A Sepulchral Stalker awakening the armies of the Dead.
Sepulchral Stalkers are massive, reanimated sentinels created by the ancient Nehekharans to delineate the borders of a king's realm. Over the centuries, the Sepulchral Stalkers have been swallowed by the shifting sands of the desert, and they now lie hidden beneath the dunes. Sepulchral Stalkers are statues that have the body of a snake and the upper torso of a man. Atop the statues' curved spines sit inhuman skulls, inside which glow eerie, baleful lights. Lying beneath the surface of the desert, they wait for intruders to pass by before launching a devastating ambush.[1a]
When the trap is sprung, several horrifying, snake-like forms burst from the ground to surround their prey. The Sepulchral Stalkers impale their foes on ornate staves before they even realize they are under attack. However, it is not for the skill with which they wield these weapons that Sepulchral Stalkers are so feared, for those who gaze into their eyes are turned into pillars of sand, standing as still as statues until a gust of wind blows them apart and scatters the grains into the desert. To look upon a Sepulchral is literally to look to your own death.[1a]
Overview
The incantations required to awaken Sepulchral Stalkers are complicated and difficult. First, a Liche Priest must collect the remains of a fallen Nehekharan Warrior, one whose skeletal body is broken beyond all hopes of repair. The Liche Priests then walk out into the open desert under a full moon, where they scatter these fragments on the ground, casting powdered bone to the wind as they speak a magical incantation. At the ritual's end, they throw the eyes of a desert cockatrice onto the sand, and the offerings sink beneath the desert surface. The spirit of the warrior's remains is thus bound into the stone frame of one of the buried Sepulchral Stalkers. They are imbued with powerful enchantments and compelled to patrol the lands against invaders for all eternity.[1a]
Sepulchral Stalkers can burrow underneath the desert as quickly as they can move across its surface. They are instinctive hunters who can sense their prey trudging across the ground above, and they can prepare their ambushes without ever being seen. Those who are foolish enough to face Sepulchral Stalkers are magically turned into sand. Even foes who only catch a momentary glimpse of these creatures may find that one of their limbs crumbles in a shower of golden grains before their eyes - those that stare any longer seal their own doom. Sepulchral Stalkers are said to be the desert's vengeance made manifest, and as suddenly as an attack begins, it ends. A lucky survivor might just witness the tip of a tail burrowing back under the dunes as the Sepulchral Stalkers leave in search of other prey.[1a]
Warfare
It is claimed by foolhardy heroes that a Sepulchral Stalker can be tricked into staring at its own reflection, for these monsters are not immune to the sorcerous enchantments of their own stares; rumours abound that they can be defeated with only a polished breastplate or a mirrored shield. However, it is perhaps safer to attempt to creep up behind a Sepulchral Stalker and strike off its head, but even then care must be taken not to look at the decapitated beast, for in death, a vestigial hint of arcane power remains in their infernal eyes.[1a]
Gallery
Theatre
Total War WARHAMMER 2 - Tomb Kings Introducing... Serpent Constructs
The Necropolis Knights and Sepulchral Stalkers.
Miniatures
Source
