Dwarfs defeated by Chaos

In 506 a dire period began for the Dwarf Kingdom as they came under heavy attack from the Kaalroen Empire. A great force of beastmen of the Red Eye tribe travelled down the spine of the Mallvass mountains into Dwarven territory, looting a number of outlying mining settlements. A host of Dwarven warriors lead by Gimmle Thronson was mobilised from Karak Igor and marched north, meeting the Red Eyes at a narrow mountain pass where it was hoped the beastmen could not use their superior numbers.

However the Dwarfs had not reckoned on the sheer size of the horde, and for every slavering beast hacked down another would leap into its place. In the midst of the battle Gimmle ordered scouting parties to return to Karak Igor bringing news of the horde whilst his army prepared to give their lives. The force held up a desperate defence but was overwhelmed.

The two scouting forces desperately raced south, taking different routes to try and fool the enemy. The first found itself under attack when a daemonic force materialised around them and the blades of Khorne scythed down the Dwarfs. Elsewhere the other party also found itself under attack, this time from a force of Domovoi raiders. The scouts were no match for the might of the chaotic warriors and neither group would make it to warn Karak Igor.

The Dwarfs were saved in an unexpected manner. The Domovoi raiders that had killed the scouting party were only a small force ahead of a larger host that met with the Red Eye tribe shortly after their defeat of Gimmle's army. Instead of any sort of alliance the Chaos gods determined the two armies must prove their strength and loyalty by fighting each other. In a vast display of bloodshed the armies clashed, the Domovoi eventually proving their superiority. In time the battlefield would be known as the Crimson Pass, such was the amount of blood that stained the rocks.

Having done the bidding of their fickle gods both forces returned north to the Kaalroen Empire, taking much plunder from the Dwarven lands but leaving the Dwarf Empire safe again for the meanwhile. Gimmle's body was recovered from the field and entombed in the Hall of Heroes in karak Igor.

Holy Sigmarite Empire threats continue

The Dark Elves of Khaldeith returned to plague the Holy Sigmarite in 503, only a year after their defeat by House Aureus. After a successful slave raid against the ogre kingdoms, the Elves returned to the HSE, making small attacks along the coast. the Emperess Matilda dispatched small defensive forces to defend important locations, but wherever battle was joined against the raiders the men of the Empire came off worse. Faulty gunpowder and green recruits were blamed, but for many the problem lay in mismanaging of the situation by the ruling class of House Alptraum.

As bad as the elven raids were, a more serious threat was massing elsewhere, the first signs of which arrived in 506 when a daemonic pack materialised in the lands round Mallendorf and attacked an isolated outpost held by House Drazkharov, slaughtering the defenders. Then early next year an army of the Domovoi was seen marching towards the HSE. The Kaalroen Empire was on the attack once more.

Thankfully though they may have suffered defeats in smaller raids, the Drazkharovs had proved themselves hard to beat in major engagements. This year was no different, and the chaos force was met just south of the Mallend Gap. Though the conveniently overlooked dark magics used by the Drazkharovs proved fickle the powerful infantry held fast against the Domovoi and at the height of the battle Igor Drazkharov slew the Chaos commander. The Domovoi were routed, though some remnants of the army were later found wandering the borders of the HSE - and were blamed for a massacre of a Drazkharov scouting party later that year.

In 508 the Dark Elves returned, but this time the HSE believed themselves ready. A rebuilt fleet from Gallamory was patrolling the Galamor bay and intercepted the raiding ships from Khaldeith, cleverly forcing the elves to sail into the wind thereby slowing their advance. However the ambush quickly turned round, as the cannons of the Imperials were inaccurate and their tactics once close up were sloppy. The powerful elven magic turned the battle into one of the worst defeats ever suffered by the Gallamory fleet. In the wake of this embarrassment the Empress declared the "official" HSE navy needed to be reformed, rather than relying on incompetent privateers.

Top Ten Lists!

