“I know your heart. I can see that you are a true champion of Sigmar, who will go to any lengths to protect His people. That is why I cannot let you repeat His mistakes.”
– Lord-Arcanum Afamefuna Sigmarite-Tongue
When Sigmar began his Great Purge in Azyr, he had hoped to keep the violence contained against just those corrupted by Chaos or hatred. But once bloodshed is unleashed it is difficult to control, and for all his power Sigmar is but one being. Even in Azyr, he cannot be everywhere.
The four townships of the Rimward Synastry were among the furthest from Azyrheim’s reach, but not far enough to be oblivious to the happenings of the wider Realms. First messengers brought news of Chaos’ invasion; then, refugees came with dire rumours of Archaon’s victory. The Rimward Synastry became a powder keg of fear, distrust and hatred; the spark would come when a bedraggled citizen of Azyrheim entered one of the townships, telling of the Great Purge that had passed just days prior.
No one knows exactly who started the violence; at that point there had been so much distrust, so much fear and hate that it could have been anyone. But once it began, all became trapped in a sucking whirlpool of mayhem, retribution and killings. The four townships fought one another and amongst themselves, nearly sundering the solar bridges that connected them together. Mobs banded together to hunt down those they perceived as secret enemies. Others fomented then exploited the violence to achieve their own ends, using demagoguery to wield their followers like a cudgel.
Not all participated in the bloodshed. Some tried to prevent it, and when that became impossible save as many as they could. Afamefuna had been one of them. A priest of Sigmar, they had used their position to call for unity against the terror washing over their parish. When those sermons fell on death ears, rather than stand aloof they went into the blood-washed streets to save as many innocents as they could, shepherding them to their temple where any Sigmarite wouldn’t dare to shed blood.
This protection within the hallowed ground held initially, but showed fractures later on. The longer Afamefuna spent outside of the temple, the more dark hearts filled with hatred surrounded their parish, only being dispersed when Afamefuna returned and harangued them. Eventually, Afamefuna had to stay permanently at the temple to guarantee the safety of those within. With a heavy heart, they watched the flow of refugees to their temple dwindle to a trickle, then to nothing at all. Though they prayed every day to Sigmar to end the violence, they were met with only silence.
With no more victims to vent their paranoia against, the remaining perpetrators turned to Afamefuna’s temple. A mob gathered before the temple doors and demanded the priest see them. Stilling shaking hands, Afamefuna went out to speak with them.
At first the mob besieged Afamefuna with words, jeering and threatening them. But they held their ground, and replied with forebearance. Perhaps they might have once more convinced the mob to turn away. Perhaps, if a knife hadn’t been thrust into their stomach by a madman, Afamefuna would have survived that night. When the wild-eyed murderer stepped back from his handiwork with a bloody hand, it seemed like there was only silence as a red stain spread across Afamefuna’s robes.
Though delirious from pain and blood loss, Afamefuna had enough of a wit to step back behind the doors and bar them. When the mob returned to their senses, they charged forward and began battering at the door, trying to break it down. Holding shut the doors with a last, superhuman effort, Amafefuna closed their eyes, and with the remainder of their breath uttered a final prayer to Sigmar to protect their charges.
And this time, he answered.
Just as life left Afamefuna’s body, Sigmar struck the temple doors like a thunderbolt, throwing back the onrushing mob. In the hours that followed, he took to the streets of the Rimward Synastry, his mere presence able to paralyse the murderers and inciters. They would meet their punishment, in due course.
For all those who had already lost their lives, Sigmar grieved, and tried to make amends. He took up the souls of those martyred by their courage and Reforged them as Stormcast, Afamefuna chief among them. With them he formed the core of a Sacrosanct Chamber within the Hallowed Knights and dubbed them the Choir Empyrean. Their calls for peace had been ignored in mortal life; now, the God-King had given them authority and power that couldn’t be denied.
They would be held in reserve for most of the Ages of Chaos and Sigmar alongside the other Sacrosanct Chambers, but when they were finally unleashed they were wielded as a correcting force against the worst excesses of Sigmar’s empire. A watchful eye, to ensure that the mistakes that led to the devastation of the Rimward Synastry wouldn’t be repeated.
When the Wardens of Burden prepared to launch a punitive invasion of the Desraki Dominion, it was the Choir Empyrean that ended their rampage before it had begun. When Azyrites followed in the Stormcasts’ wake into Narjanm, it was Afamefuna that ensured they integrated bloodlessly with the native peoples of that land. Time and time again, the Choir Empyrean have saved lives, not with violence, but the prevention of it.
Though still a new Chamber to the Realms, they have acquired themselves some military accolades under Lord-Arcanum Afamefuna’s leadership; defeating an Arcanite host in the skies above the Cthonian Sea alongside Kharadron allies, ending the rampage of the Book of the Golden Masques; spear-heading the liberation of Narjanm from the forces of Nagash alongside the Blackhammers and establishing their Stormkeep in Vashraashahar; aiding the Star-Beckoners in freeing slaves in the Desraki Dominion, and ensuring that they would find a safe refuge in the Cities of Sigmar; among several others.
Though they haven’t yet earned the same gloried service history of their fellow Stormcast within those theatres, the Blackhammers and Star-Beckoners still regard them as valued allies in their wars against Sigmar’s enemies. The Wardens of Burden are still hesitant to accept them as equal partners due to past confrontations over Tcimmera‘s darker deeds, but neither do they deny them a place in the wars of Kha’ihva Plains. If Phionan and Karjeon both welcome Afamefuna within their brotherhood, then that is a burden Tcimmera will put up with.
With the loss of the Blackhammers, much of the momentum behind the liberation of Narjanm has been lost. More than simply losing valuable allies, Afamefuna keenly feels the loss of heroes who did more than just battle Sigmar’s enemies. The Blackhammers had stayed true to their liberating mission, and inspired others to do the same. Without them, Afamefuna fears that Sigmar’s empire has become a darker place.
In their high tower in Vashraashahar, they keep a scrying mirror permanently fixed on Tcimmera and their faithful Tauralon Comethead close at hand, just in case…
