Topic: Valter Valdensen's reports

[Darknight]

As suggested by Maza, I have undertaken to start writing up the fluff of my army - he said he would be interested, so I have some kind of audience! I had the idea of writing it up as a series of letters / reports from the peripatetic engineer assigned by the College of Engineers in Altdorf to observe the Order (he is part of my army - an Engineer on a mechanical steed laden down with baggage and bedrolls because he lives on the road).

This is an EDITED version of something I have posted previously; Maza made some suggestions which I have taken to heart and I have made some edits of my own.

Comments etc. are welcome!

The following letters, together with their associated engravings, line drawings and other visual representations, form the reports of Peripatetic Master-Engineer Valter Valdensen of the Imperial College of Engineers in Altdorf-in-Reikland concerning the Order of the Eightfold Cross of the Island of Melite in the Border Princes. The Order has a reputation for discipline and loyalty to the Empire, although they have often pursued their own objectives and owe no allegiance to any Elector or other authority within the Empire, save a nominal fealty to the Emperor himself.

In the waning months of 2521 IC Valdensen approached Tenured Lord-Engineer Manfred Guilderhaus, begging that he provide resources to finance an investigative mission to the Isle of Melite in order to learn more about the near-legendary “Bronze Bulls” used by the Order, as well as add to the meager store of knowledge possessed about the Order of the Eightfold Cross. Valdensen was encouraged in this by the infamous Frau Meikle, creator of the Equine Effigy of Dynamic Locomotion (popularly known as the Mechanical Steed or Carriageless Horse), who was most interested in determining if these metallic bovines were (as her creation is) technological automata or (as the wizards of the Gold College maintained) thaumaturgical arcana.

Guilderhaus records that the financial resources Valdensen begged were minor – Frau Meikle was most-eager to have her Equine Effigy of Dynamic Locomotion undertake further battlefield proving trials and so provided a Carriageless Horse from her personal stable – and he made such a good case concerning additional benefits his request was swiftly granted. The Winter was spent performing preliminary research concerning the Order of the Eightfold Cross, and in the Spring of 2522 IC Valdensen and his erstwhile yet endearingly-loyal servant Patsy rode Frau Meikle's Mechanical Steed south towards the Border Princes.

Although Valdensen did not return to the College, his reports – irregular and inconsistent perhaps, but nevertheless exceedingly illuminating – did, brought by messenger pigeons of the celebrated Madame Oiseaux (the Bretonnian bird-fancier and cabaret performer) and recorded in the oft-times frenetic hand of Patsy. His reports reveal not only valuable information concerning the Order of the Eightfold Cross, the worship of the goddess Myrmidia, and the Bronze Bulls – but also contain history, military strategy, natural science, geology and geography as well as the enduring Spirit of Man, most perfectly reflected in the glorious union of many peoples which is our most noble and enlightened Empire.

Without further ado, I present the letters and other materials as they were sent to Lord-Engineer Guilderhaus, of happy memory.

Archivist-Engineeer Dieter von Scribenbochen

[Maza]

 

Very good! I really enjoyed the story. You ask for comments, so I'll give you my views on it:

1. The original mixture of Empire fluff and Greek mythology is working very, very well. As a source of inspiration, you probably have a goldmine here.

2. English is not my first language, but as far as I can tell, you are a skilled writer. I very rarely have to re-read a section to get a grip of it. No typos I think! Also, a lot of humour shining through, even though I may have missed a pun or two due to language.

3. Formatting: I think it is commonly advised that italics should be avoided in longer texts, for maximum reader-friendliness. But I understand that your italics signifies letter-writing. Is it, by the way, possible to attach .pdf files to posts here?

4. The burlesque humour: Great ingredient in your story. Matter of taste, but I think that you could achieve even greater comical effects by toning it down just one notch. I would say that the hint on the Pektoral warriors' "choice of lifestyle" is at the right level, while the passage about the "anthropological investigation" of the twins is almost too obvious.

