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Warhammer Lore: A brief history of Warhammer
killerwig
Member UncommonPosts: 236
I’ve taken it upon myself to (rather masochistically) create this thread with the aim of introducing Warhammer lore and history (in a big nutshell) for those who would like to know. Although I won’t be able to include everything, I hope this will be an informative foray into the dark, gothic and dangerous world of wonderful dreams and terrible nightmares.
The Warp.
The Warp is a vast domain of pure energy unaffected by physical laws, and is essential for faster-than-light travel throughout the Warhammer universe. It is the dark and direct reflection of sentience throughout creation and beyond. It is a boundless ocean of Chaos where raw, sentient emotion is given form, substance and power. The Warp is the home of the dark Chaos gods and their legions of twisted followers.
The powers of Chaos and their servants are known to inhabit The Warp. Daemons are only able to exist within the Warp itself, unless certain “conditions” are met within the material realm. The Warp is where the servants of the four Dark Gods -
Khorne: “The Blood God”
Slaanesh: “The Dark Prince of Pleasure”,
Tzeentch: “The Architect of Fate”,
And Nurgle: “The Lord of Decay”
- gain their power from, and their followers will undertake any action to increase that power.
The Warp is far from a safe place to travel across the great reaches of space and time. Great currents and storms can blow star ships into uncharted areas of the galaxy and make travel through certain areas impossible. Warp storms that last for centuries can isolate entire regions of space - or worse, as ships could be shipwrecked within the Warp itself - a terrible fate for the passengers, as they become the playthings of the dark creatures that inhabit that diabolical realm.
Warhammer and the Coming of Chaos
The Old Slann were the ancient space-faring race who first discovered the rocky and barren Warhammer world sitting directly at the entrance to an unstable Warp Gate. They spent millennia studying and changing this unusual world; introducing life from all over the universe – the Lizardmen (from their own genetic stock), the Elves, the Orcs, the Goblins and the Dwarfs. Many millennia later, the Old Slann’s project took a life of its own when the gods of Chaos attempted to enter the material universe through this weak point in space – and shattered the Warp gate leading to the world. By that time, humans were well established upon Warhammer – and some believe they were transplanted there by the direct intervention of The Emperor of Mankind himself - The Star Child.
After a cataclysmic struggle, The Old Slann’s creations had managed to eventually push back the hordes of Chaos - but at immeasurable cost. In Ulthuan, Aenarion - the first High Elf Phoenix King - defended the shrine of Asuryan against the might of the Chaos Champion, Morkar. In their star ships, the Old Slann sped to both poles of the world to battle against the epic tides of Chaos, and though most of the Old Slann perished in the epic battle that followed, they succeeded in at least checking the advance of Chaos in the northern New World and in southern Lustria. After the battle, the fall of the Old Slann came quickly, as their entire civilisation collapsed almost overnight. The remaining descendants of the Old Slann – the Lizardmen - retrogressed into a strange and barbaric people; forgetting most of Old Slann’s technology and powerful magic’s.
High Elves
Over the next 81 years, the inhabitants of Warhammer struggled to hold back the unending Chaos attacks – and none more so than the High Elves. The High Elf Phoenix King Aenarion, whose martial skills were unrivalled even amongst immortals, led his forces again and again against the infinite and unchallenged forces of Chaos; sustaining massive losses in the process. Following the death of his first wife, The Everqueen Astarielle, Aenarion’s mood became dark, aggressive and vengeful. In his desperation to defend his people, Aenarion cursed himself and all of his descendants by drawing the forbidden Sword of Khaine (Lord of Murder), from the dreaded altar on the Blighted Isle in Ulthuan – the High Elf homeland. It was a weapon of such immeasurable power that it could kill gods with the merest touch, but that power came at a terrible cost, as it was destined to kill and consume the soul of whoever used it.
Aenarion then took for himself a second wife, the beautiful seeress Morathi, who he had rescued from a marauding Chaos war band. But Morathi was already secretly corrupted by the Chaos God Slaanesh, and bore Aenarion a twisted son – Malekith - who became the first of the Dark Elves.
