The Path of the Witch Lord

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Sezax
Black Guard
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The Path of the Witch Lord

Post by Sezax »

This is a backstory for my army. Please tell me about all kinds of mistakes and boring parts you finds. Thanks.

The Path of the Witch Lord

There are many vile tales about druchii, but few are as disturbing as the story of Andurial, the Witch Lord of Cynath Arhain. Story about priest so fanatic, that he gained trust of the Witch King Malekith himself, Elf so old, that he remembers the Golden Age before Sundering, warlock so powerful and cunning, that Daemons call him the Oathbreaker.

Andurial was born many centuries ago in one of the most powerful families in Saphery, the Land of Wizardry. While the rest of his family owed their loyalty to Archmage Thyriol and thus to Phoenix King Bel Shanaar, he was a fierce supporter of Queen Morathi and her son.

Andurial and his family travelled the world and in colonies they saw the forgotten enemies of the Elvenkind. While his family saw the perils of Ulthuan as another reason to be united under the ruleship of Bel Shanaar, Andurial believed that only wisdom of Morathi and might of Malekith could preserve the heritage of the First Speakers in a long run.

Cursing his family as fools, he started plotting with other Sapherian Magocrats loyal to Nagaryethe. Their leader was sorceress Illeanith, daughter of Thyriol himself. Soon he also became one of the most powerful priests of cytharai in Saphery.

For his sorcery, devotion, cunning, wealth and perversion he was respected by most Cults of Excess. Of these cults it was the Cult of Pleasure which he favouried most just as he utterly hated the demented cultists of Khaine.

Ancient legends say that Andurial was visitted by three mighty priestesses, who in their vain and pride wanted to know, which one of them was the most beautiful. Only thus could they solve their fight over the Golden Crown of Slaanesh, which was stolen from Daemons long ago.

Hag Priestess of Ereth Khial promised him eternal youth if he gave her the crown,while the witch of Hekarti offered him the Warp Staff. Andurial rightfuly gave the crown to the concubine of Atharti, who blessed him with the Viper Voice.

Andurial then used his new magical voice to bewitch and seduce the other two priestesses and gain their blessings and gifts. From that day he would be seen as being an annointed of Ereth Khial, Atharti and Hekarti.

Eventually he was summoned by Queen Morathi to travel with her to Athel Toralien in Ethil Arvan, where he would found new cults just as he did in Saphery.

That proved to be an easy task and within few months, Athel Tolarien was utterly devoted to cytharai. Eventually Andurial had to flee east due to the rise of Hellebron and Lilith, princesses of Athel Tolarien as well as priestesses of Khaine.

With furious disciples of Khaine behind him, desperate warlock chose to run into Athel Loren, the legendary haunted forest of east. Khainaties did not dare to pursue him and assumed that forest spirits would finish him for them.

Andurial wandered lost across the virgin forest for years before spirits approached him at last. In shock he recognized them as dryads, the Faeries from ancient Avelorn. In elven form they greeted him and escorted him to an old tree in the middle of the eternal woods.

Before the Oak of Ages sat Prophetess Naieth. She was an incredibly ancient priestess of Isha, who was blessed with eternal youth, wisdom and magical power. Andurial joined her and fascinated by her age and knowledge, he agreed to participate in a riddle game.

For six years they tested each other. For another six years they talked about history, religion and future of the Elvenkind. Then they made a pact. Andurial would tell her about all known weaknesses of Chaos and she would teach him the magical covenant she has made with Athel Loren. He would show her how to warp space while she tutored him in Tree Singing.

The last part of their deal was lying together under the Oak of Ages. After one year Naieth born twins as it was foretold. The sorcerer took the baby girl and named her Adigha, while Naieth claimed male infant called Ranu.

Both happy with their end of the bargain, the warlock and the enchantress said goodbye to each other and Andurial left the Athel Loren with little Adigha in his arms only to find out, that only one year has meanwhile passed outside of mystical forest.

Andurial returned to Saphery at the brink of open civil war. He sent his daughter to the priestesses of Morai Heg in Nagaryethe and joined other witches and warlocks loyal to Morathi.

He was wounded during one of his many battles againts the followers of Bel Shanaar and his wretched rival Hellebron claimed him as a sacrifice to her demented deity. It was the intervention of Malekith himself what saved him and rumours claim he became advisor and lover of the Prince for few decades.

Around this time doubts about Andurials sanity started to spread among the druchii. While all druchii owed their loyalty to Malekith, Andurial became an insane follower even by their wicked standards. He was utterly obsessed with his Prince and his only wish was to become his most treasured and favourite servant. He was furiously jealous of all his rivals and his desire for Malekith brought him to the very edge of madness. Morathi was very pleased with his fanatical devotion and often tasked him with the most secret missions.

