I am really enjoying COW at the moment and like many people here am looking forward to upcomming content. This is an experimental peice, part FF, part lore, in which I aim to give some detailed backgrounds to the world which makes up this fantastic mod. Please note this is not an AAR, there are many people who can do that better than myself, such as Thokran. If this method of storytelling proves popular then I will continue on to other enemies of the Empire. So here is the first, and one of the most popular requests for the next units to be added to COW, the Skaven.
A History of the Empire I: SkavenBlight
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
“Here are scribed the collected texts, written in the name of our Emperor Karl Franz I, and well as all the souls who inhabit our lands and fight back the many scourges that threaten our borders. This work uses recently acquired sources from the expeditionary Elves, Dwarf traders, our own archives in Altdorf, and manuscripts acquired in the lands of Sylvania. These sources chronicle a period of the Empires history all but forgotten by our scholars. All who read from these texts are bound never to repeat them to anyone outside of the inner circle of the Elector counts. The punishment for breaking such an oath is to be branded a heretic and to be tried and sentenced as such”
Volkmar ‘The Grim’ Von Hindenstern, Grand Theologian of Altdorf.
A painting of Skaven marching over the dead of Kavzar, from the writings of "Doom of Kavzar".
Chapter I: Origins
“They are evil incarnate, they are the product of nightmares, Chaos, and the evils of man, they are the Skaven. Repent and save yourselves from the eternal darkness of the Under Empire. We are all truly damned because hell exists under our very feet.”
Joseph Lutz during the Witchhunter trials. He was later executed for heresy.
The history of the Skaven is one that is shrouded in mystery. It is unusual for there to be so little information on a race that had such a catastrophic effect upon the Empire of Sigmar. We have records of the invasions from the lands of Chaos, the invasion of Gorbad Ironclaw and his Orc armies, and we even have records dating back to the war against the Necromancer Nagash. All these events seemingly pale in comparison to the damage inflicted by the Skaven in the Empire’s territories. However for the first time we have records which give us an insight into the events that transpired in the years 1110-1124 and why these dates cannot ever be forgotten again, and why we must prepare for if these past events should ever re-surface.
No one knows much about the origins of the Skaven, there are tales as old as time told by the Dwarfs that chronicle the tales of the fallen city of Kavzar. Known in the texts as the “Doom of Kavzar” it tells the tale of the rise of the Skaven caused by the combined greed of both Humans and Dwarfs who’s own temple bell chimed their doom. This is a tale the Elves greatly enjoy telling their brethren, and which, to this day, the Dwarfs believe is true. However most scholars dismiss this tale as nonsense, the truth is that no one truly knows where or how the Skaven emerged, as much as the origins of the Orcs or the dark Gods of Chaos. This is why this work will not delve into myths and tales; this will work on what actually happened back over one and a half millennia ago.
In order to understand what transpired in this time we need to look back to the event that occurred prior to the invasion and what makes the Skaven such a truly dangerous foe to face. The Skaven alone did not cause such damage; there were other factors at play which all set in the rot that ate away the Empire from the inside.
Current map of the Empire of Karl Franz I and the Elector Counts.
Firstly there was the political situation in the Empire at that time. The Emperor in this time period was a man named Boris Goldgather, an individual who apparently lived up to his name. What few sources that are available to us at the present tell of a man who was corrupt to such an extent that he halved the standing forces in the regions surrounding Altdorf. He also demanded increased taxes from his counts, forcing neighbouring provinces such as Reikland and Middenland to also drastically reduce their already meagre militaries. Much of this money was spent on improving the Emperor’s standing with the Altdorf elite, city officials, and the upper ranks of the Altdorf city militia, mainly to keep public unrest under control. Many lavish banquets and large gambling debts saw much of the money lost and as such the Emperor was universally hated by the poorer elements of the capital.
