Hell descends on Araby. Following the death of Wurrzag da Great Green Prophet, the many savage orc tribes fell into disarray which was then made even worse when the great WAAAGH! on Altdorf crumbled. From the Empire’s perspective, the green tide was defeated, annihilated and sent home running. However, “fightiness” never truly leaves an Orc’s heart, all it takes is a single spark to set the Greenskins off.

In life, Wurrzag had spoken of his intention to designate the two champions of his gods Gork and Mork. This was made difficult at the time since there was so many Greenskins that could fill those roles. However, times have changed and the crowd for champions seems to have been thinned; Borgut Facebeater died in Bretonnia, Gorbad Ironclaw was shot while attempting to escape a Dwarf dungeon, Gorfang Rotgut was slain by the Troll King on a hunting mission up North, Tinitt Four Eyes died in Averland (though he was chosen already by the Spider God any way), Grom the Paunch fell in Altdorf, Git Guzzler perished at the hands of Josef Bugman and even the ferocious Grimgor Ironhide now lies mangled in Black Crag, struggling to hold on to life as his magical injuries inflicted by the Emperor of Men cut deep into his veins. Truth be told, only two Greenskin champions seem to remain; Skarsnik the Warlord of Karak Eight Peaks and Azhag, the death-worshipping wyvern rider. Skarsnik seemed weary to crown himself a god’s champion though the Bloody Spearz tribe have rallied to him any way but Azhag has taken a far different approach. Azhag has travelled through the lands of the Savage Orcs, showing them his Crown of Sorcery and allowing them to hear its whispers which command him to invade Southwards. The Orcs do not understand his words, for he insists on speaking in sentences rather than one or two word orders. However, they do not fail to understand him when he asserts that the voice they hear eminating from the crown belongs to Gork. And so, Azhag has spread his influence and been recognised as Gork’s chosen by all and sundry across the Top Knotz, the Teefsnatchaz, the Red Fangz, the Scabby Eyez and even Wurrzag’s old tribe the Bloody Handz themselves.

Waaagh! Azhag has crossed the Great Desert and splintered in all directions. Al-Haikk, the Capital City of Araby and the location of Sultan Jaffar’s final stand against King Louis the Righteous of Bretonnia back in IC1451, still endures under the weight of Grokka Goreaxe’s armies as does Lybaras to the East of the desert under High Queen Khalida despite being besieged by Warboss Gorbash’s army that was later reinforced by the Sourface Goblins, led by Grabnatz Sourbelly, one of the only goblin tribes not to fall in line under Skarsnik’s rule. However, while Gorbash and Goreaxe have yet to achieve total victory, Azhag’s conquest has scorched the lands over which it strides. Martek, Nejaz, Kufra and Ashdod have all fallen to his horde’s bloodshed as his crown commanded him to travel Westwards and lay waste to the Arabian coastline, curiously telling him not to attack Nagash’s territories. After destroying Ashdod, Azhag’s armies now march on the largest city in their path, Copher.

Once the world’s most lucrative sight of commerce due to marking the end of the Silk Road, Copher has never quite recovered from the Bretonnian crusades. Its spice markets persist and until recently saw many Bretonnian noblewomen come here to find material for their garments, its minarets and domed buildings have been rebuilt and its Vizier’s rule is absolute to those looking in from the outside. However, the true source of wealth in Copher today is not its spice markets, it’s the slave markets held in the slums. The domes and minarets are not where power reside for power is located in Copher’s taverns, inns and whorehouses. And the true seat of power is not occupied by the Vizier of Copher for this city us truthfully ruled by the self-proclaimed Sultan of the Seas, the Golden Magus.

The Golden Magus claims to be an exiled patriarch of the Colleges of Magic yet far more people will speak his name in the gambling dens and rott-houses of Sartosa than have ever referred to him in the Empire. Either way, the Golden Magus is famed across Araby for his mastery over desert-weaving and his imprisonment of 3 elemental spirits representing fire, water and air known as Djinn which he manages within his pleasure barge known as the Flaming Scimitar. When the Orcs come to Copher, the people will not call to the Vizier to save them, they shall beg the Golden Magus for deliverance.

