02 - Nagash the Unbroken
Page 30
When Lord Eekrit finally arrived in the deeps of Nagash’s mighty fortress, he was greeted by a small colony of scouts who had mapped out much of the mountain’s lower tunnels and the routes to each and every mineshaft.
The number of shafts and the estimates of god-stone being pulled from them each day staggered Lord Eekrit. The wealth buried within the mountain was beyond his most avaricious dreams. It would take months to haul it all back to the Great City perhaps even years. The treasure trove tempted him with feverish ambitions. He had visions of conquering the great mountain and claiming it for himself, ruling from the deeps like one of the great lords who sat upon the council; there was ample precedent for such things in his race’s past. But the composition of the army made such an ambition nearly impossible. He could count on the rats of his own clan (and only then so far as he could make it worth their while), but the others would turn on him in an instant. The council had put a great deal of cunning into the creation of the expeditionary force, ensuring that they wouldn’t be cheated of the treasure. Eekrit roundly cursed their conniving, black hearts!
At least victory would be swift and certain. His scouts assured him that there were only a few thousand skeletons working in the mines, and there wasn’t a single one of them that stood a chance against a pack of stalwart clanrats. Lord Eekrit’s force was almost fifty thousand strong, not counting the hordes of expendable slaves he could use to soften up any serious resistance. They would overrun the skeletons, clear out the lower tunnels, then push into the lower levels and see where all that precious stone was being taken. Nothing would stand in their way.
The gifts of the Horned God belonged to the skaven, and to them alone.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Lahmia—The City of the Dawn, strange and decadent
Lamashizzar: Priest King of Lahmia
Neferata: Queen of Lahmia
Khalida: a young noblewoman and ward of the royal household
Ubaid: Lamashizzar’s grand vizier
Tephret: most favoured handmaiden of the queen
Aaliyah: handmaiden of the queen
Abhorash: the king’s champion
Ankhat: a wealthy and powerful noble
Ushoran: a wealthy and powerful noble
Zurhas: a dissolute young noble and cousin to the king
Adio: a dissolute minor noble
Khenti: a dissolute minor noble
W’soran: a scholar, formerly of Mahrak
Prince Xian Ha Feng: emissary of the Eastern Empire
Rasetra—Former Khemri colony, now an independent city
Shepret: King of Rasetra
Lybaras—City of Scholars
Khepra: Priest King of Lybaras
Anhur: Prince of Lybaras
Quatar—The White Palace; Guardian of the Valley of Kings
Naeem: Priest King of Quatar
Numas—Breadbasket of the Kingdom
Amunet: Queen of Numas
Zandri—The City of the Waves
Teremun: Priest King of Zandri
THE NEHEKHARAN PANTHEON
The people of the Blessed Land worship a number of gods and goddesses, both major and minor, as part of an ancient pact known as the Great Covenant. According to legend, the Nehekharans first encountered the gods at the site of what is now Mahrak, the City of Hope; the timeless spirits were moved by the suffering of the tribes, and gave them succour amid the wasteland of the desert. In return for the Nehekharans’ eternal worship and devotion, the gods pledged to make them a great people, and would bless their lands until the end of time.
Each of the great cities of Nehekhara worships one of the great deities as its patron, though devotion to Ptra, the Great Father, is pre-eminent. The high priest of a Nehekharan temple is referred to as the Hierophant. In every city but Khemri, the high priest of Ptra is referred to as the Grand Hierophant.
In addition to the priesthood, each Nehekharan temple trains an order of holy warriors known as the Ushabti. Each Ushabti devotes his life to the service of his patron deity, and is granted superhuman abilities in return. These gifts make the Ushabti among the mightiest warriors in all the Blessed Land. Since the time of Settra, the first and only Nehekharan emperor, the Ushabti of each city have served as bodyguards to the priest king and his household.
The fourteen most prominent gods and goddesses of Nehekhara are:
Ptra: Also called the Great Father, Ptra is the first among the gods and the creator of mankind. Though worshipped all across Nehekhara, the rides of Khemri and Rasetra claim him as their patron.
Neru: Minor goddess of the moon and wife of Ptra. She protects all Nehekharans from the evils of the night.
Sakhmet: Minor goddess of the green moon, also called the Green Witch. Ptra’s scheming and vindictive concubine, who is jealous of the Great Father’s love of mankind.
Asaph: Goddess of beauty, magic and vengeance. Asaph is the patron goddess of Lahmia.
Djaf: The jackal-headed god of death. Djaf is the patron god of Quatar.
Khsar: The fierce and malign god of the desert. A cruel and hungry god worshipped by the tribes of the great desert.
Phakth: The hawk-faced god of the sky and the bringer of swift justice.
Qu’aph: The god of serpents and subtlety. Qu’aph is the patron god of Zandri.
Ualatp: The vulture-headed god of scavengers.
Sokth: The treacherous god of assassins and thieves.
Basth: The goddess of grace and love.
Geheb: The god of the earth and the giver of strength. Geheb is the patron god of Ka’Sabar.
Tahoth: The god of knowledge and the keeper of sacred lore. Tahoth is the patron god of Lybaras.
Usirian: The faceless god of the underworld. Usirian judges the souls of the dead and determines if they are fit to enter into the afterlife.
THE NEHEKHARAN CALENDAR
The Nehekharan calendar operates on a twelve-year cycle, with each year in the cycle devoted to one of the major gods in the Nehekharan pantheon. For example, the 62nd year of Qu’aph (-1750 Imperial Reckoning) represents the year of Qu’aph in the 62nd calendar cycle.
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