"Death will only be the beginning of your eternal pain, mortal. Beyond the grave there awaits a world of horrors that you could scarcely begin to ever imagine."
- —Melkhior[2b]
Melkhior the Ancient was the first Vampire created by W'soran, Father of Vampires and one of the twelve Trueborn.[1b] It was Melkhior himself who named W'soran's Vampiric bloodline the "Necrarchs", after he killed and cannibalised his progenitor.[5a]
The hunger for knowledge and the need to replenish the number of mortal guinea pigs in his laboratory has often forced Melkhior out of seclusion. Throughout history, he has been known to lead his horde of minions on raiding campaigns, looking for new victims for his experiments. In ancient times, before the armies of the Old World were strong enough to stop them, the forces of Melkhior reached as far as Tilea and Bretonnia, leaving a trail of destruction and horror behind them.[6a]
History[]
There are two versions of Melkhior's origin and life that are not compatible with one another, one found in most Warhammer sources and the other exclusively told in the Time of Legends novels.
Common Story[]
Upon Nagash's defeat by Alcadizaar the Conqueror while wielding the Fellblade in -1151 IC, W'soran took many of his master's writings and studied them with the aid of his acolytes, transcribing his notes in the dread Grimoire Necronium. His mastery of necromancy grew so profoundly that he was able to limit the red thirst that normally drove Vampires to live dangerously close to Mankind.[1a]
By drawing on the power of True Dhar to a far greater degree than other Vampires, W'soran's followers' physical forms grew as twisted as their master's. Over time, their minds twisted along with their bodies, and many sank into madness. One such unfortunate was Melkhior[1b], W'soran's finest, most diligent student and a fervent Nagashi.[5a]
W'soran's studies of the spirit world and the ways of necromancy became an end in their own right, and he lost sight of his master's vision. It was this that ultimately led to his undoing. Powerful though he was, W'soran had to enter a trance-like state to interact with the spirit world.[5a]
In -223 IC,[3c] Melkhior seized one such moment to use to his advantage. Perhaps Nagash spoke to him from the beyond, telling him to slay W'soran. Perhaps he perceived his master's lack of purpose. Perhaps he looked down on W'soran, for Melkhior was able to interact with the spirit world without need of entering into a trance.[5a]
Whatever the case, Melkhior leapt at his master and ripped out his throat, draining him of every last drop of blood, before eating his entire body over the course of three days so as to assure he absorbed all his master's essence. From that moment on, Melkhior was hailed as the master of his Vampiric bloodline, a bloodline that he named the Necrarchs to symbolise their sanctification of death.[5a] Melkhior the Ancient pursued the Necrarchs' dream in a much more subdued fashion.[1b]
Time of Legends[]
"You are an eternal disappointment in a sea of inevitable frustration, Melkhior. You brawl like a beast, when you should duel like a king. Have I not taught you my magics? Have I not equipped you with the arts of divinity? And still, still, you resort to the basest carnage. Perhaps I made a mistake, eh?"
- —W'soran chastising his son-in darkness Melkhior[8e]
Melkhior had been one of the people of the kingdom of Strygos, a savage ajal sworn to the service of the city of Mourkain.[8a] Related by blood to most of the Vampires created in that city, he despised the predominant Strigoi Vampires and was intensely jealous of other Men of Mourkain that were given the Blood Kiss by his master. W'soran thought Melkhior too concerned with pursuing machinations against his perceived rivals than focusing on his study of necromancy.[8b] W'soran originally didn't regard him highly and only gave him the Blood Kiss at the command of Ushoran, the Strigoi ruler of Strygos.[8c]
In -600 IC, Melkhior aided the defence of Mourkain from an Orc Waaagh!, complementing the skills of Neferata and Abhorash.[7a]
Melkhior joined his master when he defected from Mourkain to join the rebellion of Vorag Bloodytooth in -326 IC.[8b] While waging war against the Skaven of Crookback Mountain, Melkhior secretly dispatched his rivals and other blood-sons of W'soran into the fight until the final warren of the ratmen was breached in -320 IC.[8d]
In -300 IC, Melkhior and W'soran accompanied Vorag's armies into battle against the armies of Mourkain. During that time, they discovered that Morath, one of W'soran's apprentices who had rejected the Blood Kiss, had further developed necromancy, achieving heights of the Dark Art never before seen. W'soran used this as an opportunity to complain about his oldest remaining apprentice.[8e]
Afterwards, W'soran left Melkhior at Crookback Mountain to serve as his castellan, causing resentment to fester in Melkhior, who felt unappreciated. In order to prepare for war, Melkhior extended diplomatic ties to Ogre tribes in the Dark Lands, as well as the Dawi-Zharr in hopes of courting them for aid, paid with resources dug from the earth by Undead slaves.[8f]
