Dark Elves (Warhammer)
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In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe, the Dark Elves are a race of harsh, warlike and vicious Elves. Unlike Dark Elves in most of modern fantasy fiction, Warhammer's Dark Elves do not dwell underground, nor are they dark-skinned; instead many of them are pale skinned and have raven black hair. They call themselves the Druchii in most Warhammer fiction books. They live in the land of Naggaroth.
The Druchii are cruel raiders with much disdain for all other races, especially their lighter kindred the High Elves. They are the Fantasy equivalent to the Dark Eldar in Warhammer 40,000.
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[edit] History of the Dark Elves
Thousands of years ago, the High Elves were a unified race living in the island kingdom of Ulthuan.
The first Phoenix King, Aenarion the Defender, was the greatest warrior to walk the earth. It was by his hand that the first great invasion of Chaos was thwarted. During this war, he rescued an Elven maiden from a Slaaneshi warband. Her name was Morathi, and she was beautiful beyond description. Aenarion fell deeply in love with her, and she bore his son Malekith. Under the tutelage of both his father and mother, Malekith became a formidable warrior, a skilfull general and an accomplished sorcerer.
According to birthright, Malekith was the rightful successor to the throne of Ulthuan. But when Aenarion died, the ruling Council of Princes, feeling the Elves needed a more peace-minded leader now the war was won, decided that Malekith was too impetuous and warlike, due to a troubled life overshadowed by the terrible legacy of his father and the insidious influence of his mother. Declaring that Malekith was not fit to rule, they selected another to sit on the throne - Bel Shanaar of Tiranoc, a hero of the Daemon Wars.
Malekith was relegated to the rank of High General and supreme commander of the armies. This suited him well, as he was an outstanding warrior and peerless general in the manner of his father. During his time in the army he wandered the globe, and with his mother's guidance, started experimenting with Dark Magic. After a few years Malekith became discontent. In his mind the Elves must be a warlike people to face the ever-growing menace from the forces of Chaos. He became increasingly critical of the nobles, who grew soft and complacent under the protection of his armies. Worse yet, the Cult of Pleasure; a society of poets and artists founded by Morathi herself; had become a front for a Chaos cult of Slaanesh, was taking root in Elf society, being particularly strong in his homeland of Nagarythe. Malekith took personal command of the investigation and used this power to eliminate his political enemies, accusing them falsely of being cultists and executing them without trial.
Then events turned critical. Malekith claimed Phoenix King Bel-Shanaar was a worshipper of Slaanesh and Bel-Shanaar died of poisoning shortly afterwards. Those loyal to the Council accused Malekith of assassination. Those loyal to Malekith claimed Bel-Shanaar committed suicide because he couldn't live with his failures. The argument between Malekith and the Council of Princes turned violent and Malekith and his followers ended up killing most of the Princes in the name of saving Ulthuan (or to simply destroy all opposition to his ascension; both sides say different).
Now the Council was out of the way, there was only one thing left to do in order to become Phoenix King. Malekith had to pass through the Sacred Fire of Asuryan, king of the Elven gods. Malekith stepped forwards, confident he would pass the ordeal just as his father had done. Yet the Sacred Flame would not suffer Malekith's polluted body and it burned him, scarring him horrifically. Malekith's followers claimed treachery - that the Sacred Fires of the Creator God Asuryan must have been corrupted to reject even the rightful heir. They fled back to the province of Nagarythe with their leader. In confusion over the death of their king and council, the High Elves did not pursue.
Near to death, Malekith was taken to one of his mother's temples. His body had healed sufficiently, but, according to the high elves, his mind was destroyed beyond repair and Malekith was completely lost to insanity. He knew of the need to lead his followers into battle against the High Elves, but also knew his withered body would not survive the rigours of battle. Morathi called upon Hotek, a renegade priest of Vaul, the Elven smith god, to forge a suit of armour that would give life and strength to Malekith's flame-ravaged body. Malekith had the armour fused directly to his skin, forming a sorcerous shell granting him immense supernatural powers. From that day forth, Malekith was known as the Witch King, for he truly had become a figure of dread.
