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History Of the World Part 3: War of Vengeance, Time of Woes, Rise of the 4
Empires

After the battle of the Great Vortex an event known as the Sundering, the driving
of the Druchii from Ulthuan and the death of Celador 1, an easy peace settled
upon the world. The Asur now returned their gaze to the lands to their east,
while small armies lunched a fruitless effort to route out the Druchii from their
frozen lands in the west, the great noble houses sought to exploit the riches of
this new and fertile land, while the commoners saw it as a land to make a fresh
start away from the devastated land of Ulthuan. Thus did the Elves come in great
numbers, bearing gifts of friendship for the Dwarves and even inviting them to
aid in the building of their new cities, for the Elves knew the Dwarves had
greater knowledge of the stone in this land. For a time peace flourished, but
there was tension, for never where two peoples more different then the Elves ad
Dwarves. Not helping matters was Malekiths decision to lunch secret attacks
upon the Elves and Dwarves, using routes he had learned as ambassador, other
forces also pushed the two races towards war, Daemons in the form of Dwarves
and other creatures pushed for a war, but ultimately it was the actions of the
Dwarves and Elves that made war evitable. After a series of attacks the Elves
and Dwarves began to take revenge leading to an ever-increasing cycle of
violence, seeking to head this off the High King of the Dwarves dispatched a
delegation to the Phoenix King to demand recompense. However this was not
some wayward Dwarven Lord who would bow before the High King, but the King
of his own nation and he would not bow to the Dwarves. Not helping matters
was the way the Dwarven ambassadors spoke to Phoenix King, treating him not
as an equal or honored friend but as a vassal to be told off. Enraged at this insult
to his pride the Phoenix King demanded an apology. But the Dwarves are a
stubborn people and they did not back down the lead Ambassador even said, I
would no more back down then I would shave my own beard. Celador 2 replied
in perfect, if heavily accented Khazalid That is a serious oath. Dont worry you
will never need to see your beard again. Celador 2 set upon the group, the Elves
said that he shaved their beards; the Dwarves say he butchered their faces so
that they could never again grow a beard. When news of this insult reached the
Dwarves they were enraged The Kings son and heir Snorri; known as the halfhand, ever impulsive set out to raze the largest Elven city on the continent.
Hearing news of this Celador 2 personally lead an army to defend to city. Upon
seeing this force Snorri broke the siege and withdrew, not wanting to be caught
between an enemy army and the walls. Seeing his foe run the ever-arrogant
Celador 2 chased after them. However he lead his army into an ambush, out
numbered and out positioned the Dwarves looked certain to destroy the Elves,
but they reckoned without knowledge of Celador 2, who despite his grave flaws

as a king, general and diplomat, was a peerless warrior and tactician. He read the
Dwarven positions as easily as other read books and saw that the ambush was
being defeated by the lay of the land. This broken advance allowed the Elves to
fight only small groups of Dwarves at a time and remove the advantage the
Dwarves superior numbers. The Dwarves were also thrown aback by the speed
and audacity of the Elves, for Dwarves were slow to act, used to fighting only
disorganized Beastmen who would break when confronted with powerful
disciplined foes. The Elves by contrast where all veterans of the Civil War, used
to chaos and confusion of the clash between two organised armies and thus they
were able to exploit the confusion and slowness of the Dwarven armies to turn
the ambush upon itself. At the height of the Battle Celador 2 confronted Snorri
and killed him in a fierce duel. For though Snorri was a powerful warrior Celador
2 had battled Malekith himself and survived and the young Dwarven Prince
proved no match. After killing the Dwarven Prince, Celador 2 took his half-hand
as a trophy and returned to Ulthuan.

For many years after the Elves saw no response from the Dwarves, thus they
believed Celador 2 when he said that his actions had cowed the Dwarves.
However the Dwarves were not cowed, they were gathering their armies into a
single host. For Dwarves are driven most of all by pride, greed and vengeance
and the death of their prince called for vengeance on and unimaginable scale. A
massive army, larger then an ever seen on the old world, marched from Karaz-aKarak with Tor Alessi in their sights, seeking to avenge their first defeat, with the
intention of razing the city to the ground one brick at a time. However this slow
approach would prove their undoing as it allowed the Elves to sent a relief force.
This force was small, only five Elves including their leader; Imrik the Phoenix
Kings own brother. However these Elves were Dragon riders and the pack of
five Dragon s would be enough to destroy the Dwarven army, though the Dragon
s did not arrive with the Elves. For unlike his brother Imrik was a natural
diplomat and even tempered. Thus he arrives to negotiate while the Dragon s
waited out beyond Dwarven sight, Imrik returned Snorris severed hand and
sought to explain the deception that the Dark Elves had used to ferment the war.
However events had now taken on a momentum of their own and a series of
incidents, most notably when a Dragon destroyed a Dwarven column of
reinforcements (in truth a Black Dragon of the Druchii). Combined with the
untimely revelation that the Elves Draconic mounts where hiding out of sight
lead the Dwarves to believe and Elven attack was imminent and thus lunched
what they thought was a preemptive strike, before the Elves could call in their
dragons. However this was a foolish plan for the Elves were linked by their
minds and souls to the Dragons they rode, thus they simply had to think and the
Dragons came. And they came; swift as a storm and more furious the Dragons
came and descended upon the Dwarves. While the beasts landed and their riders
mounted, many Dwarves scoffed We know how to kill Drakk had been their
boost, for they had slain many Dragons during the long history, however those
were simple beats compared to the Dragons of Ulthuan, who were wise, cunning,
powerful and orgainised. The Dragons worked as a team; attacking in waves of
two they supported each other and prevented the Dwareven crossbowmen and
siege engines from attacking them. A lesser army would have broken under such

a fierce attack, but the Dwarves pressed on and continued to assault the walls,
this sealed their doom and the doom of the hold of sorrow.

