"Until one has witnessed the Phoenix Guard upon the field of battle, one cannot comprehend the power that they possess. Ranks of highly trained warriors all utterly silent. Around them the very air shimmers. They are not just the guardians of a temple, they are the chosen warriors of a mighty Elven god. No spoken word commands them, yet each knows his place within the battle plan. They do not baulk before even the vilest horrors of the world. It is said that each knows the moment he will die, and I believe it, for they face the maelstrom of battle with unflinching resolve. Who but one of utterly convinced of his survival, or demise, could face a hail of arrows, or a charge from some unspeakable monster without flinching? The horrors and the wonders they must have seen, these Phoenix Guard. How I wish they would only speak of it to mortals not gifted with such foresight."
- —Extract from A Man Among the Elves, by Herwig Algnar.[2a]
The Phoenix Guard are the fearsome High Elf guardians of the Shrine of Asuryan, the great pyramid-temple dedicated to Asuryan in Ulthuan's Sea of Dreams.[1a]
Role[]
"At the heart of the battle, in the thickest fighting, highly-trained and utterly silent."
- —Description of the Phoenix Guard from Total War: Warhammer II.[7]
Deep within the Shrine of Asuryan lies the "Chamber of Days." On its ancient walls, it is said, are the histories of past, present and future, etched in words of fire. Legend tells that any who behold the wall shall forever be cursed with knowledge of their own death. The Phoenix Guard do not utter a word. It is forbidden for those who have seen the secrets of time to speak of them, and all who do so take a magical vow of silence from which they can never be released.[1a] They do, however, utilise hand-signs when communicating to outsiders.[6a]
Viewed by many as a curse, this is but a part of a broader dedication that each Phoenix Guard makes to Asuryan; a covenant that fills the Creator God's chosen warriors with a portion of his almighty power. Thus do the Phoenix Guard benefit from divine protection that no sorcery or blade can easily breach, and know a sense of purpose that transcends their mortal origins. As the sworn warriors of Asuryan, the Phoenix Guard lie beyond the rule of nobles and princes. Only the Phoenix King, vessel of Asuryan's will, can command them.[1a]
Indeed, they often act as the king's personal emissaries upon the battlefield, taken by many Elves as a sign that, even though the Phoenix King himself cannot be present at the battle, it is never far from his thoughts. When their lord orders them to war, the Phoenix Guard are grim and resolute, clad in ornate armour, and armed with tall ceremonial halberds that can cleave a foe from top to tail in a single well-aimed blow. While their stony quiet is unnerving, the aura of godly might that surrounds them is far more horrifying. Their eyes blaze with a fiery intensity borne of unshakeable faith in the Creator God of the Elves, and the air around a regiment of Phoenix Guard literally throbs with the raw power of Asuryan. Any who would stand in their way are assailed by an overwhelming sense of dread.[1a]
Regiments of Phoenix Guard are always found where the fighting is fiercest and victory hardest won, for their gift allows them to see confluences and crux points upon his appointed hour of death, but none seek to delay that fatal moment. Whether battle brings victory or defeat, life or death, the Phoenix Guard fight on without fear.[1a]
Notable Phoenix Guard[]
- Caradryan - The present captain of the Phoenix Guard and one of the High Elves' greatest warriors.
- Varandi and Valanar - A pair of twins who, in a rare occurrence, were both inducted into the Phoenix Guard.
Notable Phoenix Guard Regiments[]
- Keepers of the Flame - These elite, silent sentinels stand guard upon the Shrine of Asuryan and are called into battle only to meet the greatest of threats to the Asur. [7]
- Flamehearts - A regiment of Phoenix Guard in Caradryan's army.
- Shadowfire Guard - This mixture of troops was composed of Phoenix Guard and Black Guard to defend Malekith at the Blighted Isle.
- Eternity Guard - A combination of the best bodyguards of all elven peoples to defend Malekith during the final days of The End Times.
Miniatures[]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (8th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 50
- 2: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (7th Edition)
- 2a: pg. 54
- 3: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (6th Edition)
- 3a: pg. 11
- 4: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (5th Edition)
- 5: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (4th Edition)
- 5a: pg. 67
- 6: Blood of Aenarion (Novel) by William King
- 6a: Ch. 25
- 7: Total War: Warhammer II (PC Game)