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AoS - 2 - What Exactly Are The Mortal Realms
AoS - 2 - What Exactly Are The Mortal Realms
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26 Mar 24
A new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar has just been revealed at AdeptiCon,
along with a bombastic trailer in which the teeming Skaven menace erupts into Aqshy
with vicious purpose. These are terrifying times for the Mortal Realms, but just hang
There are eight realms, each a giant, largely flat crystallisation of magic within a
realmsphere of breathable atmosphere. But how big is a realmsphere? What sits
between them? How do you get from one to another?
Veteran explorers of the Age of Sigmar surely know the answers to these questions,
but for newcomers, lapsed fans, and people who have never quite understood the
concept, it’s time for a primer on the Mortal Realms.
In the grand cosmology of the Age of Sigmar, there are eight Mortal Realms, each a
vast – but not quite infinite – slab of real estate, encompassed within its enormous
realmsphere. They formed long ago, cosmic debris and stardust blended with one of
the eight fundamental forms of magical energy, and the intrinsic essence of each
realm’s dominant magic can be felt to some extent in every grain of sand, every leaf,
and every one of its denizens. This power is most diluted at the centre of each realm,
and most concentrated at the edges* – as travellers journey further out, the more
fantastical the phenomena they will encounter, and the more pronounced the magical
e"ects on the body.
The Realm of Death, Shyish, is a still place of endings and silent decline, an amalgam
of the underworlds for innumerable mortal species. The concentrated beliefs of the
various cultures of the realms have begotten countless paradises and purgatories,
most of which are conquered by the forces of Chaos, or ruled over by the tyrannical
God of Undeath, Nagash.
“In Aqshy, the Realm of Fire, reaching the realm’s edge might cause you to combust
into a pillar of roaring flame, or suddenly turn into a strange scattering of ash.
Stranger fates still await. In Chamon, the Realm of Metal, you may instead
spontaneously collapse into a scattering of coins, all minted with your screaming
likeness on both sides…”
Have these coins been snatched from the realm’s edge by enterprising prospectors?
Are they now traded within the cities of Chamon?
The most important nexus of all is the Eightpoints, a central sub-realm connecting all
eight realms via colossal Arcways. Once viciously contested by the forces of Order,
Chaos, Death, and Destruction, it is now mostly under the control of the champion of
the Dark Gods. Archaon the Everchosen rules the Eightpoints from the towering
Varanspire, marshalling his forces into the rest of the realms to further his ruinous
agenda.
Hysh, the Realm of Light, and Ulgu, the Realm of Shadow, are inextricably linked,
constantly waxing and waning, casting the other realms into cycles of night and day.
One never fully succumbs to the e"ects of the other – there is always a faint glow in
Hysh even when Ulgu is at its strongest, and always a sliver of dark in Ulgu when the
opposite is true.
While the Mortal Realms are inherently magical, and in many regions absolutely
fantastical, they are still “mortal” – which is to say that people live there, as well as
animals and plants.
Once, long ago in the Age of Myth, there were many great kingdoms and empires
across all eight realms, encompassing men, duardin, aelves, and many stranger and
rarer cultures and peoples. But as time went on, these great civilisations drew covetous
looks from the Dark Gods. As the followers of Chaos grew in power, the Age of Myth
gave way to the Age of Chaos, and slowly but surely the forces of Order, marshalled
under Sigmar’s great coalition of gods, began to give ground.
Centuries passed under the dread reign of Chaos. But one day, as bolts of lightning
from the blue, Sigmar unleashed his greatest creation: the Stormcast Eternals. These
immortal warriors, forged on the Anvil of Apotheosis, were the God-King’s thunderous
response. They fought bitter wars for control of key realmgates, carving out footholds
through blood, sweat, and their endless cycle of death and reincarnation. Great cities
were founded to protect these gains – notably the Twin-tailed City of Hammerhal,
Many other bastions of Order were raised – or reclaimed – in the wake of these
Realmgate Wars. Among them are the great Cities of Sigmar, such as Anvilgard,
Greywater Fastness, or Excelsis, safe havens of a sort in the wartorn realms.
Soon enough, in an attempt to re-exert his power over death now that Sigmar had
shown his hand as a soul-thief with his Stormcast Eternals, Nagash unleashed the
realms-cursing ritual he called the Necroquake. This magical catastrophe sent a
heaving wave of undeath across the Realms and as a side-e"ect changed the nature of
magic itself.
It birthed the Endless Spells, thaumaturgical manifestations with wills of their own that
now roam around causing destruction in their wake. The ensuing Soul Wars were a
battle for the fate of the realms themselves…
The aftermath sent the Ghur into frenzied palpitations, unwittingly releasing Kragnos,
God of Earthquakes from his mountain prison and ushering in the Era of the Beast in a
haze of primal energy.
Since then, the God-King and his followers have been fighting to establish more
fortress-cities at crucial locations, taking advantage of the leyline nexuses to claw back
any advantage and syphon magic in their defence. Most recently, the Dawnbringer
That’s just a tiny overview of the rich narrative. Life here is hard-fought for its
inhabitants, and there are many mysteries, sub-realms, and innumerable artefacts of
lost ages to be found, born from the ever-present essence of magic. These realms are
home to billions, and they all feel the pervasive touch of war as everyone fights for
survival amid the ruins of once-glorious civilisations.
What’s next? You’ll have to stay tuned to Warhammer Community as we unveil more of
the new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar. If you want to delve into the rich, deep
history of the Mortal Realms, you can read both The Realmgate Wars and Broken
Realms series via the Warhammer Vault, included as part of a Warhammer+
subscription. For the latest plot developments, check out the Dawnbringers series –
which explores the fate of the Twin-Tailed Crusade which set out across Ghyran and
Aqshy mere months before the Skaven struck…
Keep Reading
26 Oct 23 06 Feb 23
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