Aenarion’s once-close friend, Caledor Dragontamer, saw that their battle against the forces of Chaos could only end in defeat, and so called together the greatest High Elf mages that had ever lived. Together they devised a plan to create a magical vortex that would drain the chaotic magic flooding in from the shattered polar Warp gate by using and repairing the strange magical standing stones that had existed on Ulthuan since the dawn of the world. The mages chose the Isle of the Dead as the site for the centre of the vortex and assembled there to begin their incantations. The Gods of Chaos, sensing the scale of what was being attempted, united together sending a colossal force into the world to destroy the High Elves, once and for all. Aenarion assembled the last remnants of the High Elf armies to protect the mages and his people.
In the great battle that followed, Aenarion fought atop his Emperor Dragon, Indraugnir, facing all four Greater Daemons of Chaos at once in single combat – Bloodthirster, Great Unclean One, Keeper of Secrets and The Lord of Change - and all infused with the direct power of the Chaos gods themselves. Although victorious, both Aenarion and his dragon were mortally wounded during the battle, and the ever faithful Indraugnir used the last of his remaining strength to fly the wounded Aenarion back to the Blighted Isle so that he could drive the cursed sword of Khaine back into the dreaded altar from whence it came. The great incantation was completed with the deaths of many High Elven mages, and the forces of Chaos receded. Aenarion passed from the world and into legend.
Dark Elves
After the death of his father, Malekith was the obvious heir to the High Elven throne. But the political intrigue which had for so long been ignored by Malekith became his undoing. Amongst the High Elven court there were those who felt that Malekith was unsuitable to rule. He was headstrong like his father, and preferred to sort out disputes with violence. The High Elves were in a time of rare peace and many nobles thought that Malekith did not fit in with this new order.
Assuming that the legacy of his father would guarantee his ascension to the throne of the Phoenix King, Malekith agreed to let the council vote on whether he should rule. The council voted against him and placed Bel Shanaar in his place. On the surface Malekith appeared to accept this well - indeed he was among the first to pay homage to Bel Shanaar during his ascension as the second Phoenix King, but in reality he was hiding his resentment and frustration. Malekith vowed to wait until he could make the throne his own.
Malekith was appointed Commander of the High Elf forces. He proved to be a brilliant young general, gaining power and allies with his glorious victories. At one period of time he was appointed as the ambassador of the High Elves in the Dwarf stronghold, Karaz-a-Karak. He led many successful armies against the Greenskins and the forces of Chaos. His expeditions took him ever onward to the cold colonies of the northern New World. And there in the rubble of an abandoned pre-human city, he found the Circlet of Iron, a talisman of awesome sorcerous power. Slowly, finally, after many decades, Malekith worked himself into a position of power second only to the Phoenix King's.
During a dark winter he accused Bel Shanaar of being a Slaaneshi devotee during a religious festival. Shortly after this accusation, Bel Shanaar died of poison. Some claimed Bel Shanaar took his own life in order to avoid the shame of being interrogated, while others said Malekith had him poisoned and later claimed Bel Shanaar took his life in guilt. At any rate, Malekith took Bel Shanaar's alleged suicide as proof that he was a devotee of Slaanesh. Any who defied Malekith’s claims were led outside the city and killed by his elite guard.
Believing all he now had to do was crown himself as the new Phoenix King, Malekith confidently marched into the sacred flame of the god Asuryan, the final test that each Phoenix King has to pass to prove their worthiness for the crown. The sacred flames would not suffer Malekith’s polluted body and refused to let him pass, and the holy flames cast him out. Horribly scarred and burned, he fled north to his stronghold on Nagarythe with his mother, Morathi, on her dark pegasus.
There, Morathi nursed her son back to health. With the aid of powerful sorcerers Malekith trained in the arts of Dark Magic. Hotek, a renegade Priest of Vaul, forged a great suit of black armour which would lend strength to Malekith's withered and fire-blasted body. The suit was fused onto his body while still white hot from the furnace. After his torment within the flames of Asuryan, Malekith felt little pain. When the armour was complete, few could look at him without feeling dread. And from that day onwards, the fallen elf lord was known as the Witch King.
