story that the Gods tell their worshippers and so committed himself to Chaos out of a desire for vengeance against the whole world. Fairly stock, but serviceable.
And then later on they reveal that the big dark secret Archaon discovered in the abbey's records was that... he had Norscan blood.
That's it. That's the reason he flipped.
He was part Norse and so immediately assumed he was already damned by Chaos and the gods were lying to him about any possibility of salvation or grace, so he went to go become the Everchosen.
Archaon is what happens when you try to speedrun the creation of FB Abaddon the Despoiler except with even less dignity because 13th Black Crusade catapult edition was a total clusterfuck.
Really that's kind of how ET goes as a whole, all the random whatever of the Horus Heresy book series thrown at the wall, but cooked up in the course of a weekend and no history of gravitas to cloak itself in (because the setting history is what's being upended everywhere).
Really, the best way I think that the Everchosen could have been handled in the context of the tabletop game was to leave it up to the players. Let them create their own Everchosen for whatever game or campaign they are running. Something like the demon prince for Total War Warhammer 3. I give it even odds that half of whatever the player base could think up would be more interesting then what was hoisted onto them.
Yeah reading the 1d4chan article the truth is a bit more complicated although still stupid
Basically Dieterick (young Archaon) escorted some Sisters of Sigmar who were transporting a book of chaotic prophecies when he began to be hunted by both the Templars of Sigmar and the Swords of Chaos. After some adventures he managed to discover both groups hunted him because they identified him as the Lord of the End Times. He interrogated the Grand Theogonists arguing that the whole thing was stupid as there was no way he was the only half-Norscan knight around.
The Grand Theogonist answered they hunted everyone with his profile but that the prophecy told Archaon would be the guy to come and ask the question.
The backstory also includes Archaon praying for salvation to Sigmar and receiving no divine call to not be incredibly evil because I suppose all the gods were busy or something.
Nagash Chapter 1: The Twelth Battle of La Maisontaal Abbey
The chapter now transitions into Arkhan's point of view as he prepares to assault La Maisontaal. Obviously, he can't just charge in, so he starts building up his forces. The first thing he does is head to the Vaults in the southwest of the Empire to meet up with Heinrich Kemmler and Krell, both of whom were in his service during the Mallobaude debacle. There, Arkhan internally assesses the two of them. The narrative states that Krell is as loyal as Arkhan and desires to see Nagash restored just as much as the Liche himself, and you will notice throughout the chapter that Krell has far more agency and personality than you would expect of a Wight, almost as if he is a person in his own right. This is further reinforced later in Heinrich's profile where it's said that while it might seem as if Heinrich is the master, others say that Krell struck them as the master and Heinrich his slave.
Heinrich Kemmler, as opposed to Krell, is not nearly as enthused about Nagash's revival, and Arkhan is well aware of that. Arkhan knows full well that Heinrich is sick of listening to him and likely plotting a betrayal, but because Arkhan is who he is he's already taken that into account. The two Necromancers proceed to travel the Vaults to acquire as many Wights as they can from sealed tombs hidden within the mountain chain, then they head to southern Bretonnia, recently ravaged by plague, famine and war, to acquire the many corpses there for their own designs. Many Ghouls, zombies and skeletons joined the two of them on their way north to La Maisontaal as they slaughtered their way through any resistance that could be mustered from the war torn Dukedoms. Here, we get a brief look at Arkhan's mind:
"Arkhan's march north was not a thing of subtlety, but tore straight through the already ravaged hearts of Carcassonne and Brionne. These once great provinces had been reduced to desolation by rebellion and plague. For every village that yet struggled to scratch a living from the soil, another two or three were corpse-choked charnels. Castles stood empty on hillsides and in vales, manors were fire-blackened ruins. Arkhan marched through them all, the unburied dead stirring to life in his wake. The liche had never truly believed that Mallobaude had possessed the will to seize his father's crown, but had given the traitor every support nonetheless. In this he had been driven partly by a malicious desire to see exactly how Mallobaude would fail, but chiefly because he knew that Bretonnia would be greatly weakened, no matter the victor. Now Arkhan looked upon the grim results of his manipulations, but felt no satisfaction. Events had simply unfolded as he had foreseen." Page 72
The greatest pocket of resistance came as Arkhan breached the border of Brionne and met the forces of Quenelles, led by Duke Tancred II. There, a fierce battle was fought, ending in Arkhan's victory. Some of Tancred's companions survived, including the hastily crowned new Duke of Quenelles, Tancred's cousin Jerrod. Jerrod mustered his forces after the defeat to warn those in La Maisontaal, having discovered Arkhan's target through the magic of a Prophetess (as a side note, the Lady's influence is apparently greatly weakened and it took a powerful prophetess three days of fasting and being on the verge of death to discover Arkhan's destination because of course the Gods are weak now), and Arkhan proceeded along the path to his target.
