Written by Isabel Harrison with input from Matt Schubert and Tony Baumert.

Morkar the Uniter, Twiceborn Everchosen of Chaos, stood at the Gate of Chaos located far above at the tips of the Polar North ensuring safe passageway of daemons into the moral realm through the Warp and preventing daemons of differing gods from killing each other upon entry. Morkar was first of the Everchosen, who invaded the Empire way back in the year 1C only to be halted and killed by Sigmar Heldenhammer, the first Emperor of Men himself. Since then. the Chaos Gods have seen numerous failed attempts at finding a new Everchosen; Vangel was killed by a Dwarf named Gromrir Goldfist, Kharduun was possessed and destroyed by Be’lakor the Dark Master and Asavar Kul was defeated by Emperor Magnus the Pious. So all things considered, resurrecting the first Everchosen, who had himself been the most successful during his lifetime, seemed like a good idea to the Chaos Gods at the time.

Times change. First the Chaos God of Excess, Slaanesh, was forced into dormancy by Nagash (#LoreFight 17) before Nagash had even consumed Usirian fully and if that were not embarrassing enough, Morkar’s invasion into Nehekhara which had been granted access by the Chaos Dwarfs via the Badlands was prevented by Settra the Imperishable (#Lorefight 20). Upon returning to the Chaos Wastes, Morkar’s leadership was challenged by many of his lords and chosen troops but despite all their attempts to dethrone him, the Armour of Morkar (which reshaped itself to fit its wielder) and the Mark of Chaos made him unstoppable to them. Following this, Morkar grew intensely paranoid, always remaining fully armoured for a fight and whereas his troops may eventually need to sleep or rest, Morkar preferred to stand by entrance to the Polar Gates and replenish his energy through the magical auras emanating from the warp.

The three remaining gods have long since lost faith in Morkar. Khorne considered ripping away Morkar’s Mark of Chaos and ordering his greater daemons to tear Morkar apart for his failures. However, Tzeentch had another idea…

A long time ago, scarcely 40 years after Magnus the Pious’ war against Asavar Kul the Fourth Everchosen, a zealous Knight-Templar of the Order of the Twin-Tailed Orb named Diederick Kastner lost faith in his religion. His father was a marauder from Varg who raped his mother leading him to be adopted by the order as a child. However, upon discovering of his true lineage Diederick broke down and begged the Golden Statue of Sigmar within the Temple of Sigmar in Altdorf for a sign that he was not destined to darkness as his father had been. But the statue remained silent and through that silence, Kastner concluded that his faith in Sigmar was baseless. Kastner broke down in that moment and lashed out at a fellow priest, only to be thrown out of the church and spat upon for his heretical claims that Sigmar did not exist by his peers as he received the lowest of commendations for his years of religious service. Wherever he went, from Reikland all the way to Kislev, all would scoff at the Templar who lost his faith.

That said, while Sigmar abandoned Diederick on that fateful day when he begged the statue, that did not mean he was alone. Beyond his knowledge, Kastner’s prayers had been answered by a being of even greater power, Tzeentch, who had grown fascinated by the human and became intent on ‘liberating’ him from the shackles of Sigmarite and Imperial life. Shortly after his excommunication by the church, Diederick was staying at an inn only to get barred after he apparently drank way too much and became violent towards the landlady, not that he could remember ever consuming a single drink. When Diederick spent what little money he had on crops to eat at the local market, he found that the hand-picked fresh vegetables ( a cabbage, two turnips and a few carrots) which he bought on market had gone moldy by the time he found a place to sit down and eat them.

But the worst of Tzeentch’s tricks had yet to come. One day Kastner was walking through the streets of Hergig attempting to find a job. Most employers simply rejected the validity of his documents. How could this scrawny middle-aged man who looks like he hasn’t eaten in a week possibly be a former Knight-Templar of Sigmar? Diederich walked over to another shop when its owner, an elderly peasant woman screamed at his sight. He ran outside only to find everyone around him screaming in terror as townsfolk around him picked up whatever metal rods and farming equipment they could and began to chase him through the streets. As he ran through the streets, the mob behind him kept getting bigger and bigger. He glanced quickly at a shop window while running and was shocked himself for he did not see his scrawny human self, he saw a daemonic Blue Horror! He had no time to look at this foul reflection though, for even state troops were joining the crowd chasing him in the streets and as a handgunner raised his musket to slay the stray horror, Kastner lept into a nearby sewer tunnel where he knew none would follow him. He waged through the filth of the city, worried that he would be mauled by rat-men. The city administration always denied at the time that they even existed but many an old wive’s tale had been told of children standing by sewer entrances only to be taken and never seen again. But no such attack ever came. Diederick fled the city and the lands of men in their entirety as he travelled further and further North into the Chaos Wastes.

