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Empire of Wolves campaign fluff and information compilation
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Empire of Wolves
The fourth warhammer-empire.com campaign
Fluff and information compilation thread
This thread contains various information on the forthcoming campaign, and will be updated over time. It's locked so I can add things, but if you want to comment (and that would be nice!) please do so in this thread:
http://warhammer-empire.com/theforum/index.php?topic=44893.0
The political system in the Empire of Middenland in 2217
In 2215, a year after the fall of the Northern League and the corresponding increase in the Empire of Middenland's territory, Empress Duccia revised the electoral roll. The Empress reduced the forty electorships of her husband's reign to twenty-eight, and re-assigned all of the so-called clerical electorships to leading noblemen. The old system of 'proxy-electors' was abolished as the absurd pantomime it had always been. Duccia believed that the Empire of Middenland should not be afraid to exist on its own merits.
The new electoral assembly met for the first time in midwinter of that year, when the new electoral code was sanctified in the name of Ulric. The Duccian system, used for the first time in 2217, is described here.
The high priest of Ulric, called the Ar-Ulric, is both an elector and the master of the electoral assembly. He is responsible for calling the vote, and for ensuring that the electors are able to meet and vote safely. The Ar-Ulric must perform the coronation of the elected emperor, and can refuse to do so if he suspects that any type of fraud has taken place.
The eleven most powerful of Middenland's nobles are called the primary electors. They alone are eligible for election to the Imperial Throne. Primary electorship is hereditary, though an emperor can remove and re-assign it (Empress Duccia made and unmade primary electors many times during the latter part of her reign).
The remaining sixteen votes are held by the secondary electors. These were once called clerical electors, for historical reasons, though none of them were priests (they were called 'clerics' because Sigmar's original electoral system did not allow for the creation of new elector counts, except under the most unusual circumstances, but later-established precedent allowed for clerical votes). The secondary electors hold their votes at the emperor's pleasure: they are not hereditary, except by imperial command. Additionally, a secondary electoral vote is tied to a particular town or castle. Should the rule of that place pass to another (even by conquest), the vote passes also. The secondary electors are not eligible for election to the Imperial Throne.
Each of the twenty-eight electors has one vote, and all votes are equal. The election must be held on midwinter’s day, in the electoral assembly hall in the city of Middenheim. All electors must be present in order to vote, and at least twenty electors in total must be present for the election to proceed. All votes must be cast for a primary elector. Abstention is not allowed. The candidate with the most votes wins, though they must have at least ten votes in total for the result to be considered viable. The Ar-Ulric is able to overrule some of these conditions if the circumstances make it necessary, and has the casting vote in the event of a tie.
The Emperor is elected for life.
The electoral roll in early 2217
The Master of the Electoral Assembly:
The Ar-Ulric, Paul Schutzbar
The Primary Electors:
Grand Duke Ludwig von Rusdorf of Carroburg
Grand Prince Otto von Plauen of Wolfenburg
Grand Baron Achatius von Tiefen of Hergig
Baron Titus Augustus of Delberz
Count Georg von Urenbach of Grossfurre
Count Wilhelm von Sangershausen of Brass Keep
Baron Reuss von Hornhausen of Ahlenhof
Count Wladyslaw von Kerpen of Aukrug
Duke Marius Riccardi of Fort Denkh
Count Herkus von Altenberg of Leichlinberg
Baron Stibor von Orseln of Wahnsinningen
The Secondary Electors:
Burggraf Werner Zöllner von Rothenstein of Suderberg
Markgraf Ludolf von Wüllersleben of Castle Lenkster
Burggraf Heinrich von Wallenrode of Fort Schippel
Markgraf Mieszko von Swantopolk of Winsen
Burggraf Poppo von Schwarzburg of Bokel
Landgraf Gerhard the Elbow-high of Calden
Markgraf Dietrich von Queden of Senden
Burggraf Hermann von Plötzke of Kuttenholz
Landgraf Burchard von Plauen of Eldagsen
Landgraf Karl von Malberg of Schoppendorf
Markgraf Conrad von Braunschweig of Krudenwald
Landgraf Gunther von Jülich of Estorf
Markgraf Wolfgang 'the Fat' of Wurzen
Burggraf Martin Küchmeister von Sternberg of Leudaldorf
Altgraf Anno de Poniec of Esk
Markgraf Hartmann Cureus of Arenburg
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Campaign map
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A timeline of Imperial history to the present day
- 1780 The legendary city of Skavenblight is founded in the Blighted Marshes
- 1500 The high elves leave the old world
- 700 Humans begin to settle in the elven ruins in what will later be known as Tilea.
-50 Artur, chief of the Teutogen tribe, founds the city of Middenheim.
-30 The Birth of Sigmar, to the Unberogen tribe of the Reikland, heralds the beginning of what will later be known as The Empire.
-20 Marius the Fen Wolf, chief of the Juton tribe, is defeated in battle by the Teutogen tribe. He leads his people from their ancestral home, in what is now Nordland, into the Reik Marshes; there he begins a lengthy campaign to rid the area of Mist Demons (also called the 'Fimur').
-10 Marius discovers ancient elven ruins at the mouth of the River Reik, and founds his new city of Marienburg at that site. The foundations of the Rijker's Isle fortress are laid.
-8 Sigmar becomes chief of the Unberogens, and immediately begins to unite the tribes through a combination of conquest and diplomacy.
-1 Victory at the Battle of Blackfire Pass ends the threat of greenskin invasion for generations
1 The twins Lucan and Luccina found the city of Luccini. In the following centuries Remas, Sartosa and Tobaro expand massively. In the north, Sigmar is crowned as the first Emperor by the Ar-Ulric.
