Khemri
Encyclopedia
An undead
nation in the fictional world of the Warhammer Fantasy
setting, Khemri is home to the Tomb Kings
, an army composed of skeletons and various decayed creatures. The theme of the army is based on the culture of Ancient Egypt, with an emphasis on its more morbid tendencies such as mummification. Correspondingly, the hordes of skeletons are led by withered liche-priests who used a proto-necromancy/death magic (less potent and sinister than true necromancy practised in the modern Warhammer world) and resurrected kings and princes. Khemri was originally called Nehekhara
, of which Khemri was a major city.
Khemri was the first human civilisation to emerge in the Warhammer Fantasy World as a cluster of kingdoms nominally ruled by a High King. Its people fought with chariots and blocks of infantry, supported by archers and supernatural allies.
Nagash
Eventually a young noble known as Nagash was born. He was the oldest son of the current king. Instead of becoming the heir as eldest sons other nations would, he was forced into the ranks of the Liche Priests as the Grand Heirophant, a living sacrifice to the Gods. Later after becoming a high priest, he killed his younger brother and usurped the throne. His rule was terrible. During this time he began the construction of the black pyramid as a 'magnet' for dark magic. He also began studies into an elixir of life using human blood. Due to his dark nature combined with his tyrannical rule, the other kings rose up against him and he was forced to flee his homeland. The kingdom of Lahmia was eventually corrupted as well by vampirism, thus causing another series of wars culminating in the other kingdoms destroying Lahmia, causing the vampires to spread to all corners of the earth.
Death of a Nation
In time Nagash returned with vast armies of the dead he had perfected through his newly developed necromancy
. Although he was initially defeated by the armies of Khemri, he then unleashed plague which decimated the people of the land and when the Great Necromancer attacked again he committed mass genocide
with little resistance, obliterating all remaining life from the land.
The Great Ritual
Nagash's plan now reached its final stage, using the incredible amounts of power he had accumulated combined with mined warpstone
and massive numbers of sacrificed Orcs he cast a mighty spell to muster all the dead in the world to his call, especially the now-dead Khemrians. With this army he planned to rule the world and transform it into an eternal kingdom were only he ruled. Thankfully for all living creatures, Nagash was assassinated by the last living Khemrian (King Alcadizaar, who Nagash had taken prisoner), with the help of the Skaven
, who forged a mighty blade specifically to kill the Great Necromancer. However, Nagash completed his ritual before his death, awakening all the dead of Khemri from their tombs.
Undead (Warhammer)
The Undead of the Warhammer Fantasy Tabletop Wargame , were introduced to the game in its very earliest editions. The term itself can refer either to the undivided and all-inclusive army—ranging from ghosts and vampires to skeletons and mummies—or to the separate components which make up the two:...
nation in the fictional world of the Warhammer Fantasy
Warhammer Fantasy (setting)
Warhammer Fantasy is a fantasy setting, created by Games Workshop, which is used by many of the company's games. Some of the best-known games set in this world are: the table top wargame Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay pen-and-paper role-playing game, and the MMORPG...
setting, Khemri is home to the Tomb Kings
Tomb Kings
In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe, Tomb Kings is the name given to a series of kingdoms, and an army in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle game. Up until and including the fifth edition of Warhammer, there was an all-inclusive Undead army, with the skeletons and mummies being the...
, an army composed of skeletons and various decayed creatures. The theme of the army is based on the culture of Ancient Egypt, with an emphasis on its more morbid tendencies such as mummification. Correspondingly, the hordes of skeletons are led by withered liche-priests who used a proto-necromancy/death magic (less potent and sinister than true necromancy practised in the modern Warhammer world) and resurrected kings and princes. Khemri was originally called Nehekhara
Nehekhara
Nehekhara is a fictional land in the Warhammer Fantasy world. It is the home of the Undead forces of the Tomb Kings and the origin of the Vampire Counts, two conflicting factions of undead. It is the Warhammer equivalent of Egypt; it even has the Valley of the Kings and the Great Pyramid...
, of which Khemri was a major city.
History
Pre-NagashKhemri was the first human civilisation to emerge in the Warhammer Fantasy World as a cluster of kingdoms nominally ruled by a High King. Its people fought with chariots and blocks of infantry, supported by archers and supernatural allies.
Nagash
Eventually a young noble known as Nagash was born. He was the oldest son of the current king. Instead of becoming the heir as eldest sons other nations would, he was forced into the ranks of the Liche Priests as the Grand Heirophant, a living sacrifice to the Gods. Later after becoming a high priest, he killed his younger brother and usurped the throne. His rule was terrible. During this time he began the construction of the black pyramid as a 'magnet' for dark magic. He also began studies into an elixir of life using human blood. Due to his dark nature combined with his tyrannical rule, the other kings rose up against him and he was forced to flee his homeland. The kingdom of Lahmia was eventually corrupted as well by vampirism, thus causing another series of wars culminating in the other kingdoms destroying Lahmia, causing the vampires to spread to all corners of the earth.
Death of a Nation
In time Nagash returned with vast armies of the dead he had perfected through his newly developed necromancy
Necromancy
Necromancy is a claimed form of magic that involves communication with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit in the form of an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the ability to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge...
. Although he was initially defeated by the armies of Khemri, he then unleashed plague which decimated the people of the land and when the Great Necromancer attacked again he committed mass genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
with little resistance, obliterating all remaining life from the land.
The Great Ritual
Nagash's plan now reached its final stage, using the incredible amounts of power he had accumulated combined with mined warpstone
Warpstone
Warpstone is a fictional mutagen found in the Warhammer world, and also in the Warhammer 40,000 universe during the first and second editions. Humans and most other races in Games Workshop’s campaign game Mordheim refer to it as Wyrdstone....
and massive numbers of sacrificed Orcs he cast a mighty spell to muster all the dead in the world to his call, especially the now-dead Khemrians. With this army he planned to rule the world and transform it into an eternal kingdom were only he ruled. Thankfully for all living creatures, Nagash was assassinated by the last living Khemrian (King Alcadizaar, who Nagash had taken prisoner), with the help of the Skaven
Skaven
Skaven are a race of man-sized anthropomorphic rat-creatures in Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy setting. They were officially introduced as a new Chaos race in 1986 by Jes Goodwin....
, who forged a mighty blade specifically to kill the Great Necromancer. However, Nagash completed his ritual before his death, awakening all the dead of Khemri from their tombs.