"Priest, summon my army..."
- —King Phar goes to war.[1]
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King Phar wielding his mighty Flail of Skulls.[1]
King Phar of Mahrak was considered Settra's greatest rival, the only man who willingly and victoriously stood fast against the might of Khemri's legion throughout his reign before dying of old age.
History[]
Origins[]
When Settra first began his domination of the priest-kings of ancient Nehekhara he faced fierce resistance from the rival city-states. Under his skilled generalship, Settra's armies were able to conquer all opposition before them, until they marched east through the Valley of the Kings.[1a]
Word had spread of Settra's coming and one priest-king was determined to defy this all-conquering army. Under his rule, the lands around Mahrak had been scoured clean of the greenskin menace and the city had prospered. An arrogant and proud leader, King Phar deemed himself too important to bow down before any mortal. He was able to ambush Settra's force as they marched through the Valley of the Kings, preventing the enemy army from taking his beloved city.[1a]
For decades Phar's people held out, besieged many times by the armies of Khemri and, even with his dying breath, he cursed the name of Settra, remaining the only priest-king who refused to pay the conqueror tribute. Finally, with Phar's passing, Settra's armies were able to conquer Mahrak and the last free city-state of Nehekhara fell under Settra's rule.[1a]
As a Tomb King[]
Phar was later amongst the first of the Tomb Kings to rise from his eternal slumber. Upon awakening, such was his fury that his successors had eventually bowed down to the lineage of Khemri that he broke into the tombs of his descendants as they woke.[1a]
Ordering their pyramids toppled, he dragged their mummified corpses from their resting places, burned them and shattered their charred skeletons with his mighty Flail of Skulls. Even in death, King Phar continued to fight against Settra, and his Undead legions waged war against all who tried to subject him to their will.[1a]
Phar Awakens[]
The clutter of metal crashing on stone echoed through the corridors of the ancient dust-filled tomb. Inside an ornate gold sarcophagus, the entombed priest-king opened his shrivelled eyelids, revealing two black, empty, soulless sockets.[1]
The Goblin thieves had begun to argue amongst themselves. The small dark chamber was suddenly illuminated as the torches on the walls flared into light. Both of the Goblins froze in fear. Burdened by their ill-gotten treasures, neither Goblin was able to flee fast enough to escape the sword as it swept down in an arc, severing the heads of the two thieves with one fell swipe.[1b]
The bandage-clad figure left the ransacked chamber, walking down corridors that had not been disturbed for centuries. Reaching what appeared to be a blocked passageway, he laid a bony hand on the wall, pressing his long white digits into a recess on the surface. Stone grated heavily on stone as a doorway framed by light appeared before him, the bright glare of the desert sun banishing the darkness of the corridor.[1b]
From his elevated position high on the pyramid, the Tomb King watched the dust cloud of an army marching to the north, away from his necropolis. The smaller pyramids lay broken and the once proud colonnade of statues that led to the necropolis had been unceremoniously toppled. The Undead king watched as a lone figure climbed up the steep steps to where he stood. As the ancient cadaver, dressed in fine ceremonial robes reached the top, he rested his weight on his staff in an attempt to catch his breath. The Tomb King turned to face his servant, addressing him in an ancient tongue. The Liche Priest was to summon his army...[1b]
Against the Orcs[]
King Phar stood unmoving on his ornate war chariot. In the distance, the Tomb King heard the deep, heavy pounding of tribal drums alerting the Orcs to his army's approach. He had experienced the same sound many centuries ago when blood flowed within his mortal flesh. Back then, those same drumbeats had chilled his blood with the thought of the coming battle. Now he felt nothing but cold contempt for those pitiful creatures. In over two thousand years they had not developed as a civilisation and he would have been glad to purge them from the face of the world. The Greenskins poured out fro the camp's crude wooden gate. At first, they seemed an undisciplined shambling horde, but the Tomb King knew better than to underestimate their instinctive warlike abilities. within minutes, a solid wall of greenskins faced his army and advanced forwards. Guttural chants sounded out over the pounding of the drums as the Orcs went to war.[1b]
From Phar's commanding viewpoint, the neat and disciplined ranks of his own army were dwarfed by the advancing, teeming horde. His Liche Priest beckoned to know his will. King Phar turned to face him, then turned his skeletal head away towards his archers. He raised his sword and with that signal the skeleton archers loosed their arrows skyward. Before the first cloud of arrows had descended into the Orc ranks, a second volley was airborne. King Phar watched with satisfaction as arrows that appeared to be sailing over the heads of the enemy twisted in mid-flight, careering down into the centre of the Orcs' formations. Dozens fell with the first volley, followed by more seconds later. Within minutes, the once solid wall of Orcs was in disarray as the onslaught of enchanted missiles continued to fall. Orcs began to flee back towards their camp and within the first few minutes of battle it appeared as though the Orc army had been defeated.[1b]
