"I shivered at the sight of her -- her beauty far beyond that of mortal man. But her soul glowed with an inner darkness that chilled my very core."
Morathi, the Dark Elven Hag Sorceress of Ghrond and mother of Malekith
Morathi, known also as the "Hag Sorceress of Ghrond," "First of the Hag Queens," "Witch-Queen of Nagarythe," "She of the Thousand and One Dark Blessings" among Daemonkind and who was once the "Queen of Ulthuan," is a powerful Dark Elven sorceress and Witch Elf. She is the mother of Malekith, also named Malerion, the Witch King of the Dark Elves of Naggaroth and the one-time consort of Aenarion, the first Phoenix King of Ulthuan. It was Aenarion who rescued her from a warband in service to Slaanesh in the days of the Great Catastrophe during the first Chaos invasion of the Known World before the Elven civil war of the Sundering.[2n]
Morathi, the Hag Sorceress of Ghrond, as rendered for Total War: Warhammer II.
Morathi is not only the first Elf who learned to use Dark Magic but is also one of the most powerful wizards in the mortal world, rivalling perhaps even the Great Necromancer Nagash, the Lords of Change of Tzeentch and the High Elf Archmage Teclis. She has struck Daemonic pacts with many vile and disturbing forces, and can unleash the terrible power of Chaos upon those who displease her.[2n]
Morathi has made many deals with the Chaos God Slaanesh to enhance her own prodigious magical talents. In return, she has used her influence to protect the Slaaneshi Cult of Pleasure from being wiped out among the Dark Elves despite it being officially forbidden by order of the Witch King.[2n]
In the non-canon alternate timelines of the Storm of Chaos and Total War: Warhammer, Morathi actually led the Cult of Pleasure as an open devotee of the Dark Prince.[5a][25] Her minions among the Hung during the Storm of Chaos revered her as the "Consort-Queen of Shaarnor," seeing her as the consort of the Prince of Pleasure.[5a]
Quick Answers
What is Morathi's relationship with Malekith?
Why is Morathi referred to as the 'Hag Sorceress of Ghrond'?
What is the significance of Morathi's title 'She of the Thousand and One Dark Blessings'?
What are some of Morathi's most notable powers as a Dark Elven sorceress and Witch Elf?
How did Morathi become the 'Queen of Ulthuan'?
History
"Lies are power. They have the ability to change history. And history is built upon the lies of the victor."
- —Morathi.[3e]
The symbol of the Dark Elven Cult of Pleasure army that Morathi commands in Total War: Warhammer III.
Morathi's entire existence has been one of scheming and manipulation. Who knows how many of the first Phoenix King Aenarion's darker deeds sprang from seeds she planted within his mind, or how the history of the Elves might have been different if he had not taken her as his wife. Yet for all her beauty, she was ultimately spurned by the first Phoenix King because of her wicked nature. Heartbroken, Morathi swore that if her husband could no longer rule the Elves, their son Malekith would do so in his place.[1l]
Since that day, Morathi has pursued that goal with supernatural determination. She has spent millennia teaching Malekith all she knows of statecraft and magic, and worked tirelessly to maintain his grip on Naggaroth's throne. Whenever the Witch King faltered, Morathi has always been ready to fan the embers of hatred in his heart; when he was betrayed, none have fought so hard as she to restore his rule.[1l]
Age of the Single Throne
Morathi concept art for Total War: Warhammer II.
Morathi was born in the era before the Coming of Chaos to the world of Mallus, when all of the Elven island-continent of Ulthuan was ruled solely by the verqueen. She had a strong prophetic gift that manifested at but eleven years of age, tormenting her with glimpses of the apocalypse of the Great Catastrophe to come. Through them, she had seen the dark, Daemon-haunted future of the mortal world, yet no one had believed her. She was a prophetess whose gift it was to see and yet not be heard, or so it had seemed back then.[9a]
In time, Morathi felt the Elves had not believed her visions of destruction because they simply could not believe her. Their lives had been so sheltered during the long, golden reign of the first Everqueen that they had no idea of just how dreadful the world could be.[9a]
Morathi had told them and they had not listened, simply because they were incapable of understanding. They were cattle grazing in summer fields, unwilling to believe in slaughterhouses because they had not yet been inside one. The sun was shining, the grass was tender, and their alien masters, the Old Ones, looked after them and fed them well. Long before the other Elves had learned what the world was really like, Morathi had known. She had seen the coming bloodbath and she had tried to warn them.[9a]
And no one had believed her. Sometimes the very thought of the Elves' heedlessness at that time could still outrage Morathi. Later in life it mostly just amused her. She had tried everything to get their attention. She had prophesied, she had seduced, she had used her great beauty to get the attention of princes, of the Everqueen herself. No one had taken her warnings seriously, because they had not wanted to. Their world was golden and it was ending and they had wilfully blinded themselves to its coming destruction.[9a]
They had been taken by surprise when the Daemons of Chaos came after the Polar Gates were destroyed and the Old Ones had fled or been destroyed. Now none of those people who had refused to believe her were alive as she was. In her mind, Morathi intended to live forever and she would remake the world in her image.[9a]
In preparation for the invasion her visions showed her, she had delved deeply into forbidden arts, making pacts with the enemies of her people while the invasion was still far in the future.[9a]
Age of Endless Glory
"I am the widow of Aenarion, the queen of Ulthuan. When the daemons preyed upon your people, did Aenarion and his lieutnants stand by and discuss matters in council? When Caledor, began his spell, did he debate its merits with the peons? To rule is to wield the right to decide for all."
- —Morathi adresses the First Council[14a]
Morathi, greatest of the Dark Elf sorceresses and Witch Elves of Khaine, as rendered for Total War: Warhammer II.
Aenarion and Morathi met in I, 39 (-4461 IC)[2c] when the first Phoenix King saved her from the predations of a Slaaneshi host.[1a] Later legends say that Morathi bewitched the Phoenix King, though it will never be known whether this is true or if he simply did not care about her character and history.[2a] Other legends claim that the taint of Chaos first crept into her soul during that captivity.[3a]
The Phoenix King took Morathi as his second wife and new queen and came to rely on Morathi's counsel almost to the exclusion of all others. With each year that passed, her influence became ever more evident in every decision Aenarion made. The Elves of other lands looked upon this development with increasing levels of concern, but the folk of Nagarythe cared not, for they loved Morathi almost as dearly as they did their king. [1a] The queen fought with wild abandon against the mortal and Daemonic armies of Chaos, using her gift of prescient visions to grant the Elves victories innumerable.[9a]
Morathi, greatest of the Dark Elf sorceresses and Witch Elves of Khaine, as rendered for Total War: Warhammer II.
In I, 42 (-4458 IC),[2c] Morathi bore Aenarion a son, who they named Malekith, also later known as Malerion. Malekith grew to be a powerful warrior, diplomat and statesman, trained by both his father and mother in their respective arts. Into Malekith, Morathi invested her will to achieve anything no matter the cost, and the hunger for glory and greatness.[14a]
During the First Council of Ulthuan at Aein Yshein to determine the successor to Aenarion as Phoenix King, Morathi accompanied Malekith and spoke in his favour, urging for continued war against the counsel of Menieth, son of Caledor Dragontamer, who instead urged for a rebuilding of Ulthuan's civilisation. Upon the revelation that Aenarion's children from his first marriage had survived the Great Catastrophe, Morathi reacted with disbelief, presuming a plot to keep her son from his rightful throne. [14a]
Yet Yvraine, Aenarion's daughter and the new Everqueen, and Oakheart testified about the circumstances of the rescue of Aenarions's children and Astarielle's sacrifice. As Yvraine refused to marry her half-brother, Malekith stopped his mother's protestations and instead allowed the vote to commence. The princes of the Ten Kingdoms of Ulthuan chose Bel Shanaar as the new Phoenix King rather than Malekith, much to Morathi's anger. During Bel Shanaar's subsequent coronation, she commented that the ceremony was a farce, as Bel Shanaar did not submit himself to the judgement of Asuryan, but was instead warded by the god's priesthood.[14a]
Age of Betrayal
"Serve Ulthuan and you will be Phoenix King. Protect her from enemies outside and within and she will embrace you in return. Go into the north and learn of the race of men. Head into the chilling Wastes and confront the dark powers that hunger over our world. Then return to Ulthuan and take up your place as ruler, to shield us against their unnatural thirst. I fear that only you can protect us against the dangers I have foreseen. I see fire and bloodshed sweeping Ulthuan again. The colonies will burn and all that we hold dear will be cast upon the rocks and be for naught."