La Maisontaal Abbey is actually decently garrisoned, for it held many artifacts both fair and foul across the ages. The first Duke Tancred had authorised the building of a strong garrison and walls to protect the building a few decades ago, likely after Heinrich Kemmler's first attack against the Abbey. Unfortunately, after Tancred I's death at Montfort Bridge, corruption and apathy led to a cessation of the efforts to build the walls and what was there was stripped by peasants. Thankfully, there still existed a garrison within the Abbey, led by none other than the Duke Theoderic of Brionne, who had taken to this duty as a means of redemption for a series of unchivalric deeds regarding drunkenness and lechery. Under his watchfulness, the garrison blossomed, consisting of dozens of men at arms reinforced by regiments of knights acquired from all over the nation of Bretonnia.
To further reinforce the grimdark nature of the book, there is also this passage:
"Thus protected, La Maisontaal had ridden out the tide of slaughter that had engulfed the lands south of the River Grismerie. The irony was, of course, that in its earliest days, the campaign against Mallobaude had swung back and forth on the slenderest of numbers, and had Theodoric led his garrison to join the king's army, the traitor's threat could have been ended all the sooner. Quenelles and Carcassonne would not have fallen, and Brionne and Aquitaine would not lie in ruins. As it was, Theodoric had sought absolution so desperately that it had blinded him to all else; he had remained as La Maisontaal's guardian even whilst his ancestral lands had burned" Page 73
Now, Arkhan was on his way to La Maisontaal. Duke Jerrod is mustering his forces to support the Abbey's garrison and has already warned them in advance. Duke Theoderic knows of Arkhan's advance and is preparing his forces, seeing this as an opportunity to prove himself to the Lady. Heinrich is chafing at the seams and plotting something. Krell is excited for slaughter. Arkhan is determined. Anark von Carstein and the Drakenhof Templars are determined to keep Arkhan alive until the staff is acquired, and who knows what they might do afterwards.
The Twelfth Battle of La Maisontaal is soon to begin.
The Muster of La Maisontaal:
Duke Theoderic of Brionne: Former drunkard and lech, he crawled out of the bottle to prove himself in acts of bravery with his axe and overwhelming strength. Whether he is remembered for his drunkenness or for his valour remains to be seen.
Duke Jerrod of Quenelles: The hastily crowned Duke of Quenelles, he has lost much within the last few weeks, and is determined to avenge his fallen cousin. Recklessness is not always a bad thing, as proven by those Knights Errant who survived, but there are many who have not…
Aldrad's Lance: The aging Duke of Lyonesse, Duke Adelhard, gave away his son to his old friend Theoderic in La Maisontaal hoping that Theoderic could instill discipline in his drunkard of a son to prepare him for rulership. Unfortunately, Aldrad simply found others who shared his habits and formed a band of drunkards. Theoderic's lessons simply vanished with the insobriety.