Then from the Orc camp came the heavy pounding of hooves on soil. Bursting from the gates rode a mighty Orc. Mounted on a huge boar and clad in an assortment of thick plate armour, he bawled at the panic-stricken Orcs, who then turned once more to face the king's army. Undaunted by the hail of arrows that rained upon their ranks, the Orcs again marched forward, quickening their pace as they closed in on Phar's loyal soldiers. The king signalled to his troops again and the skeleton archer formations closed their ranks, forming into defensive blocks. Gaps in the solid line had now been opened and the rumble of wheels and clatter of skeletal hooves sounded across the battlefield as the king's cavalry and chariots rode forwards. Suddenly, a dark shadow sped across the ground, growing larger by the second. Phar looked up to see a huge bat-like creature sailing down towards the newly reformed skeletons. With a mighty crash, bone splintered and broke as the creature descended into the midst of his force. He spied a second shadow and could make out the form of a winged Goblin diving to his doom. The suicidal creature crashed behind the formation, leaving a bloody pulp of metal, flesh and canvas on the dusty ground. Phar spotted a small line of Goblins behind the Orc lines, flapping huge canvas wings in anticipation of launching themselves skywards from a huge catapult contraption. Uttering an ancient incantation, Phar was more than satisfied to see the ground around the catapult crack and split as a huge scorpion rose from out the earth. Its massive pincers sliced one of the machine's crew in half before its immense stinger thrust forwards, repeatedly striking the small Goblins who fell to the floor, convulsing as the poison took hold. The sudden attack terrified the doom divers who ran in panic, flapping furiously in a vain attempt to get airborne and out of reach of the monstrous beast.[1b]
By now the Orcs were so close to the front line that King Phar could see the grizzly trophies that hung around their necks. Amongst the teeth and skulls that adorned their necks was the odd gold neckpiece, ancient treasures from Phar's own collection. Calmly, the King reached out and grasped a huge flail from a weapon rack on the front of his chariot. It had been a long time since Phar had used the weapon and its weight felt good in his hands. The weapon's ornate carved handle ended with a series of chains, from which hung the skulls of conquered enemies. For a brief moment, the skulls crackled with small flashes of lighting. Spurring his steeds into action, Phar's chariot rolled slowly forwards, gradually picking up speed.[1b]
Following his lead, the rest of the army marched as one towards the Orcs. The king signalled to the chariot next to him. A gold armoured icon bearer nodded in acknowledgement and waved his long staff, topped with a crescent and engraved down the length with hieroglyphs that told of the bearer's heroic feats. In life, the icon bearer had been Phar's mightiest champion and the king's own personal bodyguard, now in death he still rode to war at his king's side. The dusty ground to the Orcs' right flank cracked and split apart as a dozen skeletal steeds rode from the ground itself. They charged into the surprised Orcs' flank and with this shock attack, the king signalled for the rest of the army's chariots and cavalry to charge. The decorated constructions smashed into the ranks of the greenskins, gold trimmed wheels crushing the Orcs beneath them. Orcs fled before the combined onslaught and spears thrust through their unprotected backs. Phar's chariot rolled over several bodies before smashing into the boar riders, who had been taken by surprise by the severity of the charge. Phar spotted the Orc Warboss, and steering the steeds towards the massive foe, he swung his flail in a wide arc above his head. The warboss leapt off his boar to avoid the collision. A crunch of wood followed as the chariot splintered at the impact with the huge beast.[1b]
Within seconds, the Orc warboss was on his feet and swinging his massive crude choppa at Phar's head. The Orc's blow fell wide and the king brought his flail down in a powerful sweep. With a sickening crunch, the skulls smashed into the Orc before he could strike, shattering even his thick-boned head. Seeing their warboss fall was more than the greenskins could take, and as their courage failed them the cowardly savages fled to the safety of the mountains.
As his warriors picked the jewellery off the corpses and carried it back to the Liche Priest, King Phar surveyed the land around him. During his reign, he had cleared much of the mountainous region of Orc tribes. Soon, the time would come when he would conquer the lands again, but at that moment he was satisfied that he Orcs would think long and hard before disturbing his sleep once more.[1b]
Back in the ruins of Mahrak, the torches in the small tomb chamber slowly burned out and the recovered treasures in the alcoves of the pyramid vanished in the darkness. Encased in his sarcophagus, King Phar once again closed his eyes, his arms crossed upon his chest, and grasped in one hand was the flail, now adorned with a new skull with huge fang-like teeth...[1b]
End Times[]
By the time Nagash travelled to Mahrak and took control of the City of Decay, only four Tomb Kings remained there -- Nebwaneph, Obidiah, Omanhan III and Bhemrodesh. The first was the most powerful and had been seduced by the power offered by Nagash, turning against Bhemrodesh and submitting Omanhan to the will of the Great Necromancer, while Obidiah was devoured by Nagash on his arrival to the city. It is likely that Phar had marched abroad to confront the Undead armies invading Nehekhara, and thus could not intervene in this coup.[2b]
Wargear[]
- Flail of Skulls - This flail is made from the gilded skulls of conquered enemies. Enemies struck by the skulls are lacerated and savaged by their sharpened teeth, and bleed profusely from their wounds.