Alcadizaar the Conqueror

Alcadizaar the Conqueror, the last of the Priest Kings.

Alcadizaar the Conqueror was the last and perhaps the greatest Nehekharan Priest-King to have ever lived, having sacrificed himself and his entire civilisation to stop Nagash and his diabolical plot to turn the entire World into an Undead wasteland. Unbeknownst to most, Alcadizaar was one of the few Nehekharans to drink from the Elixir of Life, given to him by Neferata in her bid to make him her newest and greatest consort and King of all Nehekhara.^[3e] Yet Alcadizaar was a righteous man, a light which shone through the darkness which began to envelope him and his world. As such, Alcadizaar managed to fight past the powers of the Elixir and became a King that Nehekhara had long deserved. Through him, Nehekhara shone with light and majesty that had been never before seen in its history, so powerful that it may have eclipsed Settra's own dynasty. Yet like all bright flames, this grand and mighty empire of Mankind was extinguished, with Alcadizaar being the last to die before he and his entire people were now dust upon the winds.^[1a]

History

Alcadizaar was the eldest son of King Aten-heru, Priest King of Khemri. The Queen of Rasetra and wife of Aten-heru had a troubled pregnancy and fearing the death of her first child, the Queen desperately came to the city of Lahmia and begged for her child's life at the Temple of Blood. There, Neferata gave the woman an infusion containing her blood and when the boy was born, claimed him as her own saying he would stay in Lahmia until he came of age and took his throne in Khemri. This child would be called Alcadizzar.^[3d]

Consort of Neferata

"You are mine, Alcadizzar. Together we shall rule Nehekhara until the end of time."

—Neferata, Vampire Queen of Lahmia.^[3g]

Neferata grew to believe that Alcadizzar would become her latest partner and had him trained in every aspect of war and statehood. Given unnatural life by Neferata's blood, Alcadizaar stayed within Lahmia for many decades, postponing his rights to the throne of Khemri in hopes of achieving greater glory and prosperity for his kingdom should Alcadizaar promise to marry Neferata and join the two cities in holy union.^[3d] By his fiftieth year, Alcadizaar, still as young, vigours and handsome as he was in the prime of his youth, finished his indoctrination and was tricked into drinking from the Elixir of Life, thus becoming a Vampire. Disgusted by his own Queen's treachery, Alcadizaar managed to escape her grasp when Ubaid, his former mentor sacrificed himself to give him time to escape.^[3e]

When he escaped, Neferata chased her former lover and future husband throughout the streets of her own city, her true features revealed for what they truly are. Yet Alcadizaar knew this city well and managed to hid himself within a large ceremonial urn located at the storage room of a local potter, there shaking with horror at the revelation he bore witness to. After a day, the Prince managed to hide himself within the city's masses. For nearly eight months, Alcadizzar, prince of Rasetra and would-be King of Khemri, lived like a harbour rat among Lahmia’s busy docks. He looted and he stole; he gambled on games of dice and drank sour beer in reeking alehouses no City Guardsman dared enter. He killed his first man in a vicious, back-alley brawl, when a gang of sailors tried to pressgang him onto their ship. For a time he worked as hired muscle for one of the most notorious brothels in the Red Silk District and there fell into the company of a gang of jewel thieves who preyed upon the old noble families who lived in the shadow of the royal palace.^[3j]

That association had ended in blood and betrayal on a moonless night in early spring; Alcadizzar had escaped with nothing more than a handful of copper coins and a dying woman’s kiss. She’d been his first love, and she’d nearly been the death of him. Finally, the prince judged that his time had come. He was certain that Neferata was still looking for him, but her attention was still fixed on the caravans and the Travellers’ Quarter. The guards at the city gates had slipped back into their daily routine, and his description was changed from the night of his escape. He was much thinner now and his features were hidden beneath a full, black beard. Dressed in faded desert robes and laden with a leather pack filled with food, spare clothing and other supplies, he passed through the eastern gate in the middle of a torrential afternoon rainstorm. The guardsmen, scowling from the doorway of the gatehouse, waved him through without so much as a second glance. But the prince soon learned that escaping the city was only the first of many challenges that lay between him and distant Rasetra. Beyond the watch-forts at the eastern end of the plain the land was wild and lawless, infested with roving gangs of outlaws that preyed on unwary travellers. His hopes of falling in with an eastbound caravan were quickly dashed, as the paranoid merchants and their hired guards feared that he might be a spy for the caravan raiders.^[3j]

