This is the history that I have so far of my town. I wanted to write it like the section in the Empire book dubbed "Some Great Events in the History of Our Empire." Also, some of the information is sorta vague because of the length of time that has passed and if there's some sort of bias it's because I'm trying to make this sound 'authentic' and make it seem like an actual history. This is sort of lacking, and I'm going to go back and add revisions where applicable. Also, I stopped before the Battle of Hel Fenn so I can work out the history during the upcoming compaign.
Any comments would be appreciated. Especially if you think this makes sense or not. Thanks!
History of
1707-Fortress upon the Upper Reik was destroyed by a contingent of Gorbad Ironclaw after a short siege
• Survivors of the greenskin invasion gather around the destroyed fortress and set up a refugee settlement
1709-Construction of the palisade begins
Around 1720-palisade completed
1734-First historical account of Reinhard. During a goblin raid, Reinhard loosed his bow at the chieftain from 500 paces killin it which caused the raiding party to flee
Around 1740-Reinhard emerged as the first prominent leader of the Brennenburg settlement, after continued leadership and skill as a warrior
• With Reinhard’s growing influence and increasing attacks, the people of Brennenburg begin reinforcing the palisade with stones from the old fortress
By 1800-Accounts tell us that the new castle of Brennenburg is completed with a stone keep and the outer wall being constructed of wood.
• The Count of Wissenland grants upon the aged Reinhard the title and authority of Graf of Brennenburg and the surrounding territories
A year after Reinhard’s rise to Graf he perished in battle with orcs after slaying many of the foul beasts
For fifty years there was no prominent ruler of Brennenburg. The Graf’s were weak and the peasantry struggled to maintain their existence. Reinhard outlived his only son, so the Graf’s grandson Reinhard III took power. He was ineffective and turmoil erupted amongst the family
1854-Reinhard IV, the great grandson of Reinhard emerges as a strong ruler and sets about increasing the wealth of his land. The realm was extremely poor and subsisted mainly on farming and fishing. At this point Reinhard IV ordered the construction of a port facility on the Upper Reik. This mainly served as a rest stop as their was nothing in the region to profit from
1863-An army from Averland crosses a ford upstream and proceeds to lay siege to the castle of Brennenburg. The outer wall is burned to the ground but the stone keep holds for over a month, giving time for reinforcements from Pfeildorf to arrive and drive the weary attackers away
1864-Because of continuing hostilities between Averland and Wissenland, Reinhard IV petitions the Count in Wissenburg for assistance in expanding the castle. The Count declines the request because there is no money to spare. Reinhard IV raises taxes to buy stone for expansion of the castle. This causes more strain on the people and famine plagued the land.
1866-Reinhard IV is killed by his personal guard. Some believe it was due to the heavy taxation upon the people. Construction of the wall is half completed at this phase
• Reinhard’s son, Dieter becomes Graf and lowers the taxation on the people, but puts a large portion of Brennenburg’s military up for hire as sell swords in order to increase revenue
Within three years the new wall was completed but Dieter continued to force the Brennenburgers to be mercenaries. This was his opportunity to increase his wealth hugely. The people hated their loved ones being away from home but did notice how Dieter put the wealth gained back into the land. Dieter was being praised as a hero for his plan and people flocked to the town.
