Seraphon

The **Seraphon** are a race of intelligent reptilian humanoids who are the eternal foes of Chaos and champions of Order.

Older than memory, existing for aeons unrecorded, the Seraphon have ever waged an unending, savage war against the forces of Chaos. Descending to strike a vengeful blow against the Dark Gods for the destruction of their beloved World That Was aeons ago, as the Age of Sigmar dawns, they seek to bring order to the Mortal Realms.

Summoned by the incredible power of the Slann Starmasters, they materialize from the energy of the stars themselves - nimble Skinks, predatory Saurus and hulking Kroxigor, each intent on destroying the forces that have corrupted and darkened the Mortal Realms almost beyond repair. Wrought of purest star-magic, the Seraphon are true beings of Azyr.

## **History**

Tales tell of how during the Age of Myth the Great Drake, Dracothion, came to guide the Seraphon to the Mortal Realms. From across the gulf of eternity, Dracothion beheld the glittering vessels of the Seraphon as they drifted like motes of dust through the darkness. Overcome with curiosity for these strange alien objects, he sought them out. When the star drake drew closer, he sensed the minds of the Slann, and within their thoughts a heady mixture of loss and rage.

Communing with the ancient seers, Dracothion had a vision of the death of the World That Was. Weeping in anger, the Great Drake let out a piercing cry that echoed through the void. Drawn to this godly lament, the slann turned the course of their vessels towards its source, following the blazing silver stars that were Dracothion's tears. Thus did the Seraphon reach the Realm of Azyr and take their place within the heavens. Time and their long journey across the void have taken their toll upon the Slann.

Many have been slain in the relentless war with the Dark Gods, while others have simply vanished, lost to the slow march of ages and the endless battles that wrack the Mortal Realms. However, some live on despite the death of their bodies as spirits trapped within desiccated mortal forms -- creatures of celestial magic more than flesh and blood.

Greatest among these is Lord Kroak, believed by the Slann to be the oldest of their kind. Filled with the light of Azyr, Kroak is a vessel of immense arcane power, and though his body may be withered and useless, battlefields still tremble before his mighty incantations.

### Warriors of the Stars

Legends tell of an empire within the stars, far above even the highest towers of Sigmaron or the light of Sigendil that burns above it. Beyond the reach of all but the Slann themselves, this is the place where the Seraphon dwell, waiting for the call of the Starmasters.

The Woad Lords of the Forest of Clawstell stories of vessels that can sail between worlds. They believe that the Seraphon are on an endless crusade, and that the Mortal Realms are but one battlefield they fight upon. The prophets of the Whispering Tower claim the Seraphon are fashioned of daemon-stuff, but all that is known for sure is that they do not appear without the presence of the Slann.

From the gestalt memory of these ancient seers are the Seraphon given shape. Heralded by the blazing light of Azyr, the Seraphon manifest. No mortal or daemon can bear to look upon their coming as the army solidifies, materializing from the falling starlight like embers cast forth from flame.

### Masters of Order

It is the purpose of the Slann Starmasters to bring about order and an era of perfect structure to the universe. Such an undertaking can be brought about in myriad ways, but there is one inescapable truth – the Chaos Gods seek to undo this plan.

As the will of the Slann made manifest, it is little wonder that the Seraphon are the bitter enemies of Chaos. Ever since the gaze of the Dark Gods first fell upon the Mortal Realms, these celestial being have fought them. Yet the Slann are few when compared to the teeming armies of darkness.

Chaos has grown powerful during an age of blood, and the Seraphon must choose their battles wisely. But with the rising storm, the Seraphon now have allies to their cause. At last, there is a chance to turn back the tide.

Swift and merciless is the Seraphon way of war, their resolution to banish Chaos absolute. Through arcane might and primal savagery, their armies slay damned tyrants, cast down skull-studded fortresses and seal corrupted Realmgates, all in the name of preserving order.

The true power of the Seraphon, however, lies not in their magic or strength of arms, but in the unfathomable plan that guides their every deed. The Dark Gods have learnt little during their long war with the Seraphon, as they still bicker and fight among themselves. The Slann, however, have pondered long and carefully upon how best to destroy their foe.

To the Slann, the Mortal Realms are a great game board upon which the armies of Chaos will be fought and defeated. Placing each piece with precision, they are able to look many moves ahead of their enemy, engaging them in battle when and where they choose. Step by step, they manipulate fate to bring about the final defeat of Chaos.

Despite this unity of purpose, the Seraphon are also a divided race. Each Slann, and the cohorts of warriors they summon, is but a fragment of a long dead civilization, and each has their own view of how the war for the Mortal Realms should be waged.