Azhag’s horde stormed into the realms of Copher, nearing the city as they burnt through every town and village they came across. However, the Golden Magus had a plan once the Orcs reached the city. Instead of fighting them in the field or aiming to secure their city walls, the sorcerer commanded the soldiers and citizens to board themselves in their homes, hide in cellars and seek whatever cover they could find. Despite seeming dishonourable, this was anything but cowardice. For when the Orcs arrived to ransack the city, this would give the Magus the opportunity to unleash his spirits, laying waste to the Orcish hordes in the streets without needing to kill his own citizens and customers from the safe vantage point of his barge. Azhag’s orcs are numerous and ferocious but their immense savagery, even by Greenskinned standards, would be their downfall. Savage Orcs do not use artillery and their arrer boyz’ range was limited. By mooring off the coast of the city on his barge, the Golden Magus could blast his spells into the city while safely beyond the Greenskin horde’s range.

And so the Greenskins smashed through the practically unguarded city gates of Copher and began ransacking through the streets of the city, violently slashing at the doors of homes and buildings where they could smell soldiers, civilians and cutthroats inside. Their ranks didn’t matter to the orcs, all that mattered was how nice they would look on the end of a choppa. The Golden Magus, safely kept away from the coast clad in his magically-infused Golden Robes of Protection (+5 ward save Larry Gavaghan) took out his oil lamp and unleashed his three djinn. The djinn emerged from the lamp and materialised into the streets. They were like ghosts, no matter what the orcs did, they could not even hit these djinn for even the magical attacks of the shamans seemed to pass straight through these shapeless beings. The water djinn wooshed through the streets, drawing not only seawater but also sewer water up to hold the orcs back and the fire djinn left long burning trails behind it like those of a phoenix. However, the air djinn seemed the most powerful in particular, hurling orcs into the sky through wind funnels to cause them to fall to their deaths or alternatively, it could simply withdraw the oxygen from the savage orcs’ lungs, causing whole street-worths of orcs to die instantly. Some civilians were caught in the crossfire, they always are but by and large, the Golden Magus’ plan seemed to be working. However, there was only one pitfall to this plan, Azhag has his wyvern Skullmuncha on his side….

– Angry React: Upon seeing his orcs being decimated in the streets, Azhag pulled on Skullmuncha’s reins to attack the pleasure barge circling the city’s coastline. As the Orc flew, the Golden Magus opened the contents of an hourglass and tapped into his own knowledge of the Lore of the Desert to multiply that sand in an instant and propel them forward to form a whirling sand storm which caught Skullmuncha in its grips just before the wyvern could reach the ship. The sand particles cut Skullmuncha to shreds, as if it were being stabbed by thousands of glass shards. Just before the storm could close in and shred Azhag, he jumped off of Skullmuncha to grip onto the ship’s mast. However, before he could make his way down to the deck safely, the Golden Magus ignited his blade and turned into it a dancing scimitar, a blade of fire which swirled through the air and slashed Azhag’s chest, causing him to fall from the mast’s rigging and drop his Slashas on the way down. The ship’s corsairs ran over and put the Orc out of his misery as the Golden Magus turned his attention back to the city, taking control of the Djinn to vanquish the Orcs from his lands.

– Sad React: Upon seeing his orcs being decimated in the streets, Azhag pulled on Skullmuncha’s reins to attack the pleasure barge circling the city’s coastline. As the Orc flew, the Golden Magus tapped into his own knowledge of the Lore of the Desert and cast a sunstrike spell, heat energy seeped from his eyes into his blade, The Sword of Fiery Curses. As the energy coalesced into the sword it then fired off in a beam of bright burning light towards Azhag who only narrowly evaded the beam thanks to a quick dive on his wyvern. However, the constant beam protruding from the Magus’ sword also made it impossible for Azhag to ever actually reach the ship, since getting closer would make it easier for the Magus to point his sword at the Orc Warboss. However, as Azhag circled the ship looking for a place to land, his crown spoke to him and suddenly lit up. A sharp green blast of energy emerged from the its central gem which flew through the air and collided with the wizard’s oil lamp in his hands which caused it to fall onto the decks of the ship and shatter. The Golden Magus gasped in horror when he realised what Azhag’s crown had done. The three elemental spirits, the Djinn, suddenly appeared and destroyed him for imprisoning them. With the magus dealt with, the djinn flew off, leaving Copher to fall at Azhag’s hands.

