Deshrah Dynasty

"*What... have they done? What have they done to our home? How have they burned the lush forests of Semesh? How could they pollute the once-pure crystal waters of the Silent Oasis? The amber fields of the ever-autumn, were replaced by the dry dirt of irradiated wastelands. The sky... by the glare of the killing sun, what have they done to my beloved sky? Oara Leh, crown and beauty of my heart, refuge of the weary, sanctuary of life and water... what have these primitive bastards done to you?*"
—Phaeron Ahrmar An-Aval, after awakening from slumber and finding his homeworld a dead and ravaged husk.
Long ago, the Necrontyr realm known as the **Deshrah Dynasty** tended and guarded their lush paradise worlds, using them to garner favour and obtain great wealth, in spite of their small territory. When the Great Awakening roused the dynasty from slumber, its phaeron found his beloved crownworld Oara Leh devastated utterly by human hands. In light of this unforgivable transgression, Ahrmar An-Aval swore a blood oath of revenge against the wretched beasts that had trampled his home, setting out to strike fear into the hearts of mankind.

The Dynasty excels in the waging of ground war, using terraforming technology and landscaping to bend the battlefield to their will. More often than not they wage war with the intent of completely eradicating human life wherever they find it, and regularly set destroyers to the task of ensuring utter annihilation. Though they lack expertise in the art of void war, the tactical acumen of Phaeron Ahrmar has turned the tide for his fleets more than once.

Their allies are few, and their enemies many. Yet the dynastic court is confident in the eventual extinction of their foes, once the Infinite Empire has returned in all its immortal glory. They strive to forge alliances with various Necron factions, as well as to build their power anew in the age of the Great Rift.

## Dynastic History

### Before the Long Slumber

The Deshrah Dynasty has, for as long as its chronicles can recall, earned its place in the Infinite Empire by virtue of its diplomacy and pragmatism. Though their territory extended to a mere three star systems, the worlds held within were what granted the dynasty its wealth and status. Most were paradise worlds without compare, yet the crown world of Oara Leh was a jewel among jewels. Beauty unparalleled, tranquillity unmatched, serenity unequalled in all the realms of the Necrontyr.

The Deshrah rulers ever used these wonders to foster relations with other dynasties, be they mighty or meager, by inviting them onto their splendid worlds for festivities and lavish extravaganzas. Many riches were acquired simply by selling the privilege of visiting their lush forests and gentle fields. Many nobles of power great and small flocked to behold their radiance, and to partake in the clear lakes and rivers found there. The Necrontyr suffered from diseased and blighted bodies, their lives short and filled with pain, yet it is said that bathing in the crystal waters of the Oara Leh oases was so soothing that one could forget such concerns, if only for a short while. The respite of this manner, among the countless other wonders found on the planets under the dynasty's rule, was often enough to sway negotiations in the favour of the Deshrah rulers. Wealth and influence were thus amassed, and armies to defend the natural treasures of the dynasty were raised.

Three dynasties of similar size even bent the knee to the lords of oases, offering vassalship after a series of dynastic blood feuds. These are the Ormazeth, Tekhm, and Malikh dynasties.

The great and terrible War in Heaven, a cataclysm that left the galaxy changed forever, also saw the domains under their rule affected. Whilst the crown world remained unharmed, most of their other worlds were scorched and devastated, caught in the conflict for the stars. Though biotransference robbed them of the ability to truly appreciate its wonders, the still-sentient members of Deshrah kept their deep love for Oara Leh and its verdant moons. Not even the great rebellion against their star god overlords could blemish the ever-shine of the Deshrah homeworld, a testament to their guardianship over it, though the client dynasty of Ormazeth, valiant to the last, perished in the fury of the C'tan, giving their lives for the preservation of paradise.

When the Silent King ordered the Necron race to retreat within the tomb worlds and rest in long stasis-sleep, the Deshrah Dynasty, compelled by its King's command protocols, obeyed. The passing of time would no doubt leave its mark upon their beloved home, this they knew, yet none expected what would await them upon their awakening.

