Alith Anar

Alith Anar, son of Eothlir and Maieth, and last scion of House Anar, was a prince of Nagarythe who stood against Malekith before The Sundering tore Ulthuan apart. During the great war between the High Elves, led by King Caledor I of Ulthuan and the newly renamed Dark Elves, led by Malekith the Witch King, Alith Anar took up the title of Shadow King and formed the group known as the Shadow Warriors which specialized in guerilla warfare deep behind enemy lines. He is the bearer of the Moonbow, a mythical bow of terrible power that was said to have belonged to Kurnous, the elven god of hunting. His merciless presence is enough to strike fear into the heart of even the most evil of Dark Elves.

Pre-Sundering
Alith was born into House Anar, a noble family of Nagarythe. His grandfather Eoloran was made standard bearer of Nagarythe by Aenarion during the great war against the daemons. As a youth, Anar was very proud of his heritage and would often compete in archery contests with friends to uphold the honor of House Anar. Alith was thought to be a distant and morose child by his parents, yet he paid more attention to his surroundings that he led on. He even fell in love and upon giving his love a cloak made to look like the night sky he became betrothed, but this did not last as his betrothed lost interest and was later sent to Anlec to study the arts of murder in the temple of Khaine.

In a twist of bad fortune House Anar was declared traitors by Malekith, being accused of being part of the forbidden pleasure cults. Alith at this time was in Tor Anroc in the palace of Bel Shanaar, the second Phoenix King to take up the mantle of ruler of Ulthuan. His house decimated, his parents slaughtered and his grandfather taken prisoner Alith fled for his life and entered the woods of Everqueen. Living amongst wild wolves, learning how they hunt in packs and strike at the weak spots of their prey, he became an unmatched hunter. When the Druchii finally revealed their true nature they moved to burn down the forest and kill the Everqueen. Upon hearing this the wolves led Alith to a pond and at the bottom of it lay a mythical and powerful bow, the Moonbow. Gifted to Kournos by the moon goddess Lileath.

The Sundering
Aenarion’s court, following his marriage to Morathi, became a place of simmering evil, and it was here that the Cults of Excess festered in the reign of Bel Shanaar. When the Nagarythe threw their lot in with Malekith, it was from these decadent and perverse nobles that he drew most of his power. They were veterans of the wars against the Daemons of Chaos and many powerful sorcerers filled their ranks.

Not all the Nagarythe joined Malekith’s rebellion against the true Phoenix King, however. Many High Elves had been appalled by the depravity ushered in by Morathi, and further sickened by Malekith’s betrayal. These brave souls were the first to bear the brunt of the Witch King’s assault, and their homes and their lives were quickly destroyed.

At the Battle of Dark Fen, the loyal Nagarythe stood before the mighty hosts of the Dark Elves. One of the first battles of Malekith’s rebellion, the loyal Elves were outnumbered three to one and their foe were battle-hardened and cruel. Eothlir, Alith Anar’s father was an expert tactician, and the Archer and Spear regiments who fought for him outmanoeuvred the Dark Elves for long hours. Hundreds of Dark Elves died crossing the fen, black fletched arrows claiming their lives, before the battle lines met. Crazed Dark Elf warriors tore into Eothlir’s regiments, but even then it seemed that the loyal Elves could prevail. With his household at his side, Eothlir held firm.

The proud banner of the Anars fluttered just a moment longer before it was crushed beneath the immense bulk of the Dark Elf general’s Black Dragon. As Eothlir was savaged by the mighty beast, a ripple of panic spread through the Elf army. As he fell to the ground, blood bubbling between his lips, Eothlir cried a warning to his son, Alith. Flee!

The Shadow Warriors
Few of Alith Anar’s folk survived that battle, and they were harried through the tens and marshes for long weeks, until the Dark Elves grew tired of the search. When at last they came out from hiding, Alith Anar and his companions found their ancestral home a ruin, and scores of the elderly and innocent lying dead. There he learned that his grandfather, Eolaran, had been taken to the dungeons of Anlcc - he was never seen again.

Alith Anar and his warriors swore terrible oaths of vengeance that day. They launched brutal ambushes on the armies of Malekith, butchering messengers, destroying supply chains and disrupting the flow ot reinforcements. They joined many of the mightiest battles of the age, and it is said that Caledor the Conquerer thanked Alith Anar in person following the Second Battle of the Ellyrion Plains. There the Dark Eli army boasted scores of Reaper holt throwers and the carnage they wrought upon the High Elves was terrible. As the Witch King’s army advanced, however, the Reapers fell silent one after another - Alith Anar and his loyal warriors emerging from hiding to overrun their crews. The fighting was brief and one sided, the Shadow Warriors leaving the delicate war machines in ruins.

