I’ve read through Halpi’s Rift and Champions - the only references that might be related are to what’s hidden underneath Chill. But the chat I did get on fanatics thought that might be Winter’s remnants. There is a map in champions, but I can’t see anything relevant.
So in the Clash 24 book, I found the following paragraphs:
”The Twilight kin established emissaries in the court of the distant East, studying the mystic knowledge in Xiryan and Yamatero, exploring the ruins of Kong and Mughaal, even probing into the secrets of the infernal fractures that had opened in these lands"
”Twilight kin spies were present to witness the subjugation of the kingdoms of Xiryan and the founding of the Xirkalli Empire, but how this mighty empire fits into their own schemes is something the dark conclave has yet to decide, though their Westward march is leaving the elves an ever smaller window in which to reach a decision”
There’s also a bit about the Vampiric Tetsumo Shogunate.
I don’t have Seas of Dread and Seas Flame - does anyone here that might be able to find anything?
Everything we have so far points at the Xirkalli Empire.
But we (as the people I talked too) don’t know what they are, just that they are not human. Some speculate it could be Dragon/Arkosaur based, others think it might be a Furry/Herd thing.
The survIVe video talked a lot about the celestians.
Chill and the Abyss both sides.
Might be a Korgaan based them marching to destroy all celestian tainted factions.
Varangur might be part of that, the pirate raiding side of this new faction. As Varangur got a mention as being an army done in the other chat going on here.
The little video had some image of a raiding army landing.
Might be 2+2 =5 guess though.
Sea of dread had pirates, ghosts, Seas of flames included varangur as lists.
The new faction should be Ophidia, but the last word of the background section of Seas of Dread was ‘Xirkaali’ as the dying gasp of an unknown race of Salamanders from the far east.
My hope is that Faction A implies at least a Faction B, to allow for Ophidians as well, and a good quarter of the background in Seas Aflame discussed Ophidia’s network of spies vs. the rising anti-magical threat rising in the east.
It would make sense given how popular Matsudan are in warpath universe that they do fantasy samurai lizards in KOW and then well…. Dinosaurs…. Would they work with the elves like in warpath universe? Might make sense if the elves aren’t being given “much choice”. If its this I’m sooooooo in!!
From what I heard of runmurs and whispers at Clash this weekend, the faction is the xakaarli empire. I dont much about them, besides they are from the east, and helped the salamanders build their ships/fleet.
In the Kings of war trailer mantic just released, I believe this picture is from the new faction:
Halpi’s Rift has so much going on that pointing to doesn’t norrow it down much.
The Twilight Kin lore in Clash 2024 mentions Ophidia with some detail (see here), Tetsumo Shogunate and the Xirkalli Empire.
Empire implies an army made up of a variety of cultures, which translates to multille species in a Fantasy world.
Considering the Armada books on the picture and the ships in the IV teaser, the Xirkalli empire sailing jn from the East seems like the most likely.
There have also been hints oc Morgoth returning and the power hidden in Chill. The last campaign indicated that the shard or tge Feniluan Mirror are at Chill. The are several written scenes of Talannar speaking to someone female that he’s protecting and getting advice from.
My wild speculation would be that it’s either: Winter’s shining aspect, Elianthora or Eoswain.
Maybe the main faction of herd are being rewritten and relocated.
They could be xirkalli empire maybe even the subjugated xiryan and get combined in with something.
Arkosaur zuinok is a bit of random character in halpis rift turned his back on kthorlaq teachings. (As I looked at it last night) captured by the twilight , who they would have learned of the far Eastern empire and sent spies.
Zuinok was kicking about the sorrows in halpis rift.
Maybe an arkosaur/herd list. Not zuinok.
With a dwarf civil war on the way they could happily march through estacarr or barica and match up against the varangur.
To speculate wildly and wishlist somewhat; Varangur minis coming and Ophidia getting mentioned, might point to a “return of the Old Gods” kind of story.
The Primogenitors are angry and want to set their world that they created right.
Korgaan rises in the north, Shobik in the desert.
Dianek (or her followers) comes out to stop the Fulgria and Ariagful worshippers in the War of Stone.
Talannar talks to who he’s protecting about her return in Halpi’s Rift. Maybe she is Threnekka.