For upon the walls unknown to all was Imriks son, fighting as a simple archer,
thus when the Dwarven engines and army struck the wall, he was injured in the
fighting. That was when Imrik saw him, he let out a cry of rage and sorrow that
touched the hearts of all who heard it and they all knew what it meant. It was
death, death to those who killed his son and ended his line. Where as at first the
Dragons assaults had been designed to force the Dwarves to withdraw, after the
great cry (as it would be known ever after) the Dragons sought only to kill every
member the Dwarven race they could see. The army was destroyed in an
afternoon, of the thousands that set out a few hundred returned to the Everpeak.
For after the Dragons destroyed the army they set off to raze every Dwarven
settlement they could find, culminating in the destruction of the great keep in
what the Empire would call the middle mountains. The hold was prepared,
having been warned by a few survivors from the other settlements the Dragons
destroyed. Once again the Dwarves believed they could defeat the Elves great
mounts, for their holds were made from stone and stone did not burn. Indeed the
first assaults were beaten back with little trouble; the Dragons again worked in
pairs and lunched assaults two at a time. However the Dwarves soon realized
that it was the same two Dragons lunching attacks over the following days, had
the other beasts fallen they wondered? Had an army come to kill these lizards,
then they discovered the truth. Imrik had held four of his Dragons above the
mountain hold and once the Dwarves were sufficiently distracted he lunched his
plan. Working together the Dragons fire burned away the top of the mountain,
for while stone does not burn it does melt. The Dragons turned the top on the
hold into molten stone that burned through the hold, this killed thousands, but
this was not the end of the assault for Imrik wanted to see the blood, so leading
the Dragons in the hold through the entrance that the melting of the mountain
provided, the destroyed the hold in a single night of flame and retribution. Such
was the destruction that the Dwarves have never attempted to regain the hold,
thus ever after the hold became a haunt for Elven irregular forces, Shadow
Warriors, scorpions, White Lion packs and even Dragon riders would all live
within the burned halls and melted treasure. The authors of this destruction
were the first Elves to dwell in the hold, it was there, while panning the
destruction of the entire Dwarven realm that Imrik received the news that his
son was not dead as he had believed but simply wounded. A retainer of his house
had found the boy while examining the wall and ensured he got the needed
treatment. Overcome with shame at how his rage had blinded him and almost
cost him his son Imrik called off the attack and returned to Tor Alessi. The
Dwarves also changed strategy, rather then attack one target they would strike
at one hundred points in order to draw out one or two Dragons, which they
could kill, the first victim of this strategy was Imrik. Responding to a call for aid
from his personal colony, a colony that he had sponsored and had been settled
by many members of the royal house of Celador.

Still full of shame and loathing for abandoning his son upon the walls he vowed
to never again let his kin suffer if he could save them, thus he set off on his
Dragon before any other and ran straight into the jaws of the Dwarven Trap.
Alone, exhausted and fighting against a Dwarven army lead by a Morgrim the
High Kings nephew and Imriks closet friend among the Dwarves. The battle was
fierce, bloody but never in doubt. The Elves were defeated, massacred in many
cases and at the height of the battle Imrik was slain in a duel with Morgrim. After
his death the Dwarves allowed the surviving first stage of the war. The Dwarves
fighting with steel, stone and numbers, the Elves countering with magic and
monsters. For at this time the Elves still had close connections with many
animals, from the great maw earth eaters to the stealthily Basilisks, the Elves
called and they answered. However his closeness was not to last, for as the
Dwarves killed the beasts the Elves found few to take their place, thus while
there was a time went on the Elves Magic began to fade and they lost their
connection to most animals, only the sacred beasts; Phoenixes, Dragons, White
Lions and Lion Tortoises still answered the Elves calls. (It was during the closing
days of the war that the pack between the Great Eagles and the Elves was stuck.)
This loss struck the Elves more deeply then any defeat by the Dwarves and many
sought to reclaim their lost power. During this time the Dwarves also noticed a
lessening of magic, though they did not draw it in the same way as the Elves, the
Rune Lords found it increasingly hard to detect and counter Elven magic, and
their magical creations, the Golems could not be roused. In response the
Dwarves created new Runes and new technology to fill the gaps. Thus did the
war begin to turn in favor of the Dwarves, now they were no longer defending
their homes but destroying Elven ones.

For Many years the war went on for both sides were long lived and both were
divided about the war. While the Asur were at war with their kin the Druchii,
their other wayward kin the forest dwelling Asrai refused the summons of the
Phoenix King, Celador 2 (in a rare moment of wisdom) decided not to press the
issue, instead accepting their compromise of allowing safe passage through all
forests and that the Asrai would help defend those within the forests who
followed the Everqueen. While a full alliance would never arise the two groups of
Elves would be bound tightly together. While the Elves dealt with their problems
swiftly the Dwarves, as is their nature, took longer to resolve their internal
disputes. The Hill Dwarves as they were known, not within the mountain hold
of their people writing is smaller, less populated hills, having growing rich from
trade between the two peoples their King saw little gain in jeopardising this
through war, thus well he agreed to send arms, amour, food and beasts of
burden, the Hill Dwarves would not aid their kin in battle. And so as the war
slowly turned in favor of the Dwarves, as their advantages faded, The Dwarves
were soon as battle hardened as the Elves had been while the Elves became warweary and more and more choose to part the known world upon the newly built
city-ships. While those Elves that remained became more desperate and willing
to resort to dark magics to restore their lost power.
The most important of these attempts, were the so-called slave-fangs that the
Elves attempted to use to control animals. For much of the war the Elves wisely

refused to use such magic however at the start of the closing Decade of the war
the Dwarves reveled a great weapon that would change Elven minds, the
Airship. These ships of the air, so named because they came from the great
Dwarven Seahold, were able to match the Elven Dragons and contest their
control of the skies. In the first encounter between the airships and the Dragons,
two of the Elven dragons were killed. This dramatic reversal frightened the elves
to the point where they were willing to engage in the most dark and desperate of
actions. Thus it came to pass that the rouge Elven Lord Ilendril gained approval
for his experiments with the slave-fangs. First he used them to control
Merwyrvms. These creatures had for a long time been close allies of the Elves,
but with the fading of magic so too had their allegiance. Celador 2 saw no harm
in enslaving these beasts that had Thrown away the kindness and fidelity of the
Elves, however the Dragons were deeply unnerved, by the enslavement of these
great beats. With their new power at sea the Elves lunched an assault upon
Barak Varr, hoping to destroy the hold and thus gain control of the Sea south of
the Old World and cut off the manufacture of Airships. During the assault the
Merwyrvms proved their value at shock troops, however the Elves were reckless
with the creatures lives. This callousness disgusted the Dragons, bar one,
returned to Ulthuan. This only exacerbated the case for the slave-fangs and
Ilendril now turned his attention to controlling Dragons. The first target was a
great red Dragon; one of the largest of its kind outside of Ulthuan. With this
great red beast under his command Ilendril destroyed the Hill Dwarves in a
single day and night. This act of destruction solidified his power in the Elven
Court and allowed him to recruit more Dragon riders and enslave more Dragons.
Using these methods the Elves were able to amass a small but significant force of
Dragons, five great beasts at the groups height, however this was not a meeting
of equals like the other Elven-Dragon pacts but a master and a slave thus these
Dragons chafed under the Elves and sought either freedom or death, what at first
the Elves took as great courage was soon reveled as something much darker. The
Dragons sought death rather then continued slavery, but it was not death that
they sought in battle but in fact pain. Every Dragon that is partnered with an
Elven rider (either willingly or not) shares a deep emotion connection and they
feel each others pain. While a willing Dragon will not pass on the full pain, and
enslaved Dragon will, thus causing the rider the lose focus on controlling the
Dragon and when controlling a beast the size of a house and the intelligence to
match, a lack of control can be fatal. Thus through both the actions of the
Dragons and Dwarven weapons the number of Dragons was reduced to but two.
One was the great red beast Ilendril had enslaved the other was Imriks former
mount now willing ridden by Imriks son. The two Dragons supported each other
well, with Imriks son able to protect Ilendril while he sought to regain control of
his beast. However this partnership was not to last and eventually Imriks
Dragon was slain and his son wounded by Morgrim. Enraged by the wounding of
his kin (for Celador 2 had no son and now saw Imriks as his successor) and
thinking the war in Naggaroth was nearly over (for the Druchii had hidden
themselves thoroughly with magic in a land foreign to their kin), Celador 2
pulled all his troops from Naggaroth and sent them East; these where the finest
and fiercest troops of the Asur, the most disciplined, the best lead, Celador 2 was
sure they could smash the Dwarves and lay low their mountain holds. However

before the army arrived the Dwarven High King called all his forces for the final
battle against the Elves, the last siege of Tor Alessi.

