Even the Elves themselves are unsure of their exact origin, which was lost in the dawn of time. What is known, however, is that they come from the beautiful Isle of Ulthuan where they lived and prospered for centuries in peace and harmony, learning the arts of the Old Ones. Blessed with grace, beauty, strength, and intelligence, they lived for thousands of years in a state of peace that many thought would never end.
When the Old Ones’ Warp Gates collapsed, however, the forces of Chaos arrived. Trapped on their island, the Elves fought bravely against the hordes of daemons that came from beyond the stars, but they seemed unstoppable. Many of the Elves, capable of deep and intense emotions, began to study the way of the warrior, and were in charge of organizing the island’s defenses against the assault. Among these was the greatest and most tragic hero the Elves have ever known: Aenarion, who would later become the first Phoenix King of the Elves.
Aenarion organized the defense of Ulthuan and managed to bring the noble houses under his control; his cunning and skill in combat knew no bounds, and the Elves faced the daemonic assault with courage and determination. Their losses were great, however, and the island seemed doomed. Aenarion carried out many sacrifices and ceremonies honoring the gods, trying in vain to gain the favor of those mysterious powers that had apparently abandoned them.
In a final act of despair, Aenarion offered up himself as a sacrifice and jumped into the sacred flames of Asuryan, hoping to win the favor of the sun god for his people. At that moment, the flames engulfed him and burned his flesh; and though the agony was excruciating, something changed inside him. Aenarion did not perish; instead, he passed through the sacred fire and stepped out of the flames, glowing with the holy light of Asuryan. He now had a pure soul and renewed strength, and was even more eager than before to eradicate the demons from this world. The Elves proclaimed him king, and named him Phoenix after the mythological bird that is reborn from the ashes. United under his command, they prepared the counteroffensive.
It was at that time that Aenarion met the powerful wizard, Caledor Dragontamer. Caledor’s forces had resisted the daemonic invasion with heroic courage, and the brave Dragon Riders were a powerful weapon in the war against Chaos. Caledor and Aenarion fought side by side to recover control of the Isle of Ulthuan, but the dragon prince knew that all was lost. In desperation, the wizards of Ulthuan hatched a plan to try and close the fissure between the planes that was destroying the world.
The Vortex
He sealed his fate in that instant, swearing to banish the daemons from the world, and the Elves of his land developed the arts of war and military strategy to a level never before seen. Nagarythe became the strongest of the Elven nations, but also the least compassionate and most belligerent. Their fighting techniques became ever more cruel and desperate, just like the war that ravaged the lands of the Elves, and the pain that was eating away at the heart of the Phoenix King. Nagarythe became the last stronghold of the defense against the daemons.
Aenarion eventually remarried. His second wife, Morathi, was a beautiful and mysterious seer that had been rescued from a band of Slaanesh worshippers. He had another child with her – Prince Malekith. Despite all this, the pain of losing Astarielle and his children still filled his heart. Meanwhile, Caledor’s ritual had started.
The Mages of Ulthuan began the daunting spell that would eventually open up the Vortex. Waves of demons assaulted the Mages and it was only thanks to the stalwart defense of the Nagarythe forces and Aenarion himself, who fought single-handedly against four greater daemons, that the ritual was completed successfully. The Vortex opened, causing a great explosion that massacred tens of thousands. The desperate Elven defense gave the Mages the time they needed, though they had to pay a great price, and Caledor was swept into the Vortex together with the other Mages. Aenarion rode his faithful Dragon, Indraugnir, back to the Blighted Isle and perished at the foot of Khaine’s Altar after having returned the sword to its rightful place; thus passed the greatest hero of the Elves, and the most powerful Mage to ever walk the lands of Ulthuan. This would not be the last time that Caledor saved the world from utter ruin.
