Age of Sigmar lore comp entry for 2+ Tough
Some time ago I left university and had a heap of spare time. I only wanted to do one thing my new found time and money. Go back to playing my beloved Warhammer Fantasy. I walked into Newcastle Gameworkshop and found the Old World suddenly looked like first place winner in the Alderaan look alike contest. That is to say "it was goneskies". As I what the hell an End Times was and who are these gold guys I accepted that 40k would have to content me. I mothballed my Dark Elves.
Eventually I missed the crunch of warhammers, the charge of cavalry and lumbering monsters too much. But it meant one thing. I needed to learn the lore. As a player one thing will get me into a game. I MUST LIKE THE LORE TO INVEST. If the lore does not hook me I simply cant be bothered playing. I wont name names but i tried other games but they did not do it. So I did what everyone does when they want to learn something. I went to youtube. A search led me to 2+ Tough and his lore videos. Then came the lore comp. I could not resist the chance to challenge myself. So i submitted the following entry.
Age of Sigmar Lore Competition Entry:
FACTION: The Shattered Stormhost
BACKGROUND:
When Nagash’s pursuit of power led to the Necroquake it caused untold chaos, and damage, to the Anvil of Apotheosis. This quake saw the emergence of the Nighthaunts, and Sigmar employing the Sacrosanct Chamber in the realms to combat this new scourge. However, this is not the only thing the Sacrosanct Chamber, nor were the Nighthaunts the only ones birthed during the Necroquake.
The Anvil was not empty when the quake struck. Many souls were in the process of being reforged. The stormcast of the Sacrosanct Chamber were besieged by sudden threat of many of these souls being sent screaming into rebirth as a lightning gheist. They worked with speed to save as many of these souls as possible. Their usual artistry forgone by the pressure of necessity. When the quake subsided what was left in its wake was an entire host of fractured Stormcast Eternals.
These new ‘Shattered Stormcast’, as the Sacrosanct dubbed them, were fragmented both mentally and physically. Even the armour they wore manifested their split nature. Their golden plate instead came out in blue marble azurite, whose veins crackled with surges of armour. As if the lightning within would burst forth at any moment. Indeed the flaw in the reforging that sees Stormcast Eternals lose parts of themselves to Nagash seemed to have been amplified in these raw recruits. Some lost memories, others found themselves barely themselves with their mental state irrevocably broken.
The Sacrosanct kept these unfortunate victims of the Necroquake in their care. Hoping that once the Anvils became available again they might repair their comrades. There were attempts to train and maintain the Shattered Stormhost, and whilst they did master their martial training in most cases, many possessed an unmatched ruthlessness in combat. Many of their overseers observed them with mixed feelings. Though they displayed ability to perform their duties, there were reports of strange occurrences. During combat drills it was observed that the veins in their armour pulsed with energy, and their blows would lose accuracy but surge in strength. Injuries in training were common.
It seemed the Shattered Stormhost would be stood down. Sigmar learned of these reports, and the Sacrosanct Chamber feared the wrath of Sigmar might fall upon their doomed comrades, much akin to early purges laid down by the lightning God.
The Treachery of Mercy
In the end the matter was decided by the actions of a merciful Stormcast of the Sacrosanct Chamber. Gordius Anvilstruck, a leading member of the Sacrosanct Chamber, had theorised that the same energies that had created the Necroquake, and the Nighthaunt were linked to the Shattered Stormhost’s condition. Though his theory bore little support, or credence among his peers, his belief was certain. So much so that when word began to circulate that his peers were supporting a purge of the Shattered Stormhost, rather than risk their continued existence. Gordius was forced to act.
In an act that was equal parts treachery and mercy, Gordius guided the Shattered Stormhost to a realm gate in Azyr and released the Shatteredhost. Though they were freed, the fate of Gordius is unknown.
The fate of the lost:
Since their release there have been scattered tales of the Shattered Stormhost. A great deal of them involving a vicious campaign against the Nighthaunt forces across the realms. As well as equally curious stories of battles between themselves and the Sacrosanct Chamber. Perhaps the most worrying account was given by a Freeguild soldier who swore that they were able to absorb the energy of defeated Nighthaunts. This testimony has led many to believe that Gordius was correct in his assumptions, and that perhaps the salvation of the Shattered Stormhost may also be the key to unlocking the solution to the flaw in the reforging of Stormcasts as well. As such they are of extreme value to their brother Stormcasts, and the Sacrosanct Chamber.