13 times before the Dwarves had attacked Tor Alessi and 13 times they had been
defeated. This time they marched with the full might of Karak Ankor, every hold
save one, who had foolish marched through the Elves Wood and had been utterly
destroyed, when the High King learned of this he vowed to deal with them after
the fall of the city. The host of Dwarves that attacked Tor Alessi stretched as far
as the eye could see and with only a single Dragon the Elves had no hope of
repelling such an assault. However, at them moment the Dwarves breached the
outer walls the armada of Celador 2 arrived and with iron discipline the troops
moved through the city and through the Dwarves back from the walls, during the
battle Celador 2 fought Morgrim and would have killed him had the tides of
battle not thrown them apart. This would mark the end of the last battle of the
war. For as Celador 2 prepared his counter stroke; sending half his forces to sail
round and flank the Dwarves, he receives news that Malekith (now calling
himself the Witch King) had invaded Ulthuan with a massive army and fleet. This
news caused something to break inside the Phoenix King, he issued orders for
the recall of the flanking force and rode out to face the Dwarven High King in
single combat. Thus the fate of the world was decided by a duel between to
Kings. It was a long and hard fought duel but in the end Celador 2 lay at his
opponents feet; Kill me then. End my shame, my dishonor. The High nodded
and beheaded the Elven King with a single bow. As per the agreement the Elves
with drew from the continent and the Dwarves took the Phoenix Crown as
payment for the crimes the Elves had committed. Both sides thought the end of
the war would bring peace, both were wrong.

The Elves returned to their bitter war against their hated kin from the cold lands
to the west. The war was long and bloody with many great and costly battles,
such as the battle of the red field; where ever combatant in both armies was
slain, either from the battle or wounds and poison following. This marked the
high mark for Druchii success, soon after ward their reinforcements were cut off
with the crushing navel defeat at the battle of the shallow see. The battle saw a
Druchii fleet including three Black Arcs (fortress made of stone and made to
float above water with magic) were sunk by modified Eagle ships and cityships,
thus cutting off the supplies and reinforcements from Naggaroth. With out these
the Druchii were ground down (for while Elven lives were even then in short
supply, arms and armor thus often proved the difference and with out the ability
to repair these the Druchii were unable match the Asur and thus finally driven
from the shores Ulthuan. Thus at last the Elves found peace, though it had cost
them much (including the death of 3 Phoenix Kings). In this peace they returned
to their old wars, traveling the world; exploring, fighting evil where they found it,
but it was never with the same optimism that they had before the war with the
Dwarves, the war had changed both sides, the Dwarves a with all things took
longer to see the change.

While the Elves fought their civil war the Dwarves set about rebuilding holds and
resettling lost or abandoned lands. Form many years there was much peace as
the Dwarves worked their land and dug their earth once more, though the
Beastmen herds had grown largely unchecked during the war and now posed a
large threat to small and isolated Dwarven Settlements. Thus the armies were
reduced but not disbanded, however the greatest threat to the Dwarven realms
was not on the surface but fare below the ground, the Skaven.

While the surface world had warred the Skaven Underempire grew and grew.
They expanded unchecked, for the only thing that every seemed to slow them
was cave ins and earthquakes. These were not random events but direct assaults
by the powerful Slann. The Slann had sensed that the Skaven were more then
simple Beastmen but servants of Chaos and as they spread Chaos spread like a
cancer throughout the world. The Skaven are drawn to Warpstone, the green
stone of Chaos, it calls to them and they crave it beyond all else. Thus they
spread always in search of more stone the Dwarves paid them little head and
ignored the Slann when they attempted to direct them towards a new war (for
Warpstone is the raw form of Chaos and disrupts Slann magic), after all they had
just (in Dwarven reckoning) fought a war with the Elves and needed to recover
and they saw no threat from these ratmen (or underground Beastmen as some
call them). This left the Slann with one grim choice, they must use the very earth
itself to destroy or at least slow the Skaven. Thus with no other options the Slann
poured their power into the gaps of the earth and caused massive earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions. This was the massive upheaval crippled Karak Ankor,
thousands were killed and many holds were damaged, as with all Dwarven
things this did not happen all at once, the earthquakes and eruptions built over
several decades until in a great crescendo, the night of a thousand fires, it ended.
This was the beginning of the Time of Woe for the Dwarves, many holds,
weakened by the earth movement, fell to Beastmen and Skaven, whose hordes
grew with their victories. The process had begun when the larger Beastmen
hordes had threatened small Dwarven settlements, as these were abandoned;
either by order of the local Thane or by being destroyed, the Beastmen moved in
and the Dwarves found the Hordes on their doorstep. Thus the attacks increased
and many Dwarven Thanes withdrew further into their Hold, isolating them
selves and making it harder for the Holds to aid one another, for great sections of
the under-way was destroyed. It was not until the third great assault upon
Kazak-Eight Peaks was repulsed that the threat subsided and the Dwarves were
able to take stock of the situation. While the Thanes in the World Edge
Mountains were able to unite and under the leadership of the High King began to
turn back the Beastmen and Skaven, during these battles the Skaven gained a
fierce reputation as fighters who care not for their own losses (they were said to
fight like rats trapped in a sack). Many Dwarves, from the oldest long beard to
the youngest rinn (the Dwarven word for child) called the night of Thousand
Fires the worst disaster to befall the world and the greatest boon to the dark
forces since the First Demonic Invasion.

