Hellloooo so. The new idoneth battletome came out and I liked it. Not as excited for it as I was for the 3e one but hey, still pretty dang great. But it actually introduced quite a few ideas and clarified some concepts that were either vague before or just, yknow, weren't a thing yet but very well could. So I wanna share some tidbits that I consider to be the most interesting developments and revelations. Let's get to it.

1. The Voice of Truth: so yknow how Namarti have been inconsistently treated in the lore? In one book they're literal slaves that the higher caste treat like dirt, in another they're just less specialised but still valued members of society, in another they volunteer for experiments to save their race, in another they have to be kidnapped. And then there's the Fuethan. Well finally we got ourselves a little pushback as late in the Age of Myth there was a Namarti uprising in the Ionrach of all enclaves. Yeah, the poster boys. Anyway her rebellion against the Akhelian (we'll get to that) order and mnemomancy was actually used after she died to erase any record of her. I like this because I like Namarti having agency but also because it's interesting to see how the Idoneth ways let those in power exert a different kind of control than just force. It's neat, and I hope we get like, a warband dedicated to her secretive memory someday. That'd be fun.

2. Akhelians in charge: so in previous battletomes, the Isharann and Akhelians both were meant to hold somewhat equal control in idoneth politics. Of course it was gonna depend on the enclave whether this was true but the governing councils were ideally an equal split between the castes because you need both to sustain society. Not so anymore in this battletome, where its said straight up that the Akhelians are at the political top in most enclaves. Yeah, if Isharann deign to exert influence they can but apparantly the default is they don't. I don't like this because it makes the Idoneth significantly less unique. But, it had to be mentioned.

3. The Mystery of the Septemmar: so we get ourselves another ancient ruler turned... Weird. So Queen Ionne Gwynnar of Briomdar was apparantly a queen during the age of myth who was such a capable politician there were rumblings she'd unite all the enclaves under her guidance. Volturnos is not mentioned to have minded this and that makes sense since he didn't immediately become the High King (which is a complicated title anyway) and this was probably before then. But she never managed because she took her seven most trusted Akhelian allies and just... Left. Yeah swimming out to the border inimicable of Hysh and disappearing. Some say she's defending against some eldritch threat, others say she and the septemmar turned into gold armoured, ruby eyed warriors that come to aid helpless phalanxes. The truth is probably a mix of the two. This reminds me a lot of the Wrathful King, a figure from 3e who I am extremely fond of and hope well get a mini of for Blades eventually, and it's fun that order gets their own little shining angel fish.

4. The Formless Ones: so I can recall whether they were called this before but the Abholons, the most hated enemies of the Idoneth beside Slaanesh and Teclis, are called the Formless Ones. They are also the first empire the Idoneth fought under the sea. And given we already know they inhabited the deepest trenches of the Realms, they're squaring up to be some truly lovecraftian stuff so that's really cool. Especially because they're called the "hated Abholons", unlike any other submarinous empire, and they're extinct unlike the Kelpdar and the Merwynn who instead migrated to higher water. Personally? I think they're giant manta rays.

5. Mallachi is... Chaos?: okay so in the 4e core rule book we were told that the souls of Skaven (or Skralaich as we now know they're called) are just as useful for Namarti as any other. But here we are informed that no, a soul pledged to chaos is apparantly one of the causes for mallachi. From here on I'll believe the battletome of course but it is kinda weird right? Since before, the soul used influencing one's personality was more a rumour than anything. But maybe this too is just biased narration and it's more that a chaos soul is a bad stigma for Namarti who get harassed for it and then turn violent? Not sure.

6. Idoneth are BORN hairless: OKAY SO THIS IS A WEIRD ONE. So in the section "The Eyeless Ones" we are told that no. Idoneth don't shave their heads for practical purposes (hair is a sensory issue underwater and could get stuck in spots). No no. Idoneth are all born hairless. Now I'm glad we get direct lore about their hair since stuff like the Learning and Queen Petra's appearance in the Sea Taketh gave idoneth ludicrously billowing hair, when no where else do they have anything but wigs at most. But that's still weird right? Like, is that Teclis' decision? Probably not since Lumineth have hair. Was this right away, a sign of their broken nature? Was this an evolution? A spell they cast on themselves? I don't know but I am curious... Also before a lumineth remarked that humans growing moustaches is seen as disgusting. So by that logic idoneth are even more beautiful to lumineth at least since they have no hair at all.

7. The Kir-Lavrai and Kir-Nadarr: so. I did not like the ikons before because I thought they took up space in the army roster that more Namarti should've filled. But. Their lore is really really really really cool. The Kir-Lavrai and Kir-Nadarr, the ways of sea and storm, are not just fighting styles. They're not just life styles. They're the foundational philosophies of Idoneth culture because the way of the sea is about hiding, letting the ocean enervate and weather away your enemies and THEN striking when opportunity arises while the way of storm is about hard, immediate, proactive action. This is reflected in the ikons too, since the way of the sea Ikon is like a warrior monk, letting the chorilleum possess and control them and fill them with ancient memory so they achieve the perfect tranquility of a calm sea. And these are kinda the "default", just a regular order of meditating monks most enclaves will have. But the ikons of storm are wrath and rage incarnate, wishing to pursue the surface and inflict Vengeance because they're usually "made" by the destruction of their chorilleum. This doesn't just add fun flavour to the religious observance of the Chorilleum, it recontextualises basically every idoneth character we've known about before and opens the way for some fun philosophy in the future. (Way of the Abyss anyone?)

8. Idoneth eyes may be black rather than white: yeah so in a few excerpts idoneth are described as having black eyes or rolling their eyes like a shark. Fun.

9. Abyssal Azyr: OKAY so I loved this. Yknow Mathaela? Yeah do turns out they divine the future via sea snow. Yeah. Meaning my theorizing about the whole "can idoneth use the rippling surface of the sea from below as a standin for heavens when using Azyr" actually kinda got addressed. But no its more that by seeing the patterns of debris falling from "heaven" idoneth Oracles can see the future and predict what's gonna happen. That. Is. So. COOL. I love less than regular expressions of magic like that and it really helps sell the sort of... Relativity of magic in aos. Where fire can be yknow, fire. But also ice so cold it burns you in a whole different way. Or where life is both natural but also just the pursuit of life itself. Where predators stalk Ghur but the land itself stalks them. Oh I love it.

10. Volturnos holds his assembrals in Gaelrachi now, not Priom. So this is intriguing. Obviously we alrrady know Gaelrachi was a sacred place but now we get a bit of a different look for Volty himself. The guy has been undergoing a character arc (well get to it) and it seems part of that is letting go of... Well attachment to "his" enclave it seems. Now he holds his assembrals in the great refuge for all idoneth, specifically so he doesn't show favour to anyone. If you're Fuethan, Dhom-Hain, whoever. Doesn't matter. You're idoneth and you matter to the High King. I think that's heat but that does leave the leadership of the Idoneth open to attacks by Tyrion when the Blind God decides to cast his gaze to other aelven civilisations (yknow when he's done attacking Ulgu for no reason).