Once healed, Malekith was consumed with a bitter hatred for those who has resisted him. He summoned those Elves who were loyal to him to aid him in taking the throne by force. This included a large part of the standing military, most of his home province of Nagarythe and many other Elves throughout the kingdom who believed in Malekith's cause.
Meanwhile, the High Elves started organising themselves and elected a new Phoenix King, Caledor the First. Caledor gathered his armies to him and a bloody civil war erupted between the High Elves and the followers of Malekith. Great victories were won on both sides, but in the end the scales tipped in the favour of the High Elves. Although their stronghold in Nagarythe was nearly impregnable, Malekith's followers were slowly getting outnumbered and Caledor proved to be an equally skilled general as the Witch King. Finally Malekith and Caledor faced each other directly at the head of their mighties armies. Caledor managed to defeat the Witch King, driving his army into the marches of Maledor.
Desperate, Malekith decided on a final gamble: he gathered his sorceresses and attempted to unravel the Vortex of Ulthuan that prevented the return of the full force of Chaos. As Malekith and his coven began this dark ritual, the mages of Isle of the Dead intervened, weaving powerful counter spells. The resulting magical backlash caused the cataclysm known as The Sundering, and submerged great parts of Nagarythe and Tiranoc beneath the sea.
As the province sank, several of the great fortress-cities of Nagarythe were pulled from the bedrock by sorceresses and kept afloat by their magic. Malekith and the surviving loyalists sailed their fortress-ships, which would become known as "Black Arks", to the continent called the new world and established a new kingdom that they named Naggaroth in honor of their destroyed home.
As a result of the Sundering, the overriding obsession of Malekith (and by proxy much of the Dark Elf society) is the death or subjugation of the High Elves of Ulthuan and the restoration of Malekith to the throne of the Phoenix King.
[edit] Naggaroth, Land of the Chill
When the Dark Elves were driven from the Elven homeland of Ulthuan following a cataclysmic civil war, they fled northwards to the dark and forbidding lands of Naggaroth, "the Land of Chill". The name is an appropriate one, for the unwelcomimg home of the Dark Elves is a harsh wilderness of frozen tundra.
After exterminating the native barbarian tribes of Naggaroth they constructed six heavily fortified cities:
- Naggarond the Tower of Cold and Dark Elf capital
- Ghrond the North Tower where the sorceresses study the Realm of Chaos
- Karond Kar the Tower of Despair and largest slave port of the Dark Elves
- Hag Graef the Dark Crag which is never touched by the sun's rays
- Har Ganeth the City of Executioners and religious capital of Cult of Khaine
- Clar Karond the Tower of Doom and largest Dark Elf shipyard
The Dark Elves also constructed a series of fortified watch towers along their northern border to ensure the forces of Chaos did not trespass into the domain of the Witch King.
These cities have innumerable black towers rising like pinnacles of ice from the cold, hard rock of Naggaroth. Due to the harsh and unforgiving nature of Naggaroth, few live outside the cities and so the Druchii cities are some of the most densly populated centers in the world. All of these cities are dark and evil places. Their black dungeons are crammed with captives whose wailings fill the air and whose moans seep through the thick walls of the high towers, saturating the place with pain, despair and the souls of the dying. At the tips of these towers, the Sorceresses of Naggaroth cast their malign magic over the world.
The society of Naggaroth is a hierarchical one, with their Witch King, Malekith, at the top. At his right hand is his mother and consort, Queen Morathi. It has been argued, however, that the Dark Elves are in truth a Machiavellian society, with one man at the top and several powerful underlings in competition with each other, all vying for power but simultaneously preventing others from getting it. Malekith allows this to continue because it keeps all sects strong by culling the weak, but also keeps them under his complete control.
[edit] Dark Elf economy
Dark Elves have one major source of income: slave labor. Dark Elves raid all other lands, particularly Ulthuan, home of their enemies the High Elves. They take food and treasure, but the main purpose of their raids is to obtain slaves. Slaves play an important part in Druchii society, as they perform the menial chores that an enterprising Druchii deigns to be below him. Slaves also make up the bulk of the ritual sacrifices to the god Khaine. Dark elves do not value their slaves' lives, and often kill one or two to show the other slaves their brutality.