However, the Slann had succeed (though imperfectly) in shattering Skaven

power, for while some Clans survived and grew, countless more were destroyed
and the Skaven nation would never be as united as it was before the Thousand
Fires (give rats freedom and they are loath to return it) and their population had
a long way to recover. So while the Dwarves battled for survival in a hundred
Holds the Skaven of Skavablight waged their own war to recover their lost
empire, this was the true birth of the Skaven Under-Empire. It grew and
expanded and consumed (some times literally) those Skaven it found, the
Council of Thirteen grew in power, until they encounter the Skaven of Clan
Pestilance and found a powerful group of Skaven, whos power rivaled their own.
Their beliefs were strange to the Council Clans, for while all Skaven worshiped
disease and plague, Clan Pestilance reveled in it. The first envoys fell sick and
died just from meeting the Clan, thus the Council demanded that Pestilance, scale
down its plague work and share all they knew with the Council Clans. This
outraged Pestilance, who view their plague work as blessed by the Horned Rat
and considered giving this knowledge to unbelievers (all those Skaven who dont
worship in the same way as them) to be sacrilege. In response to these demands
Clan Pestilance appeared to acquiesce, they were after all Skaven and skilled in
deception, they used this as a chance to spread their influence. Thus for several
years, they secretly spread their teachings and gathered Clans to their cause,
only when they felt certain of victory did they strike. On a single night they
struck at all corners of the Under Empire and the Pestilance Heresy had begun.
For many years Pestilance drove all before them, for although the Clans Loyal to
the Council of 13, outnumbered those serving Clan Pestilance, no Skaven could
lightly endure the plagues that the Lords of Decay unleashed, at least at first.
However as the war went on the Grayseers developed ways to protect against
the poisons and plagues of Pestaliance and troops emerged who were naturally
immune. These forces the Council cunningly held back, allowing Pestilance to
over extend itself. This is what Clan Pestilance did with an assault upon
Skavablight it self. In a massive clash the elite Pestilance vanguard were
destroyed by the army of the immune, the name given by the Council to their
secret weapon. With that victory the Council was able to push Clan Pestilance
south, finally pushing them into the land of Arabby. Rather then signal then end
of the war this was merely the start of a new phase; the phase of expansion.

Both sides sought to gain more under-land and reclaim as much of their fallen
empire as possible. Even combined these Under-Nations never reached the
same size as the Under-Empire of old. It was this expansion that ultimately lead
to the end of the war, the arrival of a new Great Clan; the Shadow of the East,
Clan Eshin. They approached the Council of Thirteen unbidden and offered their
services; they would kill the leaders of Clan Pestilance, for a price. At first the
Council was weary, after all the origin of their race was a warning about taking a
deal without fully understanding the terms, however after long and careful
negations terms were made and agreed to. Why Clan Eshin chose to join the
Council has bee debated since before it happened. Those who side with the
Council say that they joined because they saw the inevitability of their victory,
those who side with Clan Pestilance say they choose the weaker side. The truth,
more likely, is that they choose the side that would give them the greatest

influence. While under Clan Pestilance they would be at best servants and at
worst test subjects, with the Council they the chance for true power, indeed a
seat on the Council was the price of their allegiance and one was quickly opened
for them, by the only dissenting voice, the Clan was weak and quickly devoured
by the others, in some cases literally. With the new armies of Clan Eshin, who
were strangely immune to Clan Pestilances weapons, they drove all before them,
before assassinating most of the leadership of Pestilance, the survivors quickly
sued for peace. Now that the war was won, though barely won, allowed the
Council of 13 to unite entre the Under-Empire. While the Under-Empire was
uniting and dividing in the west, in the East a great power was dividing and
uniting all under heaven.

The Empire of Grand Cathay had humble origins in a small coastal fishing village
that trade with the Elves. Thus they grew in wealth, knowledge and culture; as
they traded fish and stones from the earth with the Elves, who taught them
letters, metal working and improved fishing and farming techniques. Over time
the city grew and the Elves returned to the sea, though they still used the port
when they were in the area, for the most part the people were content, they
traded with other humans for farmed food in exchange for worked metal and
woven cloth, langue also spread through trade and it was not long before the city
of Cath, as it was named, had influence over every city, town and farm for miles
around. However the rulers never sought to expand their power and claim these
lands, claiming that doing so would weaken the city and its defenses. The city
had been attacked several times by Druchii raiders, but had fought them off each
time; this was the way of things remained until the bloody gate massacre.
Beastmen plague all nations of the world, ever seeking to tear down all signs of
civilization, they seldom troubled the city; for its walls were high and thick and
made with Elven skill and their army was well equipped and well drilled.
However this was not the case for the rest of the land who were not so protected
and suffered from Beastmen raids. Many villages were destroyed and their
people slaughtered, while Cath cared not, until one day a group of refugees from
a destroyed village came to the citys gates. They said their village had been
destroyed and a warherd was close behind them, but the city kept its gates
closed and the council debated what to. While the city debated the Warherd
found the refugees, descended upon them and killed ever man woman and child,
before gorging themselves on their flesh. The people of the city gathered upon
the walls and watched in horror as the Beastmen killed and ate the refugees, this
caused shock and outrage among the people, who demanded that something like
this never be allowed to happen again. Thus it was decided, after the massacre of
the Beastmen outside the city, that all the lands where humans dwelt would be
taken into the protection of the city. So their armies marched from the gates,
before them went riders offering protection in exchange for freedom, an
exchange many towns and villages were happy to make. Many but not all and
there were large Warherds living in the forests between cities, thus the Eternal
Army gained its first experience in war. These wars allowed the refining of
Cathay the military tactics that it still uses thousands of years later. The army
tries to keep enemy forces at rang and kill them with crossbows, later
gunpowder weapons took the place of the bows, while if foes do close they are

confronted with a line of troops armed with large rectangular shields, short
spears or stabbing swords, the armies often fire rockets of bright colours and
sounds, to confuse and frighten the enemy. With these weapons and an ever
increasing army, they recruited troops from all towns and cities that joined, the
nation of Greater Cathay was born; in the north and east its boarders quickly
became fixed. In the north it was due to fear of facing the massive Beastmen
herds and warring tribes of the far open plains and they began building the Great
Bastion to keep them out, while the eastern coast provided useful barrier to
would be invaders. The boarders in the South and West proved much more fluid;
in the south their conquests were resisted fiercely by the tribes that lived in the
swamps, while in the west the mountains were infested with foes and hard to
traverse, making long term occupation difficult. With the spread if influence,
Cathay also spread its langue and culture; notably their Gods. There are 12 Gods
in the Cathay Parthenon (though two Gods have a second aspect); The Dragon,
God of Emperors and the Empire (with a male aspect and a female aspect often
known as the water dragon), The Tiger, God of the Nobility (with a second
aspect commonly held to be a form of Alluminas; a God of Order (the name given
to three deities who are worshiped by various unconnected groups throughout
the world, but are not Chaos); he is god of Light and unchanged (a Tiger does not
change his strips is a common Cathay saying), beside them are; the good of
Farmers (The Ox), God of Workers (The Sheep), God of Fertility (The Rabbit),
God of Soldiers (The Dog), God of Messengers (The Horse), God of Healers (The
Green Snake, only green any other colour is seen as evil), God of Scholars (the
Rooster), God of Merchants (the Pig), God of bureaucrats (The Rat), Finally the
God of Gamblers and Tricksters (the Monkey, though sometimes called Ranald,
for unknown reasons). As the great Empire of the East was forged, in the West
two new Empires would rise; one of Order, the Other of Chaos, one from the
Rivers, the other from the Desert.

