Cothique, formally the Kingdom of Cothique, is a coastal realm and one of the ten kingdoms of the High Elven island-continent of Ulthuan inhabited by a shrewd and hardy seafolk. It is a cold realm, battered by the chill winds that strike north-eastern Ulthuan with great regularity, and little-loved, save by its own people. Yet even these folk of Cothique are renowned for their wanderlust, and reputedly spend as little time within their own land as possible.[1b]
Their graceful High Elven vessels plough the turbulent northern waters in search of goods and trade with different lands. This is a highly dangerous area to sail, not just because of the perilous waters, but because the seas contain many monstrous creatures stirred up by the collapse of northern Ulthuan;s kingdoms centuries ago during the civil war of the Sundering. Kraken, huge sharks known as Megaladons, Behemoths and even the dreaded Black Leviathan are all known to lurk in the waters north of Ulthuan.[1b]
The sailors of Cothique actually seek out these monsters in great sea-hunts, matching their skills and the speed of their light craft against brute strength and animal cunning. The brunt of Norse raids from beyond the Old World also fall upon Cothique and the elves of Cothique have been toughened by centuries of warfare with these fierce human warriors. The small harbours that line the rocky coast of Cothique hold many craft which double as warships in times of need.[2a]
To survive in such waters requires great skill, but the Elves of Cothique are the finest sailors in the world. Sleek, alabaster war-catamarans prowl the coast, their lookouts ever alert for deep-spawned perils. Sky-ships, their timbers infused with magic, scout the reefs and archipelagos in search of Dark Elf raiders, while messengers mounted on the giant flying fish of the outer isles carry news landward.[1b]
In these dwindling days, most of Ulthuan's realms are inward-facing, concerning themselves with the wider world only when not doing so would invite disaster. Only the nobles of Cothique look to the wider world as a source of opportunity. This is why the later voyages of Finubar the Seafarer were conducted on ships from Cothique, for no other living mariner on Ulthuan could match the breadth of knowledge found within that realm. Cothique's cities and fortresses are more practical and of much sturdier build than those found in other realms. After all, they were designed primarily to survive the weather, rather than serve as aesthetic examples. Indeed, the realm's true treasures can be found underground, amidst the network of caves and caverns that honeycomb the region's cliff faces and valleys. It was to here that the folk of Cothique retreated during invasions of times past and, over the centuries, that which was born of necessity became a way of life.[1b]
The realm of Cothique is located in the north-east of Ulthuan.
Now, many of Cothique's palaces lie beneath the surface. Their walls are the land's alabaster rock, brilliant polished and decorated with a web-work of finely wrought silver and star sapphires. No shadow falls here, for darkness is a fit companion only for Goblin warrens and the grim redoubts of the Dwarfs. Instead, Cothique's grottoes and halls are lit by the most accomplished mages of the realm. Anywhere else in the world, underground halls such as these would be under constant threat from the Skaven, but to Ulthuan, which rests not on bedrock, but is rather held upon the waves by magic, the ratmen can make no subterranean passage. Alas, as glorious as the halls of Cothique are, the finest were lost during the dark days of the Sundering. The waters of the Eastern Ocean rose up in a mighty wave and flooded the palaces nearest to the sea. Though the waters mostly retreated – as it did not in Tiranoc and Nagarythe – no Elf will lightly enter those chambers, for the bitter tang of the sea and the stench of the wave-rotten dead hangs heavy about them. Indeed, Cothiquan mariners tell that the spirits of the drowned still haunt those passages, holding court amongst tapestries of tangled kelp and hoards of tarnished treasure.[1b]
Cothique has rocky coasts and treacherous seas, so it comes as no surprise that its inhabitants are all skilled seafarers. In the coastal cities half the Elven warriors are at sea at any time, while the other half are at home guarding the coasts. Elves whose families came from Cothique can be found in all the great Elven colonies overseas. The warriors are also sailors who spend much of their time at sea and fight most of their battles against seaborne enemies and raiders. Encounters with sea monsters are regular parts of a warrior's life, and some wear cloaks made from the hides of these creatures or armour styled in the fashion of sea serpent heads. Armour is often tinted with shades of blue or green.[2b]
The sea is noted for being of a shimmering blue that stands in stark contrast with the green of the land. Rich and fertile fields are worked by yeomen, whilst glasshouses cultivate enchanted fruits within magically controlled environments. Here and there, on higher ground, mansions still dot the kingdom. Such buildings could fit Prince Arathion's villa twice over. That said, even some of the yeomen cottages are more luxurious than Arathion's mountain home, and while he may have been the richest land owner in his area, the same could not be said of those settlements still in view of the sea.[3a]
History[]
Erik Redaxe raided the kingdom in 2502 IC at the head of a great fleet of Norse reavers. An Elf war fleet led by Tyrion defeats the Norse in a huge sea battle and drives them away from the coast.[6a]
In 2518 IC the Dark Elf Assassin, Shadowblade lead a small group of Assassins to Cothique where he poisoned the rivers and caused a crippling plague.[7a]
Notable Locations[]
Concept art of Cothique from Warhammer: Age of Reckoning.