11. Volturnos is going insane still: so last edition we saw that Volturnos had become... Reclusive. Aggressive. Even in the early stages of Mallachi (which btw, is still not just caused by chaos. Don't know if that was clear or not. But chaos seems to be able to chaos it). And that's not ended. He's supported mainly by followers of the Path of the Storm, which is seen as a path to Mallachi. His pov describes him having the gnawing need to fight for some reason. And he seems generally just exhausted. I guess millennia of life wear on a man but still, this arc is not forgotten.

12. Mathaela may have allowed Broken Realms: yknow how they protect the Ocarian (btw, Ocarian may mean spiral. Ocari Dara. Ocarian. Yknow) Lantern? How they can see the future? How they'd probably know if Morathi was looking to steal it? Yeah the book calls it out as Mathaela possibly manipulating things to force the Idoneth to go on a war path and awaken the sea.

13. King Sythus remains: so did you remember Sythus of Nemmetar? No? Me neither but he gets addressed! Because the writers of this tome are idoneth fans. I am convinced of that. Turns out he fought Morathi, lived, but he's still bearing the "poisoned wounds of that encounter" which basically seems to mean he's suffering some magical mallady that won't let up. And he wants to kill her for his revenge. Good on yah buddy.

14. Lotann can induce memories and got a new squid: yeah so turns out our warden of the soul ledger can draw memories out off the chorilleum and give them to other people. Neat. Also Mnemesthli is either dead or left because his ochtar buddy is named Meloch now. Sad.

15. I can't be sure but I think the thrallmaster from way back in the Idoneth vs Fyreslayers box set gets an excerpt about his story and his pride her. I think that's fun. Again, the writers love idoneth clearly.

16. Some Isharann priests believe Mathlann will be reborn as a living ocean at the end of time: so funny thing. Apparantly there is a Heresy among Isharann that preaches that one day the realmseas will all be connected as one great ocean. And that when that happens Mathlann will return in his full splendour as God of this new reality alongside the rest of the Asur pantheon. I think that's fun, we need more philosophical diversity.

And finally

1. The Incarnate of the Deep are powered.. By Cythai souls. And Mathaela told Volturnos to do it: so... Yeah they're not just fun spells. They're a sacrifice of a limited, holy resource that drove an enclave to civil war during the events of Soulslayer. And Volturnos, with Mathaela's advice, is at the helm of it all. To manifest an incarnate, to awaken the dread sentience of the ocean, a Cythai must voluntarily be destroyed and annihilated as fuel to power the spell. Meaning every time one appears that's one less Cythai left in the cosmos arcane. That's one less chance to make another incarnate. And that's one more blot upon the Idoneth psyche since... Well these things are sacred. But hey, as the blurb in the start says. Idoneth has many meanings, one of which is "Vengeance".

https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/kscdd2nk/the-big-summer-preview-the-forces-of-death-muster-anew/

Felgryn is a blood-crazed vampire with an affinity for wild creatures, who thinks himself something of a falconer from a royal court. Surrounded by his carrion flock, Felgryn and his vicious ‘falcon’ Grype work together to spot weakness in enemy forces, while his Delusion empowers the lowly commoners and beasts who march with the Flesh-eater Courts.

Mine has to be seeing Cado’s powers in the Hollow King. When he squeezes his palm to draw blood with an incantation on his lips and when the moments right he just swipes his hand across the air, spraying the blood in the air, raising the dead. So tough. And in the end chapters when he solos the Ossiarch Bonereapers and the Lumineth. Turning into a flock of ravenous birds, engulfing the Lumineth, chewing and eating on their fingers and hands because they raise their hands to cast spells? So cool. Cado is a fucking unit lowkey. And Neferata summoning him home in the epilogue has me gassed for The Dead Kingdom.

Also the dragon riding and fighting was depicted well. Props to John French!

White Dwarf #513 focused on the history of Khorgus Khul, from his early barbarian days to his ascension to Daemon Princedom. There are two things that stand out:

1. They provided custom Daemon Prince rules for a Khul stand-in. Khul himself is stated to be largely participating in the Great Game.

2. The Goretide apparently fragmented after Khul's disappearance

This communicates one thing: there is not going to be an ascended Khorgos Khul miniature and the Goretide as a whole has ceased to become relevant to the modern setting. Khul was the main antagonist in the very first Age of Sigmar releases, where his Goretide was placed opposite the Hammers of Sigmar. What is effectively the end of his storyline marks perhaps the most significant break from Age of Sigmar's early past.

Been seeing some erroneous claims by people telling other folk that Nagash has overtaken Amethyst/Death Magic becoming it's avatar or part of it or the like.

As a reminder the Death Battletomes all maje it clear, this isn't the case. Even after breaking Shyish multiple times, Nagash has failed to subsumed the Realm and it's nature. To the point in the 3E Ossiarch Battletome, we see they are under orders to essentially destroy the Realm since previous plans to subsume it didn't work.

Additionally it is shown in things such as Soul Wars, Black Pyramid, the 2018 General's Handbook, the 3E Corebook, and more that true Amethyst Magic harms beings linked to Necromancy. Necromancy, and Nagash it's master, ever remains a corruption of Death Magic. Not as the sole or purest form of Death Magic.

Nagash also is not the sole remaining God of Death, he employs many he could not actually kill. In addition there are many Shyishan Godbeasts beyond his control. As well as the likes of Morrda, Gazul, Vannah, and others who while reduced, successfully resist and harm Nagash's powerbase. Mordda and Gazul doing so while ostensibly being dead.

Do take care to not make untrue claims, my fellow Realmwalkers. We're here to be informative and help each other out.

What is left when all the choices cuts are taken? That's right, Realmwalkers!, Kibble. Today, I bring to you every juicy Lorebit that I can dredge and trawl up from the Idoneth Battletome. Cause while folk have thrown you all the biggest bones there is plenty to gnaw on here:

As always. I will label each bullet by page of appearance, and will clarify this is the original English translation. So let the bullet list begin:

