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"Our duty is clear. If you cannot stand against them, then we will take a force and destroy these rat-things that prey upon you. Make way."

—Lord Adana, Swordmaster of Hoeth[3a]
Warhammer High Elf Swordmasters of Hoeth

The High Elven Swordmasters of Hoeth are some of the greatest swordsmen of the Known World.

The Swordmasters of Hoeth (fem. Swordmistresses of Hoeth) are High Elven swordsmen trained at the White Tower of Hoeth who are exemplars of the Elven martial arts. Each has studied warfare and personal combat for decades, or even centuries, attaining a martial mastery impossible for shorter-lived races like Men to achieve.

Each Swordmaster has their own particular style with a blade and each warrior bares an element of their heart when they fight, an aspect of their personality that is so unique and distinct as to be unmistakable to another practitioner of the art.[4a]

Role[]

"From the darkness I cry for you.
The tears you shed for us
are the blood of the Elven kind.
O Isha,
here I stand
on the last shore,
a sword in my hand.
Ulthuan shall never fall!
"

—Vow of the Swordmasters of Hoeth[5]
SwordmasterofHoethfm

A rare female Swordsmistress of Hoeth

Since the time of the Phoenix King Bel Shanaar, a long and bitter struggle has raged behind the peaceful facade of Ulthuan's courts and palaces. A war fought behind closed doors by the trusted agents of the Phoenix King and the debased worshippers of the Cults of Excess. After centuries of bitter struggle with the cults, the Phoenix King Aethis requested aid from the sages of the White Tower of Hoeth. In response, the Loremasters of Hoeth unleashed the Swordmasters of Hoeth upon the vile cultists.[1a]

The legendary warrior-scholars wasted no time taking their unparalleled skills to the dark corners of Ulthuan's great cities, slaughtering the cultists wherever they were found. So began the first chapter in the secret war that has lasted ever since, for the Swordmasters are implacable foes and will not rest until every member of the Cult of Pleasure lies dead.[2a] It was the Swordmasters who revealed the growing corruption of the Cults of Excess during the time of Aethis and thus spurred the Dark Elves into action to kill the Phoenix King.[1a]

It is even said that the greatest masters of the order can slay a foe with but a touch, or kill with a single precisely-pitched whistle. When Ulthuan marches to war, none go more eagerly than the Swordmasters of Hoeth, for only in war can they truly unleash the full extent of their deadly art. As the Swordmasters advance, their blades blur and weave, knocking aside arrows in mid-flight and leaving trails of bloody spray wherever Hoeth-forged steel tastes flesh.[1b]

The Swordmasters' greatswords are forged beneath the Tower of Hoeth by smiths whose secrets are the envy of even the priests of the forge god Vaul. Each elegant blade is as long as an Elf is tall, yet is balanced so perfectly that, to a warrior skilled in its use, it seems as light as a feather. So keen is the greatsword's edge, and so enduring are the enchantments woven into its blade, that its sharpness is never dulled, no matter how many helms or skulls are cloven by its strikes.[1b]

Since their inception during the reign of Bel-Korhadris, the Swordmasters have distinguished themselves on thousands of occasions. At the Battle of Hathar Ford, a single regiment of Swordmasters guarded the only river crossing for miles around. Commanded by the feared sorcerers known as the the Coven of Ten, a vast Dark Elf army sought swift passage across the river, but the Swordmasters denied them at every turn. Fighting knee-deep in the swirling river, the Swordmasters inflicted grievous casualties on the Dark Elves, despite the blistering barrage of spells cast by the coven.[2a]

After hours of ceaseless combat, the river became so choked with the bodies of the Dark Elven dead, that the corpses blocked the flow of the river, which soon burst its banks. The timely arrival of the legendary High Elf Mage Teclis to the battlefield brought much-needed respite from the magical assault launched by the Coven of Ten, and the Swordmasters swiftly counter-attacked, driving the Dark Elves from the field.[2a]

Swordmaster Ritual[]

"Hoeth-forged steel cries out as its wielders lunge into battle, cutting down foe after foe with their greatswords."

—Description of the Swordmasters of Hoeth from Total War: Warhammer II.[6]
SwordmasterofHoeth

Concept art of a Swordmaster of Hoeth created for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

Swordmasters of Hoeth have a form of cleansing ritual where the Swordmaster lays their weapon across their lap and lets the sounds of surrounding nature ease them into a meditative trance. Their breathing slows and their senses spread out from their body as the swordmaster whispers a mantra taught to them at the White Tower of Hoeth. The air around them sparkles as the ambient magic carried on the wind becomes attuned to their subtle vibrations. A soft glow builds beneath their eyelids, then, in one smooth motion, the Swordmaster draws their weapon and holds the blade before them. Their legs uncoil and in the blink of an eye they stand with sword raised high above them. The blade spins in their hands and their grip is reversed, the sword slashing in an intricate series of maneuvers nearly too fast for the naked eye to follow.[4a]

Their feet are in constant motion as they lunge, parry, and thrust at imaginary opponents, the blade cleaving the air in an impenetrable web of ithilmar that swoops gracefully around the swordmaster. One by one the wielder performs the thirty basic exercises of the Swordmasters before moving on to more advanced techniques. Once more, the enormous greatsword is brought upwards and held before the bearer's face. They spin the blade in a series of maneuvers beyond the skill of all save the most gifted of Ulthuan's warriors.[4a]

Only through the superlative training of the White Tower's Loremasters can a warrior transcend mere skill and become a true master of the Elven martial arts to perform feats of swordsmanship beyond the imagining of Men. With a selection of the most advanced techniques performed, the Swordmaster moves into a more personal series of manoeuvres, where their soul flows into the blade and informs its every movement.[4a]

The greatsword reaches further and faster, the tip cutting the air in dizzying fast sweeps that would be impossible without decades of training and a mastery of one's own body. At last, the sword ceases its motion; so suddenly an observer might be forgiven in thinking it had never moved at all. With a figurative whip of silver steel it is returned to its sheath and the Swordmaster becomes cross-legged once more, their breathing returning to normal as they emerge from meditation, calm and refreshed.[4a]

Notable Swordmasters[]

Miniatures[]

Sources[]

  • 1: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (8th Edition)
    • 1a: pg. 24
    • 1b: pg. 41
  • 2: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (7th Edition)
    • 2a: pg. 55
  • 3: Children of the Horned Rat (2nd Edition Fantasy Roleplay)
    • 3a: pg. 11
  • 4: Defenders of Ulthuan (Novel) by Graham McNeill
  • 5: Kinstrife (Short Story) by Graham McNeill
  • 6: Total War: Warhammer II

Gallery[]

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