Of all the innumerable conflicts that have defined the history of the Warhammer world, there may be none as lengthy or as bitterly fought as the ongoing war between the noble High Elves and their evil kin, the malicious Dark Elves.

This ancient struggle is very much at the heart of the Age of Reckoning. Malekith, Witch King of the Dark Elves, is obsessed with reclaiming the Phoenix Throne, a birthright denied him by the High Elves millennia ago. When he learns that a new Champion of the Dark Gods is marching to war with the Empire, the diabolical ruler of the Dark Elves hatches a sweeping plan to conquer the isle of Ulthuan and install himself as the true King of all Elfkind.

Knowing that the plague-ravaged Empire will call for aid when the Chaos warhost reaches its northern borders, the Witch King conspires to prevent the Dwarfs from answering that call. Through vile sorcery, the Witch King crafts amulets of power and gives these to the leaders of the Bloody Sun Boyz, a powerful greenskin tribe. The Orcs quickly amass a great army and attack the Dwarfs, and war spreads across the Worlds Edge Mountains.

Sure enough, the Chaos Warhost descends upon the Empire's northern provinces with terrible fury. The Emperor knows that the Dwarfs are fighting for their very survival against the green horde, and so he must turn to the Lords of Ulthuan for relief. In the gilded city of Lothern, Finubar, Phoenix King of the High Elves, receives the urgent plea.

The wise Phoenix King knows that the fates of men and High Elves are intertwined. If the Empire falls to the Ruinous Powers, Ulthuan will be next. Finubar appoints Prince Tyrion as General of the Shining Guard, an elite regiment formed to defend the High Elves' homeland in the absence of the king. With that, Finubar and his legions set sail for the Old World.

No sooner have the flowing white sails of the High Elves' longships passed beyond into the horizon when shouts of surprise and fear fill the streets of the glittering city. Great black shadows fall across the marble streets and silver towers. A fleet of Dark Elf Black Arks fills the seas, great floating fortresses of stone filled with legions of Druchii warriors and their vicious, hate-filled beasts of war. The invasion of Ulthuan has begun.

Days later, following a great Council of Wisdom, Finubar pledges his aid to the Empire and the realms of the Dwarfs. That night, the dreadful news of the Dark Elves' attack reaches his ears. Leaving some of his warriors behind to fight alongside his allies, the Phoenix King returns to his ship and races homeward. Will he arrive in time to aid his people, or has Malekith's insidious plot already succeeded? If all hope is lost for the High Elves, then the fates of Men and Dwarfs are already sealed.