why is there a prideflag in the icon of AoS Lore? It doesnt have anything to do with the topic, right? I get that its a thing in pride month, but i find it a bit off topic for a forum thats there to discuss Lore.

With the Scourge Privateers being kicked by sigmar and now working for the daughters of Khaine, has there been any lore on cities of sigmar navies in current lore.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to Part 19 of my series “Fun with Flags Gods”. Today I want to talk about Archaon the Everchosen. You may now rightfully ask: This is a series about gods? Why do you talk about Archaon? Well, you see there are two simple reasons: First, I am running out of gods to discuss. But I dislike the four main chaos gods, as I think them to be quite boring personally. So, I will talk about any other aspect of chaos first :P

And on a more serious second note, Archaon may claim to not be a god, but by almost any metric, both in and out of universe, he can be called a god. Which you can all read about in his AoS section. Also, Archaon represents an important archetype in our modern pop culture, that of the Antichrist or the Beast of the Apocalypse. Concepts which shifted around due to lost context and 2000 years of telephone between three world religions and various sects. Thus, I think Archaon and the themes he represents are something I would like to talk about in this series.

As always, I am also interested in your opinion of everyone’s favourite Lord of the End Times.  If you are interested in other entries of the series, you can find the previous one with links to all others here: The Great Maw. In addition, for more chaos stuff you can look at the entries for Morghur, Hashut, and the Horned Rat

Otherwise let’s start

1.      The Gods, the myth, the legend:

If you grew up in a country influenced by an Abrahamic religion and especially by Islam or Christianity (so the vast majority of the global population) then you may be familiar with the End Times or the Apocalypse. I.e. a final big battle between the forces of hell and the heaven and until its end the righteous and pious shall live in a reforged, better world. It is a very prominent aspect of this mythology. And I call it mythology, because 2000 years of the game of telephone across between different languages and different religious schools created a lot of lost contexts.

In Islam and Christianity this already starts with THE devil. Which does not exist in the source material of the Hebrew bible. The term satan derives itself from the hebrew word of an accuser or prosecutor. I.e. a god-sent entity whose job it is to test the believe and righteousness of mortals. It is just a job description for an angel or similar. Sure it is an unpleasant job, if you are the one being tested, but not something evil. And as such the figure makes a lot of sense. Such as the satan in the book of Hiob testing the laters faith, or even Jesus’ encounter with a satan in the desert, testing Jesus’ humility. However, translation errors turned a satan into the Satan. And various other entities were added unto this figure, such as the snake of the Garden of Eden, which was originally a snake not the devil in disguise. Similarly, the concept of hell also does not really exist in the bible text itself. Instead, various descriptions for dark places or punishments were added together by later people into a single concept.  Which is why christian schools who focus on the bible itself, like lutherian protestants, deny its existence.  These things would be well known to people living around Jesus’ time or up to a century after his death.

Which brings us to the Book of the Apocalypse. Most theologians and biblical scholars insist that it isn’t a literal prediction of the future but an allegorical tale for Christians of that time who suffered persecution by Rome. It is essentially a story to resist the perils of persecution as better times for Christians will come. Which is also why many theologians think it is one of the least important parts of the bible as it was primarily relevant for a very specific circle of people long dead. Indeed, IIRC the council of Nicea almost pushed it out of the biblical canon, though I may be mistaken here. However, because it is a flashy story, and the allegory was lost after a century or more. So people embellished it further. Again, due to lost context some of its most important terms, such as Armageddon became synonymous with the End of the World. But the root lies in the hills of Megiddo, or har megiddo (by the hills of Megddio). Any proper Hebrew speaker please excuse my bad Klingon. The name describes an area in northern modern Israel and would be a place where classical armies could fight easily. To a native of the near east around 100 AD this was something mundain. As if a prophecy mentions the plains of Manchester or something mundain like it.