When W'soran returned in -280 IC, Melkhior urged his master to finally march on Mourkain, before Ushoran could master the power of Nagash's Crown of Sorcery. W'soran rebuffed him, instead wanting to confront the piece of Nagash within the Crown when it was at its full strength and break it to his will. It was then that they were beset by assassins. Melkhior saved his master, who proceeded only to blame him for not having discovered them earlier.[8f]
For a year, Melkhior scoured Crookback Mountain for the ones responsible for the assassination attempt, as well as repressing slave revolts among the captured Greenskins. Melkhior warned his master that the assassin must have been sent by Ushoran, yet W'soran did not listen. When the Necrarchs were ready for war, W'soran rode out with his armies but left Melkhior behind again.[8g]
While his master was gone, new offensives were launched by the Skaven, intending to retake Crookback Mountain. During the battles, Melkhior killed all other the Necrarch spawn of W'soran remaining at their fortress. The Greenskin rebellions grew worse and worse, incited by the leadership of an Orc named Dork. To defend his master's vaults, Melkhior raised a Zombie Dragon.[8h]
When W'soran returned in -263 IC, furious that his acolyte had not sent reinforcements to his aid, he took the Zombie Dragon, along with half of Melkhior's Undead servants, for himself and reprimanded Melkhior again for his failings, demanding that he restore order and prove his usefulness. Otherwise, W'soran promised he would flay him upon his return.[8h]
After his defeat at Mourkain and flight, W'soran returned to Crookback Mountain in -262 IC, only to find that this time, Melkhior had betrayed him, having joined his forces with the Lahmian Sisterhood. Melkhior had won the Lahmians as well as the Skaven over to his side by promising them the head of his master. W'soran narrowly escaped the allies' assault.[8i] Following the failed assassination attempt, Melkhior was dragged to the Silver Pinnacle and forced to trade his knowledge of necromancy to the Lahmians in order to escape destruction.[8j]
In -223 IC, Melkhior finally discovered W'soran's hiding place in the Worlds Edge Mountains. Seeking his master's Book of Nagash, Melkhior warned W'soran that Ushoran had discovered his hideout and was coming. Melkhior hoped that this, along with an attack by the Strigoi, would convince his master to trust him long enough for him to strike.[8a]
It was when W'soran had opened his vault to retrieve the tome that Melkhior struck, aided by agents of the Lahmian Sisterhood, seeking to slay his father-in-darkness. As Melkhior devoured him, W'soran sent his own spirit into his apprentice even as his physical body finally died and crumbled into dust.[8a][8j]
It is not known how much of the original psyches of Melkhior or W'soran remained in the new combined Vampire Lord that emerged from their union, but the process might have contributed to Melkhior's well-known insanity.
Activities in the Old World[]
The Screaming Banner, the standard of Melkhior
Following the death of W'soran, Melkhior lived far from Human settlements and his secret tower is hidden from view in the great Forest of Shadows by powerful enchantments. In the highest chamber of this tower, the ancient Vampire Lord worked alone. He was decayed, irredeemably evil, and utterly insane.[2a]
Melkhior experimented with the living, determined to discover how they might be made to understand the benefits of Undeath and how they could overcome their fear of the dead. Countless men have died to Melkhior's obsession but still the answer eluded him. Pain, suffering and horror fascinated this mad being. The dungeons and torture chambers of his dark tower were filled with wretched prisoners, who underwent indescribable agony to satisfy the curiosity of the insane Vampire Lord.[2a]
Melkhior's fortress is a monument to suffering and terror, filled with the results of his insane experiments: Zombies that are half-dead and half-alive, severed heads which scream endlessly in the darkness, limbs that crawl in lightless passageways, and countless other horrors created by Melkhior's dark arts.[2a]
Now and then the ancient Vampire leads his Undead servants out of his stronghold to capture new victims for his experiments or to swell the Undead legions that guarded him. At such times, armies of Zombies commanded by the twisted acolytes of Melkhior poured from the forest and hunted for the living to bring back to their master.[2a]
In his tower in the Forest of Shadows, Melkhior continued W'soran's work on the Grimoire Necronium, his visions of the future growing more disturbed over the centuries as his sanity degenerated further and further. Eventually, his visions grew so vivid they could not be depicted in prose, and he began painting on canvases of Human skin. His dungeons were filled with the living for him to torment. He often turned his mad attentions on his loyal servants as well.[1c]
During Vlad von Carstein's tenure as Count of Sylvania, Vlad employed Melkhior to teach necromancy to his get, such as Mannfred von Carstein and Markos von Carstein. The withered Vampire Lord shared with his apprentices the secret of the Carstein Ring and the means by which a remnant of Nagash's spirit still clung to the mortal world. [9a]
Zacharias[]