For more than a decade the High Elves fought a great civil war. Time proved to be the newly-elected Phoenix King, Caledor II's ally, for as time passed, Malekith's treachery became more evident and yet more elves flocked to Caledor's banner. In a climactic showdown, Malekith was defeated by Caledor in single combat in the Field of Maledor. The Witch King's supporters retreated back to their fortresses in the dark lands of Nagarythe.
Malekith decided to try one final gamble for the High Elven throne. He instructed his sorcerers to undo the spells that bound the shattered Warp Gate in a bid to secure aid from the Dark Gods of Chaos. For hours they struggled to undo the magical vortex that protected the world. In the end, the task proved to be too great - even for the combined sorcerous might of Malekith and his coven. Their efforts were thwarted by a group of mighty elven mages trapped on the Isle of the Dead. A surge of raw arcane power struck back at Malekith's fortresses. Many of his sorcerers died from the magical flashback. The land itself buckled under the magical strain and a great tidal wave came crashing down on northern Ulthuan. Earthquakes devastated the land and the fine cities of the High Elves. The lands of Nagarythe and Tiranoc were completely submerged under water. Many thousands of High Elves were killed in the cataclysm that became known as “The Sundering”.
Dwarfs
After the catastrophe of the Coming of Chaos, the Dwarfs emerged from their mountain homes to find their world changed and warped. Mutated Chaos Beastmen roamed freely throughout the land, slaying everyone in their path. Warriors of the Chaos Gods slaughtered all before them and Daemons created nightmare realms, enslaving entire communities.
It was Grungni, the Dwarf patron God himself that forged the first weapons and armour, while teaching the Dwarfs to do the same. He forged the first magical runes, capturing the wild winds of magic and harnessing their power, creating even more potent weapons, axes and hammers, as well as the ancient runes that gave magical protection for armour and talismans. He armed the Ancestor God Grimnir with two axes and armour harder than the bones of mountains, and he and his first runesmiths armed the rest of the Dwarfs to do battle.
Soon after their re-emergence, the Dwarfs first encountered the High Elves from Ulthuan. The two races had a long period of prosperous development, but a disastrous war - known to the elves as the 'War of the Beard', and to the Dwarfs as the 'War of Vengeance' – almost completely destroyed the two races.
The War of the Beard
The War of the Beard was the cataclysmic war that took place between the Dwarfs of the Old World and the High Elves of Ulthuan shortly after The Sundering. The war was started by Dark Elves, as Malekith planned to sow discontent amongst the two races by pretending to be High Elves, and attacking Dwarf colonies and trading parties. Many High Elves were slain by the Dwarf traders, believing themselves to be under attack. The High Elves retaliated in kind and soon, both sides began to muster their armies.
In a last ditch attempt to prevent all out war, the Dwarf High King, Gotrek Starbreaker sent an emissary to Ulthuan demanding fair recompense for High Elf hostilities. The ambassadors were met with arrogance and hostility, and the Phoenix King Caledor II returned the Dwarfs minus their beards several days later. To lose one's beard is the ultimate insult to a Dwarf and thus began the war known as the War of the Beard to the Elves, while the Dwarfs, not to take such things lightly, called it the War of Vengeance.
After the battle of the Three Towers, the Dwarfs defeat the High Elves and gain mastery of the Old World. Gotrek Starbreaker kills the Phoenix King Caledor II and takes the Phoenix Crown as recompense for the many wrongs suffered by the Dwarf people. The High Elves abandon the Old World and sail back to Ulthuan, leaving only a small contingent behind to settle in the woods of Loren to become later known as the Wood Elves.
The Time of Woes and the Goblin Wars
After the War of Vengeance, the Dwarfs enjoyed a rare time of peace before the World’s Edge Mountains were riven by massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The records of many strongholds were lost during this time, and even the great Book of Grudges fell strangely silent. What records remain tell of massive Dwarf losses and countless mines and settlements destroyed. The ancient Dwarf strongholds were cut off from each other and isolated, giving the Greenskins and their ally’s ample chance to take control. The stronghold of Karak Ungor was first lost to the Greekskins in the Imperial year -1500, and marked the beginning of epic, endless wars, countless battles, woes and bloodshed against the armies of Greenskins and the insidious Skaven rat men.
