Cuitlaxaochitzin strife

Following the settlement of Skink Havens, the skink revolution enjoyed relative autonomy from Cacaoaxochitl, although it may have been because the Slaan hadn't realised that such a revolution had actually taken place. If they did, they clearly didn't consider the tiny realm on their western border any kind of threat. However, the skinks still had one great work to accomplish. Years before, the Ogres had committed the great crime known as "the feast of a thousand skinks". Although this hadn't soured relations with Cuitlaxaochitzin itself, the honour of the skink was at stake! In 462PC the city of sanctuary sent forth an army to the Ogre kingdom, to settle old scores.

The skink army travelled overland through Arloth, then north of the Holy Sigmarite Empire and made the perilous crossing of the Mallvass mountains without being discovered. They reached the Ogre Kingdom without being discovered and appeared before the Hall of the Overtyrant. Enraged, the King of the Ogres sent his finest warriors against the skinks, but aided by their monstrous stegadons, the skinks defeated the Ogres in open battle, before retiring in haste, honour settled, with as much loot as they could, before the rest of the Ogre Kingdom mobilised against them.

In 475PC the rulers of Cuitlaxaochitzin found out that chaos marauders were raiding deeper and deeper into Arloth. Fearful of expansion towards their realm, the Slaan consulted, and asked the ogres of Graag to send the chaos armies back east.

The Ogres tracked the marauders into Arloth, and before long faced the combined might of Lord Tragean's forces on the open plains of the land. The battle was fought with determination by both sides, but neither could break the other. The Ogres prepared to resume the next day, but come dawn the forces of Tragean had moved off to the east, not considering another bloody battle worth the effort. The Ogres didn't pursue, and the lizardmen kingdom began considering extending their mighty line of fortresses north to the frozen wastes, effectively planning to cut off their realm from the rest of Palurin.

Skinks establish homeland

In 455PC the second most powerful nation on Palurin was shaken by a new force in Cuitlaxaochitzin. For four and a half centuries the prevailing system of hierarchical government had been in operation, with the Slaan governing and the skinks serving. Gradually a mood of dissention had been building in the realm, and in 454PC a new force calling itself "the skink revolution" appeared in the land, raising followers and finally an army.

In truth the skink revolution didn't actually mobilise more than one in ten skinks, but the problem was alarming to the rulers of Cuitlaxaochitzin, and infuriating to the Ogres of Graag who had fought tenaciously to keep the empire together. In 455PC this tension came to a head when the Ogres of Graag were sent into north western Cuitlaxaochitzin to put down the rebellion.

The skinks met the Ogres on the plains of Cullinor, in Chimalman near the upper Laerthad. Despite the obvious size differences, the battle was a bloody stalemate. At the end of the fighting the skinks fled west, around the northern pass of the Cullins mountain range. The Ogres did not pursue, and the region of Skink Havens was established, with its capital at Sanctuary. Safely protected by the Cullins, Skink Havens proved more effort than it was worth to attempt to reconquer, so for now the sepratist skinks had their homeland, although most skinks were perplexed by the revolution.

Ogres embarrass HSE

The colony of Adler An Zee had been prospering in the Aranur valley for years by 448PC, and trade with the dwarfs was brisk and friendly. The Ogres had arrived some years before, and their presence was welcomed by the populace, as their military might made the population feel safe.

The Ogres also enjoyed the posting, as the Beer from the dwarf kingdom far exceeded in quality, and strength, the beer of the Empire. The Ogre mercenaries' fondness for dwarf ale ensured that a thriving business of dwarf drinking taverns sprung up in the west of the Empire colony, but in 449PC, a serious problem occurred.

The Ogres were still paid by the Imperial coffers to protect the citizens of Adler An Zee, but in 449PC the caravan shipping the money from Sigmarheim mysteriously went missing, along with several high ranking members of the Imperial Treasury. While Louis II attempted to sort out the mess caused by the largest fraudulent embezelment of Imperial funds in Palurin history, the Ogres went without pay.

Eventually this meant the Ogres couldn't pay their debts, and while the population of Adler An Zee accepted this grudgingly, not paying your bar tab was a high crime in the dwarf kingdom. The dwarfs demanded recompense, but the lord of the colony was in no mind to pay the ogres' debts, even if he could have. The Ogre bill racked up while their pay was going missing was staggering, and lord Moritz didn't have access to this kind of wealth. He summoned the Ogre general.

