The Dark Master held the fate of the Warhammer world within his shadowy talon during last summer's worldwide campaign set on the mist-enshrouded isle of Albion. But who or what was this terrible being? Twisted scribe of forbidden lore, Anthony Reynolds, delves into the background of this dangerous and powerful creature of eternal darkness.

The powerful being called, in these times, the Dark Master has been known over the centuries by countless other titles and names, including the Harbinger, the Bearer and the Darkening. It is written in ancient tomes that the creature's original name was Be'lakor, but this is known only amongst a few scholars specialising in the forbidden texts, for this entity is thousands upon thousands of years old. A being of eternal despair and doom, the Dark Master was once a mortal being - indeed it is widely believed that he was the first earthly creature to achieve eternal life, being raised to the status of daemonhood by his infernal masters for countless deeds that attracted their attention and favour.

Reborn into his new body as a Daemon Prince, the Dark Master was a terrifying and overwhelming creature, and soon came to be worshipped as a deity in his own right. With unimaginable power at his fingertips, Be'lakor strode at the forefront of the armies of Chaos, leading endless legions of daemons in great wars that ravaged the land. No mortal could stand before him, and he slaughtered thousands at a whim.

As his powers grew stronger with each passing day, so too did his pride, which was to prove his downfall.

Swollen with arrogance and pride, Be'lakor eventually incited the anger of the Greater Gods of Chaos. It is written in the dark volumes that he saw himself as equal to the gods of Chaos rather than giving them their worthy respect, and that it was this act which caused his fall from grace. The Dark Master was cast down from his exalted position and cursed by Tzeentch, the Changer of the Ways. From being the favoured son of Chaos, he became a hate-filled and confused spirit-creature, denied physical form. His sanity was stripped from him, and he became a random and unpredictable entity that ruled a dark realm of his own madness. For thousands of years the Dark Master has existed in insanity, time dragging agonisingly slowly, each passing minute feeling to him like a month. The confines of his tortured mind is constantly awash with random thoughts and ideas, filled with frustration, anger and hatred.

As part of his curse, a destiny was placed upon this now insubstantial and random Chaos spirit. Over thousands of years, there have been many Chaos invasions of the world, led by all manner of fell daemons and mortal warriors. However, some of these leaders stand out from the others, mighty conquering champions particularly favoured by the Dark Gods. These powerful leaders have each united the followers of the dark gods of Chaos and led the great incursions of Chaos that have ravaged the world. Each one of these invasions could well have overtaken everything, but each has been pushed back at great cost. The mark of the Chaos gods' favour on the elevated warlord who leads the incursions is the dread Crown of Domination, a powerful symbol to the creatures of Chaos that the Greater Gods have marked out this mortal leading their armies.

Before each coming of these powerful incarnations of Chaos, Be'lakor wakes from his tortured insanity. It is his curse to lead these mighty warlords to the eternal resting place of the Crown of Domination, to guide them along the hidden paths where they must face a number of mortal challenges in order to prove themselves in the eyes of the gods. Once the crown has been retrieved, it is the Dark Master who is compelled to complete the ceremony, and place the crown on the warlord's brow in a dark coronation, the fallen Daemon Prince filled with jealousy and hatred. Once the crown has been placed upon the warlord's brow, Be'lakor begins to fade back into his mad state of existence, no matter how much he struggles to resist the pull of insanity. Each time he witnesses the rise of the Uniter of Chaos he is painfully reminded that they take the place that is rightfully his own. Such is his curse, that he must aid them on their path to greatness, filled with the knowledge that it is they and not he who will lead the glorious incursions against the mortal world.

And so for a sixth time the Dark Master rose from his madness and regained his wits in order to fulfil this preordained fate. Be'lakor's memories of what occurred in his past resurfaced, and he once again recalled how he was hurled from his exalted status into darkness. Hatred towards the higher powers of Chaos filled his being, and he was determined not to let history repeat itself once more. Be'lakor set about on a desperate action that would enable him to avoid fulfilling his pre-ordained destiny and regain what he had lost. Before the rising warlord was ready to receive the crown, the Dark Master swept unseen over Albion, recognising that this isle held the key to his chance for escape, feeling the pulse of magical energy emanating from it. He alone knew the resting place of the Crown of Domination, although it is a part of his curse that he cannot touch the Crown until the hand of the chosen warrior has retrieved it. However, if the power of the Albion Ogham stones was focused into his being, Be'lakor realised he could regain his much coveted physical form and breach the defences that kept the Crown of Domination out of his reach. If he could claim the Crown for himself, it would be he who could claim the mantle of the Uniting Warlord of Chaos, and it would be he who would lead the daemonic legions on their rampage into the mortal lands of the south. Be'lakor set about attracting servants, those he could corrupt and lure to his side, for he needed minions to do his bidding and focus the power into himself.