Tzeentch told Khorne and Nurgle that this man, now going by the name of Archaon, had been travelling the chaos wastes ever since then, centuries had gone past but Tzeentch had never allowed him to die, forcing him to walk circles for an eternity, fighting an endless horde of faceless monsters. Tzeentch suggested that rather than simply killing Morkar and leaving themselves without an Everchosen, it would be wiser to set this Archaon up as a rival to that name. Khorne thought it sounded ridiculous at first, maligning Tzeentch’s needless scheming but Nurgle admitted he was curious just by the sheer amount of time Tzeentch had clearly been planning this. He wasn’t going to endorse a Tzeenchian follower of course, but he was curious to see whether a man with such an extraordinarily drawn out lifespan might share Nurgle’s own love of life in the long run.

Fast forward to today and Morkar stood by the Gate of Chaos, same as he always did. Beside him were his lieutenants:

– Valnir the Reaper representing Nurgle, whose body had been so significantly corrupted after his failure to bend Surtha Ek to the will of the Plague Lord that he could no longer wear a helmet due to having a third arm protruding from his head. 
– Melekh the Changer representing Tzeentch, a sorcerer and chaos champion who can always be seen standing atop his disc mount.
– Abrax the Bloody representing Khorne, a bloodthirsty Norscan Chaos Lord who survived the dreaded Blackened Winter and fought his wy up through the ranks until finally he stood as lieutenant of the Everchosen and wielder of his very own mighty daemon blade Y’Khggan. He had come a long way since his upbringing in Heimhal.

However, Morkar heard a commotion in the ranks behind him. In the distance he saw a single horseman riding at top speed towards his army, mounted upon the burning steed of a Chaos Knight. Morkar ordered the army to stand aside and make way for the rider as he lifted his two-handed axe and daemonic great-sword aloft in each arm and clanged them against each other. They set alight in a bright reddish-pink shade thanks to all the chaos energies he had consumed from the gates and Morkar was content that no matter the strength of any foe, his armour would protect him. The enemy horseman by comparison, had significantly weaker armour, carrying the same armour as any normal chaos lord might (though Morkar was confused how an outsider would gain such armour in the first place) and a shield. However, as the horseman dismounted, he suddenly unsheathed an almighty blade from the horse’s saddle. The horseman displayed the legendary Slayer of Kings, a huge blade with the raging soul of a captive greater daemon U’zhul bound inside it which he claimed to have found while scaling a mountain, that mountain being Krakanrok the Black, Father of the Dragon Ogres in actuality. The intruder proclaimed, “I am Archaon, Fate’s Everchosen-Elect and I challenge you Uniter.” Morkar readied his weapons as he looked down on the Tzeentchian challenger that stood a good 8” shorter than him…

