Wood Elves defend realm

Despite the losses the Ogres of Cuitlaxaochitzin had sustained in their campaign in Canabrin in 276PC, the largest battle between the Ogres and the Chaos Warriors of Hovedstaden had actually resulted in a decisive victory for the Ogres. This event should have been hailed in the annuls of history but history barely even found out, because of the wood elves...

While smaller bands of mercenary Ogres were being hunted down by the forces of chaos across Canabrin, their largest army crushed the best Lord Tragean had to throw against them and for the next few years lived well in their encampment between the Kaalroen Empire and the forests of Arnar. Part of the Kaalroen Empire had effectively become an Ogre Kingdom, but before long the Ogres of Graag decided to return home. Unfortunately they could not resist the tales of plunder to be had - probably fed to them by an agent of Tragean - deep in the forests of Arnar.

So in 280PC the victorious Ogre army marched off to war. One more looting expedition before taking the long road back to Cuitlaxaochitzin. None would ever return. As soon as the Ogres trespassed into the forest the Wood Elves were aware of them. As they had done in ages past they allowed the Ogres to penetrate deep into the heavily wooded terrain, harassing them with constant ambushes and generally weakening their force and resolve.

Then the lords of Calminaion decided the time had come and the forest awoke to the call of the elves. Treemen, dryads and wood elves assaulted the Ogre army, massacring them all. Trespassing in the forests of Arnar would not be tolerated.

Kaalroen Empire re-awakens

For most of the third century PC the Kaalroen Empire had, to many of its neighbours, appeared dormant. Since the Siege of the Fortress of Dawn some seventy years ago the tribesmen of the Kaalroen Empire had withdrawn westard from the Cullbain Bay. Though the lands around the delta were still Kaalroen territory the superstitious northmen were reluctant to settle in the shadow of the Fortress of Eternal Dawn, in sight of the ruins of Storvattenstad- the township that had paid dearly for rousing the Elves to war. The Skraeling people had lent their best young men to that war and few had returned home. It had taken the population many years to recover.

Yet Lord Traegan brooded in Hovedstaden. His realm continued to suffer the predations of the marauding Ogre war-parties from Graag. Most resulted in little more than border skirmishes but the increasing temerity of the Ogres began to rangle with the proud Lord of Chaos. Moreover though the Elven Fortress remained (for the time being) unassailable, their rich arable lands around the Cenebrae estuary were becoming increasingly lightly defended as Mellvellon's citizen levy drafted more and more Elves for the distant war in the south. The timing seemed apt for the Kaalroen Empire to once again assert itself and demonstrate its continued mastery of the northern territories.

The Ogre raiding parties that crossed into the province of Hjemland in 276PC were met not by the usual tribal warriors of the plains but by a full legion of dread soldiers and knights assembled from the might of Hovedstaden's military arm. Traegan's merciless campaign systematically intercepted and destroyed the bands of Ogres moving through his territory. Many Ogres were forced to return back to their homelands empty-handed and hungry by the time autumn had settled over the north. Traegan withdrew to winter his armies in Hovedstaden in the knowledge that the Ogres would not trespass so upon Kaalroen soil so eargerly in future.

For all that the Ogres had been made example of to the rest of Traegan's enemies to stay away from the Kaalroen borders, some factions continued to take thier chances and venture into the northern realms. The Skaven continued to prosecute their war against the Elves far to the south and from all accounts that reached Hovedstaden the ratmen were beginning to gain the upper hand. However, the war was draining the Skaven of their valuable warpstone and they were forced to search further afield for supply. The Kaalroen Empire was known to harbour rich deposits and so Skaven armies were soon appearing on the frontiers.

Some of Traegan's lords sued to him to allow the Skaven to take what they needed, or indeed to form alliance with the verminous brood, that they might help extinguish their common enemies of Mellvellon. However Traegan's assessment of the strategic situation was far-sighted; he surmised that to allow the Skaven to quickly over-power their enemy would simply lead the Elves to abandon the war in the south and evacuate their remaining people back north to the Mellvellon homelands. An influx of Elves back to the Cullbain bay would put them out of reach of the Skaven but leave Traegan with an even tougher nut to crack when he eventually brought war to the Elves. Rather, it would be preferable to prolong the conflict between rat and elf, that they might exhaust one another's armies and populations and so leave both vulnerable to attack in the near future... irrespective of whoever proved to be the ultimate victor in their war.