One of Melkhior's most powerful apprentices was Zacharias, later known as "the Everliving." Turned into a Vampire after he had failed to steal his master's Book of Nagash, Zacharias managed to stave off destruction at the hand of Melkhior by constantly surprising him with a new insight or display of progress that stayed his father-in-blood's hand. During his master's fits of insanity, when he would stalk his own servants and kill them, Zacharias kept a low profile.[3a]
During one of these rampages, Zacharias tried to steal the Book of Nagash from Melkhior's own chambers. The old Vampire Lord returned while Zacharias studied the tome and a great duel ensued. Melkhior, invigorated by the blood of his slain slaves, proved superior and drove Zacharias out, his minions hunting the wayward apprentice for a year.[3a]
When Zacharias returned, it was as an empowered necromancer mounted upon a great Zombie Dragon. In their last duel, Melkhior's tower was shattered and from the rubble emerged Zacharias triumphant, claiming the Book of Nagash and taking the fortress for himself.[3b]
In truth, Melkhior was not destroyed, however, but slumbers elsewhere whilst regaining his strength so that he can return to avenge himself upon his wayward student.[1c]
Personality[]
The horror that is Melkhior.[2]
Melkhior has almost the same knowledge of the necromantic arts as the most powerful living necromancers, for he has thousands of years of experience in these matters. His being is so suffused with Dark Magic that he is now more a part of the world of the dead than the living and his physical form has decomposed to the point where he is a skeletal, reeking horror.[2a]
In the total darkness of his hellish fortress, the ancient Necrarch Vampire Lord painted on Human skins. He painted terrifying scenes of a world where there are no living, where the dead walked the land and withered, Undead trees blighted the bleak landscape. Melkhior claimed that he painted visions of the future, glimpses of the time that is to come. Perhaps his visions are true and the Known World is doomed to a horrible future existence of unlife.[2a]
According to legend, Melkhior was the first Necrarch to bind a Hexwraith to his will.[4b]
Vampiric Powers[]
Like most Necrarchs, Melkhior radiates an aura of death, causing lesser lifeforms around him to die and inspiring despair in the hearts of the living. He is further steeped so deep in the power of Dark Magic that he is far more proficient than most Vampires in the dark arts of necromancy.[2a]
Melkhior's eyes are two pools of luminous darkness that see the mortal world as a kingdom of the dead. A mere glance into them is enough to inspire terror in the hearts of even the stoutest foe.[2b]
Wargear[]
- Painbringer - Painbringer is the black sword of Melkhior, said to be made from the magical life-force of insane men. The mere touch of this blade brings insanity and hideous pain.[2b]
- Grimoire Necronium - Written by Melkhior himself, this book is one of the greatest works of necromancy ever penned in the Known World. In its pages are described the blasphemous rites and evil spells that allow wizards to summon and command the dead.[2b]
- Black Cloak of Lahmia - This cloak is one of the great treasures of Lahmia, the Nehekharan city-state where the first Vampires came into being. Merely looking at the cloak can make the eyes bleed and sanity vanish.[2b]
- Winged Nightmare - Melkhior rides a huge Winged Nightmare into battle, which is said to have been crafted out of carcasses of monsters slain by himself.[2a]
Canon Conflict[]
The exact location of Melkhior's tower is difficult to ascertain. In Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (5th Edition), the tower is located northwest of the River Stir, east of the Zombie Marshes, within Ostermark. Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (7th Edition) locates his tower east of Mordheim and north of Waldenhof, while Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (8th Edition) locates it west of Mordheim, within the Great Forest, also within Ostermark. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Night's Dark Masters (RPG) locates it at the Totstir, one of the tributaries of the River Stir, within the Dead Wood, east of Mordheim.
All of these towers lie fairly far away from the Forest of Shadows, where Melkhior is said to have resided.
Trivia[]
Melkhior the Ancient shares a similar name to Melkor, also known as Morgoth, the most evil being in creation in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Melkor was the first Dark Lord, the former master of Sauron, and was considered the source of all evil within Eä, the term in the formal Elven Quenya tongue for the whole of creation.
Miniatures[]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Night's Dark Masters (RPG)
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (5th Edition)
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (7th Edition)
- 4: Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (8th Edition)
- 5: Liber Necris (Background Book)
- 5a: pg. 81
- 6: White Dwarf 238 (UK)
- 6a: pg. 85
- 7: Time of Legends: Neferata (Novel) by Josh Raynolds
- 7a: Ch. 7
- 8: Time of Legends: Master of Death (Novel) by Josh Reynolds
- 9: The Return of Nagash (Novel) by Josh Reynolds
- 9a: Ch. 12