Almost 1,500 years of constant war against the Greenskins passed, before the Dwarfs began to intensify their trading contacts with the tribes of Men in the lands that would later become known as The Empire. A trading convoy from Karaz-a-Karak was ambushed by Orcs, and King Kurgan Ironbeard was captured, but later rescued by the Human Prince Sigmar, of the Unberogen tribe. This was to prove a fortuitous event, and the friendship between Sigmar and King Kurgan Ironbeard blossomed into a great alliance between Dwarfs and Men. In gratitude for his rescue, King Kurgan Ironbeard gave Sigmar the powerful runic war hammer, Ghal Maraz – the ancient heirloom of his clan.
The Empire and Sigmar Heldenhammer
The Imperial Calendar (IC) takes its starting date from Sigmar’s coronation as Emperor, and places his birth as -30, in the Reikland area in the southwest of The Empire. Sigmar was born to the Unberogen tribe, the most powerful of pre-Empire tribes. His birth was marked with the appearance of a twin-tailed comet in the sky, which the human tribes took as a sign of great portent from the Gods. At just 15 years old, Sigmar helped to drive off a Goblin invasion of his village, and in the same year rescued the Dwarf High King, Kurgan Ironbeard from an Orc raiding party.
Sigmar went on to unite the human tribes of the future Empire, and one by one they submitted either by conquest or clever diplomacy. The culmination of Sigmar’s campaign came with his subjugation of the belligerent Tuetogens when Sigmar defeated their chieftain, Artur in single combat. This was the point when Sigmar had successfully united all the tribes under one rule, and thus creating the foundations of The Empire.
From that point onward, Sigmar embarked upon a campaign of purgation and liberation throughout all the tribal lands, primarily against the Beastmen of Chaos and the Greenskins, and finally culminating in the great Battle of Blackfire Pass (IC -1). Following this great victory where the Greenskins were utterly crushed between the combined might of the human tribes and the Dwarf armies of King Kurgan Ironbeard, Sigmar returned in triumph to his native Reikland. There he was crowned as the first Emperor, Sigmar Heldenhammer – “Hammerer of the Goblins” – at Reikdorf, site of the current capital city, Altdorf. This date marks the Empire’s greatest holy day, as it marks both Sigmar’s coronation and abdication, 50 years later – in the summer on the 18th day of the month of Sigmarzeit.
In the fiftieth year of his reign, Sigmar put aside his crown and set off to see what lay beyond the World's Edge Mountains to the east, in a similar fashion to the Dwarf Anscestor God, Grimnir the Fearless, who strode off into the Chaos Wastes to do battle with the Powers of the Warp. No one knows what motivated Sigmar to do this; but some accounts claim that he set off to return Ghal Maraz to the Dwarfs.The famous rune-hammer has traditionally been the weapon of the ruling Emperor and the primary symbol of the Sigmarite cult. A number of heresies have sprung up regarding the authenticity of Ghal Maraz, but the official Imperial position is that the weapon wielded by the Emperors is the hammer of Sigmar.
Sigmar passed over the World's Edge mountain range and no human ever saw him again. Since he was never known to have died, this may have played a large role in the early successes of the cult of Sigmar, established in his honor. It became foremost religion in the Empire and inextricably intertwined with the political, cultural, and national identity of the Empire and its people. Sigmar never claimed to be a deity, and worshipped the gods of the Old World pantheon. Indeed, he was crowned Emperor by the High Priest of the cult of Ulric, the northern god of winter, wolves, and war. However, the priests and worshippers of Sigmar often receive measurable and often positive answers to their entreaties and petitions, suggesting that something with some measure of power is answering them. Many take this as a sign that Sigmar is indeed a god, and watches over his Empire and it’s people.