- —Morathi, speaking of Malekith's Destiny[14d]
Morathi conspiring to place her son on his father Aenarion's throne.
As Malekith embarked on his own conquests on the eastern continent of Elthin Arvan in II, 256 (-4164 IC), he made his mother his steward in the west of Nagarythe, while raising Eoloran Anar, his father's banner bearer, as the steward of the east of that Ulthuani kingdom.[15a] Jealous of the fact that her son had not given her undivided power over his kingdom, Morathi wove tangled politics to isolate House Anar from the rest of Ulthuan, while strengthening her grip on Anlec.[15a]
Morathi kept in touch with her son throughout this period, urging him to glory, fanning his resentment against Bel Shanaar and assuring him that the rumours about Nagarythe that reached the Elven colonies in Elthin Arvan were lies spread by lesser princes.[14c] When Malekith liberated the people of Athel Toralien and Prince Aneron of Eataine contested his claim on the colony, it was Morathi who presented a petition from the colonists to be placed under Malekith's authority to the Phoenix Court.[14b]
Morathi, rather than challenging Bel Shanaar directly, cultivated a reputation as a trend-setter and paragon of an exquisite aesthetic. She was always at the forefront when it came to patronising an up-and-coming singer or poet, or endorsing some risqué but popular movement. In this way, Morathi managed to appear to move with the times, while Bel Shanaar and his supporters seemed outdated and staid. Through her agelessness, Morathi was ever the perfect blend: a guardian of Elven tradition whilst also being a forward-thinking visionary. [14d]
Great Elven artists like Oeric and Aesabai made the most delicate and lifelike sculptures for her Gardens of Delight.[3c] Morathi also manipulated the role of the Elven priest in Ulthuani society -- rather than being a steward of holy places, under her guidance, Elven priests began to be seen as vessels of their god's power, carrying their blessings across the globe. [14d]
Among the nobles of Nagarythe, Morathi openly fomented dissent. Claiming the title of "queen" in opposition to Bel Shanaar in II, 1044 (-3375 IC),[15b] her agents spread the rumour that the other kingdoms conspired to keep Nagarythe down. Hostages taken by them would prevent Malekith from returning. Innocent Elves were being persecuted by agents of the Phoenix King for following the ancient rites of their people. Only a handful saw through her deceit, led by House Anar. A cold civil war brewed between loyalists of Morathi and those who held true to the Phoenix King and claimed that Morathi had usurped her son in Nagarythe.[15b]
After the death of the Dwarf High King Snorri Whitebeard, Morathi sailed to Athel Toralien to meet Malekith. She encouraged him to journey to the Chaos Wastes and told him that Ulthuan was declining, Bel Shanaar's weakness encouraging decadence among the Elves. When Malekith answered that in this case it might be best to found a new kingdom, away from Ulthuan's courtly intrigues, she reprimanded him, reminding him of his father Aenarion's sacrifice and that it was not his place to let Ulthuan die.[14d]
Gifting her son the dragonship Indraugnir, Morathi told him that she had accrued support among the princes of Ulthuan, Morelion had retreated into exile upon the eastern islands and that after the heroics of Malekith's journey, he would be close to acclamation as the new Phoenix King.[14d] To Athel Toralien, she brought numerous priests that spread tales of her son's new ventures across the Elven colonies of Elthin Arvan.[14d] Many of these were actually hidden cultists of the dark Elven deities known as the Cytharai.[16a]
Sailing with her son, Malekith brought Morathi with him to the Blighted Isle, searching for Aenarion's remains. When they were unsuccessful in their search, Malekith had his mother transferred to one of the Ulthuani merchant ships from the east while sailing northwards. [14e]
Sorceress-Queen of Nagarythe
" You build cities across the ocean, and navigate the wide world, while your home festers in filth and decay. You are not fit to be a prince, much less a king! Truly your father’s blood does not run in your veins, for no true son of Anlec would allow himself to be so cowed."
- —Morathi defying Malekith and the Phoenix King.[14f]
When the prince returned from his travels abroad to Ulthuan, Malekith accepted the task from Bel Shanaar to cleanse his kingdom of the growing number of dark cultists dedicated to the Cytharai. As he liberated the city of Ealith, he discovered Morathi conducting vile rites. Denouncing her son as a cur for continuing to serve the false Phoenix King, she warned him to not go to Anlec, unless he wanted to meet his death. Nagarythe rose in revolt against the Phoenix King at her side, bolstered by cultists from the other Ulthuani kingdoms.[14f] It was further revealed that Morathi had delved deep into the Dark Art of sorcery, opening gateways to the Realm of Chaos to receive unimaginable magical power in bargains with the Daemons of the Aethyr.[3a]
An Elven army was raised from among the Ten Kingdoms and placed under Malekith's command to rout out the cultists, liberate Anlec and bring Morathi to justice.[14g] The queen prepared to defend herself by making pacts with Greater Daemons, among them the two-headed Tzeentchian Lord of Change Kairos Fateweaver, sending sorcerers to the mortal tribes of the far north to teach them sorcery in exchange for powerful boons.[15c]
When his army besieged Anlec and had managed to break through the walls, Malekith entered the Palace of Aenarion alone, where Morathi had established her court. She challenged her son, wishing for him to prove his worth to rule Ulthuan by defeating her. While Morathi proved herself the greater wizard, Malekith overpowered her with the martial prowess he had learned at his father's side and readied himself to slay his own mother.[14g]
Morathi pleaded for her son to spare her, stating that she would turn the cults of the darker gods of the Cytharai to his bidding. Malekith should present her to the judgement of Bel Shanaar, thus avoiding being thought a kinslayer, and in time, with the aid of her networks, she would amass enough influence to supplant the Phoenix King. Morathi made clear that she would be content to accept imprisonment in pursuit of this greater goal. Malekith accepted the deal, while threatening his mother that he would kill her himself should she betray him, which only increased her pride in him.[14g]
At her trial in Tor Anroc, Morathi unrepentantly insisted that the other Elven kingdoms had been the first to invade her sovereign territory and that her cultists were free to chose their loyalty to the Cytharai, who were as much the natural gods of their people as the more benevolent deities of the Cadai. Against the repeated urgings of Imrik of Caledor, Bel Shanaar decided to imprison Morathi in his palace, under guard by night and day and under the constant threat of execution. The only person allowed contact with her was Malekith, in order to convince her to confess her crimes.[14h]
From her imprisonment, Morathi continued to direct the network of Cytharai cultists across Ulthuan, orchestrating events to raise her son's standing in the Phoenix Court and discredit his enemies.[14h] Through Palthrain, one of her agents in the court of the Phoenix King, she provided Malekith with the poison by which Bel Shanaar would die in II, 1668 (-2751 IC). [2c][14i]
The Sundering
" The throne is there for the taking. Only by your own hand can you take it and deserve to sit upon it. Bel Shanaar was given rule by others. True kings seize it for themselves."
