The Dark Elf race was born in war, a conflict that has continued for more than 5000 years. The roots of this terrible war lie with one being, Malekith, the Son of Aenarion, the first of the High Elf Phoenix Kings, and the mysterious and beautiful Seeress Morathi. He grew to be a mighty warrior and a great sorcerer. What no one knew was that Malekith had been secretly experimenting with the power of Dark Magic, and that his contact with its evil energies had corrupted him and created in him an overwhelming desire for supreme power. Due to the changes in Malekith's appearance and behaviour caused by his experiments with the Dark power, he was passed over for Phoenix King upon Aenarion's death and the crown of the Phoenix Kings was given to Bel-Shanaar.
Malekith finally claimed that Bel-Shanaar was a secret worshipper of the Chaos Gods, and then had him poisoned. Believing that all he now had to do was crown himself the new Phoenix King, Malekith marched into the Sacred Flame of the god Asuryan, the final test that each Phoenix King has to pass to prove their worthiness for the crown. The Flame of Asuryan would not suffer his polluted body to pass through it. Horribly scarred and burned, Malekith was cast back onto the side of the platform he had entered from.
Malekith and his followers fled to their stronghold in the mountains to the north of Ulthuan. Leaderless, the Elves did not purse. Frantic consultations were held and it was decided that the third Phoenix King was to be Imrik, who upon his succession took the name Caledor the first. Civil war raged throughout Ulthuan. It was a period of great confusion and conflicting rumour. Brother fought brother. In the far realms and colonies no one knew who the true King was, some spoke for Caledor, some spoke for Malekith. War raged, the two sides evenly matched. The followers of Malekith were numerous and well versed in sorcery, being descendents of those grim Elves who had followed Aenarion after he took up the Sword of Khaine. There were no fiercer warriors among Elven kind.
Malekith himself recovered his strength and called his armourers to him. With the aid of the sorcerers he had trained in the Arts of the Dark Magic, and Hotek, a renegade priest of Vaul, he forged a great suit of black armour, which would lend strength to his withered and fire-blasted body. To the brow of its great horned helm was welded the Circlet of Iron. On the day of its creation, he had his armourers fuse the suit directly to his body.
From this great conflict were born the Dark Elves of Naggaroth. These fell warriors in battle prefer to use guile and cunning to defeat their enemies, rather than pure brute force. Dark Elf armies have large numbers of the infamous Dark Elf Scouts and Dark Rider cavalry. These troops range ahead of the main army, spreading fear and confusion and reporting back with information on the enemy's deployment. If at all possible, the Dark Elves will use this information to draw the enemy into a trap or ambush.
Although the majority of Dark Elves are warriors by nature and inclination, this is not true for all of them. The Dark Elves are a race touched by magic power, and Dark Elf Sorcerers have become the ultimate masters of Dark Sorcery.
The Dark Elves worship the Bloody-Handed God, Khaine, or Khaela Mensha Khaine, as he is known in the Elven tongue. He is the Elf God of War, Murder, Hatred, and Destruction. He is the Destroying God, who represents to the Elves the fact that in order for there to be life, there must also be death. In order to have peace, there must also be war. In order to have happiness, there must also be suffering and sorrow. In order to have love, there must also be hatred and murder.
For the Dark Elves, there is only one god, Khaine, because in their lives there is only death, war, suffering, hatred and murder. They have no time for life, peace, happiness or love, and thus no time for the Elven Gods that represent these virtues. The Dark Elves have given themselves entirely to the worship of Khaine. They let their dark sides control their lives and actively seek oppurtunites to cause death and carnage. They revel in their wickedness and gratify it at every oppurtunity.
Within Dark Elf society, there are a number of religious cults commited to the dark rites of their god. Of these, the Witch Elves are by far the most numerous and renowned. They worship Khaine's warlike aspect, taking frenzied joy in the destructiveness and mayhem of bloody battle. They are the brides of Khaine, beautiful but deadly, cruel and uncaring, their bodies leath and strong.
The Dark Elves raid out of Naggaroth on the great Black Arks of Naggaroth. These great floating fortresses, which were at one time built upon mountains of solid rock, and are now the scourge of the seas. They are held together by titanic binding enchantments that allow them not only to float but to be navigated. They are the mightiest seagoing vessels in the Warhammer World. They are enormous sinister floating fortresses, covered in eldritch carvings which are painful to behold.
The Black Arks range across the oceans of the Warhammer World, bringing fear, terror and destruction with them. They make raids to capture the great many slaves used by the Dark Elves either to carry out the multitude of menial but vital tasks that no self-respecting Dark Elf would ever deem of performing or to serve as the living victims of the hideous rituals the Dark Elves carry out to honour Khaine.
All Dark Elves are subject to the rules for hatred when fighting High Elves. They also cause fear in Goblin units, unless the Goblins outnumber them 2 to 1. Both of these rules can be used to advantage.
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