Loremachine – Stories from beyond the shore
The Dread Armada has haunted the seas of Western Immoren for centuries, carrying Cryx’s dead, damned, and bloodthirsty warriors wherever the Dragonfather’s will demands. In this week’s Loremachine, we take a closer look at the Dread Armada itself, from the ancient lich lords that command it to the pirates and monsters who have made the sea their hunting ground. Each fleet brings their own history, methods, and ambitions to the Dread Armada, but together they make one thing clear – when the Dread Armada sets sail, death comes in with the tide.
Time to hand over our resident Loremaster, Sherwin, to tell us more…
Want to know when the Dread Armada sets sail? Join the Warmachine 3D Dread Armada FronTier to follow its journey and get notified when the fleet is ready to make landfall. And keep an eye on the horizon, when we’ll introduce the characters at the helm later this month.
The Dread Armada
For centuries outsiders held little awareness of the vast power of Cryx. The dragon god Toruk created the Nightmare Empire to serve his needs and spent over a millennium shaping it into a weapon that could extend his reach across the continent; to the mainland nations, however, Cryx only seemed a remote and mysterious threat, a place of criminals and fanciful stories of undead horrors, with few witnesses to verify the atrocities ascribed to either.
Nonetheless, mainlanders avoided the seas and islands along the western coast, and for centuries there was little contact with Cryxians beyond sporadic clashes with pirates. Survivors spoke of dread vessels which blazed with an unholy and unquenchable fire and of strange soul-burning machines that emerged from the waves to slaughter the unwary before disappearing back into the mists. Yet, as terrifying as the attacks were, they occurred rarely enough that afterward the people of the Iron Kingdoms reacted as they might to a bad dream dispelled by the coming of dawn. The next day there would be nothing done beyond starting fresh while nervously watching the ever-changing sea.
The apparent randomness of the attacks disguised the scope of Cryxian machination. Raids against shipping and isolated coastal villages increased over time, but most still dismissed this as a distant danger. What their limited perspectives could not perceive was that a great plan lay behind these movements, and even the smallest attack was carefully orchestrated by the tireless lich lords, undead rulers chosen directly by Toruk to supervise his empire and control his armies.
The Fleets of the Broken Coast
The nature of the Nightmare Empire’s fleets was influenced by the character of Toruk’s first servants, and has continued in the same vein ever since. These lich lords were born of twelve pirate kings who bowed to Lord Toruk at the fortress now known as Dragon’s Roost, and were rewarded with immortality so they could serve as the overlords of his new empire.
With an extensive but disparate armada arising from several distinct pirate forces, Cryx has long been one of the premier naval powers of Western Immoren, and the fleets of the Cryxian navy have served as the face of the Nightmare Empire for hundreds of years.
For centuries Lich Lord Terminus has held oversight of the Dread Armada, though in recent times he has granted full command to Skarre Ravenmane, recognizing her fearsome skill and unwavering loyalty to the Dragonfather. That decision immediately unleashed the full fury of Cryx’s naval power upon the western seaboard, whose ports were battered with a punishing frequency not seen since the Scharde Invasions of Vinter Raelthorne’s rule. These attacks ranged as far north as Khador’s most frozen ports and intruded across the heavily patrolled Gulf of Cygnar, even unto the shores of the Protectorate of Menoth.
The dark heart of the Cryxian armada is the widely-feared Black Fleet. Skarre personally leads this arm of the navy, and her fellow satyxis make up a larger proportion of the fleet’s crews and officers than is seen in the other fleets. The island of Satyx was blighted a millennium ago by the blood of a dying dragon, raining from above as Toruk consumed his progeny’s athanc. Its people were already immersed in a culture of sacrifice and blood ritual when the blight fell and transformed them; when the Dragonfather appeared to the survivors, they immediately prostrated themselves before their new god. The satyxis have since served Toruk as bloodthirsty witches and pirate raiders.
The mere sight of one of these blackships is regarded as a sign of imminent and certain doom. They are accompanied by their own weather, unearthly winds filling their sails and unnaturally thick fog concealing their approach. Derived from closely guarded secrets stolen from the Orgoth, these ships are more than the equal of the most powerful vessels of the mortal navies, among which only modern ironhulls are able to stand against them.
In addition to being among the most formidable warships ever created, blackships have the capacity to carry large numbers of soldiers, helljacks, and other supplies to invasion forces. The Black Fleet has rarely been released in full force, and the admirals of the Iron Kingdoms often underestimate its size. They instead view Cryx’s nautical strength through the skewed lens of encounters with the chaotic Pirate Fleet.
A diverse group which is primarily made up of sailing vessels liberated from other nations, the Pirate Fleet is the largest but most loosely ordered of Cryx’s fleets. Indeed, it operates more as a collection of ships that typically sail together than a single cohesive group. These vessels include the largest diversity of crewmen, including humans, blighted trollkin, ogrun, gobbers, satyxis, and undead wraiths.
