Azhag the Slaughterer

"Wyvern's is good fer one thing, eatin' smashin' smellin' and flyin.' They're also good fer lettin' the other boyz know who's boss!"

- Azhag the Slaughterer

Azhag the Slaughterer is one of the most infamous Orc Warlord in recent history. He has brought a trail of ruin and destruction to many parts of the Old World, laying waste to cities, fortresses and mountain strongholds wherever he goes. Atop his head lies the key to his power and uncommon intelligence in tactics and warfare -- an ominous iron crown which emanates an ancient evil long thought forgotten from history. It is from this crown, a relic of olden days, which granted Azhag sorcerers powers and gave him the vision he needed to command a Waaagh! of epic proportions.

In time, rivals were easily beaten and whole tribes were soon conquered as Azhag's notoriety grew within each passing conquest. The ominous crown, known in ancient times as the Crown of Sorcery, would constantly whisper into the primitive mind of the Orc Warlord, telling him of a grand conquest that lies to the south, of a great plan that needs to be fufilled. Victory once more followed victory, and after much notoriety, the deeds of Azhag had travelled far and wide, luring Greenskin tribes by the dozens into joining him on his Waaagh!

Azhag is unlike any Orcish Warlord that had lived and died before him. With the crown controlling his mind, Azhag began to use un-Orcish words and often tried to explain orders to his subordinates instead of simply cracking skulls and bellowing orders. However, a Greenskin's personal will is far to strong to simply erase, and at times the Crown and Azhag's willpower often struggle for control. Such events have left the Warlord in a trance-like state or making him move slowly, as if sleepwaking. Even on several occasions, his subordinates have seen the Warlord argue with himself constantly or towards an invisible advisary. Yet none could hope to outright defy the Warlord, for even in his state, he was still immensely powerful beyond reckoning. Once battle has been joined, Azhag is a comet of destruction, descending from the sky to wreak havoc amongst the enemy army, his eyes and his crown ablaze with sorcerous light. The Greenskins under his command know he's not quite right in the head any more, but still, his victories have given them a fight and the spoils of war, that is incentive enough for his troops to follow him to the end's of the earth.

History
The legend of Azhag the Slaughterer truly began within the chaos-corrupted lands of Troll Country, located to the uttermost north of the Old World. Within this harsh and unforgiving landscape, the Greenskin tribes that had lived there had to face a harsh reality that even the warlike Orcs could not easily overcome. Monsters and packs of ravenous Trolls constantly stalk the dead landscape, while armies of Northmen would come down time and again to ravage the fertile lands of the south. The few remaining tribers were small and scattered all across the land, for they are all bitter rivals, and fight amongst each other just as much as any other foe. However, all of this changed the day a lesser and little-known Orc chieftain by the name of Azhag found a mysterous crown.

When Azhag and his tribe were attacked by a warband of heavily-armored Chaos Warriors, Azhag and his warband were forced into an underground labyrinthe ruins of what had long ago been the former Human city of Todtheim. After fighting off the daemonic monstrosities that lived within the cursed city, Azahg wandered into a den of a multi-headed Chaos Troll. After a fierce battle, Azhag slew the beast and found admist its bone-strewn lair an ancient and ominous crown. Unsuspecting of its true nature, Azhag placed the ironband upon his head. In that instant, Azhag had never been the same again.

The Rise of Waaagh! Azhag
In that single moment, strange thoughts and images began to flood into his mind. With this new crown leading him advice, Azhag was able to lead the survivors out of the cursed city of Todtheim and back into the surface. The crown became a permanante fixture atop of his scarred head, and in time he soon began to mutter to himself and often spoke in a decidedly un-Orcy voice. Unbeknownst to his tribe, the crown was working its arcane control over their leader, for the crown was an ancient and terrible device that held a portion of an ancient Necromancer, known in ancient times as Nagash, bound within. However, despite the immeasurable will of Nagash weighting down upon him, Azhag's mind had its own singularly determined strength, and despites the crown's exertions, it could never fully possess control of his entire body.



