Not to be confused with Clar Karond, another Dark Elf city.
Karond Kar, the Tower of Despair, also known as Slaver's Gate, can be counted the bleakest of all refuges. The citadel stands sentinel on the edge of the Sea of Chill, perpetually battered by gale-force winds, icy rain and tidal waves the size of mountains. Its folk can therefore be counted amongst the hardiest of a hard people. Indeed, they have become so acclimatised to their frozen conditions that more temperate climes cause them a measure of discomfort.[1a]
Overview[]
Exposed to the elements, it is constantly battered by gale force winds and suffers the deluge of icy rain. [2c] Karond Kar is a particularly appalling sight when seen from the sea as those slaves who are caught trying to escape are hung from the walls, their limp bodies enchanted to live out their last few hours on this earth forever. Thus the city is called the Tower of Despair because of the horrible wails that sound from inside the dark walls.[3]
Karond Kar is known as Slaver's Gate for a reason, for it is here that the great reaving fleets bring their living cargo. Countless thousands die as they cross the wide seas to Karond Kar, stifled and suffocated in the holds of slave ships or tortured to death for the amusement of the black-hearted crews. Those are the lucky ones. When the survivors are finally unloaded onto the ice-wreathed docks, they soon find that their torment is just beginning. There is no escape from Karond Kar.[1a]
From the docks, the slaves are brutally driven forth amidst jeering crowds, beaten onward by lash and scourge. Those that stumble are trampled; those who slip their spiked chains are flayed, then cast bodily into the icy ocean. Both forms of death are much appreciated by the maddened spectators, who throw rocks to trip the panicked slaves and send servants to break the chains whilst the captives are still dock-side, in the hopes of inciting even more violence.[1a]
The slave markets are vast, and those captives that make it to the wide open plazas beyond the docks are roughly examined and divided by age and gender, destined to labour in mines and quarries or drudge in the dungeons and kitchens of Naggaroth. Overlooking the markets are the slave traders' palaces, slab-sided mansions decorated with the scrimshawed bones of perished slaves.
Insigna of Karond Kar in Total War: Warhammer II.
Night and day, Karond Kar echoes with tortured wails, for its sorcerers delight in binding together their captives' souls to their mortal remains. Trapped between life and death, these wretches haunt the streets of the Slaver's Gate, filling the dreams of their tormentors with delicious images of suffering and pain.[1a]
The traders themselves seldom leave the comforts of their opulent homes but can be occasionally lured into the rain-drowned plazas by news of a particularly impressive bounty. A captured High Elf is the most valuable of prizes, and a wealthy slaver will gladly trade much of his remaining stock -- or even members of his own family -- for the opportunity to bring such a sweetmeat before his patron's tender mercies.
For more commonplace cargoes, slavers hold audiences and auctions within their chambers, playing off the greed of Corsair captains to ensure a healthy profit. The slavemasters drive a hard bargain, and no fleet leaves Karond Kar with wealth equal to its expectations. However, no captain will challenge the terms of a trade once it has been completed, for they know that Assassins aplenty lurk in the crowds, waiting silently for the slavermasters' commissions. Better to leave Karond Kar with a light purse, they reckon, than to never leave at all.[1a]
History[]
The city was founded in -2106 IC in the eastern wilderness of Naggaroth. [5a]
In 2379 IC Corsairs from Karond Kar are shipwrecked close to the pirate isle of Sartosa in Tilea. They steal several ships to escape and with the aid of local sellswords attack the cities of Luccini and Remas. They are betrayed by the mercenaries and enslaved by the pirate captains whose ships they had taken.[5b]
Inhabitants[]
Beastmasters[]
A Dark Elf child who has a talent for taming animals will be sent to the city to learn from the Beastmasters of the craft who dwell there. As well as commanding beasts they learn to manage the slave stock of humans, Orcs and other races becomming experts in getting the best out of such creatures.[3b]
There is great rivalry between the Beastmasters of the city and those of Clar Karond and this comes to a height in the annual Constest of Claws with beastmasters from each city competing directly against each other. All kinds of tactics and creatures are used both before the battle and during, with assassinations not being uncommon. [1b]
Slaves[]
Many slaves die on the journey to the city, tortured to death by the crews of the raiders, suffocated in the foul holds or sacrifced to Khaine. [4a][3c]
Those slaves that look strong enough are trained to become warriors, bodyguards and even trainers of the dark beasts that reside under the Blackspine Mountains. Others are sent to the mines and quarries whilst many are simply sacrificed, their hearts torn out for Khaine. [4a]
