Loremachine – Skarre, Queen of the Dread Armada
The dead don’t need ships. They need somewhere to take them.
In this week’s Loremachine, we head back to the dark waters of Western Immoren to meet one of the most infamous figures sailing beneath Cryx's black banners:
Skarre Ravenmane, Queen of the Dread Armada.
Available on FronTiers in STL form from October 15 (follow here for updates!), Skarre is infamous throughout the Iron Kingdoms. Resident loremaster, Sherwin, is here to tell us why…
Skarre Ravenmane is the bloodthirsty ruler of the Satyxis, a fierce people blighted by ancient dragon blood to become something more than human. Her bloodline is famed among her people, but for the Satyxis the right to lead is not inherited, but proven in battle.
Skarre seized leadership through strength and cunning. Even as a youth, she took to the waves and dominated her kind through the power of her magic and strength of her will. For decades anxious mainland admirals and captains entrusted to guard the coastline tried and failed to predict her movements; any foolish enough to confront her were destroyed to fuel her legend.
Sacrifice is vital to Skarre’s dark magic. She reads portents and auguries in every kill and claims Lord Toruk speaks to her through the entrails of her victims. At all times she carries with her a millennia-old ritual dagger used to drain the energies binding her comrades together—living or dead, willing or captive—fueling its enchantments. Alive with stolen essence, the blade can unleash a powerful curse upon Skarre’s foes. She is swift to employ this dagger to wrack her victims with gut-wrenching pain that leaves behind twisted, broken corpses.
Throughout her rise to leadership of the Black Fleet, Skarre was carried in the currents of destiny alone, but the intrigues of the Nightmare Empire’s lich lords profoundly changed her path. Fate conspired that Skarre was at the center of the conflict between lich lords that began with the destruction of Lich Lord Daeamortus and the ascension of Asphyxious to that rank, and concluded with the titanic clash between Lich Lords Asphyxious and Terminus.
Understanding the threat posed to the Nightmare Empire by Asphyxious’ grandiose ambitions, Skarre joined Terminus when he marched on the Temple Garrodh. Although the subsequent battle was ultimately a success, it was won at great cost.
In defeat Asphyxious invoked a spiteful revenge that banished Terminus from Caen and caused the temple to collapse around the pirate queen. Surrounded by destruction and in a place where the walls between life and death were stretched to their thinnest, Skarre’s vision awakened in a rush of powerful insight. She could trace the individual strands of destiny connecting the souls of the living and the dead and, in doing so, saw the means to restore Terminus and to repair the plans of the Dragonfather.
In the aftermath, a returned Terminus recognized Skarre’s true potential, accepting her as his vassal and entrusting her with the command of the entire Cryxian fleet.
For many years, Skarre has been the scourge of the western seaboard. Her utter mastery of the Satyxis’ blood-fueled witchcraft allows her to stand at the center of fate’s web with full awareness of the endless possible outcomes for every decision. Auguries of blood and shadow guide her hand as, with singular vision and inhuman ruthlessness, she commands her fleets toward the terrible destiny that will best serve the Nightmare Empire.
The Queen of the Dread Armada may be a creature of flesh and blood, but she stands equal with immortals as she manipulates the tides of war. She has all the resources of a lich lord at her disposal as she leads an army of Satyxis, revenants, ogrun, thralls, and helljacks in merciless destruction.
Her orders are to open a war front over two thousand miles long, one that stretches across four nations. There is no coastal city or village within Khador, Ord, Cygnar, or even the Protectorate of Menoth that is safe from Skarre’s bloody gaze.
Cryx’s Dread Armada is more than a fleet. It’s a collection of killers, monsters, pirates, and warlords, each driven by their own dark purpose to sail beneath the Dragonfather’s banner.
Their stories stretch back centuries, and the next chapter is about to unfold.
Where will you stand when death sets sail? Cryx Dread Armada, a new Prime army for Warmachine, launches October 15 in STL form for you to print, paint, and play. Follow the campaign for updates.
Want to dive deeper into the Iron Kingdoms? A Warmachine app subscription unlocks the stories, rivalries, and secrets behind its armies, heroes, and villains, giving you plenty more lore to uncover.