A large empire in the east couldassociate itself with the rising sun and therefore Ohmpek (God of Light and Raiser of the Sun).
There could be a surviving cult of Bhanek within the elves and Lonok within thd Twilight Kin. Alternatively, an eastward expanded map could have space for other elf kindred that were not reached by the celestians.
Lonok could also be in The Void or involved with (or responsible for) The Rift.
The image posted, of the naval battle, could - on the face of it - just be Salamanders versus Trident Realms.
A year ago, if people had been asked what factions were depicted, I think that’s what would have been said.
People are looking at the silhouettes of the figures on the small ships and seeing goats, pigs, monkeys, dragons, arkosaurs… All kinds of guesses.
I don’t think introducing Herd as the ‘exciting new faction’ is on many people’s wishlist, I don’t expect that. I think a rejigged Herd / Forces of Nature down the line is more likely.
To me, they could just as easily be regular salamanders… It’s indistinct, and they have those digitigrade / unguligrade legs.
Will the Xirkaali turn out to just be a sort of evil Empire of Salamanders?
People have speculated arkosaurs or a draconic race, but… Meh… That would still be pretty close to Salamanders in design terms.
I note what looks to me to be a dragon profile on one sail, and what might be a curved serpent on another.
Anyway, while I quite like Salamanders / lizard men in general, if Mantic don’t do something that’s more new-feeling for “Faction A” I think it would feel like a bit of a missed opportunity. Why note create something properly new? Bugs, monkeys, a hive mind, plant-people… whatever..
My money would be on uraeus. At least as a ruling class.
Serpent folk who are ancient (before Celestians) enemies of the elves. They had a hand in the origins of Ophidia and Ahmun and the Twilight Kin have contact with them in the Twilight Kin lore.
A different source gave me “Hogger” as a hint, which kind of fits into the above
other question is what god or power they follow
like Varangur are coming during 4th and follow Korgaan
so the new faction would/should follow a different of the old gods (Shobik would fit) or possible Green Lady like Celestians (we know 2 Twins vanished in the east and where not involved in the God War, and if they are anti-magic they might not have split in the first place as they were immune to the magic of the mirror, while it could also be that the evolved in the a new being afterwards similar to the Green Lady which would make them very powerful compared to the remaining Shinging or Wicked ones)
Thanks Steve (and Dave!) for pulling it all together!
After soaking it all up, here is my attempt at a summary/theory:
someone/something has started some world-threatening event in the far east - a vortex draining magic from the world? Why, and what are they after? It might be a dark god of the celestians (or older) whom several races are flocking to serve (Xirkalli, Tetsumo, The Herd, a certain Dwarf Lord?)
There seems to be something large and secret in the north as well - what if the Elf prince of the north is using the elven magic to keep some creature locked in some eternal prison - and this new force from the east is seeking ways to free this creature?
What better way to open a magic prison than sabotaging the elf magic?
Could this be a celestial god previously split in two, coming to get his/her other half, thus becoming a complete god again? One half now loose in the east, leading dark forces, the other half locked under Chill?
Or will the entity under Chill prove to be the protagonist, being released as a last resort to counter this force from the east?
I note Kodos’ mention that a source gave him the word “Hogger” as a clue.
My first thought was “pig men”, for obvious reasons, but I do also note that there is a way in which this word ties to dragons… Although it is a BIT of a stretch…!! Bear with me…
Hogger might be a reference to World of Warcraft Gnolls, which is something I never played or put much interest into it but would also fit into what Steve discovered and speculated on
If it is a beastman-esq army (or one that has such units) you can possibly see why mantic might want to shy away from the gw gor/ungor vibe?
Gnolls and kolbold types aren’t overly done (frostgrave have the former, while the latter are rare outside of d&d models) and would give them a unique style while still allowing legacy stuff from Herd to get used.
I note that in MUP 147, from Clash, in a section they discuss- with “Max” - the new faction.
Max reports he has seen some of it and mentions beautiful models.
In that segment they mention that there’s an Eastern theme and then Max relates that Ronnie has said there is a new threat coming out of an an abyssal rift… To the East.
They mention the location of other rifts we know about to date.