The Shadow King
When the Witch King and his mother, Morathi, fled Ulthuan into the west, the remaining few nobles of Nagarythe turned to Alith Anar to lead them. In the shattered groves beneath Dragon Pass they swore a pact of obedience to Alith Anar.

I heir land had been ruined, flixided by the madness of the Sundering and their reputation was in tatters. The Elves of other lands now viewed them as tainted - pariahs barely better than the Dark Elves they had fought against so courageously. That night each Elf from Nagarythe’s great families took an oath of blood that they would not rest until they had destroyed Malekith and all of his followers. They became the Shadow- Warriors, and Alith Anar was their lord, the Shadow King.

The Eternal War
In the wake of the Sundering, there were many Dark Elves still hiding in Ulthuan, and the Shadow Warriors busied themselves rooting out these remnants of evil. This was a task that Alith Anar and his warriors undertook with a vengeance and soon there were few of the Dark Elf reavers who did not know and fear his name. Each time his warriors slaughtered a Dark Elf encampment, his notoriety grew.

None were ever spared, those that survived the fighting and were foolish enough to surrender or flee, were captured and then massacred as a sign of the Shadow King’s passing.

After the Battle of Griffon Pass, Alith Anar captured seven hundred Dark Elves and had them nailed high upon the white cliffs overlooking the narrow valley, where they hung until they died, and then their corpses hung for years afterwards until their flesh rotted and their bones tumbled into piles beside the road. Such is the dark power of the place that these bones can be seen to this day, together with the red marks left by Alith Anar’s iron nails upon the cliffs.

Later Alith Anar led his followers against the newly raised fortresses of Naggaroth. In the bleak lands of the northern New World, the Shadow Warriors became a serious thorn in the Witch King’s side, harassing his ships, ambushing his warriors, and plundering his convoys. There was nothing the Shadow Warriors would not dare. It was said that Alith Anar once danced in disguise with Morathi at the court of the Witch King before stealing the Stone of Midnight from her treasury. He then outwitted the Witch Elves sent to hunt him down, tricking them into drinking poison mixed with blood before escaping into the wilderness.

The Aesanar
As to the final fate of Alith Anar none can say. His heirs have ruled the wandering folk ot Nagarythe ever since, though none have taken the title of Shadow King which remains his alone. T hey are the Aesanar, the sons of Anar, and even the Phoenix King has never knowingly met nor spoken to them. These grim scions ot the Shadow King still fight their eternal war against the Witch King and his followers, true to the oaths that their ancestors swore thousands of years ago.

Around the campfires ot the Shadow Warriors, the true sons and daughters of Nagarythe still speak ot Alith Anar as a living warrior, an Elf of the shadows, a mortal spirit of vengeance, bound to walk the earth until the Witch King is laid to rest.

Wargear

 * Light armour.


 * Hand weapon.


 * Stone of Midnight - The Stone of Midnight was a gift to Morathi from Aenarion, the first and mightiest of the Phoenix kings. It was stolen from her palace by Alith Anar, who made mockery of the sorcerous wards that protected it, and deftly evaded the guardians of the Hag Queen. The High Sorceress has promised the gift of eternal youth and a night of debauchery with the most beautiful of her Witch Elves to whoever can return her treasure.
 * Shadow Crown -The Shadow Croum is the symbol of the rightful rulers of Nagarythe, a simple silver circlet set with a single diamond. The Witch King covets this crown greatly, for without the crowm his claim to the throne of Nagarythe is hollow indeed. Thanks to the magic contained within the crown, Alith Anar has managed to escape death on scores of occasions. By speaking the name of his kingdom, and defiantly claiming his rulership, Alith Anar can freeze time for a blink of an eye, giving himself a brief instant to slip away from danger.
 * Moonbow - The Moonhow is an exquisite weapon forged from a pale metal that glitters in the moonlight. The Shadow Warriors claim it was handed to Alith Anar by the goddess Lileath. This bow has been the bane of countless Dark Elves and its reputation is legendary. The merest whisper of the arrows shot by the Moonbow will strike fear into the hearts of the Druchii.