The Temple of Arch Kavalos Vortakos dates back to the beginnings of the Age of Myth when a local tribal leader, Golitzin, lead his small tribe into the region to the East of the Dark Wood. A fearsome warrior, he cleared the area of beasts and monsters, allowing his tribe to settle and form the beginnings of the Diretribes, who thrived and spread through the region as far as the Igneous Delta. A monument was raised in his honour and as time passed stories began to circulate that the site had healing properties. A Temple was erected around the monument and pilgrims began to arrive from all parts of Aqshy hoping for a miracle to heal a sick relative or bless some water to restore the fertility of a farmers fields. The Temple of our Lady Golitzin grew into a thriving temple run by the Devoted of Sigmar. With hundreds of pilgrims visiting each week, the beginnings of a monastery were starting to form with hostelries for the travellers to rest from their arduous journey. With increasing wealth came increasing fame and the community serving the Temple grew affluent in the local area, buying land and farms to further increase their wealth.
The Age of Chaos saw vast armies of Chaos warriors sweeping across the lands and the temple was destroyed along with the monastery as Chaos rampaged through the region. The monument was cast down and the site was used as a meeting place for sacrifice and a huge red feast.
With the start of the Realmgate wars, Alarielle joined Sigmar in his fight against Chaos, and the Slyaneth that dwelt in the Dark Wood, led by Our Lady of the Wyldwood, emerged to join forces with Sigmar’s Stormhosts in taking back control of Khul’s Ravage. The Chaos armies were soon in retreat. As a thank you to the Sylvaneth, the temple was cleared of the vegetation that had grown around it and was restored to its former glory. The monument of Lady Golitzin was taken away, the Temple was rededicated to the Lady of the Dark Wood, and an Oak tree was planted in place of the monument. The temple began to gain a reputation for having magical qualities and water blessed at the site seemed to give extra life and vitality to the land that it was sprinkled over, increasing crop yields, so the number of pilgrims began to arrive in large numbers once again.
With Nagash releasing his new army of Bonereapers on the mortal realms, he needed a base from which to launch his assault on the Great Parch and the Golitzin Realmgate was a perfect location. The regular flow of pilgrims provided bone from which to form his new Mortek Guard and Kavalos Deathriders. By the time news of his assault spread and the pilgrims stopped coming, his army would be large enough to release on the realm. Arriving through the realm gate Arch Kavalos Vortakos met little resistance from the few Flagellants that were in the temple and he rapidly established a beachhead.
Raising the dead from the graveyard in the temple, Arch Kavalos Vortakos had a readymade army to defend the temple against any counterattack that the local defence forces may launch.
With the base established, Vortakos was free to begin gathering the bone tithe, a task he embraced with relish, rapidly establishing himself as a cruel and exacting administrator.