So it was that in 283PC Traegan's legions fell upon the Skaven warpstone hunters and utterly annihilated the rat-spawn at the Battle of Gratisslad Tower. Without the rich warpstone gathering that they had anticipated the Skaven would have to struggle on against the armies of Mellvellon in a further-protracted war that, Traegan hoped, would leave both nations weakened as he continued to gather his might in the north.

High Elf - Skaven war of 280PC

Frustrated by the mess the Vermin Lord Naspepsorael'Enaspahue'e'Ahael had made of the invasion of Sein Craban Typhus had summoned the capricious daemon back to Boiling Peak and imprisoned it within a thrice sanctified circle of binding. He'd then set sail for the Skaven beachhead, escorted by a fleet of warships and determined to sort things out personally.

His army appeared ecstatic that their revered leader had come amongst them in person. A long line of sycophants formed to pay their respects and impress upon the despotic Grey Seer their unquestionable loyalty and unlimited reverence for his personage. His ego buoyed by flattery and praise Tyhpus amassed his troops and lead them in a direct attack against the Elven citadel. As chance would have it the Elves had chosen to launch an assault to remove the Skaven beachhead and the two armies clashed on a narrow stretch of beach between the two settlements.

Both armies quickly advanced to secure the vital centre ground but it was soon apparent that something was wrong. Agents sent to sabotage the Elven defences ran at the first sign of resistance, Skaven artillery fired into their ranks with suspicious precision and regiments hesitated, their leaders refusing to order the charge.

It was obvious to Typhus what had happened! The Vermin Lord Naspepsorael'Enaspahue'e'Ahael had used his status as embodiment of the Skaven deity to secure the army's loyalty for himself! Naspepsorael'Enaspahue'e'Ahael wanted to use this debacle to undermine Tyhpus so he could stage a coup! Hands reached up from the earth to grasp the Grey Seer's ankle, summoned by Elven sorcery. Seeing the battle lost Typhus simply snarled and vanished, leaving a puff of smoke and an incongruous smell of liquorish.

A furious Typhus returned to Boiling Peak, taking the fleet with him and abandoning his traitorous army to their fate. As he stormed into his throne room his suspicions were confirmed. The devious Vermin Lord had already escaped his prison and taken an army south to drive the Elves back from the enclaves own borders. Had he succeeded Typhus might have faced rebellion but the treacherous daemon's plans were thwarted. Naspepsorael'Enaspahue'e'Ahael's forces were narrowly defeated by Ogre mercenaries in the pay of the Elves and the Vermin Lord was forced to flee into the wilderness.

Typhus vowed he would hunt down the rival to his throne and crush him like a bug. The Elves of Mellvellon had also grievously offended him and would be exterminated. They would pay. THEY WOULD ALL PAY!!!!!!!

Dominion brushes aside chaotic challenge

By 268PC the Dark Elf Dominion was sending more and more armies north during the summer months for "hunting". For the elves this meant debauched and cruel raiding parties hunting beastmen and human alike. The nobles would chase beast and man alike through the forests of Canabrin for their amusement, while vast slaver caravans took entire human villages to the west of the Kaalroen Empire back to the Dominion to work in their domain. Soon the Dark Elves had all but depopulated the mountains of Mourn and began extending their operations east, into Hjemland.

This the lords of the Kaalroen Empire could not tolerate. refugees from villages along the White Cenebrae poured into Hovedstaden where they misguidedly believed they would find succour. Hundreds were massacred by the angry and intolerant population of the chaos capital before finally, to restore order, Tragean sent out an army to deal with the dark elf menace.

Perhaps the warriors of Hovedstaden had been idle too long and grown weak and unused to warfare. Perhaps the Gods were angry with the Kaalroens for their long period of inactivity, but whatever the reason the chaos army was shattered in spectacular fashion by the Dominion armies sent with the caravans to protect their slaving enterprise. Lord Traegan was not toppled, but his army crushed, the western marches of Hjemland were similarly ravaged by the Dark Elf raiders for more than a decade, and the lords of the Dominion found their best sport yet.