The land of Arabby lies to the South of the Old World, the land is mostly desert
and even in its oldest days the people there were deem strange unusual. For
they despised the sun and worshiped the night, in the form of the God of
Darkness, the Shadows of Men and the Night; Obscurus. For in their desert land
most creatures are nocturnal and the night brings dew, the main source of water
for the people of the desert. For many years the people of the land were
wondering nomads, with crops, live stock and large tents to catch the dew. None
can say for certain how long, only that they started after the first invasion of
chaos and ended after the conclusion of the War of Vengeance, with the
discovery of a large underground wellspring of water, which in turn lead to the
establishment of the first city. This city was for a long time the centre of life in
Arabby, even after other larger cities were built, such as Quatath (k-tath) the
current capital, often on rivers by the sea, the first city Obscura remained holy
place of pilgrimage, until the Dark Prophet came and brought with him the end of
all they knew. The coming of this Dark Prophet was heralded by great signs; first
darkness covered the land for 6 years, then 9 great meteorites of pure
Warpstone fell to earth and destroyed three great cities in Arabby. This
destruction caused a shift in power towards Quatath, a city that had a thriving

under current of Chaos worship. However the Priests of Obscurus, used the
destruction to rally the people against chaos and drove it from the cities.

Out in the desert the followers of Chaos struggled to survive in small bands, until
the Dark Prophet lead his band into a small cave. Inside the cave they found
water, food (mushrooms and rats mostly), signs and strange language.
Examining the signs and words the Dark Prophet found he could summon
Daemons and even talk with the Four Great Beings, the Chaos Gods. In the
deepest parts of the cave the Dark Prophet endured tests, over came challenges
and faced temptations from each and all of the Chaos Gods, ultimately earning
the right to choose a patron. A right he refused, instead he choose two; the First
was The changer of ways, the Raven God, Tzeentch. The second was the Price of
Pleasure, the arbiter of Perfection, Slaanesh. With these two patrons he began to
gather an army of Daemons, men and the Beastmen of the desert, leading them
to war, the final war of old Arabby. The army of Daemons and Beastmen struck
first, attacking small towns and leaving destruction in their wake, destruction
that the Dark Prophet used these attacks to rally people against the priests of
Obscurus, with bitter happiness for he remembered how they had done the same
to him. As the peoples suffering increased they started to turn away from
Obscurus and towards the promises of the Dark Prophet, who used the power of
the lord of change to bring rain to the lands that followed him and away from
those who defied him, he also summoned Daemons and Djin to battle the
Beastmen. With these weapons most of the land fell before him, the Beastmen he
betrayed and murdered, while the towns that resisted fell to the Dark Army.
During these years the nation was divided and uncertain as to both the nature
and direction of the threat the faced, it was not until most of the land had already
fallen the to Chaos that they realised, they true threat to their land was not the
Beastmen, but the Dark Prophet himself.

As his betrayal became apparent, the Priests of Obscurus tried to rally their
armies once more, but they were massively outnumbered and surrounded. This
time the Dark Prophet left nothing to chance. His army of mortals was vast and
now aided by the darkest of magics and Daemons for the Dark Prophet had
offered them the most tempting and terrible sacrifices; babies, often times
plucked from their mothers breats, were taken and burned still living. Sacrficed
on the altar of one mans ambition. Thus it came to pass that the old nation fell,
for where the Daemons of the Dark Prophet went, nature itself seemed to flee.
After years of clashes the city Quatath fell, in a night and day of blood and fire,
the old city was destroyed and the foundations of what stands now were laid.
With the last great city now fallen those few who remained opposed to Chaos
fled to the first city, the holy city of Obscurus and then the city fell into darkness.
This was not the darkness of Chaos but Obscurus himself taking the city, and he
kept it for 12 days and nights, then the darkness lifted and the forces of Chaos
entered. The men found nothing, the sorceress found nothing, even the Daemons
of Chaos found nothing; the city was empty of all life.

Months later, with the new Sultanate established, rumors began to spread of
warriors, dressed in black, who moved through and of the shadows, attacking
towns and Daemons. These attacks were little more than fly bites to the massive
beast that the Sultanate had become and with the Dark Prophets passing the new
Sultan turned his eyes north towards the lands of Tilia and Estilia. These lands
were divided and could not long resist the onslaught of the Chaos forces. Thus
the lands fell, one by one to Chaos, while to the north a champion of Order was
born, ne who would turn back the darkness and chaos, one who would found a
nation. Sigmar was born under the sign of the twin-tailed comet.

On a dark night, when thunder split the sky and lighting strikes drove the
darkness back only temporarily, Sigmar was born. As Sigmar entered the world
the night was driven back, not by the scattered, temporarily by the power of
lighting strikes or the meek slow touch of dawn, but smashed aside by the
strength and power of a twin-tailed comet as it crossed the night sky. No
creature of Chaos could with stand the light of the comet and for days afterward
the forest were safe. Thus the twin-tailed comet came to be regarded as both a
symbol of good and Sigmars standard, for only he and those he choose could
carry the symbol, all others found the single soon lost or burst into flame. Only
one man seemed able to carry the mark of the Twin-tailed comet; Sigmar, as he
grew to manhood he was always taller and stronger then his peers, quicker of
wit and feet too. Thus he was seen as a natural leader and expected to take his
place on the council at younger age then any other. However Sigmar refused and
instead as he was upon the cusp of man hood he choose to travel and seen the
lands around his tribes holdings. He saw the lands that would form the first
Empire; he saw the similarities and differences and noted how many more
similarities there were, he saw how they worshiped the same Gods, spoke the
same language and had the same goals. Seeing this Sigmar set about to forge
connections with people from all the tribes he traveled through, to that end as he
traveled he; competed in test of arms in Middlehelm, helping farmers in
Talabihem and working with artisans in Nuln. During these travels Sigmar
gathered a band of allies, most where from his homeland, for the land was still
full of Beastmen at the time making travel alone extremely dangerous, as the
group made its way to Sigmars homeland, from the region that would become
Stirland, they came upon a group of Dwarves being held captive by a warherd of
Beastmen. Knowing that no good fate awaited them Sigmar and his allies made a
bold plan to free the Dwarves that night. Thus it was as darkness swathed the
forest Sigmar and his band struck, quickly and quietly (while three members
distracted the Beastmen) Sigmar helped free the Dwarves, however before the
could make good their escape the Beastmen discovered them and battle was
joined. Sigmar, his band and the Dwarves fought fiercely but the Beastmen were
to many and soon had them surrounded, Sigmar lead a charge to break the circle
however his sword became lodged in the belly of a large Beastmen and he
became isolated. Seeing his plight the High King of the Dwarves (who had been
part of the group that were captioned) threw his weapon, a great golden
warhammer, to Sigmar. Some say the High-King threw the weapon at the urging
of a mysterious man; one who was not scene when the battle was done, others
that the warhammer itself called to him, what is beyond dispute is that when

Sigmars hand closed around the heft of the Warhammer a great bright light
shown out and lighting struck many of the Beastmen. This display was too much
and the Beastmen, now mostly blinded and confused, broke and fled.