Alone and on foot, Alcadizzar’s skills were tested to the utmost over the next few months as he struggled his way across the plain. He was forced to fight for his life on more than one occasion, but his training and the lasting potency of Neferata’s elixir saw him through. The road became less dangerous but no less easy once he had left the Golden Plain behind. Alcadizzar made his way to Lybaras, thinking that Rasetra’s ancient allies would lend him aid, but the prince found the City of Scholars in a sad and decrepit state. The famous collegiums were all but deserted and the Palace of the Scholar-Kings was closed even to its citizens. Alcadizzar lingered there for almost a month, waiting in vain for an audience with King Pashet, but the royal viziers refused to even listen to him. In the end, he left Lybaras as road-weary and penniless as he’d been when he’d arrived.^[3j]

The Wandering Prince

"Then let it be so. From this day forwards, you are one of the bani-al-Hashim."

—Suleima, Daughter of the Sands, accepting Alcadizaar into the Brotherhood of Assassins.^[3g]

Finally, almost a full year and a half after his escape from the Temple of Blood, Alcadizzar passed through the formidable gates of Rasetra, the warlike city of his people. The prince was pleased to see that the city prospered under the rule of his younger brother, Asar. This time, he knew better than to approach the palace directly. He was sure that Lahmia had agents in the city and they were certain to be on the lookout for him. Instead, he made inquiries in the market, and that evening he found his way to the home of his uncle Khenti. Though Khenti was an old man now, his strength gone and his vision fading, he recognised Alcadizzar at once. The prince was welcomed with tears of joy. Later, when he had told Khenti of what he’d seen inside the temple, his uncle wasted no time in arranging a secret meeting with Asar inside the palace.^[3j]

Accompanied by Khenti, Alcadizzar was ushered into the king’s privy council chamber, where he met his younger brother for the very first time. Though Asar did not possess his brother’s extraordinary physique and magnetic charisma, the kinship between the two could not be denied. Asar welcomed his brother warmly, and over goblets of strong southern wine Alcadizzar told Asar his horrifying tale. This had been the moment that the prince had been waiting months for. Sitting in the filth of Lahmia’s back-alleys, he’d envisioned his brother’s face lighting up with righteous rage as he learned of Neferata’s crimes. Swift messengers would be sent across the length and breadth of the land, spreading the news and summoning their armies to war. Alcadizzar would return to the City of of Dawn as a conqueror, at the head of a vast army made up of warriors from every city in Nehekhara. But Alcadizzar was to be disappointed. The King of Rasetra listened to the prince’s tale, his expression thoughtful. When Alcadizzar was finished, Asar took a long sip of wine, and then gave his brother a frank stare.^[3j]

Asar had made it clear that he believed every word of the prince’s story and vowed to send agents to uncover proof of Neferata's crimes – but Alcadizzar knew that such efforts were doomed from the start. No stranger to the city would stand a chance of penetrating the palace compound and slipping undetected into the temple – and none of the temple’s high priestesses could be persuaded to betray their mistress’s secrets. That left only one possible alternative. If the great cities needed proof of Lahmia’s hidden evil, then Alcadizzar would have to obtain it himself. He had remained as his uncle’s guest for many months, formulating his plans, then slipped quietly from the city amid the guards of a merchant caravan bound for Lybaras. Six months later he found himself, once again, friendless and alone, upon the lawless expanse of the Golden Plain.^[3j]

Alcadizzar had thought that slipping back into Lahmia would have been a simple matter. It had been years since his escape; for all that the rest of the world knew, he might as well have been dead. But Neferata still hadn’t given up looking for him; if anything, her search had turned far darker and more terrible than before. The city docks and the poorer districts lay under a constant pall of dread. The streets were all but deserted after dark, because people were disappearing almost every night and were never seen again. Informers were everywhere, searching for men who matched his description. The City Guard had tried to detain him at the west gate; when no amount of gold would dissuade them, he’d been forced to draw his sword and fight his way out. Mounted riders had scoured the trade road for weeks afterwards, searching for him. He’d only managed to escape by fleeing deep into the abandoned farmland, where the bandits held sway. There he blended in with a tribe of bandits for twenty years, his unnatural lifespan increased further by the Elixir of Life.^[3j]

Prince of Thieves

"The people of the desert live and die by their oaths, Alcadizzar. It has always been thus. Khsar is a terrible and pitiless god, but our oaths to him allowed us to prosper in a land that confounds and kills other men. We lived in the Great Desert for centuries and we were content. Then came Settra, the Empire-Maker, and we were sorely tested."