Because its numerous vessels are crewed by willful and bloodthirsty scoundrels of volatile temperament, the Pirate Fleet has historically been difficult to control and coordinate. Recent efforts by Skarre have helped to bring these vessels more in line and ensure their obedience. In addition to being used to mount chaotic attacks on mainland shipping for plunder, Pirate Fleet ships have long been involved in the smuggling trade, the only true commerce between Cryx and the mainland. Their ability to find even marginal welcome at smugglers’ ports and seedy pirate dens has made them a valued asset of Cryxian intelligence.
The Ghost Fleet has fewer vessels and crew than either the Black Fleet or Ghost Fleet. Though not as fast or deadly as blackships, the spectral flotilla’s craft have their own advantages. They are pushed by unseen winds, regenerate from damage sustained with unnatural alacrity, and are crewed by seemingly indestructible sentient spirits rather than living men. All but the most powerful mortal fleets turn sail at the first sighting of one of these ghastly vessels looming ahead, green flames eternally flickering along their decks, rigging, and crew.
The sailors of the Ghost Fleet are all beholden to Admiral Rengrave, who has the distinction of being Toruk’s first vassal and Cryx’s first citizen. His funereal flagship Atramentous, an enormous blackened dirgenmast, is the most ancient ship sailing the Meredius. To be boarded by her revenants is to face eternal torment, and many sailors choose to end their lives rather than endure that terrible fate.
A final and considerably smaller flotilla known as the Slaughter Fleet exists primarily as transports for an army of blighted trollkin, led by a warlord named Gerlak Slaughterborn.
After the fall of the Molgur, many trollkin kriels settled on the Scharde Islands. Close enough to be affected by the Dragonfather’s potent blight, these trollkin have had their flesh and minds twisted irrevocably, becoming quite different from their mainland cousins. They developed an insatiable taste for flesh and eagerly participate in the Nightmare Empire’s conflicts. The island kriels feud among themselves but have been forcibly united under the leadership of Slaughterborn. Following his commands, the blighted trollkin have participated in some of the bloodiest missions imaginable, often undertaking assignments with minimal chance for survival. On the battlefield, these trollkin massacre any in their path, pausing only to feast on the dead.
Though the various Cryxian fleets consist of disparate and sometimes mutually hostile crews, they put aside animosity when coming together for raids. The terrifying entities that crew these vessels are accompanied by amphibious helljacks like the Deep Stalker, which can be dropped into the water before the ships land, rising from the depths to terrorize coastal defenders during assaults. Raiding tactics usually involve routing panicked enemies through sheer press of numbers. It may not be subtle, but this technique is undeniably effective.dread
By The Dead Sea, A Bloody Dawn and a Watery Grave
Whereas the pirates of the northern seas may demand their targets surrender or negotiate terms such as the relinquishment of cargo, the pirates of the Scharde Islands know no such niceties. Vessels in the Dread Armada fire upon ships without warning, and once their pirates board, they either slaughter the entire crew or force them into chains. These boarding parties are merciless, swinging their crude axes and machetes like madmen amid more deranged howls and war cries.
Those taken aboard the Dread Armada’s slave ships are destined for a fate worse than death. Either they will suffer as galley slaves after being sold in Blackwater’s markets, or be dissected by the Nightmare Empire’s necrosurgeons and become undead thralls. Dread Armada pirates have no sense of morality to which captives can appeal, and any who make trouble are summarily executed, as their abductors know a corpse still holds value.
Within the last half century the schemes of the lich lords have reached a critical point. Coastal raids were but deceptions to mask greater troop movements and incursions by which the Dragonfather’s minions were transported to the mainland in unprecedented numbers. Since then Cryxian forces have been active throughout Western Immoren, and taken part in several large scale conflicts.
Although this temporarily ended when the Nightmare Empire’s forces were decimated during the Infernal War, the armies of undeath are eternal. In time, the Dragonfather’s forces will arise once more to lay waste to the petty kingdoms of humanity, enslaving them in death and preparing the army of his final victory—and the Dread Armada will be both the vehicle for bringing the instrument of that conquest to Western Immoren, and the snare that captures any who seek to escape their bleak fate.
Stories from beyond the shore
There’s plenty more lurking beyond the Dread Armada’s black sails. If you’ve enjoyed getting to know the captains and warcasters of Cryx, dive deeper into the wider Iron Kingdoms with a Warmachine app subscription, where you’ll find the stories, rivalries, and secrets of its factions, heroes, and villains.
Fancy yourself a captain of the damned? Climb aboard the Warmachine 3D Dread Armada FronTier and get your name on the crew list. When the black sails appear on the horizon, you’ll be the first to know. Keep your cutlass close, your powder dry, and whatever you do, don’t be the last ship to spot the fleet.
