Across the treacherous waters of the Great Ocean that separates the civilizations of
the Old World from the wild and untamed lands of the New, there lies the bleak and unforgiving
continent of Naggaroth.
Here, barren, windswept plains are broken only by the jagged peaks of shattered mountains
or the black sludge of magic-stained rivers that carve labyrinthine canyons into the frozen
ground.
It is a place known across the world as the “Land of the Chill”, where across the
ages untold millions have been taken in chains.
Ripped from their homes in the dark of the night to live out the remainder of their lives
in untold suffering.
Naggaroth is cruel, but those who have built their kingdoms here are crueler still.
In their tongue, they call themselves the Druchii: slavers, despoilers, killers, Dark
Elves.
The Druchii are not the only elven race to walk the world, but of the three great civilizations
that arose from the fractured lands of their home isles of Ulthuan, only the Dark Elves
have embraced the powers of Chaos so openly.
Almost all the races of the world have been marked and changed by Chaos, but perhaps only
to the Dark Elves has it has brought enlightenment, they have embraced the revelation that the
world exists only for the pleasure of the strong.
The Dark Elves care nothing for the sanctity of life and consider the so called “lesser
races” nothing more than insects begging to be ground beneath a boot heel if no productive
or entertaining use can be found for them.
All Elves are said to be cunning, but the Druchii delight in manipulation.
Every word they speak hides a depth of meaning and they are masters of twisting words to
serve their interests.
The unwary might be fooled by the elegance and effortless grace they share with their
distant kin, but theirs is a cold beauty, one that only serves to distract from their
true intentions.
So completely assured of their superiority, the Druchii can be almost careless in their
actions.
They revel in the act of betrayal, knowing that their silver tongues can always be counted
upon to save them from reprisal.
Above all, the society of the Dark Elves is opportunistic and impetuous.
This extends not only in their dealings with other races but defines their own internal
governance as well.
The Kingdoms of the Dark Elves are rigidly hierarchical with a complex structure of titles
and positions that date back to their most ancient history.
Deviations from this system are exceedingly rare, for to even suggest through the creation
of a new appointment or rank that the royal traditions of the past are somehow flawed
is to invite a swift death.
A constant cycle of plotting, disgrace, betrayal, and assassination is behind every position
of authority in Naggaroth.
Powerful nobles are trapped in perpetual competition with their rivals, all vying for power while
simultaneously preventing others from achieving it.
Yet no matter how high a lord or lady might rise, in truth there is but one ruler of the
Dark Elves; Malekith, the Witch King of Naggaroth.
To the Druchii, he is the embodiment of their people, destiny and greatness burned into
his very soul.
As long as he lives, Malekith’s authority over the Kingdoms of the Dark Elves is absolute.
His inner circle is known as the Black Council, comprised of exactly one hundred of Naggaroth’s
most powerful Dreadlords.
To claim a seat at the Obsidian Table of the Black Council is one of the Kingdom’s highest
honors, but perhaps the most dangerous.
The favor of the Witch King is always unpredictable and often fewer Dreadlords leave a council
chamber then enter it.
Across the millennia, a few nobles have been clever enough to avoid falling victim to Malekith’s
temper.
First among these and closest of all Malekith’s Councillors is his own mother, the tremendously
powerful sorceress Morathi.
This honor is not the result of any familial loyalty, but because her intentions are not
always clear and she can only be trusted when kept in plain sight.
Other powerful council members typically include the highest commanders of the Witch King’s
armies and fleets, who earn glory for every victory and blame for every defeat.
In battle, the Dark Elves prize speed and maneuverability above all.
They are relentlessly aggressive in battle but most effective when conducting lightning
raids, seizing slaves and plunder before an organized defense can be mounted.
Sadistic and thrill-seeking elements of the Dark Elf Army will often enter a drug crazed
killing frenzy, contrasted by the cold, ruthless professionalism of Malekith’s personal Black
Guard.
Cavalry often plays a key role in these engagements, with the Druchii nobility often riding atop
carnivorous reptiles native to Naggaroth alongside more traditional steeds.
The Dark Elves display a natural talent for the taming and training of beasts and monsters.
Harpies, Manticores, Hydras, and other predators that stalk the Land of the Chill are often
driven to the enemy at the end of lash.
It is through their mastery of the sea however that the Dark Elves wield their greatest strength.
Their forces are organized around enormous floating fortresses known as Black Arks, each
home to a small army of raiders and ships.
These arks roam every ocean, landing forces on an unsuspecting kingdom, before disappearing
with plunder and captives.
This is not merely the basis of their military strategy, but the backbone of the Druchii’s
economy.
The Dark Elves count no craftsmen, workers, or farmers among their own, for such tasks
are thought beneath them.
The Kingdoms of the Dark Elves were built on the labor of slaves, and it is through
slaves that they endure.
Untold captives exhaust themselves within the mines of Naggaroth’s mountains or rot
away in vast plantations before their bodies are left to nourish the barren soil.
Slave revolts are rare and harshly suppressed, and the only successful revolts have typically
occurred at sea, before the captives have been broken completely.
To be a slave in Naggaroth is a fate worse than death, for in addition to providing a
cheap source of labor, slaves also are a critical component of the Dark Elf religion, sacrifices
to the Cult of Khaine.
Other remnants of the old Elven pantheon remain in Naggaroth, but it is Kaela Mensha Khaine,
the Bloody-Handed God and Thousand Faced Lord of Murder that is by far the most worshipped.
While the High Elves of Ulthuan only invoke this wrathful god in times of war, the Dark
Elves are wholly devoted to him.
Every city in Naggaroth has temples and shrines devoted to Khaine, slick with the blood of
those sacrificed.
The most holy time of the year for the Druchii is the Death Night when Witch Elves rule the
streets of Naggaroth’s cities, capturing any they find, killing them on the spot or
dragging them back to the temples as sacrifices for Khaine.
Dark Elf families will barricade their doors and windows on Death Night, for often these
Witches will not limit themselves to the streets alone.
When dawn finally breaks, those who lived through the night will often sacrifice one
of their own as thanks to the Lord of Murder for sparing their family, at least for another
year.
In the ages since Malekith and the remnants of his people first sought refuge in Naggaroth,
the Kingdoms of the Dark Elves have grown in size and might to rival the greatest of
those that still remain in their homeland of Ulthuan.
Malekith has never forgotten the ancient sundering that led to his banishment however, and it
is the dream of every Druchii that they might one day return to their homeland and scour
their hated kin from every corner of the world.
Across their history they have waged countless wars upon Ulthuan and the other races of the
world and even now in Naggarond; The Tower of Cold, oldest and largest city of the Dark
Elves, Malekith calculates the demise of his enemies with chilling ruthlessness.
Yet neither he nor any of his people have ever considered the possibility that when
the last of his foes dies screaming in agony upon the Altar of Khaine, ultimate victory
might cost them their only purpose and leave a void impossible to fill.
Should that day ever come, the Druchii might learn just how much of their souls have been
devoured by their ancient hatred, by Chaos, and they might not find that tally to their
liking.