### After the Great Awakening

When Phaeron Ahrmar An-Aval was roused from aeons of slumber during the Great Awakening, his eyes, artificial though they were, trembled with despair at the sight he beheld. His home's grand beauty, the magnificence of Oara Leh, was utterly and irrevocably gone. A dead rock of grey dust, bathed in radiation and subjected to the silence of a windless eternity was all that remained. Horrendous wastes of polluted waters and bleak deserts spread towards the horizon. The forests burned away, the oases dried, the oceans boiled or poisoned, and the skies filled with thick clouds of black and yellow smog.

It had been expected that millions of years would change their world beyond recognition, but this exceeded all their worst fears. This was not the result of a natural disaster or some cosmic incident. No tectonic movement, asteroid impact, or solar flare was the culprit behind such disgusting defilement. This desolation had been wrought not by the tides of times, evolution or nature, but by the insane quarrels of lesser races.

A crude species of primitives had settled the paradise crownworld of the Deshrah Dynasty, christening it Viridor VII in their mongrel tongue. The creatures calling themselves humans were at first enchanted by the utopia they had discovered, yet this did not prevent them from gradually growing their cities and manufactorums all across its surface, always serving some war effort or other for their oh-so-beloved Emperor.

Through thousands of years, the environment once so treasured and preserved by its Necron masters was slowly transformed into a grey mass of habspires and factory chimneys. But what ultimately sealed its fate was the one thing mankind seemed extraordinarily good at: a foolish war, fought over some foolish reason. This conflict, though a mere speck of dust when put beside the wars of the Necron age, was still apocalyptic enough to annihilate any semblance of grace Oara Leh possessed. Weapons of dreadful hate and awful mass destruction were brought to bear, turning cities to dust and skies to black.

Why was the war fought? What did it gain the savages who waged it? The answers to these questions are lost to time, buried in rubble and dust as surely as the gentle flowers which adorned the wide landscapes in forgotten eras. Not that such things truly mattered now.

Not since his flesh had been churned in the forges and his soul had been devoured by the cursed star gods did the great Phaeron Ahrmar An-Aval know such boundless rage and fury. His burning heart, replaced with a cold flowing reactor, circled only for the enactment of vengeance now. Though his people were ever content with what they already possessed, the Lord of Murdered Paradise now saw the need for expansion. His influence and power had to grow, and his armies had to awaken, and awaken swiftly. Mankind would pay for every oasis dried, every flower trampled, every forest burned in the ignorance of their filthy barbarism. What mattered, was to teach those beasts, those fools who thought themselves lords of the stars, that the galaxy had been conquered long ago.

What mattered now was to make humanity understand that the true rulers of the cosmos had returned and that they were masters lacking mercy.

### Notable Campaigns

* **First War of the Vengeance Age** **(002.M42)** - The awakened hosts of Phaeron Ahrmar An-Aval set out to form a secured zone of control around the crown system. Vanguard forces attempt to contact their vassals of the Tekhm Dynasty but find their tomb worlds cracked open and dead, though the culprits remain unknown. It does not take long until a sizeable horde of greenskins is discovered in the Shar Zahn system, perfectly situated to test the armies of the dynasty against a worthy foe. Although the orks put up a fierce fight, Phaeron Ahrmar is disappointed with the degree to which the mighty Krorks of yore have devolved.

## Crownworld

Back when it was still a jewel among jewels between the stars, the Deshrah Dynasty's crown world of Oara Leh was famed for its natural beauty. The humid Semesh Lowlands were covered in great expanses of rainforests, where even the thick jungles could be admired for the intense green shine of falling leaves and the fluorescent chitin belonging to native insect species. Some of these would catch the light which passed through the dense panoply of trees, their sheen conjuring rainbows in the deep wilds.

Across the planet's upper regions, one could find the breathtaking fields of the ever-autumn, golden blades of grass swaying in the gentle breeze, leading to the golden forests of the Samarz mountains. The mountains themselves held their own treasures in the form of vast mineral caves and grottos filled with clear spring waters.

Further north still lay the fantastic fjords of Chiruyith, in winter buried beneath mighty glaciers, snow so bright and dazzling that it staggered belief, even when beheld from orbit. Oara Leh's north pole was marked by high mountains of azure ice, where many of the dynasty's Phaeron's were buried in tombs of silver and stone.