• Volcanic rifts, deep-sea tenches, kelp forests: These are but a few locations hidden from even the gods that the Idoneth traditionally place their Enclave city-states Pg. 4
• Skralaich is Idoneth Aelfish for Skaven. Pg. 4
• Idoneth are not prone to siegecraft. The sheer lose of hard to replace resources and people alone being enough for most to deem it wasteful. The Battle of Karser's Holdfast, a Chaos Dreadhold, was a rare example. Pg. 6
• Karser's Holdfast poured toxic sorcery into the ocean it bordered, killing several Ionrach colonies. This is why they risked the siege, vengeance. Pg. 6
• Not new lore but worth noting. Idoneth divide their military forces into the Phalanxes. Pg. 8
• Isharann Vaularr. A never before mentioned caste of Isaharann who are in charge of weapon-making. Pg. 8
• Rift-forges are smithies built in undersea rifts to use the heat and pressure to forge equipment. The Vaularr survive only by their mastery over the Ethersea. When working an ingot or the like they lessen the Ethersea around specifically the piece which instantly heats and crushes it as if hit by thousands of hammers at once. Pg. 8
• New Alloy Get: True Pelagic Steel, a rare alloy of steel (as rare as tears from gods) that is blue in color. Pg. 8
• Master Vaularr Lachnar, new possibly important background character. Pg. 8
• Named Rift-Forge: The Rift-Forge of Tulunhaith. Pg. 8
• New Resource Get: Abyssal Crystal, not detailed but known to have a sharper edge than most swords. Pg. 8
• Sy'ltarr, the Sun-slicer: Lachnar's new masterpiece made in the excerpt on this page. Pg. 8
• As an aside Vaul was the Elven God of Smiths in the World-That-Was.
• The Idoneth do not trust the Aelven Gods. Despite this they are firmly in Order, reviling Chaos and Death to a similar intensity as their Khainite and Lumineth kin. Pg. 9
• As is the Order standard their views on Destruction as a whole is less hostile. Pg. 9
• Souls of the followers of Chaos and Death are rarely, not never, reaped due to corruption in the souls. While there is no restriction on reaping the souls of followers of Destruction those souls are harder to separate from their body. Pg. 9 One must admit this feels mostly like a band-aid to explain why Idoneth, even after retcons and societal character development, attack their Order allies.
• Volturnous seeks to avoid war with the Lumineth as a war between the two powers would benefit only Chaos. Fouldout
• Multi-colored coral reefs extend from the deepest trenches all the way through th surface of the seas of the Realm of Hysh. Fouldout
• The Skaven navies that launch from The Gnaw are called warp-fleets. Fouldout
• They are going with the version that Teclis wanted to kill the Cythai. Pg. 12
• Lotann recounts that the Cythai had a rough time when first fleeing to the oceans. They eked out a living in lightless undersea caves living on living food and comfort, the Cythai's great mages struggling to maintain Ethersea bubbles to prevent the crushing pressure of the ocean from killing them all. Pg. 14
• Oh. The first Isharann were of the Cythai. Pg. 14
• It took centuries for the Aelves to adapt to undersea life. Pg. 14
• So here Lotann claims that Aelves have a low-birth rate and that the high mortality rate of the Cythai would have meant inevitable extinction. Pg 14
• The search for a cure to soul-sickness was long and hard. The Idoneth turning to it only when it was the only solution. Pg. 14
• "Though physically strong, they proved to be short-lived and limited creatures, utterly incapable of mastering the subtleties of intellect and leadership required for Idoneth society to prosper." - Lotann regarding Namarti Pg. 14 So Lotann is kind of a classist.
• The Cythai dividing themselves and their full-souled descendants into Isharann and Akhelian. Everyone else Namarti. Pg. 14
• Embailor trained animals are called bond-beasts. Those used for battle are called war-beasts. While war-beasts are given to Akhelian, Embailors are responsible for other bond-beasts. Pg. 15
• Old Lore: Luminar fish are trained to swim in patterns to bring light to Enclaves. Pg. 15
• Old Lore: Druilfish are trained to help with expanding Idoneth holdings in undersea caves. Pg 15 Per the 2E Battletome on Pg. 19 the Namarti are who the druilfish are helping.
• Light Retcon: The molten blood of fuiadon makes fire in rift-forges. Pg. 15 In the 2E Battletome fuiadon had a natural discharge that was used on forges. Though perhaps there are forges besides rift-forges?
• The Merwynn, Kelpdarr, and Abholon all once boasted undersea empires. All were crushed by the Idoneth in the days the Cythai still ruled. Souls were taken from all three. Pg. 15
• The Namarti underclass and developing Isharann magic, like Embailors, ensured victory on all these fronts. Pg. 15
• Despite this the Akhelian and Isharann refused to see them as equals. Consigning them to servile roles as builders, labourers, and common soldiers. Pg. 15 We all know the Namarti's unfair lot.
• The Namarti have a unique Blind-Sense. Pg. 15
• The war-beasts we see on tabletop were chosen as they were historical predators of Idoneth. Pg. 15
• Timeline of Idoneth settlementation: Cavern dwellings - Coral Fortressess - Enclaves. Pg. 16
• Marine socerery is a collective term for Isharann magic. Pg. 16
• Not minor but in case anyone missed it in other posts: The guiding philosophies of Idoneth society is the Way of the Sea (Kir-Lavrai) and the Way of the Storm (Kir-Nadarr). In short Way of the Sea is how most Idoneth act, Way of the Storm is more hot-headed Idoneth. Pg. 16-17
• Dryzorai: The term for an instructor in an Asydrazor. Pg. 18
• Emphasis is made on how no Enclave can field legions like the Lumineth can. Pg. 18 Presenting the Idoneth as few in number next to all other Aelves is interesting.
• The Asydrazor schools has a curriculum of extreme physical training, studying strategic theorems, cavalry tactics, and ascetic discipline (think how Spartans treat trainees) Pg. 18
• The Privileges of Nobility: An Akhelian is not a noble, and therefore does not get the benefits of one, until passing the Trial of Mhair. Pg. 18 Mhair is established lore, it is the final endurance test for the caste.
• Students of Asydrasor learn to use traditional Aelven weapons and martial forms. Pg. 18 GW has been using "martial forms" instead of "martial arts" in a lot of AoS stuff it feels.
• Animal: Fanged Vorwhal. Pg. 18
• The title of Akhelian King or Queen is earned after showing skill and boldness in multiple raids. These 'Monarchs' are the ones who decide raid and military targets. Pg. 18
• The orders of an Akhelian Monarch are called "royal decrees" even though it is still seemingly presented as if they are just generals and an enclave will have a lot of them. This confuses me. Pg. 19
• Defying a royal decree is tantamount to forfeiting your own life. Pg. 19
• There are Whirlways in Lakes and Rivers. Pg. 19
• Namarti have no political and military power. Pg. 19 People keep complaining about this as if the one-percent haven't always oppressed the masses in societies of all types in history, and as if Namarti being labourers isn't in part a metaphor for today's societies. Fight your real life Akhelian and Isharann oppressors! Eat their shoes!!
• The Blind-Sense of Namarti can perceive water pressure changes and voltaic thrum in blood. Pg. 19
• Voltaic seems to mean electricity created by chemical reactions. This Battletome, and other Idoneth stuff, seems to imply every living being has voltaic stuff going on in it.
• Some Akhelian and Isharann are not classist against their Namarti brethren. Pg. 19
• Deepkin capable of magic are separated at birth to be inducted into Turscoll temple-schools. Not new but some of you probably are. Pg. 20
• These children, the Isharann to be, are then trained based on the talents they prove to have. Those good at forging become Vaularr, those good with animals become Embailors, and so on. All used the magic of the Ethersea. Pg. 20
• (Note: If you become an Idoneth and like animals, pretend to be bad at handling them to save yourself from being made an Embailor. The Embailor's arts are beating animals and lobotomizing them with painful magic)
• Kelpweave, a fabric made from kelp (likely fibers due to the name) used for making Idoneth clothing. Pg. 20
• This page has a short story showing two Isharann losing their ability to justify destroying souls to preserve their species. Pg. 20
• Soul-reefs, or Chorrileums, serve as places of prayer and sanctuary. Pg. 20
• Cythai souls are used to make Eidolons of Mathlann and Incarnates of the Deep. The latter is more fatal to souls. Pg. 20
• Putting soul energy into a Namarti is called a soul-graft here. Pg. 20
• Idoneth have no interest in empire-building. Pg. 22
• Canonically the Enclaves did not partake in the Realmgate Wars. Pg. 22
• For those who do not know in 2E when the Idoneth were introduced they had been in hiding since the Age of Myth, since fleeing Teclis. This was a big part of their lore even amidst a ton of people in-universe learning about them. On this page it is stated that each crisis in each edition has led them to shaking off that secrecy more and more. Pg. 23
• Pact of Shadow and Sea: The Idoneth do not like or trust the Khainites. They see this pact made in "Broken Realms: Morathi" as temporary. They expect to fight Morathi's forces again and intend to win. Pg. 23
• Queen Ionne Gwynnar of Briomdar: A new named Cythai. More on her importance outside the Septemmar latter. Pg. 23
• The Voice of Truth was a revolutionary who emerged from ther Namarti in the Age of Myth. She was quickly slain by Ishlaen Guard, her followers dispersed, and Isharann from across Idoneth society summoned to erase all memory she ever existed. Pg. 23
• The Rite of Life made a lot of undersea beasts bigger. They made for prized war-beasts when Embailors survived. Pg. 24
• Was it ever explained why Ionrach and Dhom-hain hated each other? Well if not. In the Age of Chaos the Ionrach tried to set up colonies in the Ominod Sea which the Dhom-hain claimed. The Dhom-hain violently attacked the settlers. All Enclaves cut ties to Fhom-hain after. Pg. 24 I mean... the Ionrach were in the wrong here right? Especially by escalating the border dispute to an excuse to abandon the Dhom-hain.
• Immediately after the Battle of Siren's Haunt occurs where the seven clans of Dhom-hain must face Daemon Prince Bol'gluth and the Blistered Horde with no outside aid. The battle brings the Dhom-hain Akhelian to near extinction. The Enclave comes to rely on its Namarti to survive and after treats them with more respect than any other Enclave. Ph. 24 So again I feel the Ionrach are the ones in the wrong in this feud. Thoughts?
• The Idoneth celebrated the Spirefall. With some Enclaves taking advantage to attack their disarrayed kin. Pg. 24
• Still in the Age of Sigmar. When Nautillar was new they became specialized in fleet-killing. Akhelian Queen Thalas is credited with the rise of this image. Pg. 24
• Thalas's preferred tactic was her Danaan-Koi Phalanxes, formations of Akhelian Leviadon units who slammed into the fleets that entered Nautilar waters. Pg. 24
• Hour of Ruin is: Ulur-Dhavra (translates to Third Trauma) Pg. 25
• Dhummuna, Pelash, and Lan-Koroi were tragically destroyed by spires of warpstone and Blight City pushing into reality and splitting the sea as new, dread landmasses formed in the Realms. Pg. 25 These cities were never once mentioned before.
• Fuethan lost a third of their Akhelians to daemonic invasions against Mordgaile. Pg. 25
• MVP non-binary sea wizard Matheala saved the Dhom-hain colony of Ghadrac from Gutrot Spume's Drowned Fleet. Devastating them with an Incarnate at the Battle of the Clotted Sound. Pg. 25 Are they naming battles more often now?