Another problem in the Empire at that time was the appallingly poor crop harvests throughout the lands in the south. Food riots also broke out many times in the years 1107-1110, the only thing stopping a full blown rebellion was grain barges from Middenland, however the import tax set by the Emperor hinder this problem even further. One source in particular is particularly troubling:
“The food storage ran empty nearly a month ago; things have begun to grow desperate. We ate the Horses and the hay and we haven’t seen anyone on the road for some time now, or any wildlife, it’s as if the land itself has died. We lost five men who ventured too deep into the forest for Boars and another seven have deserted. One of the men in the fort started to hallucinate and died soon after…at least we won’t go hungry tonight, this makes Karl my fifth.”
Report from an unknown southern border post in the year 1111, later on marked as lost.
Although this demonstrates the weakness already apparent within the Empire at that time, this was merely a prelude to an even greater tragedy, one which event to this day the Empire has not experienced on such a scale of lives lost in such a small amount of time. In the bleak winter of 1111 a new illness suddenly emerged throughout cities such as Altdorf, Bogenhafen, Nuln and Reikguard, to this day no one is sure of its origins, although it is likely it was the product of the Skaven, as it didn’t originate from a single region, it was simply known as the Black Plague. The symptoms were recorded well in the time:
“The first symptoms are Fever, vomiting, sneezing, coughing and intolerance to sunlight. This is followed by black blotches appearing upon the body, which later on form into weeping sores and Buboes. The last stages of the disease are particularly horrific. The victim endured terrible agony, begins to cough up blood and bile, the skin begins to break down, crack and bleed profusely. Finally the victim convulses so strongly that he breaks his own neck, killing him in the process. The total time for this process is around three to five days. I recommend killing individuals with this disease before the later stages as a form of mercy”.
Paladins Georg’s, report of the Black Plague in Altdorf. He shortly contracted the illness himself and committed suicide.
Painting titled "Death of Altdorf"
Although no accurate report can be made on the number of deaths caused by this disease, the percentage of dead was anywhere between seventy five to ninety percent of the entire population of the Empire at that time. Towns were deserted and put to the torch by roving bands of flagellants; graveyards were filled to overcapacity with the dead. Horror stories were told by mercenary bands of finding fields lined with hundred of graves and a single dead body, the last living person to bury the dead. Cities threw their dead over the walls or into the rivers, while trade barges and wagons, as well as refugees carried the plague to all the areas of the Empire that the Skaven missed. The citizens of the Empire must have thought that Sigmar had deserted them, that it couldn’t possibly have got any worse, and in their desperation many villages turned to the dark powers for salvation.
There are reports that around this time there was a sudden shift towards the Chaos cults in many regions of the Empire, whispers of the lords of Blood, Death and Decay to intervene and stop the disease. Sacrificial burnings of villager’s became commonplace, roaming mercenary bands destroyed of what remained of many already dead settlements. Even Villages that shut their doors to the outside world were not safe, because even as the Empire declined, the Beastmen of the dark forests began to emerge and attack these defenceless settlements relentlessly.
Despite all this disaster there was some rays of hope in the northern regions of the Empire. Cities such as Talabheim and more significantly Middenheim, a city that would later be a symbol of the Empires defiance against the Skaven, escaped the worst excesses of the Plague. This also was the case for areas in the North, such as Kislev, Ostland and Ostermark. So despite the terror caused by the Dark Plague the Empire was far from destroyed and the south could be rebuilt.
But then, in the spring of 1112, from tunnels dug into Reikland and Solland in the south, the Skaven burst forth in their millions to finish what the Plague has started, the complete enslavement and destruction of the Empire. The next seven years were the darkest in our history, and now with the newly acquired documents from the time we can reveal the true horror of what is now known as the SkavenBlight.
Thanks everyone for your support, i'm glad people are enjoying this.
Chapter II: Invasion
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
“I pray to Sigmar for strength and spirit both for myself and my men. Over what remains of the farmlands of Reikland is a never ending sea of vermin. They eat the crops, they eat our dead and they eat each other. They are a scourge, an ocean of death, and their waves are battering against the walls of Altdorf. Stand fast men, for if the city falls then we will be their next meal.”
Captain Klaus Von Brein, Commander of the Altdorf Militia. Text recorded in the spring of 1113, two years after the Skaven began the siege of Altdorf.
