Nehekhara

"Poverty wants some... Luxury wants many... Avarice... Wants all..."

- Nehekhara on Stirlar's reign of terror

At a Glance
An ancient Queen of the Skaven, Nehekhara's role in The First Necrotic War arguably made her one of the most important mortals in history -- a fact unknown to most historians. Formerly an ally to Stirlar, the first necromancer, Nehekhara's conscience would later convince her to betray the famous Lich. In a heroic act of sacrifice, Nehekhara delivered the killing blow on Stirlar which would not only end The Necrotic War, but inadvertantly change the geography of The Shattered Coast and send the Skaven deep into The Underdark for thousands of years.

History
Five years after his exile, it was so that Stirlar the first necromancer began the First Necrotic War - a conflict that would stretch the globe. Having escaped from Dondea to The Land Across the Sea, Stirlar encountered Nehekhara and her Skaven, a race of incredibly short-lived rat-hengeyokai from the far south who used their magic to open portals in the Underdark to travel quickly across the globe. Seducing them with the idea of extending their life, Stirlar succeeded in wrangling his pawns for his war on the living.

Overnight, the forces of the undead rose up from beneath the ground, guided by Skaven scouts through the Underdark into every corner of the globe. The meek defences put up by townsfolk to stop his invasions were no match for his the growing undead army. It was soon realized that no-one, not even seperated by oceans or seas, were safe. For decades the world fell into darkness under the fear of the shambling undead where only the great Kingdoms endured.

At the pinnacle of his power, Stirlar planned to unleash a wave of sorcery that would wash over the land for hundreds of miles, ripping in and out of the Underdark to every edge of the mortal plane, causing everyhting that was living to decay and die before raising the dead again in an unholy affront ot life. He may very well have succeeded, had his allies had not betrayed him.

Realizing the threat posed by the latest development, the Queen of the Skaven, Nehekhara, realized that if Stirlar would succeed, he would be all but unstoppable and the Skaven would be mindless servants to a tyrant. Rather thank risk the lives of her people for the promise of immortality, she had a blade made in secret that was so powerful that it would kill not just its victim, but also its wielder. Informing the free Kingdoms of the world, Nehekhara hoped that the armies of life, which would hastily march on Stirlar's fortress, would provide enough of a distraction that she could get close enough to Stirlar to enact her plan.

Caught unaware by the appearance of the free Kingdoms, Stirlar recklessly began collecting his Necrotic energies to unleash his ritual. Focused on his spell, it was then that Nehekhara leaped with her felblade, still sheathed, in hand. Surprised, but still formidable, Stirlar evaded the attempt on his life and retaliated by strip the flesh from Nehekhara's bones, taunting her for her affront on his life. With his ritual still ruminating, it was in his moment of arrogance that Stirlar plucked the tiny blade from Nehekhara's hands, unsheathed it and held it in his hand, mocking the betrayal of the small, short-lived creature. While in an unimaginable amount of pain, Nehekhara was still able to force out a smile -- Stirlar the Imperishable had been duped.
 * "You had hoped to assassinate me with so small a toy?"
 * —Stirlar
 * "It is... Enough..."
 * —Nehekhara

A blast of blue flame, lightning and fire erupted across Stirlar's form, burning his soul, mind, and body. Stirlar's screams could be heard from the hills of Tel'Quessir to the mountains of The Steelsands as the corrupt blade ravaged his form. Nehekhara's sacrifice had saved the world, but the ritual had already been started. With no caster to direct it, the necrotic spell imploded, ravaging the coast of the continent and forming The Shattered Coast. Without the dominating will of their master, the undead across the world fell inert. At a great cost the the land and lives of the world, The Necrotic War, like Nehekhara's cripplingly short life, was over.