During this period Brennenburg is known for its mercenary regiments of spearmen and archers. Men come to the town to join these units and obtain glory and wealth
The land of Brennenburg prospered greatly from its mercenary regiments until 1941. The line of Reinhard died out with Reinhard VII, the great-grand nephew of Dieter. Several leading families vie for power whilst the mercenaries answered to no one
1944-With no less than three families claiming the title of Graf, provincial troops march into Brennenburg and ensure that the Geilhof family will hold the power in the land
Mercenary troops begin to trickle home around 1960 bringing with them a renewed wealth. Many of these men joined the town forces while others plotted to overthrow the Geilhofs
Within the next one hundred year, five families claim rule over Brennenburg:
• The Geilhofs are driven out by supporters of the Heindorfs
• The Heindorfs were all murdered by the displaced ruler of Pfeildorf, Otto Glebmeir
• Glebmeir is poisoned and without any relatives the Rochenbach’s take control
• The Olenbays then enter the picture and claim they are blood descendants of Reinhard. The people tired of constant upheaval take this as the truth and oust the Rochenbachs
2075-Klaus Olenbay, the first Graf in the Olenbay family takes power. He immediately tries to gain the people’s confidence and eliminate any opposition. He orders the construction of a stone wall to surround the town. This would be funded by taxation and large portions of the Olenbay family’s wealth. This encouraged the people who wholly supported the idea. The Count of Wissenland also provided some assistance, reversing his predecessor’s decision, as he realized the strategic value of a secure outpost upon the Upper Reik
• Klaus sends a request to the Dwarf king in Karaz-a-Karak to offer help in the construction of the great wall. The Dwarf King sends an entourage to oversee construction, due to the longstanding ties that men and dwarves have had
2086-The outer wall of Brennenburg is finally completed after great expense to the people and the Olenbay family. Soon thereafter, Klaus dies of an unknown sickness, leaving the land to his eldest son, Frederick Klaus
For the next few decades, the town continues to grow, mostly because of the defenses the wall provided
Thus begins an unfortunate tale, for in the year 2105 Frederick Klaus dies of an unknown disease. Gunther Klaus, Frederick’s younger brother was killed in battle, while serving in the Wissengaurd several months earler. With no other closely related male heirs of age, their sister, Andrea, becomes Grafin. This is the first time a woman is to rise to the seat in the recorded history of Brennenburg.
Word spread quickly that Andrea was now Grafin, and a young one at that (sources say she was barely twenty years of age. She never knew her father Klaus; he died before she was born.) She was highly sought after; for it is told she was very beautiful and now controlled an amount of land that was growing in size and importance. Many knew that attacking Brennenburg would be unwise. Many suitors entered the picture, vying for the hand of the young woman.
Before the end of Andrea’s first year as Grafin, a great famine plagued the land. Crops were poor and many grumbled that it was a sign from Sigmar that he disapproved of the new ruler. As always, when ill events occur, it happens all at once. Just as winter’s cold grip started to release its hold upon the land in early spring, an orc force attacked the beleaguered citizens of Brennenburg. After two weeks of continuous attacks, the orcs broke through the northern gatehouse and swarmed over the town. The greenskins ransacked the town and burned the buildings to the ground and set about laying siege to the castle within. Another week of continued assaults battered the walls and the defenders inside, but the castle would not fall. The Captain of the Castle Guard sensing the weakening attacks of the orcs sallied out and smashed through the foul greenskins, and scattering them in confusion.
As the remaining citizens began to piece together their shattered lives, they demanded that Andrea be banished from the town. In her stead, a distant cousin named Olaf stepped forward. Seeing that the young woman was forsaken and left without a powerbase all suitors withdrew their advances. Andrea fled from the city, fearing for her life.
So began the reign of Olaf the Vile. Being a greedy man, he taxed the poor inhabitants of Brennenburg heavily, making it nearly impossible to live. The citizens were unable to rebuild there destroyed homes so they lived in squalid holes in the ground covered by their previously destroyed homes. Thus it was, for the entire length of Olaf’s reign the people suffered and perished.
In the year 2127 Sigmar answered the prayers of the beleaguered people, with the arrival of Wolfgard. He was the son of Andrea, and bent on avenging his mother’s disgrace. Raised in Tilea, he set forth to reclaim his family’s right to the throne of the town. While Olaf was out on a hunting trip, he was accidentally shot by one man of his hunting party. Seeing a large deer in the distance of the woods the man loosed his arrow but it struck a tree and ricocheted finding Olaf, killing him instantly. With this, Wolfgard moved quickly to lay claim to the town.