– Love React: The battle commenced as Archaon immediately held the Slayer of Kings out towards Morkar and fired off a firebolt that took on the shape of a burning daemon’s skull. Morkar reacted by channelling his augmented warp energies and the two spellcasts met in the middle as they both attempted to blast one another while charging towards each other. Just as they were about to contact, they let go of their spells and entered melee. Morkar swung his axe and sword dual wield viciously, never relenting as he sought weak spots in Archaon’s armour which was so much weaker than his own. At one point Morkar swung his axe into Archaon’s thigh armour and the blow had such force that the axe only narrowly failed to carve through Archaon’s leg bone. However, Archaon had no time to rest as Morkar immediately attempted to thrust his sword into Archaon’s chest which Archaon reacted to quickly by blocking the blow with his shield. As Morkar pulled away to attack again, Archaon took his chance and attempted to stab Morkar through the heart. However, Morkar’s armour was so strong that not even the Slayer of Kings could pierce it, instead resulting in the sword skidding/scratching across the legendary suit of armour. It was at this moment that Archaon realised something, he was approaching this fight from the wrong way. Morkar had only ever been beaten by one man. Sigmar wouldn’t have sought to pierce through Morkar’s armour, that’s not what you do when your main weapon is a hammer. Archaon didn’t need to pierce Morkar’s armour, he just needed to inflict enough force that the man underneath would feel it. Morkar charged again, which Archaon blocked with his shield only to then ignite his sword to create a bright fiery flash that momentarily blinded the Uniter. As Morkar stumbled, Archaon kneed him in the sides and moved behind Morkar to kick him to the ground. Morkar fell flat on his armoured face but before he could get back up, Archaon lifted his shield and proceeded to clobber Morkar from behind again and again and again until eventually, Morkar stopped trying to get back up. On the outside Morkar looked fine despite his armour’s scratches but on the inside, there was barely a man left having been crunched together within his own suit of armour. Archaon was glad to have won the battle, despite being heavily injured from it. Fortunately, the Tzeenchian champion that wielded the Breath of Life namely Aekold Helbrass emerged from the crowd to heal him. However, as Archaon stood there being mended, he noticed that the all the followers of Khorne, Bloodletters and Chaos Warriors alike, were far from happy for his victory. They hadn’t respected Morkar in recent times and now they were supposed to follow a Champion of Tzeentch? Archaon knew he needed to find a way to gain their trust soon or they would soon turn hostile.

– Laugh React: Archaon fought valiantly, blocking the blows of the massive Norscan Everchosen as he slowly began to get his own in, slashing at Morkar’s shoulders. He knew he couldn’t pierce Morkar’s armour, but bigger men tire quickly and by aiming to weaken the shoulders, Morkar would need to place more effort in to wield his massive weapons. Morkar swung aggressively, cutting one of the horns off Archaon’s chaos lord helmet but never quite hitting Archaon himself. Archaon persisted in his strategy and he could see that Morkar was beginning to tire. Finally, Morkar had enough of this effort and flung Archaon away from himself so he could head over to the Polar Gates and recharge. He stood before the storming maelstrom of energy before him and proceeded to feed off of it, channelling the energy along his arms into his body. However, this was all part of Archaon’s plan for it was at this moment that a terrible fate fell upon Morkar. The Mark of Chaos on his armour was fading! First Tzeentch withdrew his blessing, for he had already been siding with Archaon anyway and Archaon’s scheming here only reinforced that blessing. Second, Khorne withdrew his blessing for he did not approve of Morkar leaving a field of battle. Finally, Nurgle withdrew his power from Morkar for not respecting his own mortality. With the Mark of Chaos relinquished from him, Morkar was in serious trouble as he could no longer contain the energy pouring into him. He stumbled away from the gates but it was too late, electricity shocked through his suit causing him to drop his weapons and he could sense his body was changing underneath his armour. The mutations pressed his flesh against his own armoured shell, causing him to have to remove it. One by one he removed the bindings of his armour as he stripped down just to contain his enlarging form. Eventually, the last pieces of his armour fell from him as he mutated uncontrollably, finally becoming a Chaos Spawn as a direct result of failing to maintain his gods’ trust. Archaon stood up. He had won. Yet, not everyone in the camp seemed happy about it. Only Tzeentch had placed his mark on Archaon’s armour in the wake of this fight. Clearly, more needed to be done to gain the confidence of the other gods.

– Sad React: Morkar charged forward to attack Archaon. He swung with his axe and blade combo and simply dominated the fight. Archaon may have been wandering the wastes for a few centuries, but Morkar’s life has spanned millennia across the Materium and the Warp. Archaon lunged forward with his blade to stab the Everchosen, only to be blasted in the face by a bolt of warp energy. Morkar hacked his axe Neckslicer into Archaon’s chest armour and stabbed Archaon through the leg with his blade. Morkar then jumped onto Archaon’s body and stamped him into the ground. Allowing him to easily disarm Tzeentch’s elected warrior. Archaon attempted to lift him off only to get his arm sliced off by Morkar’s battleaxe. Finally, Morkar held his sword aloft and thrust it downwards through Archaon’s armour, killing him instantly. With this duel completed, Morkar walked over to his lieutenant Melekh. It was time they had a very frank discussion over how Morkar could regain Tzeentch’s faith in him.