40 The city of Talabheim is founded in a vast crater.
50 Sigmar abdicates and vanishes into the east. The rulers of the twelve Imperial states (Averland, Drakwald, Hochland, Middenland, Ostermark, Ostland, Reikland, Solland, Stirland, Talabecland, Westerland and Wissenland) select a new Emperor from amongst themselves.
73 A new cult, proclaiming Sigmar to be a god, rapidly spreads throughout The Empire. The Cult's leader assumes the title of Grand Theogonist. The Ar-Ulric is furious and refuse to recognise the divinity of Sigmar.
100 Dwarf runesmith Alaric the Mad at last completes the twelve Runefangs, ordered one hundred years earlier for the chieftains of the twelve tribes. Each of the state rulers, now called Elector Counts, receives one of the swords.
451 Dark elves and undead pirates raid the coast of Tilea. Sartosa is destroyed.
475 Vast numbers of orcs invade Tilea, causing immense damage
491 The Tilean states unite against the orcs.
500 The king of the Jutons is defeated by Emperor Sigismund the Conqueror, and the city of Marienburg becomes part of the province of Westerland.
632 Norse tribes begin to raid the coastland around Marienburg, and the city itself is sacked and burned.
765 The treaty at the Althing of Traktatsey brings the Norse raids to an end.
936 The van Daalen family, the ruling house of Westerland, form an alliance by marriage with the Beumanoirs of Moussillon, in opposition to the Duchy of L'Anguille.
978- The last orcs are driven from Tilea.
1010 The halfling province of the Moot is formed by Imperial charter.
1017 Sartosa is resettled by Norse sailors.
1053 The reign of the notorious Emperor Boris the Incompetent begins.
1102 Manann is declared to be the patron deity of Marienburg.
1106-1110 Beastmen gather in the Drakwald. The Elector Count of Drakwald is killed, and his province left without an heir.
1109 Marienburg is captured by the Norse chieftan Snorri Half-hand. The Baron of Westland flees to the fortress on Rijker's Isle.
1111 The Black Plague sweeps across The Empire. Middenheim adopts a policy of strict isolation, saving the lives of its citizens. The Norse abandon Marienburg.
1115-1124 A period of total anarchy ends with the ascension of Emperor Mandred Skavenslayer.
1152 Mandred's assassination leads to open war between the rival states of Stirland and Talabecland.
1240 Araby invades Sartosa.
1359 The count of Stirland is elected Emperor.
1360 The Ar-Ulric backs Countess Otillia of Talabecland in her seccession from The Empire. The two declare the Cult of Sigmar to be founded on a lie, and begin the persecution of all worshipers of Sigmar, in what is later called the Sigmarite Heresy. Civil war consumes The Empire again. The Norse raid Marienburg.
1366 Tilean mercenaries fight on both side of the Empire's civil war.
1414 Middenland and Nordland sign an agreement to divide the former province of Drakwald equally. The Count of Nordland claims the Drakwald Rundfang for his own.
1425 Bretonnian knights are defeated by Tileans in the Tournament of Ravola. Bretonnia pledges to never invade Tilea.
1448 Tilean mercenaries fight to free Estalia from Arabian rule. Tobaro is attacked by the Arabian sultan, but succeeds in driving him off.
1450 The Crusades against Araby begin. Many Imperial Knightly Orders are founded during this period.
1487 Dark elves raid Remas.
1492 Marco Colombo discovers the distant land of Lustria.
1501 Arabians are expelled from Sartosa by Luciano Catena of Luccini.
1547 The Ar-Ulric returns the headquarters of the Cult of Ulric to Middenheim. The Elector Count of Middenland declares the latest Imperial election a sham, and proclaims himself Emperor. This marks the start of the Age of Three Emperors.
1550 End of the Crusades.
1563 Tobaro is overrun by skaven.
1565 Meldo Marcelli drives the skaven out of Tobaro.
1699 The explorers Ricco and Robbio trek east along the silk road and visit the court of the Cathayan Emperor Wu.
1757 Sartosa becomes a haven for pirates.
1597 The Duke of L'Anguille invades Marienburg and begins a brutal five-year occupation.
1602 The Middenland Emperor sends an army to Marienburg, forcing the Bretonnians to withdraw.
1604 Baron van Buik, Elector of Westerland, forms a city council composed of the heads of important mercantile families. Marienburg begins a period of rapid growth, fuelled by a massive expansion in overseas trade.
1707 The orc warlord Gorbad Ironclaw sacks the southern Empire and destroys the province of Solland. The Elected Emperor is killed at the siege of Altdorf, but the orcs are ultimately defeated.
1812 The Red Pox sweeps through Tilea.
1850 Marienburg is sacked by the Norse for the final time.
1877 A pig is elected Prince of Tobaro, and rules for 12 years before falling off the battlements of his palace.
1948 The Year of Four Tyrannies in Tilea.
1979 Marienburg bribes a majority of the Elector Counts, resulting in the election of Baroness Magritta of Westerland to the Imperial throne. The Grand Theogonist refuses to crown the Empress, stating that the electoral system has become irredeemably corrupt. Magritta is to be the last Elected Emperor. All three Emperors now pass on their crowns by dynastic succession, and Sigmar's Glorious Empire stands in ruins.
1993 Marienburg wizards are given legal protection, under the pretext of civil defence.
1999 Mordheim, the capital of Ostermark, is destroyed by the impact of a comet said to have been sent by Sigmar. The Elector, Count Steinhardt, is killed along with his entire family. A strange new mineral is discovered in the ruins of the city, and Marienburg is among those sending expeditions to acquire it.