Painting titled "Ratmen March" showing the fall of the city of Auerswald
The Black Plague, which by the spring of 1112 was peaking in its strength, had all but decimated the southern half of the Empire. This combined with other omens, most notably a meteor shower over Sylvania in 1111, appeared, to many religious groups, as the end of times. Little did they realise just how correct their predictions almost were.
Although the Skaven burst out of their various tunnels over hundreds of miles of both Reikland and Solland with forces numbering in the millions, there was simply no news coming from the south of these events. Indeed, it was not until the Skaven were literally outside the gates of Bogenhafen, a city only sixty miles south of Altdorf itself, that the first confirmation of a mass invasion was raised. Why was it that the Skaven could essentially occupy almost all the territories of Reikland and Solland with virtually no one escaping their onslaught? Why could our armies do nothing against their advance? What was their motive? And most importantly what exactly are the Skaven?
Firstly we need to address and answer the question that until now, no one in the entire history of the Empire has ever asked, what are the Skaven? Although we have covered the stories and myths, there are now sources explaining in detail that the Skaven are a variation of the common Rat. They have somehow been warped and twisted by Chaos Magic, but are also capable of organisation, logistics and long term military planning. Such words spoken outside of these texts would be immediately branded as heresy, but we cannot deny the truth of this source:
“My men lined up along the hill to relieve the besieged city of Bogenhafen, the few refugees tell the same tale, Beastmen and Rats stalk the land. The say they could hear the screams behind them as they fled, the cries and the curses. We looked down at the enemy as they approached, they were certainly no Beastmen, they were all Rats, large and small. Some wore armour, they has shields, swords, pikes and even Muskets. But we stood defiant, ready to fight, despite being outnumbered so absolutely. Little did we know it was over before it began, swarms of smaller rats surged towards our line, throwing themselves at our troops, they tore through leather, ate the straps holding on our armour, teeth snapping at faces, legs and any other unprotected areas. The line quickly collapsed and we retreated. I write this now in a deserted village we barricaded, but it is hopeless. The commander is dead, there’s no food and we can hear them squeaking and scuttling in the surrounding woods. I see the eye’s looking back at me at night, the strange green glow that seems to be staring into your soul. When they attack we will retreat to the Tavern and make our stand, Sigmar willing we will break out towards Altdorf before it comes to that.”
Unknown officer, Found during Mandred’s “Three Year Crusade”, hidden in an empty beer barrel in the Village Tavern seven miles north of Bogenhafen.
A drawing of a Skaven, found in the Altdorf archives.
From this and many other sources we can establish that the Skaven were at one point simple Rats, somehow developed into twisted reflections of our civilization. Their sizes range from common rats, to towering monsters with the strength of ten men. The bulk of the Skaven walk upright on two legs, use chainmail and plate armour, as well as swords, shields, Muskets and have an established command structure. They use the smaller rats as a scouting and shock troop force which weakens their opponents’ line and allows them to use their own troops to quickly break through the weakened forces. As the last source showed, the Altdorf standing army was utterly destroyed, with only a few rearguard scouts escaping to tell the tale.
Using these tactics the Skaven won victory after victory, pushing past Altdorf further and further to the north. The only areas not under Skaven control in the south by 1114 were key cities which had enough of a standing military and city militia to hold against the Skaven sieges. This was perhaps the main reason the Empire did not fall, the Skaven’s inability to capture these key cities. Many attempts were made to capture Altdorf, but the Skaven paid a heavy price whenever they attempted to take the city in the first three years:
“These creatures have no understanding of how to siege a city, they throw themselves at our walls, they don’t concentrate their attacks, they have no siege equipment apart from ladders and we destroy them before they can be used effectively. For now we are safe behind these walls, but how long will this last? It has been three years and we see fewer traders and food barges on the river, if the Skaven stop all food supplies then Altdorf will fall.”
Captain Klaus Von Brein, Commander of the Altdorf Militia. Text recorded in the summer of 1114.
Unknown drawing simply titled "Swarm"
Unfortunately the words of Captain Klaus rang true, shortly after this text the Skaven occupied the Howling Hills and effectively cut off all river transport from 1115. The Skaven then stopped all attacks on the city and began a siege of attrition. Altdorf from then on was a slowly dying husk of a city, and as a potential fighting force against the Skaven was no longer a factor.