Lord Moritz informed the Ogres that it was their bill, and the dwarf army now marching on Ulricshafen to collect was their fault. He washed his hands of the whole affair and sent the Ogres to "negotiate a settlement" with the dwarfs. This of course was a ruse. The Ogres knew nothing of diplomacy, or even how to spell it, and in 449PC the Ogres drew up their forces against a stoic dwarf host intent on collecting their money.

The battle itself was a brutal affair with both sides fighting particularly hard over what was in the end a dispute about money. After a long fight the dwarfs crumbled first, retreating off the lowlands and back to their hold at Karak Grimnil. Adler An Zee's coffers had been saved, but now a larger dispute was looming. To keep the peace, Louis II paid off the debt by raising taxes at home, while putting in place measures to ensure the Ogres were paid on time. One measure was to make Adler An Zee pay the lions share directly, something which did not please lord Moritz in the slightest.

Kaalroens tackle enemies 441-451PC

In the 440s and 450s, the Kaalroen Empire was once again involved in frequent battles against its neighbours, as the expansion of the realm continued to encroach on areas the other empires had their eye on. In 441PC the Lizardmen of Cuitlaxaochitzin campaigned against the Kaalroens, meeting and defeating a Domovoi force in northern Canabrin. The winds of magic were fickle during the battle, with frequent magical mishaps, but the army of mostly skinks was able to overcome the Domovoi army, despite stubborn resistance from the chaos warriors. The battle was particularly bloody, but the Domovoi were defeated once again.

In 446PC Lord Tragean finally made a move against the Ogre Kingdom, which had been plundering the south of his kingdom for several years. Tragean's Kaalroens marched against the Overtyrant in the summer of that year, but found the Ogres a very determined foe when they were defending their own land. Tragean was unable to defeat the Ogres in the Mallvass Mountains, and once again the small kingdom successfully defended itself against its mighty neighbour.

Ayn'Qaahira established itself as a real power within the Kaalroen Empire in 451PC, when a skaven army from the Typhonian Enclave was defeated as it was searching for warpstone in the south of the Kaalroen Empire. This victory brought to an end the skaven expeditions in the east for many years, and enabled the Lord of Ayn'Qaahira to begin his great work, creating the floating city.

The Domovoi were defeated again in 457PC, when the Dwarf Kingdom began its northern expansion into the Alpino mountain range. After establishing settlements in the mountains, the dwarfs found themselves under attack from the Kaalroen Empire, who were none to happy about the dwarf northern expansion.

The dwarfs drew up into a defensive formation, targetting their artillery against the central chaos knights. The Domovoi elite infantry managed to assault the artillery positions and were eventually successful, removing that threat, but by then the knights had suffered heavily. They were able to do some damage to the dwarf hammerers, but were quickly dragged down by the stubborn dwarfs.

The battle reached a climax as the two armies' core infantry forces met in the centre of the battlefield. The marauders of the Domovoi eventually broke and fled, pursued by several angry dwarf units. Despite rallying briefly and re-engaging in battle, and despite a direct hit from a powerful Domovoi spell, the dwarfs held the field. Both sides had taken heavy casualties, but the Domovoi army was routed and fled north back to the Kaalroen Empire, allowing the dwarfs to continue the founding of Karak Igor.

Top Tens!

Population

1 Kaalroen Empire 3,620,000

2 Cuitlaxaochitzin 3,080,000

3 Holy Sigmarite Empire 2,890,000

4 Dwarf Kingdom 2,270,000

5 Mellvellon 1,885,000

6 Skaven 1,790,000

7 Wood Elf Realm 1,780,000

8 Dark Elf Dominion 1,670,000

9 Cloudy Mountain Orcs 420,000

Biggest Cities

1 Boiling Peak 440,000

2 Lamentation 300,000

3 Apotheosis 290,000

4 Sigmarheim 265,000

5 Karak-a-varr 260,000*

6 Dragonspire 225,000

7 Flodenstaden 195,000

8 Karak Brynaz 190,000

9 Hovedstaden 185,000

10 Sudhafen 175,000

11 Galamory 165,000

12 Phalicia 155,000

13 Ayn'Qaahira 145,000

14 Cacauaxochitl 135,000

15 New Har Ganeth 120,000

*Includes the former city of Kazad Varr.

