actics and armaments, for they learned to harness the celestial energy Sigmar had

imparted to them, and lent their thunder-charged might to each other’s arms. The
Stormhosts scoured Azyr of the wicked creatures and ferocious monsters which
lingered there still, becoming a military machine the likes of which had never been
seen before. Only then did Sigmar declare the Stormhosts ready to face the true
foe. Only then did Sigmar unleash his storm of vengeance and send forth his
Stormcast Eternals to battle.[1g]

It was the duardin Forge-God Grungni who caught and shaped the raw magics of the
Celestial Realm for Sigmar. By ascending to Sigendil, high above the sky palaces,
the God-King could hurl those bolts down into the Mortal Realms. From out of those
meteoric strikes strode forth his vengeance – the gleaming and indomitable armies
of the Stormcast Eternals. Thus by lightning did the Stormhosts bring war, swift
and terrible, to the Chaos invaders. Yets uch rapid deployment was both a gift and
curse. Once delivered unto realms far distant, the Stormcasts could not return to
the Heavens in the same manner. After their initial lightning assaults, only by
victory or death could Sigmar’s warriors come once again to the realm of Azyr. If
the Stormcast Eternals seized a Realmgate, then they could use it to travel back to
Azyr in triumph, leaving some of their number to secure their gains. Failure in
their mission meant only death, in which case their immortal souls would blaze in
rapturous flashes, their spirits returning to the Heavens to be reforged once more
by their mighty maker.[1h]

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Training
A Stormcast Eternal is gifted with superhuman speed, strength and endurance, and
furnished for battle with armaments made of triple-blessed sigmarite forged by the
Six Smiths themselves. Yet this is not enough. Within hours of his successful
Reforging, a Stormcast Eternal is subjected to tasks and training beyond the
abilities of mere mortals. Such exercises are relentless, designed to hone their
enhanced abilities to preternatural levels. Only when their personal martial
prowess has been perfected are Stormcast Eternals allowed to train alongside their
brethren. At a spoken word, the warriors pivot in unison, form interlocking shield
walls or advance to lend their support and the might of their celestial energies
where they are most needed by their brothers. The Stormcasts’ way of war goes far
beyond mere battlefield maneuver, as the various units support and empower each
other to produce a tight-knit battle formation that moves and fights like no other
army the Mortal Realms have seen before.[1m]

Stormhosts
As the power of Chaos grew across the realms, destroying or usurping all that he
had tried to build, Sigmar retreated to Azyr. It was a difficult decision, for he
knew well what would become of those realms and peoples he had forsaken. Yet Sigmar
also realized he was fighting nought but a long battle of slow defeat. His former
alliances were shattered, his armies overpowered. In losing his warhammer, Ghal
Maraz, Sigmar had realized a grim truth – he must forsake the role of warrior and
take up the mantle of the God-King proper. It could no longer be his task to win
the battles himself, for even a god can only be in one place at a time. To triumph,
Sigmar knew he must make and direct armies of defiance, that he must fashion a new
kind of warrior, one that could stand face to face against the unnatural horrors of
Chaos.[1m]

Thus, by godly power, arcane might and mystic machinery were the Stormcast Eternals
forged. Warriors were chosen for this honour upon Sigmar’s command, and organised
according to his dictates. Each group was an autonomous army called a Stormhost.
Each of these Stormhosts was unique in name and deed. Somewere formed of warriors
chosen from the same region, such as the Angels Aetheric, taken from monster-
hunting tribes along the fringe of the Celestial Realm. Other Stormhosts were
composed of individuals with a common trait – all of the Hallowed Knights were
devout worshippers of Sigmar, warriors who had called upon their deity to aid them
in battle.[1m]

No one but Sigmar himself knows how many Stormhosts have been created, for
Sigmaron– the sky palace that floats high above the sealed realm of Azyr – has been
enshrouded in secrecy for hundreds of years. Certainly, though, the Stormhosts are
built for war, each separate army organized according to a structured battle order.
[1n]

Though every Stormcast Eternal is blessed with Sigmar’s divine power, none are
imbued so richly with godly might as the Lord-Celestants. They are chosen by the
God-King himself, and are the greatest of their Stormhosts – field commanders,
captains and warleaders that can confront the greatest horrors and defeat the most
powerful champions of Chaos. From them, one day, Lord-Commanders might be selected,
but first these heroes must prove themselves. Beneath the Lord-Celestants in the
Stormhost’s hierarchy are sub-commanders, paragons of their kind that radiate
Sigmar’s celestial power. Each Stormhost is divided into a number of chambers–
companies comprised of different types of warrior. The Strike Chambers are the
largest and make up the bulk of most Stormhosts, but each Stormhost also has
additional ancillary chambers, many of which have thus far been withheld from
battle for reasons known only to Sigmar himself. There are three main types of
Strike Chamber, each with their own specialism – Exemplar, Harbinger and Warrior
Chambers.[1n]

The exact composition of warriors within chambers can vary by Stormhost, as can the
number of chambers themselves. For instance, as the heralds of the new war, the
Hammers of Sigmar have more Strike Chambers than most Stormhosts, while the
Celestial Vindicators field more Retributors within their Exemplar Chambers. In
every case, each Stormcast Eternal is trained to fight in combination with his
chamber so that the whole of the Stormhost is yet more dangerous than the sum of
its individual parts.[1n]

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Chambers of the Stormhost

The chambers that make up each Stormhost are further divided into conclaves. All
members of a conclave are armed and equipped to perform a specific battlefield
role: Redeemer Conclaves contain the Stormhost’s core infantry, Justicar Conclaves
wield ranged death, while Paladin Conclaves are formed of hard-hitting elite units.
Angelos Conclaves provide fast-striking aerial support. Under the leadership of the
chamber command, the varied conclaves work together to achieve deadly battlefield
harmony. The chamber command is composed of a Lord-Celestant and Lord-Relictor, and
various other officers, including Lord-Castel