In Answer to a post on the rumours thread, Malus Darkblade is part of Malekith's invasion of Ulthuan. There is a passage described where Tzarkan gets the better of him and runs amok and only the intervention of a mysterious sorceress (clearly Morathi in disguise) helps Malus get back in control. He then has to grovelling the the witch king for his mysterious absence.
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Did I miss something, what does Nagash have to do with Dark Magic? I thought the book specifically said he drew in Shyish. Also, I didn't think High and Dark drew on their own unique winds, rather Dhar was sort of a primordial pre-magic substance and Qhaysh was a super-refined combination of all 8 winds.
I've blown through the ebook, so I'll attempt to allay some of the fears we all had about the fluff going forward. I feel Thorpe actually avoided tossing away the spirit of the fluff that had come before, like we all had feared he would. First, I like what he did with Malekith. There is no real redemption attempt. Malekith is exposed as a selfish coward. Had he endured a few more moments in the flames, he would have been reborn as his father had been. Teclis straight up calls him out, saying that had he not been too weak to endure the flames, the elves would have been spared 6000 years of civil war. He gets somewhat better, but he's still a prick. Oh, and Tyrion beats his ***, not once, but twice.
Second, the Asur don't suddenly love Malekith and hate Tyrion. The civil war is more nuanced than Malekith vs Tyrion. In fact, for most of the civil war, Malekith remains in hiding while Imrik does the majority of campaigning. Many of those that side with Imrik are not even aware Malekith is still alive. In addition, it doesn't seem like much of the Asur side with him anyway. Caledor and the Phoenix Guard do, and some parts of the other provinces, but for the most part his army is made up of the professional soldiers of the Druchii and the Asrai led by the Everqueen. The Asur seem to mostly take up Tyrion's side or, in increasing numbers as Tyrion gets crazier, flee to Anar's banner, who stays out of the war. And I think it all works. Once Malekith reveals himself, he starts losing more and more allies because, well, everybody hates Malekith. The final gambit is the unmaking of the Vortex. Tyrion beats Malekith in personal combat for the second time, but Anar intervenes, killing Tyrion. True to character, Anar also shoots Malekith, who only survives thanks to becoming the Incarnation of Shadow.
Finally, here's the big one that I'm sure everyone will hate. As speculated, the unmaking of the Vortex does indeed destroy Ulthuan. The survivors are transported by the Everqueen to Athel Loren. That's pretty much where the book ends. Anar and Malekith, both changed by the final battle, make a tentative peace. However, it is pretty clear that Malekith's ability to unite the survivors is very much in question. On a side note, you never actually see Teclis or Morathi bite it. We'll have to wait and see what End Times: Khaine has to say on the matter. Overall, I like the balance of how they united the elven factions. Everybody loses something big, but also has a big part of the remains. The Dark Elves lose Naggaroth, but Malekith becomes Phoenix King and the Incarnation of Shadow. The Asur lose Ulthuan, but the Everqueen survives to become the Incarnation of Life. The Asrai lose Orion, and it is implied that Ariel merges with the Everqueen, but Athel Loren becomes the home to the remaining elves.
Oh and I have no idea what happened to Morathi or Teclis. Their fates are not mentioned post-Vortex.[URL="http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=67601&start=120"]Source[/URL]Imrik is extremely important to the story. There is no way Malekith is capable of even competing with Tyrion without the Dragons. As the Crown Prince of Caledor, Imrik plays a major part in that. We'll see what happens, but Malekith is the last Phoenix King period. The shrine of Asuryan collapses after Malekith is reborn in the flames, the last power of Asuryan expended. Imrik simply cannot become king even if Malekith dies. That said, I'd buy that Malekith could easily go down. The impression I got is that the Everqueen is far more important to the future of the elves. Malekith, plain and simple, feels expendable. If someone is going to survive to lead the Elves in the long term, I think it will be her.
As for Teclis's plan failing, you pretty much nailed it I think. Here's the last lines of the book:
"Lileath had lied to them. They had sanctuary, for a while, but all things fall to Chaos. Eventually."
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Actually I'm kind of pissed off that Malekith is empowered and is worth 1000pts but Alarielle gets empowered and is only worth 500 points. Like it's just a coincidence that of the four empowered beings now three are men and literally worth twice ins points and abilities as the woman? Get your **** together GW.
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Looking at their rules instead of just their costs, Alarielle and Malekith are at about the same power level, I'd say, except for ability in close combat - but Malekith is a Monster, who must weather cannonballs to the face and win combats on his own, whereas Alarielle can be joined to a 460 point unit for the same overall price (say, a brick of 40 Eternal Guard).
Plus, of course, she can be included in games as small as 1080 points instead of 2000...
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I cannot, of course, argue with you on the "only one woman" part, and I would suspect it will stay that way unless some entirely new characters spring from the woodwork (or new models for characters who have been out of print since the 90s). It's disappointing, and an entirely predictable reflection of the general lack of female characters in WHFB and WH40k.
Last edited by Houghten; 11-26-2014 at 03:22 AM.
It's not so much that she is bad, but that of the four empowered beings so far the men are all capable of being beasts in combat, while the woman needs a unit to support her, and they are all costed nearly twice as much. I worry that even if we get even one more female empowered character she will wind up being another caster or support character..
I was hoping End Times could be used to shake it up a bit killing off a bunch of male characters creates room for more. After three books it could still go either way but I'm not hopeful.
Ask not the EldarGal a question, for she will give you three answers, all of which are puns and terrifying to know. Back off man, I'm a feminist. Ia! Ia! Gloppal Snode!
I wouldn't expect Alarielle to be a combat beast though, given her background.
Otherwise I understand where you're coming from, and pretty much agree.
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Sure, but neither would Nagash necessarily, he's a caster but now he's a beast. I mean there is no reason why an empowered Alarielle couldn't be powerful in cc, it needn't amount to her literally punching stuff. She's the embodiment of Life it's going to be hard to kill her, and she already posessed the power (in the lore) to suck the evil out of chaos warlords and stuff and destroy them so something along those lines.
I mean it wouldn't be an issue if we also got a few other empowered women SCs who were combat beasts as well but as it stands if we are really, really lucky there might be one more.
Ask not the EldarGal a question, for she will give you three answers, all of which are puns and terrifying to know. Back off man, I'm a feminist. Ia! Ia! Gloppal Snode!
She's got a souped up 'Super-Sayan Chaos Banishment Five Finger Death Punch', which is pretty neat.
Always wounds on a 2+, and if your from Forces of Destruction, D6 wounds. And 3 attacks with the Super-Sayan Chaos Banishment Five Finger Death Punch when Incarnate of Life.
Bit of spell weaving, and she becomes a horrific beast!
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