The House of Alptraum has reigned as the imperial family of the Holy Sigmarite Empire since its founding. Centuries-old alliances form strong political and family ties that bind the aristocracy of the Empire. The Imperial Army can rely on the support of many loyal nobles and their bannermen as they unite under the Alptraum standard. The defence of the throne and the very survival of the Empire itself will count upon the courage, mettle and conviction of the brave men of the south.
PRINCE KARL ALPTRAUM
Second in line to the Imperial Throne, the young Prince Karl is the Alptraum dynasty’s representative on the field of battle, a man to inspire loyalty and bravery in the common men. Dashing and daring, at the age of just twenty-two he has already shown himself to be a man of courage in the face of a terrible enemy.
Karl fights with the invincibility of youth, but he is also a man of deep conviction that belies his age. His faith and courage inspires his men, who will gladly follow him into the jaws of the beast that rises in the north. Karl’s selfless (some might say reckless), lead-by-example, head-of-the-charge style of command has emboldened the soldiers of the Empire and won their adoration. Where Prince Karl rides, so too do the hopes of Imperial victory.
GRAND THEOGONIST IGNATIUS I
Only very recently elected by the Conclave of Arch Lectors, Ignatius would, in peace-time, have proved an unremarkable and unmemorable man as the head of Sigmar’s Church. Chosen as a steady hand at the tiller, Ignatius is an even-tempered, tolerant and unassuming man who was a choice of compromise between the conservative and radical wings of the church. However, thrust into the spotlight by recent events and the tensions raised by the emerging Puritan Movement, Ignatius now treads an unenviable path. The coming months will be a test of his leadership as he tries to hold together disparate factions of the clergy in these troubled times.
The divide between north and south could well be reflected in a schism that threatens to split the church should Ignatius not prove the man for the challenge. His first duty to the people of the Empire is to see that they hold true to their beliefs at a time when faith is about to be tested to its limits.
TOUMAS VON SCHAFFERNACKER, THE STEEL COUNT
Von Schaffernacker, like many of southern his contemporaries, finds his conservative and traditionalist sensibilities at odds with the brash zealotry of the Puritan Movement. Neverthless the von Schaffernacker’s are a deeply religious family and they abhor the malevolent influence of dark magic that pervades the north.
It has been remarked of the Count that he is a man “steel of faith, who puts his faith in steel”. Uncompromising and direct, he has earned a mixed reception at the Imperial Court and is regarded by some of the other high-ranking nobility as blunt and rude. His military prowess is in no doubt however, and the city of Sudhafen blossoms as a direct result of his continuing protection.
The Count seeks to defend the Holy Sigmarite Empire from enemies at home and abroad. His loyalty is to the crown and the realm, though some have noted that this does not necessarily equate to a loyalty to the Alptraum dynasty.
TITUS AUREUS, THE LION OF PELLENAR
As his ancestors fought to protect their homeland, so too does Titus hold his borders against the predations of the north. He has carefully managed diplomatic relations with neighbours and made friends of potential enemies following Pellenar’s union with the Holy Sigmarite Empire. Yet when it is necessary Titus is equally ruthless with those who prove his erstwhile foes, many of whom have learnt their folly beneath the thundering hooves of the Pellenar cavalry charge.
The people of Pellenar harbour a deep distrust for magic and Titus is no exception. He holds no esteem for the House of Drazkharov and has long held them at arms’ length to protect his people from their machinations.
With the call to arms, Titus has firmly aligned himself to the Emperor. The glorious cavalry of Pellenar form the steel claw with which the Lion will crush the rebel hosts.
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