Although the more fortified cities in the south were holding firm, less could be said for the town and villages that dotted the region. This is where the motive of the Skaven invasion became all too apparent. However this is also where explaining what happened proves difficult, as the Skaven disposed of these settlements inhabitants so efficiently that there are no sources from anyone regarding what happened. The only sources we have come from towns further north witch managed to hold against weaker Skaven attacks, this combined with the only firsthand source from a ranger hiding close to a town near Untergard in Middenland does a picture begin to emerge:
“From my tree I could see the groups of Rats, watching from the shadows at the town, they were silent and still. The larger rats walked amongst them armed with clubs and nets, they all moved into position and waited for the early morning dark before the dawn. They loosed fire arrows into the town and rushed to meet what they though were their helpless victims, but we were ready. The signal was given and the pitch hidden in the woods was lit, the Skaven panicked and became the hunted, trapped between the town militia and the flames they were slaughtered. What nightmarish place they planned to take the villages they intended to capture I do not know, nor do I ever want to know.”
“Hunter”, the only known alias of this Ranger, the message was sent to Count Mandred of Middenland at the city of Talabheim during the spring of 1120.
A drawing of a Skaven Slave Driver, also has control over more common Rats. This is accompanied by diagrams of the various facial garbs worn by these creatures. Drawn in 1147 in Altdorf.
There were stories told about what happened to those men, women and children who were captured in their tens of thousands by the Skaven. Tales told of chain gangs force marched across the lands south, only to be taken down the tunnels to whatever hell the Skaven call home. The lucky ones were put into camps on the surface, these enormous labour camps were used in the construction of further equipment and for the ever expanding Skaven armies. Large concentrated slave farms were also established and the slaves grew a strange black corn that the Skaven brought with them. It is clear from this that the Skaven were planning not only to invade the Empire but to occupy it as well.
These slave camps were also used for a completely separate campaign into Sylvania which took place during 1114-1121 and was arguably one of the largest mistakes made by the Skaven in the entire conflict. We know of this war thanks to recently acquired notes made by the scribes of Cartenstien family whose roaming bands of undead troops continue to be a thorn in the side of the Empire even to this day. Considering this was before the great campaign from Ostland, the undead at that time were significantly more powerful and the Skaven paid the price for their decision.
The Skaven began by sending around twenty thousand troops into the territory, the sources don’t make it clear what the Skaven were after, but the Cartenstein’s make reference to a material that sounds remarkably similar to the dangerous magical substance called Warpstone. The Skaven were slowly picked off by the tides of undead and ever growing supply trains and more and more of them were thrown into the region. The Cartenstien’s boast they killed hundred’s of thousands of Skaven over the years, an estimate that is likely true and was a painful ulcer in the side of the Skaven advance. However despite this the Skaven by 1117 had reached the northern city of Talabheim with overwhelming numerical superiority, but this was not their primary target in the north.
The city of Middenheim, far in the deep forests of northern Middenland was the second most influential and powerful city in the Empire. Unlike many other cities of the Empire, Middenheim had weathered well against the many disasters that occurred prior the Skaven invasion. The city was under the leadership of Count Mandred of Middenland, an individual who proved to be an efficient and charismatic leader as well as an organisational genius. Middenheim was the only city to remain free of the Black Plague due to Mandred effectively halting any access in or out of the city and all essential supplies were to be checked and blessed by the Priests of Ulrich. It was Mandred who was the first to discover that the Black Plague was part magical in nature, having the taint of Chaos about it. Mandred also ordered all military units in Middenland to fortify and quarantine farmlands surrounding Middenheim but also sending anyone who fled from the south directly to the plague camps for ‘treatment’. Also Madred’s excellent use of scout’s in neighbouring territories allowed him to hear news about the mass of Skaven marching through Middenland’s forests giving him a reasonable amount of time to act.
