Chapter X: The Empire
to find the capital of Reikland seemingly undefended. Even as he marched forward at the head of his rotting army, Grand Theogonist Kurt III appeared on the battlements, the forbidden Liber Mortis in hand. The priest of Sigmar began to incant the Great Spell of Unbinding and Manfred was forced to retreat as his army crumbled around him. Confronted by this threat, the rulers of the Empire managed to put aside their differences for long enough to push back Manfred to Sylvania, and to march upon Drakenhof Castle itself. Eventually Manfred was brought to battle at Hel Fenn and was cut down by the
Count of Stirland as he attempted to flee the battle in his chariot. Manfred’s body was lost at the very edge of the great swamp. The Count of Stirland claimed all of Sylvania for himself as the spoils of victory, and added it to his domains. No one objected. Thus the threat of the Vampire Counts was apparently ended. Dark tales still abound of the restless dead and their blood-hungry master; Witch hunters still venture into Sylvania to bring fire and stake to the Undead creatures within; and during the great invasion by the Chaos warlord Archaon, it is claimed that a host of the dead once more marched to battle. the territories of the most powerful Bretonni leaders. Until then, the Dukedoms were independent nations, allying and warring with each other in equal measure. However, in these turbulent times, the Duke of Bastonne, Gilles, led a mighty army to help his beleaguered compatriots, and united them against their common foes. Gilles had been visited by the apparition of a beautiful Goddess, who he recognised as the Lady of the Lake. She bade him gather as many warriors as he could to confront a massive Orc army which was rampaging through the land of Quenelles on the borders of the mysterious, haunted forest of Athel Loren. As reward for this, Gilles and his closest companions drank from a cup offered to them by the Lady of the Lake, which imparted great strength, wisdom, and resistance to magic. Gilles did as he was asked, and as news of his divine gift spread, he united the Dukes under his leadership. He destroyed the Orcs in battle, and the Lady of the Lake appeared to him once more. She told him that any Knight brave and pure enough could search for her, and if found to be strong of body and soul, he could also drink from the grail. This was her reward for the loyalty of the Bretonni. Upon seeing such a miraculous event, and having witnessed the prowess of Gilles and his Grail Knights in battle, the other dukes swore oaths of loyalty to him and made him the first King of the united lands of the Bretonni—Bretonnia. Gilles passed from the world only a few years later, whilst on a pilgrimage with a few of his younger Knights to the site where the Lady had appeared to him after the battle with the Orcs. Greenskins were still hiding out in the region and Gilles’ party was ambushed. Gilles was mortally wounded by a foul Orc warblade and the two surviving Knights Errant took him to the sacred lake and prayed for the Lady to return and save their king. A lone figure appeared from the swirling mists, upon a boat powered by no oars or sail. It was a tall, beautiful maiden, swathed in a gown and cloak and hooded so that little of her delicate face could be seen. She bade the Knights to lay the near-dead Gilles in her boat, telling them that he would live on, but only as a servant of the Lady of the Lake. She introduced herself as the Fay Enchantress, messenger of the Lady, and said that Gilles would become immortal as a guardian of the blessed waters of the lake. Gilles’ son, Louis, was chosen as the successor to the throne of Bretonnia. However, the assembled Dukes and Barons quite rightly pointed out that Gilles had been a remarkable man, blessed above others by the Lady of the Lake. Having inherited his father’s bravery, Louis declared he would seek out the grail from which his father had drunk, thus proving his right to be king. His boldness earned him the title of Louis the Rash. Louis disappeared for many years on his Grail quest, finally returning with a splendid golden crown and enchanted weapons that he claimed had been given to him by the Lady. Since then no man has been allowed to wear the golden crown without first becoming a Grail Knight. Over the years the crown has passed to different families and dukedoms, but always it has been worn by one who has seen and communed with the Lady of the Lake herself.
— n eIghbours and a llIes —
W hile the Empire is the greatest nation of the Old World, it is not the only one. The Empire has many neighbours and sometime allies. Conflict with these nations is not unknown, though
trade and mutual-assistance are much more common. T he b order p rInCes
To the south of the Empire, along Blackfire Pass and beyond the Black Mountains, lies a wild, untamed land. Here, dispossessed nobles of the Empire may travel to rebuild their power, and the barren landscape is dotted with small castles and forts, divided between the petty fiefdoms of these warring aristocrats. It is from these robber barons that the land takes its name—the Border Princes. For mercenaries and adventurers alike, the Border Princes are a land of opportunity. Bordered to the south by Blood River, the Border Princes are constantly assailed by Orcs and Goblins from the Badlands beyond. Mercenary armies paid by one baron or another also wage war upon each other to expand their employers’ small domains. It is also in the Border Princes that treasure hunters can be found in abundance, for there are many old tombs of the ancient pre-Imperial tribes throughout the land. Ill-favoured hills hide gold-filled cairns, while on many a hilltop the monoliths of the ancient past tower into the sky like jagged teeth. It is said that these ancient lords do not rest easily, and curses from before the time of Sigmar protect their tombs. Also, Necromancers and other foul sorcerers come to the Border Princes to practise their dark arts, far from the torches of the Witch Hunters. To the west lies the Black Gulf, whose coastline is pitted with many natural caves and hidden anchorages. This makes it perfect for corsairs to hide their lairs, and it is not unusual for many of the mercenaries that ply their trade here to indulge in piracy when more legitimate work is in short supply. The foothills of the World’s Edge Mountains to the east are equally lawless and bandit leaders war with Orc warlords for possession of the approaches to Blackfire Pass, eager to prey upon unwary travellers from the Empire or convoys sent to trade with the scattered settlements of the Border Princes. In all, the Border Princes are the frontier of the Empire, and a man of flexible morality can make a good living here in a short time. It is just as likely, however, for him to die upon some forsaken battlefield or in the clutches of some newly awoken tomb-horror. b reTonnIa Bretonnia is the land that evolved from the traditional realms of the Bretonni tribesmen from the time of Sigmar. Roughly one thousand years after Sigmar founded the Empire, the lands were beset by peril. In particular, Orcs plagued the Dukedoms that had grown out of
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