- —Morathi spurring her son to regicide.[14i]
As news from the events that had taken place at the Shrine of Asuryan, where Malekith had sought to be acclaimed as the new Phoenix King by entering the Flame of Asuryan but had been rejected and savagely burned nearly to death spread to Tor Anroc, Morathi was freed by her loyal Cytharai cultists, who delivered the body of her comatose son. With Malekith apparently dying, Morathi took control of his kingdom of Nagarythe once again, swearing vengeance against those that had brought such ruin upon her son.[15d] By sorcerous means, she learned that Imrik of Caledor had been chosen as Bel Shanaar's successor. She sent assassins to prevent him from being crowned, without success.[2b]
In the kingdoms of Tiranoc and Ellyrion, her agents infiltrated the ruling families through sabotage, kidnapping, coercion and the threat of assassination, and so ensured that the princes of these lands served the agenda of Nagarythe.[1a] The Prince of Yvresse, Bathinair, willingly cast his lot with Morathi, having saved Malekith's ravaged and burned body from the Isle of Flame.[17a] Agents in Saphery spread the use of Dark Magic among the desperate and the power-hungry.[17c] Even the realm of Caledor was not immune to Morathi's machinations -- she corrupted several priests of the smith god Vaul with Dwarfen Rune Magic that the Nagarythians had won as tokens of friendship from the Dawi during Malekith's reign in the Elven colonies of Elthin Arvan.[17d]
Civil war erupted in Nagarythe among those Elves that would not join with Morathi in her rebellion and who, ironically, fought in the name of the fallen prince Malekith and the new Phoenix King against her tyranny. Leaders of the resistance were again the scions of House Anar. Their forces were broken during the Battle of Dark Fen in II, 1672 (-2747 IC) and Elanardris was razed.[15e][2c] Alandrian, the former Prince of Athel Toralien, scoured the land in his hunt for the mysterious Shadow King Alith Anar and his rebels.[15f]
In II, 1680 (-2739 IC),[17b] Morathi led an army into Avelorn, after several of her commanders had failed to take Yvraine's head. The Witch Queen desired the death of the Everqueen not only to avenge the slight against her, but to also claim the Aein Yshain, the sacred tree that had been gifted to the Elves by the goddess of nature Isha. With the Aein Yshain under her control, Morathi would be able to draw on the Earthbound Magic of all Ulthuan.[17b]
As the supporters of Malekith and Morathi, now called the Druchii or "Dark Elves," marched against Gaean Vale, the united armies of Ulthuan defended it, Yvraine and Morathi testing their magics against each other while the Dragons of Caledor clashed with the enslaved beasts of the Annulii that the Druchii drove into the fore. Yet Morathi came close to reaching the tree and rather than letting Isha's blessing be used for evil purposes, Yvraine chose to sacrifice it.[17b]
Earthquakes and tidal waves destroyed the invading Dark Elf forces, sinking the isthmus and separating the Gaean Vale from the rest of Ulthuan on an island that stood within the continent's Inner Sea, later called the Island of Rebirth. Morathi barely survived, drawing on dark pacts to escape back to Nagarythe.[17b] In secret, she and Hotek, a renegade priest-smith from Caledor, worked to restore her son, forging a suit of magical Elven plate armour that would give him renewed strength while offering sacrifices to keep his spirit from fading.[17e][2c]
In II, 1683 (-2736 IC),[4a] Malekith was restored, his body encased in the new suit of plate known as the Armour of Midnight. Morathi willingly stepped down from her position as ruler of Nagarythe, proclaiming her son the new King of Ulthuan.[17e] Yet between her and her son, disagreements about the priorities of the war against their opponents, now called the Asur or "High Elves," arose. Morathi wanted to push on to Caledor and devastate the Phoenix King's homeland, while Malekith refused in order to prevent an invasion of Nagarythe.[17f] During the Battle at the Marshes of Maledor in II, 1695 (-2724 IC),[2c] Morathi fought at her son's side, duelling with Thyriol of Saphery, putting her mastery of Dhar, Dark Magic, against his command of Qhaysh, Elven High Magic. When Malekith was bested and forced to flee the battlefield, she followed. [17g]
Morathi had been one of the architects of the plan to disrupt the Great Vortex of Ulthuan and yoke the Daemonic legions that waited beyond the veil and would return to the mortal world with its disruption to the will of Malekith. Through her design, a tide of Dhar was constructed that was intended to overwhelm the Waystones and break the enchantment that held the Great Vortex in place. Yet Thyriol of Saphery disrupted the temporal lock that held the great archmage Caledor Dragontamer and his disciples in stasis and with but a single spell from the archmage, the tide was turned. The magical backlash of the defence of the Great Vortex destroyed Nagarythe, leaving only ruined lands and the remnants of its former cities floating as what would later become the first Black Arks, while leaving most of the Outer Kingdoms of Ulthuan in ruins.[17h]
Age of Restless Spite
Morathi leads her followers among the Dark Elves.
The ruins of Anlec, now one of the first Black Arks, sailed across the storm-wracked sea until it reached the Sea of Malice in the far west. There, Malekith founded Naggaroth, a kingdom from which to claim his inheritance. After the Dark Elves' position was secured, Malekith left to wage war against Caledor the Conqueror. Morathi was left with the stewardship of Naggarond, the new capital of the Druchii. She sought more power, sending expeditions into the northern lands until the Chaos Wastes bled into the Realm of Chaos. Few returned from such trips, so she commanded a great tower to be built in the north of Naggaroth from which she could personally look upon the magical energy of the gods.[2d]
In III, 124 (-2599 IC), Morathi founded the Dark Convent, consisting of several sisterhoods dedicated to the mastery of Dark Magic. [17a] At the newly founded citadel, which would be named Ghrond, this sisterhood of Dark Elf sorceresses would study the Realm of Chaos to discern its secrets and learn of what had passed and would come to pass. With her dark oracles to aid her, the paths of the future were laid out before Morathi like an insane map and with this knowledge she charted the course of destiny for her son. Yet for all her foresight and cunning, Morathi could not locate all of the strands of fate that would lead to ultimate victory over Ulthuan.[2d]
As the Cult of Khaine grew in power in Naggaroth, Morathi gifted the Witch Elves the sacred Cauldrons of Blood, allegedly handed down to her by Khaine himself. However, she kept the innermost secrets of the Cauldrons for herself, allowing the Hag Queens only a temporary revivification of their youth and beauty each year. In this manner, Morathi installed herself as the ultimate force behind the leadership of the Cult of Khaine.[2f]
Morathi also sent the corsair Dravik Vayne to claim the Altar of Eternal Darkness for her own, though the raider, the cargo and his Black Ark was lost during one of the warpstorms of the Sea of Chaos.[18a]
When Caledor sailed from the Blighted Isle in III, 523 (-2200 IC),[2j] Morathi conjured a storm that scattered his fleet.[1b] Her scrying guided the corsairs of Malekith to Caledor's flagship.[2f]
In III, 524 (-2201 IC),[2j] after the second defeat of the Dark Elves in trying to reclaim Ulthuan, some Druchii army commanders feared to return to Naggarond, wary of the Witch King's temper and Morathi's machinations. Instead, they founded their own city, Hag Graef. Soothing her son's rage at the latest failure, Morathi counselled him to let the rebels be. She guided him to bring the lords of Hag Graef to fight against each other, rather than combine their forces so that they might challenge Malekith's rule.[2e]
At an unspecified point in time thousands of years before the era of Emperor Karl Franz, a coven of sorceresses in Ghrond earned the ire of Atharti. They were transformed into Bloodwrack Medusae and driven from Ghrond by Morathi into the caverns of the Spiteful Peaks. The Hag Sorceress uses these cursed creatures when called to war.[1k]
During the next great Dark Elf invasion of Ulthuan following the instigation of the War of the Beard, Morathi used her gift of prophecy to guide Malekith, advising him to wait until Phoenix King Caledor II had sailed to the Old World to fight the Dwarfs.[2g] She stayed in Naggaroth, handling the intelligence of the army through the auguries of the Dark Convent as well as the use of Daemonic messengers that quickly brought important news to Malekith.[2h]
Age of Hateful Peace
"It is one of the strengths of our culture, my son, that we do not readily embrace the truth. Each of the noble houses is built on the foundation of a lie. They believe they have earned their power, and it is theirs to command. Ours is the only power in this kingdom, all else is but delusion of grandeur. The truth behind such lies, my dearest Malekith, is that their power is little more than a gift from you. "
- —Morathi.[3e]
Morathi as rendered for Total War: Warhammer II.