—Ophiria, future Daughter of the Sands.^[3q]

Through great effort and unwavering loyalty, Alcadizaar managed to gain the trust of the Desert Tribe and began his bid to uncover Neferata's coven. Couriers and Courtiers were captured and taken by the Desert Tribes and soon the secret of Lahmia was revealed. With the threat of Vampire-kind exposed to all of Nehekhara, the Kings of all the other city-states had no choice but to send in their support ot Alcadizzar, for to do so otherwise would mean to throw in their lot to the cursed nobility of Lahmia.^[3q]

With enough proof obtained, the armies of all Nehekhara gathered under the banner of Alcadizzar. In a grand ceremony, he was proclaimed King of Khemri, and thus all of Nehekhara as well. With his coronation completed, he led the armies towards Lahmia. Using the specialized armies each city-state had brought to full force, Alcadizzar managed to surround and besiege the great city of Lahmia.^[3r]

Neferata, being still unresponsive due to the rejection of Alcadizzar's love of her, finally awoke from her comatose state and flew into a fury, cursing to the gods that she would rather see herself and every single inhabitant of this city dead before Lahmia falls. Undead legions were raised and Lahmia held out against overwhelming odds. Her former Captain of the Guard, Abhorash led the defence and the city held on for sometime. Eventually, Neferata and Alcadizzar fought one last duel before the gates of the city, and Neferata was so close to ending his life. Yet at the last moment, Alcadizzar stabbed Neferata by the side and nearly pierced her heart. Dragging the body of Neferata towards the Temple of Blood, the Vampires made a final last stand before its steps until finally the coalition forces broke through.^[3v]

For seven days and seven nights, Alcadizzar’s men searched the city for Neferata and her followers, and for the hiding place of the infamous tomes of Nagash. They combed the palace and the smouldering ruins of the temple from top to bottom, and though a great many hidden passageways and chambers were discovered, no sign of the city’s secret rulers was found. Even Neferata's puppets, King Sothis and Queen Ammanura, had vanished, though several witnesses claimed that they had fled to the temple garden after the city gates had fallen and taken poison to avoid capture by the invaders. After a week, Alcadizzar privately conceded defeat. Jars of oil and barrels of pitch were brought up from the docks and the great palace was set alight. The roaring flames burned long into the night, rising like a pyre atop the high hill as the invaders marched out through the broken western gate. They left behind a wasteland of empty streets, pillaged shops and burned-out homes, roamed by vultures and packs of fat-bellied jackals. Laden with plunder and files of weary, hollow-eyed slaves, the allied armies made slow progress across the Golden Plain and finally towards the capital.^[3w]

King of Khemri

Alcadizaar eventually returned to the city of Khemri and began a conquest of unification against all the remaining city-states of Nehekhara who still would defy his ruling. Alcadizaar reigned in the period of about -1200 IC by the Imperial Calendar. His reign was highly successful, as he reunited Nehekhara under an iron grip. The kings of Zandri, Numas, Mahrak, Lybaras and Rasetra all bowed their heads to him and offered the greatest of tributes. He was a wise ruler and the land experienced great prosperity and joy.^[1a]

When Nagash returned with his army of Undead and Vampire captains, the lands of Nehekhara were at the zenith of their power. The ensuing Wars stained the sands of Nekehara red for many years. The Vampires were mighty sorcerers and fell warriors, and they were determined to reclaim their kingdom no matter the cost. Wherever they appeared, terror and dread came upon the enemy, yet the Vampires, for all their claims of power and immortal, can still be cast down to the cold furrow of death. The war swayed back and forth for nearly a decade. At first, the legions of the Undead had the upper hand, but then the armies of Alcadizaar struck back with displays of tactical genius. The war finally came to an end when Vashanesh purposefully allowed himself to be killed by Alcadizaar himself, which allowed the Vampires to break free from Nagash's unbreakable will. With his death, the war was finally brought to a close.^[1a]