The Dark Master turned his attentions to the Truthsayers of Albion, the protectors of the Ogham stones, and set about weeding out those who he could turn against their brethren. Promised great power and gifted with potent magic, these so-called Dark Emissaries began to abuse their ancient knowledge of the Ogham stones, turning their power towards feeding and fuelling the power of the Dark Master. A tremendous battle erupted between the Dark Emissaries and the Truthsayers, both groups seeking help from far shores, securing allies from all the corners of the Warhammer world, and the battles escalated. Thus the War of Albion was begun.

Albion was soon soaked in blood and devastation, and countless stone circles had been desecrated, their power turned to infernal, abhorrent uses. Be'lakor revelled in the bloodshed and horror. As they gained control of the stone circles, the Dark Emissaries used their corrupted powers to siphon off the wild energy of the land, sucking the vitality from the isle of Albion to feed their Dark Master. As his powers grew, the shadowy Daemon Prince grew increasingly more solid, and he gloried as he slowly began to regain his long lost physical form.

Goading his minions ever onwards, and greedy for the feel of material form, Be'lakor knew that his chance to escape his doomed fate had come. He began to exert his own power as it grew, and many on Albion could feel his dark shadow like an oppressive cloud hanging in the sky. To others, this feeling was more intense, and the Truthsayers themselves could feel the power of the Dark Master as a heavy pressure forcing itself into their minds. At the same time, Be'lakor began to probe the defences surrounding the Crown of Domination, feeling them begin to yield before him.

Meanwhile, the forces of the Truthsayers had been busy securing . new allies, and the forces of darkness were ground to a halt. The Dark Master raged, for he knew that time was short. He could feel that far to the north, the time was nearing when the powerful warlord was ready to receive the Crown of Damnation. The Dark Master knew that he must have the powerful artefact within his grasp before then, for even his will could not resist the pull of fate that would require him to fulfil his hated destiny when the time of unholy coronation came.

As the forces of darkness faltered, they began to turn upon each other and former allies killed many of the Dark Emissaries. The Truthsayers, united within the Bastion of the Old Ones, began to perform powerful incantations, their magic converging to counter the assault of the Dark Master. In a fit of rage the Dark Master, now almost completely in solid, corporeal form, realised that his plans had been thwarted. He knew that with the advance of his forces halted, he could not filter enough power into himself in time. As his destiny began to pull at him, he knew that he could not resist.

His semi-formed, shadowy figure filled with power, the Dark Master rose to his full majesty and swept from the towering Citadel of Lead as his destiny tugged him unwittingly onwards, leaving his minions to continue their battle against the Truthsayers without him.

But with his new-found power, a number of realisations came to Be'lakor. He knew that the great incursions were becoming more frequent, and the time was nearing when the world would be assailed by one almighty incursion that would last until the end of time. It did not matter how long this incursion would take to conquer the lands, centuries perhaps, for time is nothing to the gods of Chaos. Hatred burned through the Dark Master, for he knew that he would not be leading the forces of Chaos in these final, glorious battles.

With this hatred came another curious thought. Be'lakor realised that with the power he had gathered into himself during the war on Albion, he was able to resist descending back into madness. He was free of his cursed destiny. Though he had not achieved all that he had dreamed, the Dark Master was far from finished with his treacherous scheming. After the crowning of this new leader of Chaos, this upstart known as Archaon, the Dark Master would retreat to the Realm of Chaos with new dreams filled with power and vengeance.

The rage-fuelled plans of the Dark Master are focused on seeking vengeance against the Greater Gods of Chaos. In darkness, the being known as Be'lakor concocts his final revenge, while the world becomes increasingly aware of the grim and bloody times rapidly approaching, when the lands shall once again feel the hellish grip of Chaos...