The Slann will often endure millennia of solitude, only rarely connecting with their kin. In this time, each individual Slann pursues their own campaign against the servants of Chaos or those that would stand in the way of perfect order for the realms.

When many Slann gather for war it heralds a truly momentous battle -- the stars themselves move into alignment, promising the destruction of empires. In such instances the Seraphon are at their strongest, their celestial might almost unrivalled.

Though the Slann seem to care nothing for the stories of mortals, the myth of the Seraphon spreads across the Mortal Realms with each battle. Tales like that of Toc-choa the Bringer of the Celestial Dawn, who vanquished a horde of Khornate chariot riders with the cosmic light of a hundred Engines of the Gods; Qulaqal the Master of the Seven Falling Stars, who laid siege to the bubonic Dreadhold of Scaramath; and Kurkori the Dreaming Seer of the Nightmare War, who slew the great daemon Balagrex on the shores of the ever-burning sea.

Mortal concerns of time or space hold little meaning for the Slann. Such is their power that they are able to bridge the vast distances between the stars and the realms in an instant. They appear at will, their warriors never more than a thought away.

Unlike a mortal army, or even Sigmar's Stormcast Eternals, the Seraphon need not muster before great bastions or stand in ranks awaiting the order to march. They are in a permanent state of battle-readiness, materializing within the Mortal Realms as the first horns of battle blare and then vanishing once more when the object of their wrath is utterly destroyed.

The arrival of a Seraphon force can take many forms, such is the power and scope of the magic the Slann use to summon them. Some ride down from the heavens upon falling stars, while others appear in beams of sunlight striking down through dark, roiling clouds. Their arrival is invariably swift, and usually unexpected.

As long as the Slann lives, fresh warriors can be called from Azyr to tip the balance of a battle. Those few who have fought against the Seraphon and survived speak of cohorts of troops suddenly appearing on their flanks, or great saurian beasts manifesting deep within their ranks, at the merest gesture from their Slann master.

The Seraphon strike at places of the darkest power, seeking them out for their connection to the Chaos Gods rather than for any tactical reason a mortal general might understand. Over centuries of war, countless sites where the followers of the Dark Gods have tainted the ground with their profane worship have felt the Seraphon's wrath.

The Pillars of Nightmares, hung with the gilded skulls of a thousand offerings, the thrice-forged Wheel of Bones, crafted from the screaming corpses of the peoples of the Shadowloom Vale, or the Blood Gallows, formed from a thousand beating hearts – all were terrifying monuments to the Dark Gods cast into ruin by the Seraphon. Where once could be heard the frenzied exultations of Chaos zealots, there is only the sound of the wind howling over fields of fang-scored bones.

### Allies for the first time

Into the Gorevale marched the Slann and their cohorts, to the place where Sigmar's Stormcast Eternals were locked in furious battle with the Khornate hordes of the Bloodbound. For the first time, Stormcast and seraphon laid eyes upon one another, and in that moment knew they shared a common foe.

As one they loosed their fury, the howling warriors of Khorne slain by Sigmarite hammers and celestite clubs. In the battle to purge the Gorevale of the Bloodbound, the Seraphon attacked with untamed savagery. Though never a word passed between the enigmatic saurian warriors and Sigmar's chosen, both knew when and where to strike.

When the last idols of the Gorevale were cast down and the wild-eyed priests of the Bloodbound put to the sword, the Stormcast Eternals watched as their seeming allies returned to the stars. Sigmarite hammers were held high in salute as the Seraphon vanished in beams of starlight. Neither were to know that many more foes would soon face the combined might of Stormcast and Seraphon.

### Timeline

#### *The Dark Gods Triumphant*

The Seraphon's empire perishes in a storm of Chaos at the hands of the Dark Gods. Their homelands on the World That Was destroyed, the Seraphon escape into the stars. The slann -- greatest of wizards -- guide the race beyond the reach of the Ruinous Powers, though they are forced to watch their beloved world die, consumed by the tide of Chaos energies, as they sail into the void.