Population

1 Kaalroen Empire 3,995,000

2 Cuitlaxaochitzin 3,530,000

3 Holy Sigmarite Empire 3,605,000

4 Dwarf Kingdom 2,460,000

5 Mellvellon 2,020,000

6 Skaven 2,140,000

7 Wood Elf Realm 1,780,000

8 Dark Elf Dominion 1,865,000

9 Cloudy Mountain Orcs 430,000

Biggest Cities

1 Boiling Peak 440,000

2 Sigmarheim 325,000

3 Lamentation 300,000

4 Apotheosis 290,000

5 Karak-a-varr 250,000

6 Karak Brynaz 250,000

7 Dragonspire 225,000

8 Galamory 195,000

9 Flodenstaden 195,000

10 Hovedstaden 185,000

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

Biggest Armies

1 Kaalroen Empire 38

2 Holy Sigmarite Empire 33

3 Dwarf Kingdom 31

4 Cuitlaxaochitzin 31

5 Mellvellon 30

6 Typhonian Enclave 8

7 Dark Elf Dominion 5

8 Cloudy Mountain Orcs 4

Biggest Navies

1 Dark Elf Dominion 46

2 Mellvellon 36

3 Typhonian Enclave 34

4 Holy Sigmarite Empire 18

5 Dwarf Kingdom 13

6 Kaalroen Empire 11

7 Cuitlaxaochitzin 7

Biggest Empires

1 Kaalroen Empire 635,000 sq mi

2 Cuitlaxaochitzin 505,000 sq mi

3 Holy Sigmarite Empire 402,500 sq mi

4 Dwarf Kingdom 210,000 sq mi

5 Wood Elf Realm 157,500 sq mi

6 Dark Elf Dominion 155,000 sq mi

7 Typhonian Enclave 142,500 sq mi

8 Mellvellon 187,500 sq mi

9 Cloudy Mountain Orcs 65,000 sq mi

Triple alliance forms

Over the past few years the patrolling ships of the Holy Sigmarite Empire had been encountering increasing numbers of Skaven vessels in the middle of the Pan Coren Ocean. Whilst the Sigmarites were well used to skaven raids on their southern coastline, these ships were always spotted in deep water far from any coast. The Admiralty of the HSE suspected the nefarious Skaven were up to something, and whilst they had no idea what it was or how it was relevant to them they fervently believed it could be nothing good. A fleet was dispatched to patrol the area of greatest activity with the aim of boarding a skaven vessel and discovering its purpose.

The first skaven ships encountered fled on sight of the Sigmarite navy but soon a host of sails was spotted on the horizon as the Skaven responded with suspicious speed. Battle was soon joined and although at first it seemed as if the Sigmarites would triumph easily the Skaven fought back with surprising tenacity and vigor and eventually the human ships were all destroyed or scattered, still none the wiser as to why the Skaven were so obsessed with an area of empty ocean.

Ogres face new challenges

At the start of the 6th century PC the Ogre Kingdom of the Mallvass Mountains faced increasing challenges as the Empires around them began voraciously expanding their borders. In 500PC a dispute with the Lizardmen over trade saw their caravans ambushed and seized while passing along the Easting Road. Eventually the Ogres began sending armed caravans to the Norh of the Holy Sigmarite Empire, as Empress Matilda was unwilling to allow even a small military force from the Ogre Kingdom pass through her realm.

The dispute came to a head in late 500PC, when a protected caravan, bound for Graag, was ambushed by a force from Cuitlaxaochitzin. Despite not being the largest battle, hundreds were involved on both sides, and the Ogre defence force was overcome and the precious goods seized in the name of the Slaan priests. Following this the Ogres gave up trying to trade with their kin in Graag, sending their goods to the Empire and Kaalroen Empire instead.

The sacking of the trade caravan had been watched with interest by the newly active goblins of the Cloudy Mountains. Seeing how this plunder worked, a small band of goblins tracked its way around Castle Mallvass and Mallengeist, and down the spine of the Mallvass mountains. From there in 502 the goblins launched a series of successful ambushes of Ogre trade caravans, running off with the loot before the Ogres could send a proper army to track them down.

Skirmishes increase on HSE borders

As the fifth century came to a close a number of skirmishes took place around the growing Holy Sigmarite Empire. Its rapid expansion meant the HSE was now approaching the vast Kaalroen Empire in terms of population, and it was increasingly the centre of conflict in Palurin.

In 497 the northern states found themselves under surprise attack from daemonic entities. House Volbeck, one of the houses rumoured to be harbouring vampires and dark magicians, lead the defence of the HSE and was able to crush the daemons wherever they arrived.

Only a few years later the house had far less success against Domovoi raiders. For years the Domovoi had been attacking the HSE across the 'Flachland Gap' a no-man's land that separated the Dominion, HSE and Kaalroen Empire. Having defeated a group of Dark Elf Dominion slavers the Domovoi were flush with success and a small band daringly penetrated deep into the HSE. Unprepared, House Volbeck's defences crumbled and much of their lands were razed before the attackers returned to their homeland. leaving the Volbeck capital, Ratzberg, thankfully untouched.

Not seen for many years, the greenskins of the Cloudy Mountains re-emerged as the year 500 came, with scholars suggesting that the date was either due to an ancient propechy of goblins overrunning the world, or just coincidence. Admittedly the first foray by the goblin tribes resulted in a defeat on the southern borders of the HSE by Dark Elf raiders from Khaldieth, but further attacks upon the Domovoi in the north were much more successful.