Malekith
When Aenarion died, his son Malekith was seen as the logical heir to the throne. He was a great warrior, trained in the magical arts by his mother, brave and confident; however, the Council of Princes decided that it would be best to name someone who was more peaceful and serene, so Bel-Shanaar submitted to the will of Asuryan, and was crowned King. Malekith accepted the decision, though deep down he always resented it, which would eventually lead to tragedy. Now that they were free of the menace, many Elves abandoned their military training and gave in to hedonistic and decadent cults. The seeds of Slaanesh’s corruption had already begun to spread among the Elves; this would eventually lead to the tragedy that was the Sundering.
The Prince of Nagarythe traveled all over Ulthuan, hunting down these cults with ruthless passion, punishing all the decadent nobles that had fallen under their influence. Even Morathi, his own mother, was imprisoned when it was discovered that she took part in these rituals. During his travels, he perfected his magical arts and his military prowess while he hatched a sinister plan in his resentful heart. The forces of Nagarythe prepared for war.
When he returned from his travels, he convened the Council of Princes and accused the Phoenix King of having been corrupted by the cult of Slaanesh. This caused a great stir in the room and many shouted their opposition; chaos erupted in the room and the prince’s armed guards entered and killed several nobles. During the pandemonium that ensued, Malekith stepped into the flames of Asuryan, declaring his right to the throne, but the sacred fire utterly consumed his flesh, as the God clearly saw the evil in his heart. At the very last second Morathi and her followers rescued the charred remains of the prince, who was still alive, and fled from the council room. Civil war had broken out in Ulthuan.
The armies of Nagarythe and Malekith’s supporters ravaged the lands of the Elven princes. The council knew that only Imrik, Caledor Dragontamer’s grandson and the greatest warrior and strategist in the realm, could lead them in this battle. Morathi foresaw this and sent assassins to do away with the future Phoenix King by ambushing his hunting party. The courage and ferocity of the Chracian warriors caught the assassins off-guard and Imrik’s loyal group managed to save him, though they paid for it with their lives. Imrik was crowned king and the counteroffensive of the Council of Princes started to push back the forces of Nagarythe, which were now poised at the brink of defeat.
The Sundering
Within the steel towers of Nagarythe, Malekith had survived. His body was a broken shell, charred by the flames of Asuryan, and the constant pain consumed what little sanity he had left. With Vaul’s mighty hammer, he forged a magical suit of armor imbued with runes of power that he then fused to his body. This gave him back his mobility and increased his dark powers. In the heart of Nagarythe, they hatched a last and desperate plan to do away with the Elves. Malekith, in a clear act of madness, decided to destroy the Vortex created by Caledor and thus unleash the powers of Chaos in an unstoppable wave of destruction on Ulthuan. His sorcerers and witches started to weave the spell that would set the terrible chain of events in motion. They used the dark arts they had learned from the cultists who had corrupted what was once the Elves’ greatest realm.
This harebrained plan had no chance of succeeding. The Elves’ offensive against Malekith redoubled and Nagarythe’s forces had to be split between defending their realm and protecting the wizards that were performing the ritual to break the Vortex. The spell was reaching its high point, overcoming the barriers of the Elven Mages that were opposing it with all their strength. The forces that were affecting the Vortex had an unexpected effect: Caledor and his Mages, who had been trapped between dimensions, came out of their stasis and immediately realized what was happening. The powerful Archmage, temporarily free from his bonds, added his power to the counter-spell and Malekith’s Elves lost ground.
Suddenly, with a brutal explosion, the energies were unleashed on Nagarythe, and destroyed everything in their path. The earth twisted so much that huge fragments of the island were wrenched out and launched into the sea. All of ancient Nagarythe was ravaged by the magical storm and tens of thousands of Elves perished in what is now known as the Shadowlands. With no strength left, and no army, Malekith’s Elves were forced to go into exile. Floating in fortresses that had been ripped from their homeland, and which they call the Black Arks, Nagarythe’s exiles crossed the ocean and reached land. The wound never healed and the race of Elves was forever torn in two, for the exiles swore revenge and changed their name to the Dark Elves. They called their new land Naggaroth, the Land of Chill, controlled by the tyrant in his steel prison: Malekith, the Witch King. Since then, the conflict between the Elves rages on....