Wow React: Upon seeing his orcs being decimated in the streets, Azhag pulled on Skullmuncha’s reins to attack the pleasure barge circling the city’s coastline. As the Orc flew, the Golden Magus tapped into his own knowledge of the Lore of the Desert and cast a sunstrike spell, heat energy seeped from his eyes into his blade, The Sword of Fiery Curses. As the energy coalesced into the sword it then fired off in a beam of bright burning light which pierced one of Skullmuncha’s wings. As Skullmuncha fell into the sea, Azhag jumped aboard the ship’s mast and made his way down the rigging. Armed with Slagga’s Slashas, Azhag cut through corsair after corsair with ease as he approached the Golden Magus who had surrounded himself in a pile of sand from a nearby hourglass. Azhag charged towards the Golden Magus only to pass straight through him, for the mage had cast a mirage in his stead. However, this illusion was not the only spell in play for it transpired that the sand around him had been enchanted into quick-sand! As Azhag desperately attempted to free himself from being sucked through the enchanted sand into the sea below the true Golden Magus appeared before him and removed Azhag’s Crown of Sorcery from his head. As the Golden Magus turned his gaze back to his 3 Djinn, he held the crown in his hands and wondered what his true masters might give him in return for it….

– Love React: Upon seeing his orcs being decimated in the streets, Azhag pulled on Skullmuncha’s reins to attack the pleasure barge circling the city’s coastline. As the Orc flew, the Golden Magus opened the contents of an hourglass and cast a sand storm. However, the Crown of Sorcery’s gave Azhag the reflexes to quickly evade storm and continue his flight towards the wizard’s ship. The Golden Magus prepared another spell but was caught off guard by a Soulblight cast from Azhag which enabled Skullmuncha to reach the ship unencumbered. Azhag landed and Skullmuncha began munching on the corsairs who charged at the orc in vain. The orc approached the mage dismounted who in turn was attempting to run to the back of the ship to get away from the Orc but for every step the mage took, he found himself growing weaker and soon realised that his spirit was being leeched by Azhag. In utter desperation to survive, the Golden Magus removed a ring from his finger to remove his veil and remove his true form as a Sorcerer of Tzeentch. However, before he could transform, Azhag thrust his blades, the magical weapons Slagga’s Slashas, deep into the Golden Magus body. With the sorcerer dealt with, the Crown of Sorcery instructed Azhag to close the oil lamp, thereby returning the Djinn to their prison and allowing the savage orcs to lay waste to Copher.

– Laugh React: Upon seeing his orcs being decimated in the streets, Azhag pulled on Skullmuncha’s reins to attack the pleasure barge circling the city’s coastline. As the Orc flew, the Golden Magus opened the contents of an hourglass and cast a sand storm. However, the Crown of Sorcery’s gave Azhag the reflexes to quickly evade storm and continue his flight towards the wizard’s ship. The Golden Magus prepared another spell but was caught off guard by a Doom and Darkness cast from Azhag which enabled Skullmuncha to reach the ship unencumbered. Skullmuncha landed right by the Golden Magus and knocked him to the ground with its wings. Realising he was about to die, the Golden Magus removed his ring and took on his Tzeentchian form which he used to open a portal and flee back to the Realm of Tzeentch. After the wizard abandoned Copher to grovel before the Silver Tower of Tzeentch, Azhag destroyed the oil lamp to let the Djinn fly off to freedom before he and Skullmuncha returned to the city to burn it to the ground.