2000 The League of Ostermark is formed. New art, technology and prosperity reaches Tilea.
2010 Vlad von Carstein, the ruler of Sylvania, reveals himself to be a vampire. His armies ravage Ostermark and Stirland. Vlad is apparently slain several times, but always returns.
2012 The genius inventor and artist Leonardo da Miragliano leaves Tilea for the Empire.
2051 Vlad is slain while besieging Altdorf, after the theft of his magic ring makes him vulnerable. His wife Isabella kills herself, and Vlad's vampiric underlings fall to squabbling amongst themselves.
2094 Konrad von Carstein defeats the other vampires and leads his armies against The Empire.
2100 The Battle of Four Armies. The three Emperors unite to defeat Konrad, but are unable to put aside their differences. The Emperors of Middenland and Talabecland arrange each other's assassination during the battle, and Helmut of Marienburg is killed by Konrad. All four armies withdraw from the field. Emperor Helmut is raised from the dead as a zombie under Konrad's control. His son Helmar swears vengeance.
2102 The Tilean town of Lambrusco employs the famous condottiere Ennio Mordini and his mercenary army in its war with neighbouring Organzo.
2103 Mordini is betrayed by his employer, and his army is massacred by the Organzans.
2108 Mordini emerges from the Apuccini Mountains at the head of a vast, skeletal army. He burns down Lambrusco and slaughters everyone within. The town is renamed 'Mordini,' and becomes the base for the undead warlord's campaign against all living things.
2121 The Battle of Grim Moor. A combined force of humans and dwarfs defeats Konrad's army. Konrad himself is slain by Emperor Helmar and the dwarf hero Grufbad.
2132 Mannfred von Carstein, the last of the Vampire Counts, attacks the Empire by surprise in the so-called Winter War. He lays siege to Altdorf, but is driven back by the necromantic magic of Vlad's Liber Mortis, wielded by the Grand Theogonist Kurt III.
2145 Mannfred is brought to battle at Hel Fenn by a vast allied army. Graf Martin Volker of Stirland slays the vampire, and is declared a hero.
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2146 Graf Martin, backed by the Sigmarite Church, invades the League of Ostermark under the pretext of restoring the heir of the Steinhardt family to the throne. The Otillian Empire of Talabecland also invades, as does an alliance of the Empire of Middenland and the Kislev town of Rahkov. Graf Martin is killed, the Stirland army is driven back, and the aged Grand Theogonist dies of disappointment.
2147 The Otillians and Middenlanders continue to fight over Ostermark. The Bechafen Purge, a mass-execution of suspected followers of Sigmar, leads to a popular rebellion against both Otillian and Middenlander rule.
2148 Emperor Severin I of Middenland dies of old age, and the Middenland nobles return home to determine his successor. Talabecland reaches an agreement with the Kislevites and the Ostermark rebels at the Diet of Bechafen. Ostermark becomes an independant state under the control of the restored Steinhardt dynasty, but retains strong links to the Otillian Empire. A key part of the agreement is the toleration of the Cult of Sigmar. The Tzarina of Kislev arranges for her son, Kniaz Makari of Rahkov, to marry the young Gräfin Helena of Ostermark, thus ending the border skirmishes between Ostermark and Kislev. Ar-Ulric Waldemar resigns his office and disappears.
After several years in command of the army Giacomo Lomellini fights an army of ratmen to the north of Tobaro. The army is routed with little loss and largely written off as mutant beastmen.
2150 The Western Elves return to the Old World, founding a trading post in Marienburg. The elves sign an exclusive trading contract with the city, increasing its wealth enormously.
2151 Graf Erik of Stirland attempts another invasion of Ostermark, but fails spectacularly. Herzog Adalbert Richter, formerly the commander of the Middenland forces in Ostermark, seizes the throne of Middenland.
2152 The Ottilian Empire attacks Middenland, making substantial territorial gains.
2153 Stirland, in a state of total economic collapse, withdraws its troops from Ostermark forever. Nordland, incensed by the vast tax increases instituted by the tyrannous Emperor Adalbert IV, end their alliance with the Empire of Middenland. Middenland respond by invading the province.
The Doge of Tobaro dies. Giacomo Lomellini succeeds to the throne with near unanimous noble and public support.
2156 Nordland is on the brink of collapse due to the continuing war with Middenland. The Elector Count is killed at the siege of Salzenmund, and his Runefang (orignally that of Drakwald) is send to Middenheim.
2157 Assassination of Emperor Adalbert IV. Civil war in the Empire of Middenland causes a withdrawal from Nordland.
2158 The civil war in Middenland ends with the ascension of a new Emperor. The Nordland conquest is renewed, and Salzenmund falls.
2160 The Otillian Empire and their Kislevite allies send a large army to support the beleagered Nordland forces. Salzenmund is retaken.
2163 Gräfin Helena and Kniaz Makari finally produce an heir to the throne of Ostermark.
2165 Middenland drives back the border with Talabecland. The Cult of Sigmar is banned throughout the Empire of Middenland as fanatical Ulricanism becomes more and more common.
2169 Hochland, previously an ally, is annexed by the Empire of Middenland.
Nearly twenty years after his first encounter, Doge Giacomo fights a second battle against the ratmen. He becomes convinced that they are the same creatures that took control of Tobaro five hundred years earlier.
2172 Middenland invades Ostland.
2175 Ostland formally becomes a part of the Empire of Middenland.
2179 At the age of twelve, Leo di Lucci is found dead, having apparently accidentally drowned in a puddle during a summer retreat.
