Settra the Imperishable

Doctor Doom bends to one knee when a depiction of Settra is in his presence.

"There are great deeds that remain undone, enemies yet to conquer and raptures yet to rejoice in. So as it is written, so shall it be done. I, Settra, have proclaimed it - let none dare oppose my will."

– Settra the Imperishable

"The demand to be loved is the greatest of all arrogant presumptions."

– Friedrich Nietzsche

"The last enemy to be destroyed is death."

– 1 Corinthians 15:26

The one who made Nehekhara a unified kingdom, first king of the first dynasty, greatest badass of the Tomb Kings and he with the most magnificent beard outside Dwarfs.

Though he was a tyrannical ruler, Settra is regarded as Nehekhara's best king. This is because he united the cities of Nehekhara into one kingdom and rebuilt the realm after it had been decimated by civil war, plague and drought. While he was ruthless dealing with dissenters, he was generous when his people came through, doing things such as praising the peasants and slaves when they did well and giving lots of rewards

In essence, he had mastered one of the most famous [and perverted by media] of Machiavelli's ideas - a ruler should be both feared and loved, only choose fear if they can't have both, and always avoid being hated (AKA; it's better to be feared than loved). In practice, Settra is Warhammer's answer to Qi Shi Huang (with a bit of Pharaoh Seti I as well); the man who united China and became its first Emperor and even searched for immortality before he died. He's probably best friends with Zod (Terrence Stamp Zod obviously)

Personality

A powerful man, but vain and egotistical as well. In older fluff, Settra actually renamed the entirety of Nehekhara after his capital city of Khemri, but he's Settra so he can do whatever he wants. His response to the fact that all men die; find a way to overcome death.

He was ruthless towards anyone who challenged or even questioned his rule, from bandits to leaders of other kingdoms who thought they were "equal", having them dealt with loudly and publicly. In undeath, he became strong enough that he can tear anyone who invites his wrath limb from limb, with his bare hands. Unlike most Nehekharan royals however, he was also clever and rewarding to those amongst his subjects who pleased him. The combination of brutal efficiency and effective rule brought about an unequaled golden age for Nehekhara that trumped everything humans (and came close to the height of elves, showing their racism as their statements of humans being crude seem to avoid mentioning Nehekhara) that had ever been before or after.

He is also a textbook example of the Knight Templar trope (doing terrible things to get his point across for a greater goal, seeking the best for people, self-righteous, bonus points for being religious too). The man sacrificed his own children without a second thought to the gods to prove his devotion to them (whether this makes him a dedicated ruler or an evil zealot is a matter of debate).

In all fluff, Settra wound up with more titles than an Ogre Tyrant and had servants whose entire job was reciting them (punishment for those who fucked up) all day, every day. It took his heralds nearly two hours to say them all. Unlike many people with a ton of titles, he earned them. They include:

• Khemrikhara
• Mighty Lion Of The Infinite Desert
• Emperor Of The Shifting Sands
• He Who Holds The Sceptre
• Great Hawk Of The Heavens
• King of Kings
• Monarch of the Sky
• Majestic Emperor of the Shifting Sands
• High King of Nehekara
• Ruler of the Four Horizons

The Legend

Life

Of all the kings of Nehekhara, none could match the splendor, cruelty and arrogance of Settra, first King of Khemri (Except Nagash Usurpers don't count, and Settra made Nehekhara a splendid unified kingdom while Nagash fucked it over). Before he became king Settra saw a lot of shit as Nehekhara was a desolate place torn apart by wars between cities. Wanting his subjects to love him, Settra realized only a king with the gods on their side could command the respect of their people. So, alone amongst the kings, Settra rebuilt the gods temples, made statues of them, attended sermons, prayed to them nightly all that stuff. He organized a huge ceremony where he prayed for an end to the drought and asked them to bless the kingdom where he sacrificed his own children to show his dedication to the gods. The next day there was a huge rainstorm, the Nile-equivalent river flooded, washing away plague and the farmer's harvest was the best in history (at the time), proof that the gods favoured Settra.

