As the hour of reckoning draws near, we close out our series of expanded location descriptions where it all began- the shore where Sigmar beheld the vision which would reunite him with his fellow gods, and laid the foundation of the Hallowed Necropolis today.
- Read about Grung Esik and Yol Grimnir here
- Read about Nagaskahip and Rahipmezar here
- Read about Isik Kulesi and Karanlik Saray here
- Read about Teselli Alari and Gorkoyuk here
Azyrhol, “The Hall of Heavens”
Legendarily, this cathedral-planetarium is built upon the very spot where Sigmar stooped to drink from the waters of the Ur-River, and beheld the Pantheon that was to be. Built in the same style as the soaring edifices of Azyrheim, in gentler times this complex housed a coterie of priests giving praise to the God-King and was thronged with worshippers of every description. When the Age of Myth darkened, it served instead as a mustering-ground- first, for those crusaders ultimately denied the chance to fight at Sigmar’s side by Mithridates Besh, then for the last chaotic evacuation of the city in its final days.
The years have not been kind to Azyrhol- five hundred years of wind and rain, which in other places has had curiously little effect, has worn away at the building until it is only a shadow of its former grandeur. Many of the ancient statues of saints and martyrs that once stood atop the walls have fallen to the ground, and the roof covering much of the central building has collapsed. Once, standing inside and looking up, one could see a spectacular simulacrum of Azyr frescoed into the ceiling- now, at dusk and dawn an observer can sometimes see the Realm of Heavens in their own glory spread out overhead.
The center of the cathedral was and is a great throne, built supposedly upon the precise spot of the Heldenhammer’s revelation. The throne always stood empty, except for on the rare occasions where Sigmar himself came to sit in judgement and meditation. Cautionary tales still abound about the fate of mortals reckless enough to try to usurp the God-King’s seat. In these fallen days, the halls of worship are haunted by feral Azyrite star-hounds, who can smell taint and death in the air.
Beneath the complex, there lie catacombs stretching deep into the earth, home to the remains of those priests, saints and martyrs unwilling to submit their mortal shells to Nagash’s care. Descending into them, one could believe they had descended into a charnel pit- but the bones of the departed are arranged here with greatest care, and the Lord of Death has no dominion. In earlier days, the existence of the catacombs was a source of tension between the priesthoods of the Undying King and the Heldenhammer- in this day and age, it’s said that the spirits of the saints still haunt the subterranean chambers, defending it against incursions by the tainted.