– Angry React: Morkar and Archaon clashed in a whirling storm of magic and weapon strikes. Archaon attempted to parry and counter-attack as much as possible but Morkar was simply so strong thanks to the Mark of Chaos and his eternal proximity to the warp such that he was able to stab his sword straight through Archaon’s shield to then disarm him of it. Archaon attempted to fight with only the Slayer of Kings as Morkar took his battle-axe Neckslicer into both his arms. Archaon slashed forward with his sword only to be caught off guard by a vicious axe-swing to the face of his helmet, the lightning coursed along his armour causing electric shocks all throughout his body as the axe tore through his helmet and narrowly slashed along his left eyelid. Archaon attempted to fight back only to then be headbutted by Morkar’s indestructible helmet, which was shortly followed by a kick to the chest that sent him flying a meter or two. Archaon couldn’t stand and what’s worse, he couldn’t see from his left eye. Instinctively, this challenger began to crawl away from the massive Norscan Everchosen. As Archaon crawled away, Morkar looked up to the skies and yelled “IS THIS WHAT YOU LEFT ME FOR?” Archaon continued to crawl away from Morkar as the Everchosen grew progressively angrier “Fight me! Fight you coward! Fight me! You set this challenge so fight me!” As this happened, Aekold Helbrass, the Tzeentchian champion with the Breath of Life, stepped out from the crowd of Chaos Warriors to heal the sputtering chaos champion on the floor. In response, Bödvarr Ribspreader, the hulking champion of Nurgle who hailed from the Rotblood warband, stepped out of the crowd and grabbed Melekh the Changer, Morkar’s Liutenant of Tzeentch, and roared “Tzeentch’s followers have violated the terms of single combat. Prepare for battle!” All around the camp the warriors of Nurgle armed themselves to fight Tzeentch’s followers and were soon joined by the Champions of Khorne as well. For Khorne may not hold Morkar in high regard but he held Tzeentch’s cowards in even less esteem. Morkar continued to yell at Archaon on the ground and the champion of Tzeentch who was attempting to heal him “This is not honour! This is not worthy of the Gods! If he doesn’t fight, I will flay you all!” Aekold responded “The fight is over.” “The fight is not over, not while I still draw breath. Stand back Helbrass, I will slay him at your feet I don’t care!” Morkar swung forward with his axe only for Aekold to blast him backwards via a green root spell that emerged from his fingertips. Bödvarr growled in anger and twisted Melekh’s neck off from his body, signalling the beginning of the battle. The camp descended into utter chaos, as bloodletters, bile trolls and nurglings descended on Tzeentch’s horrors in the crowd in their thousands. Aekold managed to get Archaon back to his horse and the two rode away from the very image of hell that had been left behind them. Champions of Tzeentch who had spent lifetimes in his service were carved up and made sickly, heralds of Tzeentch attempted to fly away on their discs only to be swallowed up by swarms of plague drones and at the center of all the combat stood Morkar the Everchosen, who now realised that Tzeentch’s scheming was fundamentally incompatible with the will of Chaos.

– Wow React: After casting spells at one another and charging into combat, Morkar and Archaon proceeded to duel it out. However, their fight was interrupted by a sudden opening up of the “heavens” as what looked like a meteorite seemed to be coming down towards them. However, as it came nearer, they realised it wasn’t space debris, it was a Daemon Prince! Morkar attempted to move away only to be immediately crushed under the Daemon Prince’s foot as it landed. Now that it had landed, everyone knew who it was. Be’lakor has returned! Morkar struggled to get out from under Be’lakor’s foot but Be’lakor simply leant downwards and punched Morkar’s head into the ground beneath him, creating a small crater in a 3m radius around him. Be’lakor spoke to the crowd around him, proclaiming that “The Age of Everchosens is over. Join me and the Night of the Dark Master shall rage forever!” Archaon quietly snuck away and mounted his horse to escape since the daemon prince clearly didn’t care about him. Be’lakor ordered his troops to mine warpstone to keep him in this world until he could claim the Crown of Domination. If Archaon was going to have any chance of beating this daemon, he better find and claim the crown before Be’lakor can.