So began preparations for one of the most desperate sieges in the history of the SkavenBlight. The battle that took place is regarded now as the single most significant turning points in the history of the Empire, as Mandred himself put it, “The fate of all men was decided here at Middenheim”
i know this is a double post, but is this thread dead?? i seriously hope not because im finding it EXTREMLY interesting, its really well written stuuf, and it would be a shame to see the story go unfinished
i know this is a double post, but is this thread dead?? i seriously hope not because im finding it EXTREMLY interesting, its really well written stuuf, and it would be a shame to see the story go unfinished
It ain't easy. I tried writing a summarized history of the Imperium once, and as far as I know, the Empire has a much deeper background. Imperium is basically good times --> bad times --> Emperor times --> Horus being a times --> 10,000 years from the 31st to 41st Millennia - that's where the bulk of the history lies.
Great job OP, very well-written and with visual aids to boot!
It ain't easy. I tried writing a summarized history of the Imperium once, and as far as I know, the Empire has a much deeper background. Imperium is basically good times --> bad times --> Emperor times --> Horus being a times --> 10,000 years from the 31st to 41st Millennia - that's where the bulk of the history lies.
Great job OP, very well-written and with visual aids to boot!
Really? i would have though the Imperiums one would have been waaaaaaaaaaaay harder, seeing as its around for far longer then the Empire
As promised, here is the latest chapter of the Skavenblight chronicles. Thank again for all the support from everyone and I hope you all enjoy.
@Saladin: Well I 'borrow' from the supplement book, then add my own parts inbetween for effect.
@Rogal Dorn: The enitre 10,000 year history of the Imperium would be quite a thing to summarize! Also thanks for your vote of confidence.
@IrishBlood: Sorry to worry you, hopefully this will help make up for it
Chapter III: The Seige of Middenheim
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
“I stood over the wall, looking down upon my foe in the dark of night, the thousands of camp fires and battlements, and the never-ending sea of yellow eyes and fur. Their shrieks, hisses and taunts filled the air, echoing the death and destruction they wrought upon my lands. A solider then asked me if I was afraid…I turned to him and said that I felt only pity for these monsters. I pitied them because I knew we would endure, we would fight unlike any men they had witnessed since their encroachment on the lands of the Empire, and we would break the back of this monster once and for all.”
Count Mandred “Skaven Slayer”. Taken from “The Wars of Mandred” Vol. 3 Chapter IV
A map of the territory of Middenheim, in northern Middenland. Taken from modern geographical reports.
Here is where the history of this time period of the Empire gets easier to tell, thanks mainly to the detailed records kept by Count Mandred during the siege of Middenheim, followed later by the “Three Year March” and finally the “Mandred Crusades” towards the end of the war. These extensive records, although likely bias, are validated by other sources at the time, and are the most detailed and as such will be the ones this history will reference from now on.
As said in the previous chapter the city of Middenland had endured well following the Black Plague. Mandred had been well informed by scouts about the encroachment of ‘Rat like’ Beast men cutting a trail of destruction towards the deep forests that surrounded the city. Although Madred, shortly afterwards, learned the true name and nature of his foe.
The city of Middenheim itself is one of the best positioned within the Empire to withstand a siege. Even today it is a truly impressive sight to see; however Mandred himself, who was especially proud of his own efforts to reinforce the walls, gave a good, if not bias, description of the city:
“My city is the gem of the North, far superior to that overweight diseased ulcer called Altdorf. The city stands atop a hill, a hundred feet on all sides and the only entrances are four grand Viaducts and a large earth ramp way leading up to a heavily secured Portcullis. Despite this the city has a full working Sewage system, a fresh water well, good quality wood housing divided into many districts, and constant food supplies, despite the recent farming problems. But the walls are what make a city, the walls are reinforced stone, catapult towers, and even several Cannons traded to use by Dwarven merchants. No enemy of the Empire has ever taken this city and any that try will die.”
Mandred’s report to the Altdorf tariff collector in 1104
An accurate scaling of modern Middenheim, note that the Earthen ramp was removed after 1153
The preparations that were made in Middenheim are well documented, and if they are to be believed, by 1117 it was the single most well prepared city in the Empire. Vast food supplies were stored in the city granaries, as well as salted meats kept in hidden stockpiles in case of internal sabotage. Water was rationed and blessed by the Priests of Ulrich before distributing. Refugees were conscripted into the Middenland standing army as the “Middenheim Militia Watch”, and each group were trained by veteran member of the standing military and commanded by the same man during the siege. The cities few Paladins were appointed “Moral Watchers”, who ensured that troops maintained discipline, the punishments tended to be decided democratically by the city residents and refugees, a shrewd move by Madred to ensure civilians played a part in military affairs to avoiding defeatism.