5. Give Valter a personality trait or two! Whining, sour, snobbish, laid back, confused, smug et c. That way, if you continue your writing (please do!), your readers will get the feeling that they get to know him.

6. This is great, keep writing, whatever you do! I am proud to have contributed, if ever so little, to you posting this! Thanks!

[Darknight]

And here is the first of the letters (as posted before, but edited);

Tenured Lord-Engineer Manfred Guilderhaus,
Imperial College of Engineers,
Altdorf-in-Reikland

My Lord,

I trust this missive will reach you (Madame Oiseaux assures me her messenger pigeons are highly trained and all-but-guarantees successful delivery) and give you assurance the resources you graciously and generously invested in this project and entrusted to me are not being squandered or wasted, and – if I may make so bold – allay any small fears you might have for my personal safety.

Pray forgive my tardiness in writing to you – I realize it has been many weeks since I left the College in Altdorf and I can only apologize. I did not see the need to send you reports on my journey through the lands of our fair and noble Empire, and intended to write to you when I crossed the Black Mountains, but events conspired against me.

Almost as soon as I (and the mercenaries I hired in Wissenland) left the mountains and moved into the foothills in the Border Princes, we were set upon by inhuman marauders, their force consisting of hulking humanoids twice the height of a man armed with crude clubs and a scurrying number of some kind of goblinoid, with particularly large ears and noses.

It was clear my meager force (the going-rate for mercenaries is high in Wissenland now, thanks to some border dispute between that province and Averland) would stand no chance in a physical confrontation with these bandits and so I, employing the most unemotional logic and desiring to protect your investment in this project, proceeded to conduct a retrograde advance with as much alacrity as I could safely muster, leaving the mercenaries to maintain a defensive cordon.

I wish to state for the record – as I believe I have done so before, despite the mockery and snide comments this has occasioned from (shall we say) more “traditional” engineers – that, not withstanding her gender and despite the intellectual limitations naturally placed upon her by the unfortunate accident of her sex, Frau Meikle is a scholar, a lady of the first water, and a genuine genius. Her Equine Effigy of Dynamic Locomotion is a most wondrous piece of engineering and most certainly saved my life. While some have suggested I was more impressed by Frau Meikle's obvious and amble charms rather than the device's mechanical expertise, I believe my decision to petition Your Lordship to
endorse the requisition of one of her fine steeds is vindicated by this field-test in the most adverse conditions. Had I not already lost it in the embarrassing incident involving the bushel of carrots and the Burgomeister's daughter, I would give my right leg to permanently own one of Frau Meikle's steeds. Pray extend my appreciation to our sister Engineer and my deepest apologies for the incident with the salamanders and her petticoats, which – as I assured her at the time – was a perfect accident.

My advance to the rear was most successful and – thanks in no small part to an unusual deliciousness exhibited by those from Wissenland – pursuit was slow and desultory. Alas, my maps of the area possessed an insufficient accuracy for my effective navigation and the mercenary I had hoped (due to his previous experience of the area) to serve as guide was unfortunately particularly toothsome. I very rapidly became lost.

Fortunately, I (as you know) am of Talabec stock and spent my formative years in the Great Forest of that fine and noble province, and while my woodcraft may be rusty it proved sufficient to allow me to live off the land, avoid the attentions of several groups of bandits and other malcontents, and locate a trade route leading to the city of Korinth.

I had heard only legends of the city, as I am certain you have; a port city of wild and licentious reputation. Despite my best efforts to avoid such entanglements, I was forced to participate in certain of the local customs in order to not arouse suspicion. Once I had undertaken the absolute minimum propriety required – and recovered from the resulting headache and discovered the location of my pantaloons – I left Korinth. Reasoning the route overland would be dangerous, I purchased passage for myself and my mechanical marvel on a trade ship journeying to the city of Evrotas in the kingdom of Myrmidens, the closest port to the isle of Melite, the home of the Order of the Eightfold Cross.

