"Lybaras is vengeance given form. It is the wrath, the wrack and the ruin of all those who would dare challenge the Great Land. The shadows of its white towers stretch from the Devil’s Backbone to the west, to the Cursed Jungle in the south, and to the Gulf of Fear in the east. Only from the north may Lybaras be safely approached, and it is the north that Lybaras guards, for in the north lies cursed Lahmia and twice-cursed Nagashizzar."
Lybaras (pronounced: "LEE-bah-rahs"), the "Tomb City of Asaph," known by other names such as "Lybaras the Magnificent" or "Lybaras Which Guards the Sea,"[2a] and the "City of Scholars,"[3a] was one of several powerful city-states of ancient Nehekhara. [1a]
History[]
Though smaller than her sister Nehekharan city-states, Lybaras is no less a vision of decayed splendour which signified the wealth and beauty of ancient Nehekhara. Vast temple complexes towered into the sky, and every burial pyramid is topped with priceless gold. Lybaras is the ancient resting place of High Queen Khalida Neferher, the renowned warrior-queen whose enchanting beauty, martial pride and deep-rooted hatred of Nagash's tainted race of Vampires was legendary.[1a]
Before Nehekhara became the Land of the Dead, Lybaras was known as the patron city of Tahoth, the god of knowledge and wisdom in the Nehekharan Pantheon, and was thus the home of many technological wonders. During the Nehekharan wars against the Great Necromancer Nagash, the priest-king of Lybaras, Hekhmenukep, was responsible for the creation of several astounding war machines, including sky-ships, advanced catapults, and steam-powered tomb scorpions and colossi made of wood and bronze. By the time that Khalida ruled as queen, the Lybarans had learned how to both mine and utilise iron to arm and armour their soldiers rather than the more common Nehekharan bronze.[4a]
Lybaras was also famous for its collegiums, which were already in decay at the time of King Pashet.[3a]
Following Khalida's short reign as Queen of Lybaras and her eventual resurrection by Asaph, the goddess of vengeance, magic and serpents, the city took this goddess as its personal patron deity. Carvings of the goddess' beloved asps adorn every surface of the city's funeral monuments and these serpentine engravings constantly writhe across the stonework, hissing at any who walk in their shadow and spying on any who dare explored the streets.[1a]
Of all Nehekhara's cities, Lybaras has the most independence from the chief city-state of Khemri's rule, and that of Settra himself. This is due, in no small part, to its distance and isolation from Settra's court. Lybaras is surrounded on three sides by the mountain range known as the Devil's Backbone to the west, the Cursed Jungle to the south and the sulphuric waters of the Gulf of Fear to the east. The only negotiable path lies to the north, past the tainted ruins of the city-state of Lahmia, where the spirits of the damned lurk and feed upon any who enter.[1a] The area ruled by the Undead monarchs of Lybaras is a land of deep forests and endless swamps, populated by snakes and favoured by Asaph.[5a]
Notable Locations[]
- Palace of the Scholar-Kings - The residence of King Pashet, where the royal viziers decide who can seek an audience with the ruler. Even the citizens of the city can't access it.[3a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Tomb Kings (8th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 19
- 2: Gotrek and Felix: The Serpent Queen (Novel) by Josh Reynolds
- 3: Nagash Immortal (Novel) by Mike Lee
- 3a: Ch. 10: "The Dispossessed"
- 4: Nagash the Unbroken (Novel) by Mike Lee
- 4a: pg. 430
- 5: Warhammer: The Old World website
- 5a: Explore the Old World (Interactive Map)