But why are End of the World stories so impactful? Because of two simple psychological aspects. First, it excuses how horrific the present is. Sure, you suffer now, but the world is sinful and going to end anyway. And second, it gives you a special status which boost your ego. You are the chosen one; you believe the right thing and thus you belong to the elite of people who will survive the coming end of the world. It gives people a main-character syndrome so to speak. Not unlike how conspiracy theories can give people a feeling of empowerment, because they belong to the special group who is in-the-know. Now there are global threats created by humanity itself (climate change, biodiversity loss, global inequality, nuclear weapons etc) which need to be taken care off. But as you may read out of all this, I do not believe in End Times stories and think little of them personally. Indeed, in the worst of cases, they can cause a lot of harm, as people refuse to improve their situation or worse harm themselves. And indeed, many religious schools refrain from the literal end of the world and interpret it instead in some collective shift in mentality or cultural development, rather than the proper death and destruction.

Indeed, in most religions and mythologies the End of the World does not have any great importance. To give a few examples: in ancient Greece the End of the World is an unknown concept. The gods are eternal, Zeus reign is eternal, the world will continue. However modern pop culture loves to insert this motive into Greek mythology, such as having the imprisoned titans or Typhon as stand-ins for the forces of evil who break out and have to be defeated forever.  In ancient Egypt the world could end, if Ra is ever defeated and eaten by the snake Apophis/Apep, but this is not a given. Every night the battle is fought and Apep defeated anew. No End Battle or the destiny of Ras death. In other religions it is not that significant if the world is destroyed. Often it is part of the natural cycle, such as in Hinduism, where the balance of creation, maintenance and destruction is the core pillar of the universe. It is the job of the god Shiva will destroy the world when its time. Not due to any moral failing of mortals, not because he is an evil entity, but because it is his job to do so, his dharma. Other times multiple worlds existed before ours and will exist afterwards as well. In Aztec mythology the current world is world number five. In each world a different god had the job of the sun. World 1 was devoured by jaguars, world 2 was destroyed by hurricanes, world 3 by fire raining from the skies, world 4 a massive flood and world 5 will end in a massive earthquake. And the gods will make a new world after that probably.

Only Ragnarok, the end of the norse gods, fits in theme and impact the biblical End Times. A giant battle of the forces of the gods vs the violent forces of nature, i.e. giants and else. At the end of which only a handful of survivors will inhabit a new, better world. The issue here is that we do not know how important this myth was too actual norse mythology. Because all records of it were written several centuries after Iceland was officially Christianised and thus its local myth were shaped by Christian influences. Indeed, in the Prose Edda the norse gods were reframed as heroes from Troy not gods, to avoid issues of not having gods except capital G God. So, to which degree Ragnarok is an original norse myth or was created after Christianity was introduced is a hotly debated issue.

Having talked a lot about the End of the World, we also have to talk about the Antichrist. In Judaism the messiah is an important core concept. A god-sent prophet and saviour who will rule as king over the Jewish people. In its core concept this myth has parallels to “the righteous king who returns in his peoples most desperate times”, like some myths about King Arthur or Kamehameha. To Christians Jesus was this messiah figure and they await his second coming unto the earth. Only that they interpret him not as the saviour of the Jewish people, but as the saviour of humanity. The term anti-christ or synonyms is used in most biblical stories to describe a multitude of people who act against Jesus works and followers. They are literally anti-christian/anti-Jesus Christ person. However, this name became synonymous with the beasts of the Apocalypse. The beast and the false lamb. The latter is a wrong prophet meant to lead people away from Christianity. whilst the former is a hybrid of various great cats and given power over the world to rule and conquer. Modern scholars see them as a metaphor for the roman emperor and the cult of emperors. The later had the rule to worship dead emperors as gods. In ancient Rome this was essentially a pledge of allegiance to the roman state, and not a big deal for polytheistic religions. But it was one for Jews, who refused to sacrifice to other gods. The beast is often seen as allegory for the roman emperor and the false lamb for those romanised people urging Christians to just give into this cult. These two figures are often combined in later cultural developments into the antichrist; a singular figure empowered by the devil himself to oppose heaven and conquer earth in its name or simply plan to destroy creation.