* **A Rain of Stars** - Across Aqshy, stars fall from the sky and strange lights glow on the horizon. In the wake of these celestial phenomena, a dozen Chaos fortresses are mysteriously reduced to rubble.
* **The World Orrery Awakens** - High above the ruined City of Forges, the vast World Orrery begins to move. Upon its colossal spars and wheels, a war is fought between reptilian warriors and screaming Chaos worshippers, sending broken bodies raining down into the city below.
* **The Blood Moons Rise** - After butchering the tribes of the Glass Isle, Vergore Hooktongue gives praise to Khorne as three crimson moons rise above the battlefield. However, as the isle is bathed in ruddy light, the moons suddenly blaze a brilliant azure and a Sunclaw Starhost explodes into being. Screaming to his wrathful god, Vergore leads his army against the tide of saurian warriors, pleased to finally face a worthy foe. Soon, his body lies broken among the torn and bloody remains of his victims.
* **The Forgotten Army** - The Slann Yuqal-tak is slain upon the Basalt Shores by a Greater Daemon of Nurgle, yet his saurian army is nonetheless victorious. The Seraphon continue to fight the broken Chaos forces before finally fading into starlight.
* **An Idol of Doom** - The Orruk warboss, Rurgort Bonecracker, builds a towering idol to Gorkamorka atop the Screaming Hills. As the final piece is jammed into place, a Shadowstrike Starhost takes shape in the Orruk camp. A bloody battle ensues which sees Rurgort crushed by the falling effigy, and the Seraphon vanish as abruptly as they arrived.
* **The Bridge of Sorrows** - An ancient Realmgate between Shyish and Ulgu is reopened, causing the corrupting energies of Chaos to seep into both realms. Even as daemons and undead do battle, an army of Firelance Starhosts intervenes, smashing their way through both sides in order to seal the flickering gateway.
* **A Conclave of Seers** - As the Age of Chaos rages, a dozen slann gather beneath the slowly moving stars of Azyr. In a telepathic council that spans centuries, they perfect their plans to destroy the Dark Gods and the dominion of Chaos. When at last they depart, it is to gather their armies within the Mortal Realms, for a new phase of their great war is about to begin.
* **The Temple of Dead Gods** - The Slaaneshi Herald Clepsyrian seeks signs of her master in the Temple of Dead Gods. From shafts of starlight spearing down from the edifice’s cracked dome, Seraphon coalesce into being. The hosts of Azyr succeed in driving Clepsyrian’s daemons back, and visit upon her a fate far worse than mere banishment.

#### *The Slann Return and the Stars Align*

Seraphon armies appear across the realms in ever greater numbers, their arrival heralded by falling stars and strange constellations. In their fear and awe, primitive cultures begin to worship these mighty reptilian star gods, but the forces of Chaos recognize the Seraphon for the threat they pose to the plans of the Dark Gods. Soon, the might of the Slann is felt far and wide when for the first time in an age, the stars of Azyr fall into perfect alignment. The power of the Seraphon waxes full, and scores of Slann turn their attention to the Mortal Realms. Azyr blazes bright in the night sky across the realms as a vital part of the Slann’s plan begins. For reasons known only to the ancient wizards, a dozen champions of Chaos and their followers are brought to battle and utterly destroyed.

* **Splintered Shadows** - The Copper King of the Forge Vales pledges his people to Tzeentch in a ritual that lasts for ninety-nine lunar cycles. Yet as the ritual ends it is not the Changer of Ways who appears, but the Seraphon, who show them no mercy.
* **The City of Cogs** - The Seers of Nizt craft a device that predicts the movements of the stars. As it starts spinning, it reveals a strange celestial motion – moments before the Seraphon attack.
* **The Pits of Filth** - In the Runnel Pits of Ghur, the skaven breed festering horrors. Descending from the heavens, the Slann Zectoka looses the fury of the Seraphon upon that foul place. Though a daemonic tide of filth rises up from the pits to consume his army, Zectoka summons the light of Azyr to burn away the rot and the Skaven alike.
* **The Flames Quenched** - The eternal flames of the Balefane are corrupted by Tzeentchian Arcanites, burning with insane rainbow hues. Though the cyclopean temple has stood for thousands of years, the Seraphon care not – their great beasts cast down its stones, and the Slann extinguish its ‘eternal’ flames as a scribe would a tallow-candle.

#### The Gatekeepers

As the Age of Chaos wracks the Mortal Realms, gateways between worlds are corrupted by followers of the Dark Gods. Though the Slann have no need of the gates to pass between realms, they understand their worth to the Ruinous Powers. With spells that set the stars to trembling, the Slann change the alignment of many gateways, altering forever where they lead.

* **A Hole in Chamon** - The frozen city of Aslandas vanishes into a giant sinkhole ringed with teeth. The maw grows until a meteor crashes into its depths, and sounds of battle carry up from the dark.
* **Wrath of the Sunlord** - When the Slann Toc-choa's foes conceal themselves in the shadows of the Gloomspire, he shifts the very heavens to illuminate their hiding place and blast them into oblivion.
* **The Temple of Blood** - Fueled by rivers of blood, Etoch Temple floats upon a sea of murdered souls. In a long and brutal war, the Seraphon destroy the great gore-locks that feed the temple. Starved of Khorne’s favor, the horrific structure’s towers and walls sink beneath the crimson waves.
* **Unexpected Redemption** - Harried to the Pits of Gargantua by the festering hordes of Clan Pestilens, Orruk warlord Gitslinger faces certain destruction until the stars unleash the celestial war host of Ku-Quar.

