"I see a world drowned in fire and plague, where madness is the only reason, and death is the only respite. That world will soon be ours, unless we fight these hellspawn with every weapon at our command."
- —Luthor Huss, Prophet of Sigmar
A horrific Daemon banner depicting a snarling Daemon within an 8-pointed star, the unifying symbol of Chaos.
The following Daemons of Chaos Timeline is a chronological record of the various incursions of the Daemons of Chaos into the mortal world of Mallus. All dates are given according to the Imperial Calendar (IC).
Chronology
- ca. -5600 to ca. -4500 IC - The Great Catastrophe is unleashed upon the world of Mallus. The Old Ones' polar Warp Gates collapse, and Chaos enters the mortal world as Daemonic hordes appear and run rampant across the lands. The Slann mage-priests of the Old Ones' servant Lizardmen race muster their armies to repel the Daemons but are steadily overwhelmed. Cities fall before the Daemonic onslaught, resulting in the deaths of many millions of all the mortal peoples.[1a][2a]
- -4420 IC - Under the leadership of the Phoenix King Aenarion and the archmage Caledor Dragontamer, the Elves of Ulthuan complete the ritual that gives birth to the Great Vortex, a great maelstrom of magical energy located at the centre of the continent of Ulthuan which constantly drains Chaos energy from the mortal world. The Daemon hordes, no longer able to sustain themselves on the mortal plane as the level of ambient magical energy dramatically drops, are banished back to the Realm of Chaos and can from then on only enter the mortal realm in areas of great magical saturation or when assisted by the dark and bloody rituals of Chaos Sorcerers.[1a][2a]
- -2724 IC - The Witch King Malekith attempts to destroy the Great Vortex. Sensing an opportunity to renew their claim upon the mortal world, the Chaos Gods send a great Daemonic host to aid the Dark Elves in their efforts. Despite his otherworldly allies, Malekith is defeated, and the Great Vortex remains functional.[1a]
- -2423 IC - A Lizardmen host investigating the ruins of the lost city of Xahutec is ambushed by Khornate Bloodcrushers. Many of the remaining Slann mage-priests are slain in the ensuing battle, and Xahutec is discovered to be located on the site of a rift to the Realm of Chaos. The remaining Slann are able to close the rift, but Xahutec and its treasures are lost forever.[1a]
- -2130 IC - Around this time, the Ogre Tyrant Argut Skullcrusher confronts the Bloodthirster Baaltor in single combat. The battle echoes through the Plains of Zharr for forty days and nights until the mortally wounded Skullcrusher finally entombs his Daemonic foe beneath the pillar of rock thereafter known as Daemon's Stump.[1a]
- -1002 IC - The Siege of Nehekhara. The Mortuary Cult's Liche High Priest Intarep the Mad inadvertently tears open a rift to the Realm of Chaos. Thousands of Daemons rampage through the dusty streets of the city-states of Nehekhara. Any disappointment felt by the Daemons of Khorne at the lack of blood to spill is easily overcome by the sight of naked skulls waiting to be claimed. The invasion is only halted when Settra himself returns from campaign, defeats the Nurglish Great Unclean One commanding the Daemonic host, and bodily hurls Intarep into the rift.[2a]
- -370 IC - Daemons in the service of Tzeentch and Slaanesh appear in the mines below the Dwarf hold of Zhufbar, battling furiously with one another. Seemingly unaware of the retreating miners, the Daemons vanish again before Dwarf reinforcements can be brought to bear. The mine is subsequently sealed as forbidden ground, as unseen Daemons can still be heard lurking in its caverns.[1a]
- -102 IC - The Dark Elf Black Ark Ravager of Souls is drawn into the Realm of Chaos as it returns from raiding the Lustrian shores, finding itself beached in the centre of Nurgle's Garden. The crew manages to fend off attacking Daemons long enough for the Dark Elf sorcerers to cast a spell that should return the vessel to the mortal world. However, something goes wrong. When the Ravager of Souls returns to its berth at Arnheim, the city finds itself under attack from Daemonic hybrids. Virulent plagues sweep through much of Naggaroth over the course of the next decade, decimating the Dark Elf population.[1a]
- 107 IC - Brethil the Hawklord defeats the Daemonic legion of the Lord of Change Rel'khir on the borders of Athel Loren.[1a]