Wonders of the World

1 Mount Cxa-Cxa 22

2 Great temple of Cuitlaxaochitzin 22

3 Tower of Phalicia 18

4 Dragonspire - Ivory Tower 18

5 Boiling peak Complex 13

6 Cathedral to Sigmar 7

= Windmill of Change 7

9 Ruins of Chimalman 6

10 Floating city of Ayn'Qaahira 5

Palurin Political - 435PC

The Domovoi War - 435PC

The Domovoi war was fought between the Kaalroen Empire and the Holy Sigmarite Empire in 435PC. Since the success of the HSE's Ogre army in 424PC the Empire had been gradually extending its influence in the east, with the Drazkharov influence growing in the North, and the count of Wurmlingen's estates growing ever eastwards, extending the province of Niederland and making the count the de-facto ruler of the state.

The Drazkharov's had, by 435PC, divided the growing state of Holwingen in two, forming a new state, Mallenstien, around the river town of Mallendorf, which had grown increasingly prosperous since its founding just a decade earlier. The Emperor Louis II approved this action, and sanctioned the expansion of the Empire into the lands east of Pellenar, while continuing to recognise the King of Pellenar's independence.

The major barrier to eastward expansion had always been the raids by the Kaalroen Empire into the western foothills of the Mallvass mountains, but during the 5th century secretive talks had been taking place in Hovedstaden, with the aim of securing a treaty with the lord of the Kaalroens, recognising the HSE's right to colonise all of Canaur. The negotiations had been long and relatively fruitless, and it appeared that lord Tragean was in fact enjoying toying with the Sigmarite ambassador.

Nevertheless, expansion east continued, and the Empire prospered, until 435PC, when two enormous Domovoi armies massed at the passes of the mountains. One tracked north towards the Mallend Gap, and the Count of Holwingen dispatched an army to prevent them from passing into the Emperor's lands. Once again the Count's elite greatswords and host of free company were able to defeat the chaos army, routing them from the field. A few onlookers in Mallendorf commented on how the army marched through the settlement only by cover of darkness and never showed their faces, but this only added to the mystery of the count's armies...

Meanwhile a second Domovoi army had penetrated the Mallvass mountains further south, and began ravaging settlements along the lesser Canaur. Louis II acted swiftly and the standing army of the HSE was in the field before the Domovoi could reach the gates of Wurmlingen.

Outside the town, the two armies drew up for battle, but as the Domovoi approached, disaster struck the Empire army, as one by one their artillery blew apart, the cause later being attributed to a suspect order of gunpowder. Very soon the Sigmarites found themselves with but one cannon, but that cannon proved to be sufficient, as a well placed cannonball blasted the chaos sorcerer from his monstrous mount, defeating the magical wardings which may have protected him.

The Domovoi came on however, unphased by the loss of their sorcerer. Seeing an opportunity present itself the empire general, Templar Grand Master Gerhard Von Schmekt, rode his cavalry onto a hill to the left of the battlefield, while the Empire infantry stood steadfast in the valley below. As the greatswords prepared to meet the charge of the Domovoi, Von Schmekt's knights crested the hill and charged down into the flank of the enemy force. After dispatching a mighty Shaggoth, the knights crashed into the Chaos footsoldiers. This left only the chaos knights to charge the Empire infantry, and the greatswords held their ground, cutting the enemy cavalry down to a man.

The knights made short work of the chaos foot troops, and soon the battle became a complete massacre, with only one brave - or very foolish - chaos sorcerer staying to fight. Furious at his army's defeat, the sorcerer made straight for the Empire battle wizard, and a bizarre hand to hand duel then took place, while the rest of the Empire army looked on perplexed. Eventually Von Schmekt and his cavalry arrived, and dispatched the enemy wizard, sadly too late to save the screaming Empire battle wizard, who had been strangled.

The two decisive victories over the Domovoi didn't appear to bother lord Tragean, and negotiations continued, as fruitlessly as ever. Louis II was still keen to have a treaty with the Kaalroens, but he had to make sure the Grand Theogenist, Josef IV, didn't find out. As Ravensfeld was founded by the Count of Wurmlingen on the eastern fringe of the realm, Josef was out in the streets, calling for a "great crusade" against Chaos. Quietly Louis wondered whether his biggest enemies were the other empires of Palurin, or his own church.