Slight Interlude: Ya know a lot of Aelf and Duardin stuff turn out to be references or callbacks to Warhammer Fantasy and its side stuff. If any of the Living Ancestors among you Realmwalkers ever feel like starting chats and lore dumps on the World-That-Was, or the connections the settings have. Go for it. Would be lovely. I just recently learned about Reckoners which are Dwarf/Duardin lawyers/scribes/notaries/tax assayers/battlefield tolltakers/banker toughs.

• So there are Isharann radicals of an unnamed religious philosophy that teaches the oceans of all realms will one day unite as one leading to the rebirth of Mathlann, whose return in turn presages the Aelven (Elven) Gods of old returning. Pg. 30 So you had to know you weren't getting out of this without me mentioning Sigmar. Wouldn't you know that the 4E Stormcast Battletome threw down Sigmar's Mandate of Azyr, a plan to unite the eight Realmspheres. Ain't it fascinating the worshipers of another Storm God believe in an adjacent ambition.
• The Idoneth are aware Mathlann was a brutal deity and he had a ruthless creed. But they find it honest. Pg. 30
• They do not like Teclis's demands of relentless self-perfection even now. Pg. 30
• Most Idoneth see Mathlann as a symbol. Not their true god and master. Pg. 30
• Wielded a weapon once belonging to a Cythai is a dig deal for Akhelian Monarchs. Pg. 33
• There is a place called Kelp City. Pg. 33
• Ochtar ink can be used as writing ink. Pg. 34
• Some Akhelians believe Lotan, Warden of the Soul Ledgers, is tasked with recording all crimes commited by the Deepkin in their struggle to survive. So that one day they can be accountable for what they've done. Pg. 34
• Others believe Lotann merely seeks to improve the soul harvesting methods. Pg. 34
• Others that he seeks a prophesied soul. Pg. 34 Have I mentioned this Battletome basically infuses the Idoneth with half the Arthurian Mythos?
• Ever wonder how Lotann fights? He rams his quill into the eyes and throats of enemies. Pg. 34
• Mortal followers of Chaos can, and do, receive blessings rendering them immune to drowning and sea-pressure. Pg. 36
• Ikons of the Sea spend time in communion with the souls in soul-reefs. Pg. 36
• Souls in soul-reefs are apparently sapient, sentient, and can still talk. Pg. 36
• Ikons of the Sea are Akhelians but can manipulate the Ethersea. In short, Spellblades. Pg. 36
• Ikons are Monks. Like part Europe style, part Shaolin style, but mostly RPG style. Pg. 36-37
• Ikons of the Sea are also questing knights who go on "odysseys". Pg. 36
• Ikons of the Storm are often products of personal tragedy. Pg. 37
• The familiar/bond-beast on the Tidecaster model is an Ethershark. This page notes it is the most common company but not the only one. Pg. 38
• Coralcraft appears to be the term for Idoneth gear made from coral. Ex. coralcraft blades. Pg. 41
• The term "lancers" is used her for Akhelian Guard. Pg. 41
• Nautilar claims the first Embailors came from their Enclave. Pg. 44
• It is agreed that the Nautilar boast the best artisans. Pg. 44
• The Cythai founders of Nautilar were considered the most masterful architects of their day leading many innovations in coral-shaping. Pg. 44
• Boulder-sized barnacles and coral forests grow on the Great Scaphodon. Leviadons of the ocean live off these barnacles and forests, Idoneth in turn tame them. Nautilon, capital of Nautilar, is shaped from the shell of Great Scaphodon. Pg. 44
• Great Scaphodon is referred to as sentient. GW has consistently used the word sentient in Age of Sigmar the same way that the word sapient is used colloquially and in many modern settings. As in intelligent, aware, and such. Pg. 44 Godbeast perhaps?
• Leviadons attack ships. Not just Idoneth tamed ones, wild ones. Pg. 44
• There are many different Leviadon species. None named here. Pg. 44
• Retarius nets are woven from the hair of Hyshian sun-sirens. Pg. 45

So... hair not feathers or scales. What do you think Realmwalkers. This implying that the mythological sirens exist in AoS? If so would this imply they trade their hair with Idoneth. Or that Idoneth take it after stealing their souls? Or is this sun-siren gonna be a weird animal?