Dwarf Kingdom defends its realm

Following the defeat and overthrow of the despotic realm of Aquila in 240PC the Dwarf Kingdom had enjoyed thirty years of peace, but peace on Palurin never lasts long. War returned to the Dwarfs in 272PC when a mercenary army of Ogres attempted to force its way across the Valdemara mountains following one of their regular campaigns in Arnar. Why the Ogres chose to trespass in the Dwarf Realm is unknown, but their way through the mountain passes was barred by the lords of Karak-A-Varr. The ensuing battle was inconclusive, but the dwarfs would not yield, and the Ogres were forced to turn back northward, leading to their clash with the High Elves in 273PC. For a time relations with Cuitlaxaochitzin were strained, and ambassadors recalled, but eventually the two empires sunk their differences, albeit with another grudge written in the great book of Karak-A-Varr.

Four years later the Dwarf Kingdom faced another threat. After his defeat to the Dominion in 268PC, Tragean, lord of Hovedstaden was looking for a way to reastablish his renown by returning the Kaalroen Empire to the force it once was, and the only way he knew how was through war. Tragean searched for an easy victory, and the Dwarf Kingdom, having been peaceful for so many years seemed to be the ideal candidate. The Dwarfs had grown fat and indolent following their thirty years of peaceful prosperity he reasoned, and their stubborn defence against the ogres proved nothing. A campaign against the dwarfs would yield much treasure and glory, and blood sacrifices to the Gods of chaos.

Tragean however had reckoned without the character of the dwarf race. As the Kaalroen army entered the bounds of the Kingdom they were immediately spotted and harried mercilessly by small dwarf scouting forces, before facing the full might of the dwarf throng near the banks of the Tiban river. The battle of the ford was a bloody affair with no quarter given, and although the dwarfs were unable to defeat the warriors of Hovedstaden, the Kaalroen Empire was similarly unable to penetrate into the hinterland of the Dwarf Realm. Tragean's army returned to Hovedstaden empty handed, the campaign cancelled, and the dwarfs celebrated in their halls. The Dwarf Kingdom was still a force to be reckoned with.

High Elves at war on all fronts

The High Elves of Mellvellon found themselves beset by foes during the late third century. Their war with the Skaven in the south had cost them dearly- Prince Saravael Dragonsinger, fourth high lord of Mellvellon, was himself slain along with his eldest son and heir, Ruvien, and his army utterly shattered at the Battle of Mount Kallon. The Lords of Mellvellon passed over Saravael's youngest son Tinuvain and instead the Dragon Court elected the sorceress Lady Wenotah as their new leader.

The Lady Wenotah had shown herself to be a formidable military leader and had successfully pursued the campaigns in Mellthu that had led to the flourishing of Sein-Craban. However as the fifth high "lord" of Mellvellon she inherited a nation gripped by conflict. As she tried to muster a counter-offensive against the Typhonian hordes in the south of Curufinn the elven armies were ambushed by the mysterious daemons as Basslaer. Reports of the daemonic presence so close to their home territories was met with shock and fear at court as many of the Dragon Lords were anxious that the diabolical Typhus may have sealed a pact of alliance with the Daemons to further his war efforts.

That same year the High Elves found themselves manning the defences to the north as the cousins in Arnar pursued a policy of aggressive expansion. Having found their forest realm continually under assault the Wood Elf lords had elected to widen their sphere of influence in the hope that, by expanding their borders and creating new swathes of forest, their central settlements at the heart of their kingdom might be better concealed and protected from outsiders. So it was that in 272PC the High Elves were forced to defend themselves against the predations of the roaming Wood Elf warbands, fighting them to a stand-still at the Battle of Crocket's Peak. The Wood Elves withdrew back to the cloak of the forests of Arnar at the end of the summer, leaving the High Elf settlements untouched.

