Mahrak, once called the "City of Hope", and considered in ancient times as the birthplace of the religion of the Nehekharan Pantheon,[4a] is now known as the "City of Decay," one of the ancient city-states of the Land of the Dead, the fallen Human realm of Nehekhara.[1a]
History[]
Origins[]
Built on the eastern entrance to the Charnel Valley, Mahrak was once one of the greatest obstacles to the priest-king Settra's dream of dominating the mortal world. Being quite close to the end of the valley, the armies of Mahrak have been known to use the valley to set up devastating ambushes against would-be western invaders. This proved especially effective during the reign of King Phar, who almost single-handedly held back Settra's invasion by ambushing him in the canyon valley. Only when the old King died did Settra finally take the city.[1a]
Before the Great Ritual which restored the Tomb Kings to unlife, Mahrak was ruled by a council of King Phar's descendants.[3a]
Great Awakening[]
Location of Mahrak in the eastern Charnel Valley of the Land of the Dead.
When the great awakening happened, King Phar was one of the greatest of the Kings to rise from the grave and his rage at seeing his city's surrender to his hated rival and his that his lineage bowed down to the Kings of Khemri saw him destroy the tombs of his descendants as they awoke, burning their mummies, scattering their chared carcasses across the desert and ordering their pyramids toppled. He would later take on a campaign to eradicate the local Greenskin population, wielding the Flail of Gods as he did so.[1b][3a]
Under the rulership of the ressurected King Phar, the land of Mahrak is counted amongst the most fiercely independent in all the Great Land.[3a]
After their resurrection, the Tomb Kings of Mahrak discovered, to their displeasure, that their bodies were in a particular bad shape, with the tombs of several kings having been plundered and defiled by the servant of the Usurper Nagash before. The mummies of many kings had been cut apart or left as a feast for jackals, forcing the Liche Priests to tend them with more care. In time, the adepts of the Mortuary Cult had altered the magic keeping the dynasties of Mahrak together in a way that they were able to repair their bodies with stone, bronze and turquoise, even without a Liche Priest aiding them. This trait marks the nobility of Mahrak as unique among the Awakened dynasties, with even their skeletal subjects not possessing this ability.[2a]
Notable Inhabitants[]
- Nebunefer - Priest of Ptra and emissary from Mahrak lived around -1750 IC.[4a]
Canon Conflict[]
In the Nagash trilogy by Mike Lee, Mahrak is described as having never possessed a priest-king, instead being ruled over by a council of twelve hierophants of the Mortuary Cult. This is contradicted by every other source, including the Tomb King armybooks for both the 6th and 8th Editions, the novel Gotrek and Felix: Serpent Queen as well as End Times: Nagash, where multiple kings and dynasties from Mahrak are mentioned.[2a][4a]
The interactive map released for Warhammer: The Old World stated that Mahrak was once ruled by a council of King Phar's descendants before Phar's return. This could possibly be an attempt by Games Workshop to reconcile these two diverging accounts regarding Mahrak's rulership, with the idea being that after the city bowed to Settra the council was established to rule the city instead of a new priest-king of Mahrak.[3]