When Malekith was burned by the Flame of Asuryan, Andurial became so furious that he released an army of Daemons of Slaanesh upon his enemies in Saphery. When he and other warlocks from Saphery lost and fled to Nagaryethe, he readily agreed to unleash the fury of Chaos upon Ulthuan.

After the exile of druchii to Naggaroth, Adigha became an apprentice of Morathi herself. While his daughter helped the Queen Mother with founding the Convent of Sorceresses, he returned to Ulthuan to spread new secret cults of cytharai among the victorious Asur.

In Naggaroth he was knows as one of the Witch Lords. Witch Lords were great warlocks of Naggarothian and Sapherian origin. They were also known as Black Settlers for they ruled all Black Arks and founded many villages and citadels in the New World. Andurial was blindly jealous of all other Witch Lords and plotted to destroy them for his own sake.

He convinced Morathi it was only a matter of time before one of the Witch Lords tried to replace her son as the Witch King. Thus Malekith ordered the Witch Lords to mark themselves with the Seal of Dominion, which would bound them to his will for eternity.

Andurial and Furion of Clar Karond were the only Witch Lords willing to undergo such ritual, while the rest of the Witch Lords were outlawed together with the Slaaneshi Cult of Pleasure.

The Witch Lords were slaughtered in their sleep, but Andurial was still not satisfied. His jealousy of Furion and Hellebron was eating him alive and Malekith realised it was only a matter of time before his favourite tool is torn apart by the Temple of Khaine.

The Witch King knew that he could never fully trust his treacherous Naggarothi servants and thus valued his sealed fanatical warlock greatly. He sent him away from Naggaroth to coasts surrounding Viper Mountains in the far south, where many Asur colonies were founded by Bel Shaanar long ago.

Andurial was to infiltrate Asur and sabotage their construction of countless ships, which Malekith believed were supposed to pursue druchii into the Land of Chill. Andurial took his daughter and all Sapherian children of the slain Witch Lords. These children he would train in deceit and call them the Nightbornes. Together they travelled south to found new cults in the southern ports of Asur.

Soon it was clear Malekith was wrong. The ships were not meant for invasion, but for evacuation. Recently massive rain of warpstone was casted by the gods upon the Viper Mountains. The Forests of Viper were teaming with manticores, black dragons, hydras and dark pegasi. The cities of Asur on the coasts were no longer safe.

In thirst for vengeance upon Asur, Andurial and his daughter have spread cults of cytharai across all shipyards and burned the ships. The Witch Lord and his cultists fled to the cursed Forests of Viper. They ran and ran until they arrived to the Cursed Lake in the middle of the Viper Mountains. Into this lake a huge piece of warpstone had fallen and thus infected all local water and life with chaotit.

It was here where overgrown ancient ruins of the lizardmen were found. Though long abandoned by the servants of the Old Ones, many powerful artefacts and secrets were still to be found in the pre-historical temple. Adigha has turned this sanctuary into the Temple of Morai Heg and her father promised to build a druchii city around it for the glory of Malekith.

The city was named Cynath Arhain, the Chilling Night. Part of it was around the ruined Lustrian temple, the other half was underground. Above the city flew the Palace of Delights. Since he lacked the great crystal heart his ancestors used when creating legendary capital Saphethion, Andurial has crafted his flying palace by using the warpstone core taken from the bottom of the Cursed Lake.

Andurial has made a sorcerous pact for his people with the Spirits of Viper Mountains just as the Asrai did with Athel Loren. The cursed forests, caverns and lakes accepted the wicked druchii as their own part and the thus the Elves of Cynath Arhain became ultimate masters of the Viper Mountains.

Among these Elves the Nightbornes were considered nobility. With so much magic in their blood they sired many gifted daughters for the Tower of Hekarti, where Adigha trained all her sorceresses in the Dark Arts. Nightbornes were allowed to live in the floating twisted Palace of Delights and later ride the cold ones brought from Naggaroth. Only greatest nobles among Nightbornes could afford expensive Elven slaves from Arnheim and Tiranoc.

While Andurial became known as the Witch Lord of Viper Mountains and political ruler of these druchii, his daughter Adigha was the High Priestess of Cynath Arhain. All priesthoods respected her as a holy child of cytharai and from Morathi she knew well how to keep their utter devotion.

Many stubborn Asur refused to abandon their cities on coasts around his realm and so Andurial came up with a wicked plan. There was only one access to his realm by land and that place was called the Glade of Moans. There his daughter built few altars for Slaanesh even as she prohibited such practices in Cynath Arhain itself.