• New Term: "Home-waters" used in the manner we would use homeland. Pg. 46
• Ishlaen Guard are employed as bodyguards more than Morsarr Guards. Pg. 46
• Alright so bear with me. The Gloomtide Shipwreck terrain piece is a ghostly manifestation of undersea wrecks created by the Ethersea in battle, just a natural thing that the magic does semi-unrelated to casters. This is apparently established but no one talks about it so here it is. Pg. 51
• The model is unimportant. A Gloomtide can be a galleon, a steam-ship (used by Cities), a wavecutter (Aelf ships), Sigmarite behemoth (an obsolete ship-class from the Age of Myth), anything. Pg. 51
• Phalanxes and sea beasts can hide in these shipwrecks during raids and battles. Pg. 51
• Phantasmal fish and critters move through the semi-phantasmal wrecks. Pg. 51
• An argument between a pair of Stormcast and Idoneth commanders. Idoneth openly taking souls of the fallen after a battle. Idoneth taking souls seems decently well-known from this and other bits of the book. Pg. 55
• Serves somewhat as yet another moment of the Idoneth not truly enjoying what they must do to survive. The insults of the Lord-Celestant, Vaedris of the Astral Templars, seems to get to the unnamed Isharann. Pg. 55
• Form of the Fangmora: An Idoneth defensive sword-art mimicking the movements of Fangmora Eels. Pg. 56
• Description of blind-sense here on Pg. 56. If none of you post the excerpt a day after I make this post, I will. It's neat and I don't think I'd describe it good if I tried here.
• Armour of the Cythai: Artefact armour suits granted to the Cythai by Teclis long ago. Radiate with the power of Hysh on command. Pg. 57
• Lifekelp Pod: Golden seed radiant with Ghyranite energy that burst with a spray of healing power. Pg. 57
• Brightsoul: A Namarti word for the Isharann and Akhelian. Pg. 68
• Cythai in this excerpt willingly allows itself to be made into an Incarnate. Pg. 75
• Cute picture of an eel holding a spear. Heraldric art? Pg. 75
• The Tide Guard spearhead represents the personal bodyguard force of an Akhelian King or Queen. Pg. 80
• We should probably gather together all these Spearheads and Battalions and other nonsense that are actual meaningful lore and cultural things. Not just random noise to fill out warscrolls. There are some neat'uns.
• Void-Pearl Pg. 81
• Blade of the Cythai: Artefact weapons sharp enough to cut a god. Pg. 90 That'd sound impressive. If we didn't have a WD excerpt from two years ago of a bunch of gobboes devouring the god Ur-Conch on a whim.
• Last Living Cythai: Probably worth noting they are using that wording now. Given the revealation that the Chorrileums have Cythai and Gwynnar and her Septemmar might be running around Knights of the Round/Living Saints of the Imperium style as force ghosts. Pg. 92
• Speaking of Gwynnar! Finally back to her after a billion years. So the curriculm of the Azydrasors teach the theorems and tactics of ancient Cythai heroes. I wasn't sure how to label these so let's call the following military philosophies. Pg. 92
• So three are named: The Shield of Ulchiss, the Spear of Asphoren, and the Sword of Gwynnar. That's three named Cythai: Ulchiss, Asphoren, and Ione Gwynnar whose full name we saw earlier in the book. Pg. 92
• Shield of Ulchiss: This philosophy is all about being a master of the ebb and flow of battle, a core principle being a purposeful withdraw to expose enemy weaknesses. Pg. 92
• Spear of Asphoren: Asphoren was a legendary commander whose teachings are all about striking like a surging tide. Pg. 92
• Sword of Gwynner: Anticipation is key hear, victory comes with predicting the enemy's next move to gain the advantage. Pg. 92

There's other stuff but even without my silly comments this bag of kibble is overflowing, my eye sight is blurring, and I feel like for the last few entries my dialogue is going pear-shaped. So I'm hitting post. Hope this is a lovely read for you lovely Realmwalkers.

Completely random lore drops for no reason!

So per the Soulbound Corebook we are told that thanks to Morathi, Khaine is the second most worshiped god in Cities. This is not truly reflected in the rest of Soulbound where his worship is minor or elsewhere. Though admitted elsewhere gives a better showing than Soulbound.

Alarielle is the creator of the Living City, gifting it to Sigmar's people. (Humans, Duardin, and Aelves though of these last ones Wanderers are permitted only in outer districts). While The Phoenicium was dedicated to the Ur-Phoenix.

Per "Realmslayer: Legend of the Doomseeker" we know that Edassa too has a patron god, an as of yet unnamed lion god. (Wonder if that's part of why they worship Sigmar as a lion man?)

Lethis of course has Morrda whose cult has exploded in popularity recently particularly among the Stormcast Eternals.

Ranald waswntioned as a god of thieves in "Castle of Blood" while "Thieves' Paradise" gives us the Prince of Cats, an underworld god of thieves implicitly worshiped by the criminal syndicates known as the Guilds of the Cat. The Scuttling Queen, who is an aspect of Spider God who may or may not be Gorkamorka, is a Cities god of assassins and poisoners mentioned in White Dwarf December 2020's "Tome Celestial: The Grimscuttle Tribes". So... do you think it says something about the Free Cities that we have three gods of criminals but no actual harvest god as Alarielle is never directly linked to farming?

Grungni, Grimnir, Malerion, Nagash, Gorkamorka, Dracothion, Teclis, and Tyrion are all sporadically mentioned a lot too of course. Makes sense, leaders of the Pantheon, Cities are mostly Azyrite descendants of refugees from all over and Reclaimed descendants of refugees from all over, and actual refugees from all over. So the top gods are popular.

Gazul is of course the patron god of Gazul-Zagaz which was blink and you'll miss it included in a list of Cities of Sigmar in "Soul Wars".

Valaya was mentioned in the oddest of places. One of the Dawnbringer Chronicles shorts. The one named after a mine shaft.

A Sotek worshiper from Vindicarum was in *Black Pyramid" with implications he one of many. I do believe the 3E Seraphon Battletome is where it is mentioned there are entire sub-cults of the Cults Unberogen dedicated to Seraphon in general and Kroak in particular

Ozol is a local god of Thondia mentioned in "Dominion" while the Old Gods of the Accar are mentioned in "Avatar of Destruction", that's a minor Free City near Mekitopsar. Definitely butchered that.

Krethusa seems to have moved into Hammerhal in "Dawnbringers: Shadow of the Crone." So we might be counting Morai-Heg soon.

It is also worth noting that the Six Smiths, Father of Blades, Mirmidh, Alhar-Kraken, Ursricht, and some others are worshiped by the Stormhosts. So are technically worshiped in Cities, and likely spread to mortals.