#### *Allies of Azyr*

Long in the making, Sigmar's Tempest booms out across the Mortal Realms. From the heavens, the Slann observe the Stormcast Eternals as they launch their first devastating assaults on the armies of the Dark Gods. Though the Seraphon make no pacts with Sigmar, the two share the same foes, and their armies proceed to scour the realms of Chaos in a storm of lightning and starlight.

* **The Stellar Cage** - The Arcanite Zagul plots to capture the Slann Tetolok in a maze of Tzeentchian sorcery, but the Starmaster turns the trap upon its maker, sealing Zagul in a prison made from a constellation of stars.
* **Fangs of Azyr** - The Slann Ockatla ends the Battle of Splintered Bones by conjuring a stampede of giant horned beasts. After the Seraphon depart, the creatures are left to roam free, forming vast earth-shaking herds.
* **The Geometric Tower** - The Seraphon raise the Geometric Tower upon the Dreaming Plains of Hysh. Its impossible angles are strange and terrible to behold.
* **Storm Among the Stars** - Sigmar's Tempest fills the skies of the Mortal Realms, and its fury is felt among even the stars of Azyr. Energized by the celestial gales generated by the storm, the Seraphon appear in great numbers to intensify their ancient war against the servants of the Ruinous Powers.
* **The Fortress of Embers** - In the form of a giant comet, Starmaster Zectoka descends upon Obsidia Isle. The comet falls amid a battle between Khorne's Bloodbound and the Stormcast Eternals, crashing down before the Fortress of Embers atop the island’s highest peak. Zectoka slays the Khornate lord Kaelgor with magic, heralding the Bloodbound's defeat. The Stormcasts offer their mysterious allies a warrior-salute, even as the Seraphon vanish and the isle falls to ruin around them.
* **The Plague God's Larder** - Foreseeing the rise of the Suppurating Lord from the corpse-womb of the Festering Gulch, the Slann Qulaqu brings the Seven Stars of Azyrandia into alignment, their celestial glow bathing the gulch in the light of the heavens. The Suppurating Lord’s army emerges from the corpse-strewn ground only to find a seraphon host waiting for them. As the stars wheel overhead and the sounds of battle rage, the might of the servants of Nurgle cut a swathe through the seraphon. And yet this is as Qulaqu has foreseen, and even as his army is butchered by the Chaos army, they soak the ground with their star ‘blood’, forever cleansing the Festering Gulch of its dark magic.

## **Military**

When the Seraphon march to war, cohorts of reptilian warriors are called down from the stars of Azyr. None but the Slann know for sure whence they hail, only that they appear as if from nowhere. Under golden icons they form up in disciplined ranks, even great saurian beasts awaiting the command of the Slann to attack.

The pieces of a Seraphon army are carefully arranged for the wars they fight within the Mortal Realms. The fundamental battle-formation of the Seraphon is the cohort – a gathering of warriors under a single leader. Skink and saurus cohorts are the most common groups to be called upon by the slann, but those formed from monstrous beasts also have a crucial place within the Seraphon’s armies.

When cohorts are gathered together by a Slann, they form a starhost. Just as the stars form patterns in the sky, so too does the starhost embody a specific battlefield role. When a Slann goes to war, he will summon those cohorts that, working in conjunction, are best equipped to defeat his foe. Should astoic defense be required, thick ranks of Saurus Guard and Saurus Warriors might be called upon, mustered beneath a reptilian champion. If formidable enemy defenses bar the Slann’s way a monstrous cohort of Stegadons, Bastiladons or other terrifying warbeasts will take shape from the Slann’s distant memories.

Greatest of all the Seraphon war formations is the constellation, formed from the brightest starhosts and cohorts. When constellations march upon the realms, the heavens themselves blaze with the magic of the Slann. The arcane power wielded by such a mighty gathering causes the very ground to glow with celestial energy as Seraphon charge forth in their tens of thousands.

## Seraphon Constellations

Seraphon constellations revolve around their core stars. Blazing brightest is the slann, to which all other stars are connected. Only slightly smaller are those of the Oldbloods and Starseers.

Beyond them the cohorts of each starhost form a scattered carpet of jewels upon the sky. When linked together, these stars take a portentous shape; some Seraphon constellations are great beasts of myth, while others are elements of a greater constellation, such as the Fangs of Sotek.