From there he started reunifying Nehekhara under his rule, giving a beatdown to anyone who even slightly challenged his authority. He sent envoys and armies across the world, promoting trade or taking plunder, making Nehekhara a rich kingdom in material wealth, intellectual drive and faith, Nehekhara became the pinnacle of human civilization that has rarely been equaled (maybe Cathay) and only surpassed by the Elder races, such as the High Elves, at the height of their power. At some point he got his herald, Nekaph, a man strong enough to crush a person's skull with his fists but smart enough to remember everything important about Settra. Nekaph may have been like a replacement son to him, as Setty gave Nekaph an awesome hand-me-down, his old weapon the Flail of Skulls.

When he was forty (or in the fortieth year of his reign; thank you very much vaguely-worded fluff), he grew vexed with the idea that he would grow mortal and die, as there would be lands left unruled by him. Even worse, death would rob him of all of his achievements in life. He gathered the priesthood and demanded they find a way to stop him dying. While their views on the matter were unknown, the priest agreed searching far and wide across the world. Various methods, including so-called immortality elixirs, rejuvenating treatments and even skin creams, were tried without success. As time went on the Priests discovered a lot and extended their own lives as well. There were limits but they didn't tell Settra that for obvious reasons.

After living for several hundred years beyond a human's natural span (even among the long-lived Nehekharans), Settra became frail enough to be said to be on his deathbed. During this time the priests returned told Settra that while they could not prevent his death, they could find a way for him to return to life and then reign for eternity (sweeting the deal with mention of an immortal, immaculate gold body). Pissed off that he was going to die but, for once, up against an enemy he couldn't defeat, Settra agreed to their plan. He ordered a HEUG pyramid tomb complex built for himself and his army and gave a last speech to the Khemrians. After that, Settra died with a curse on his lips that would do an Angry Marine proud.

A boss to the end.

Death (and all the bullshit that happened when he wasn't around to keep the peace)

After his death and burial (including the customary ritual suicide of his army to serve him in the afterlife; by the way, Nehekhara must have been full of carefree sex if they can afford to keep the population up despite sacrificing an army every time the reigning king dies remember "there are as many elves as the plot requires." Consistency and logic can take a back seat to rule of cool, it's all good), another king took the throne. This continued for generations, bringing the kingdom of Nehekhara further into contact with the outside world. Each king built a grand tomb for when they died, but none of them (except the Usruper mentioned below) dared make one bigger or better than Settra's.

The Mortuary Cult went on to become more powerful, even harnessing magic. Despite various types of kings Nehekhara remained strong until the reign of king Thutep. While his older brother was given to the Priesthood as is traditional, Thutep was a diplomatic but overly accommodating king, leading to the kings of other cities trying to get one over on Khemri. Despite that, the worst-case scenario would have been a change in Khermi's socio-political position; Nehekhara would likely still have thrived.

Unfortunately for Nehekhara and much of the world, that aforementioned older brother of Thutep was a certain someone we all know and love to hate.

After the fall of Nehekhara, the now-undead Kings had regained their will they realised that the Mortuary Cult's preservation methods were not 100% perfect; they had succeeded in keeping their souls in their corpses but their bodies had nonetheless shrivelled up and decayed somewhat, with the most decayed being almost mindless. Naturally, one can imagine that this was a depressing situation for them. Many generations of kings from each city had to decide who got to hold the throne they all had at some point. Weaker kings who had sat on the laurels of stronger kings now had to contend with those stronger kings. Countless generations of dynasties took one look at having to spend the rest of eternity alongside each other and started beating the shit out of each other, trying to figure out who could be top dog. Throughout it all Settra and his forces were still resting in the peace of death, the wards on Settra's pyramid protecting the occupants from the necromantic magic that had inundated the land.