After the battle the Dwarven High-King revealed himself to Sigmar and oaths of
aid and trade were exchanged, the High-King even allowed Sigmar to keep the
golden Warhammer known as; Ghal Maraz, the Skull Splitter. Sigmar declared it
would be the heirloom of his lands, seeing the danger of the land Sigmar offered
the High-King an escort to the nearest hold. When the group arrived at the hold
of Zhufbar, the High-King offered his oath to equip Sigmar and his followers with
all the arms and armor they needed and in return Sigmar promised that neither
he nor his followers would refuse aid to the Dwarves, these would have profound
effects on both races, though none at the time could guess how much. Inside the
hold the two groups decided to go their separate ways, though the High-King
offered to show Sigmar true Dwarven hospitality in the capital. When they were
equip and armed with Dwarven weapons (and a caravan more) Sigmar and his
companions departed. Thus they made the long journey home, as they traveled
they often found themselves attacked by Beastmen, the heards of which got
larger as they moved into the deep parts of the forests. Though Sigmars group
defeated all attacks with none of his group suffering any killed or even wounded
(the Beastmen were no match for Dwarven metal work), Sigmar was not
satisfied, for he saw the danger these herds posed to other travelers and he
sought a way to destroy them. Thus he made plans and contacted forces from the
tribes that would become Stirland, Talabecland and his homeland, thus he
brought their local forces together. Using these forces to channel the Beastmen
into a deadened canyon and there he slaughtered them. Following the clearing of
the Beastmen Sigmars escort was enlarged and they swiftly returned to Altdorf
(the extra horses they gained from their new allies helped). Upon their arrival
Sigmar found his deep in discussion with a war council, for the Northern tribes
had invaded in strength and his father intended to ride north to confront them.
He thanked his son for the gifts he brought, both the Dwarven arms and armor
and the alliances Sigmar had made with the Tribes to the East. It was for Sigmars
success in working with the other tribes that his father left him in charge of the
tribe while he went north. While a lesser man may have felt shamed or sidelined
by this, Sigmar instead saw it as an opportunity to prove his leadership skills and
forge closer links with the other tribes. However before his father could ride
north and Warheard of Beastmen attacked. Sigmar and his father fought together
in the battle, Sigmar held the Beastmen at a bridge with a small force while his
father flanked them. Though it was a great victory is what not with out losses,
among them was Sigmars closet friend, these losses created wounds that would
fester in the most terrible of ways.

After laying the dead to rest in the gardens of Morr, Sigmars father went north
with the army leaving Sigmar in charge. Sigmar took to his new task with great
enthusiasm, he spent most of his time out leading Beastmen hunts and
negotiating with the neighboring tribes, the time that he did send in Altdorf was

divided between governing and being with the sister of his fallen friend. They
shared grief and from this love bloomed, but many things and not all are so
beautiful. Sigmars fallen friend had a brother as well as a sister and did not take
the loss well, he grew to hate Sigmar (who he blamed for his brothers death) and
despise his sister (for being in love with Sigmar), his hatred grew until one day it
consumed him, on that day he would seal his fate with blood. The day was not
dark when he struck, indeed it was a fine clear day, Sigmar had returned from
driving out the last of the Beastmen herds and so doing forging closer ties with
the other tribes in the south. Sigmar then took his love to river and there they
were attacked, while Sigmar was a warrior with out equal, in this case he was
unarmed and unarmored and set upon by surprise, he barley fought off the
attack, but the attacker killed Sigmars (the attackers own sister) and badly
wounded Sigmar before fleeing north to pledge himself to the Chaos Gods and
the destruction of all Sigmar loved. Sigmar lay close to death for 12 days, until at
last he awoke, he spoke of fighting against Daemons with the aid of his father and
other fallen warriors, These were men from every tribe, there was no
difference, no division. We drove back the neverborn, beat them a path to Ulrics
hall and Morrs garden. I was glories, it is what we could be, Sigmar smiled, but
his smile died when the saw his loves body. Even as Sigmar mourned his lost
love worse news arrived from the North. Victory had been won, but at a terrible
cost nearly half of the army that went north died and Sigmars father among
them, thus did Sigmar become King of his tribe. With his new Authority Sigmar
sought to bind the tribes to south to his tribe permanently. This proved easier
than many had feared, for these tribes had fought with Sigmar and knew his
power and skill, as one king said; I have seen the power Sigmar when we fought
together, I will not be his enemy. To the North Sigmar found a willing ally, a
friend he had made on his journey (in Manaburg) was now King of his tribe and
he quickly agreed to join Sigmars growing nation, though with certain conditions
that would hunt the Empire in centuries to come. This process took months to
finalise and to join the tribes together, the oaths were still fresh on their lips
when a massager from the Dwarves arrived with dire news.

They told of a massive force of Beastmen, larger then any 10 other Warheards
combined, and it was coming for the lands of men. Sigmar sent a force of 12,000
men to aid the Dwarves (drawn from three tribes) (who in exchange offered
Sigmar a mighty gift and symbol of his new Empire, which would be ready in
about a year), while Sigmar went north to gain the allegiance of more tribes.
These proved more difficult often requiring battles or a great feat, Sigmar
defeated the horse lords by drawing them into an open field that he had
prepared with dangerous hidden footfalls, he then held a private meeting with
the Queen of the tribe that lasted all night. While she did have twins 9 months
later, she is not regarded as one of Sigmars loves (though some in Ostermark
and east Talabihem think of her as such). After winning their allegiance Sigmar
went west in the vale of Syvalinia and there he killed the necromancer that was
tormenting the land with the dead. Then they went to the far west to the lands
that would become the Moot where he fought the Halfling leader in a contest of
cooking and eating Though Sigmar was out eaten the Halfling Lord said any man
that any man who cook that well, is worthy of following. Sigmar then went

further east and there he felled the great Dragon-Ogre that had been ravaging the
land in single combat. With his armies replenished with these new forces Sigmar
returned north and defeated the berserker warrior of the free tribes, by
cunningly drawing their army out into an open field and destroying them with
horsemen while Sigmar also defeated their king. With these allegiances most of
the other Tribes bowed to Sigmar all except the Graf of Middenheim who refused
to bow and who launched raids upon the other tribes. Sigmar thus sought to gain
the allegiance of the vital fortress city, not only for the sake of unity but also
because it controls the centre of the land he was forging and serves as a key
guard against the north. Sigmar approached the mountain upon which the city
stood, but he was not alone, for he brought armies from every tribe and even a
group of Dwarves, lead by Alric the Mad (a Dwarven smith of great skill but
dubious renown) who Sigmar had meet on his adventures in Nuln and whom
Sigmar had impressed with his design of the scorpion bolt thrower.