The Three Sisters of Ancelioux: A rare honor and tragedy for three sisters to become Damsels. Their parents, Evroul of Mousillon and an unnamed mother, certainly didn't view it as an honor. Jeneva was taken a week before her tenth birthday. Alisse was taken at five years old. The mother left the castle with their youngest daughter Gueritte while she was only two years old, and two days later the mother was found dead, slain by some wild beast, while Gueritte was nowhere to be seen. Evroul had not seen his daughters until they came to kill him for joining Mallobaude's rebellion, as they were sent by the Lady to do so. No wonder so many joined Mallobaude's rebellion.
Companions of Quenelles-Gioffre's Lance: The Companions of Quenelles would have been a legend in any other time, for their deeds were indeed worthy of song and tale. Alas, few minstrels were left alive to tell their tales in these dark times. Gioffre of Anglaron slayed the dragon Scaramor. This is his Lance.
Companions of Quenelles-Fastric's Skylance: Fastric Ghoulslayer is a pegasus knight of Bordelaux, but he fought alongside both Tancred and Jerrod and his valour attracted pegasus knights from across the realms.
Ennar's Outlaws: A regiment of archers that served under Baldemar of Bastonne and were inspired by stories of Bertrand's Brigands to live a carefree life in the Forest of Chalons. Deserting their station, they met a warherd of Beastmen and almost died, so they came back to their lord and begged for his forgiveness. He accepted their please for he was in a forgiving mood, but he forever marked them with their new name to indicate that he did not forget their attempted desertion.
The Rapscallards: This Peasant regiment was named during one of Duke Theoderic's drunken periods before he had become the Castellan of La Maisontaal and kicked the habit. He could not decide between "Rapscallions" or "Cowards" so he mixed the two. They hate him, but they know that they probably don't have a better place to go to.
The Black Host:
Arkhan the Black: You know who he is, you know what he wants. This profile mentions that he corrupted Maldred and Mallobaude and that the chaos he caused in Bretonnia exceeded even his own expectations. Another neat tidbit on Arkhan as a character: "Were it not for Nagash's urgent need, the liche would have gladly conquered Bretonnia for himself, but for Arkhan, old loyalties far outweighed personal vanity."
Kemmler and Krell: Necromancer and Wight. Master and Servant. None can say for certain which is which.
Anark von Carstein: Most ambitious of Mannfred's get, his task is to ensure Arkhan's survival until Alakanash is acquired. Beyond that, it depends on if the Liche remains useful to the Carsteins.
The Drakenhof Templars: The Templars were an actual human order at some point, but they are long gone now. There were many subsequent forces of Drakenhof Templars, the result of Vlad and then Mannfred aping human customs to create their own dread variations as a mockery. The current variation consists of mounted armored vampire thrall knights consisting of those who Mannfred did not consider worthy of the Von Carstein name.
The Hungry: Many individuals resorted to cannibalism within southern Bretonnia, and they turned to Ghouls. Due to their nature, they were attracted to the necromantic energies of Arkhan's host, following them for more scraps.
The Silent Legion: The first appearance of the Morghasts, first crafted three thousand years ago, was in La Maisontaal Abbey. A new strain of undead, only possible during these times of increased magic.
The Wights of Stonewrath Tarn: Arkhan seeded many Wight Legions across the lands, hidden under enchantments to prevent them from being coopted by other necromancers. The Wights of Stonewrath Tarn are only one of these legions.
The Arisen: Your stock variety undead, but the section provides interesting insights into Arkhan: "The vast majority of Arkhan's army was composed not of his indentured Nehekharan legions, but the graveborn victims of plague and civil war. This was not entirely to the liche's liking, for he felt it sullied the ancient art of war to go into battle with what were essentially the undead equivalents of mercenary hirelings. In the end, Arkhan reconciled himself, partly through the recollection that the Bretonnians were northern savages, and therefore unworthy of honourable battle, but mostly because the dead lay so plentiful throughout Quenelles that it would have been foolish to waste them." Page 79
The Battle:
The passage starts with a recounting of Arkhan's military knowledge, which is vast. He has studied a wide array of military tactics across the ages, but he always discarded them and resorted to the good old tried and true Nehekharan method of war. Unleashing overwhelming force at the enemy's strongest force. So he assembled his forces into a battering ram of bone and rotting flesh, led by Krell and the Wight Legions to break through enemy formations.
