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There will be no escape, no blessed oblivion. I can end your life as easily as I can extinguish a candle, and before your corpse is cold, I can reach out and grasp your soul. You will be my slave for all eternity, and I shall laugh at the depths of your pain. Such is the power of Nagash.
~ Nagash

Nagash is one of the main antagonists of Warhammer.

He was the creator of Necromancy and one of the most powerful magic users of all time, capable of wiping out entire armies. Once a mortal, Nagash became a lich, casting aside his flesh and humanity in favor of unmatched mastery over the arcane and eternal existence. His goal is to become a god and turn the world into a graveyard under his control. He has been one of the greatest threats the world ever faced and was only stopped at a great cost each time he rose, never being truly defeated.

History[]

Rise to Power[]

Nagash was born in the ancient civilization of Nehekhara as the son of king Khetep, ruler of Khemri. At a young age, he joined the Mortuary Cult and rapidly rose in the rank eventually becoming the High Priest of Khemri. Despite this, he wanted more power and immortality. His chance came when a group of dark elves washed up on the shore of Nehekhara and were brought to him. Nagsh learned from the sorceress of the group the existence of the winds of magic and how to channel them for his own gain. When the sorceress outlived her usefulness, he killed her in a magic duel and consumed her soul. He then proceeded with his plan to take over Khemri by bringing together a group of nobles and gave them the ability to prolong their life and in return they swore to serve him forever.   

One day he killed his brother, who had succeeded their father on the throne, and buried him alive. After taking power over Khemri, he started a war against the other kings of Nehekhara. Despite his magical powers, Nagash was defeated and disappeared for a time. During his exile, he founded the fortress of Nagashizzar in the desert and forged many powerful artifacts, slowly gathering his power to take revenge on his homeland.

Many centuries later in Nehekhara, the study of the Books of Nagash by Queen Neferata brought about the creation of the Vampires in the city of Lahmia. When this was discovered by the current King Alcadizaar, he brought his forces against Lahmia to remove the taint of undeath. Despite the efforts of the vampires, the threat of Lahmia was crushed by Alcadizaar's huge army; the Queen fled to Nagashizzar with the six remaining Vampires. Recognising the spawn of his own creation, Nagash made the vampires his captains and sent them back in command of a vast undead horde to conquer Nehekhara. However, he had underestimated his former countrymen. The combined forces of Nehekhara crushed Nagash's forces and forced the vampires to flee before his wrath. Enraged by this defeat, Nagash got his allies, the Skaven, to corrupt the River Vitae; it turned black, spreading pestilence throughout the populace. Alcadizaar was forced to watch first as those he loved, including his wife and children died, and then to see his beloved kingdom crumble before him. When Nagash's undead invaded, their ranks swollen by the dead of Nehekhara, they were led by W'soran and Arkhan, who Nagash had resurrected as a Liche. The meek defenses put up to stop the invasion were easily thwarted and Alcadizaar himself was captured and thrown into a cell to await torture and death at Nagash's pleasure.

He later tries to use a spell so powerful that it would raise all the dead in the world but is stopped by the machinations of the skavens who free Alcadizzar and give him a powerful cursed blade known as the fellblade. Alcadizzar uses this blade to cut Nagash to pieces and then go out in the desert, consumed by madness. But Nagash didn`t truly die and he would return to plague the world of Warhammer again during the Legend of Sigmar, only to be defeated once more.

The End Times[]

In the End Times, he comes back again, seeking to absorb the wind of death and ultimately the Chaos Gods themselves to become a god. Though initially successful, having consumed some of the other races` gods of the afterlife, his plan suffers a massive setback in his battle in Sylvania against a force of chaos daemons when skavens blow up his black pyramid, which was used to amassed magical power. This forces the Great Necromancer to ally himself with the forces of Order to prevent the world’s destruction.  In the final battle at Middenheim however, the champions of the Old world fail and the world is destroyed by Chaos with Nagash last being seen stripped from his magic and his body crumbling to dust.

Age of Sigmar[]

He returns somehow in the Age of Sigmar, having consumed all the death gods and becoming the sole god of the afterlife. Initially joining the pantheon of Sigmar and working with the other gods against the invasion of Chaos, he later betrays them and retreats to Shyish, the realm of death. This treachery allows the forces of chaos to crush all resistance and invade all but the realm of heavens. Even Nagash’s domains are all but conquered and The Great Necromancer himself his struck down by Archaon. Returning back to life after his defeat, he is currently amassing his power in a sub-realm to retake what is rightfully his.