Following the unsuccessful invasion of Ulthuan and the terrible Scouring under Phoenix King Tethlis, the Druchii turned again inward to rebuild their strength. Seeing that their hated High Elf kin were also in need of rebuilding, Morathi advised Malekith to send well-trained cultists to Ulthuan to assume normal lives in their midst, while secretly spreading the beliefs of the old Cults of Luxury, Excess and Pleasure.[1c] Through the Dark Convent, Morathi informed her son of the events that unfolded on Ulthuan.[2i]
Yet she watched with concern when she noticed that the hatred of the Asur that that had long driven her son had dimmed and a weariness had crept into him that also afflicted the Asur. With mounting bitterness, she watched as he withdrew from the world. To reinvigorate her son, she conducted daily sacrifices to Khaine and when this didn't work, instigated a rebellion against Malekith's rule in the city of Har Kaldra. While her son reacted with appropriate fury and obliterated the rebellious Naggarothi city and all within its walls, it proved to be only a temporary respite.[1c]
A year later, a messenger arrived in Naggarond from the magical forest of Athel Loren in the Old World to inform the Witch King that his Wood Elf wife, Allisara, desired to rejoin him. Despite the attempt of her son to keep it a secret, Morathi swore that Allisara would never reach Naggaroth's shores, for her presence would only serve to further weaken Malekith's resolve and damp the fires of his hate.[1c][7b]
Yet Morathi did not dare to flout the Witch King's wishes openly. Instead, she travelled to Ellyrion in disguise and englamoured Prince Valedor, who she convinced that Allisara's escort was, in fact, an army of Elves who had pledged aid to Naggaroth. Blinded by Morathi's spells and his own desire to regain high station, Valedor gathered what forces he could and brought what was actually a party of Wood Elves to battle on the shores of Bretonnia. Allisara fell in the fighting and the Hag Sorceress rejoiced.[1c][7b]
After the news had reached Naggaroth, no one dared to bring it to Malekith. In the end, it was Morathi -- her jubilation hidden carefully beneath an icy mask -- who informed him. With delight, Morathi saw the last spark of warmth and love in Malekith's heart die. He immediately readied a council of war.[1d]
In IV, 429 (1121 IC), after Phoenix King Aethis had been assassinated by Malekith's agent, the Witch King learned of the role Morathi had played in Allisara's death. Consumed with a towering rage, he commanded that she be imprisoned in the deepest dungeons. For nearly a year, Morathi languished in chains while her son contemplated her fate. When she was eventually brought into his throne room, Morathi was wretched but unrepentant. For a long moment, Malekith watched his mother in silence, before announcing that he would see no further punishment for her deed. He would grant forgiveness this once, for Allisara's death had made him stronger, yet he would not tolerate a second attempt to meddle with his destiny -- even from his mother. [1d]
Age of Blood
In V, 10 (1133 IC)[7a], a Wood Elf army from Athel Loren marched through the Worldroots, led by Orion and Ariel. The Mage-Queen had come to Naggaroth with her people to exact vengeance for the death of her sister Allisara, which she knew had been set into motion by Morathi's plot. The Wood Elf forces effortlessly breached the outer walls of Ghrond. Morathi sent messengers to request aid from her son, yet the Witch King saw a good way to humble his troublesome mother and forbade any aid be sent to her.[7c]
As the Asrai breached the inner citadel, Morathi abased herself before the King and Queen in the Woods, offering insight into the workings of Dhar if they would spare her life. Orion wanted to take her head anyway, yet Ariel was seduced and a bargain made. Morathi was allowed to live, even though she did not share all of her secrets, and set upon rebuilding ruined Ghrond.[7c]
Age of Glorious Torment
Morathi and her mount, the Dark Pegasus Sulephet
During the Druchii's Age of Glorious Torment, the Dark Elves were commanded by Malekith to raid across the Known World, sowing terror wherever they might.
At the same time, Morathi's control over the Cult of Khaine began to slip. In VI, 502 (2005 IC), an attempted assassination of Morathi was foiled, the assassin dying before interrogation. The Hag Sorceress suspected Hellebron of the deed, but could prove nothing. [2j]
In VI, 758 (2261 IC), Morathi was ambushed by Shadow Warriors as she searched for the lost Crown of Hotek. She was saved, unexpectedly by both parties, through the intervention of a warweald of Dryads.[7d]
As the Dark Elves extended their raids, the seers at Ghrond saw a change in the Winds of Magic. Omens told of the coming of a great war, led by the twelfth Everchosen of Chaos. Such import was placed on these visions that Malekith and Morathi both travelled to Ghrond to witness the unfolding scenes of slaughter and misery.[2k]
The Witch King sought to use the growing power of Chaos for his invasion, yet feared that the same omens would embolden the Human Chaos Marauder tribes of the north to breach the cordon of watchtowers and leave Naggaroth defenceless. [2k]
It was Morathi who turned consternation into an opportunity. She led an expedition into the north, promising those among the corrupted Northmen who would fight for her great riches. Soon, she erected a palace of frozen ice and jet black rock to welcome her visitors, wo were attracted by the gifts of gold, silver and gems, as well as the concubines, slaves and lustful attentions of Morathi herself. This continued for many months, until an horde of ten thousand tribesmen was at her beck and call.[2k]
Age of Vengeance
Morathi, the Hag Sorceress of Ghrond
During the Great War Against Chaos that began in 2301 IC, Morathi was to lead the Warriors of Chaos sworn to the cause of Naggaroth against Ulthuan, landing in Cothique and Chrace. In secret, she sought to disrupt the Great Warding that maintained the Great Vortex of Caledor Dragontamer, against the wishes of her son, so that rather than destroy it, she might be able to control its immense amount of magical energy for her own.[9b]
As the war in the Old World heated up, the Northmen barbarians grew restless, dividing into warbands under the control of individual Chaos Champions that sought to win the favour of the Dark Gods.[10b] Yet some remained under the sorceress' control. When she learned that the Dark Elves' attack against the Everqueen had failed, she dispatched Felix Kastermann and his Coven of Ten to aid the search.[10c]
As her armies advanced, Morathi received a vision from Caledor Dragontamer in her dreams. The archmage warned her that he knew about her plan and that he would rather see the Great Vortex destroyed than her having control over its energies. Terrified, she abandoned the war effort and fled back to Naggaroth, against the wishes of her enraged son, who promised that he would reckon with her.[10d]
From Naggaroth, Morathi watched the Battle of Finuval Plain, where Malekith's army clashed with the remaining High Elf defenders of Ulthuan, through an enchanted mirror. There was a certain joy in watching the besotted Northmen sacrifice themselves in her name, and an undeniable satisfaction in knowing she would never again keep the company of the filthy Humans -- but neither of these could fully explain why her eye was drawn here. Then her gaze fell on the Dreadlord Urian Poisonblade, who battled against the High Elf Prince Tyrion, yet to Morathi looked like Aenarion come again -- a younger, less careworn version of Aenarion, perhaps, and one unmarked by the trials of long ago, but her beloved nonetheless.[1e]
The Hag Sorceress watched with horror as Poisonblade's sword struck down at his foe and, in that moment, she did something she hadn't done in millennia -- she panicked. Instinctively shaping the Winds of Magic, she crafted an enchantment that would protect her beloved from his foe. Exhausted from the effort, she watched with satisfaction as the strike of Urian failed and with disinterest as the Dreadlord was skewered by Tyrion's blade.[1e]
Interregnum
Malekith had been forced to flee into the Realm of Chaos to survive the Battle of Finuval Plain and as a result, Naggaroth was in turmoil. In VII, 3 (2304 IC), no fewer than eight Dreadlords attempted to claim Malekith's Iron Throne, and Morathi was imprisoned as the Dark Elves' civil war raged.[2l]