The Khaldieth elves meanwhile, smarting from defeats from both the goblins and Domovoi attempted to repeat the success they had had against the HSE a few years prior and made numerous slaving raids. But time and again they were defeated, by armies from both House Volbeck and then in 502 by horse-lords of House Aureus who rode down from Pellenar to defend the coast. Unable to penetrate the armour of the Pellenar knights the Dark Elves retreated. Success has eluded them and they returned to Khaldieth to brood on their evil plans.

After their successful skirmishes, House Aureus was eager to prove itself further and gain acceptance for Pellenar to merge into the HSE. The very same year they bravely lead a small sortie into the Cloudy Mountains to put down the rising goblin tribes. The attack was a success but at a great cost, and Aureus was unprepared when Domovoi raiders attacked Pellenar itself only a few months later. Reliance on heavily armoured knights proved a weakness against the powerful warriors. Much of Pellenar was sacked and the Domovoi were gone before the HSE could send a relief force.

Though attacks by the forces of Chaos, greenskins and Dark Elves might be expected, the HSE found itself in a less likely battle as a small group of High Elves from Mellvellon were found marching in secret through the HSE. Empress Matilda was outraged as the Elves refused to explain their actions and tried to fight their way back to a ship on the coast. Forces from the Alptraum family intercepted them and cut the elves down. As scholars debated the possible elven motive it was clear to all that whatever great events were coming for Palurin, the Holy Sigmarite Empire was at the centre of them.

The "Evil in the North"

As the year 500 approached, the tensions within the HSE were growing ever more apparent. By 495PC everyone had heard the ghastly tales of the walking dead in the north, and the church, particularly the independent preachers, continued to spread the word of "the evil in the north", imploring the noble houses to root out the blasphemous goings on in their own states.

It was clear that House Drazkharov and House Volbeck had no intention of raising forces to root out necromancy in their own lands, particularly since they themselves were the source of the undead incursion, but at that time no-one realised this fact, and few even suspected that the high born northern lords were in fact ancient Vampires from Aquila. Only the very top of the church knew, as had Emperor Wilhelm, warned by the dwarfs. The Emperor had died with the knowledge however, denying it to his grave.

Senior officials in the Sigmarite church were in fact supportive of their independent warrior priests, and in 497PC one such firebrand, Father Simmermann, raised his own force of loyal followers to root out unbelief and blasphemy in Holwingen. His force reached the sparsely populated region in late summer, and encountered a force of undead creatures. Urging his followers on the Warrior Priest flung himself into battle, only to be cut down by a host of hungry ghouls. Only a handful of men escaped, although the necromancer conveniently destroyed himself with his own magic, allowing those lucky enough to survive to flee back to Sigmarheim.

After the battle House Drazkharov were incensed at rogue religious zealots causing mayhem in their lands and demanded at the council of state that the church be denied any standing forces. They tried to outlaw warrior priests, but in the end the council agreed to outlaw independent armies. From now on only states and the Empress herself would be able to raise an army legally, and the church found itself shackled thanks to the political machinations of the northern nobles.

Then, later in the same year, a force of Ogre Mercenaries arrived in Mallenstein, threatening to sack Mallendorf if the lord of the city did not come out to answer for his crimes. The Ogres had been sent by Mellvellon, in a bid to force the ruling elite of the HSE to recognise that there were Vampires within their ranks. The lord of Mallendorf was not present however, and a minor lordling took it upon himseld to resolve events. While the Ogres laid seige to Mallenstein the minor lord, whose name remains a mystery, escaped the castle and travelled under the cover of darkness to a bleak and lonely moor, located just to the north of the Castle Mallvass. There he summoned a great host of undead, right along the Ogres' line of retreat.

Disappointed at not being able to face the undead in a place where the general populace would see, the Ogres none-the-less turned back on themselves to give battle. A vicous action took place on the moor, known as the Battle of Mallvass Moor, which saw the undead host annihilated and the minor lordling destroyed. They Ogres hadn't managed to reveal the undead curse in the nobility of the north, but they had destroyed at least one minor Vampire.

Houses Drazkharov and Volbeck were incensed by the attack on the HSE and demanded the Empress declare war on Mellvellon, but shrewdly the High Elf lords had distanced themselves from their own army, and could not easily be implicated in the attack. Privately the Mellvellon ambassador managed to whisper a cryptic warning to the Empress, who began to realise for the first time that the "evil in the north" went as far as, or even started at, the nobility itself.

While the northern nobles raged, they could not hide the fact that their armies had been defeated in open battle, and Matilda used this opportunity to marry the Graf of Schinderland, Dieter Moritz. This settled at last the question of succession, and the Vampire plans to worm their way to the HSE throne took a backward step.