Return

The Liche Priests eventually despaired that the incessant fighting between the returned dynasties was Not Good. In fact, there was a very real chance that the Tomb Kings would destroy each other out of sheer pride. Finally, the head of the Mortuary Cult, Grand Hierophant Khatep, decided he would get shit done. He broke the seals on Settra's pyramid, scurried inside, and deliberately awoke Settra, who promptly rode out like a sandstorm from nowhere and broke heads until all of the other lesser Tomb Kings agreed to sit down and shut up. Even Arkhan the Black was driven back, although his sorcerous powers are mighty enough that even Settra can't beat him permanently and he has to give Arkhan the occasional pimp-slapping to make him keep his nose out of Settra's business.

After he finally had a chance to sit down and hear what happened during the two thousand years he was dead, Settra was pissed. Seriously pissed. In his rage, he declared Khatep an exile, forbidden to ever set foot in any of the great cities until such a time that he can fulfill the Mortuary Cult's ancient promise and reinstate the golden age of Nehekhara. At first he delcared the kings return to their sleep and await his call; he vowed never to sleep again lest his kingdom fall to ruin. Ever since, Settra focused on trying to restore his former empire, rebuilding damaged structures, taking back stolen treasures and driving out occupying enemy forces and bandits. Throughout he kept a particular watch for the inevitable return of Nagash, determined to kill the Liche Lord and ensure only one undying monarch would rule over Nehekhara; he also had the side project of trying to destroy Nagash's Black Pyramid in older lore but every attempt, be it by war-machine or magic, failed.

Along the way, Settra had many legendary exploits that undoubtedly earned him new titles. At one point, a mad liche priest accidentally opened a rift to the realm of chaos, allowing a vast daemon legion to spill right into the heart of Khemri. Settra returned from campaign, furious that the daemons DARED set foot in his city, and went on to solo a great unclean one (who was likely bummed that the dead can be made to sicken) that was leading the invasion. He then grabbed the idiot liche priest that caused this in the first place and threw him into the rift, sealing the breach forever. Another daemonic invasion occurred elsewhere later which was defeated when Settra, in a generous mood, accepted the help of a nearby group of High Elves led by Prince Althran, who were allowed to leave with their dignity afterwards.

One of his shining moments came after a group of Chaos Warriors invaded Nehekhara to loot it. He led an army against and fought their general, but it ended up being a mutual kill, with the twelve survivors taking a lot of loot from Nehekhara, including Settra's crown. When he came back, Settra was filled with RAGE over the whole thing (most of all them taking his crown), and swore that he wouldn't return to Khemri until he'd killed the survivors and reclaimed all the stolen treasures right down to the last coin. He proceeded to do just that. He mustered the mightiest of Nehekhara's troops into a massive army and tracked down the twelve survivors via magic and his spy network (since they'd become stinking rich from the loot each one had become powerful and well-known and thus easy to find). Using Zandri's fleet as transport, Settra and his army wiped the twelve men out along with their tribes in a long campaign of battles that ended with him retaking the crown from the dead hands of the last invader (High Elves wanting the Phoenix Crown back, takes notes).

Many years passed, then Settra woke all of the other kings up. He declared an age of expansion and massed the armies to expand Nehekhara beyond its previous boundaries and make the name of Settra once again feared (but not hated) across the world.

The End Times

"He who reigns within himself and rules passions, desires, and fears is more than a king."

Before Settra can begin his expansion, he finds out that Nagash has returned. Death magic runs rife through Nehekhara, and many Tomb Kings hear whispers in it; the voice of Nagash entreating them to serve. Undaunted, Settra commands the Tomb Kings to make the most of it. The forces he was going to use to spread his rule instead were mobilized to defend Nehekhara. He commissioned all the best troops from various cities to defend Khemri, knowing Nagash would seek his Black Pyramid, and ordered Nehekhara's best architect, Rahmotep, to get some skeletal work crews and build walls around the city. When Nagash used magic to shroud the land of Nehekhara in darkness the Tomb Kings did not despair, they just work harder.