Theoderic of Brionne was also a creature of tradition, and he wanted to use the tried and true method of Bretonnia warfare. Peasants to hold the line, and knights to deal the decisive counter attack. He knew that it would result in a lot of peasant casualties, but the peasants were plentiful and they knew their duty. They knew not to refuse in fear of what would happen to them.
The occurs at night, but the undead have witchfire burning in their eyes so there is some visibility aside from the occasional torch. The land is so choked with the dead that the archer legions of the Bretonnians would find it difficult to miss, and they did not. Right from the outset the Bretonnians let loose with flaming arrows and burning trebuchet shots, but let's ignore the ahistorical nature of flaming arrows because that's just a fantasy thing. It kills a bunch of undead, Arkhan instructs the undead to raise their shields, the shield catch fire and they have to discard them so that the fire doesn't spread across the flammable aspects of the army, some arrows severe the tendons of magic holding the undead together etc.
Of course, none of it matters because Heinrich Kemmler and Arkhan are there, so all the casualties are brought back to unlife by the time the column of undead strike at the line of peasants. The charge lead by Krell's eager bulk and his Wights, the Bretonnia line buckled but did not break, for the peasants knew how confident Theoderic was on the eve of battle, so they knew he had a plan.
A horn was sounded, and Knights charged from both flanks to attack the column of undead. One of the flanks was headed by Theoderic, and his axe, anointed in the holy font of La Maisontaal, shone with blessed light as it cut through the undead like they were so much chaff on the wheat.
Meanwhile, Heinrich Kemmler had acknowledged the knightly counterattack, but was distracted by his magic growing weaker thanks to magical interference. Using his witchsight, he found the source, the Three Sisters of Ancelioux, cloaking themselves in magic to hide themselves from mundane sight while using the magic of Life to disrupt his magic of Death. Irritated by these upstarts, Heinrich utters an incantation that bludgeons its way through their clumsy counterspells, and he summons black lightning from the sky to instantly turn the Damsels and their knightly escort into bones and ash.
Duke Theoderic did not see the Damsel's death, but he saw the reinvigoration of the undead he was facing, and knew the battle could not go on like this. The sun was starting to rise, and Theoderic found his quarry. A robed figure atop an unholy bone construct raising his arm to direct the undead troops. Bretonnian Knights were supposed to be honorable, but for such a liche intent on desecrating the Lady's holy ground, no honor needs assuaging. He did not utter a challenge, but simply charged past the lines of undead protecting the liche and released a powerful swing with his enchanted axe. Arkhan did not see it coming, for he was too busy focusing on directing the Wight legions in the north, the zombie hordes in the south, and keeping what remaining of his mind focused on betrayal from Heinrich Kemmler. The axe bit into his breastplate and crunches through his ribs, so much so that if he had a heart it would have been sundered. Being a Liche, his wound was already reknitting itself, but Theoderic would not have provided the opportunity, for he was gearing up for a finishing blow that would have certainly killed Arkhan.
Thankfully for the Liche, the Von Carsteins still had use for him, so Anark jumped into the fray to parry Theoderic's blow and strike the Duke's head from his shoulders. Arkhan got up from the ground to find to his distaste that he was in the Von Carstein's debt. Looking around the field, Arkhan saw no sight of Heinrich Kemmler, and knew he had been betrayed. The Bretonnia army broke with Theoderic's death, and the Wights under Krell's command were mercilessly slaughtering all they could get their hands on. With all of this under control, Arkhan descends into the Abbey.
Arkhan saw what he had expected. The Knights guarding the vaults and chambers laid dead, charred to smoking corpses. The wards were destroyed. He arrived in the vault to find Kemmler wielding Alakanash. I'll let the narrative play out:
'Kemmler!'