The army surrounded the mountain and made preparations for a siege,
preparations Sigmar hoped would be unnecessary. For the city was a strong
fortress with lard food and water reserves and Sigmar freed a force from the
North would attack them while they were encamped. Thus he went forth and
demanded that the Graf surrender and join the nation Sigmar was froming, the
Graf replied, If you want my crown then climb up here and take it! So it was
that Sigmar resolved to do just that, Sigmar climbed the mountain; it took him a
day and a night but he reach the city where he was immediately sized by guards
and taken to the Graf. Once there the Graf insulted Sigmar, who then threw back
the guards and before the flame of Ulric Sigmar questioned the Grafs martial
skill and courage, then challenged the Graf to a duel for the fate of the city.
Shamed by these insults and unable to back down in front of the priests of Ulric
(who would likely remove him from power due to his unpopularity) the Graf
accepted and attacked Sigmar. At the start of their duel the Graf held the upper
hand as Sigmar was still exhausted from his climb. This changed when Sigmar
was knocked into the sacrad flame of Ulric, but rather then be consumed by the
flame Sigmar emerged strengthened and sacred and his golden warhammer now
had its head wreathed it the bright blue flame. With the new strength Sigmar
attacked, broke the Grafs sword and then with his opponent pinned demanded
his surrender. The Graf refused and Ghal Maraz (skull splitter) lived up to its
name, Sigmar then threw to rest of the body into the flame as an offering to Ulric,
following this the Grafs nephew was named the new Graf (he was an ally of
Sigmar and had long worked to bring the city to Sigmar). With this victory
Sigmars dream was realised and the tribes of men were made one nation, all
that remained was to create the symbols that would keep the nation together.

To this end, while most of the armies were sent south to prepare for the coming
of the Beastmen horde, Sigmar kept the leaders of the tribes (and a personal
bodyguard for each) in Middenheim. Here he presented each of tem with a
specially forged sword, made by Alric from a rare ore (ever after to be known as
Sigmarite), one for each of the tribes, thus did the 12 Runefangs enter the history

of the Empire. These swords (often called the sword of evils bane, either
individually or as a group) are the symbol of the Elector Counts, the rulers of the
lands of the Empire. Sigmar presented these weapons to the tribe kings in
Middenheim, who accepted them, however shortly after the ceremony was
complete the city found it self surrounded by an army of men from the North, the
forces of Chaos had come south. This massive army was lead by an Everchoosen
of Chaos and the whole Chaos Wastes had been emptied of people, for the Chaos
Gods had seen the rise of a force that could challenge them and now sought to
kill it while it was still young. Sigmar rallied his people for the siege, though all
knew it would be short for the armies of marauders and looters do not have the
patience (or supplies) for a long siege, and Sigmar set to work preparing for an
assault against the city. While Sigmar knew he was massively outnumbered he
had hope of victory the city had strong walls and a large garrison (brought up to
fight Sigmars own siege), in addition; each tribe leader (now know as Counts)
had brought a body guard of their best trained and equipped men, making a
potent strike force to bolster the largely conscript army of Middenheim, for the
mounted warrior Priests of Ulric would be less useful during a siege. The other
elite force inside the city was a contingent of Dwarves who were present as a
guard for Alric, these troops Sigmar sent into the tunnels that honeycomb the
mountain (along with his own guard the Rikelanders as the land of Sigmars
birth came to be known) and there they would fight the vicious Skaven that had
allied with the Chaos army. While the underbattle raged the main horde of
Chaos attacked, using siege engines created by the slaves they had captured
when they ravaged the lands north of Middenheim. Thus under the covering
barrage of Hellcannon fire, the Chaos forces attacked. This was a massive charge
with ladders and ropes, but the speed of the attack and its lack of discipline
caused the towers to be left behind. Thus the attackers came in piece meal and
were defeated by the concentrated forces of the defenders, whom otherwise
would have been overwhelmed. Where-ever the fighting was thickest Sigamar
appeared to rally the defenders, when the attackers looked about the make a
breakthrough; Sigmar was there to beat them back, where the defenders grew
tired and weary; Sigmar was there to give them hope and an example. All
thought out the assault he traveled the wall, driving back the attackers,
sometimes singlehanded, only when the Chaos forces fell back did he allow
himself to rest.

After a full day of intense battle the Chaos forces broke off their assault. However
their Hellcannons kept firing into the city, for the wall was unnaturally resistant
to the foul fire of the cannons, and as the attackers retreated Chaos Warlords on
Maticores began to attack the people and troops within the city from the air.
While the Skaven assaults on the city had also lessened, though the Dwarves
warned they would return. Realising that they city could not resist another
assault, especially while being weakened by the Hellcannons and Maticores,
Sigmar resolved to lead a force outside the city to kill the leader of the army and
through the horde into chaos and infighting. To this, once his forces had rested,
Sigmar lead a sortie out under cover of darkness. During the raid Sigmar became
separated from the group, though he said that he had a guide. While the group
lost its nerve and returned to the city, Sigmar carried on and entered the thick

forest out side the mountain. Still trying to make his way to the enemy camp
Sigmar went deeper into the forest, until he came upon a lone Griffin being
attacked by a group of Beastmen. Seeing that the noble creature was in mortal
danger Sigmar leapt in and drove off the Beastmen, before helping the Griffin
with its injuries, seemly healing it wound by laying his hands upon it. After this
display of power and nobility, Elves appear from within the forest and they told
Sigmar that it was no mere Griffin nobility had helped but Gahweir, the king of
the Griffins. Seeing in the other, a fellow warrior against Chaos and destruction
Gahweir and Sigmar made a pact to stand with each other, aid and defend each
other from Chaos and all threats. To this end Sigmar would declare Griffins and
Demi-Griffins protected with in the Empire, make it a capital crime to hurt or kill
one with in the lands of the Empire. At the time however, Sigmar asked Gahweir
for aid in breaking the siege. Thus Gahweir cried out and his cry shook the forest
and in response a massive flock of Griffons took wing and all the packs of demiGriffins of the forest gathered together as one and charged the Chaos lines. As the
line of demi-Griffins smashed into the Chaos forces Griffins battled with Chaos
warriors mounted upon Maticores, Sigmar too fought from upon the back of
Gahweir (one could say rode, if one did not know pride and intelligence of a
Griffin) wielding Ghal Maraz, and the skull-splitter earned its name many times
within the battle, as Sigmar fought the first Everchosen high above the city, the
defenders saw and they believed that victory could be theirs. Thus they sallied
forth and hit the already disorganized Chaos army. Under assault from two
armies (one of which composed entirely of demi-Griffins, effectively an army of
heavy cavalry) and with their leaders skull split open by a blow from Sigmar
with Ghal Maraz, the Chaos army broke into smaller bands and disintegrated. As
the army fell apart and was subsequently slaughtered by the mounted forces
from the city and Griffin army, Sigmar freed the slaves of held by the Chaos army
and saw that they were given food, water and shelter.