Despite the depth and breadth of these various accounts, there is no denying that Gordius’ theory still chases the Shattered Stormhost.
RULES FOR PLAYING SHATTERED HOST
The following is a quick set of rules that are intended for use in narrative play, and allow players at home to field a Shattered Stormhost force.
Army selection: Shattered Stormhosts are by nature largely a guerrilla force and must remain mobile. As such they cannot take ballista. Such equipment would be too bulky and slow to keep on the move. They may include any units from the Stormcast tome, excluding any Sacrosanct Chamber miniatures.
Special Rules:
The draw: When a Shattered Stormhost slays a Nighthaunt miniature roll a die. On a 4+ the Shattered Stormhost Miniature may elect to either heal one wound, or add +1 to Attack, Rend, Strength or toughness on themselves. If they do this the bonus to stats ends at the end of their next turn.
'Garon's account'
The wiry brambles clutched and snagged against Garon’s face and arms as he hurtled through the twisted undergrowth. Their ragged claw like thorns raked gouges into his exposed flesh. He risked a frantic glance back over his shoulder and his stomach seemed to fall away from him. From within the gathering fog behind him, he could see the dull green glow that heralded his pursuers.
The Freeguilder had been part of a detachment sent to investigate the recent spate of disappearances along the homestead road. Expecting mere orkish raiders, his force had been sent into full flight by the arrival of the Nighthaunts. He shivered involuntarily as images unbidden bubbled up from his memory. Lars cut down by a score of scythe wielding spectres, the silent gallop of their cavalry, and always the endless wails and tolls of bells that followed in their wake.
Garon’s headlong flight sent him careening through the brush like a comet through the heavens. His boot snagged on a root and he hurtled head over heels, crashing down a slope hidden by the foliage. Unceremoniously he came to a sudden crunching halt, with the impact knocking the breath from his lungs. He looked into the dark starless sky, the infinite blackness almost enveloping him as he struggled to suck air through clenched teeth.
Seemingly from nowhere a screech rent the night asunder and on instinct alone Garon rolled aside as a pitted scythe blade slashed the air where only moments ago he had sat. A raggedly cloaked wraith swooped towards him, its elongated bleached skull leering at him with what appeared to be a mocking grin. This was the spectral breed that had butchered Lars. Garon fumbled for a weapon with shaking hands. There was a sound like the pounding of heavy boots and a resounding boom like a gong, as a blinding flash stunned Garon. He
blinked away the after image to see a hulking armoured figure wielding a shield and hammer battering away at the Nighthaunt. One of Sigmar’s Stormcast Garon realised and felt his heart fill with relief. Though he noticed this was not of the golden hosts he had seen. This whirling warrior was encased in armour of dark blue marble like stone. The armour’s veins sang bright with lighting like energies. The Stormcast caught the scythe on the edge of his shield, and dragged the weapon aside. His own hammer launching into the gap in his foe’s guard. The weapon came down on the Nighthaunt’s skull and obliterated it in a shower of bone fragments. A tortured scream gasped from the fiend as it began to melt like a mist.
However, before Garon could thank his saviour he saw that same mist suddenly reverse direction. The Stormcast held out his arms and seemingly drank in his defeated foe’s life force. The mists dragged into the armour’s veins, which glowed brilliantly once more. The Stormcast turned on Garon, from within the eyes of its helm radiant light shone forth. Across the armour pulses of light ran along the veins of blue marble. The Stormcast hefted its hammer over one shoulder.
“You should not have been here” it said in a low hollow voice, like air groaning from some immense cave in resonant tones. Garon’s belief in his saviour fled from him.
Garon’s hands and feet exploded into motion almost as if they had minds of their own. He first scuttled backwards, then rolled onto his belly before scrambling to his feet and hurtling once more into a wild flight that he prayed to Sigmar would take him far from the Nighthaunt, and whatever that thing was that wore the shape of a Stormcast Eternal.
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