Tomb Kings

In the Land of the Dead, no name is more hated than Nagash the Arch-Necromancer, architect of Nehekhara’s downfall. It was he that cast a great ritual and brought all the dead back to Unlife ahead of the promised Day of Awakening. Centuries before this epochal moment, he had ruled Khemri, stealing the kingship from his younger brother. Arkhan was the most loyal of Nagash’s followers, pivotal in the coup that brought the nascent Necromancer to power. After his lord, Arkhan was the first to imbibe the Elixir of Life, thereby transitioning from mere mortal to Unliving immortal. For decades, Arkhan remained staunchly loyal to Nagash; a great warrior and general, he was also an accomplished student of dark sorcery thanks to his master's teachings. After fifty years of rule, the other cities of Nehekhara revolted against Nagash – desperate to end his malicious reign. The Army of the Seven Kings besieged Khemri, and Nagash was forced to retreat. Arkhan held back the allied Priest Kings’ legions through feats both martial and arcane. He finally fell, not to some hero’s blade but an ordinary spear thrown by a nameless soldier. By his dying breath he cursed both the spear and any that desecrated his corpse. Nagash has returned to enact vengeance on Nehekhara several times over the centuries. One of the Arch-Necromancer's first acts was to resurrect his faithful lieutenant. And so Arkhan the Black, the Liche King, rose from the dead, as loyal as always and a key figure in Nagash’s many machinations. In an age of comets and new empires, Nagash remains adrift from the world… for the moment. But he is very much active. Arkhan's Black Tower a beacon for those who worship the Arch-Necromancer as a god-in-waiting. Naturally, his greatest rival – everyone's greatest rival no less – is Settra the Imperishable. The two have fought dozens of times; although Arkhan’s forces cannot rival Settra’s legions, neither can the Imperishable overcome the Liche King’s dark sorcery. Thus, their wars end in stalemate, and only when Arkhan utters false promises of fealty does Settra return satisfied to Khemri. Such false servitude cannot – will not – last, for while there is still a chance to resurrect Nagash, his loyal servant will take it.

Beyond the Badlands lies the Land of the Dead. This desert realm is the cradle of mankind’s earliest empire – a civilisation known as Nehekhara that did not just huddle the banks of the Great Vitae River, but straddled the mountains to reach the shores of the Bitter Sea. To the east, it was dominated by the cities of Lahmia, Mahrak and Lybaras – ruled by great matriarchs. Even so, Khemri remained its greatest prize. When Nagash, the Arch-Necromancer, was defeated by the Army of the Seven Kings, High Queen Neferata of Lahmia acted quickly, even as the alliance dissipated. In secret, she stole the forbidden lore of Nagash to recreate the Elixir of Life. But Neferata’s own concoction was flawed – it did indeed extend her life, but the cost was an unyielding thirst for blood. Neferata had unwittingly created a race that would blight all the world forever more, she became the first Vampire. By the time her cousin, Khalida of Lybaras, visited for a great feast, most of the Lahmian Court were infected with Vampirism. To display her new found power, Neferata challenged her cousin to ritual combat in front of all in attendance. The two women fought before the shocked nobility, their blades weaving a deadly and delicate dance. But Neferata was no longer a mere mortal, and so bested her cousin. As Khalida lay dying, Neferata let her own cursed blood infect the Lybaran queen, as a final, spiteful act. The Warrior-Queen cried to the gods in desperation, and one answered! The Asp-Goddess heard Khalida's pleas and purged the taint from her veins, at the cost of her life. Khalida’s body was borne back to Lybaras in sorrow, where she was embalmed and placed upon her throne, ready to defend her city and godly patron from behind the wall of death. When the Tomb Kings finally awoke from their breathless sleep, Khalida remained on her throne, uninterested in the power-grabbing and politicking of these Undying tyrants. However, when Lybaras is threatened, Khalida acts, and quickly. At Asaph's bidding, she silently rises from her throne and commands her loyal legions to march forth. Khalida fights not merely out of loyalty to the goddess who aided her, she harbours a deep, eternal loathing – not just for her cousin, but all Vampires who dare cross her path.