With the battle won, the forces of Chaos destroyed and the slaves freed, Sigmar
once more turned his mind towards the future of his nation. Sigmar made a
formal agreement with the Griffins, the Winged Griffins would serve as mounts
for Generals, nobility and other high positions, while demi-Griffins, could be
convinced by any mounted warrior (in an unarmed struggle where to two size
each other up, as all workings with Griffins are a partnership). While Griffins
would come to roost in the high towers of the cities of the Empire and the demiGriffins settle in the forests surrounding the cities, for now they traveled with the
army of Sigamar as it went south. As the army, now reinforced by the liberated
slaves, traveled south Sigmar was contacted by the Elves of the forests who
informed Sigmar that the force of Beastmen was larger then even the Dwarves
knew and Sigmar would need the greatest weapon in the world if he was to
triumph. Thus Sigmar went east into the worlds Edge Mountains, where he
climbed a misty peak and there he found the lair of a great Storm Dragon. The
Dragon had scales as black as night and could create and breath lightening, this
beast had been here since before the coming of Chaos and had little interest in
the world beyond. When Sigmar entered the cave the Dragon roared and Sigmar
charged. For two days and nights did the two battle, before Sigmar (using Ghal
Maraz) drained the Dragon of its lightening and fought it to a stand still. After

the two days the Dragon spread its wings and left the cave and Sigmar left and
rejoined the army and refused to speak of what had happened. Not too long after
Sigmar and his army arrived at Black Fire Pass and they made ready for war.

Sigmars enlarged force from the north meet the bulk of his forces and the
Dwarves already in position. Once he integrated his forces and spoke with the
Dwarves about the size and distance of the enemy force Sigmar called to Gahweir
and the Griffins began to make premierships with the men of the Sigmars nation.
Sigmar sent a week training and preparing for the battle ensuring that the
Dwarves, Human armies and Griffins could all work together and as a united
force, rather then a disjointed mass. At the end of the week the great Beastmen
army reached Black Fire Pass and the battle began. The first day began at dawn
with a charge of Beastmen chariots; this was meet by cannon fire from the
Dwarves, Ballista fire from the Humans and when they got closer the chariots
were riddled with arrow fire, not a single chariot reached the allied lines. After
the chariots the entire force of Beastmen charged towards the allied lines. They
were meet with raised shields, sharp spears first it was not a problem the
numbers began to tell and men began to tire, the Dwarves had much greater
endurance than the front line of his troops, allowing them to rest while fresh
troops fought, however while that had practiced these movements under the
stress of battle confusion and disorder set in and the Beastmen attempted to
exploit the weakened line, it took Sigmars personal intervention to beat back the
Gors and Styrs, but as the Beastmen broke off the attack at nightfall the line held.
During the night Sigmar had his line move forward and had the archers recover
their arrow as best they could (the last of their quivers had run dry in mid
afternoon) and dug traps and prepared for the next day of battle. As the new day
dawned the forces of Beastmen seemed even larger then before. Unlike the
previous day this, the Beastmen infantry charged straight at the allied lines. Also
unlike the first day, when the Beastmen had attacked the entire front equally, on
the second day the bulk of their forces hit the human lines. They slammed
cavalry hit. Minotaur and Centaurs hit as hard as any mounted man, they
shattered the confused lines and the Beastmen began to pour though. Seeing this
Sigmar called in his own mounted forces, warriors on horseback, spearheaded by
the demi-Griffins they smashed into the flank of the Beastmen charge and turned
what had been a breakthrough into a trap and the entire force was cut down.
However the Beastmen still attacked and even repeated charges from the
mounted forces failed to slow them, with the Dwarves pressed hard as well
Sigmar called in his Griffin forces. Using the Griffins to take out leaders and
disrupt charges for the mounted forces to shatter, Sigmar was able to once more
drive the Beastmen back. The Dwarves also attacked using their Golems to
smash holes in the Beastmen lines for the warriors to exploit and together the
allies drove the Beastmen back as the day ended. During the second night the
Beastmen were more active leading to many skirmishers with the allies. At dawn
on the third day the Beastmen charged once more, this time they also struck
from the skies. Seven massive Vulgrons flew over the army and raved the allied
lines, scattered the Griffin forces and hit the allied Cannons and Ballista,
destroying many and forcing the crews to flee. Seeing disaster the Dwarves
called in their airships however the leader of the Bestmen had fought the

Dwarven airships before and knew how to out manoeuvre them, the Vulgrons
would pick up hand fulls of Beastmen and drop them onto the airship, while
many died enough survived to get inside and attack the airships from within.
With the airships falling and the lines cracking Sigmar launched his final gamble,
he raised Ghal Maraz above his head and spoke a name, as he spoke thunder
rolled and clouds gathered. For Sigmar spoke the name of the storm it self and
Ghal Maraz was struck by a bolt of lighting, Sigmar survived and roared and his
roar was answered. From the clouds a bolt of lighting spate, cooking a wing on
one Vulgron leaving it crippled on the ground, then a black shape swept down
and more lightning came forth, this time catching a Vulgron full on its chest
killing it, the mighty storm Dragon then attack with tooth a claw ripping apart a
third Vulgron and then attacking the Beastmen army, allowing the allies to
regroup. Sigmar then called to Gahweir and together they attacked the Beastlord
who sat upon the largest Vulgron and was attempting to rally his forces. While
the Vulgron was larger Gahweir was swifter and could turn faster allowing him
to fly circles around the larger beast. While Sigmar and Gahweir worked together
as a team, the Beastlord commanded his Vulgron like a slave, thus Sigmar struck
the beast many times weakening it until he leapt up its back to face the
Beastlord. The two recognised in the other an equal and opposite, both had
united their people and now they would decide the fate of the world. The
Beastlord was armed with a spear of strange metal, as black as Ghal Maraz was
bright, covered in runes of the Chaos Gods. The two fought fiercely trading blows
for hours atop the Vulgron, while Gahweir contented to strike at the great beast,
until Sigmar trapped the Beastlords spear with the flat of Ghal Maraz shattering
the cursed blade, then Sigmar reversed and the swing and sent the spike into the
Beastlords chest. Sigmar used Ghal Maraz to rip open the Beastlords chest and
then smashed its head clean off his shoulders. With the Beastlord dead Sigmar
drove the spike of Ghal Maraz into the brain of the Vulgron, then he leapt off and
grabbed Gahweir as the dead Vulgron hit the ground. The other Griffin riders had
rallied and brought down a fifth Vulgron, though coordinated attacks while the
regrouping Humans and Dwarves accounted for the last two respectively. With
the Dragon still ravaging the Beastmen, the allies regrouped and drove them
down the valley, victory was with in the allies grasp but the Beastmen had one
last trick.

As the Human and Dwarven armies moved down the valley, Beastmen burst
from hiding to attack from behind, seeing Sigmar and the Dwarves distant, the
Necromancers from Sylvinia used their powers to destroy the attack. Sigmar
would swear the witness to secrecy, but rumor spread and for a time the
Necromancers he favor with several sections of the Empire, this would last until
the Necromancer rebellion (or the Nagash War, as it would come to be know in
later years). With the defeat of the Beastmen Sigmar was crowned upon the field
of battle by the High Priest of Ulric, there he was given a title that had come up
from the lands of Tilia, one that meant master of forces; Emperor. Thus did the
reign of Sigmar and the history of the Empire truly begin.