By the time of the war's end, Nagash sent forth a deadly plague that struck the life-giving waters of the Vitae River. The rivers ran red with blood and poison and every living thing suffered from the cursed waters. The Liche Priests were the only unaffected people as they were beyond death. This is when the land became desolate, the dead outnumbering the living. Alcadizaar sat upon his throne and wept, for he could not fight this enemy with swords and arrows.^[1a]

Nagash returned for the second time, and this time, the great empire of Nehekhara was laid low and Alcadizaar was taken prisoner. Alcadizaar was brought forth within the dungeons of Nagashizzar, where he waits helplessly while the World finally meets its doom. The salvation of Alcadizaar, and perhaps the entire world, came about when a lone hooded Skaven opened the doors to the dungeon, giving Alcadizaar one of the mightiest and most fell-handed weapons of that dreaded age. Gripping the hilt of the weapon, Alcadizaar was guided by an unknown force as he wandered into the throne room of Nagash, with the dreaded Fellblade in hand.^[1a]

With the dust-clouds of a titanic Undead Horde coming nearer by the hour, the King knew that he needed to end all this now. With faltering steps, the king approached, hesitating before the towering figure. Aided by a malevolent mental urging, the King struck. At the last moment, Nagash raised a claw to ward off the blow. The Fell-Blade was far to powerful to ward and clove through Nagash spell and cleaved the Necromancer's upraised wrist. In retaliation, the Great Necromancer snapped out of his stupor to unleash a deadly blast at the King. It was an epic struggle to behold as the King of the Dead and a King of the Living fought for dominance of the mortal world. With his last bit of strength, the King once more drove on and struck once more upon the Necromancer's decaying body. The king went mad with vengeance, hacking at Nagash with ever bit of strength he still possess until at last his swords deadly enchantments took hold. Soon the deadly blade smashed through the iron-hard bones of the Liche Lord, until finally it laid shattered in a thousand pieces, and the threat to the world was over.^[1a]

With his death, Alcadizaar stagger away as the King looked across his once beautiful land. His land and his people were no more, and the King wept at the sight, despair washing over the fire within his heart. The King aimlessly tried to walk back to his homeland, as the Fellblade took more and more of his life and soul away. The King walked, his body and soul being eaten and drained until he finally fell upon the River Mortis. There, the King died, and the legendary hero's body was never seen again. And so came the end of Alcadizaar, the unsung hero of the mortal world.^[1a]

Sources

• 1: Warhammer Armies: Tomb Kings (8th Edition)
  • 1a: pp. 8-25.

• 2: Warhammer Armies: Tomb Kings (6th Edition)
  • 2a: pg. ??

• 3: Time of Legends: Nagash Immortal (Novel) by Mike Lee
  • 3a: Chapter 1: "Mountains of Sorrow".
  • 3b: Chapter 2: "War in the Deeps".
  • 3c: Chapter 3: "Deadlock".
  • 3d: Chapter 4: "Necessary Evils".
  • 3e: Chapter 5: "Reversal of Fortunes".
  • 3f: Chapter 6: "Initiation Rites".
  • 3g: Chapter 7: "Unwelcome Conclusions".
  • 3h: Chapter 8: "Meditations on Life and Death".
  • 3i: Chapter 9: "Acts of Last Resort".
  • 3j: Chapter 10: "The Dispossessed".
  • 3k: Chapter 11: "Into the Trap".
  • 3l: Chapter 12: "Children of a Hungry God".
  • 3m: Chapter 13: "Price of Victory".
  • 3n: Chapter 14: "Blood and Sand".
  • 3o: Chapter 15: "The Crown of Nagash".
  • 3p: Chapter 16: "A Howl from the Wasteland".
  • 3q: Chapter 17: "Preparations of War".
  • 3r: Chapter 18: "Portents of Doom".
  • 3s: Chapter 19: "Crook and Sceptre".
  • 3t: Chapter 20: "Storm from the West".
  • 3u: Chapter 21: "Fire in the Night".
  • 3v: Chapter 22: "Last Stand".
  • 3w: Chapter 23: "Usurper".
  • 3x: Chapter 24: "Last Light of Day".
  • 3y: Chapter 25: "Last".