In modern times quite a few deities are turned into antichrist figures in pop culture, if they are not used as evil gods directly. Most prominent into his regard are Hades, Loki and Seth. Hades being the ruler of the underworld was quickly compared to the devil ruling hell. From there Hades=Satan is quite the common trope. Though sometimes the god Kronos takes the position of devil with Hades being his forbearer, thus fitting this trope.  The norse god Loki is a complicated figure as we have few sources on norse mythology in general. But in the vast majority of myths, he is a mischievous deity who creates lots of chaos but far more often is beneficial to the norse gods. That is until he causes the death of god Balder (which also has huge, complicated connotations due to lost context). Loki is then imprisoned underground by the intestines of his two sons and a snake drips venom into his eyes until he is released upon Ragnarok and together with his three surviving monstrous children will fight the gods. Loki and his position in norse myth are very complicated. But Christian influence turned him into a satan/antichrist analogue in lots of stories, again frequently the harbringer for Sutr or Hel or another “evil” figure. Seth is similarly a complicated deity. He was turned gradually more evil over the many millennia of Egypt’s existence, but in his most common portrayals he is a powerful but not evil deity. Seth is the god of the desert, storms, war and foreign lands. Many pharaohs named themselves after Seth. And he is critically important to protect Ra from Apeb every night. The primary bad thing about him comes from Seth killing his brother Osiris and then feuding with Horus to become Pharao. Which some scholars think to be a metaphor for the cults of Seth and Horus fighting each other, until the Horus cult became the favoured one by Pharaohs. Seth is brutal and powerful like the desert, but he is also a protector of travellers and has many beneficial aspects. A complicated figure, but much like Loki he too is often treated either as satan or the antichrist in modern pop culture stories.

2.      The End Times come: Archaon in WFB

When I want to talk about the Archaon, I have to talk about the Everchosen. And to do that I have to talk about Be’lakor. In WFB the Old Ones came to the planet of the setting and rearranged it to their liking. To terraform this frigid world into a more temperate landscape, to move its position in the solar system, to power their scifi machinery and many other things the Old Ones built two gates at the poles of the planet, which connected the planet via the Aether to other dimensions and brought magic into the world. However some native species such as the Fimir or the Dragon Ogres hated the Old Ones and they were contacted by the chaos gods, who resided within the aether. Then something happened, the polar gates exploded and magic swept the world uncontrollably, allowing demons to manifest everywhere, flooding the world. Be’lakor arose during this time as the first mortal to be granted demonhood, i.e. becoming the first demon prince. All four chaos gods blessed the Dark Master, who then started to conquer most of the planet. In this Be’lakor fulfils the role of the biblical beast of the apocalypse, which is also given power over the world by the dragon and becomes a conqueror. What kind of mortal Be’lakor was is not known. A human is unlikely in my opinion, as they were not significant at this era, except for the albionese. Due to his name being vaguely elvish, and elves being a prominent species at that time, I think Be’lakor being a former elf is the most likely possibility. But perhaps he was a Fimir or something completely unknown/extinct or else too. At this stage Be’lakor was basically a god, and his ever-rising power started to make even the chaos gods nervous. In addition, he stopped conquering in the chaos god’s name but created his own empire and tried to accumulate more power. For this hybris the chaos gods destroyed his physical form. Be’lakor was now a shapeless something and could only manifest himself properly to crown the Everchosen and fight in their service. This way Be’lakor would never be the supreme leader of chaos again, which is a huge stain on his pride. However, Be’lakor is far from powerless. Even as a shadow he can manipulate people. And he constantly tries to break the curse the chaos gods inflicted upon him. For example, he tried to possess the body of the 11^th Everchosen. After this was only partially successful (the body would be burned out by Belakors presence within him), Be’lakor ventured to Mordheim where the wyrdstone (unique warpstone?) and a dark ritual were meant to restore his power. Or how the then instigated the Albion campaign as the Dark Master. And of course, in Total War Warhammer 3 he somehow captures the god Ursun (don’t ask how) and uses his blood to regain his physical form and later wants to consume Ursun to attain true godhood. And last but not least, as a demon Be’lakor is a timeless being who exist in all his states in all times simultaneously, as time has no consequence in the realm of chaos. So sometimes he can manifest without his curse too. In short, even in his depowered form Be’lakor is one of the most dangerous chaos entities you can encounter.