The Seven Smiths are mentioned in "Lioness of the Parch" if I recall. Who are they?? Maybe the Six and Grungni?

Vedra says a swear using Ignax's name in Hounds of Chaos. Sign of worship mayhaps? While Zenestra and her cult have a connection to Cinder God.

The Gods-Mourning festival as observed in Brightspear in "Brightspear City Guide" is dedicated to Grimnir and Vulcatrix. Other evidence of Vulcatrix worship is slim.

"Dark Harvest" and Dawnbringers gives us Kurnoth worship in the Cities.

Star-Titans such as Agraphon guard the Azyr-side of the Gates of Azyr as mentioned first in "Champion of the Gods" and more vaguely in the 4E Corebook.

I'm doing this mostly from memory. I didn't even remember them all before I started. So anyway

If the village in "Sacrosanct & Other Stories" count we have Taal. The grave keeping Frweguild known as the Knights of Usirian in "Gods' Gift" implies Usirian. While the Myrmidites of "Spear of Shadows" may imply Myrmidia

Poor Adembi

There's the Listening Order in "Champions of the Gods" into the seven winds, all except Ghur as that one doesn't flow given the mountain they live on is in Ghur. The Black Walkers in Glymmsforge, per "Soul Wars", are all about dead gods.

"Verminslayer" and other sources mention a wide, eclectic range of gods worshiped by the Free Peoples. Some with no more than a single worshiper, in the form of screaming priests.

Does Ghal Maraz count given it has divine power and is implied to be sapient? It's iconography is everywhere. After all the Runefangs became Father of Blades.

We have Celestial Saints such as Templesen and Garradan venerated by the Cults Unberogen. As well as the Saints of the Stormhosts, which are Stormcasts as saints, such as Saint Steel Soul and Yndrasta, also Cults Unberogen. Saints of the Stormhosts may not be a unique moniker. But is it not funny Gardus has two different Saint cults dedicated to two separate lives.

Also red gods, Good King Gnaw, pleasure cults, arcanite cults, Lord Leech and stuff I guess.

So. Yeah. There we go. Who else?

ok so from my understanding:
the old world imploded after the end times

the remnants of the old world coalesced into 8 mortal realms that kind of act like planets, but also the further away from the stable core, the wilder/purer the magic gets to the point where you could just burst into flame or get turned into a bunch of coins or whatever depending on the realm you're on

there are realm gates that link up the different realms to one another - can all realms reach the others or if you wanted to reach the other side of the 'circle' you'd need to go realm-hopping?

theres a sub-realm in the centre called allpoints/eightpoints which used to be a way to easily traverse the realms (kind of like sigil in dnd) but is now taken over by chaos/archeon who use it to send forces to invade the other 8 realms

hysh and ulgu, light and dark orbit one another and act as the day/night cycle in the realms - are they like.... above/in the middle of the 8? if not how does this work - wouldnt eightpoint/allpoint block some of the light to the opposite realms? or is it just 'magic'

can you see the other realms if you look up into the sky in the same way we can see other planets/moons in our solar system?

other sub-realms exist and orbit kind of like moons/satellites?

also slaanesh is imprisoned between hysh and ulgu?

where is the realm of chaos in relation to the 8 realms - or is it kind of like the warp in 40k where it exists underneath/in a different layer of reality rather than as its own physical realm - if it does exist as a physical realm, do the ruinous powers each get their own realm?

hysh and azyr are very similar - whats the difference, the only thing i could find was one is like the sun and the other the moon? or one is a summer field of wheat and the other is a cold mountain?

the realm gates are depicted in artwork as being huge things the size of cities, do you get smaller ones too? eg similar to depictions of feywild portals that are just archways or holes in the roots of trees that'll lead to ghyran and if so, do some of the beasties sometimes find their way to other realms by accident?

and lastly, are the sea elves considered on the side of good/order? they seem like an odd one out - do they exist on a particular world or do they just live in any ocean on any world?

Do I need to read any prequel novels or short stories to understand what’s going on?

Only read The Hollow King and Ushoran so far so I have somewhat of an understanding of Mortarchs and Soulblight Vampires in general but not really of the wider setting (AoS).

What would you recommend reading first?

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/04/18/dont-listen-to-sigmar-the-darkoath-are-more-than-just-mindless-chaos-marauders/

Many are the Blood God's champions. Baudrax the Hunter, Jurgata of the Knives, Heldanarr Fall ~ each is carved into history's flesh.

White Dwarf Issue 513 (June 2025), Pg. 23

To everyone I have argued with regarding the nature of Heldanarr Fall. Well here it is plainly written in red and white (red background and white letters on this page, I was wrong. You were right.

Now normally Khorne and his Blades are the farthest thing from my interests but this issue of WD has a lot of stuff in it, few folk are touching on it, and I know there are Khorne fans. So let's dig into this bloody meat. Though apologies in advance if I miss anything:

