"And in Praag's darkest hour the goddess Arianka shall rise from the dead, and she shall smite the hordes of Chaos and drive them from this land for ever... There shall come a champion -- a man of Chaos, yet not of Chaos. Dark his deeds, but darker his doom! And he shall seek out the Crystal Keys and wrest them from the clutch of evil... ...And the Doomed One shall ride out from Praag, across the gushing Lynsk and thence into Norsca. And there, the forces of Chaos will close around him..."
- —Praag's Book of Ancients[4]
"Why should I want you to go on this fool's quest? Why should such as we seek to resurrect that slut Arianka, and save these snivelling mortals and their poxy Praag? The answer to that, my dear, foul Kaleb -- my perfect killer -- is my business!"
- —The Renegade Chaos God Malal speaking to his Chaos Champion, Kaleb Daark.[5]
Astasis, also called Arianka, one of the Gods of Law
Astasis, also known as Arianka, is one of the Gods of Law, beings diametrically opposed to the Chaos Gods. She is a deity that represents and embodies purity of form.[7a] Arianka's name is also associated with a root used for its strong and pleasurable perfume.[8a]
During the Gods of Law's ancient war with the Ruinous Powers, Astasis was imprisoned by Tzeentch. Rumours of her earthly location live on in the folklore of the eastern Old World. It is said that a set of crystal keys can free her from the crystal coffin in which she is imprisoned, though the location of these keys has never been found and it is not even known how many keys there are and whether they are hidden together or separately. Many places have claimed to have been the site where her coffin lies over the centuries, though the most recent, according to rumour, is the unhappy Kislevite city of Praag.[1a][7a]
It is rumoured that Praag has been so often attacked by the forces of Chaos because of what lay concealed there, even after the city was sacked during the Great War Against Chaos.[3a] This concealed object of the forces of Chaos' desire may be the imprisoned Astasis.
Saviour of Remas[]
"No, that's not meant to be Morr,' replied Horst. 'Though I thought so myself. It is some sort of Daemon, some fell creature that supposedly nearly destroyed Remas long ago, just after the Elves had gone away. According to the Cult of Solkan, the Daemon was only stopped when Solkan sent a good spirit to do battle with it. They fought, so the cult says, for a year and a day before the good spirit overcame the Daemon and imprisoned its soul in a bottle.' Horst allowed himself a short laugh. 'The cult says the spirit sent by Solkan was called a Viydagg, though an Elf ship captain I once talked to said that such spirits are associated with a goddess called Arianka, not Solkan. All heathen nonsense if you ask me.' A feeling of dread began to crawl up Brunner's spine as he watched the puppet Daemon continue to cut down the little wooden people on the stage. 'What about the Daemon?' he asked. 'Does it have a name?' 'Yes,' Horst answered. 'They call it the Mardagg.'"
- —Horst Brendle speaking to Brunner the Bounty Hunter.[2a]
The God of Law Astasis, sleeping in her crystal coffin.
According to the Cult of Solkan, the Daemon Mardagg that was destroying the Tilean city-state of Remas after the exodus of the High Elves from the Old World in the wake of the War of the Beard was only defeated when Solkan sent a Viydagg to battle him.[2a]
They fought, so the cult says, for a year and a day before the spirit of Law conquered the Daemon and imprisoned it in a bottle. Some High Elves think that such spirits are actually associated with another God of Law, Astasis.[2a]
Game History[]
As reported by Graeme Davis's blog Astasis, then known exclusively as "Arianka", first appeared in the Third Citadel Compendium in 1985. The writers John Wagner and Alan Grant were hired to create a Warhammer-themed comic, and the result was the short-lived The Quest of Kaleb Daark.
It was not clear what Astasis stood for, but she took the form of a beautiful young woman lying in a glass coffin in the city of Praag, awaiting the lost crystal keys that can free her.
Like Kaleb Daark and his Chaos God patron Malal, Wagner and Grant retained rights to the character of Arianka, and all three were quietly dropped from Warhammer canon as Games Workshop set about establishing total ownership of their intellectual properties.[7a]
When the Goddess of Law was finally referenced again in Warhammer canon with the publication of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Archives of the Empire Vol. 3, her name was changed to Astasis, with it being mentioned that she was also known as Arianka.[7a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 1a: pg. 210
- 2: Brunner the Bounty Hunter - Omnibus (Omnibus Novel) by C. L. Werner
- 2a: "Where Walks the Mardagg", Ch. 4
- 3: Gotrek and Felix: Beastslayer (Novel) by William King
- 3a: Ch. 3
- 4: The Third Citadel Compendium (1985)
- 5: Citadel Journal, Spring 1986
- 6: Citadel Journal, Spring 1987
- 7: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Archives of the Empire Vol. III (RPG)
- 7a: pg. 55
- 8: Gotrek and Felix: City of the Damned (Novel) by David Guymer
- 8a: Ch. 8