Yet most remarkable of all wonders were the deserts that girt the world's equatorial zones, where golden palaces adorned with emerald towers and chalcedony roofs housed the nobility of Deshrah. Renowned not only for its pearly sands and cool winds but most of all for the numerous oases littered about its long reaches. These oases were places of refuge and respite, peaceful beyond measure and magnificent beyond description. It was said that none could bear ill thoughts or suffer any pain whilst submerged in the crystal waters of the Silent Oasis, the most beloved of all, which came to be considered a sacred site, reserved for only the most illustrious of guests.

Now, of course, the butchered remains of Oara Leh are nought but grim reminders of lost beauty. The lowlands and its forests are scorched wastes, though the blackened soil lies submerged beneath the polluted waters of the melted north pole. The ever-autumn fields are gone, replaced with ragged canyons reaching down to the bedrock. Oceans and rivers, now only a fraction of their former size, hold poisons and unnatural chemicals, making them unfit for life to persist within. The skies are a murky curtain of smoke and smog, forever veiling the natural blue above at day, and the starlight of the deep beyond at night.

The deserts are hot and windless, covered in lethal radiation that will remain for millions of years. The blessed oases are dried and defiled, set apart from their surroundings only by the vast craters once filled with healing water.

## Battle Doctrine

It shall come as no surprise that the armies of the Deshrah Dynasty have always preferred to defeat their foes by besting them on the terrestrial field of battle, rather than obliterating any opposition from orbit. Especially against fellow dynasties, there were certain traditions and codes of conduct to observe, and in any case, there was little satisfaction found in destroying the enemy from several thousand miles away. A warlord's true mettle is tested in the gruelling confines of ground war.

Of course, the commanders of Deshrah also wished to not destroy a planet's natural environment more than was necessary, leading to doctrines that sought to minimize collateral damage. As a dynasty excelling in waging war on a world's surface, naturally, their weakness lay in the conducting of void war. Phaeron Ahrmar himself is a fairly skilled void commander, yet this fact means that all too often his fleets are utterly dependent on his personal leadership in battle, Without the Phaeron's direct control, the strategies of his fleet captains tend to be passive and overly defensive, easily overcome by any experienced commander.

On the ground itself, the tactics of the Necrons are complimented by the dynasty's superb abilities in terraforming and landscaping. Many Crypteks of the dynastic courts are masters of alchemical geomancy, skilled in shaping the natural world as they wish. Once used for the sake of preservation, these skills are utilised in war to shape the battlefield to fit their designs. Through the technological marvels of machines and geomancers can they open ravines, flatten mountains and raise hilltops as they see fit, provided they have time enough. Changes in geography, some monumental and some subtle have become a staple of their land doctrines.

After the Great Awakening, the methods of the dynasty have changed little, except in certain regards. Troops are still deployed en-masse when possible, although the reason for this now is less a sense of etiquette, and more a desire to ensure the utter eradication of the enemy on the ground. A desire for vengeance drives the generals and sentient elites to obliterate their foes face to face, and to see their dread-filled faces as they are ended for their transgressions.

In accordance with this, those unfortunate souls of the Deshrah Dynasty who have turned to the madness of the Destroyer Cult are used in battle regularly and liberally. Whilst most of his kingdom could evade such a fate, Phaeron Ahrmar has no qualms about using the destroyers to do what they are best at, being willing to countenance the annihilation of a conquered world's flora and fauna if it is in the name of his revenge. Indeed, why should the filth of humankind be privy to calm waters and green woods if they know not to appreciate it? Best to scourge all that they have touched, and let their own homes stand as spiteful mirrors to Ahrmar's own. Let the beasts know that whatever love remains in the phaeron's circuits is outmatched tenfold by his hatred.

## Members of the Dynastic Court

* **Phaeron Arhmar An-Aval**

* **Overlord Bahyekh**
* **Overlord Baran-Berdan**

* **Nemesor Amunatez**

* **Lord Dehyon**

* **High Alchemist Azahr**
* **Ethermancer Kyhc the Skyfeller**