- 231 IC - The Battle of Glencurst. Slaaneshi Daemonettes and Tzeentchian Pink Horrors burst forth from the caverns below Middenheim, wreaking considerable damage to the great northern Imperial city and laying waste to the western Drakwald before being vanquished at the Battle of Glencurst by the army of Count Reiner von Mechle. Von Mechle suffers terrible dreams for the rest of his life, always the same nightmares of him striding eternally across a blasted and twisted landscape populated by creatures much like those he had vanquished. His remaining years are spent in the care of one temple or another as priests work to calm his ravaged soul. Fifteen years to the day of his victory, von Mechle vanishes from a locked room -- what his ultimate fate is, none can say with certainty.[2a]
- 570 IC - The Bloodthirster Hellgrim attempts to retrieve one of the Eight Burning Books of Khorne from its resting place in the Annulii Mountains but is defeated by the High Elf Mage Caladris.[1a]
- 623 IC - Warlord Kritsquel of the Skaven's Clan Mors battles the Daemonic legion of Kru'ar the Plaguelord. The Skaven prevail, mostly through sheer weight of numbers, but the survivors expire from Nurgle's Rot within a week.[1a]
- 800 IC - The Daemon Tz'arkan leads a host of Pink Horrors and Bloodletters out of the Chaos Wastes and lays siege to the Altar of Ultimate Darkness. Decimating the Dark Elf defenders, Tz'arkan uses the power of the altar to create a bridge between the Realm of Chaos and the Ironfrost glacier. For the next two decades, the eastern domains of Naggaroth are beset by Daemonic hordes until the Dark Elves finally retake the altar.[1a]
- 850 IC - Marius Mollus, the Grand Theogonist of the Cult of Sigmar, decrees there to be no other gods than Sigmar. His screaming form is last seen being dragged away by a blood-red, three-headed hound.[1a]
- 901 IC - The Blue Scribes of Tzeentch enter the private library of Ocasta, an exiled High Elf mage. After stealing a dozen tomes of magical lore, the Blue Horrors inadvertently set a fire among the dry pages, causing the library to be razed to the ground.
- 850 IC - A cure for the Crumbling Ague is said to have been discovered in Altdorf's temple of Shallya, the goddess of mercy and healing. Shortly thereafter, a plague of Nurglings descends upon the city. Thousands are killed, but the only building to be destroyed is the temple of Shallya, which collapses under the weight of five hundred squalling Nurglings, crushing all the priestesses within. The cure is lost.
- 850 IC - King Louis the Rash of Bretonnia orders the removal of an Elven waystone from the site of his winter palace. He spends much of the next month in pursuit of a Daemonic army that ravages the fledgling cities of Montfort and Parravon. The waystone is later replaced, following the insistent advice of the Fay Enchantress.
- 1105 IC - Deep within Karak Kadrin, the Dwarf Runesmith Skalf Ironbrow begins his research into the lost Master Rune of Dominion, unaware that he is being manipulated by the Chaos God Tzeentch.[1a]
- 1157 IC - Contact is lost with the High Elf outpost of Tor Taranth in southern Lustria. The High Elf Lord Calaveri leads a rescue mission and finds the decapitated bodies of the garrison in a pool of frozen blood.[1a]
- 1203 IC - The Wood Elf Wardancer Cirienvel journeys into the Vaults of Winter. After many battles, she uncovers the Casket of Dreams. Ignoring the advice of Naieth the Prophetess, Cirienvel opens the casket, unleashing a tide of Daemons into the very heart of Athel Loren. The Daemons gorge themselves upon the innate magic of the Wood Elf realm before they are banished.[1a]
- 1230 IC - The mad Arabyan sorcerer Mahik al'Rak creates the Portal of Twilight from a series of enchanted mirrors. Shortly after, his body is possessed by a Lord of Change who thereafter influences the magical practices in Araby to the greater glory of Tzeentch.[1a]
- 1235 IC - Karak Kadrin is attacked by a combined Khornate and Nurglish Daemonic host. Though the Dwarfs repel the intruders, three Bloodthirsters manage to reach the workshop of Skalf Ironbrow. They tear the aged Runesmith limb from limb and proceed to destroy his workshop before they are finally stopped.[1a]
- 1330 IC - The infamous Feast of Famine occurs for the first time in the Imperial city of Nuln. The debauchery is so great that the Masque of Slaanesh is drawn to attend.[1a]
