At its climax the Vortex is destroyed, as was Teclis the loremaster's plan all along. The elven civil war comes to a head with a battle at the foot of the Great Vortex. They devastate Talabheim and Marienburg, then lay siege to Altdorf.ДЄlarielle the Everqueen of the high elves forms an alliance with Malekith, legitimizing his claim to be Phoenix King. While Archaon gathers strength in the north, three armies lead by champions of the plague god Nurgle march south to weaken the Empire in preparation for his assault. He begins working on a similar wall in Kislev to hold back the armies of Chaos, dubbed the Auric Bastion. The Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic, Balthasar Gelt, creates a magical wall around Sylvania to keep the undead in. Outnumbered, they fail and Volkmar is captured. With the army tied up there it falls to Volkmar the Grim, high priest of Sigmar, to lead a crusade into Sylvania. The Empire marches north to defend its border. The Crown of Sorcery is discovered missing from the Imperial Vaults.

2522Дuring the Imperial Conclave of State a message from Mannfred von Carstein arrives, declaring that Sylvania has formally separated itself from the Empire. High elf princess Aliathra is kidnapped by Mannfred von Carstein, the first of many of the Old World's undead menaces to return to life.

He begins amassing an army larger than any the Old World has yet seen. The daemon prince Be'lakor crowns Chaos champion Archaon Everchosen the Lord of the End Times. 2515ДЄzhag is defeated at the Battle of Osterwald, and the Crown of Sorcery is placed in the Imperial Vaults for safekeeping. It begins whispering to him, inspiring him to gather a greenskin horde and march on the Empire. Orc warlord Azhag the Slaughterer finds the Crown of Sorcery. Karl Franz becomes Emperor and among his first acts is leading an army to Nordland to see off a Norse invasion. They are finally stopped at the abbey of la Maisontaal. Heinrich von Kemmler, a necromancer dubbed the Lichemaster, resurrects a dead champion of Chaos named Krell and together they lead an army into Bretonnia. The Imperial province of Westerland and its capital Marienburg secede from the Empire, buying their independence from Emperor Dieter IV. 2420ДЄ former templar of Sigmar turned champion of Chaos, Archaon emerges from the Altar of Ultimate Darkness blessed by the Mark of Chaos, having taken the first step on a quest to become the herald of the apocalypse. A slann ritual intended to push Morrslieb out of orbit goes wrong, shaking loose meteors of warpstone that rain down across the world.

Total war warhammer end times