With whispered advice or sudden jolts of arcane power, the crown aided Azhag in his conquest over the tribes. Orcish brutality augmented by ancient guile and dark sorcery had made Azhag near unbeatable. During that year, Azhag rose to become not a chieftain of a downbeaten tribe, but a mighty Warboss of a bold and swaggering Waaagh! Through cunning, brutality, or foul magic, Azhag had manged to outmanoeuver all his rivals and beat them to submission.

As word of Azhag's notoriety grew, his army was soon swollen by hordes of Night Goblins from the domains of Red Eye Mountain. They brought, as favour to their new chosen leader, an enormous and exceptionally powerful Wyvern named Skullmuncha. Without being hand-reared from an egg, a Wyvern can not be broken to serve as a mount for any Greenskin. Yet such was the force of will of Azhag that he'd managed to subdue the beast with but a single hard stare. Once gaining the loyalty of his new companion, Azhag once more set about to his dreams of utter conquest.

Ruling over a rabble could never sate the crown, for it simply wished to return far southwards, to reunite with his rightful master. Compelled by a will not of his own, Azhag led his hordes stormed through Kislev and into the northern lands of the Empire of Man. With brain and brawn, Azhag soon become famous amongst his enemy as a Warlord the likes of which they've had never seen before. The Warlord used complex strategies to win his battles instead of the common "horde rush" tactics that is so ingrained within his race. When superior tactics could not crush his enemies, Azhag would personally take to the fray and beat down all those that would oppose him. Those he did not kill with his axe and sword, he killed with his use of dark sorcery.

It was at the Battle of Butchers Hill that Azhag gained his infamous title as "The Slaughterer" after he organized a pincer-movement that utterly trapped and destroyed a powerful Imperial army. In that battle, it is said that Azhag led loose a barrage of fell magic upon the enemy, and the massacre became so infamous that Azhag had gained a place in history as one of Mankind's most hated enemies. Yet all was not well. Azhag's spirit fought the crown nearly every step of the way. After every great victory, Azhag wanted to revel within the spoils of war, but the crown constantly pushes the Warlord southwards. When Azhag wished to swerve course to sack nearby towns, the crown had to fight viciously against his will. When the great Waaagh! halted in its advance upon the burnt ruins of Nachtdorf, and saw that the Greenskins were simply wasting time by building dung idols of Gork and Mork, the voice within Azhag's head raged at the delay.

In time, these battle of wills have left the Warlord in a stupor, often staring unblinkingly towards the distance. More and more his troops began to think that something is wrong with their new leader, but none truly cared for the matter, for Azhag had won them many victories, and so long as he keeps on winning, his troops would follow him every step of the way.

The End of Azhag the Slaughterer
It was finally, after many long months of constant internal mental fighting that the battle between the Crown and Azhag's will had finally cost them both everything. Within the infamous Battle of Osterwald, Azhag had once more diverted from the crown's intended path and headed straight into the path of an advancing Imperial army. It was during this battle that Azhag once again attacked headlong into a mass of Imperial Knights of the Knight's Panthers. The crown grew insane with rage that the Orc Warlord once more diverted from the invasion's circuitous route, and sought even greater control over Azhag. The mental duelling left the Orc Warlord distracted at the most critical moment, and within this moment of weakness, Warlord Azhag had been slain by Werner von Kreigstaldt, the Grand Master of the Knights Panther.

Without the evil genius to guide them, the Greenskins hordes were in disarray and soon routed from the battlefield. As for the crown, the Grand Theogonist recognized its foul origin and sought to hide it from the world once and for all. Refusing to touch it with his bare flesh, he took the ancient relic back to the capital-city of Altdorf, where it was placed within the deepest darkest vaults beneath the Cathedral of Sigmar. From then on, the ancient evil crown had since been guarded eternally by both the ever vigilant Clergy of Sigmar and the powers of the Vault's ancient magical wards.