Khemri

An undead nation in the fictional world of the Warhammer Fantasy setting, Khemri is home to the Tomb Kings, an army composed of skeletons and various decayed creatures. The theme of the army is based on the culture of Ancient Egypt, with an emphasis on its more morbid tendencies such as mummification. Correspondingly, the hordes of skeletons are led by withered liche-priests who used a proto-necromancy/death magic (less potent and sinister than true necromancy practised in the modern Warhammer world) and resurrected kings and princes. Khemri was originally called Nehekhara, of which Khemri was a major city.

History

Pre-Nagash

Khemri was the first human civilisation to emerge in the Warhammer Fantasy World as a cluster of kingdoms nominally ruled by a High King. Its people fought with chariots and blocks of infantry, supported by archers and supernatural allies.

Nagash

Eventually a young noble known as Nagash was born. He was the oldest son of the current king. Instead of becoming the heir as eldest sons other nations would, he was forced into the ranks of the Liche Priests as the Grand Heirophant, a living sacrifice to the Gods. Later after becoming a high priest, he killed his younger brother and usurped the throne. His rule was terrible. During this time he began the construction of the black pyramid as a 'magnet' for dark magic. He also began studies into an elixir of life using human blood. Due to his dark nature combined with his tyrannical rule, the other kings rose up against him and he was forced to flee his homeland. The kingdom of Lahmia was eventually corrupted as well by vampirism, thus causing another series of wars culminating in the other kingdoms destroying Lahmia, causing the vampires to spread to all corners of the earth.

Death of a Nation

In time Nagash returned with vast armies of the dead he had perfected through his newly developed necromancy. Although he was initially defeated by the armies of Khemri, he then unleashed plague which decimated the people of the land and when the Great Necromancer attacked again he committed mass genocide with little resistance, obliterating all remaining life from the land.

The Great Ritual

Nagash's plan now reached its final stage, using the incredible amounts of power he had accumulated combined with mined warpstone and massive numbers of sacrificed Orcs he cast a mighty spell to muster all the dead in the world to his call, especially the now-dead Khemrians. With this army he planned to rule the world and transform it into an eternal kingdom were only he ruled. Thankfully for all living creatures, Nagash was assassinated by the last living Khemrian (King Alcadizaar, who Nagash had taken prisoner), with the help of the Skaven, who forged a mighty blade specifically to kill the Great Necromancer. However, Nagash completed his ritual before his death, awakening all the dead of Khemri from their tombs.

The Rule of the Dead

The dead raised by the ritual were free of Nagash's rule, but only the Tomb Kings and Lich-Priests were sentient. When they awoke they were less than pleased at the current turn of events, having expected to be reborn as gods in the afterlife, not dusty mummies. The enraged Tomb Kings then proceeded to re-establish control over their now dead subjects with mixed degrees of success. This state of affairs has remained the same into the modern day where they continually fight amongst themselves, other nations and the (resurrected) Nagash. The lesser Kings and Princes are (more or less) ruled over by Settra, first and greatest of the Priest-Kings.