2183 Laurence di Lucci perishes whilst inspecting the latest addition to the palace battlements. Laurence falls after moving closer to look at a newly carved rock in his image. He plummets from the side as the ornamental carving and rock face gives way under his rather substantial bulk.
Lucian di Lucci apparently slips on the edge of a grave whilst attending the funeral of his brother Laurence. Unfortunately he lands on several upturned shovels, impaling himself.
2184 Andronikos I becomes Despot of the Reman Empire.
2187 Emperor Phillip III of Marienburg marries the daughter of Joachim II Sigmarus, the Grand Count of Averland.
Lucas di Lucci, the eldest of the di Lucci males, is killed by a falling sword during an outdoor feast celebrating a summer of largely rain free days.
2189 Duke Azzone seizes control of Miragliano in a brilliantly-orchestrated plot.
Doge Giacomo's sanity begins to slip. The standing army is ordered to march to a village to protect it from imaginary enemies.
2190 The Otillian Emperor declares an end to the persecution of Sigmarites throughout his empire. The move is met by widespread rebellion among the Ulrican clergy and the more devout nobles, and huge numbers leave the Otillian Empire to settle in Middenland.
The Proxy-Elector of Wissenland, Baron Titus, borrows heavily from the merchant families of Marienburg to finance his campaign to become Emperor of Middenland. On his ascension to the throne he takes the name Titus-Artur in honour of the city's legendary founder.
The deeply unpopular Lionel di Lucci accuses his brother Leonard of conspiring against him and planning his murder. An angry mob subsequently murders Lionel for daring to impugn the honour of their favourite son.
2191 Andronikos is deposed by his uncle. Travelling to the north, he offers his sister Duccia in marriage to Emperor Titus-Artur of Middenland in exchange for military aid.
2192 Andronikos returns to Remas with his army of Middenlanders, and reclaims his throne.
2197 The Volkers of Stirland are deposed. The Electorship passes to the von Huttens. The Grand Theogonist presents the Imperial crown to the Grand Prince of Reikland (even though he technically lacks the authority to do so). This new ‘Sigmarite Empire’ includes Reikland, Altdorf, Nuln, Wissenland and Stirland.
Otillian Emperor Marius V marries the Grand Duchess of Nordland.
Lex di Lucci has a terrible accident. Whilst out hunting his horse is seen to spontaneously explode, killing the rider and several of his most influential companions.
2198 The Empire of Middenland defeats the army of the Norse Chieftain Thialfi Swiftaxe. The Norse agree to accept the Emperor as overlord. Titus-Artur is poisoned by a jealous rival, but survives.
Across The Empire, harvests fail. The Sigmarite Empire overruns the western part of Talabecland, but the emperor dies in a freak accident. The Grand Theogonist Fulmar offers the crown to the thirteen year old Hermann, and arranges the boy's marriage to Grand Countess Rosina von Orsbeck of Wissenland.
2199 Poor harvests lead to widespread starvation across The Empire. Marienburg forges a trade pact with Averland, Estalia and the major Tilean city-states, allowing it to control the importation of supplies to The Empire. The ships of the Marienburg Alliance, aided by those of the Western Elves, blockade the Nordland and Kislevite coast. Nordland and Kislev, backed by the Otillian Empire, form the League of Free Traders. Their aim is to break the blockade and provide food for their starving populations.
2200 Once again, the harvests fail. Heavy snowfall blocks the mountain passes, and the situation is now critical. Marienburg continues to increase the price of all imported food. The dwarfs of Barak Varr join the League of Free Traders, dispatching their iron-clad warships to the Sea of Claws. The Emperor of Middenland issues an ultimatum to Marienburg, as does the Sigmarite Emperor.
2201 The King of Bretonnia declares an errantry war to rid the land of orcs and goblins. The call is answered by almost every knight, although the Duke of L‘Anguille remains behind, sending only a small part of his army to join the cause. The Sigmarite Emperor strikes a deal with the Duke: L’Anguille is offered lucrative trading rights in return for the aid of its fleet in the conquest of Marienburg. The Empire of Middenland, the Sigmarite Empire and the League of Free Traders all declare war on Marienburg.
The war is short but extremely brutal. Eventually, Marienburg falls and is divided up by the various invaders. The high elves abandon the city, Emperor Phillip III of Marienburg abdicates, and the Marienburg Alliance is dissolved. The Imperial throne of Marienburg is claimed by Joachim II Sigmarus of Averland, though his rule is nominal.
Titus-Artur of Middenland and the Grand Theogonist are both killed in palace revolts. The arch-lectors of Nuln and Altdorf both claim the position of Grand Theogonist, and each excommunicates the other. Titus-Artur's wife Duccia forces the Middenland Electors to declare her empress. Hochland and Ostland declare independence from the Empire of Middenland, forming the Northern League in close partnership with the surviving merchant families of Marienburg. Empress Duccia recognises the League and makes peace.
Leonard II di Lucci comes to power in Luccini at the age of thirty, following the death of his father Alfonso. The previous prince died in his sleep: his unfortunate habit of hugging pillows may have contributed to his death.
Pietro Tiepolo is elected as pirate prince of Sartosa.
2202 Tensions between the five most powerful Tilean states escalate as each blames the others for the collapse of the Marienburg Alliance. Remas, Miragliano, Sartosa and Luccini hire vast armies of mercenaries. Tobaro fortifies its harbour but takes no other action. The states come to the brink of war, but stop short of making an actual declaration. Bored mercenary troops engage in acts of piracy and pillage all over Tilea.