The aged necromancer turned as Arkhan's challenge echoed through the darkened vault. Kemmler had abandoned his Skull Staff, the liche saw, and his withered hands were now grasped tight around Alakanash. Kemmler's betrayal had always been a possibility, Arkhan allowed, though he would never have believed the necromancer to have the courage to act so openly.
'You and your masters are desiccated relics of a dead age,' Kemmler sneered. 'A new dawn beckons, one that belongs to the Chaos Gods, and to their loyal servants.'
'You forsake Nagash's patronage for that of fluxsome deities?' Arkhan asked drily. 'No lasting power flows from their thrones. The gods will use you, as they have used all others. When your antics bore them, they will destroy you.'
Kemmler gave a shrill laugh. 'And what greater prospect do I have in Nagash's service, a future of mindless servitude in an unchanging world?' Kemmler demanded angrily. 'The "Great Necromancer" is a selfish child. Though assured of his power, he remains forever terrified that another will take it from him. He will not be satisfied until his is the only will in existence, for only then can he be safe.'
Arkhan took a step forward, the sound of the footfall echoing through the vault. Kemmler marked the advance, but made no move to challenge it. Arkhan took another step, and the necromancer's angry expression grew sly.
'Perhaps you should join me,' Kemmler suggested. 'The power of Chaos is rising, and surely even you tire of millennia of thankless servitude.'
'Thank you, but no,' Arkhan stated. 'This desiccated relic chose his allegiance long ago, and will not renege now. In any event,' the liche went on, his flat tones becoming grating, 'do you truly believe that I would abandon my master to serve alongside the likes of you?'
Kemmler's eyes flashed. 'It might suit you to be an extension of Nagash's will, but some of us yearn for more. Not that I would expect better from an empty husk such as yourself.'
Arkhan took another step forward. 'How many battles have you lost in your unremarkable existence?' the liche challenged. 'How many defeats have you known at La Maisontaal alone? You have always been a pawn, Kemmler. It matters not the side upon which you fight.'
Kemmler let out a screech of rage, and purple flame burst forth from his outstretched hand. The fires swept across the floor towards Arkhan, but the liche had expected such an attack from the moment he had entered the vault. Arkhan brought the heel of his staff down hard on the tiles, and the flames flickered and died.
Taking another step forward, Arkhan began a silent incantation of his own. In the corner of the vault, discarded when Kemmler had taken up Alakanash, the Skull Staff detected the build up of magic and chattered nonsensically to itself, the gibberish growing louder with every syllable.
Kemmler intoned the words of an ancient curse, but the liche swept the clumsy strands aside before they could fully form. Inconvenient as the necromancer's betrayal was, there was some satisfaction to the moment, Arkhan decided, as the final element of his incantation slid into place.
'You call yourself the Lichemaster, do you not?' Arkhan asked. 'To leave this chamber, you must prove that hollow boast.'
Meanwhile, outside the Abbey, Krell is continuing his carnage after Theoderic's death. Jerrod and his Knights finally arrive to the scene of battle, and their charge is accompanied by the remnants of the Bretonnia force rallying. Krell detects the surge in inspiration and is outraged, preparing for slaughter, when La Maisontaal Abbey literally explodes, chunks of masonry flying out to crush and smash through horses, undead, peasants and knights alike.
The majority of the fighting force that exists within the place was utterly obliterated, because that's what happens when two master Necromancers get serious in a confined space I guess. The description:
"As battle had raged without, a contest of sorcery had been fought within. Heinrich Kemmler and Arkhan the Black were well matched in both power and knowledge, and their efforts had grown ever more desperate as they sought to break their foe's defences.