Magnus the Pious
Magnus was a noble of the Empire born over 2,300 years after the passing of Sigmar. Since the first Emperor's disappearance, the Empire had been marred by corruption, civil war, strife, religious persecution, political idiocy and an overall lack of unity. In the Imperial year 2302, the largest Chaos incursion since ancient times erupted - threatening to wipe out the Old World and perhaps beyond. The Empire, fractured by internal strife and lacking a leader, was unable to provide any support for the other nations now locked in combat. Throughout the cities of the Empire, Magnus made great speeches praising the glory of Sigmar and the duty that his countrymen had to oppose the evil that was surging over the lands to the north.
Magnus recruited the largest and most diverse army in Imperial History. Crazed lunatic Flagellants marched next to the mercenaries and state troops of all the Elector Counts. Hedge wizards trained by the greatest Elven High Mage Teclis advanced alongside ordinary Imperial citizens who hated Chaos. This force marched north to Kislev to meet the Chaos legions which were opposed only by the remnants of the Kislev armies and a small Dwarf force. Their arrival was aided by the High King Alriksson of the Dwarfs, and a force of High Elves from over the seas. Assaulted on three sides, the Chaos army was ground down and destroyed, saving the Old World and beyond.
After the Great War, "Magnus The Pious", as he became known, was elected Emperor. His most important act was to order the foundation of the Colleges Of Magic. Before, practitioners of magic were persecuted by witch hunters and the Cult Of Sigmar but the Colleges established under the guidance of the High Elf Mage Teclis, harnessed magic for the Empires benefit producing "battle wizards" – and most notably, the fire-wielding Bright Wizards.
Sylvania and the Vampire Wars
Sylvania is an area in the Province of Stirland that has been the source of an Undead threat on many occasions. It was long considered to be a cursed and backward area. It first came to fame after the necromancer Vanhel ruled it with an undead horde and fought off a massive Skaven incursion that ravaged the Empire.
After Vanhel's death the province came under the rule of the insane Von Drak family, until Isabella, the heiress of the family, was married to a stranger from outside the area - a move by the ruling Count to deny his brother the Imperial throne. The man she married was Vlad Von Carstein, and unbeknownst to her, was an ancient and powerful vampire.
Vlad built a huge army partly made of forces of the undead. With this he attacked the Empire, starting the Vampire Wars. After nearly destroying the Empire, Vlad was killed in battle by the Grand Theogonist of Sigmar at the siege of Altdorf. His heirs continued the war for over 100 years before Mannfred Von Carstein, last of the great Vampires of the Von Carstein bloodline, was defeated by the Count of Stirland and Sylvania was absorbed into his territories. But only in name, as the land was in truth more or less abandoned. Current rumour suggests that Mannfred Von Carstein has returned and inhabits Drakenhoff castle to this day.
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References: Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer 40k rulebooks and various army books, The Life of Sigmar (Black Library), Games Workshop: Rick Priestley, Nigel Stillman, Johnson, J., & Blanche, J. - and more great authors, writers and artists,
too numerous to mention.
Comments
Your going on older lore I assume? From what I was just reading from the latest Chaos source book for Warhammer Role play and also what I know from older lore. The Slann were not the builders of the chaos gates but the servants of the Ancients who built the gate and have disappeared completely now. Also as far as I know the Warhamer world and 40k Universe are 2 completely separate worlds and that the Emperor has never had any thing to do with that world. But I could be wrong on that.
Emissary of Istaria
Hey,
Yes, I'm going on older lore here, as I don't have any of the new army books. I didn't say that the Old Slann built the chaos gates - or the warp gates, just that they discovered the Warhammer world on their travels. They are mentioned in old Warhammer lore as being called "The Old Ones" "The Old Slann", or the "Ancients", and there is a definite connection between the Warhammer fantasy world and the Warhammer 40k universe. The Old Slann seeded many worlds and created many races, but I don't believe they were the servants of any race, but perhaps you mean the Slann?