Slaves taken to Karond Kar have little chance of escaping and, even if they do escape, they are bound to die horribly in such a cruel place. A High Elf captive will bring the highest price in the markets. [1a]
Locations[]
Slave Markets[]
From the docks, the slaves are brutally led in chains through the jubilant crowd as their captors whip them to march. Such is the number of slaves that those who fall to the ground are condemned to die, crushed under the chained feet of their companions while the whips of the Dark Elves force them to go to the markets. Those who break free from their chains are skinned and their bodies thrown into the frozen ocean. Crazed onlookers celebrate both types of death while laughing and crying with happiness, throwing stones at slaves and sending servants to break their chains while the captives are still on the docks, hoping to incite even more violence, for their love of cruelty is so great that for them this sad spectacle is great fun.[2]
The slave markets are huge and the captives are herded into large squares beyond the docks where they are roughly examined and divided by age and gender, to be assigned to work in the mines and quarries, or to serve in the dungeons and kitchens of the great towers, although some unfortunate ones are sent directly to the altars of Khaine to be sacrificed, with the heart ripped from their chest.[2]
The palaces of the slave traders dominate the markets so that they are aware of when a Black Ark returns from its looting. These palaces are decorated with the bones of slaves who have died on the relentless journeys. Thanks to dark magic, the sorcerers of Karond Kar unite the souls of these wretches to their mortal remains and the city trembles with the laments of these desperate spirits, trapped between life and death. Slaves are used even dead, for the Dark Elves enjoy hearing the screams of their dead slaves, the fruit of terror and despair, which fill their dreams with luscious images of suffering and pain.[2]
The merchants themselves do not often leave the comforts of their opulent homes but are occasionally drawn to the squares upon hearing the news of especially impressive loot. A captured High Elf is the most valuable prize and a wealthy slaver will trade much of his stock (or even members of his own family) for the opportunity to bring such a trophy to his master. When it comes to a more common cargo, slavers hold audiences in their own chambers, playing on the greed of Corsair captains. to ensure a good profit. Slavers bargain hard and no fleet leaves Karond Kar with as much wealth as it hopes. However, no captain will defy the terms of a deal once it has been sealed as they know that there are Assassins lurking in the crowd, silently awaiting the order from the slavers. Better to leave Karond Kar with little weight in your pockets than not to abandon it at all.[2]
Among the thermal currents of the pyres where the sacrifices are made, the Harpies fly, winged beasts endowed with a wild and primitive beauty. The harpy is considered a symbol of good luck and it is said that if they ever left the city, it would fall into the hands of the enemy in less than ninety days.[2]
Docks[]
Most of the slaves who come to Karond Kar from the west, where they are landed on its icy docks and exposed to the elements. Thousands die during the voyage to Karond Kar, suffocated and suffocated in the holds of the ships or tortured to death for the amusement of the cruel crew. Those are the lucky ones. When the survivors are landed on the docks, they quickly discover that their torment has just begun. There is no escape from Karond Kar as it is not only the chains that prevent them from escaping, as the city sits on a thin peninsula surrounded by frozen waters. Yet thousands of slaves have seemed trying to flee just so they would not have to face the cruel attentions of their new owners.[2]
The Karond Kar breakwater is almost five kilometers long, and is made of stone mined from the towering mountains that surrounded the Slave Tower. The tower lords paid huge sums to a group of sculptors to carve the stone at the base of the breakwater into the shapes of slaves , so that their tense, dying bodies appear to rise from the icy waves to support the stone blocks. that kept the Cold Sea at bay. For hundreds of years, the breakwater has been known as Neira Vor, the Great Lament. This is due to the fact that when druchii corsairs arrive at the tower with the cellars full of slaves, these, seeing such realistic statues, let out terrible laments, thinking that this would be their fate. The lords of the tower never tire of that joke.[2]
Trivia[]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (8th Edition)
- 2: Malus Darkblade Chronicle: Reaper of Souls (Novel) by Dan Abnett & Mike Lee
- 2a: Chapter Three: The Tower of Slaves
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (6th Edition)
- 4: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (4th Edition)
- 4a: History of the Dark Elves, pg. 9
- 5: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (7th Edition)