Orc pirates begin to gather along the Badlands coast while the attention of the Barak Varr dwarfs remains focused on Marienburg. The dwarfs deliver a huge bill for their services during the war to the ruling council of Nordland. Unable to pay, Nordland is forced to become a dominion of the Otillian Empire, and the League of Free Traders is dissolved.
The young Emperor Hermann of Altdorf announces the end of Sigmarite control of the law courts. The Duke of L’Anguille renounces his alliance with the Sigmarite Empire, claiming that he has been cheated by them.
2203 The Reman Despot and the Duke of Miragliano are both murdered. The four mercenary companies - the Golden Company, the Cerulean League, the Vermillion Legion, and the Tyrian Guild - renounce their respective contracts due to unpaid fees. Tilea is now in deadly danger from the four restless armies. The Imperial factions, exhausted by the war but in dire need of new sources of revenue, send their own task forces to Tilea to obtain what profit they can from the impending war.
The Mercenary War is over by winter of the same year, ending in a lengthy series of peace talks. The Prince of Sartosa, the King of Luccini and the Duchess of Miragliano are all killed during the war, and the undead monster Mordini is destroyed in a duel by the warrior-priest Hans von Knoblauch. Remas, Luccini and the Vermillion Legion declare a new Reman-Luccinian Empire, but most of Tilea remains under the control of the Cerulean League. Isaac von Siegfriedshof is appointed regent of Miragliano until the young duke comes of age. The Tyrian Guild and the Golden Company establish minor states at the southern edge of Tilea and in the Border Princes.
2204 Marienburg negotiates lucrative trade agreements with the various Tilean states. The city begins to recover from the devastation caused in the war three years earlier.
The Doge of Tobaro dies of extreme old age. His nephew is elected to replace him, and fortunately shows no sign of the insanity his father was afflicted with. Under his leadership Tobaro grows in influence.
The city of Luccini descends into civil war as the various leading families contend (inconclusively) for the throne. The late King Leonard’s niece, his last surviving relative, flees to relative safety in Tobaro.
2205 Tensions between the major powers in the Cerulean League escalate, and it collapses into an array of hostile principalities. Many mercenary leaders travel north to seek employment in The Empire.
The Year of Five Kings in Luccini. Each new ruler is brutally assassinated by his replacement shortly after his coronation. King Ranoldi, the last of the five, is impaled by an angry mob on his own elaborate sceptre. The Republic of Luccini is formed in the winter when the noble families agree that enough is enough.
2206 In spring the Republic of Luccini becomes a Kingdom once again. After only two months the entire senate is put to the sword by the newly formed republican guard. Guard-General Alfonso proclaims himself king, loots the city, and dissolves the relationship with Remas.
2207 The Reman Despot's heart fails while he is engaged with prostitutes in his island villa. Empress Duccia of Middenland, the Despot's sister, illegally assumes the throne of Remas. The Despot's daughter Irene is banished to a Shallyan convent after attempting to claim the throne herself. While there she begins work on her famous history, ‘The Nikephoriad‘.
With Remas and Middenland now firmly under her control, Empress Duccia becomes increasingly belligerent and autocratic. From this point on, her rule is referred to by historians as ‘The Long Tyranny.’
2208 The ruling council of Marienburg buy back the some of the lands around the city that were lost during the war of 2201. The city's elf quarter is finally restored.
2210 Massimiliano Pelavicino reaches maturity and becomes Duke of Miragliano.
2211 War breaks out in the Sigmarite Empire between Reyneke of Altdorf and Echard of Nuln, the rival Grand Theogonists. Emperor Hermann announces his support for Reyneke, but does not provide him with any troops.
The Empire of Middenland declares war on the Northern League. The Empire of Averland and Marienburg declares war on Middenland in support of the League. The Otillian Empire remains officially neutral, but secretly lends support to the Middenland armies.
The Middenland invasion force is defeated at Gruyden by a League army under the Grand Baron of Hochland and the Grand Prince of Ostland, though the prince is killed during the battle. The Middenlanders withdraw to Krudenwald, where they remain until reinforcements reach them in the new year.
2212 Grand Duke Conradin, Elector Count of Middenland, forms a coalition of leading noblemen opposing the war with the Northern League and the Empire of Averland and Marienburg. The coalition withdraw their armies from the field and sign a cease-fire agreement with the League Council and Emperor Joachim. Empress Duccia outlaws Conradin and grants his title to her second cousin, Ludwig von Rusdorf.
General Achatius von Tiefen recaptures Calden from the Marienburgers, and defends it against a succession of assaults.
Reyneke’s army defeats that of Echard at the Battle of the Wagon, south of Wurtbad. Echard is executed, but Reyneke returns to Altdorf to find the gates closed against him. Emperor Hermann accuses Reyneke of heresy and demands his immediate surrender. After a brief siege, the Grand Theogonist withdraws his army to Grunburg.
2213 Emperor Joachim II Sigmarus of Averland and Marienburg dies after a brief illness. With his death Marienburg withdraws from the war with Middenland, the ruling council declaring a distant cousin of the deposed Phillip III as the new Emperor of Marienburg. The new Grand Count of Averland, a young favourite of Emperor Hermann, gives his allegiance to the Sigmarite Empire.
Empress Duccia sends the new Elector Count of Middenland to deal with Conradin's rebel coalition. The Elector is defeated at Eldagsen and Suderberg, and withdraws to Delberz.
Titus, son of Empress Duccia and the late Titus-Artur, comes of age and inherits the Barony of Delberz.
Wolfenburg falls to the Middenland forces under Grand Marshal Otto von Plauen. The city's walls are dismantled and its leading citizens are publicly and horribly executed.
