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Currently, Archaon is nearly on the level of a god–it can be argued that he is more powerful than the gods, for he wields the great power of all of them, but also has a corporeal form. But he didn’t start out that way. Like Sigmar himself, Archaon was once a mortal.

1. In the Old World, Archaon was originally called Diederick, the son of a mother who had been raped by a Chaos Marauder during a Norse raid. The mother, Viktoria, died and the father hated Diederick and sent him away with the midwife, who left him on the steps of a Sigmarite Church.

2. Diederick was raised by the priest until he was old enough to become a squire to a knight named Kastner (who was a drunkard and a womanizer). Kastner was killed by Night Goblins, and Diederick decided to take the knight’s horse and sword and return to the Kastner’s castle, claiming to be one of the knight’s bastard sons. He was welcomed in and eventually became called Diederick Kastner, a Templar of the Knightly Order of the Twin-Tailed Orb.

3. After many years of courageous duty, Diederick was wounded in battle when pieces of warpstone pierced his eye. While recovering, he read tomes of Chaos knowledge that a young nun had taken from her convent’s vault. In them, the Diederick read prophecies that mirrored events from his own life, perhaps making him the Everchosen of Chaos.

4. The Daeemon Prince Be’lakor manipulated fate for Diederick to fulfill some of the prophecies, including stopping Diederick’s stepfather from coming home before the rape, stopping his mother from aborting him, stopping Deiderick from dying of a fever, stopping Diederick from dying in a horse accident, stopping a priestess from removing the warpstone from Diederick’s eye, and stopping Diederick from hanging himself after learning he was the Everchosen.

5. After reading the prophecies, which included heresies about Sigmar, becomes a one-man wrecking crew who is just as angry with Sigmar as he is angry with the Chaos Mauraders who raped his mother. He hates all of them together.

6. Archaon went on a killing spree and spend the next century gathering the six Treasures of Chaos:

• The Mark of Chaos

• The Armor of Morkar (Morkar was the first Everchosen and was killed by Sigmar)

• Dorghar, Steed of the Apocalyse

• The Slayer of Kings (a sword containing the soul of the daeomon U’Zhul)

• The Crown of Domination (the symbol of absolute authority)

• The Eye of Sheerian (a gem in the Crown of Domination)

7. As Archaon goes on his crusade to find these treasures, the Chaos Gods are getting worried about him, too, and they send their forces against him, and Archaon conquers them, always adding power to his army. Archaon doesn’t slaughter all his enemies–he gets them to join him. This is why Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Slaanesh forces all unite under Archaon (whereas the Chaos Gods normally hate each other and fight against one another).

8. Archaon received the Crown of Domination from Be’lakor who coronated him the Lord of the End Times. Archaon then led a massive army of Chaos toward the Empire. in the next nine years Archaon would destroy every major civilization in the Old World, leading to the Age of Myth.

9. In the End Times, Archaon acted as the dangerous third party: not letting Chaos take the Old World and not letting Sigmar take the Old World, Archaon just completely destroys the Old World to keep it out of their hands. He has aspirations to be his own god.

10. During the Age of Myth, Archaon’s coming was foretold by signs like statues in Azyrheim weeping blood and his mark burned into the skies.

11. During the Age of Chaos, Archaon attacked all the Realm Gates simultaneously. The bridge to the Realm of Shyish fell–he struck down Nagash and nearly crippled him. Archaon opened the Realm of Chaos. Archaon ordered the complete destruction of all.

12. In the Battle of the Burning Skies, Sigmar threw his mighty hammer, Ghal Maraz, at Archaon, but Archaon had decieved Sigmar and the hammer was sent through a portal and lost. Sigmar was forced to retreat.

13. Dorghar, was a horse in the Old World, but can absorb the powers of everything that it kills, which is why it has the head of three demons–Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Khorne–all Greater Daeomons that he slaughtered when the Chaos Gods sent them to assassinate him.

14. He has created a vast communication network across all realms because he uses Tzeentchian Gaunt Summoners (who he tricked by learning their names) to spread his orders instantaneously.

15. He blatantly rejects the Chaos Gods, but accepts their blessings. He has collected so much power by politicking and juggling favor between the gods–doing a little for some, hurting others–a careful balancing act.

What do you think? Is Archaon as powerful as the gods themselves? Archaon has destroyed the Old World–will he destroy the Mortal Realms as well?