The Mellvellon colonies of northern Canabrin were not so fortunate. The following year the roving Ogre forces of Graag trespassed upon Elven soil during another of their campaigns against the Kaalroen Empire. The indignant elves sallied their armies once more, but the hunger was upon the Ogres and they were merciless in their assault. A number of farmsteads and estates were trampled beneath the iron boot of the Ogre warmachine as they brushed aside the elven defence forces. Sated, the Ogres moved on, once again turning their attentions north to the Chaos empire. So fell another army and Mellvellon found itself forced to further increase the citizen levy to bolster its military strength.

The Lady Wenotah faces war on all fronts. It is with some trepidation that she now turns to the fiery Lord Ilius to prosecute the war against the Skaven. He plans a great assault against the rat-men on their own soil, but will Mellvellon be able to raise the armies necessary to support this new campaign while the nation finds itself at the heart of the fight for dominance of Palurin?

Illius, elven lord

His most righteous and powerful Lord Illius, Prince of the Tears of Isha, Chosen of Khaine, Protector (self proclaimed) of Mellvellon, Breaker of Waves, Earl of the Golden Fields, Master of the Light and Treader of the Sainted Path reviewed the campaign maps of Maemir Bay and was displeased.

Despite the best efforts of the mighty hawk ships of the Elven navy, the fool admiral in charge had allowed the Foul rat-beasts, a blight on Isha's bounty, to establish a beach-head in the Maemir bay. This circumvented his fortress-city, the Tears of Isha, and threatened the relatively undefended port city of Sein-craban. If the foul things took the ports his troops would be isolated and under supplied, and even their superior valour couldn't hold out in that situation.

The folly of his naval commanders was exacerbated by the failures of his supposed equals on the land. On commissioning the expeditions into the world of Pallurin, the Phoenix King had neglected to designate an overall leader, for the development of their realm this was fine, any idiot can build a city. But for the defence of their birthright? Surely the council that was leading Mellvellon should see sense and appoint him, the only competent commander in the Elven kingdom as overall lord of the elven kingdom and then disasters like Maemir would not happen, and the ascent of the true elven race would be assured.

Twice had his fellow “commanders” sent armies to dislodge the beach-head in the bay, but to no avail, the first commander had been an fool of no piffling amount and had managed, somehow, to get his army surrounded and wiped out by the mutant rats. The second attempt had broken through the Skaven's lines but had failed to recognise his advantage and, by not capitalising upon it, had allowed his foe to strengthen their fortifications once more and it would take an almighty push to push them into the sea.

Instead of a knee jerk reaction to rush his elite troops into the traps the slimy beasts must surely have constructed by now, Illius had chosen a more intelligent and infinitely more subtle strategy. He waste troops by stopping the cowardly rat-scum's unwieldy flanking manoeuvre but would defeat it by sapping it's resources. He would drive his forces straight up the Maemir peninsula and convince his fellow “lords” to assist him in a massive strike into the Skaven's Fortress-line opening the way straight to the boiling peak and the rat-leader's foul smelling head. He could not afford a war on two fronts with the small number of men at his disposal so he would end the war in one surgical strike and then turn to slaughtering any Skaven that remained on his land as they were leaderless and disorganised.

This plan had one drawback, it drew him and the bulk of his forces into a prolonged campaign and so he relied on his allies to hold the Tears and block any movements from the rat's flanking forces. Unable to trust the soldiery of the other lords he left many of his more gifted lesser-nobles and their retinues in the fortress so that at least whatever militia and allied forces they could muster to defend the city would be competently commanded and thus hopefully hold out while his superior armies ended the war.

262PC High Elf Skaven war

“Lightning flashed and thunder boomed above Boiling Peak. Giant plumes of ash and fire were clearly visible as far as Sein Craban and the Dwarf hold of Karak-a-Varr. The very air held the actinic stink of dark magic. There was a moment calm, as of the eye of a storm and then an unholy shriek, as if something indescribably foul and unnatural had been vomited forth into world.”

Ever since the founding of the colony of Sein Craban by Mellvellon Typhus had been furious. The Elves simply could not be allowed to threaten the stability of his realm and start interfering with his plans. The southern peninsula was his and the elves would have to be removed.

