History Characters / TotalWarWarhammerTheDarkElves

* AnythingThatMoves: As both a follower of Slaanesh and the Elven God of Pleasure, this should be hardly surprising. From [[HornyVikings Norscan Chieftains]], ''entire tribes of Hung'', to [[DepravedBiSexual fellow sorceresses]], all the way to [[VillainousIncest her own son]] [[note]]Allegedly[[/note]], there's ''nothing'' Morathi won't bed. If she wants someone, she'll take them.

->'''Voiced by:''' Ramon Tikaram

Malekith leads the Naggarond sub-faction. In ''The Eye of the Vortex'', he begins the game in the Naggarond province, in northern Naggaroth. In ''Mortal Empires'' he starts in the same area, but the province has been merged with that of the Chill Road and uses the latter's name.

Morathi leads the Cult of Pleasure sub-faction. In ''The Eye of the Vortex'', she begins the game in the Iron Peaks of southern Naggaroth. In ''Mortal Empires'', she starts in the same area, but the province has been renamed to Titan Peaks.

Released as a free downloadable Legendary Lord for the ''Curse of the Vampire Coast'' DLC, Lokhir leads the sub-faction of the Blessed Dread, starting out in Chupayotl, along the southeastern coast of Lustria in both the ''Eye of the Vortex'' and ''Mortal Empires'' campaigns, and in eastern Cathay in ''Immortal Empires''.

** On campaign, fighting far inland. Dark Elves have no global recruitment and rely on Black Arks to recover losses quickly, making long campaigns away from the sea impractical. This isn't a big problem on the Vortex Campaign, but makes capturing and holding areas in the Old World in Mortal Empires - especially the Badlands and the World's Edge Mountains - slow and difficult.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Seemingly barefoot wherever she goes.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Malus killed his father in order to obtain one of the five artifacts needed to free Tz'arkan. Though Lurhan had it coming, considering that he was an horrifically abusive parent who had long sought Malus' death.

* BladeOnAStick: Her weapon, '''Heartrender''', is both this and a MagicStaff.

* BladeOnAStick: Like other beastmasters he wields a spear in conjunction with his whip.

* BadassBaritone: Shown off in the Dark Elves trailer, where he effortlessly slaughters High Elves in a scene highly reminiscent of ''Film/RogueOne'', then reveals an incredibly deep and gravelly voice.

* BadassBaritone: He speaks with a deep, authoritarian voice. While he technically ''already'' counts as it, when the Daemon takes over, it becomes full on EvilSoundsDeep.

* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: Unlike the Empire, Bretonnians, and ''even'' the Greenskins, who all display genuine affection for their BeastOfBattle, Dark Elves treat their war beasts with extreme cruelty, with their beast tamers being ''incredibly'' sadistic, and horrid to their charges, primarily using whips to subject them. A casual glance at the state of their [[BodyHorror scarred horses]] should tell you all you need to know. The only animal that seems to be treated with ''any'' form of respect are the Dark Pegasi, most likely due to their significance as religious icons. Even then, only Morathi's personal Dark Pegasus was deemed fit to have its own name.

* TheBeastmaster: A very literal example, in the form of the High Beastmaster, a Lord option. They are Dark Elves who, during their childhood, were taken to the Slave-City of Karond Kar to be tutored in the profession of handling and breaking beasts for the Dark Elf war machine. It is said that not even the proudest of Dragons can remain defiant for long underneath the torture and discipline of a skilled Beastmaster's whip, for the Druchii have black hearts, and do not treat their animals well. They go into battle on foot or on Scourgerunner Chariots, armed with a spear and a whip. They provide a myriad of niches, including buffing any Monstrous Unit in your army in battle and the campaign, as well as dealing a great deal of dedicated Anti-Large damage.

* WhipItGood: The Sisters of Slaughter wield barbed whips in combat, as do the High Beastmasters.

* WhipItGood: He wields the enchanted '''Whip of Agony''' in battle, as befitting a beastmaster. This weapon allows him to remove the ability of enemy monsters to cause Fear and/or Terror, making them easier to dispatch. His other monster ability he shares with the generic Beastmaster Lord, ''Whiplash'', has the cruel animal tamer strike the beast with it, giving them a heavy boost to combat stats.[[/folder]]

* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: [[spoiler: His attitude towards Amanar, and the High Elves as a whole.]]

* {{Medusa}}: Serpentine humanoids known as Bloodwrack Medusae, who have served Morathi for thousands of years. In the lore, these were originally VainSorceress sorceresses who used magic to make themselves more beautiful than the goddess Atharti, who then cursed them for their hubris. In-game, they work as a single-entity monstrous unit capable of not only delivering magical scream projectiles, but also able to ride Blodwrack Shrines to empower themselves and their allies. [[spoiler: A Medusa known as "the Oracle" is sought by Makelith to find a way to destabilize the Vortex, and appears in a cutscene, only to be ''murdered'' when it's no longer useful.]]