2214 Emperor Hermann takes Grunburg and executes Reyneke. The lectors of the Church of Sigmar vote to confer supreme spiritual authority on the emperor instead of electing a new Grand Theogonist.
Baron Titus assumes command of the anti-coalition forces, capturing Suderberg, Eldagsen and Kutenholz before storming Caroburg. Grand Duke Conradin and his followers are executed. Titus is named 'Augustus' by his men.
Tobaro defeats Luccini in a grand naval battle, fought over Tobaro's refusal to hand over the last remaining Di Lucci and her young child. Luccini is forced to pay a humiliating amount of gold in reparation.
The Northern League surrenders unconditionally to the Empire of Middenland. Middenland cedes part of the League's northernmost territory to the Otillian Empire in payment for the Otillia's support. The empress also sells a part of eastern Ostland to the city of Kislev. Otto von Plauen is named Elector Count of Ostland, and Achatius von Tiefen becomes Elector Count of Hochland.
In late winter King Alfonso of Luccini tries to invade and settle the badlands to regain face after his defeat by Tobaro. Several victories against the confused and scattered orc tribes provoke a large and devastating counter-strike. The King's army returns badly mauled and the city is bankrupted. Marienburg merchant families bail out the crown in return for horrific interest rates and future land rights.
2215 Emperor Hermann’s wife dies without providing him with an heir. The emperor re-marries, but it is rumoured that he has little interest in women. His frequent visits to Grand Count Albrecht in Averheim are the source of considerable scandal.
Empress Duccia substantially revises the Empire of Middenland's electoral system. The old system of 'proxy-electors' is swept away, and the title of Elector Count is abolished. Her son Titus Augustus is expected to be named as official successor in recognition for his victory over the rebels, but the empress refuses to do so.
The Norse finally renounce their fealty to the Empire of Middenland. Now lacking a coastline and a fleet, Empress Duccia is unable to prevent them.
2216 Empress Duccia negotiates with Marienburg to provide transport for a punitive expedition to Norsca. The deal falls through when the merchant assembly demand excessive payment. The Empress contacts the Otillia instead, hoping to use the Nordland fleet. The Otillia is receptive, but the negotiations continue into the new year. All the while, the nobles of Middenland hire increasing numbers of mercenary soldiers.
2217 The Long Tyranny ends with the death of Empress Duccia in a boating accident on the River Reik. The Ar-Ulric declares that an election will be held in midwinter. Immediately, the greatest lords of Middenland gather their armies and announce their intentions to ascend to the wolf-throne of Ulric.
rufus sparkfire:
The Empire in 2217
A brief guide to the recent and more distant history of Sigmar’s Glorious Empire, in the dark days of civil war and fratricidal hatred
A revised and accurate edition of the original works by Ruprecht Breytenbach of Bechafen and Jacobus van der Tricht of Marienburg, prepared by Alexios Vement for the Averheim University Press in the year of Holy Sigmar 2419
The Empire, our mighty state forged at the dawn of history by Holy Sigmar from the twelve tribes of man, was never destined to last. For while Sigmar himself was able to control the tribal chiefs who would one day be known as Elector Counts, future Emperors were to find the task next to impossible. For centuries, Sigmar's Empire endured as a collection of independent (and often warring) territories, watched over by a mostly impotent Emperor.
But even this situation could not continue forever. Electoral and religious disputes led to war on a scale that had not been seen before, and to the foundation of first two, then three, then finally four, separate and antagonistic Empires. Only with the coming of the Blessed Magnus, at our darkest hour, would The Empire be restored. Yet in the times I write of the people had no knowledge of what was to come, and for many hundreds of lifetimes they saw the false Emperors make war, and so despaired.
On Empires and Emperors
Each of these Emperors claimed to be only legitimate heir to the throne of Sigmar. To each, their rival claimants were variously traitors and heretics. Yet as none of the 'Emperors' had been both elected by free and fair decision of their peers and crowned by the serving High Priest of Ulric or Sigmar, not one of them possessed even the shadow of a true claim. In the eyes of Holy Sigmar and Father Ulric, the Imperial Throne stood vacant.
Thus, in describing them, I could fairly call each claimant 'Emperor,' and the lands they ruled 'The Empire.' I have therefore retained the following naming conventions:
- The Emperor in Talabheim is the Otillia or the Otillian Emperor, and rules the Otillian Empire.
- The Emperor in Middenheim is the Emperor of Middenland or the Wolf-Emperor, and rules the Empire of Middenland or the Empire of Wolves.
- The Emperor in Marienburg is at times the Emperor of Marienburg, and at others the Emperor of Averland and Marienburg, with an empire named likewise.
- The Emperor in Altdorf is called the Sigmarite Emperor, and the empire named likewise.
The False God and the Wolf: The Otillian Empire, Ostermark and the Kislev connection
First to claim the title of Emperor without election was the Countess Otillia of Talabecland. A series of bitter wars had resulted in a feud between the states of Stirland and Talabecland, and Stirland's victory in the Imperial election of 1359 was the final insult. Small wonder that Otillia was so receptive to the Ar-Ulric, when he came to her with his fabricated evidence.
The Ar-Ulric had discovered proof that the Cult of Sigmar had been created by liars and demon-worshippers. The founder of the Cult was a man who later admitted (or so the Ar-Ulric's documents claimed) to have been a demonologist and a heretic. Here, at last, was a weapon for the resentful Ulrican clergy to use against the upstart Cult of the First Emperor. Here also was the excuse Otillia needed. Backed by the Ar-Ulric, she declared herself the rightful Empress, under Ulric the Father of All, and in so doing removed her province of Talabecland from Sigmar's Empire. Talabheim became the new headquarters of the Cult of Ulric.