There were some amongst the Old Slann that believed that the Star Child (what they called the Emporer of Mankind), transplanted humans upon the Warhammer world - though they didn't know how he did it without the use of The Warp. This is mentioned in the interesting Lustrean Tablets story which details the Old Slann's "project mirror" (some nice artistic licence) - details are here: http://home.swipnet.se/~w-13090/stories/origin2.html. And a nice WFRP rulebook on the Lizardmen here: http://www.blackindustries.com/pdf/articles/children-old-ones.pdf
Also, here's part of a combined timeline I found - should clear up some things.
http://www.siegetower.com/warhammer/timeline.htm
They did play around with connecting the two - back several editions ago. Since then they've retro'd that material and flat out stated that the two are not linked and the warhammer fantasy world is not part of the warhammer 40k universe. Recent lore also states that Lizardmen were fashioned by the Old Ones from beasts they found on the world. That lore has the lizardmen using the name of their creators (slaan), but not actual descendants of those beings.
On the other hand, the Old Ones did use the gates for travel in ships, so using warhammer 40k info to cover gate travel isn't out of line.
Liar! That was anything BUT brief!
But seriously, good read.
Seriously.
It's Are'el. This forum doesn't allow apostrophes in usernames.
Hey Skyles,
This is the first I've heard of this, but I've been out of the loop for about 12 years, so the original lore is all that I'm familiar with. Interesting that they're trying to move away from the original story of the Old Slann (or Old Ones) and come up with a new angle on it all - I always thought that the story was a pretty good one as it stood. But then again, the GW writers seem to dispose of large chunks of lore in favour of a slightly different concept - for example - the removal of Chaos Dwarfs, which I thought were a pretty good army at the time. It's a pity they were so unpopular.
Seems that the early origins of Warhammer is still shrouded in a little mystery - like it always has been - and now open to a bit of conjecture because of whatever new literature they have added on the subject. Ah well, glad to know I haven't strayed too far fromt he mark in my interpreation of Warhammer history.
Ah OK. I have been playing for years but missed the point where they tried linking the 40k and Warhammer RP. I always assume that the Warhammer RP world floated somewhere in the 40K universe like maybe in the Eye of Chaos or some where but had heard that they nixed that.
My latest info on the Old One/Ancients being different from the new Slann is based off a book I just picked up. Book of Corruption I think it is. I seem to remember some hints of the Slann in the older army books being the degenerate descendent's of the Old Slann/Old Ones. But I think the Rp and Battle I think offered different lore on that back in the old days. Or it may have just been me remembering different revisions of each.
But still great info here. So do not get me wrong as trying to distract from that.
Emissary of Istaria
Ohhh, and I had to leave SO much out too, like The Great Necromancer Nagash and Acladizzar of Khemri - and of Nagash's defeat to Sigmar and everything else too. There's just too much of it!
Glad you enjoyed though.
There are no longer any links to each other (besides the Orks being mushrooms from space, and the chaos deities, and the old ones).
They are no longer even in the same universe. Supposedly the old ones crossed the warp to another universe and decided to do some experimenting on the Warhammer world. And of coarse since its connected to the warp, the chaos deities showed up for a little fun...
As a matter of fact, humans in the 40k universe originated from earth now, this is one of the reasons the foundries of Mars are so important. And in the 40k universe no one likes ANYONE, there are no permanent alliances.
The closest thing to that you will get is the Tau absorbing a race and culture into their empire. Everybody hates everybody in the Warhammer 40k Universe. There are no good guys there. There is only survival. ON the other hand there are several completely evil (and one beyond mere evil) races.
The races that just want to survive and prosper:
Tyranids: Not evil, they just want to use everyone as food and a means to spawn more tyranids.
Empire: Not evil, just xenophobic bigots who believe they and they alone should populate the universe.
Eldar: They don't give a rats arse about anyone and will kill anyone in their way, the use and manipulate others to get what they want.
Tau: The newcomers who "Believe in the greater good", meaning they want everyone to be happy and under their protection, even if it means that killing your race till you see the proper path (their path).
Orks: They are genetically programmed to fight crap... period. They were made as a way to combat the Necrons... but they got warped and mutated.. and now just want to fight... They evolve through fighting.
Evil races:
Chaos
Dark Eldar
Beyond Evil:
Necrons
Games Workshop (the people that made Warhammer... among other things) made a profit for years by releasing figures, changing the rules, making some figures obsolete, releasing new figures, and making new rules. That is how they kept their loyal followers paying money.
With all the rules revision, and different figures released... it is not surprising they had to revise their history and storyline, many, many times.