* {{Medusa}}: Serpentine humanoids known as Bloodwrack Medusae, who have served Morathi for thousands of years. In the lore, these were originally VainSorceress sorceresses who used magic to make themselves more beautiful than the goddess Atharti]], who then cursed them for their hubris. In-game, they work as a single-entity monstrous unit capable of not only delivering magical scream projectiles, but also able to ride Blodwrack Shrines to empower themselves and their allies. [[spoiler: A Medusa known as "the Oracle" is sought by Makelith to find a way to destabilize the Vortex, and appears in a cutscene, only to be ''murdered'' when it's no longer useful.]]

* {{Medusa}}: Serpentine humanoids known as Bloodwrack Medusae, who have served Morathi for thousands of years. In the lore, these were originally {{VainSorceress sorceresses who used magic to make themselves more beautiful than the goddess Atharti]], who then cursed them for their hubris. In-game, they work as a single-entity monstrous unit capable of not only delivering magical scream projectiles, but also able to ride Blodwrack Shrines to empower themselves and their allies. [[spoiler: A Medusa known as "the Oracle" is sought by Makelith to find a way to destabilize the Vortex, and appears in a cutscene, only to be ''murdered'' when it's no longer useful.]]

* HotWitch: Sorceress are powerful magic users who are also tend to be [[HeadTurningBeauty incredibly beautiful]], [[Stripperiffic scantily-clad]] and [[FemmeFatale seductive in nature]].

!! The Assassin [[spoiler:AKA Shadowblade]]

A Khainite Assassin who accompanies Felicion, aiding in the completion of the rituals and disposing of her targets. [[spoiler: Near the end of the campaign [[TheReveal he's revealed]] to actually be the legendary assassin ''[[CanonCharacterAllAlong Shadowblade]]'', and Felicion's brother to boot.]]

[[center: [-[[{{Characters/TotalWarWarhammer}} Main characters index]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheEmpire The Empire of Man]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheKingdomOfBretonnia The Kingdom of Bretonnia]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheTzardomOfKislev The Tzardom of Kislev]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheEmpireOfGrandCathay The Empire of Grand Cathay]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheDwarfenKingdoms The Dwarfen Kingdoms]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheHighElves The High Elves]] | '''The Dark Elves''' | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheWoodElves The Wood Elves]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheLizardmen The Lizardmen]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheVampireCounts The Vampire Counts]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheTombKings The Tomb Kings]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheVampireCoast The Vampire Coast]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheDaemonsOfChaos The Daemons Of Chaos]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheWarriorsOfChaos The Warriors of Chaos]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheNorscanTribes The Norscan Tribes]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheBeastmen The Beastmen]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheGreenskins The Greenskins]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheSkaven The Skaven]] | [[Characters/TotalWarWarhammerTheOgreKingdoms The Ogre Kingdoms]] ]]-]

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: The Dark Elves [[TheSocialDarwinist respect strength above all else]] and ultimately, regardless of birth rights or any other such claim, Malekith's authority hinges on the fact that he is the most powerful being in Naggaroth. A fact which he is fully aware of. In-game this is reflected by one of his lord traits: any lord with a higher level than Malekith has a chance to [[TheStarscream lose loyalty and potentially rebel]], on account of believing themselves stronger than him.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: He's the third most powerful Dark Elf in all of Naggarond both politically and by all means in strength as well; the Tyrant of Hag Graef, the Captain of his own Black Ark, and the Champion of the Witch King himself. Darkblade got here by littering the cold ground with thousands of bodies, and through his own will.

* TheRedBaron: Dark Elves love to give themselves impressive and intimidating titles. See NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast.

* PoisonousFriend: Or lover in this case, but nevertheless she's been this to both her husband and son, bringing out all their darkest vices and dragging them down the path of darkness. Even when the world was about to come to an end, she convinced Aenarion to host unspeakable orgies of such depravity, instead of fighting back against the never-ending tide of daemons. She succeeded with her son, and nearly did with her husband, if it wasn't for the best efforts of his best friend, Caledor, who inspired him to [[DeathEqualsRedemption die a hero]].

* HornyDevils: In ''Total War: Warhammer III'', the Cult of Pleasure gains the ability to recruit Daemonettes and Exalted Daemonettes, minions of Slaanesh that resemble scantly-clad androgynous humanoids bearing fangs and pincer claws. They're {{Fragile Speedster}}s even compared to Witch Elves, but they have an ArmorPiercingAttack, they spead Fear and have 20% physical resistance, and their Devastating Flanker trait gives them attack bonuses when engaging a target from the flanks or rear.

* ReligionOfEvil: Of a different sort than the rest of dark elf society. Morathi operates the Cult of Pleasure, which illegally worships the [[EldritchAbomination Chaos God]] Slaanesh. As a result, Morathi's faction spreads chaos corruption, poisoning the world map wherever she travels. By the third game, her faction is able to recruit [[HornyDevils daemonettes]] as well.