Before boarding the ship, and whilst onboard, I questioned the sailors concerning the Order of the Eightfold Cross, seeking to add to the knowledge I had obtained from my preliminary studies in the libraries of Altdorf. My journey – it took three days to skirt the coast of the Myrmidens peninsular, the rocky shore never more than a few hundred yards to the north – was uneventful and when we made port in Evrotas I continued my inquires. My studies did not add much to what I had known before and I shared with you before my departure, although I present the history of the Order as I understand it here for your edification.

As far as I can determine, the Order was founded approximately a century ago during the Rosethorn Wars. An Imperial army, led by Colonel Maximilian Sturm of Nuln, was involved in the peninsular campaign against the forces of Chaos and was tasked with capturing the island of Melite with a view to using it as a base of operations.

Almost all sources agree Colonel Sturm was an unemotional and practical man, insisting all troops under his command wore uniform black and practiced the most meticulous drill. Although I am loath to record it, it is said he gave little attention to devotions to any god, not even the great and exalted Sigmar Heldenhammer, performing only the most perfunctory rituals and scoffing at their efficacy. He had no warrior priests of the most holy Sigmar in the ranks of his army, something which doubtless allowed him to continue this almost-blasphemy undetected.

He possessed great military skill and much personal courage, always to the fore and in the thick of the fighting. His force consisted primarily of heavy armored knights and footmen, something which the Order continues to this day, along with the black uniform of Colonel Sturm's original army. However, their particular devotion to the Tilean goddess Myrmidia and their unique icon of the so-called “Melite cross” stem from a particular incident during the invasion of the island.

The forces of Chaos had constructed a temple on the island, consisting of a plaza with the image of a skull carved in stone relief in the center, with eight tall pillars around the circumference (I would not presume Your Lordship has knowledge of the vile and disordered practices of Chaos, so I inform you the number eight and the symbol of the eight-pointed star is particularly significant to these depraved creatures). Led by Sturm, the Imperial forces took the battle to the disgusting monstrosities of the Chaotic armies (the sailors took great delight in this portion of the tale, going into fanciful and exaggerated descriptions of the various monsters and “beast-men” Sturm and his men fought; I will not weary Your Lordship with these indulgent and grotesque ravings) and drove them back to the temple plaza.

There the forces of Chaos fought with redoubled effort, defending their unholy place against the crusading light of the Empire of Men. It is clear (although those I interviewed do not say as much) Sturm's neglect of his duties to our glorious savior Sigmar denied his army the strength to crush these pitiful foes; a salutary warning to us all! However, although Sturm had deserted Sigmar and so Sigmar had deserted him, the forces of humanity were still to have divine aid, albeit from a different source.

The legend (and I fear I cannot in good conscience describe this portion of the narrative as anything more) runs as follows; when the battle was all-but-lost and hope was gone, a group of lightly-armored women wielding bows, javelins and slings appeared on the horizon, leading a group of bulls crudely harnessed. Accompanying them was a figure twice the height of a man, a tall and beautiful woman with wings of purest white. Although the sailors had never seen this “Avatar” as they called her, they described her in great (and conflicting) detail – although all agree she was strong and fair, and wearing armor and armed with a sword, spear and shield.

The presence of this figure – the Avatar of Myrmidia – roused the Imperial forces to new efforts and they assaulted the minions of Chaos with new fervor. Even this would have been to no avail, had not the Avatar itself joined in the combat, slaughtering the most potent of the Chaotic monsters and defeating the enemy general (who had slain the impious Sturm and was using his detached leg as a kind of impromptu club).

During the fight, the warrior-women had not been idle – they harnessed the bulls to the pillars and, goading the beasts, used them to topple the columns of the evil temple. Seeing the destruction of their temple, as well as the defeat of their leader by the very incarnation of a goddess, broke the fighting spirit of the forces of Chaos and they were quickly defeated.