Through her agents, Morathi informed Kouran Darkhand, captain of Malekith's Black Guard, that she had gone willingly into confinement rather than be executed. Certain that her son was not dead, she operated from confinement, using her deep treasury to finance several assassinations. After Kouran had slain the pretenders to Malekith's throne, he freed Morathi and the two purged Naggarond for six months of all supporters for each of the usurpers. When the last conspirator had been rooted out, Morathi declared Kouran the regent of Naggaroth and left for Ghrond. [1f] A short time later, she forged her magical staff Heartrender in the fires of the Burning Mountain.[2l]
In VII, 76 (2377 IC), Morathi captured Prince Tyrion. Since Malekith's disappearance, the Hag Sorceress had developed the delusional belief that Tyrion was as alike in character to his forebear Aenarion, the first Phoenix King, as he was in form -- his only failings were the misplaced loyalty to the current Phoenix King Finubar and a dog-like infatuation with the harlot Everqueen. Aenarion, Morathi felt sure, would have despised Ulthuan's current state of affairs, and this led her to believe his rebirth to be incomplete. In a ritual conducted on the Blighted Isle, she would amend this. If Malekith could no longer rule, the reborn Aenarion would do in his place.[1f]
Her plans were scryed by Prince Teclis, the archmage who was Tyrion's twin brother, who, along with Tyrion's squire Eldyra, mounted a rescue operation. As the army of the High Loremaster clashed with the loyal forces of Morathi under her acolyte Lyssa Cruelblade, the Hag Sorceress conducted her ritual atop the Altar of Khaine where her love had perished, calling upon Khaine, the god of war and murder, to restore his first Champion to his people.[1f]
In the end, the ritual was undone by treason among the Druchii -- Morathi blames Hellebron -- and Teclis managed to reach his brother as his shackles fell. Seeing the battle was lost, Morathi gave Tyrion a parting kiss (the attending Dark Elves were so shocked with revulsion, horror and surprise that they squandered the opportunity to slay her) and fled, leaving her followers to die.[1f]
In VII, 90 (2391 IC), after scrying fruitlessly for a century for a sign of her son, Morathi resolved to tempt Khaine's favour with uncommon sacrifices. Fleets sailed to Lustria, capturing many exotic beasts, such as Coatls, Bastiladons and even a Carnosaur.[1g]
In VII, 102 (2401 IC), a Slann, one of the ruling mage-priests of the Lizardmen, was brought before Morathi. As she sacrificed the creature to Khaine, the sky blazed with fire and the walls of Ghrond bled with Daemonic ichor. All expeditions to Lustria ceased -- for the sacrifice of the Slann had been exactly what Morathi had been looking for. And indeed, a patrol of Dark Riders soon discovered the broken body of her son, returned to the mortal world in the shadow of the northern watchtowers, his plate armour rent and torn. Morathi nursed Malekith back to health and the interregnum of Naggaroth was ended.[1g]
Battle of Blood and Gold
Seeking to further her understanding of the Old Ones' power, in VII, 172 (2472 IC), Morathi forged a pact with the Vampire pirate Luthor Harkon, and together they launched an attack on the Lizardmen temple-city of Chokablox.[1h]
As Harkon's Undead hordes held back Chokablox's ferocious defenders, Morathi's Dark Elf warriors ransacked the sacred cloisters, recovering not only wondrous artefacts of impossible age, but enough conventional wealth to fill three Black Arks.[1h]
Alas for Harkon, he argued too strongly for possession of one of the artefacts -- a chest of black pearls, each glimmering with barely-contained magical power. Displeased by the Vampire Admiral's peremptory demands, Morathi double-crossed her ally and left him sealed in one of Chokablox's treasure vaults -- an unexpected gift for the temple-city's outraged inhabitants.[1h]
Birth of the Spellthirsters
When the Dark Elf Rakarth, Beastlord of Karond Kar, sought to improve upon the War Hydras of Naggaroth, he entered a pact with Morathi. The Hag Sorceress created the first Spellthirster Hydra from the sole survivor of the largest force of Hydras ever fielded by the Druchii, all of who had been felled by High Magic.[19a]
The Spellthirster was created when the sorceress' Dark Magic mutated the creature tremendously. Its skin began to glow with burning blue-black energy, and great rents opened in its flesh where Morathi had ritually carved dread runes.[19a]
Assault on Ghrond
At an unspecified point of time, a Chaos army breached the northern Naggarothi watchtowers, overwhelming four garrisons and then marched on Ghrond. The Chaos forces were led by Nagaira, the daughter of the fallen Lurhan Fellblade, ruler of Hag Graef, and her demand for the Witch King was to bring her her outcast half-brother, Malus Darkblade.[13a]
When Malus had been brought before the Court of Dragons, Morathi immediately recognised the signs of Daemonic possession upomn him. Realising that Nagaira sought to harness the Daemon within her half-brother for her own purpose, Malekith instead marshalled his forces, sending Malus to lead the defence of Ghrond while he and Morathi raised the army of Naggaroth.[13a]
When they arrived, Morathi pitted her magical might against the dark incantations of Nagaira, who sought to open a gateway between the worlds to the Realm of Chaos to allow Daemonic reinforcements to arrive. [13b] Thanks to Morathi's efforts, Nagaira was delayed long enough that the Dark Gods withdrew their gifts and consumed her.[13c]
Attack Against Ulthuan
" Your vortex is coming apart and Ulthuan is doomed. My vengeance is complete knowing that you will die with it."
- —Morathi to Caledor Dragontamer.[12e]
Morathi riding to war upon Sulephet.
With the aid of the Slaaneshi Chaos Champion Issyk Kul, Morathi hatched a new plan to initiate an invasion of Ulthuan. Using a captured Asur, Caelir of House Éadaoin, as a sleeper agent, Morathi had him dropped overboard during a sea battle against the High Elf Navy. [11a]
Caelir's mind has been clouded by Dark Magic, so he was brought to the White Tower of Hoeth to be treated. As the High Loremaster Teclis unwove the spell, Morathi's trap was sprung and a raw whirlwind of pure magic erupted from Caelir, opening a rift into the Realm of Chaos through which Daemons invaded the White Tower.[11b] Caelir, seeking a cure, went to the only other individual he believed could cure him -- the Everqueen of Ulthuan. As he was brought before her, Morathi's implanted mental impulse forced the tormented Asur to assault Alarielle and leave her with a grievous wound.[11d]
As her plan unfolded, Morathi lad her army to Tiranoc, supported by the Chaos army of Issyk Kul.[11c] As Malekith assaulted the Emerald Gate of the city of Lothern, Morathi's allies attacked Eagle Gate.[11d] Shrouding herself from the senses of Caledor Dragontamer, she used her magic to cause the defenders of Eagle Gate to turn on one another, leading to the death of Glorien Truecrown.[12a] Her armies advanced into Ellyrion, making their way to Tor Elyr.[12b]
Yet Morathi abandoned the army during the siege and made her way to the Isle of the Dead in order to unmake the Great Vortex and seize its power for her own, as she had long plotted.[12d] Using a blade specifically designed to slay the timeless Elven wizards that aided Caledor Dragontamer in maintaining the Great Vortex, which was fashioned out of the metal that had once been used by the Old Ones to craft the Polar Gates, Morathi disrupted the ritual, causing Ulthuan to be riven by unnatural disasters, volcanoes to erupt and waystones to melt.[12e] Yet, in the moment of her triumph, Morathi was beset by Caelir, Eldain Fleetmane and Rhianna Silverfawn. The trio kept the sorceress occupied long enough for Caledor to cast a spell that hurled her back to Naggaroth, preserving the Great Vortex.[12f]
End Times
" If you go to Ulthuan, you will lose everything. Your realm will fall, your purpose will waver; everything that makes you who you are – everything that makes you my son -will crumble to naught. Even your name will no longer be your own. I would sooner see you dead."