There Andurial and his sorceresses made a pact with Slaanesh. Since vile Skaven were already crawling under Viper Forests in their hunger for chaotit, he would transform the deepest parts of Viper Underworld as well as all Viper Coasts into another Chaos Wastes, where Daemons on Slaanesh could freely roam and hunt all Asur and Skaven they found.

Thus Viper Mountains became an isolated realm. Few ships from the Straits of Fear or Sea of Serpents would dare to land upon beaches with haunted elven ruins and countless hungry Daemonettes of Slaanesh. Skavens fleeing from Lizardmen of Lustria ran right into the claws of the Keepers of Secrets in the Viper Underground.

Only way how to enter the mountains of the Witch Lord was through the Glade of Moans. Such intruders would have to pass moss-covered altars of Slaanesh and step into Forests of Viper, where among ancient rotting black oaks terrible monsters thrived in insane numbers.

Hydras, Dragons and all other creatures respect the local druchii due to the pact made by Andurial, but most Elves would still not dare to leave the city and visit cursed woods.

Secret magical paths were crafted all across Viper Mountains, where the Elves can safely travel, while the rest of the wilds are absurdly dangerous place. The druchii living in Forests of Viper are known as Pathstalkers. They worship Anath Raema, the Head Huntress. They are absolutely dependant on their Witch Lord, for only he knows the art of Tree Singing, which forms their wooden palaces in the crowns of cursed black oaks.

The Cynath Arhain is supplied by Pathstalkers who hunt game, slaves and monsters in the Viper Forests. Most slaves are beastmen and goblins, who are captured by them every month. Only these two kinds of mortals are able to at least survive if not thrive in these warped lands.

Various tribes of Forest Goblins live in woods infested with giant spiders, where they feed upon numerous mushrooms and constantly try to multiply more quickly than the beasts and Elves hunt them.

The rest of the Viper Forests are inhabited by Slaangors, beastmen worshiping Slaanesh. These beastmen see Adigha as living goddess and every six years they travel to Glade of Moans, where they give the strongest and most beautiful tribesmen to their elven masters.

Tribes of goblins and beastmen constantly war between themselves for space and resources. Such fights are often devised by Pathstalkers who thus keep their numbers in check.

They often hunt beastmen who start to worship one of the Three Forbidden Chaos Gods. Their common prey are also Shades from Naggaroth and Shadow Warriors of Arnheim who try to sneak to Cynath Arhain.

Eventually Naggarothi found the Underworld and the Black Path and used it to start marauding invasions all across the world. The Black Path was connected to the caverns of Cynath Arhain, but no Corsairs of Naggaroth would dare to travel into Daemon infested waters.

The Corsairs of Cynath Arhain knew how to appease Daemons of Slaanesh and thus they started their pirate raids upon Tiranoc and Arnheim. The Naggarothi Corsairs looked down upon these druchii, seeing them more as merchants than warriors, who would more often trade in Naggaroth than fight on Ulthuan.

The Hag Queen Hellebron is known to loath Andurial and to search for weaknesses of Cynath Arhain tirelessly in order to root Slaaneshi cultists out of druchii society. It is no surprise that worshipping of Khaine is strictly forbidden by Adigha in the realm of her father.

Adigha has centuries ago seduced dozen Witch Elves of Khaine into her clutches. They taught her all their secrets before she slaughtered them and thus she later found the Sisterhood of Atharti. These Witches of Slaanesh occupy the Shrine of Atharti, the greatest temple, orphanage and brothel in Cynath Arhain.

For countless centuries Witch Lord waited. He was building his city, training his forces and scrying the plans of his enemies. In despair he searched for a way how to impress his beloved master. Thus he turned his sorcerous gaze on remaining artefacts of the Old Ones.

After seeing countless Naggarothi invaders humbled, he decided to save his own forces for one huge invasion which could claim one of the Temple Cities of Lizardmen for good. His first attempt was thwarted by Slann Priests who raised mountain range called Grey Guardians before his army.

Then an army of High Elves approached the Glade of Moans. This army was lead by his wretched younger brother, Jeshephir, who came to cleanse the name of his family. For decades the armies of two brothers fought upon foothills of Grey Guardians, until the Asur were finally pushed back.

Recently Adigha manipulated human champion of Slaanesh, Vashanaar the Tormentor, to lead his mighty army into Lustria. She had given him a dragon as well as six regiments of Pathstalkers. Though the humans failed in obtaining the artefacts of the Old Ones, they managed to weaken Slann Priests greatly.

Witch Lord Andurial and his daughter Adigha sense a great storm of magic and Chaos approaching and are preparing to claim their rightful places alongside their masters, Malekith and Morathi. Pain and damnation awaits those who would stand in their way!
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