The Dark Elves take to sea in their Black Arks. Kept afloat by magic, the Black Arks travel far and wide to procure slaves. Each Black Ark is home to a small army of Dark Elf raiders and a small fleet of raiding vessels. These forces can be landed on the coast of an unsuspecting kingdom, perform a lightning raid, and be off before any of the local defence forces are able to react. In this way countless millions of doomed souls have been taken back to Naggaroth to a fate worse than death.
[edit] Religion
The Druchii primarily worship the Elven god Kaela Mensha Khaine, the Bloody-Handed God and Thousand Faced Lord of Murder. While their kindred, the High Elves of Ulthuan, only invoke this wrathful god in times of war, the Dark Elves are wholly devoted to him. Each city has temples and shrines devoted to Khaine where blood sacrifices are made. Dark Elves are required to donate a percentages of the slaves they capture on raids to the temple but most Dark Elves make several additional sacrifices a year.
The most savage sect of Khaine worshippers are known as the Brides of Khaine, more commonly called Witch Elves (or Maibd in the Dark Elf language). They are an all-female cult of warrior priestesses. Witch Elves consider the battlefield to be a holy place and are suicidally fanatical in proving their worth to Khaine by spilling the blood of their enemies. The cult is lead by high priestesess called hags, who bathe in blood to retain eternal youth. Morathi founded the cult of Khaine, yet it is currently led by Crone Hellebron, eldest of the hags.
The holiest time of the year for Dark Elves is Death Night. During this night the Witch Elves rule the streets of the Dark Elf cities, capturing anyone they find (whether they are slaves or Dark Elves) and dragging them back to the temples as sacrifice to Khaine. The Witch Elves will even go so far as to break into houses, which has led to Dark Elf families barricading windows and doors during this night. On Death Night the Witch Elves will also steal away a number of children. Girls captured like this will be trained to become Witch Elves. Boys are tossed in a cauldron of boiling blood. Those that survive are trained to be true adepts of Khaine: the feared assassins. As dawn breaks after Death Night it is customary for those who lived through the night to make a sacrifice from their own houshold (usually a favoured slave or elderly relative) as a thanks to the Lord of Murder for sparing their family.
Besides the worship of Khaine, a sizeable portion of the population has also secretly kept alive worship of the Chaos God of Pleasure, Slaanesh. The Cult of Pleasure, led by Morathi, played a major role in the Sundering of the Elves of Ulthuan, but was considered heretical after the founding of Naggaroth and was suppressed as the worship of Khaine became prevalent. Centuries passed, and the Cult grew stronger in the shadows and secret places of the six cities. The Convents of the Sorceresses, also headed by Morathi, are implied to be power bases for the Cult (this is why there is a sect enmity between the Convents and the Cult of Khaine). As the Storm of Chaos engulfed the old world, the Cult rose to prominence once more when Morathi and her sorceresses recruited warbands of Hung tribesmen (human followers of Chaos) to the Cult, and marched them through Naggaroth. In response to this, underground members of the Cult openly joined Morathi's growing war host. Using her supernatural beauty and powerful magic she turned the Cult and its allies into her own private army and invaded the lands of Lustria to the far south.
Though they were repulsed, the Cult of Pleasure returned to Naggaroth in strength and openly displayed their status as devotees of Slaanesh. Because of this, and with the armies of Malekith attacking far-off Ulthuan, Naggaroth currently stands on the brink of civil war.
[edit] Army composition
Dark Elf armies are fast and dangerous but potentially fragile. They are more fleet of foot than humans and favour speed and maneuverability over heavy armour. Characteristics of Dark Elven armies include armour forged with all manners of wicked barbs, hooks and blades, and their uniforms tend to be dark sombre colours such as purple, indigo or black. Human skin is a highly prized material for durable military garb, and their graceful swords and spearheads tend to be hooked and serrated for catching enemy blades and inflicting severe injuries.
Druchii infantry consist of spear phalanxes and repeater crossbow regiments which are supported by shock infantry such as Executioners, who wield heavy two-handed blades called Draich, heavily armed Corsair raiders, or scores of Witch Elves that are drugged up into a killing frenzy. The most elite fighters are chosen to join the fanatic bodyguard of the king, the infamous Black Guard.