There are many small stone harbours along the coastline.[4]
- Chasm of Sorrows.[1a]
- The Burned Glades.[1a]
- The Seven Sisters - A shrine.[1a]
- Tor Andar - A city[1a]
- Tor Koruali - A city-port.[1a] In Total War: Warhammer II is the province capital of Cothique, It trades extensively in salt and is home to the Ancient Subterranean Palace.[11]
- Tor Vael - Once a High Elf settlement, during the War of the Beard was known as the city of loremasters in Cothique.
- Sky Forge - A fortress.[1a]
- Whitereach Bay.[1a]
Inhabitants[]
The realm of Cothique is a harsh place, unlovely to the eyes of most Elves. It's towering cliffs and shale beaches are windswept and grey, it's surrounding seas home to Megalodons, sea serpents and other fierce predators of the ocean trenches. Even to the Elves of Cothique, these shores hold little comfort, for their wanderlust is the greatest known to any of Ulthuan's peoples. Never is an Elf of Cothique happier than when aboard the rolling deck of a ship, the tang of salt air about his nostrils, and the cold sea breeze whirling through his hair. So it is that the ships of Cothique come to many other lands, sometimes in search of trade and comradeship, but just as often in the full raiment of war. Cothiquan warriors are wild by the staid standards of other High Elves, and much prefer the thrill of raiding to the more conventional battles prosecuted by other realms - a predilection that has seen them branded as pirates in some foreign lands.[5a]
It is of constant surprise to other Elves that the nobles of Cothique would even consider taking their horses to serve in shipboard conflict. Yet such are the deft reactions of a Cothiquan Silver Helm, and the peerless training received by his steed, that Elf and beast can do battle on the rolling deck of a ship just as gracefully as other Elven knights do on dry (and motionless) land.[5a]
The sea calls to all citizens of Cothique - not just those who live upon its jagged coastline. Thus do all the kingdom's warriors bear the ocean's colours and its denizens as their heraldry. They are more superstitious than other Elves, and many of them observe the worship of Mathlann, God of Storms, and his children of the deep. It is also common for Cothiquan heroes to bear the images of Mathlann's monstrous offspring upon their shields.[5a]
The citizens of Cothique are of practical mind in dealing with their dead. Seeing the bodies of the slain as naught but empty vessels, they cast cadavers into the waves. Thus are Cothique's halls not only kept untainted by the dead, but the Megalodons and Sea Dragons of the Cothiquan coast kept accustomed to a hunger for fresh meat.[1c]
Notable Cothiquans[]
- Alcandor of Cothique - The hero who singlehandedly held the gates of Tor Estara for seven days armed with the Blade of Leaping Gold.[1d]
- Scions of Mathlann - A Cothiquan regiment of renown.[5a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (8th edition)
- 2: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (5th Edition)
- 3: Blood of Aenarion (Novel) by William King
- 3a: Chapter Six
- 4: Interactive Map of Ulthuan
- 5: Uniforms & Heraldry of the High Elves
- 5a: pp. 26-28
- 6: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (7th Edition)
- 6a: pg. 41
- 7: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (8th Edition)
- 7a: pg. 31
- 8: The Sundering - Caledor (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
- 8a: Ch. 16
- 9: The Return of Nagash (Novel) by Josh Reynolds
- 9a: Prologue
- 10: The End Times: Khaine
- 11: Total War: Warhammer II (PC Game)
Gallery[]
![Cothiquan Sea Guard and a Silver Helm[5a]](/wiki/File:027-min.jpg "027-min.jpg (1.4 MB)")
![The Scions of Mathlann a Cothiquan regiment of renown[5a]](/wiki/File:030-min.png "030-min.png (1.07 MB)")