- 1375 IC - The Elector Count of Nordland, seeking to bring about an end to the hostilities between the emperor and the Elector Count of Talabecland, hosts peace negotiations at his fortress in Salzenmund. All within are slain when the keep is assailed by a horde of Khornate Daemons. Both sides blame the other for the summoning of the Daemons and the resulting slaughter, and the fighting grows notably worse.[1a]
- 1401 IC - The Nurglish Great Unclean One Ku'gath Plaguefather makes common cause with the Herald of Khorne U'Zhul the Skulltaker. The two carve a swath of destruction across the Bretonnian heartlands. The Daemonic army is only defeated when Sir Gryff of Everbyl rallies the peasants of fifty villages to oppose them and banish the Daemons back to the Realm of Chaos.[1a]
- 1460 IC - While crusading in Araby, Marius Holseher, Elector Count of Stirland, uncovers the Mirror of Nightmares and inadvertently travels through it into the Realm of Chaos. For reasons of their own, the Chaos Gods allow the count to return to the mortal world unmolested, where he writes an account of his journey in the Liber Malefic.[1a]
- 1474 IC - The Sack of Braquiron occurs. Baron Callard vanishes after triumphing in battle against two Bloodthirsters.[1a]
- 1475 IC - A combined crusading army of the Empire and Bretonnia sacked the Arabyan city of Bel-Aliad. They inadvertently awaken the Portal of Twilight, banishing themselves into the Realm of Chaos where they become part of Khorne's eternal war in the Blood God's Domain.[1a]
- 1555 IC - Ogres of the Mountaineater Tribe battle the Daemon Kza'arahan in the skycastle ruins of the lost civilisation of the Skytitans.[1a]
- 1586 IC - The Year of Light and Law: Battista Gaspar Necrodomo is processed in Remas by the inquisitors of Solkan. He's judged as a heretic and false prophet. But at the last moment, he's saved by the Daemon Prince Be'lakor.[3a]
- 1668 IC - Herdred Hagstaf, castellan of Fort Schippel, leads an expedition into the Drakwald. Several herdstones are cast down, disrupting the lines of magical force and inadvertently forming a summoning circle. The ensuing Daemonic incursion is only stopped by the combined Imperial armies of Middenland, Averland, and Reikland.[1a]
- 1775 IC - The Dark Elf army of Kar Draonrath defeats Ku'gath Plaguefather. However, this proves to be a pyrrhic victory when half of the Naggarothi city's population succumbs to the nauseating shacklerot in a matter of days.[1a]
- 1803 IC - The Orc Shaman Baduum attempts to unlock the secrets of a captured Anvil of Doom. The resulting magical implosion sucks Baduum, 10,000 of his lads, and much of the upper slopes of Mount Grimfang into the Realm of Chaos. Though they battle with ferocity, the Orcs are ultimately slain by a horde of Bloodletters.[1a]
- 1900 IC - The Wood Elf Spellweaver Ranu challenges the Daemon K'z'arkera'ss to a game of chance with the safety of Athel Loren at stake. The Daemon cheats incessantly but is unable to best the Wood Elf. Upon winning the game, Ranu cages K'z'arkera'ss with silverwood and banishes him to the distant mountains of Naggaroth.[1a]
- 2031 IC - The fabled Bretonnian bard Tyness Evain records the Battle of Sky's Fall, where 5,000 Tzeentchian Daemons, under the leadership of the two-headed Lord of Change Kairos Fateweaver, descend from the heavens to lay siege to the city of Montfort.[1a]
- 2173 IC - The Slaaneshi Keeper of Secrets N'Kari, reborn into the mortal world for the first time since the Great Catastrophe, ravages Ulthuan in his quest for vengeance on the heirs of the first Phoenix King Aenarion. Tyrion and Teclis are saved, but the Phoenix Guard are slain almost to the last High Elf, and the shrine of Asuryan is ravaged.[1a]
- 2203 IC - In the catacombs below Castle Drachenfels, six treasure hunters discover the library of the Great Enchanter, Constant Drachenfels. While looting this arcane trove, they inadvertently disturb the castle's magical defences, opening a rift to the Realm of Chaos. The subsequent Daemonic invasion wreaks havoc in the Reikland, razing the nearby towns of Bögenhafen and Ubersreik.[1a]
- 2253 IC - Somewhere in the depths of the Mountains of Mourn, the Vampire Mangari the Old unearths a gemstone crown allowing him to commune with the Chaos God Tzeentch. The Vampire later strikes a pact with a sorcerer. For the next century, armies of Daemons and the Undead assail Ogre and Chaos Dwarf strongholds.[1a]
