Archaon

Archaon the Everchosen is the supreme champion of the Chaos Gods and a villain from the Warhammer tabletop war game.

History
Abandoning Sigmar

According to rumor, Archaon was once a Templar of Sigmar and zealously devoted to battling the forces of Chaos. But then he read ancient manuscripts written by Necrodomo the Insane, which told about the nature of Chaos and took a blasphemous stand against the Sigmar religion. What particularly caught his attention was the Prophecy of Fate the manuscript spoke of.

''Six Treasures shall be his Mark. Forged from the Other World, six treasures shall he Possess.''

Upon his head the Crown shall see all, and Open Eye will prove woe to mortal kind.

''Then shall he ride unto the world. Here will be Four united unto One.''

''And five shall be the armies of Doom. Then will the world know that the Last War has begun.''

''With the coming of doom will march a lowly boy. Anger shall be his nourishment and blood his wine.''

''And from the land tamed will rise a champion. Disease shall be his downfall and savior divine.''

''A King's son shall be the Chosen. In power will he thrive and glory in his name.''

And with the coming of the End of Times, the Old will fall by the Hand of the New.

Enraged by what he’d read, he burned the temple and the manuscripts, calling the gods liars and turning against Sigmar forever, before he hunted down and slew his entire family. Now calling himself Archaon, he headed into the Chaos Wastes, offering himself to the Chaos Gods as their tool of destruction. The gods used their dark powers to increase Archaon’s lifespan, so he spent a century, searching for the six treasures of chaos while taking control of the northern tribes.

The Mark of Chaos

The first treasure was the Mark of Chaos, which marked the bearer as the chosen warrior of all the Chaos Gods. Archaon went to get this one from the Altar of Darkness in Naggaroth along with a small band of Chaos warriors called the Swords of Chaos. They battled their way to a huge citadel and upon entering, found it so dark that when one tried to light a torch, it was snuffed out. Unafraid, Archaon marched alone into the darkness, slaughtering hundreds of the misshapen monsters that had infested the citadel. He reached the altar for the Chaos Gods, offering up the hearts of all the creatures he’d slain. Archaon then emerged, the Mark of Chaos eternally burning on his forehead.

The Armour of Morkar ===The second treasure was the Armour of Morkar, an extremely strong set of dark armour that was worn by the first Everchosen, who’d been killed by Sigmar. Leaving Naggaroth aboard a stolen ship of black metal that was pulled by a sea drake, Archaon took command of a seafaring warrior band. Sailing to a mysterious land, home to strange half-humans, that had felt neither the sun nor moon, Archaon battled them and reduced their cities to nothing in 6 days. He delved deep into their necropolis where he found the Tomb of Morkar and inside, the armour. But as Archaon reached out to claim it, Morkar’s spirit animated the armour, attacking him and unleashing a rain of blows. However Archaon spoke a curse in the tongue of the Unberogen tribe, stopping the assault for a moment. This gave him the chance to strike the armour down, driving out Morkar’s spirit and letting Archaon claim it.===

The Eye of Sheerian
===The third treasure was the Eye of Sheerian, which was named for the Sorcerer of Tzeentch who found it. When mounted in the Crown of Domination, it granted the possessor prophetic and omniscient powers. Fresh from gaining the armour of Morkar, Archaon went after the Eye of Sheerian, which was in the treasure horde of a Chaos Dragon called Flamefang. Since the dragon held the Eye dearer than any of its other treasures, Archaon had to make his request for the Eye by driving its axe into Flamefang’s head. The two battled for ages with Flamefang breathing fire on Archaon and even swallowing him at one point, but the Armour of Morkar kept him safe. Slicing his way out of the dragon’s throat with great ferocity, Archaon left Flamefang’s throat in tatters and the dragon died, allowing Archaon to take the Eye of Sheerian from his chest.=== Dorghar, the Steed of Apocalypse

The fourth treasure was Dorghar, Steed of the Apocalypse, a huge demonic horse. Archaon battled his way through the Daemons guarding the palace of the great Agrammon, before sneaking inside, using a creature that was a hybrid of man, mammoth, and insect. Within Archaon noticed every form of creature imaginable, along with some that could not be imagined. He snuck into Agrammon’s stables, tracking Dorghur via the smell of sulfur that it emitted. Despite Dorghur bursting into flame and changing shape, Archaon broke it and rode it out of the Realm of Chaos. Many armies pursued him, but with the Steed of Apocalypse carrying him, Archaon outran them all until they dropped dead of exhaustion.