* TheArk: The Black Arks of Naggaroth, once landlocked coastal castles that have been thoroughly enchanted to crack themselves away from the land and propel themselves across the sea at the whim of their masters. The sight of one of the Black Arks on the waves, loaded as they are with bloodthirsty Druchii, inspires fear in all but the most deluded sailor. In-lore they were made when Malekith and his followers caused the Sundering, when the land of Nagarythe began to slip beneath the ocean. In an attempt to survive the onrushing waves, the sorcerers of the rebel Elves used their dark magic to protect their castles and towers, causing them to float free of their sinking land and sail to safety. In-game the arks function as [[BaseOnWheels mobile bases]] that not only serve as additional recruitment centers but enable armies to use battlefield bombardment abilities when fighting nearby.

* AutomaticCrossbows: Dark Elf repeater crossbows, their signature ranged weapons. Called "Uraithen" (lit. "Death Rain") in their tongue. Darkshards lug around large, two-handed variants (alongside protective Pavise shields), while Shades and Corsairs use smaller handcrossbows.

* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: Unlike the Empire, Bretonnians, and ''even'' the Greenskins, who all display genuine affection for their BeastOfBattle, Dark Elves treat their war beasts with extreme cruelty, with their beast tamers being ''incredibly'' sadistic, and horrid to their charges, primarily using whips to subject them. A casual glance at the state of their [[BodyHorror scarred horses]] should tell you all you need to know.
** The only animal that SEEMS to be treated with any form of respect are the dark Pegasi. This is most likely due to their significance as religious icons.

* HumanSacrifice: A staple of their religion. Though it need not be humans, any intelligent race will do.

* ItAmusedMe: This is the only reason Dark Elves need to torture, kill or pillage any of the “lesser races”. That is, everyone except them.

-->'''Malus Darkblade''':Through hate all things are possible, and my hate is strong.

** It is stated that upon death, all Dark Elves souls are taken and consumed by Slaanesh, as no one feels the desire to protect dead and irrelevant souls. It only serves to fuel further atrocities as Dark Elves consider that since they will suffer such a horrible fate, they might as well live to the fullest and make everyone suffer.

[[caption-width-right:350: ''"We have a visitor, Bracchus. Should we hear them or flay them alive?"'']]

Introduced in ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerII'', the Dark Elves are playable in the ''Eye of the Vortex'' campaign, as well as the ''Mortal Empires'' combined campaign for owners of both ''I'' and ''II''. In ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerIII'', they will be playable in the upcoming ''Immortal Empires'' combined mega-campaign for owners of ''I'', ''II'' and ''III''.

* MechanicallyUnusualClass: In ''Warhammer II'' she was already unusual amongst the Dark Elfs for [[TheCorruption naturally spreading chaos corruption]] (which was actually an inconvenience when the game first released and she got confederated by other factions, but this was eventually patched). But in ''Warhammer III'' she was updated and now also has unique interactions with Slaanesh corruption and is even able to recruit Daemonettes (Both regular and exalted variants).

Hellebron is a Legendary Lord available to those who purchase ''The Queen and the Crone'' DLC. Hellebron leads her own sub-faction, Har Ganeth, in the Vortex and Mortal Empires campaign.

Released as a free downloadable Legendary Lord for the ''Curse of the Vampire Coast'' DLC, Lokhir leads the sub-faction of the Blessed Dread, starting out in Chupayotl, along the southeastern coast of Lustria, in both the ''Eye of the Vortex'' and ''Mortal Empires'' campaigns.

* BigBad: [[spoiler: The main antagonist of the Vampire Coast campaign.]]

Malus is playable Legendary Lord for ''The Shadow & The Blade'' DLC. He leads the sub-faction of Hag Graef, but starts out in the Sea of Dread in the ''Eye of the Vortex'' campaign, and the Dragon Isles in the ''Mortal Empires'' campaign.

Released on March 18, 2021 as a free Legendary Lord through Total War Access, Rakarth leads the sub-faction of the Thousand Maws, and begins the ''Eye of the Vortex'' and ''Mortal Empires'' campaigns in Albion.

* AscendedExtra: In the tabletop game Rakarth had not been playable since 6th edition and his appearances in the wider lore were sparse at best.

* HornyDevils: In ''Total War: Warhammer III'', the Cult of Pleasure gains the ability to recruit Daemonettes and Exalted Daemonettes, minions of Slaanesh that resemble scantly-clad androgynous humanoids bearing fangs and pincer claws. They're FragileSpeedsters even compared to Witch Elves, but they have an ArmorPiercingAttack, they spead Fear and have 20% physical resistance, and their Devastating Flanker trait gives them attack bonuses when engaging a target from the flanks or rear.

* ImmortalityImmorality: She's managed to keep herself alive and youthful for well over [[TimeAbyss 7000 years]]. Suffice it to say that the methods she has used to achieve this feat have been anything but pleasant.

* RescueRomance: Fell in love with the warrior Aenarion after he rescued her from a Slaaneshi warband, although even InUniverse some theorize that she had already had become a Slaanesh cultist by then and deliberately seduced Aenarion

* RitualMagic: She often performs all sorts of rituals for all kinds of purposes, usually to invoke the power of the chaos gods.