The skaven had already tunnelled under the sea of Maemir Bay and founded a settlement in Mellthu. The elves had responded by building a fortress, so Typhus circumvented this by landing an even larger force loyal to his banner on the coast of Curufin in early 262PC. This the Dragonlords could not tolerate and they sent a powerful warhost against Typhus.

The first elven warhost was crushed by the skaven hordes, but the news of the defeat galvanised the elves into action. An even more powerful army was dispatched to Sein Craban and later in the year the skaven army was annihilated in the second battle of Curufinn. Typhus' beachhead on the coast wasn't removed however, and the war between the elves and the ratmen would continue.

“Typhus slammed his fist down into the farsqueaker, but succeeded only on hurting his own paw. At first things had gone well. His plan was perfect, a work of his exquisite genius and its execution had been flawless. Aware of the mighty dragons controlled by the Lords of Mellvellon he had summoned forth a Vermin Lord, supreme agent of the Horned Rat himself! Naysayers had cautioned against such a drastic act. Once summoned a Vermin Lord could not easily be dismissed, but Typhus would have none of it. The initial landings had gone well although even then Typhus had begun to feel the gnawing pangs of doubt.

Naspepsorael'Enaspahue'e'Ahael seemed truculent, unresponsive to his master's commands. Then the Elves had launched a counter attack that almost swept the Enclave's forces back into the sea. The wretched daemon had sabotaged his plans! He had simply winked out of existence with a mocking laugh when the battle was at its peak! Using all his might and the efforts of all his accolites Typhus summoned Naspepsorael'Enaspahue'e'Ahael back to Boiling Peak and trapped him within a thrice sanctified circle of binding. There he would remain, humiliated and racked with agony, until he had learned his place. No-one made a fool of Typhus, not even greater daemons from the lowest depths of hell! Radiating indignation Typhus headed towards the docks. If he could not rely on subordinates to carry out his will he would do this himself!”

Beastmen stray into Arnar Woods

The Dark Elf raids into the heart of the Domain of Beasts had a dramatic effect on the Kaalroen Empire. The lords of the towers of the Chaos Realm turned even more introspective and cut themselves off more and more from events on the outside of their borders. Their control over the beastmen of the north grew weaker, and the beastmen began to raid further and further afield.
The High Elves protected their colonies with many garisons, but the Wood Elves further south, in Arnar, were far less prepared. Their isolation from the rest of Palurin had lasted over 35 years, and now their realm had another invader from the outside. The beastmen horde blundered incautiously into the woods of Arnar in 266PC, but were equally unprepared for the reaction of the spirits of the wood.

The beastman army soon found themselves ambushed and fighting a guerilla war in unfamiliar territory. Their force was herded into a clearing deep in the forest where the kings of the woodland realm unleashed their full fury against the mutated followers of chaos. The battle soon became an utter massacre and the beastmen horde was lost to the woods of Arnar. Realising their splendid isolation could not continue, the wood elves began to expand their borders, vowing to control and protect all of the forests of Arnar.

Lists!