At last, the magic had spiralled out of control, feeding on itself and its surroundings like a thing alive. The windows went first. Great expanses of stained glass, many of them dating back to the days of King Guillaume, fragmented under irresistible pressure from within. Razor-sharp shards scythed across the fields, shredding living and unliving warriors alike. Green fire came soon after, gouting through the gaps in the stonework, incinerating those who survived the storm of shards. An eyeblink later, the walls shattered and burst outward. Long had those stones stood. They did not yield easily, but yield they did. A tornado of wild magic whipped about the ruins, scooping up the shattered walls and flinging them across the battlefield. Stone slabs the size of lesser buildings ploughed through columns of knights, broken statues plunged from the skies like meteors and rubble fell like rain." Page 87
Duke Jerrod survived, but most of his companions did not. When he had arisen from the rubble, he found Gioffre of Anglaron, that dragonslayer that was mentioned, attempting to attack Krell and end up instantly headless. Deciding that the better part of valour is to live another day, and seeing no choice, Jerrod orders a retreat in a voice full of shame and guilt and leaves.
Arkhan rises from the rubble of La Maisontaal, chuckling as he brushes the ashes off his robes. It was a close call, but Heinrich overextended himself. He had won, gotten rid of a nuisance, defeated the Bretonnians, and acquired Alakanash. Nagash would rise.
In conclusion, I actually liked the looks we got at Arkhan and the scene between Kemmler and Arkhan was quite dramatic and excellent from my point of view. Obviously, the underlying tones here aren't exactly the best, especially if you're the type of person who likes noble Bretonnia over grimdark Bretonnia. I'm also not an expert in tactical warfare or anything, but I imagine that the tactics used here aren't all that great. I'm still not entirely sure on why the Nehekharan tactic is to attack the enemy with overwhelming force at their strongest point. That strategy seems counter-intuitive.
Fun Fact: Heinrich Kemmler is the very first character that was ever made and released in the Warhammer setting back in 1986 for the Battle of La Maisontaal Abbey, which is also where the Skaven were first introduced. Warhammer was a very different game before then, and characters weren't really a thing, so Heinrich kind of broke new ground there. Symbolically, he's also the first character to die on screen in End Times.
I'm still not entirely sure on why the Nehekharan tactic is to attack the enemy with overwhelming force at their strongest point. That strategy seems counter-intuitive.
I mean, the Nehekarans at their height had superpowered elite-soldiers that could match any high fantasy faction.
Taking on the enemy's strongest with your blessed, bronze-skinned and inhumanly strong troops, supported by even stronger stone statues, will propably make most of their foes crumble quickly.
The Nehekarans had few peer powers in their vicinity and that might show in their tactics.
Exceptions being the Lizardmen of the southlands, but those didn't fight on open ground if they could kill from the jungles anyway, so that was hardly a reason to alter their battlefield tactics.
Edit: Which doesn't make it a good tactic in all situations of course, but then again, Arkhan is a relic of ancient times and propably has something of a superiority-complex about his home-culture.
I mean, the Nehekarans at their height had superpowered elite-soldiers that could match any high fantasy faction.
Taking on the enemy's strongest with your blessed, bronze-skinned and inhumanly strong troops, supported by even stronger stone statues, will propably make most of their foes crumble quickly.
The Nehekarans had few peer powers in their vicinity and that might show in their tactics.
Exceptions being the Lizardmen of the southlands, but those didn't fight on open ground if they could kill from the jungles anyway, so that was hardly a reason to alter their battlefield tactics.
The overwhelming majority of Nehekhara's soldiers are relatively mundane soldiers, with only very few being that blessed, but I suppose you can create a lance of powerful soldiers at the vanguard and several regiments of foot soldiers to support them. My point of view is skewed towards Nehekharans in death though. There isn't much material about living Nehekhara's military that I consumed. That's in the purview of novels, which are notoriously inconsistent.
Bronze Age Warlords aren't exactly the greatest of tacticians. The only real Bronze Age battle we have details about involves Ramses II the Great walking into an ambush by Muwatalli II then managing to get out. Obviously, Ramses got his title in his subsequent campaigns. Arkhan comes as the sort of person who thinks "It'll probably be better if I went about it this way, but this is faster and who cares about Undead lives.".