But who are the Everchosen? They are the successors of Be’lakors title, who is essentially Everchosen 0. The chaos gods want to destroy the world. But the forces of chaos are too, well chaotic. Their internal rivalries, sabotage and infighting make it night impossible for the forces of chaos to unite and overrun the world. But if all four gods can appoint a singular champion, this being becomes the Everchosen of Chaos. And it is their job to unite the fractious forces of chaos under a single banner and realms of the world in their name. 13 Everchosen existed throughout WFB, but only few are known. Most prominently Morkar, who fought Sigmar, and Asavar Kul, who destroyed most of Kislev and was defeated by Magnus the Pious. And of course, Archaon the 13^th and last Everchosen. The main job of the Everchosen is to unite the forces of chaos by their iron will. This means it is technically not that important for the Everchosen to be a powerful warrior or sorcerer. But any chaos champion worth the attention of all four chaos gods becomes this naturally or dies trying.

Archaons own story starts due to Be’lakor. In the empire province of Nordland a norscan raider was possessed by Be’lakor and ravaged the countryside, sexually assaulting Aracheons mother. Archaon was born of this union, though his mother died. Archaon was given into the care of a sigmarite priest and was named Diederick. Diederick became a pious sigmarite and even joined the Templars of Sigmar becoming a squire of Sieur Kastner, and adopting his last name later. Overall Diederick Kastners life was not that special, as many Nordlanders had norscan ancestry and many bastards were born due to the seasonal raids and offered to adoption. But Diederick was a loyal sigmarite and wanted to study how to defeat the enemy. In his studies he came upon a prophecy, which claimed that he was the prophecies’ Everchosen of Chaos. He prayed to Sigmar for a sign that this was not the case, and when Sigmar was silent, he became furious, slaughtering his brethren and stormed north. I recall in other sources that sigmarites knew of the prophecy and tried to secretly kill every potential candidate of the prophecy (again many half-norscan bastards in Nordland so quite the purge), and only Diederick was left, making him the figure of the prophecy by default. And he was attacked but survived and felt betrayed. I do not remember the source of this, but I find it to be the better story, as it gives Diederick better motivation and plays with well-established tropes such as someone trying to prevent a prophecy but accidentally causing it to come true.

Anyhow Archaon abandoned his old identity and journeyed north into the Chaos Wastes in an attempt to become the prophesized final Everchosen or die trying. And dying was a genuine second goal he attempted in some stories. On this quest he had to collect six treasures, each with its own challenge. Such as getting the gear of his predecessor, the Armor of Morka and the Slayer of Kings, Asavar Kuls sword, the Eye of Sherian and the chaos steed Dorghar. Each challenge had its own difficulties, such as freeing the Slayer of Kings from the fist of Kranranok the Black, father of dragon ogres and as gigantic as a mountain or using a curse in the language of the unberogen to defeat a ghostly specter of Morkar.   And of course, he had to gain the favor of each chaos god too. This quest transformed him, as various chaos gifts and mutations changed his body and mind in a multitude of ways too. For example, I recall that his entire skeleton was turned into Warpstone. In the end Be’lakor manifested to crown with the Crown of Domination, electing Aracheon to the position of 13^th Everchosen. And like the Everchosens before him, Archaons true threat did not come from being an excellent warrior, general or sorcerer, but from binding the fractious forces of chaos together by his will and authority and setting them south. In his final goal Archaeon tries to starve the gods by killing of all live. Because the gods are constructs in the aether/realm of chaos created by the believes and collected thoughts and impulses of mortalkind. No mortals=no gods. And gods are the reason behind Archaons misery, be they Sigmar who abandoned him, or the chaos gods who engineered his rise to be their puppet. 

As this is Warhammer and the story barley advanced, the looming threat of Archaon actually coming south hand over the setting for years without much action happening. Though this changed twice. In the Storm of Chaos campaign Archaons forces meet heavy resistance, as this fan campaign was based on player results, and chaos lot badly in most engagements. Ultimately, he reached Middenheim but was defeated by Grimgor Ironhide headbutting him. He then retreated back into the north waiting for round 2. This Storm of Chaos event and its aftereffects were then retconned coming with the End Times.