- 2298 IC - The sorceress consort of Duke Maldred of Mousillon inadvertently opens a rift to the Realm of Chaos, unleashing a host of Nurglish Daemons into the Bretonnian city. Most of the Daemons are banished in three days of bitter fighting, but a handful of Nurglings escape into the sewers.[1a]
- 2302 IC - The Great War Against Chaos begins. Daemonic hordes join forces with Warriors of Chaos and Norscan warbands at the Siege of Praag. The Realm of Chaos sweeps over Praag, and it literally becomes a city possessed, with citizens and stone melded together, taking on all manner of twisted, Daemonic shapes.[1a]
- 2303 IC - The Imperial general Magnus the Pious defeats the Chaos armies of the twelfth Everchosen Asavar Kul at the Gates of Kislev. The power of Chaos wanes once again, and the Daemonic hordes are drawn back into the Realm of Chaos. Tzeentch and Nurgle are able to turn the aftermath to their advantage, outpacing Khorne in the Great Game. However, Nurgle is subsequently undone by his ally's scheming, and the Great Sorcerer gains primacy among the Ruinous Powers for a time.[1a]
- 2418 IC - Otranto Udolpho, a maverick sorcerer, tries to conquer the cursed Udolpho estate in Tilea at the head of an army consisting of Undead troops and a regiment of [[Daemonette]s].[4a]
- 2452 IC - Eldai Tyssill, emissary of the High Elf Everqueen Alarielle of Ulthuan, uses one of the Annulian crystals to banish the Great Unclean One Boilrot.[1a]
- ca. 2500 IC - The Tilean city-state of Remas suffers the second coming of the Mardagg, though the Greater Daemon of Khorne vanishes the same day without leaving a trace, but not before creating panic and hysteria in the population, and unleashing a high death toll.[5a]
- 2515 IC - The Skaven burrow of Fester Spike is attacked by a Dwarf expedition seeking to reclaim one of the lost Hammers of Valaya. The Grey Seer Thanquol attempts to summon a Daemonic Verminlord of the Horned Rat to aid the ratmen's defence. Instead, he mistakenly conjures the Khornate Daemonic legion of the Bloodthirster Skarbrand, which then rampages through both the Dwarf and Skaven armies. Blood runs in swift rivers as Thanquol makes a timely escape.[1a]
- 2519 IC - The Tilean city of Trantio fell in the early days of the End Times. The city is engulfed for three days and three nights in a swirl of perfumed murk. No two stones lay together when the storm lifted; the Daemon-wrought destruction was so complete not a single building survived and every person trapped within now served, in manners both horrific and diverse, before Slaanesh's silken throne in the Dark Prince's Realm.[5a]
- 2522 IC - The End Times begin. Daemons of all four major Ruinous Powers muster behind the banner of Archaon, the thirteenth Everchosen of Chaos and Lord of the End Times. The combined horde marches against the mortal armies of the Old World, intent on finally bringing about the long-heralded apocalypse which had threatened Mallus since the Great Catastrophe. The mocking laughter of the Dark Gods is heard in every land as the end comes at last.[2a]
Storm of Chaos
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Attention, Empire Citizens!
This article or this section of the article contains information regarding the Storm of Chaos campaign and its aftermath, which is now considered a non-canon, alternate timeline.
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- 2522 IC - Daemons of all four major Ruinous Powers muster behind the banner of Archaon, the thirteenth Everchosen of Chaos and Lord of the End Times. The combined Chaos horde of Daemons, Warriors of Chaos, the Northmen and other mortal servants of the Dark Gods marches against the armies of the Old World in the invasion known as the Storm of Chaos in this alternate timeline of the mortal world. In the end, Archaon and his armies are beaten back, though just barely, by the combined forces of the Men of the nations of the Old World, the Dwarfs and the High Elves. The End Times are delayed once more, though the forces of Chaos wax ever stronger.[1a]
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Daemons of Chaos (7th Edition)
- 1a: pp. 27-29
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Daemons of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 2a: pp. 16-23
- 3: Archaon: Everchosen (Novel) by Rob Sanders
- 3a: Prologue
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Up in Arms (RPG)
- 4a: pg. 60 (Tilean Timeline)
- 5: Brunner the Bounty Hunter Omnibus (Omnibus Novel) by C.L. Werner
- 5a: "Where Walks the Mardagg"