Whenever he marched out from the impossible lands of that cursed dimension, no world was safe from his armies, and in the name of the Dark Gods kingdoms and empires burned and bled. įor unrecorded aeons, Archaon rode across the Realm of Chaos. After he slew all sent against him, Archaon continued to fight in the name of all four powers, who recognised him as their foremost champion once more, transforming him into a demigod capable of conquering all of the Mortal Realms.
Before the Daemon Wars, when the Chaos powers once more turned upon themselves, the Dark Gods sent mighty champions against Archaon to demand his sole patronage, each fearing he would side with one of the others. Certainly, Archaon’s path to glory has been arduous, for Chaos offers nothing without sacrifice. There are even tales that Archaon is an immortal emperor who once ruled all of the realms before the arrival of Sigmar.
Others say Archaon was born at the same moment that Sigmar came into being, a dark reflection of the God-King cast into in the Realm of Chaos. Some believe he was once a mortal man, devout in his pursuit of righteousness, until he was set against his old gods by the lies of the Ruinous Powers. Origins and first campaignsĪrchaon’s origins are little more than legend and rumour. Also known as Ghurshy'ish'phak, Yrontalie and the Steed of the Apocalypse, this daemonic beast has since borne Archaon to victory on battlefields uncounted and brought low the mightiest of champions who thought to challenge his master. When first Archaon vaulted atop him, Dorghar burst into flame and fought his command, but such was the Everchosen’s power that he broke the daemon’s spirit and claimed him as a steed. The last and greatest of these treasures is the shape-shifting daemon-steed Dorghar. To earn the mantle of the Everchosen, Archaon completed many harrowing quests and bested cunning foes to gather the powerful relics symbolic of his station: the Mark of Chaos upon his flesh the Crown of Domination that spreads fear and dismay even as it strengthens his allies the Eye of Sheerian that gifts him with future sight the Armour of Morkar that clads his mighty frame and the Slayer of Kings, Archaon’s sword, filled with the bound soul of the daemon U'zuhl. He is the murderous excess of Slaanesh that drives men into fits of terrifying madness and homicidal ecstasy. He is the impossible grand scheme of Tzeentch, which twists and turns in upon itself. He is the perpetual plague of Nurgle, which infects the realms with its rampant corruption. He is the blood-drenched axe of Khorne that harvests the skulls of empires. In him, the servants of each of the powers see their paragon. Īrchaon embodies not just the might of a single god, but all four. Such is the true and terrible power of this champion of champions. More than this, he is the Everchosen, the champion who bears the mark of all four gods combined and who, by his very existence, does what even they cannot: unite the armies of Chaos. He is the Exalted Grand Marshal of the Apocalypse, a title bestowed upon him by the Dark Gods themselves. A dark vision of martial majesty and brutal strength, Archaon commands every creature of Chaos to walk, slither or fly across the Mortal Realms.