### Known Seraphon constellations

* **Fangs of Sotek.**
* **Dracothion's Tail.**
* **Chote's Feather.**
* **Tlazcotl's Gaze.**
* **Yutlpoc's Quill.**
* **Yutoa's Wings.**
* **Reptiladon's Spine.**
* **Blessed Coatl.**
* **Poctli's Bolt.**
* **Sotek's Maw.**
* **Breath of Dracothion.**
* **Tzunki's Claw.**
* **Tlixa's Shield.**
* **Talon of Quelec.**
* **Omek's Tears.**

## **Known Formations**

* **Sunclaw Starhost** - Saurus Sunbloods are focal points for the power of Azyr – the weapons of Saurus who fight at their side become infused with celestial energy, empowering their strikes with the might of the stars. 130
* **Eternal Starhost** - When led by a mighty Eternity Warden, the Saurus Guard become virtually immovable. The power of the heavens is drawn to the saurus’ stubborn defiance, charging their weapons with magical force. 131
* **Firelance Starhost** - Swift as a roaring meteor, the warriors of a Firelance Starhost forge a burning path across the battlefield, their weapons smoldering with the heat of a star to bring flaming ruin to the foe. 132
* **Shadowstrike Starhost** - The stealthy skinks of a Shadowstrike Starhost know to strike their target when the omens are propitious – and strike they do, with all the fury of a blazing beam of starlight from a clear night sky. 133
* **Thunderquake Starhost** - Augmented by the concentration of celestial magic from which their gigantic forms are woven, the bellowing monsters of a Thunderquake Starhost gore and trample entire armies in their bestial fury. 134
* **Starbeast Constellation** - When a constellation is summoned to war, the Dark Gods themselves take notice. The advance of such a host is akin to a world-shifting celestial event, and a terrible omen indeed for the enemies of order. 135

## **Forces of the Seraphon**

### Infantry

* **Skink Warriors**
* **Chameleon Skinks**
* **Saurus Warriors**
* **Astrolith Bearer**
* **Saurus Guard**
* **Eternity Warden**
* **Kroxigor**

### Cavalry

* **Saurus Knights**
* **Ripperdactyl Riders**
* **Terradon Riders**

### Warbeasts

* **Cold Ones**
* **Hunting Packs**
* **Salamander**
* **Razordon**
* **Stegadons**
* **Bastiladons**
* **Carnosaurs**
* **Troglodon**

### Lizardmen Heroes

* **Skink Chief**
* **Skink Priests**
* **Skink Starpriest**
* **Scar-Veteran**
* **Sunblood**

### Lizardmen Lords

* **Oldblood**
* **Slann Starmasters**

## **Known Seraphon**

* **Lord Kroak.**[1]
* **Zectoka****.**[1]
* **Ku-Quar.**[1]

## **Sources**

* *Order Battletome: Seraphon*.
	+ 1a pg. 7
	+ 1b pg. 9
	+ 1c pg. 10
	+ 1d pg. 11
	+ 1e pg. 14
	+ 1f pg. 15
	+ 1g pg. 16
	+ 1h pg. 17
	+ 1i pg. 18
	+ 1j pg. 20
	+ 1k pg. 21
	+ 1l pg. 23
	+ 1m pg. 24
	+ 1n pg. 27
	+ 1o pg. 28
	+ 1p pg. 29
	+ 1q pg. 30
	+ 1r pg. 31
	+ 1s pg. 32
	+ 1t pg. 33
	+ 1u pg. 34
	+ 1v pg. 35
	+ 1w pg. 36
	+ 1x pg. 37
	+ 1y pg. 38
	+ 1z pg. 39
	+ 1A pg. 40
	+ 1B pg. 41
	+ 1C pg. 42
	+ 1D pg. 43
	+ 1E pg. 100
	+ 1F pg. 101
	+ 1G pg. 102
	+ 1H pg. 105
	+ 1I pg. 106
	+ 1J pg. 107
	+ 1K pg. 108
	+ 1L pg. 109
	+ 1M pg. 110
	+ 1N pg. 113
	+ 1O pg. 114
	+ 1P pg. 115
	+ 1Q pg. 116
	+ 1R pg. 118
	+ 1S pg. 120
	+ 1T pg. 122
	+ 1U pg. 124
	+ 1V pg. 126
	+ 1W pg. 128
	+ 1X pg. 130
	+ 1Y pg. 131
	+ 1Z pg. 132
	+ 1aa pg. 133
	+ 1ab pg. 134
	+ 1ac pg. 135

 Aelven Factions