During the final battle for Khemri, Khatep broke his exile to tell Settra about the Destroyer of Eternities, a weapon that may be able to permanently stop Nagash. Settra listened then executed him for breaking his exile. He didn't find the blade in its place, as unknown to him Apophas stole it (at the behest of a Skaven assassin) to kill Nagash and claim his soul for Usirian. He later fights Arkhan and, sick of his nonsense, chases Arkhan and cuts him in half. The halves are taken to priests who can stop Arkhan from being reanimated, but one of them was a traitor who stopped the others, and Arkhan's capture was a plan to smuggle Nagash into Khemri without him having to wear himself down fighting.

Settra and his forces were on the verge of defeating the forces of the Vampire Counts when Nagash showed up. Nagash, super powered after nomming Nehekhara's death god Usirian and taking over the underworld, turns the tables. Eventually the two face off, trading blows before Settra loses his chariot and charges Nagash. The two engage in a battle of wills with Nagash discovering that Settra's willpower is still equal to his own, despite Nagash's divine supercharge. So Nagash decides to cheat and Settra doesn't even land a hit before Nagash sends swarms of spirits to restrain Settra and lift him into the air. Nagash complimented Settra and offered him a place as one of his Mortarchs, threatening destruction if he refused. In response Settra looked Nagash in the eye and said:

"SETTRA DOES NOT SERVE" he shouted, trembling with rage, "SETTRA RULES!" Utterly badass.

This doesn't phase Nagash, who just says "fuck it" and casually blows up Settra and scatters his bones across the sands of Khemri before claiming leadership of the Tomb Kings from Settra. As a final insult, Nagash destroys Khemri, forcing Settra's head to watch helplessly from the sand, and makes everyone leave Settra stuck there with the ruins of his city. After fuck knows how long, and getting tired of yelling to scare off hungry vultures, Settra starts to wish he were mortal just so he could truly die. Then, four unknown beings (revealed to be the Chaos Gods, though it's obvious in hindsight) put his body back together and fill him with new power. Speaking as one they tell him his battle with Nagash doesn't have to end this way and that he can be a king again. Settra doesn't answer.

While there isn't a peep about him in the subsequent End Times armybooks, not even the last one "End Times:Archaon", Josh Reynolds comes to the rescue. In the novels and according to Reynolds; After being put back together and having a moment of introspection Settra walked all the way from Khemri to Middenheim and approached Archaon as an ally. To test his worth, Archaon ordered Settra to kill Kholek Suneater as Kholek was so arrogant as to be uncontrollable, and thus no use to Archaon. Settra and Kholek battled for four days, leveling much of the forest around Middenheim. But Settra was victorious, decapitating Kholek and dragging the head back to Archaon's throne room. He encountered Mannfred at Middenheim after the latter betrayed Nagash but gave no acknowledgement of this. At some point before the Incarnates arrived Settra went his own way unbeknownst to anyone. When the Incarnates attacked Middenheim, Settra confronted Nagash during the final battle. He pointed his khopesh (his awesome sword) at Nagash, and calls him a usurper then explains the Chaos Gods resurrected him to kill him. Settra then performs a flip and beheads a Chaos Daemon that was about to attack Nagash, points his khopesh at him again informs him that "NOBODY COMMANDS SETTRA!" He tells Nagash he will claim his skull eventually, but only after killing the Chaos Gods for DARING to offer him immortality and the chance to conquer all realities in exchange for servitude. He then charges into battle against the Chaos monsters by himself, killing a giant for good measure. He's last seen fighting them as the world is consumed.

For those keeping score at home, that makes Settra the ONLY being in any Warhammer setting who was offered literally everything there is to be offered (everything that someone could want from the Chaos Gods such as money, power, even immortality and worship via becoming a Daemon Prince or even true Godhood as a minor Chaos God like the Horned Rat to name a few; he might even have gotten that immaculate living gold body and had the option of sex again he was promised), and instead chose to give Chaos the middle finger in response.

Settra the Imperishable, Settra the Incorruptible, Settra Da Best.

Age of Sigmar

With Age of Sigmar back there's no confirmed sign of Settra so far. There has been a theory going around that the Celestant-Prime (first of the Stormcast Eternals) is Settra brought back by Sigmar. He fits the description of the Celestant-Prime. Also, Settra may not serve, but he has allied before and he's got a bone to pick with the Chaos Gods and Nagash. However later evidence challenged that, with possible evidence that the Celestant-Prime is Karl Franz.