- —Morathi turns on her son.[28b]
Morathi during the End Times.
During the End Times, Morathi declared herself "Eternal Hekarti Reborn." When the Bloodied Horde under the Khornate Daemon Princess Valkia the Bloody ravaged Naggaroth, she transformed Ghrond into a dense maze of black thorns, clawing skyward to a point where it would have loomed above Naggarond.[28a]
When the Witch King came to demand of his mother why her seers had not given warning of the assault and why Ghrond's army had not marched, she told him that he should stop thinking like a mortal and instead aspire to become a god. She refused to commit troops to the war effort, but sent a coven of sorceresses under the command of Drusala as well as what remained of her army with him. Malekith, in return, spared his mother's life for her treason.[28b]
At the Battle of Reavers' Mark in Ellyrion, Drusala revealed herself to actually be Morathi in disguise and switched sides, joining the High Elf forces of Prince Tyrion. As the Dragon of Cothique fought against Tullaris Dreadbringer and Malus Darkblade, Morathi tipped the scales by snuffing out Darkblade's soul, allowing the Daemon Tz'arkan to finally overtake him. Tyrion, taking up the Warpsword of Khaine, slaughtered Tz'arkan and adopted the mantle of Khaine, spreading the war god's blood-madness to his followers.[28c] Seeing her beloved Aenarion finally returned in the flesh, Morathi joined him in his tent. Tyrion did not send her away.[28d]
Guided by Morathi's whispers and the call of Khaine, Tyrion's host marched on the Blighted Isle to claim the Widowmaker, the Sword of Khaine. As Tyrion met the army of Malekith, Morathi uttered a word of command and a third of the Naggarothi host turned on Malekith, for they had been bound to Morathi's will with gold, enchantments, drugs and poison.[28e]
During the battle, Tyrion was lethally wounded by an arrow shot from the bow of Alith Anar after he drew the Sword of Khaine, the arrow having been magically redirected by Teclis towards his brother from its intended mark. Malekith eventually fled, aided by Caradryan and the traitorous High Elf archmage.[28f]
Seeing her beloved struck down by Anar's arrow, Morathi revealed herself in her full glory, a halo of violet fire dancing upon her brow. Scores of Elves of both kindreds fell to their knees, ensnared by her beauty. Even Korhil Lionmane, the Hunter-Captain of the White Lions, the elite honour guard of the Phoenix King, found himself swayed. Both Druchii and Asur brought the wounded Tyrion to her and she tended his wounds, utilising half-forgotten spells of renewal, entwining her life-force with Tyrion's in order to spread the burden of his wounds.[28f]
Morathi joined the restored Tyrion as he proclaimed himself the rightful Phoenix King, and marched to bring all of Ulthuan under his rule. The union of Morathi and Tyrion was total, their accord almost perfect. Only once did they argue, when their army reached Yvresse. There, Morathi shattered a dozen waystones and used the Elven souls within to strike bargains with the Daemons of the mists.[28g]
On discovering this, Tyrion flew into a rage and slaughtered them. When the Hag Sorceress shrieked her objection, Tyrion struck her to the ground, leaning close and whispering as he clamped gauntleted fingers about her throat. None heard what he said, but Morathi never again sought to bargain with Daemons.[28g]
As Tyrion pushed into Avelorn to be reunited with the Everqueen Alarielle at Withelan, she refused him, seeing the bloody hand of Khaine upon him. Yet Morathi drew on the corruption she had planted in the soul of the Wood Elf queen Ariel, who had merged with the Everqueen to reunite the two parts of Isha, the goddess of nature, long kept on the mortal plane but divided between the queens of the High Elves and the Wood Elves. The seed of darkness Morathi had planted had remained slumbering, and at Morathi's command, it cracked open, binding Alarielle in vile shoots.[28h]
A host of Athel Loren under the leadership of Orion and Araloth came to rescue the Everqueen, coming to blows with the Aeskhaine.[28h] When Alarielle had been cured of the curse placed upon her by Naieth, Morathi saved Tyrion's army from her magical retribution, drawing on the tainted souls of those who followed Tyrion to power her magics.[28i]
Morathi and Tyrion retreated to Cothique, making camp in Tor Alin. Seeing Tyrion struggle with having lost the heart of Alarielle, Morathi promised to be his wife in the darkness, as she had been before, while secretly plotting how to kill the Everqueen.[28j]
Upon hearing this, Korhil Lionmane turned on Morathi and Tyrion and stole the Widowmaker and sought to deliver it to Hellebron. Furious, Morathi pursued him, together with Prince Dannor and his household guard.[28k] In battle, Morathi paid Hellebron no heed, for doing so would have been to let the Crone Queen believe she was worthy of attention. It was then that Morathi received a poisoned wound from Shadowblade, Hellebron's chief Dark Elf Khainite Assassin, yet thanks to her utter mastery of Dark Magic, she survived. Morathi's forces simply proved too numerous and Hellebron was ultimately defeated and Korhil Lionmane taken prisoner.[28l]
Tyrion rebuilt Tor Alin into his new capital for the Aeskhaine, sanctifying the new temple dedicated to Khaine in the city with the blood of captured Avelorni.[28m] As Malekith sailed for the Isle of the Dead, Tyrion's army also sailed forth, with Morathi at the side of her consort.[28n]
Morathi pitted herself against the spirits of the previous Phoenix Kings that had been called by Malekith to fight for him, summoning her own construct of Aenarion, a bitter, shadowed thing formed from Dhar to fight against the souls of the usurpers and Morathi's son.[28n]
When Tyrion and Malekith were both felled by Alith Anar, Morathi screamed in anguish and pitched her sorcerous might against that of the archmage Teclis, who tried to guide the Winds of Magic to create Incarnates of each Wind's power among the Elves to stand against Morathi, even as they sought to escape. Yet Morathi preferred that the mortal world be destroyed rather than live within it without her son or her beloved.[28o]
As she unleashed her fury against the archmage, Ulthuan itself became unstable and the supercharged Great Vortex was transformed into a rift into the Realm of Chaos, drawing the Chaos God Slaanesh's ever-hungry gaze. Morathi invoked spells to draw the Dark Prince nearer, willing to sacrifice all of Ulthuan and the world of Mallus itself to gain vengeance for her beloved and her son, perhaps even her own apotheosis to Daemonhood in service to the Dark God.