The Slayer of Kings

The fifth treasure was the Slayer of Kings, a powerful sword with the soul of an enraged demon called U’zhul trapped inside it. Archaon heard it rested upon the Chimera Plateau and headed there after stealing Dorghar. The warriors fighting there saw his determination and the great destiny that awaited him and quickly flocked to his side. After slaying the Chimeras guarding the higher plateaus, Archaon and three companions headed for the top. Upon reaching the top, Archaon was able to look out over the entire world and swear that all of it would be his. But suddenly the mountain behind him turned over as if it were a sleeping creature and Archaon realized it was actually Krakanrok the Black, father of the Dragon Ogres. Knowing that even he didn’t have the power to defeat such a gigantic monster, Archaon and his companions snuck past. However Krakanrok was holding the Slayer of Kings to its chest and one of Archaon’s companions, Prince Ograx the Great was able to lift one of the monster’s huge claws. This allowed Archaon to claim the sword but the spirit of U’zhul began to shriek, causing Krakanrok to start waking. Thinking fast, Archaon slew Ograx, quenching the Slayer of King’s thirst for royal blood and letting him sheath it, and returned to his cheering followers.

The Crown of Domination

The last treasure was the Crown of Domination, which was a symbol of absolute control over the forces of Chaos. However this one eluded Archaon for decades until finally the demon, Be’lakor, who was the only one who could perform the coronation to Everchosen, told him of its location. It was the First Shrine to Chaos at icy tip of the Worlds Edge Mountains. Be’lakor led Archaon up the mountain on Dorghar and after a day and half, he stood before the enormous gates of the shrine. Within, he faced a huge maze, filled with Daemons and monsters and where he faced challenges from the Chaos Gods themselves. Nurgle sent deadly plagues against Archaon, but his sheer willpower let him shrug them off. Tzeentch created a labyrinth of crystal, but Archaon blindfolded himself with his instincts alone allowing him to navigate it. Slaanesh sent temptation after temptation against Archaon, but none moved him from his path until he finally reached the inner gates of the Shrine. He passed through the inner gates, where he found himself on a staircase surrounded by hellfire, burning away his skin and hair. A Bloodthirster of Khorne burst forth from the flames and Archaon battled the Greater Daemon. Despite the daemon’s strength, the power of the Slayer of Kings allowed Archaon to take the Bloodthirster’s weapons and strangle it with its own whip. The hellfire dissipated, leaving Archaon standing along on a shrine with a throne standing on the back. Upon the throne sat a withered corpse with the Crown of Domination upon its skull. Archaon took the crown, causing his wounds to heal and his body to course with power as he held it to the sky. With all the treasures of Chaos in his possession, Be’lakor performed the coronation, making Archaon the Everchosen and Lord of the End Times.

Storm of Chaos

With a huge army of Chaos warriors behind him, Archaon marched into the Empire from the north, while his herald, Crom the Conqueror, marched over the Worlds Edge Mountains, attacking from the east. Knowing that if Man, Dwarf, and Elf stood against him, Archaon had only once choice, to strike hard and fast at the Old World. The Lord of the End Times planned to invade Middenheim, capital city of Middenland, then enter the Temple of Ulric and corrupt the Eternal Flame within. By using his essence to corrupt the flame, it would extinguished and signal the End Times. Archaon’s campaign went well and he even managed to fell Volkmar the Grim with one strike from the Slayer of Kings. Archaon. He laid waste to three Imperial provinces before entering a climactic battle with the Empire’s forces. Archaon personally took on Valten, Exalted of Sigmar in one-on-one combat, eventually striking him what seemed to be a mortal blow. Luthor Huss managed to strike Arhcaon on the head, but the Lord of the End Times struck him away. However he was attacked out of nowhere by Grimgor Ironhide, who smashed his shield and struck him in the face. But though he held his blade as it to finish Archaon, the orc instead just declared “Grimgor iz da best!” and left the field. His campaign finished, Archaon apparently retreated back into the Chaos Wastes, leaving the Empire a mess.

Abilities
Archaon is a powerful warrior and general, as well as skilled in the ways of Chaos. The six treasures that he collected to become the Everchosen grant him many dark abilities. The Mark of Chaos grants Archaon the benefits of all the other marks, but on an even more powerful scale. The Armour of Morkar makes him invulnerable to all but the strongest of attacks and the Eye of Sheerian grants him prophetic powers, letting him avoid enemy attacks. Archaon usually rids Dorghar into battle, a powerful demonic horse, and wields the Slayer of Kings, an incredibly powerful sword that has the soul of the enraged and insane demon, U’zhul within. Archaon can unleash U'zhul's power to become a lethal force, but sometimes the blade will seek to attack the Lord of the End Times' allies and even himself and U'zhul cannot be re-restrained until the end of the battle. The final treasure, the Crown of Domination, strengthens Archaon’s allies while striking fear into his enemies.