Population

1 Kaalroen Empire 2,035,000

2 Holy Sigmarite Empire 1,685,000

3 Dark Elf Dominion 1,570,000

4 Mellvellon 1,440,000

5 Cuitlaxaochitzin 1,350,000

6 Dwarf Kingdom 1,335,000

7 Skaven 1,120,000

8 Wood Elf Realm 890,000

9 Cloudy Mountain Orcs 380,000

Biggest Cities

1 Boiling Peak 435,000

2 Karak-a-varr 335,000

3 Lamentation 290,000

4 Apotheosis 220,000

5 Sigmarheim 200,000

6 Sudhafen 175,000

7 Dragonspire 175,000

8 Galamory 160,000

9 Phallucia 155,000

10 New Har Ganeth 120,000

Wonders of the World

1 Boiling peak Complex 13

2 Great temple of Cuitlaxaochitzin 9

3 Tower of Phallucia 8

4 Cathedral to Sigmar 6

= Ruins of Chimalman 6

6 Dragonspire 5

7 Spire of Lamentation 4

= Temple of Mannan 4

9 Tower of Skraeland 3

10 Karak Debaz 2

= Colleges of Magic 2

= Beastman Herdstones 2

Biggest Armies

1 Kaalroen Empire 29

2 Mellvellon 22

3 Cuitlaxaochitzin 19

4 Dwarf Kingdom 19

5 Holy Sigmarite Empire 9

6 Typhonian Enclave 4

7 Cloudy Mountain Orcs 4

8 Dark Elf Dominion 2

Biggest Navies

1 Dark Elf Dominion 42

2 Typhonian Enclave 24

3 Dwarf Kingdom 20

4 Mellvellon 18

5 Holy Sigmarite Empire 17

6 Kaalroen Empire 5

7 Cuitlaxaochitzin 5

Biggest Empires

1 Kaalroen Empire 325,000 sq mi

2 Cuitlaxaochitzin 190,000 sq mi

3 Holy Sigmarite Empire 147,500 sq mi

4 Dwarf Kingdom 130,000 sq mi

5 Dark Elf Dominion 145,000 sq mi

6 Mellvellon 117,500 sq mi

7 Typhonian Enclave 75,000 sq mi

8 Wood Elf Realm 65,000 sq mi

9 Cloudy Mountain Orcs 55,000 sq mi

Empire Fleet embarrassed on the Pan Coron Ocean

The years 261PC and 262PC were a turning point for Otto IV's reign over the Holy Sigmarite Empire. His army had been crushed by the Dominion in 261PC and Otto had been forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty effectively betraying his word to the tribes of the Canaur valley.

Worse was to follow. Later in the year the skaven slave fleet returned and ravaged Armaethor and the Empire state of Hoffenland. Fear gripped Sudhafen but the privateer fleet of Galamory promised to crush the skaven raiders. Unfortunately for the Empire and especially Otto, the Empire fleet was sunk by the skaven and Otto's reign looked increasingly perilous.

In 262PC the raiding fleet returned, and once again the privateers set out to defeat the skaven. The outcome was the same however, and the skaven were able to penetrate deeper into the Empire, following the Nimarn valley. The skaven reached as far north as Hellveg, and panicked rioting broke out in Sigmarheim and only the fiery oratory of Julius II managed to stop the mob from looting half the city. Unable to defend his people the Emperor, now 50 years old, retreated into virtual seclusion, and became known as "Otto the weak" by most of the nation.

Typhus' Empire flexes muscles in preparation for war!

Typhus gazed through the farsqueaker, a look of satisfaction on his twitching, spasmatic features. His plans were coming to fruition, each piece falling into place under the guidance of his unquestionable cunning and unmatched wisdom. He watched through the lens as a shining phalanx of spears was swamped with a writhing brown tide of fur and rusty armour. As intended the refugees that Typhus had “welcomed” into his beneficent domain were already clashing with the hated Elves of Mellvellon. He winced as the brown tide retreated, fleeing as a tightly packed formation of lancers broke apart their formation. It seemed his new pawns would serve to buy him time and little else.

Still, time was all he needed. A further expedition to the far north had yielded results, massacring the troublesome beastmen that infested the area and securing large quantities of warpstone for Boiling Peak's forges. A further raid carried out by Typhus' new privateer fleet had come back packed with slaves abducted from the Holy Sigmarite Empire. The humans seemed powerless to stop the repeated raids, unable to predict when and where the airborne raiders might strike next.

Glutted with slaves and warpstone the many forges and factories on the slopes of the volcano were going into overdrive, working solidly both night and day. Typhus' legions already marched south, securing the coastline and constructing a string of towers to warn against any seaborne invasion. Work was nearly complete on a pair of forts built to bar access to the peninsula on which Boiling Peak was located. Soon Typhus' little despotism would be an impregnable bastion, proof against any invasion the lesser races might attempt.

But Typhus wasn't content to leave it at that. With their continued warmongering and encroachment on his territory the Elves of Mellvellon must learn a lesson of blood! He turned his gazed away from the farsqueaker and contemplated the vast armada and armies mustering in the port below. He would crush their pathetic colony and dance on the burnt carcasses of their breeders and whelps!