Despite this, fans of Settra still hold a torch for the Khemrikhara. A small few insist that he, not Karl Franz, is the Celestant-Prime, others think he's going to be revamped for an undead rebellion against Nagash's rule while some have started buying his models fearing he could end up being removed from canon.

Apparently those fears of canon removing have been confirmed, as he and all his people did not survive the transition to Age of Sigmar. Unconfirmed reports that Tomb Kings fans have rallied to lay siege to Games Workshop HQ in Nottingham, with only a shortage of bones for the catapults stopping them, have been trickling in ever since.

On the Tabletop

Settra has had a model since the days Tomb Kings and Vampire Counts were just Warhammer: Undead, which looked like he was pulled from the Boris Karloff mummy movies. In gameplay, his only notable features where being slow (footslogging like a Dwarf with movement 3 and a lower initiative), Toughness 6 and Settra carried the Flail of Skulls as his weapon instead of the Blessed Blade of Ptra (guess which Ancient Egyptian god he's based on; subtlety, what's that?)

He got a new model when Tomb Kings became their own army, and it's absolutely MAGNIFICENT. From his pose to the details on the chariot, he epitomizes the look of the army and if you are trying to proxy something else as him you should be prepared for other Tomb Kings players to remove your head and use your still-living skull as artillery to fire at Games Workshop headquarters after updates. He's fairly expensive point-wise, but unlike most named Lords is actually worth considering outside large-scale games (to the point that, along with Khalida, he is actually the only other truly competitively viable choice when named characters are allowed). Between 4th and 8th Edition Settra got a huge boost in rules (including terror, ward saves, an ASF sword that blinded people and arguably his best item; The Chestplate of Golden Magnificence that gave him a 2+ Armour Save which couldn't be reduced to worse than a 4+ even if hit by attacks that ignore armour saves). This is also where he gained his chariot, a super pimped out one called the Chariot of the Gods.

In the latest edition, going by his profile Settra's also the strongest man in the Warhammer World; he has a basic strength of 6. That's right 6, meaning he could beat a Chaos Lord or an Ogre Tyrant in an arm-wrestling match! He can be fielded without his chariot (which can now burn things with magical fire when it hits or runs over them), but he becomes less effective as he's somewhat fragile without the bonuses from it.

Besides that however, the best fluff and crunch army for him is a full chariot charge anyways with him at the front. Screaming Skull Catapults are also advised, as they are Settra's main method of dealing with uppity boneheads Tomb Kings who think they don't have to salute when he passes or jump when he commands.

GUESS WHO'S BACK!

"No Kneeling"

In Total War Warhammer II, the Tomb Kings are an upcoming faction. Even better, Settra returned with his shiny chariot of the gods. He is the Tomb Kings faction leader who this time planning to put the kibosh on Nagash's return. Rather than bother with the Vortex, he's hunting the Nine Books of Nagash. It's also important to note that he cannot be confederated if the player has chosen a different Tomb Kings Legendary Lord. You fucking know why so don't make me repeat myself

Fan Tributes

"Good morning. In less than an hour, Entombed Necropolis Knights from here will join others from around Nehekhara. And you will be launching the largest ground battle in the history of the Old World. Tomb Kings. Those words should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests.

Perhaps it's fate that today is my birthday, as it is every day, and you will once again be fighting for my crown, not from tyranny, oppression, or that bastard Phar, but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to unlive, to exist. And should we win the day, my birthday will no longer be known as a Nehekharan holiday, but as the day when the master race declared in one voice: We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to unlive on! We're going to survive! Today, we celebrate our Imperishable Day!"

Gallery

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  Settra's model. The hardest thing about painting it is resisting the urge to kiss his tiny feet long enough for the paint to dry.

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  Settra riding his pimped out chariot.

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  Settra popping wheelies around Nagash's broke bus-riding ass.

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  "As the gods are my witnesses, I'll never serve."