Even when they lived, the Tomb Kings of Nehekhara – or Priest Kings as they were – were obsessed with death. It infuriated them that the gods had seen fit to only grant them just a few short decades upon the world to make their mark and none rankled under that knowledge more than the Great King Settra. Despite having conquered all Nehekhara and ensuring that much of Khemri was made in his image, Settra was obsessed with not just creating a legacy, but outliving it. And so he ordered the Mortuary Cult formed – its purpose to discover the ultimate secret: to cheat death. The Priesthood of the Mortuary Cult was led by Khatep, an extremely gifted and wise seer. It was Khatep who tended to Settra’s dying mortal form and promised the Great King that he would rise again on the Day of Awakening. As the years past, the hieratic cult’s quest for lore was partially successful. The priests themselves learnt how to sustain a form of Unlife, their spirits tethered to their desiccated bodies, yet the knowledge to bring back the kings as eternal demi-gods still lay beyond their grasp. However, they were undeterred and their search continued, all while serving their living kings as advisors and viziers. Thus, the Mortuary Cult spread across Nehekhara. The arrival of the Arch-Necromancer changed everything. Following the casting of Nagash’s Great Ritual, civil war threatened Nehekhara and Khatep took it upon himself to restore order. He broke open the seals to Settra’s Grand Pyramid, which caused the Great King to rise, filled with an unquenchable wrath. However, Settra had not risen as a beatific sovereign but as a ravaged mummy – this was not the Day of Awakening promised by the Mortuary Cult! Settra raged and banished Khatep from Khemri. To this day Khatep the Liche Lord remains the nominal head of the Mortuary Cult; since his exile he wanders the world, at first restricted to roaming Nehekhara's vast deserts, but of late he has travelled further afield, gathering followers and fellow exiles to seek out the lost lore he hopes will return the Lands of Nehek to glory and rehabilitate his reputation as their saviour!

In the land of Nehekhara, Khemri was the greatest city, ruled over by a dynasty of cruel kings and tyrants. While Nagash’s stolen rule of Khemri is indeed noteworthy, none – apart from the Arch-Necromancer himself – can question that its utmost reign came under High King Settra. Before the wind of death ravaged Nehekhara, it was an impressive civilisation, a burgeoning realm of rival fiefdoms that saw mankind expand long before Sigmar was even born. But the curse of man, compared to Dwarfs and Elves, is their fleeting existence. Soon the kings and princes of the city-states became obsessed with death, with extending their meagre span. The Mortuary Cult was formed during Settra’s reign and charged with ensuring that mortal bonds would not halt his rule. Settra passed with a curse upon his lips, buried in a grand chamber beneath his mighty pyramid to await the Day of Awakening, when the Mortuary Cult will fulfil their promise and Settra will rise to rule Khemri and dominate all the kingdoms along the Great River Vitae once again. Only modest progress in extending life was made until the rise of Nagash, for it was he who was destined to become the first and greatest of all Necromancers – he who truly brought Unlife to the world. The tale of Nagash is terrible to behold; needless to say, he was banished from Khemri – and thought destroyed – but many years later rose again and enacted his revenge on all Nehekhara. He cast a great ritual and all the dead in the city-states rose from their ageless slumbers. But this was not the glorious Day of Awakening promised by the Mortuary Cult. The kings awoke entombed in their sarcophagi, breaking free of their burial chambers they saw through empty eye sockets. They had not woken as gods, but were still the rotting mummies that had withered inside their tombs for countless centuries. Some went insane, others remain in denial, but a few were filled with rage at this betrayal. None more so than Settra. Now Settra the Imperishable rules Khemri once more. His Undead legions march at his whim; the King of Kings will not rest until all are under his dominance, be they other, petty Tomb Kings, or the living, whom he despises, for they have something he can never again possess.