Har Ganeth

The Dark Elves were once Asur, the same race as the High Elves. What separates them is that the Druchii unleashed their minds from the iron discipline that all Elves require else they slip into depravity. The Druchii opened their hearts to the gods of the Cytharai, the Elven gods of the Underworld. Of all the underworld gods it was Khaine, God of Murder, who rose to prominence, and especially in Har Ganeth - the City of Executioners. It is a cursed place. A madness overtook that city long ago, a thirst for blood and flesh that has just been kept in abeyance by some of the strictest laws in all Naggaroth. Only in Har Ganeth are acts such as murder, thievery, and public debauchery treated as crimes. The penalty for any infraction is, of course, death by execution. This is a heavy burden to bear for a folk with such a proclivity for violence and homicide; but that is the point, for the slightest leeway would lead to utter depravity and the madness taking hold again. The release for all this pent-up, violent aggression comes on Death Night, an eve of bloody excess in Khaine's glorious name. As soon as the sun sets, so do the city's draconian laws, and all hell breaks loose as Witch Elves, nobles and even slaves take to the streets to revel in murder. Scores are settled and new ones created in a night of diabolical violence. And only as the dawn gong rings out across the city, and the sated survivors attempt to flee the street, does Har Ganeth’s ruler make an appearance. The gates to the palace swing open and Hellebron, accompanied by her elite guard, emerges to sweep the streets of those engorged and slow with the night’s excesses. Hellebron is the Blood Queen, High Priestess of Khaine and most powerful of all Witch Elves. Her only true rival in power is Morathi, whom she despises. For the Witch King’s mother has withheld the secret of eternal youth from Hellebron. And so, while Morathi keeps her eldritch beauty, time leeches upon Hellebron. She becomes a withered crone, and only by bathing in Cauldrons of Blood can she temporarily restore her youthful aspect. But every year, the enchantment wears off quicker and more blood is required. It is this constant attainment to a lost and fleeting beauty that drives the Blood Queen ever onward...