The warrior-women revealed themselves as members of a cult to Myrmidia; devotion to her is common in this part of the Border Princes, although their worship of her has many unique features. In Tilea and the Empire she is seen as a warrior goddess concerned with the art and strategy of war – there is much animosity between her cult and that of Ulrik whom her followers consider barbarous and primitive. In Tilea she is often depicted naked – how much of this is due to genuine theological revelation and how much is the desire of the average Tilean to ogle a voluptuous female is debatable! She is shown wielding a spear and round shield, and wearing a crested Korinthian helm (similar to that worn by the mighty and well-oiled Pektoral warriors of the kingdom of Myrmidens). The fabled pegasus is sacred to her, and her symbol is a spear behind a shield.

The Order of the Eightfold Cross worship Myrmidia in her aspect of the Toppler of the Columns. They used the symbol of the spear behind the shield, but mostly it is the Melite cross (illustrated in this missive); it is, of course, based on the fallen pillars and skull of the Chaos temple. She is shown with wings – something Myrmidia does not commonly have – and is armed with a sword or even a hammer (for smashing masonry) as often as she carries a spear. While war is her bailiwick, she is also concerned with hunting – perhaps a hangover from the skirmishing warrior-women who came to the aid of Sturm's forces. Bulls are sacred to her, likely because of their use in the battle, and I was most interested in learning as much as I could about this aspect, as the College's interest in the Order lies in the main with the legendary “Bronze Bulls”. I could learn nothing of them, except the fact they exist and are used by the priestesses of Myrmidia in various rites and rituals. It remains to be seen if they are, as Frau Meikle and I suspect, a form of automata or (as our Learned Friends in the Gold College insist) some kind of thaumaturgical construct. I remain resolved to discover all I can.



This is all I can determine of the history of the Order; the rest of the information I gleaned from interviews is so obviously corrupted by fantastical hearsay and exaggeration it is of no value. I will learn more when I arrive on the isle of Melite two days hence. Although they do not welcome visitors, there is no interdict on the island and I hope my engineering skill and natural charm and wit will serve me well in ingratiating myself with the Order.

I have booked passage on a small ship bringing supplies to the Order – it seemed the most obvious way of getting there, although when I spoke with a leader of the Pektoral warriors here he suggested I would find plenty of water and should swim the channel separating the island from the peninsular. When I told him that was madness, he informed me – in most strident tones – that this was Myrmidens. I found his answer puzzling and have had as little to do as possible with the Pektoral warriors, who seem to enjoy very close friendships with each other and – as I mentioned – use a lot of oil.

I will write again when I reach the island of Melite and have more to report. I urge you to write to me with any questions or specific queries you might have; Madame Oiseaux assures me the pigeon will bring the note back to me most swiftly.

Asking for Sigmar's blessing on all your endeavors, I remain;

Peripatetic Master-Engineer Valter Valdensen, Master of Ballistics, Senior Fellow of the College of Engineers in Altdorf-in-Reikland, &c.

Given by the hand of Patsy, Distinguished Imparter of Reserved Kinetic Force via Circulatory Motion and Engineering-Assistant (2nd Class) to Valter Valdensen, P.ME. &c., in the city of Evrotas, north of the Gythenian Harbor, kingdom of Myrmidens in the Border Princes, this second night of the waning crescent of Mannslieb's seventh cycle, 2522 IC

[Maza]

I didn't see these updates until now!

I'm really glad you found my comments useful! I also like the way you developed the context around these letters. When will we see a new letter?

By the way, two details:

1. Wouldn't Valter spell his names with "W"? I think in German a "V" will be pronounced as an English "F", while a "W" will be pronounced as an English "V".
2. Wouldn't it be fitting if there were a lot of interesting footnotes in these letters? You could use them to develop your crazy ideas without losing track in the main narrative?

Looking forward to new stuff here!

[Alleton]

This is excellent and a very entertaining read. It's making me want to revisit my own fluff, but I doubt I could do it the justice that your own narratives are doing. They could, I think, pass for actual GW fluff as it is written in a very similar style to many of the 'letters' and reports that have appeared in WD and several of the army books over the years.

Looking forward to more.

[Belk]

This left me grinning and wanting more. You will have more (at least one more) in your audience now.