Eightpoints

The **Eightpoints**, originally named the **Allpoints** before the forces of Chaos captured it during the Age of Chaos, is an island floating in the Aetheric Void that serves as a nexus of travel between all eight of the Mortal Realms. It is the single most coveted strategic location in the Cosmos Arcane.

Its paths have been trod by the gods themselves, and its history is filled with wars and legends. The fall of the Allpoints to Chaos marked the end of an era, but now, Sigmar is the one seeking to conquer it.

At the centre of the Cosmos Arcane stands the heavily fortified sub-realm currently known as the Eightpoints, a nexus of gateways that once connected to each of the Mortal Realms. From the Eightpoints, Archaon, the Everchosen, supreme marshal of the armies of Chaos, makes his war upon all creation. Long ago, it was known as the Allpoints, a massive hub of interrealm trade and civilisation which was eagerly visited by travellers from every realm. Now, it is a twisted, broken, place -- utterly corrupted by the power of the Dark Gods. The formerly beautiful lands of the Allpoints are a horror to behold, filled with beasts warped with the raw power of Chaos, and blood thirsty bands of killers who seek to slaughter all.

Bastions for what now passes as "civilisation" exist within the Eightpoints; however, none but the most demented of butchers wishes to spend time on the broken streets of Carngrad or Flayhaunt. Worst of all is Archaon's stronghold, the Varanspire. A fortress dwarfed only by the Brass Citadel, the keep of the Blood God Khorne in the Realm of Chaos, the Varanspire is a colossal bastion of spiked walls, towers, and impenetrable keeps. An open portal to the Realm of Chaos ripples through the sky above the Varanspire and its interior does not conform to the physical laws that govern the rest of the Mortal Realms. Here, the foremost warriors of the Ruinous Powers rally to the Three-Eyed King's banner and here are quartered Archaon's infamous Varanguard -- most feared of all the warriors of Chaos.

The Eightpoints no longer connects through its eight arcway portals to all the Mortal Realms, for Sigmar has ever held the road to Azyr closed, the gates to Aqshy and Ghyran both were sealed at great cost during the Realmgate Wars, and the Ghurish gate, held within the maw of the roving Godbeast Fangathrak, is out of Archaon's control.

Since the coming of the Necroquake, Nagash, the god of death and his Mortarch Katakros have turned covetous eyes upon the Eightpoints, for just as Archaon knew long ago, Katakros’ understands that seizing the Eightpoints is a key stepping stone to controlling all the Mortal Realms.

## History

For most creatures, travel between the Mortal Realms is impossible save by powerful magic or by use of a realmgate. Even deities, when they walk amongst mortals, find such routes the easiest to navigate.

The arcane passageways come in all shapes and sizes and allow travel across immeasurable distances. There are many of these gateways, and most span from one destination to another, such as the Gryphonne Gate which once bridged the twilight lands of Quillia in Azyr, the Realm of Heavens, to the kingdom of Rhodium in Chamon, the Realm of Metal. A rare few realmgates connect multiple locations across the realms, but there is only one that connects them all.

This plane was a bridge to everywhere -- a strange island that existed in no place, yet was connected to all places in the Eight Realms of the Cosmos Arcane. Named the "Allpoints," it grew during the Age of Myth to become a vital nexus of travel. Grand cities sprang up around the exit arcways in each of the realms, as trade prospered between the kingdoms and mortal races in those days when the likes of Sigmar still walked among mortals.

Of all the burgeoning civilisations in all the varied realms, however, no city was more cultured or diverse than the one within the strange in-between zone that was the Allpoints. Long before Azyrheim existed, the population of the Allpoints boasted men, duardin, aelves, and dozens of other mortal races and sentient creatures. There was strife, and occasional trade wars broke out, but they were swiftly ended with few atrocities on any side.

And then came Chaos.

From beyond reality, the Dark Gods watched the Mortal Realms, their gaze jealously following Sigmar and his growing Pantheon of Order. Each of the great Ruinous Powers launched their attacks into the realms. Some were bold invasions, such as those led by Ghorgrax, commander of Khorne's Rage Legion, while others, such as the Campaigns of Beguilement led by Kairos Fateweaver, the Lord of Change who served as the Oracle of Tzeentch, were far more subtle in nature. Yet whether by bloody battle or insidious corruption, Chaos came.

The Allpoints resisted. Enlisting Sigmar and his pantheon for aid, fortifications were constructed to guard each of the exits. These fortifications became known as the All-gates. The defences were formidable, with each stronghold unique to the realm in which it lay. In Chamon, for instance, the Ironholds were built to guard the Mercurial Gate -- a great series of fortresses with moving walls of metal that could withstand any assault.

As Chaos grew stronger in the Eight Realms, the Allpoints became more and more important. From this single point, the allied Mortal Realms could shift to help each other, aiding the armies of Sigmar's pantheon to fight back the Chaos invaders. Many battles were fought around the All-gates, but always the Chaos forces were defeated. Too proud and too envious of each other to unite, each of the Chaos Gods strove for mastery on their own. Finally, it was Archaon, the Everchosen, Exalted Grand Marshal of the Apocalypse, who united the five banners of Chaos.

Mortal and daemonic armies of Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle, Slaanesh, and the Great Horned Rat all marched behind their Chosen. Brute force, magical manipulation, plague, temptation and swarming numbers each played a part. One by one, the All-gates fell, save only the gate guarding Azyr. Sigmar, seeing what was coming, locked the entrance to the Realm of Heavens.

The Chaos forces' capture of the All-gates led to the inevitable invasion of the Allpoints itself, and many bloody battles in which Archaon triumphed. This marked the fracturing of Sigmar's Pantheon of Order. Each god felt betrayed and abandoned by the others. With wedges driven between the old divine alliances, the rise of Chaos was inevitable. Archaon used the quick access to the different realms that the Allpoints afforded to amass his strength, shifting armies where they were needed and snatching the initiative from Sigmar once and for all.

And so began a five hundred-year reign of unrelenting terror, the Age of Chaos, which lasted until the Stormcast Eternals were unleashed.

The Allpoints in that time had become known to the servants of Chaos as the "Eightpoints" -- for the corruptive powers saw the vast inter-realm island floating in the Aetheric Void as an eight-pointed star similar to the iconic Star of Chaos, the sigil of Chaos Ascendant.

There was built the Varanspire, Archaon's fastness and the proving grounds for his vaunted Varanguard. Portals in its highest towers led straight to the Realm of Chaos, thus connecting that realm to the eight others and allowing a free flow of reinforcements whenever the forces of Chaos required them to maintain their dominance.

So the Eightpoints became the chief place from which the anarchic energies and daemonic legions of Chaos flowed freely out into the Mortal Realms. Until the Eightpoints can be reclaimed and made whole by the forces of Order, the Mortal Realms will never again know peace.

## Sources

* *The Realmgate Wars: All-gates* (1st Edition), pp. 18-19
* *Warhammer Age of Sigmar Roleplay - Soulbound - Rulebook* (RPG), pg. 185