However despite all these precautionary measures, there are some decisions made by Mandred that are somewhat controversial. Madred decreed that the Skaven were to be denied any means by which to support themselves on Middenland soil:
“It was a decision made with a heavy heart, but mercy must make way for practicality in times of war, I decreed that all farms, towns, Villages and trading posts in the borders of Middenland be put to the torch. The Desert we will create will prove that the Skaven are not invincible, for soon it will be their Grave.”
Count Madred “Skaven Slayer”. Taken from “The Wars of Mandred” Vol. 2 Chapter VII
The destruction caused was absolute, and any supplies, food, refugees were all advised, but usually forced, to Middenheim. However this move made by Madred ensured that the Skaven were forced to fight on Mandred’s terms, but despite all the preparations and strict planning nothing could have prepared Madred or the people of Middenheim for what came next.
In the autumn of 1118 the forests surrounding Middenheim erupted with Skaven, and immediately began travelling along the viaducts to gain quick entrance to the city. Mandred however had predicted such a tactic, using barrels of Black powder buried in the viaducts’ foundations, and several ‘determined’ militia men, all four were destroyed in tremendous explosions almost simultaneously. The scale and awe of such an act shocked the Skaven strike teams and they quickly pulled back. However even in the first night Mandred did not relent, as arrow, cannon and musket fire rained down upon the Skaven forces inflicting fatalities and stopped any further attacks on that first day.
Drawn by artist Von Reiken in 1127 as a reminder of Skaven seige tactics at Middenheim.
Following these events thousands upon thousands of Skaven continued to pour out of the forests over the next four days, until their numbers stretched in all directions around the city. Their numbers are recorded at around half a million, although this is probably heavily overestimated. But there is no doubt that Mandred was hopelessly outnumbered by the Skaven.
A trench system with wooden defences appeared along the landscape and a large scale construction effort began on the earth ramp side of the city. Although as mentioned in previous chapters the Skaven had a reputation in the southern lands of the Empire for poor siege warfare tactics, they appeared to have learned some lessons when they descended upon Middenheim. On the fifth day the Skaven launched a huge assault on the city walls and slowly pushed their construction, a siege tower with a built in bettering ram, up the earth ramp using huge deformed rats similar to that of beastmen ogres. Skaven began climbing the sheer rock faces towards the walls and Skaven archers launched volleys from their tower. It is still a mystery as to how the Skaven constructed their tower so quickly, however reports say that many lesser rats were involved in teh construction, and parts were brought peice meal from the forests, showing a heavy degree of planning.
However, once again, Mandred was quick to act. Rocks, arrows and other heavy and sharp objects were hurled down on the climbing Skaven, and despite their best efforts were unable to reach the wall foundations. As for the siege tower it met a similarly disastrous end. As it approached the main portcullis, the cities Dwarven Cannon opened up blasting apart the ogre rats and most of the battering ram crew. As the towers ramp opened up on the main battlement Mandred himself ordered the team of archers and musket men waiting to greet them to open fire. A second cannon volley smashed the lower tower’s framework, toppling it from the side of the ramp crushing a number of Skaven at the bottom. Mandred throughout this second assault stood watch over the battlement and was commented on by the Guard captain:
“He stood there amid the fires, the shrieking, the shouting and the Musket fire, and never once flinched. But when he gave the order to fire when that tower opened its jaws, it was as if he was Sigmar himself. The Skaven’s faces showed fear rather than defiance when they saw our troops readying their Muskets, and for many it was the last thing they would ever see. It was in that moment I saw the Skaven in a different light, they were no longer the unstoppable monsters I imagined, they were frail, afraid and doubtful. It was also in that moment that I knew we would win this war.”