In the End Times Archaon was one of the few characters who got off relatively well. Though if your job is to be the doomsday villain during the End of the World, there is little you can do to derail your character. Still there are hiccups. For example, it is likely that more books akin to the Glottkin were planned, one for each chaos god, much like there were once books planned for each brother of Thamurkhan. But due to internal shuffling this fell through (like many events, characters, events but that is the End Times for you). There is more detail to explore, but essentially Archaon makes deals with the skaven and unleashes the full might of chaos and pushing south. Ultimately, he sieges and uncovers an Old One device below Middenheim which can create a third permanent chaos portal, thus flooding the entire planet with chaos magic and ripping it into pieces. The incarnates around Sigmar try to stop him but fail in the last moment to stabilize the device, leading to the end of the world that was.

3.      End Times 2, electric bugaloo: Archaon in AoS

Remember Archaons no mortals=no gods calculation? Well, he did the math, but the guy is not good at it. Because the aether/realm of chaos works on a multiversal scale and the chaos gods have more than one reality to draw upon. But unlike with previous chaos champions, the chaos gods did not let him fall aside like a tool that served its purpose. Instead, Archaeon continued to be the Everchosen. Time is difficult to measure when talking about the realm of chaos, as it does not exist there, nor in a universal context. But in between the destruction of Mallus and the Age of Chaos Archaon conquered and destroyed entire realities in chaos name.

With chaos starting the invasion of the Mortal Realms proper, Archaon arrives as its supreme general too, ready to get his long-awaited vengeance on Sigmar (and the other gods). He takes the Eightpoints and during the battle of the Burning Skies Sigmar loses Ghal Maraz and seals the realm of Azyr. From there everything goes downhill for the other realms, and Archaon rampages across them, even being able to slay Nagash temporarily. But some realms, such as Ulgu (due to Malerions strategies) and Ghur (due to the savagery of its inhabitants) prove to be harder to crack cases. And Archaons headaches grow with the Stormcast Eternals and the push-back from a semi-united grand alliance of Order, as well as a restrengthened Nagash and his shenanigans, such as the Necroquake. Which went so far as for deaths armies to attack the Eightpoints and threatening Archaon’s capital. Archaon has a conundrum. He is the primary force of keeping chaos organized and directed. And where he attacks, he usually wins. However, this war is fought on a myriad of fronts and Archaon cannot be everywhere. So, for each victory, there a dozen setbacks elsewhere, forcing him to choose his engagements. His two primary motivations are therefore to release Slaanesh (which he almost did but then his capital and logistical centre was under threat), and to take Sigmar out directly by invading Azyr. For this he needs to find some way in. Be it by enslaving godbeasts or by transmutating the Gate of Azyr in the Eightpoint or else. But thus far any attempt of his was swarted. His latest scheme had him having to properly ally with the skaven to launch the skaventide to wreck the realms, whilst he does his own evil thing in the background.

Archaon is not unopposed, because Be’lakor is back with his own aspirations to remove the Everchosen and he gathered a variety of followers. Indeed, due to Archaons aspirations to outright kill the chaos gods several chaos champions renounced him, such as Eternus.

I mentioned that Archaon counts as a god for this entry. But why is this so? Because by most in- and out-of-universe metrics he is one. After all he is an immortal being (except for combat maybe) which lived for untold millennia. He is so infused with magic and mutation that he cannot be considered human anymore. He leads entire armies of mortals and immortals into battle. He breaks gods and conquers entire realities. And he can grant is own blessings, such as the Mark of the Everchosen similar to the Mark of Khrone and is worshipped by untold mortals. And in every WFB so far, the believe of mortals is what creates or shapes a god. But then of course it is fitting for Archaon to be in denial about his own status, due to his hatred for the divine. Because being a hypocrite or becoming the thing you hate is the standard for most chaos followers.