• The Aaramic Visions, an in-universe book? which seems to be about the rivalry between Khorne and Slaanesh. Pg. 17
• It is mentioned that the Chaos Gods among the Ruinous Powers wax and wane in power. But Khorne alone among them consistently holds a position of dominance. Pg. 17
• Hate, scorn, the urge to violently lash out when challenged. The aspects of the mortal psyche that originally brought Khorne into existence. Pg. 17
• Abandon any form of introspection and desire. (A commandment of Khorne) Pg. 17
• The Great Horned Rat is counted among Khorne's brother deities along with Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Slaanesh. Pg. 18
• Sins: Gluttony, carnal debauchery, battle-bliss and self-aggrandisement are sins against Khorne. On the grounds Slaanesh likes these things and Khorne hates his brother. Pg. 18
• The Vale of Creatures: A territory in the Realm of Chaos domain that borders the Skull Lands and Slaanesh's lands. It is favored by Slaanesh. It is a region of flesh-forests where Slaaneshi daemons hang out, hunt, feed the flesh monsters mortal meat. Khorne also like the region and sends armies to kill everything in it. The wars over the Vale cause the borders of Slaanesh and Khorne's territories near it to shrink or expand dependent on who is winning. Pg. 19
• In Aqshy, where Khornates hold the most power, Pleasure Cults of Slaanesh regularly attack Bloodbound fortresses. Pg. 20
• Slaaneshi are known to hunker down in ruined aelven cities in Ulgu and Hysh. These revelers are often attacked by Bloodbound hordes led by Bloodthirsters. Pg. 20
• The Fawner's Rise is a palisade of skulls erected along the northern reaches of the Bloodied Track, a road in western Great Parch. These are taken from Slaaneshi, largely from the nation known as the Scalped to the north of the wall. Pg. 20
• The skulls of Fawner's Rise face Scalped territory as a form of mockery. Pg. 20
• In turn the Tower of Sublime Tranquility is an equally grotesque monument on the continent of Ulguroth in Ulgu. Home to Slaaneshi Daemon Prince Vyscerran, who likes to kidnap Bloodbound to turn their blood into honey, pulp out their bones to replace with wire, and dull their emotions with soporifics. Kept alive by sorcery these Bloodbound wander the palace bloodless, boneless, forever denied Khornate rages. Pg. 20
• A legion of Khorne daemons once invaded the Palace of Pleasure, making it as far as the throne room in the Temple of Twisted Mirrors before the Vengeful Alliance stopped them. Pg. 21
• Djinn guarded the Temple. For their failure Slaanesh turned them into thralls to be used by mortal sorcerers. Pg. 21
• Big Thing: In the past the Red Century referred to both the first century of the Age of Chaos where the forces of Chaos massacred more civilizations than the other four. As well as the last century when the forces of Khorne betrayed the rest of Chaos, targeting them instead of survivors. This book calls the latter century the Blood Time. Pg. 21
• To ensure clarity the timeline of the Age of Chaos is now: Red Century (First 100 Years) - 300 Years of Chaos conquests - The Blood Time (The Last Century, Khornate forces invade the lands of other Chaos powers in both the Mortal and Chaos Realms in a massive civil war). Pg. 21
• During the Blood Time the Slaaneshi order of knights known as the Order of the Sinful Throne attack the Goretide. Eight champions of the Order challenge Korghos Khul, he merely commands a stampede of Juggernaut riders to run the knights over. Pg. 21
• Skarbrand and Shalaxi Helbane dueled on the corpse-fields of Rantula Sigmaris. Ended in a stalemate. Old lore but worth mentioning. Pg. 21
• Eigngrom is stolen from Khorne's own palace. Karanak is sent to kill the Slaanesh daemons who took it. Karanak and his pack fail. Pg. 21
• Baudrax the Hunter, Jurgata of the Knives, and Heldanarr Fall are mentioned as notable champions of Khorne. Of these, only Jurgata is a new name. Pg. 23
• Before he became the monster we know today, Korghos was Athol of the Khul. Spear Carrier of his people acting as champion and herald. Pg. 23
• The mysterious Tithe-Masters of Glittering Pinnacle from the novel Red Feast are stated to come from Aridian. Pg. 23
• The tribes of Vanx were known as the Vanx. Pg. 23
• The tribes of Golvaria were known as the Golvarii. Pg. 23
• The tribes of Capilaria were known as the Capilarians, Pg. 23
• The Vanx, Golvarii, and Capilarian tribes were constantly at war. Pg. 23
• All these threats made Athol fear his people may not survive. Eventually leading him to a quest to a charnel mountain that would see him rise as Korghos. Pg. 23
• The Khul believed they worshiped the old war-gods of Aqshy. But in reality worshiped Khorne who had hijacked the religion. Pg. 23
• The Red Feast was once an honorable gladirorial contest. Where the laws of gods and mortals reigned, and new bonds between peoples forged and old grievances settled. Pg. 23
• All this ended in the one corrupted by Threx and Korghos. Becoming a bloody melee 888 skulls were taken from contestants and a rift to the Realm of Chaos opened. It was Khul who took the 888th skull completing the ritual. Pg. 23
• In these early days Khul stood apart from other warlords as he was capable of thinking like both a warrior and king. He proved to be skilled at directing the Goretide towards external foes rather than fall to habitual Khornate in-fighting. Pg. 23
• The Goretide accepted members from all lineages. Pg. 23
• Khul spoke to Khorne on his own accord and used his Slaughterpriests as heralds rather than as priests. As a result Khornates viewed him as especially favored by Khorne. Pg. 24

Most of the following is known but here are some deeds listed as Khul's.

• It was under his command that the captured Bataari were marched across the road now known as the Bloodied Track. Thousands of their merchants died during the trek. Pg. 24
• Defiled the burning pagodas, as in they were buildings that are meant to be on fire, of the Gaitani monks. Using the blood of the slain monks to do so. Pg. 24
• Slew the Smith-Lords of the Direbrands. Pg. 24
• Vendell Blackfist/Vandus Hammerhand's sons once again remain unnamed despite how pivotal they are to defining Khul and Vandus, two of the setting's main characters. Pg. 24
• As we all know the first battle of the Realmgate Wars, and the setting, was the Hammerhands versus the Goretide. Eventually leading to a lose that saw Khul lose Khorne's favor. Pg. 24
• Khul burned a City of Sigmar called Brighthall to the ground. Pg. 24
• Khul conquered Orb Infernia. Pg. 24
• Khorne ignored Khul until the Era of the Beast, where the Blood God bid him to travel to Ghur. This incensed Khul as the Great Parch was where his enemy Vandus was stationed. Still he did as he was told. Pg. 24 This as it were was the beginning of the end. As mentioned way back at the start, Khorne expects his followers to abandon their desires and ties. Eventually Khul would do so, achieving dark enlightenment in "Dawnbringers: Hounds of Chaos" becoming a Daemon Prince.
• The Gorechosen of Khul have been slain by Hammerhands and former Hammerhands. Pg. 24 This was stated in the Dawnbringers campaign books by Vandus. But here it is framed as from the omniscient narrator/narrative voice, so a bit more reliable than Vandus who is insane.
• Lakshar Bloodspeaker had descendants. Pg. 24 One can be seen in "Hammers of Sigmar: First Forged"
• Grizzlemaw's fate, Khul's Flesh Hound, is not outright stated.

In his long life of glory, my sword-king Khul made only one error. He was too much himself. His will was too sharp, his purpose too strong. Yet to truly rise, he had to forget who he was and remember instead what he was. He found that truth amidst the bodies of millions of dead. - Gurdaka, Speaker of Red Sagas

From Pg. 25

• There is, naturally, a character called Gurdaka, Speaker of Red Sagas who tells tales of Khul. Pg. 25
• The Spear Carrier before Athol was his uncle. Pg. 27
• The Prophet-Monarchs who ruled the Aridian nation, not to be confused with the region, are named dropped. Pg. 27 They are different from, and enemies of, the Tithe-Masters.
• The weapon Khul carried as Spear-Carrier was the Spear of the Khul. Hence the name of the title. Pg. 27
• It was Athol's own fears for the fate of his people that Khorne latched onto and corrupted to eventually turn him into Korghos. Before this he was renowned as fair-handed, respectable warrior and leader. Pg. 27
• Not lore but neat detail. To mark that Athol was an unknowing follower of Khorne, his legends Warscroll is labeled as Darkoath. Though he turned well before the rise of those tribes. Pg. 27
• Korghos Khul's legendary reality carving axe is simply called: The Axe of Khorne. Pg. 28 The Korghos Legends warscroll is largely old knowledge.
• Confirmation Khul ascended to Daemon Prince for anyone unsure about this event in Dawnbringers. Pg. 29 This warscroll calls him Khul Ascended
• Stated to be cruel conquest and massacre made flesh. Pg. 29
• He only rarely returns to the Mortal Realms. Instead he spends his time fighting in the Realm of Chaos as a participant of the Great Game. Pg. 29

The Age of Myth was a time, more or less, peace and prosperity. But one might wonder. How was this possible in a Great Alliance that included bloodsucking parasites like the aristocracy and bankers? That is a mystery we may never know.