Captain Marco, taken from “The stand of Middenheim” Vol. 4 Chapter X
Unknown artist, simply titled "The moster of Middenheim"
The Skaven then pulled back into their trenches and once again Rifle skirmishes and the occasional probing attack was all that took place for the next seven days. Mandred’s men continued to shout defiance to the Skaven and also hung mutilated Skaven corpses from the battlements, or threw common city rats over the walls to their deaths. Although despite this psychological warfare, it was largely ignored by the Skaven and the cities population was terrified when Skaven began eating the Human and Skaven dead over their camp fires in the later weeks.
Despite this weeklong standoff Mandred was ever vigilant, but then something happened that even he did not predict, and is the only time in which Mandred admits he was outmanoeuvred by his enemy. Two weeks after the first Skaven attack on the city, just after midnight, the main drainage points of the cities Sewer system exploded with larger and much more aggressive versions of the common city Rat. Four point of the city were under simultaneous attack and militia, women and children were torn to pieces in the first minutes. Mandred immediately tried to take control of the situation, but the tactic the Skaven were using was never countered by the Empire until this point, because how does one fight a sea of vicious, swarming rats? Within ten minutes after the first alarm was raised, regular Skaven troops began to appear in the city, within half an hour nearly a quarter of the city was lost. Burning barricades in the main streets were the only things slowing the Skaven advance, and the Skaven had renewed attacks on the walls outside the city. Some Skaven were even making it onto the walls from the outside as there were simply too few troops to keep them at bay. It was in this desperate moment that the Priest’s of Ulrich offered Mandred the idea which saved the city:
“Mandred ordered that all the cities lamp oil supplies be mixed with the Priest ‘formula’ and poured into the sewer system through the smaller access points. Gallon upon gallon was poured down into the darkness and thrown onto the Skaven forces from roofs and behind the barricades. Then Von Leizen himself emerged from the temple, the man glowed from head to toe in energy and magic’s. I had only heard stories of the power of the Bright Wizards but I saw firsthand just how terrifying they can be. From an overlooking balcony he stood looking down on the sea of oil glistening fur, shouting in a language I could not understand. His staff then set alight with flame; there was a flash, and then heat, upon heat. When my eyesight and hearing recovered I heard screams, shrieks of agony, and a sea of fire. The sewer gratings erupted in flame shooting into the sky throughout the city. Buildings burst into flame, flour supplies exploded blowing apart their storehouses, and the entire city shook with fire and death. We had won…but at what cost?”
Captain Marco, taken from “The stand of Middenheim” Vol. 4 Chapter XIV
Drawn under Mandred's personal war artist to commemorate those who died in the Sewer Blasts and the brave men who managed to hold the city walls despite all the odds.
Despite the carnage that had been wrought to the city, Mandred seemed not to notice; he secured the main sewer access openings and then ordered seven Militia companies and his elite company, the ‘Knights of the White Wolf’, down into the system itself to push the Skaven out of the Sewers entirely. Despite the Militia’s determination, they took heavy losses and pulled back to makeshift barricades inside the main Sewer tunnels. On the surface it took three days to completely extinguish the fires and much of the city was gutted, however enough infrastructure and food had survived to continue on with the siege and the city still held firm.
Over the winter moths there was constant fighting within the Sewer system; however the Skaven didn’t appear to have any smaller vermin left to use, as only regular infantry were ever seen in the tunnels. However this did not make the fighting any less vicious. Soldiers slept, ate and fought in the torch lit darkness; the Skaven launched constant attacks on the watch posts created in the Sewer systems. Mandred himself constantly inspected these areas and spent time down there days at a time, and created a new company he named the “Sewer Watch”, a military order which now exist in all major cities in the Empire. The Skaven tried many tactics, they launched feints, tunnelled behind the watch posts, and towards then end even tired to collapse the tunnel system altogether. The Skaven at some points managed to gain access to the city and small assassin squads killed several military commanders including Captain Marco. However all that resulted from this subterranean battle was a war of attrition the Skaven were slowly loosing.