Dominion asserts dominance

During the late 50s and the early 60s of the 3rd century PC the Dark Elves once again asserted their dominance over the other realms in the northern continent of Palurin. In 254 the elves once again began their campaigns in the north, hunting once again the beastmen of Canabrin in the Kaalroen Empire. The Dark Elves went on these campaigns mostly for entertainment and again crushed a beastman army sent to stop them. The cheifs of the Kaalroen Empire did nothing to halt the Dominion forces roaming their northern territories, and the power of the three cities of Hovedstaden, Phallucia and Skraeland had reached a low ebb.

The only serious threat to the northern campaign of 254 came not from the Kaalroen Empire but from the High Elves of Mellvellon. Seeing an opportunity to inflict damage on their most hated foe while they were far from home, the Dragon Lords sent an army across Canabrin to face their dark kin. The ensuing battle was a disaster for the High Elves and the Dominion campaign of that year took home more than human and beastman slaves.

In 261Pc the Dominion turned its attention to more serious affairs. The growth of the Holy Sigmarite Empire into the heartland of Canaur began to threaten the healthy supply of slaves from human tribes now allying themselves to the Sigmarites. When Otto IV agreed to protect the tribes of Canaur in exchange for fealty, the lords of Lamentation could see how Otto was trying to expand his realm, and this threatened the Dark Elf way of life.

In 260PC the Dark Elves occupied the coaastal strip of Canaur enabling them to strike much further inland. As predicted the tribes of Canaur called on Emperor Otto for aid and in 261PC a grand army was sent to remove the Dominion forces from the coast. If successful the HSE would be dominant on Canaur and the Dominion would have to look elsewhere for labourers and slaves to entertain them.

The battle itself did not go well for the Empire. Despite accurate artillery fire from the Hellstorm Rocket Batteries, the Empire cannons were woeful, notably so. The combined charge of the Dominion witch elves and war hydra broke the centre of the Imperial line and routed Otto IV's grand army. The Dominion maintained their occupation of the coast of Canaur and the enslavement of the human tribes continued. The HSE's expansion east had to be put on hold.

Enclave “welcomes” refugees

Ever since he had fled from the council the renegade Typhus had been left alone on Palurin to rule his personal despotism. But Typhus knew it was only a matter of time before the council located and moved against him, so when the long dormant portal on the slopes of Boiling Peak re-activated Typhus was ready! Whilst the rival Skaven forces were still gaining a foothold Typhus attacked, leading his army in person to crush all those who sought to bring him low!

Typhus' army engaged cautiously at first, hanging back and trying to thin the enemy numbers with its weapons teams and Typhus' own powerful sorcery. As the armies jostled for position Typhus finally spotted a weakness and hurled his Clan Pestilens allies into the fray, smashing apart the enemy centre and routing their veteran Storm Vermin. The attack eventually bogged down and the remainder of the two armies crashed together in a confusion of hacking and biting. It was the Enclave's forces that gained the upper hand, indoctrinated from birth to hate the minions of the Council of 13!

With no way of escape the enemy fought like the cornered rats they were and casualties were high amongst the Enclave's phalanxes but their victory was assured and total. With the advance guard wiped out Typhus soon had the portal surrounded and as forces continued to stream through they found themselves surrounded and captured.

When the enemy Grey Seer exited the portal a parley was called for. Unable to resist the chance to gloat and monologue before one of his hated former peers Typhus granted the request. To his surprise it turned out these new Skaven were not agents of the council, but renegades like himself fleeing their judgement. Typhus' first instinct was to have them slaughtered in case they threatened his power but then he realised he could solve two problems at once.

Graciously he welcomed the newcomers into the empire, assuring them they were amongst comrades. In return for recognising him as the supreme and most righteous ruler of the entire Skaven race Typhus granted them lands on the mainland to the west. Together they would work to build up their strength so that they could one day return and crush the Council! Of course, the newcomers had their own ideas about who should rightfully rule the Skaven but surrounded by Typhus' forces they kept them quiet for now.