Personality[]

The dead do not squabble as this land's rulers do. The dead do not fight one another. The dead have no desires, no petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace...
~ Nagash

Even as a mortal man, Nagash had a total lack of empathy and respect for anyone but himself. He was more intrigued by the Dark Elves' magic spell that killed his father rather than mourning him, he entombed alive his brother out of jealousy and stole his wife the day after and killed his Dark Elf captives and absorbed their souls after they taught him their dark magic.

He was also skilled at manipulating people, he was able to set himself as a god to the mountain tribes and make them build the city fortress of Nagashizzar, as well as gathering a rebel army to overthrow his brother and make them fight amongst themselves to see which one is the strongest servant.

After becoming a lich, his sense of self-worth and sadism grew worse, forcing the then king Alcadizzar to watch as he poisoned all the people of Nehekhara and then turned them into undead in a great ritual. His ultimate goal is to usurp the Chaos Gods and turn all the living creatures of the planet into his undead minions.

During the End Times, after he was forced to join forces with the side of Order, he turned survivors of Middenland from a Chaos incursion into zombies after Arkhan suggested to spare them as a gesture of goodwill towards his new allies. He then mocked Alarielle and Tyrion, telling them that their deceased daughter's soul is fodder for Slaanesh.

Nagash is very patient, although it has a breaking point. Because he is immortal and a master strategist he knows that he can play the long game far better than others. But he will not tolerate the countless attempts of the gods of order to deny him what his right according to a deal he set with the Pantheon of Order, the soul of every mortal that dies in the Mortal Realms. Knowing that the gods of order would eventually break this deal with him he made a plan to reign supreme across all the realm, a plan that ran from the Age of Myth, throughout the entirety of the Age of Chaos and would only come to fruition in the Age of Sigmar.

Powers & Abilities[]

Nagash was a natural prodigy, a man who was very highly skilled in the arts of martial combat, sorcery, diplomacy, and leadership. He was very intelligent and well-read and would use his knowledge to further his own research on immortality during his time as a member of the Mortuary Cult. Having lived in the harsh deserts of Nehekhara in his mortal life, Nagash was resilient and enduring, in addition to being proficient in the use of swords and staffs, and he was even capable of being very deceptive and manipulative. With a sharp wit and quick thinking, he could trick his targets into unwittingly helping him or react with enough time to save himself from being defeated.

Already a powerful man with many talents, Nagash's strengths and feats are further amplified with the creation of his own magical arts; necromancy. With it, he was able to finally achieve the immortality he and the Mortuary Cult had sought after ever since the rulership of Settra. In addition, Nagash used his newfound powers to create gigantic armies of undead whose animation and functionality were tied by his will. He would write and author a collection of nine books, aptly titled The Nine Books of Nagash, with each of them detailing the use of necromancy. In addition to indefinitely extending his lifespan, Nagash would use his magic to further amplify his own powers. In time, the mutations of necromancy would alter his body significantly; his skin continuously rotted until he was just an animated skeleton and his size would grow to that of a giant's.

Nagash would claim ownership to a couple of equipment and artifacts that served as an extension and further amplifier of his already terrifying powers...

  • Morikhane - Black Armor of Nagash: An incredibly sturdy set of armor that is grafted onto Nagash's animated skeletal remains. It is forged with lead and meteoric alloy.
  • Mortis - The Great Blade of Death: A gigantic sword that surges with incredible power. Enchanted by Nagash to ensure that only he can use it. It's enchantment also gives it a life-sapping ability where any wound it inflicts towards a target recovers a portion of Nagash's undead vitality.
  • Alakanash - Staff of Power: A magical staff that serves as further battery for Nagash's already large and tremendous power. He would often use it for almost any magic he can use against his foes and would pour in most of energy into the staff if he must use his most powerful spells.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Nagash is similar to Vecna from the Dungeons & Dragons setting of Greyhawk as both characters are the most powerful and iconic liches of their respective settings.
  • He's also similar to the Conan the Barbarian villains Xaltotun, Thugra Khotan and Thulsa Doom as they are all liches with an ancient Egypt theme.
  • It is unknown if he will appear in Total War: Warhammer. Although the endings of Arkhan the Black and Luthor Harkon suggest he's up to something.

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