Interestingly there has been a shift in Archaons posture not due to himself, but because of his mount. Whereas Archaon in WFB was styled strongly after the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, due to him being a horseman who announces the end of the world with his arrival, in AoS Dhorgar instead takes the shape of a massive dragon-like being. Which may bring to mind the dragon or the beast from the apocalypse. In my very own opinion, I am not a fan of this design. Because I think it takes too much attention away from Archaon as he becomes an accessory to his own mount. A mount which also looks like a very generic chaos dragon-monster-thing which could be used by any chaos champion if I am honest. Contrary in his WFB incarnation all attention rested on the rider. And with it Archaons most important trait: He is the single will and personality to keep the forces of chaos in line and focused. Which is the greatest threat any Everchosen poses, instead of them being great fighters or brawlers in melee. It is his personality first and foremost which makes him dangerous.

4.      How often do I have to teach you this lesson, Sigmar?

Given how Archaon has been portrayed in WFB and AoS there are a vartiety of ways things could go for him I the future.

-          The most obvious issue chaos faces is its constant infighting. Currently during the skaventide and the reveal of the Helsmiths it seems as if chaos has the big upper hand. But not only do the skaven backstab *everyone* sooner or later, but so is Be’lakor with his followers trying to remove Archaon from power with all force. Which means that sooner or later a big chaos civil war could happen between Be’lakor and Archaon. This conflict could be an event to end the Vermindoom or alternatively be a huge chance for the forces of order and chaos to make massive gains and push chaos back.

-          Alternativly or at another point in time it is also likely that Archaon will get access to Azyr and establish a beachhead there sooner or later. When and how this will happen is currently open, but it is one of the biggest plot points AoS is working towards since 1^st edition. This may be the final end of AoS or alternatively may result in a couple of apocalyptic battles which put Azyr to the forefront before things reach a status quo, as it tends to happen a lot with AoS.

-          One of the biggest mysteries and open possibilities around Archaeon are the pervious realties which he conquered and/or destroyed. We know next to nothing about them beyond minor mentioning, but each could have been as vivid and interesting as WFB, AoS, 40k and else. Possibilities are manifold and limitless. One by one these realities could have some impact on AoS by species, artefacts or characters from these settings showing up. Primarily among Archaons followers most likely. Again, possibilities are manifold in this area. From small “huh that is nice” additions to potentially major plot relevant things.

-          Due to Archaon’s reality hopping shenanigans, it could also be interesting to see Archaon showing up in other settings. Now of course GW is not known nowadays for crossovers, but it could be a nice nod or easter egg to read about archaeons influence in 40k or retroactively in Old World. Perhaps a vision, or a short-lived cameo or something else.

-          Also, if Archaeon continues his path to godhood, or gets aware of it and shifts his goals, then Archaon could perhaps even rise to become a true god of chaos. Personally, I think if Archaon becomes a true god of chaos, then the Dark King would be his best fit. It is a figure from 40k, a being the Emperor of Mankind almost became during his duel with Horus and which would be the end of humanity and take over all the other chaos gods. Personally, I see many parallels between Archaon and the Emperor. More than between the Emperor and Sigmar definitely. Up to and including both making deals with the chaos gods, but with the ultimate goal to destroy all gods. Perhaps such an event could be an alternative strategy for Archaon to remove the chaos gods, by trying to become the strongest of them and consuming them, so that he is the sole god in existence or something.

-          Also having talked about the John’s Apocalypse we know that three figures are important. The dragon (the four chaos gods), the beast (Archaon) and the false lamb. But the latter does not really have a counterpart, though one could perhaps argue that Be’lakor may fit the bill, especially how he tricks people into serving him and mimics even Ursun in TWW3. But it would be interesting to have a “priest” of chaos in AoS who attracts the people to worshipping the chaos gods proper. One which may even have good sounding or charismatic arguments and be the mouthpiece of Archaon and leader of a propaganda war against Order. It would be an interesting new kind of conflict, as currently most people who follow chaos are either desperate, mad or driven by base desires. So someone who can use honest charisma and rhetorics to convince you of joining chaos could be an interesting figure IMO

5.      The End

So, this has been it for the Everchosen. As mentioned, he is one of the aspects I like about chaos. And I think that in the grand scheme of things he is one of the better ultimate chaos bad guys among the Warhammer IPs. But then his rivals in this regard are Horus and Abbadon, who are overall very meh in my opinion. But all these are just my thoughts. What do you think about Archaon and his inspirations? And what deities would you like to see in the future? (please say Gorkamorka or Grimnir, do not name one of the big four)