Typhus allowed himself a smirk of self satisfaction. The lands he had granted to the newcomers put them squarely next to lands claimed by the dwarves and directly in the path of the expanding High Elves of Mellvellon. They would serve as a buffer to protect his empire from attack! And if they got misguided ideas about usurping him... an Eshin dagger could fix that!

New Skaven Fleet sets out on the High Seas

Typhus' new raiding fleet had been continuing to make itself a nuisance to the rest of the world with slaving and privateer activity but avoided major engagements. However the High Elves of Mellvellon began aggressively expanding their nearby colony, provoking the Enclave out of its usual state of introversion.

Whilst the Enclave's Ironclad fleet had been confined to port, starved of warpstone for its reactors, many of its ships had undergone extensive refits to fit them with experimental new reactors. More efficient than before they were also capable of much greater power output. Like all Skaven technology it was highly unreliable and prone to malfunction but could give the ships an unexpected burst of speed. Enraged by the temerity of the High Elves, Typhus ordered the fleet to set sail despite not being fully ready and its crew and commanders untrained.

With no mission other than to send a signal of the Enclave's strength and determination to resist any intrusion into its sphere of influence the fleet lashed out randomly. Once more the Skaven engaged and defeating a fleet of the Holy Sigmarite Empire which strayed too close to the Enclave's shores. The fleet was less fortunate in its other engagements however, suffering a bitter defeat to the Lizardmen of Cuitlaxaochitzin. Although the Skaven succeeding in capturing the enemy battleship they came off by far the worse out of the clash and many of the precious new experimental ships were lost. Even more of the Enclave's new fleet was sunk in an attack by a mysterious group of ghost ships which melted out of the sea fog and vanished again just as silently.

Elven Kingdoms vie for influence in the North

The early 50s of the 2nd century PC saw the two major maritime elf realms increase their influence in Palurin and a resurgence of the Dominion as a force to be reckoned with.

The High Elves of Mellvellon had lived in relative peace since 235PC and their crushing defeat of the Cloudy Mountain Orcs. However in 250PC a more aggressive faction within the complicated political structures of Mellvellon politics gained influence and their policy shifted from peacekeepers to aggressive expansionist colonisers.

The high elves increased the size of their colonies and extensively developed their trading post at Averacium into a mighty port. Sein-Craban in the south also saw expansion, its influence extending up the Endwe river, much to the consternation of the skaven of Typhus.

This new policy almost immediately saw a cooling of relations with Cuitlaxaochitzin, who after an internal struggle largely unknown to the high elves had taken once more to sending mercenary ogre expeditions north west to Canabrin. Rather than welcoming the ogres as potential allies against chaos the high elves took offence to their presence, declaring that Canabrin was an "elven affair". Insulted, the ogres refused to leave and a confrontation became inevitable. A Mellvellon army shadowed the ogres througout their campaign in the north west and matters came to a head in late 250PC. The ogre army was defeated and high elf pride soothed, but relations with the lizardmen cooled even further.

The high elves then turned their attentions to the defeat of the Kaalroen Empire. The Chaos realm, a loose confederation of human warlords, city states, norsemen and beastmen tribes had weakened over the last fifty years, but the massive land empire still remained the most powerful nation in Palurin and its expansion east, towards the colonies of Mellvellon, continued.

The human warriors of the Kaalroen Empire had left the elves well alone since the disastrous Battle of the Fortress of Dawn in 211PC, but the beastmen remained aggressive, attacking elven caravans in the far north west of Canabrin. In 251PC the dragon lords sent an army against them, massacring the beastmen and ensuring that the colonies of Mellvellon on the mainland reached new levels of civilisation and development.

More worryingly for the high elves the Dominion, which had for over forty years remained a sleeping giant, returned to campaigning in 253PC. Once again the elves' dark kin returned to Canabrin for sport and plunder, destroying a beastman army just north of the white Cenebrae before returning to their ever growing halls. By 255PC Apotheosis had joined the ranks of fellow cities, Lamentation and New Har Ganeth as a dark tower of pain, and the Dark Elves began sending armies abroad in Canaur, terrorising the human tribes that dwelt there. Clamour rose in Sigmarheim for the newly crowned Emperor Otto IV to take action...