As she struggled against both Teclis and the magic of the Great Vortex's creator, Caledor Dragontamer, Slaanesh manifested a giant taloned hand above Ulthuan, its skin formed of faces shrieking in agony and ecstasy, forcing its way into reality, as the air turned sweet with the stench of a thousand terrible temptations.[28o]
Having no choice, Teclis abandoned restraint and chained the remaining Winds of Magic that had not been Incarnated into other mortals -- Ulgu, Ghyran and Hysh -- into Malekith, Alarielle and his own Moon Staff, respectively. As the immense backlash of magic erupted, the island-continent of Ulthuan sank beneath the waves, the remaining Elves fleeing to other continents through the Worldroots.[28o]
As the Great Vortex dissipated, the rift through which Slaanesh reached into the world became unstable. Caledor Dragontamer, freed at last from his millennia-long stasis within the vortex, grabbed Morathi to prevent her from fleeing and both were seized by Slaanesh's claw and dragged into the Realm of Chaos, their fates unknown.[28o]
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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"Let us spill the blood of the lamb together; a resealing of our long held pact."
- —Morathi to a summoned Daemonette.[20a]
Morathi renewing her pact with the Dark Prince.
In the alternate Storm of Chaos timeline, Morathi began to fear a possible assault from the north while Malekith led his invasion of Ulthuan with the combined forces of the Dark Elves and Chaos. She sought to embrace the coming of the Chaos legions and turn them on her own ends.[5a] As she has worked to safeguard her son's place as the monarch of the Dark Elves, she made unwholesome pacts with the Serpent, Slaanesh, the Chaos God of pleasure and pain, to perfect her use of sorcery.[22b]
Morathi herself, always skilled and manipulative in her politics, attained a position of prominence within the Cult of Khaine, and she still retained the loyalty of the Witch Elves who served the Bloody-Handed God. Nevertheless, this was a deception, for her first and truest devotion was actually to Slaanesh, and she had secretly kept the Slaaneshi Cult of Pleasure active on Naggaroth.[20b]
As the latest invasion of Ulthuan claimed the energies and attention of the Druchii nation, Morathi decided the time was right to revive the cult of Slaanesh, the ancient Elven Cult of Pleasure, to become a significant power once more.[22b] Though the Hag Queens believed they had suppressed the cult for years, almost stamping it out, this was merely an illusion and the growth of the cult across Naggaroth had actually been dramatic with Morathi's secret patronage. The power of the Convents of Sorceresses had grown strong in recent years with their increasing involvement with the cult of Slaanesh.[5a]
Seeking to strengthen the Cult of Pleasure, Morathi travelled far to the north. Borne upon the back of her Dark Pegasus Sulephet and accompanied by a coterie of Dark Elven sorceresses, she soared through the darkness over mountain and frost. They flew past the spires of the northern watchtowers that marked the border of their realm. Yet still they flew on, pushing far into the enemy territory of the savage Chaos tribes of Northmen known collectively as the Hung deep in the Northern Wastes.[5a]
Eventually, Morathi and her coterie directed their steeds to land upon the tainted soil in the midst of a great gathering of Hung warbands. An enormous fire burned at the heart of the gathering, around which sat the warlords and chieftains. The grim northern warriors clutched their cruel weapons tightly as the female Dark Elves leapt lightly from their saddles and gracefully walked through the campsite. None dared to halt their progress, for all could feel the power these strange, lithe women wielded as they made their way to the gathering.[5a]
The warlords rose from their council to confront the interlopers. The savage Shaman-Sorcerers of the tribes gasped as they saw the beauty of Morathi; the eye of the great god Slaanesh, whom they knew as "Shaarnor," was upon her; proclaimed the mystics. In their eyes, the favour of the Prince of Pleasure coiled around her like a serpent.[5a]
In a spectacular orgiastic ritual, Morathi summoned sixty troupes of six Daemonettes each and bid them descend on the tribe's main Kurgan rivals. The Daemonettes ripped through the Kurgan warbands with insouciant ease, and the warlords swore their oaths of alliance to the sorceress. So it came to pass that Morathi allied herself with the Northmen tribes that had previously been engaged in near-constant raids on the northern borders of Naggaroth.[5a]
With Morathi at their head, her Human Chaos allies began the march south towards the lands of the Dark Elves. No more would they have need to assault those lands, for behind Morathi they would march within its borders without bloodshed. When they arrived in Naggaroth, Morathi planned to form her great army from the Cult of Pleasure and turn towards the south, towards the steaming jungles of Lustria. In her greed for the ancient, magical marvels of the Old Ones, she sought once more to push deep into that land like a plunging dagger. To her son Malekith she justified this desire by feeding his own greed -- for such wonders and weapons that lie dormant within the crumbling temple-cities of the Lizardmen could surely be turned against the hated High Elves.[5b]
Morathi, the army of the Cult of Pleasure and her Northmen allies managed to penetrate the jungles of the southern New World continent, with her Human allies trying to take the temple-city of Xhotl, while she and the Dark Elves of the Cult of Pleasure besieged its neighbour Tlanxla. Yet the realm of the Lizardmen proved treacherous, with the Skinks carrying out constant guerilla attacks and the more coherent defence provided by columns of Saurus Warriors preventing her from reaching one of the targeted temple-cities.[24]
Troops from Hexoatl managed to crush Morathi's army at Macu Peaks, causing Morathi to command the Dark Elven and forces of Chaos' retreat back to the two Black Arks Palace of Defilement and Bloodied Enlightenment. With only a few trinkets claimed from the smaller Lizardmen temples, Morathi retreated to Naggaroth, where Hellebron, the Hag Queen of the Cult of Khaine, had moved against the newly established temple of Slaanesh erected in Naggarond, the Dark Elf capital. It seemed likely that the encounter would be bloody, as followers of both sects sought to dispose of their rivals. A potential civil war among the Druchii's rival religious cults was likely to erupt if the situation was not brought back under control. [24]
Age of Reckoning
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Attention, Empire Citizens!
This article contains information regarding The Age of Reckoning, a series of novels and short stories produced by both the Black Library and Mythic Entertainment for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, that follow an alternate timeline for the mortal world that diverges from that of the End Times.
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In the alternate timeline of the video game Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, as her son the Witch King Malekith hatched a plan for another Dark Elven invasion of Ulthuan, Morathi was commanded to prepare the most powerful of her sorceresses from the Dark Convent and train them to lead armies.[26a]
Malekith had granted House Uthorin the right to make landfall, yet had granted the same privilege to House Arkaneth, in order to balance out the two rival noble houses and use their rivalry to his advantage. As both Dark Elf noble families and their households found themselves embroiled in struggles against each other, Morathi soothed her enraged son and advised him to deal with them once they had done their duties.
Personality
Morathi's Goals
Morathi always prefers to work her will from behind the scenes, twisting events to her favour with a carefully chosen alliance or assassination, yet she is a terrifying force if roused to open conflict and can unleash the horrific magical powers of Chaos with barely a thought. She is capable of employing the most destructive Dark Magics possible, and there is little doubt that if Malekith is ever slain, she will use that knowledge to see the Known World of Mallus destroyed rather than endure it in the hands of another.[1l] Her name is used in Ulthuan as a byword for unnatural perversion, endless spite and ancient hatred.[12c]
Morathi is one of the oldest beings left alive in the mortal world and has seen nations rise and fall and continents change shape. To her, most other living things are moving shadows, alive for a few flickering moments and then gone. They entertain her, but she is not moved by them.[9a]
So great is her beauty and charisma that Elves of every kindred believe her to have made deals with the gods themselves. It is said that Hekarti, the Mistress of Magic, granted Morathi wisdom, and that the Hag Sorceress is careful to keep her devotions to Hekarti and her sister Atharti, the goddess of pleasure, in balance.[1h]
Morathi ultimately has two goals which dominate her every action and choice: The first is to ascend to become a deity, a goal she seeks through undoing the Great Vortex and seizing control of its rampant mahgical energies,[9a] for she is more than ready to murder to world so that she might live forever.[10a] The second is to be reunited with her lost love Aenarion, the first Phoenix King.[28b]
Relationship With Aenarion
" I will not [die]. And your son Malekith will not. And if you listen to me, you will not either. If you go today [to the last battle of the Great Catastrophe] you forfeit immortality. Stay with me and live forever."
