Why trust Mannfred?
- Why does Nagash continue to trust Mannfred von Carstein? He knows Mannfred kept trying to betray him during Mannfred and Arkhan's joint endeavour to bring him back (it's heavily implied he was watching them both the whole time in the novel 'Return of Nagash' from his harsh, dismissive treatment of Mannfred); and he certainly knew when Mannfred stabbed Balthazar while the Incarnates were trying to contain the Rift. Though, according to the Khorne book Mannfred was exiled, but somehow ended up in the hands of Khorne worshippers in the audio book "Prisoner of the Black Sun before the Stormcast Eternals freed him he still made it to the new world, still has his Mortarch steed and technically is still a Mortarch. Why did Nagash let him come back and still be a Mortarch when, being in control of the afterlife in Age of Sigmar and the creator of undead, Nagash could kill Warhammer-Starscream... I mean kill Mannfred and make sure he stays dead?
- Fate Worse than Death, maybe? After all he was imprisoned in a place where everything rot, even undeads. Which by the way, doesn't die and keep feeling the entire experience. Now considering that he was exiled in that place by what seems like millenia... well. But yea, I do believe that's Unishment compared to what that bastard deserves. Hope his "father", the "Elector Count" makes it, though.
- Same here on hoping Elector Count Dracula (Vlad) shows up.
- Josh Reynolds explains it: in addition that Mannfred at this point would pose no threat (no one trusts him anymore) Nagash sees use in him as it allows the unimaginative Arkhan to move (and protect him) and foils the treacherous' Neferatas' schemes with his own. Basically he's the forces that sets properly the equilibrium with his force (that and it's stated that Nagash is Not So Different to Mannfred). In addition, Nagash also enjoys keeping Mannfred as his underling because it gives him an excuse to torture Mannfred - as well as use Mannfred as a guinea pig for how to torture others - whenever he fails Nagash.
- Additionally, the novels have now established Nagash doesn't fully remember the Old World, but while he survived and is ostensibly the same being, his Mortarchs in AOS are recreations based on the originals (though with enough pieces of their souls so that it is still them, just with a lot of memory loss of details but retaining the general personality and knowledge of the big picture including their survival of the World That Was); as such, he's likely keeping them around out of familiarity. There is also the point from the Malign Portents shorts that Nagash believes all undead are subservient and bend the knee to him, to the point he allows Mannfred his duplicitous ways but actively always knows he is plotting; the Soul Wars novel seems to show cracks in the veneer, however, as Nagash is shown as slightly uncertain as to brief out-of-character moments in his generals.
- Bad news; Vlad got the axe and won't be showing up in Age of Sigmar. Neither will Krell, the Tomb Kings or the Bretonnians
- Actually, this is a meta problem, they made a new awesome Mortarch model for him, him getting the axe would piss a lot of players who purchased that model. This example also works for Arkhan and Neffy, who also perished in the End Times but still came back. Essentially, the characters who got big model updates near the end of WHFB 8e survived the axing to be resurrected (or recreated and filled with their old souls) in Ao S.
Archaon's authority
- What exactly Archaon became after The End Times? He is elevated to Exalted Grand Marshal of the Apocalypse, so is he a Daemon Prince or a Chaos minor deity? Its mentioned that he isn't even bound to the Chaos Gods anymore, which bugs the hell out of me.
- He's basically god-tier now, enough to kill Nagash in one instance and take the fight to Sigmar properly; he is essentially true Chaos Undivided - the three remaining Chaos gods (Slaanesh got imprisoned by Teclis, Tyrion, Morathi and Malekith (after he fused with Seraphon to become Malerion) while Archaon mocked the Great Horned Rat and spat on his gifts) set him new challenges in the wake of the new world, and he basically smashed them and is now seeking to install himself as the only god, when he manages to destroy the Incarnates and the Ruinous Powers. In other words, he has become a double edged sword for the Chaos Gods, but he would be a delusional idiot if he thinks he can thwart the gods themselves. At best he would get a tragic ending, At worst, he would get a brutal and painful end, becoming a example to those who dare to mess with the gods themselves. Middle of the Road, he never reaches either point as he becomes a tool to perpetuate the eternal stalemate at a grander scale than the World That Was would have been thus sustaining the Chaos Gods for eternity.
Fyreslayer runes
- How exactly does one "hammer" runes into one's flesh? Are the Fyreslayers made of metal?
- The Ur-gold is forged into the shape of a rune and then inserted into the Fyreslayer's flesh with the assistance of a hammer. Its quite clear if you look at the models and art.
Can Sylvaneth eat?
- Given that the Sylvaneth are plant people or forest spirits making bodies for themselves from plant matter, do they eat or drink? If so, how do they eat and what do they eat to gain nourishment?
- If real-world plants are any indication, possibly they make do by soaking up sunlight and dropping roots occasionally to sap nutrients from soil. Their being plants doesn't preclude carnivore diets either, especially in the parts of Ghyran with close connections to Ghur.