In Otillia's domain, the Cult of Sigmar was suppressed with a determination that was as stubborn as it was bloody. Otillia's soldiers, under the direction of Ulrican priests, tortured and executed thousands of Sigmar's faithful, at times burning entire villages to the ground. In response, The Grand Theogonist of the Cult of Sigmar called for crusade against Talabecland. War after war followed.
So it continued. Otillia died and was succeeded by her daughter - who assumed the name Otillia as a mark of respect. Over time, passing by hereditary succession with female heirs taking precedence, this became the title carried by the Emperor of Talabecland and Talabheim: the Otillian Empire. In 1547, the Ar-Ulric moved the centre of Ulric’s Cult back to Middenheim, and at the same time the Elector of Middenland declared himself Emperor. The Age of Three Emperors had begun. The Otillian Empire waxed and waned in size over the years, yet it prospered and endured.
In 2146, the Otillian Empire became involved in the brief but bloody struggle over ownership of the province of Ostermark. Under the able command of Marshall Huppert Gernot, the Otillians secured the capital city of Bechafen and much of the surrounding area. With Stirland routed and the Middenlanders withdrawing upon the sudden death of Severin I to elect their new Emperor, only Kniaz Makari's Kislevites remained a serious challenge to Otillian domination.
The Otillia’s Ostermark campaign was more successful than she could have hoped. And yet, despite the pleas of her advisors, she could not tolerate the presence of large numbers of Sigmarites in her new possession. Empress Reinhilde sent Inquisitor-General Treitzsaur to Ostermark, with a mandate to convert every Sigmarite by one means or another. When his efforts were frustrated by Gernot, she recalled the Marshall under the pretext of defending the border with Middenland.
These actions were to cost the Otillia dearly. Treitzaur’s ‘spiritual crusade’ cost thousands of lives: not only those who were executed by the inquisition, but also those who were killed in the violent uprising that followed, and the many more who died from hunger and exposure during that terrible winter after they were forced from their homes. For weeks, Reinhilde refused to concede, spending yet more lives for the sake of her dignity. But at last she was forced to meet with the rebels, and at the so-called Diet of Bechafen in 2148 agreed to crown the Gräfin Helena as Elector Countess of Ostermark. Shortly afterward, Tzarina Tamara of Kislev persuaded the Otillia to allow Makari and Helena to marry, thus creating an understanding between Kislev and the Otillian Empire that remains strong to this day.
The terms of the agreement with the rebels also guaranteed the right of free worship for the Ostermarkers, and it was this concession that cut the Otillia most deeply. Even though Ostermark remained a vassal state of the Otillian Empire, Reinhilde could not view the situation as anything but a failure. When at last she died, in her bed at the age of eighty-three, her last words were to declare the toleration of the Sigmarite cult within her Empire to be the only regret of her long reign.
The Diet of Bechafen was to set in motion the eventual collapse of the Otillian state. Reinhilde's concessions in Ostermark weakened her iron grip on her own people. The demand for workers to aid in the reconstruction of Ostermark caused a manpower shortage in Talabecland, overcome only when a large number of Kislevites were encourage to immigrate. This change in the demographics of the population, together with the improved trading links with Kislev, brought new ideas to the Otillian Empire that overcame centuries of isolation. To begin with, this gradually increasing liberalisation came alongside military successes. Marshal Gernot's assault on the Empire of Middenland in 2152 increased Otillian holdings by nearly ten percent. In 2160, Otillian troops broke the Middenland forces in Nordland and helped to retake Salzenmund.
Yet by 2165 the tide had turned. Middenland, under yet another new Emperor, declared an end to its own toleration of the Cult of Sigmar. Buoyed up by new-found religious fervour, the Middenlanders retook their lost lands, swallowing up Hochland and Ostland in the process. As the power of the Otillian army waned, the Cult of Sigmar began to grow in Talabecland.
In 2190, the new Otillia declared a formal end to the persecution of Sigmarites. The announcement caused spontaneous rioting across the Otillian Empire. and resulted in the desertion of many of the most devoted Ulrican priests, knights and noblemen to the Empire of Middenland.
The Empire of Talabecland had been founded as an absolute monarchy, but the personality cult centred around Otillia herself was already in evidence when the first Empress died. Her crown was passed to her daughter, and thereafter, the Otillian throne was always the birthright of the eldest daughter, a unique example (in Sigmar's Empire at least) of female precedence. When the Ar-Ulricate retired from Talabheim to Middenheim in 1547, the Otillia assumed the title of 'Consort of Ulric,' and with it the primacy of the Cult of Ulric within Otillian lands. Thereafter, the Otillia was to be a focus of religious devotion, a living connection to Ulric, the Father of All.
By 2201, The Otillian Empire was a shadow of its former self. The Otillia ruled with the consent of an assembly of priests, guildmasters and lords that was similar in many ways to Marienburg’s ruling council. Emperor Marius V was both loved and hated by his subjects. Ostermark, ruled by Gabriela Steinhardt, the daughter of the Gräfin Helena, had become comparatively prosperous. Its workshops and foundries produced weapons for the Otillian armies, while its soldiers served alongside them as equals. Kislev, meanwhile, remained a collection of independent principalities under the nominal rule of Tzar Dmitri, a weak man who could do little to calm his squabbling nobles.
Winter's Dominion: The Empire of Middenland, Hochland and Ostland
The Imperial election in 1547 was to prove just as disastrous as that of 1359. The Grand Duke of Middenland had been led to believe that he would be the next Emperor, but instead found his life threatened by Sigmarist thugs when he attempted to cast his vote. Driven back to Middenheim, the enraged Grand Duke declared the holy elections a vile Sigmarite lie, and proclaimed himself the true and rightful Emperor.