- —Morathi to Aenarion[8a]
Morathi seated on her throne ready to unleash her twisted servants.
Morathi and the first Everqueen of Ulthuan Astarielle, the Phoenix King Aenarion's first wife, were different as night was from day, which surprising many when he chose Morathi as his second bride. To those that did enquire, Aenarion said simply that he had chosen a consort suited to the times at hand and would be drawn no further on the matter. [1a]
During the wars of the Great Catastrophe the Elves fought against Chaos, Morathi brewed potions for herself and Aenarion to help them sleep and keep him calm despite the influence of the Widowmaker, the Sword of Khaine. By the time of the last battle of the war, such drugs had long ceased to work for the Phoenix King, even when taken in doses that would have killed anyone else.[8a]
However, Aenarion's relationship with Morathi was not one the Phoenix King would ever have called "love," for Aenarion by that time doubted he was still capable of any tender emotion or feeling, even with a woman as twisted as Morathi. To him, their bond was a mad, sick passion. In her caresses, Aenarion found respite from his troubles. It was only after Morathi gave birth to their son Malekith that he learned he still had some spark of feeling within him. If it was not exactly hope, it was at least a grim determination to see the war end.[8a]
In Aenarion's eyes, Morathi had studied the ways of their Daemonic enemies for a very long time, and, he suspected, far too closely. There were times when he was not sure where her true loyalties lay. He only knew that she looked at him, as he looked at her, with a mixture of lust, respect, hatred and anger.[8a]
Morathi as presented in Total War: Warhammer II.
For Aenarion, it was a potent, heady brew that had fuelled many memorable days, and even more memorable nights. Indeed, rage did not make Morathi ugly, but beautiful and dangerous. The fact that she never frightened or intimidated him made Aenarion suspect that intrigued her, perhaps as he was the only person her rage never daunted.[8a]
Till the end, Aenarion was astonished by Morathi's beauty. He doubted there had ever been a woman as lovely as her. At the same time, he was untouched by her loveliness. It had no hold over him. It never had, and he knew that in some way that was the secret of the power he held over her. Other Elves and certainly Men might be driven mad with longing and lust for her, but he was not. There was a coldness in him that she could not touch, but nothing could stop her trying.[8a]
His last words to her would be that he would return, to which Morathi shook her head and said "No. You will not. You are a fool, Aenarion, but I love you." Those words hung in the air. They were the first time Morathi had ever said them, and the following silence, the lack of response to it by Aenarion, was humiliating for one of such enormous ego as hers.[8a]
Morathi mounted upon her Dark Pegasus Sulephet.
Aenarion, however, had only ever truly loved one woman, Astarielle. He knew Morathi was merely wicked, and she had drawn him into her wickedness. Even as Aenarion made ready to leave his pavilion for the last battle against the mortal and Daemonic forces of Chaos, Morathi tried to prevent him from going forth to face his foes. At that moment he felt certain that she was numbered among his enemies and the enemies of his people, and would be forever.[8a]
The Widowmaker whispered in Aenarion's mind to kill her. He would be doing the Elves a service by striking her down. And as he stared back at her, Morathi's eyes filled with the obvious entreaty, he was certain that she knew what he was thinking, and just as certain that, at that moment, she did not really care what he did.[8a]
Moving closer to Aenarion, as though daring him to strike, Morathi was pulled by the arm into his embrace, crushing her lips against his, putting all his lust and rage and hatred into one long and brutal kiss. She responded in kind, writhing against his metal-encased form until he thrust her away, her naked body bleeding in a dozen places from pushing against the edges of his full plate armour.[8a]
Aenarion smiled savagely at her, turned on his heel and left the pavilion without another word. He thought he heard her crying as he left. He told himself he did not care.[8a]
After Aenarion returned the Sword of Khaine to its altar on the Blighted Isle following the end of the Great Catastrophe, he disappeared. Morathi looked everywhere for him and on numerous occasions, but to no avail. Yet she would never give up the search for her beloved throughout her long life.[9a]
Relationship with Malekith
" Only those who embrace their true nature will survive. Yours is not that of a victor. Yours is to lose and to blame others for the loss."
- —Morathi admonishes Malekith.[28b]
Malekith and his mother Morathi shared a tumultuous history, having been enemies, allies and more through the long millennia of their existence. Morathi saw that her son had his independent phases, yet was sure that he would always return to her embrace.[9a] In ages past, the two waged war against each other, while at others, they conspired together while keeping up the appearance of emnity.
After his presumed death in the Flame of Asuryan, Morathi swore to see Ulthuan burn, its princes brought to heel and monuments built to honour Malekith that would rival those of Aenarion.[17a] Even millennia later, the anguish at the sight of his ravaged face has never diminished, and she knew it never would.[3e]
There have also been claims that the two have been incestuous lovers, though no physical intimacy is known to have taken place between them during the 26th century IC.[4b][11a]
Wargear
Morathi's magical staff Heartrender as rendered for Total War: Warhammer II.
Morathi utilises ancient sorceries to amplify the effects of her matchless beauty. All who look upon her risk luxuriating in the aura of unbridled, wanton lust that she projects.[9a] Her true form can occasionally be glimpsed as if through a heat haze, revealing the dichotomy of her maintaining her beauty as the expense of countless other innocent lives. [11a] Morathi is known to make use of the following arcane wargear:
Morathi's magical blade the Darksword as rendered for Total War: Warhammer II.
- Heartrender - Such is Morathi's skill with the lance-like magical staff Heartrender that she can pluck a victim's heart from their chest with a single, well-placed blow.[1l][2n]
- Darksword - The Darksword is an Elven sword embedded with spells of blinding and enfeeblement by an evil sorcerer. A foe struck by this weapon will be horribly weakened, even if they survive their wounds.[1l][2n]
- Cloak of Twilight - Morathi once possessed the Cloak of Twilight during the reign of Phoenix King Bel Shanaar, before passing it on.[1m]
- Sulephet - Morathi often rides a Dark Pegasus named Sulephet into battle.
Miniatures
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (8th Edition)
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (7th Edition)
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (6th Edition)
- 4: Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (4th Edition)
- 5: Warhammer: Storm of Chaos (6th Edition)
- 6: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (8th Edition)
- 6a: pg. 18
- 7: Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves (8th Edition)
- 8: Blood of Aenarion (Novel) by William King
- 8a: Prologue
- 9: Sword of Caledor (Novel) by William King
- 10: Bane of Malekith (Novel) by William King
- 11: Defenders of Ulthuan (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- 12: Sons of Ellyrion (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- 13: Lord of Ruin (Novel) by Dan Abnett & Mike Lee
- 14: Time of Legends: Malekith (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
- 15: Time of Legends: Shadow King (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
- 16: Time of Legends: The Bloody-Handed One (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
- 16a: Ch. 2
- 17: Time of Legends: Caledor (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
- 18: Archaon: Everchosen (Novel) by Rob Sanders
- 18a: Ch. 12
- 19: White Dwarf 260
- 19a: pg. 80
- 20: White Dwarf 293
- 21: White Dwarf 368
- 21a: pg. 94
- 22: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption (RPG)
- 23: Warhammer Invasion Card
- 24: Storm of Chaos - The Loremaster's Journal
- 25: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
- 26: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC Game)
- 27: Curse of Khaine (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
- 27a: Ch. 7
- 28: End Times: Khaine (8th Edition)