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WARHAMMER® ONLINE: AGE OF RECKONING™
ZONE OVERVIEW
High Pass
Official Information from EA Mythic
Northernmost of the passes that cross the Worlds Edge Mountains, High Pass might well be the most treacherous. An ambitious tradesman traveling the Skull Road from Praag to the lands east of the Pass will have to contend with all manner of dangers. If the dreaded beasts of the northern mountains aren't trouble enough, there's the numbing cold, blinding blizzards, lashing winds and sudden avalanches.
High Pass is home to all manner of fearsome creatures, for nothing weak can survive there. Every beast that dwells among the frozen peaks is a savage predator. Great, muscular Sabertusks stalk their prey silently through the snow and then pounce, using their huge, sharp tusks to deliver a mortal wound. Packs of ravenous mountain wolves bay at the cold light of the moon before descending from the slopes to hunt. Perhaps the most frightening of these creatures are the towering Yhetees, whose hands end in great rending claws several inches long.
Deadlier still than the creatures of High Pass are the tribes of Northmen who make their home in the frozen lands that border the Chaos Wastes. These primitive barbarians worship the foul gods of Chaos, and in the Age of Reckoning, they find their powers on the increase as the Winds of Magic strengthen. Many have marched south under the banner of Tchar'zanek, Champion of Tzeentch, but others have remained behind to defend their tribal lands against trespassers. Should they chance upon travelers from the south, they will show no mercy.
Marching north to meet these dangers head-on is the Order of the Griffon, whose courageous soldiers are racing against time to save the Empire from a dire fate. It has become all too clear to Emperor Karl Franz that the terrible plague sweeping through his lands and the recent invasion of the northern warhost are all part of a larger plan. After the architects of the insidious plot are unmasked and the full scope of the enemy's scheme is revealed, it is clear that desperate measures must be taken to stop it. Now the Emperor's finest soldiers and Wizards find themselves far from home and trying to survive in the most hostile environment imaginable. They must find the strength to persevere, for the fate of the Old World may be in their hands.
The agents of the warhost have also come to High Pass, to claim the final artifact that their master requires to complete his great spell and lay waste to the Empire. It is called the Sigil of Malice, and its owner is an ascendant Champion of Khorne. To confront this rival and claim the Sigil, Tchar'zanek has sent his elite warriors, the Raven Host. The Champion waits eagerly within his stronghold, for he is well aware that the warriors of Tzeentch are coming and he is eager to test his strength against a worthy adversary.
The battles between the servants of Chaos and the soldiers of the Empire are not the only conflicts to be found in High Pass. This icy mountain passage has for many centuries concealed a great secret. By arcane craft, a colony of High Elves long ago shaped the land and climate, making for themselves a hidden paradise concealed behind a veil of illusion. This secret utopia has been discovered by a marauding band of Dark Elf Corsairs, and the great spell of illusion has been sundered. Now the High Elves of the Luminous Veil fight bitterly to preserve what they can of their magical realm while the Dark Elves eagerly spread word of the colony's existence, inviting the Northmen and the foul servants of Chaos to join in the attack and reap the spoils.
There are many dangerous battlefields to be found in Age of Reckoning, but few can match the harsh and inhospitable conditions of High Pass. Merely surviving from one day to the next is a battle in and of itself, for food is extremely scarce, the deep cold is unrelenting and the predators that roam the frigid, snow-covered mountain peaks are always hungry.
For the beleaguered Empire, an end to the spread of the plague could prove to be an important turning point in the battle against the onrushing warhost. For the warriors of Chaos, the final piece of an intricate and terrible plan waits to be claimed from the powerful Champion who holds it.
For both sides, the road to victory or defeat runs though the icy slopes of High Pass.
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