Shortly afterward, the new Emperor of Middenland convinced the serving Ar-Ulric to depart from the Otillian Empire and renew Middenheim’s position as the centre of the Cult of Ulric. The Otillia replied by declaring herself the ‘Consort of Ulric,’ and excommunicating the Ar-Ulric and the entire Empire of Middenland.
The Emperor of Middenland was anxious to prove that he was no usurping tyrant, and to do so he instituted a new Electoral Assembly. To fifteen prominent nobles and clergymen of Middenland he granted electoral votes, held as proxies for the treacherous Elector Counts of the other provinces. These ‘Proxy-Electors’ immediately voted to legitimise the rule of the new Emperor.
Later Emperors used their powers to revise the Electoral Assembly, altering the weighting of the various proxy-votes, and even creating new Electors. In each case this was done to cement their own power, and to clear the way for their sons to succeed them on the throne. Yet these rampant displays of favouritism fed into the natural rivalries of the Middenland nobility. Again and again, the Empire of Middenland collapsed into brutal civil war.
In 2086, the young Emperor Severin I took the throne. He was a foolish and headstrong boy, and quite unable to control his new dominion. In 2100, he was almost killed by Otillian assassins during the Battle of Four Armies, and subsequently lay for many months in a deep sleep.
When he emerged from that sleep, Severin was a changed man. He reformed the Electoral system, removing the system of unequal weighting of votes and creating enough new Electors to balance the Electoral Assembly in a way that had never been achieved before. Under his leadership, the Empire of Middenland ceased to tear at its own body, and began at last to prosper.
In his last years, Severin’s mind drifted away from him. In 2146, he was steered into an alliance with the rogue prince Makari of Rahkov, and thence into war in Ostermark. Middenland’s attempt to gain control of Ostermark was ultimately a failure, giving lasting benefit only to their Kislevite allies. By 2148, Severin was dead. The Middenland Electors were unable to agree on a successor, and civil war began.
It was in 2151 that the former commander of the Middenland forces in Ostermark, Herzog Adalbert Richter, finally overcame his rivals and crowned himself Emperor Adalbert IV. The new Emperor was a cruel and petty man. His reign saw the end of Middenland’s long alliance with Nordland, and the commencement of a bitter war that still continues to this day. Middenland invaded Nordland, killing its Elector and seizing its Runefang at the third siege of Salzenmund. Adalbert’s assassination in 2157 brought a brief respite, but the next Emperor was to renew the attack. Salzenmund fell the following year.
In 2160, Nordland’s salvation arrived in the form of Otillian and Kislevite troops. The allied forces retook Salzenmund and drove the Middenlanders back. The defeat caused waves of panic to spread throughout Middenland. The belief in the invincibility of the Empire, forged during the reign of Severin the Great, disappeared: taking its place was a new-found religious fanaticism.
In 2165 the Emperor banned the Cult of Sigmar throughout his lands. That same year, Middenland soldiers ranged deep into Otillian territory, the standard of the White Wolf moving always before them. Hochland was absorbed by 2169, Ostland by 2175. The Empire of Middenland had become great once more.
2190 saw Emperor Marius V of the Otillian Empire proclaim an end to the persecution of the Cult of Sigmar within his lands. The result was an influx of devout Ulricans, especially priests and knights, into Middenland. First to take advantage of the situation was the young Proxy-Elector for Wissenland, Baron Titus of Delberz. Borrowing heavily from Marienburg’s merchant families, Titus assembled a large army of fervent Ulricanists. Swiftly gaining control of Middenheim, largely through bribery, the baron proclaimed himself Ulric’s chosen, appending the name of Middenheim’s legendary founder to his own. Emperor Titus-Artur I lost no time in creating twelve new Electors, all of them leading Ulrican priests. At the vote to confirm his office, thirty-four of the forty Electors gave Titus-Artur their support. Winter that year was fearful indeed: a sure sign of Ulric’s favour.
War with the North: Middenland and Norsca
Titus-Artur began a massive program of construction, regenerating the towns and cities of his empire with fine new public buildings (paying particular attention to Middenheim itself, and to Carroburg, home of his summer court). To fund this, he borrowed more and more money from Marienburg, and pushed for continual expansion of the Empire of Middenland into profitable new territories.
A fresh opportunity came from the north. The Norscans had always been a threat to the costal regions, especially to Marienburg. Now the Empire of Middenland had a substantial coast of its own, made up of land that had once belonged to Nordland. Several years of sporadic raiding led to a huge invasion in 2198 led by Thialfi Swiftaxe, uniter of the southern Norse. The Norse overcame two hastily-assembled armies sent against them, but were themselves defeated by an outnumbered army commanded by the Grandmaster of the Knights of the White Wolf, a brilliant general by the name of Lucius Wolfram. Wolfram himself slew the Norse Chieftan, thus delivering to Titus-Artur the overlordship of the southern Norscan tribes.
But Titus-Artur feared Wolfram's new-found fame and influence, and refused to reward him as was expected. Instead, he sent the Grandmaster to defend the Otillian border, appointing his most loyal courtiers as his liaisons to the Norse (appointments which would inevitably bring with them great riches).
This ungrateful move was a serious blow to the Emperor's popularity. A month later he had been poisoned, seemingly by Werner von Feuchtwangen, one of the new Electors he had himself created. Although Titus-Artur survived, he did so only at the cost of his physical strength. Thereafter, the Emperor trusted no one, commissioning an elite body of Norse Guardsmen to protect him at all times.
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