Cavalry often plays a key role in engagements. The elite Druchii cavalry are the Cold One Knights: Druchii nobility that ride carnivorous reptiles known as Cold Ones into battle. Not used by the Elves prior to The Sundering, they are native to the caves beneath the Blackspine Mountains and are a separate breed from those used by the Lizardmen of Lustria. These fearsome beasts are also used to pull heavy Cold One Chariots. They are often deployed alongside Dark Riders; fast and highly manoeuvrable warriors swathed in black robes who ride upon swift Elven steeds.
The Dark Elves use a rather vicious war machine known as the Reaper. Similar to the original design for the Repeater Bolt Thrower of their High Elven cousins, the Reaper is a large, ballista-style torsion weapon. It is capable of hurling either a single harpoon-like projectile with devastating force or a volley of multiple smaller bolts. They are usually found mounted on the bow of Dark Elf raiding ships or on the parapets of a city wall. However, they are also frequently taken into major combat engagements, as they are both lightweight and extremely effective in the hands of a skilled crew.
Dark Elves display a talent for taming and training the gigantic monsters that stalk the mountain ranges of their homeland. It is not uncommon for a Druchii Beastmaster to drive a monstrous, dragon-like Hydra or a towering, winged manticore into battle. Off of the battlefield, these Beastmasters are also responsible for training Cold Ones and elven steeds, and the subjugation of the endless supply of slaves.
Harpies often accompany Druchii forces into battle. These beasts have the appearance of winged women with talons and fangs. Possessed of a savage beauty, they are believed to be the reincarnations of slain Witch Elves of Khaine. Harpies are utterly untamable by the Beastmasters, and thus are somewhat unreliable. They follow large Dark Elf war parties to prey upon the fallen and wounded.
Magical power on the battlefield is supplied by the six Convents of Sorceresses, who refine the inherent magical aptitude of Dark Elf women into a deadly force. Though the Sorceresses are vulnerable in close combat, the sinister power that they wield is potent enough to ensure that almost every significant Dark Elf force will have at least one Sorceress. (It should be noted that Druchii males are not allowed to be trained in magical arts, and renegade Sorcerers are killed without question.)
Overall, the Druchii are devastating on the offensive. Every Dark Elf spends their entire life drilling and training in military maneuvers. Units working together in concert can break or destroy nearly any enemy that dares underestimate them, yet their fragile constitution means they are not able to absorb much damage in return. This forces Dark Elf commanders to rely on sound tactics rather than brute force. Thus Druchii generals are considered some of the best tacticians in the Warhammer world.
[edit] Enemies and Allies
The Dark Elves believe themselves to be superior to all and equal to none. Their principle enemies are the High Elves for obvious reasons, but over the centuries have been given reason to take up arms against all races of the Warhammer World.
Since they are situated north of the jungle covered continent of Lustria, the Dark Elves organize frequent raiding parties on the Lizardmen temple cities for magical items, gold, and slaves (although Lizardmen don't make good slaves due to their coldblooded stubbornness).
It has been known for Dark Elves to recruit Ogres, Greenskins or Beastmen as allies, though they would never see them as equals and send them to their deaths without a second thought.
On several occasions the Dark Elves joined forces with the fleets of the Undead Tomb King Settra to raid the Human kingdoms of Tilea for slaves. The Human realms of the Empire and Bretonnia are favored targets for slave raids as well.
Perhaps the only faction that the Dark Elves have a recurring partnership with are the Hordes of Chaos. These creatures' twisted intellect mirrors that of the Dark Elves, and they share the same goals: take over Ulthuan and by extension the world. This alliance however, is a fickle one and usually does not survive long in the face of the Dark Elves' Machiavellian schemes or the warp-spawned barbarianism of Chaos.
[edit] References
- Johnson, J., & Blanche, J., 1998. Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves. Nottingham: Games Workshop Ltd. ISBN 1-869893-16-6
- Thorpe, G., Haines, P., & Hoare, A., 2004. Storm of Chaos. Nottingham: Games Workshop Ltd. ISBN 1-841544-60-4
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