But with the 2025 Soulblight Gravelords Battletome we have learned how vampires lived in peace with everyone else. Nagash ordered them to keep their diet Green.

Orruks to be specific. Which is an admittedly solid plan. It's not Ike Orruks would complain to the Pantheon of Order that they are being hunted by Vampires, if anything they'd complain it didn't happen more often.

This also means that the blood insane our favorite fungoid hooligans is similar enough to human blood for Vampires to subsist on it.

The Battletome goes on to mention the Age of Chaos saw this rule shattered, and Vampires descended on humans with glee... those humans who had turned to Chaos mostly.

Note: Some exceptions to this rule are known like Neferatia where Neferata always did whatever she wanted and the Askurgan Renkai who had a respectful and symbiotic relationship with their mortal vassals, the Renkai also prove Vampires don't need to drain a mortal dry to survive.

Modern Vampires just do that because they are assholes.

I have been reading all the Age of Sigmar army books to see which armies have the lore that I like the most. I had already seen lore analysis on what a bastard Nagash is, got a sample of that from the Bonereapers battle tome, but the Nighthaunt might be the worst thing he's ever done.

The basics I had heard about the Nighthaunt is that this army is about as evil as it gets since the evil ghosts kill whatever they come across, but I felt some pity for the souls turned into Nighthaunt since existing as one sounds like the worst fate in the setting. I have seen some people claim that Nagash only sticks people he considers worthy of punishment in the Nighthaunt, which misses that Nagash is exceptionally petty and will condemn someone to an existence consumed by rage and despair for the "crime" of not showing him the respect he feels he deserves or for offending him by trying to save lives.

Such is the evil of Nagash. He looks at how Chaos has the reputation for inflicting the worst fates imaginable and took it as a dare.

As this WD is very Tzeench-centric, we have a page on the Gaunt summoners

/we have a presentation of what they are

/we learn that Tzeench is very aware that Archaon has subdued them all, he even subtly helped him during his quest

/there are 9 Gaunt, but in terms of favour they are not all equal, here are the 3 most favoured by both Achaon and Tzeench:

-The Watcher King: for thousands of years he has been the most favoured by Tzeench, when the Iode-Griffon had to be killed, it was he who was chosen to sabotage the ritual, succeeding in securing his place as first among the Gaunts, a place he has maintained ever since.

WK's strong point is the "true names", after several centuries of investigation he even came to know Archaon's mortal name, however Archaon had anticipated it and had several mental and arcane defences to protect himself, only WK's usefulness prevented Archaon from destroying him.

-The Thief of Wits:His areas of expertise are mind control and manipulation, he has planted several sleeper agents among the greatest cities of Sigmar.

The Tyrant of eyes: he's the most bloodthirsty and cruel among the Gaunts, surprisingly, he willingly submits to Archaon, considering him worthy of respect.

he likes to gouge out the eyes of his enemies, and keeps them in his silver tower, being completely paranoid, he can animate these gouged-out eyes to keep an eye on what is going on.

a contrario , the Eater of Tome is the least favoured

as the silver towers are manifestations of the crystal labyrinth, the destruction of one of them seriously threatened a large part of a Tzeench domain, Nurgle took advantage of this to conquer its vulnerable areas and add them to his garden.

Tzeench and Archaon were not pleased, not at all

the only reason the Eater of Tome didn't have its subscription to existence revoked, was the consequences of its tower exploding, which created a lot of opportunity for Tzeench.

So instead of anihilation he get dropped in the Sea of Lead for 1000 years, and had to suffer the humiliation and mockery of the other Gaunts, as without a Tower, he is now the equivalent of a bum

but he doesn't give up, as he knows that Tzeench is fickle, and above all, as he and his tower are made of the essence of Tzeench, his tower will get reformed, eventually.

I just find it interesting how the stories change across editions, with of course questions about how accurate it all is abounding.

In 2nd edition, Ushoran's past was kept very vague, without even hints on why he revolted against Nagash. In this edition, it was claimed that Nagash sent "his mortarchs" to bring him to heel, with the exact details forbidden to be discussed on the orders of Nagash himself. I always felt this implied that the war went much worse than Nagash wanted, and required something Nagash was embarassed to have relied on. Of course, Ushoran wasn't really a huge focus in this edition, what with being missing and all.

Then, in the 3rd ed battletome, with Ushoran taking centre stage, we get more details. Ushoran's rebellion is still kept ambiguous, but implied to have been an attempt to stop the Necroquake two ages early. Notably, Ushoran is defeated by Neferata alone, and after his escape from the Shroudcage, it was again Neferata that imprisoned him in New Summercourt. Considering they were closely related in WHFB lore, it's nice to see Neferata given such prominence, but it does make Ushoran feel distinctly below her (as she no doubt views him), and by extension the other Mortarchs.

Now, in the new 4th ed battletome, we seem to have come to a bit of a compromise between the two, leaning more to the 2nd ed. We're back to 'it took a bunch of Mortarchs to capture him', while Neferata is relegated to coming up with the idea of using him as a blood bag for the Kingsblood plot. Interestingly, this is one of the parts of the tome not written from the perspective of a ghoul (or Gormayne), so it's potentially a bit less biased than those sections.

Anyway, well done for reading that, looking forward to seeing how it changes as we get more books.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/kscdd2nk/the-big-summer-preview-the-forces-of-death-muster-anew/

A cursed soul, perhaps once a peddler in fake curatives and concoctions who preyed on the gullible and the desperate, the Lord Vitriolic committed some act vile enough to attract the justice of the Great Necromancer. Now this many-armed horror drifts into battle with a rack of foul potions on its back, hurling them to explode among the foe in a shower of spite-laced acids or clouds of fear-threaded gas, inflicting a choice of effects from negating enemy Ward rolls to inflicting mortal damage. 

An unusual Monday Chronicles of Ruin, getting it out of the way before Scourge of Ghyran starts.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/03/26/warhammer-age-of-sigmar-what-exactly-are-the-mortal-realms-and-who-lives-in-them/

https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/sjcpuxok/the-big-summer-preview-bow-down-before-the-helsmiths-of-hashut/

Urak Tarr is an ancient figure among the Helsmiths, so aged that he is said to have studied under the gaze of Hashut, the Father of Darkness himself.

He is a being of unrestrained malice and incredible power – but it comes at a cost. His flesh is afflicted by the magical petrification that curses all the sorcerers of the Zharrdron. He rides on Ghorrakos, an Infernal Taurus of prodigious strength, borne into battle on a pulpit mounted on the beast’s back.

Nurgle embodies everything that is contrary to Tzeentch’s nature. His domains are those of despair and nihilism, and he encourages his followers to revel in these base things rather than seek glory through self-advancement. His cycle of death, decay and writhing, wriggling rebirth is a mockery of true change – a revolting mummer’s farce that can never achieve true evolution but only repeat itself over and over. Tzeentch finds such stasis repellant. He yearns to see Nurgle’s overgrown dominion burn in the flames of change. For his own part, the normally avuncular Plague God considers Tzeentch to be a treacherous double-dealer with no respect for the squelching, seeping wonders of his famous Garden