As winter turned to spring, the already starving Skaven forces began dying in great numbers from some kind of mass illness. However the Skaven were not intent on keeping it to themselves. As they began withdrawing into the deeper parts of the Sewer system, they infected the Middenheim water supply with their own ailment, the Black Death. It spread quickly through the human population and everyone expected the worst for the city. However for some unknown reason, attributed by the Priest of Ulrich as Sigmar’s intervention, most people who caught the illness quickly recovered and many didn’t catch it at all.
By this point the Skaven began their long retreat south towards Altdorf although it is unlikely that any made it to their destination. So it was that Middenheim won the greatest siege in the Empires history and inflicted a wound that the Skaven never truly recovered from. For many counts this alone would have been enough, however for Mandred this was merely the beginning, as in autumn 1118 he vowed he would not stop until the Skaven had been wiped from the face of the Empire.
“Middenheim showed us that the Skaven are not invincible, they screamed, they begged they bled and they died. We showed that a city militia can beat them, what could an entire trained army do? Let us march forth and find out together.”
Mandred’s speech before the Middenland council, justifying his decision to send Middenheim’s army to Talabheim.
As promised, here is the latest chapter of the Skavenblight chronicles. Thank again for all the support from everyone and I hope you all enjoy.
@Saladin: Well I 'borrow' from the supplement book, then add my own parts inbetween for effect.
@Rogal Dorn: The enitre 10,000 year history of the Imperium would be quite a thing to summarize! Also thanks for your vote of confidence.
@IrishBlood: Sorry to worry you, hopefully this will help make up for it
Chapter III: The Seige of Middenheim
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
“I stood over the wall, looking down upon my foe in the dark of night, the thousands of camp fires and battlements, and the never-ending sea of yellow eyes and fur. Their shrieks, hisses and taunts filled the air, echoing the death and destruction they wrought upon my lands. A solider then asked me if I was afraid…I turned to him and said that I felt only pity for these monsters. I pitied them because I knew we would endure, we would fight unlike any men they had witnessed since their encroachment on the lands of the Empire, and we would break the back of this monster once and for all.”
Count Mandred “Skaven Slayer”. Taken from “The Wars of Mandred” Vol. 3 Chapter IV
A map of the territory of Middenheim, in northern Middenland. Taken from modern geographical reports.
Here is where the history of this time period of the Empire gets easier to tell, thanks mainly to the detailed records kept by Count Mandred during the siege of Middenheim, followed later by the “Three Year March” and finally the “Mandred Crusades” towards the end of the war. These extensive records, although likely bias, are validated by other sources at the time, and are the most detailed and as such will be the ones this history will reference from now on.
As said in the previous chapter the city of Middenland had endured well following the Black Plague. Mandred had been well informed by scouts about the encroachment of ‘Rat like’ Beast men cutting a trail of destruction towards the deep forests that surrounded the city. Although Madred, shortly afterwards, learned the true name and nature of his foe.
The city of Middenheim itself is one of the best positioned within the Empire to withstand a siege. Even today it is a truly impressive sight to see; however Mandred himself, who was especially proud of his own efforts to reinforce the walls, gave a good, if not bias, description of the city:
“My city is the gem of the North, far superior to that overweight diseased ulcer called Altdorf. The city stands atop a hill, a hundred feet on all sides and the only entrances are four grand Viaducts and a large earth ramp way leading up to a heavily secured Portcullis. Despite this the city has a full working Sewage system, a fresh water well, good quality wood housing divided into many districts, and constant food supplies, despite the recent farming problems. But the walls are what make a city, the walls are reinforced stone, catapult towers, and even several Cannons traded to use by Dwarven merchants. No enemy of the Empire has ever taken this city and any that try will die.”
Mandred’s report to the Altdorf tariff collector in 1104
An accurate scaling of modern Middenheim, note that the Earthen ramp was removed after 1153
The preparations that were made in Middenheim are well documented, and if they are to be believed, by 1117 it was the single most well prepared city in the Empire. Vast food supplies were stored in the city granaries, as well as salted meats kept in hidden stockpiles in case of internal sabotage. Water was rationed and blessed by the Priests of Ulrich before distributing. Refugees were conscripted into the Middenland standing army as the “Middenheim Militia Watch”, and each group were trained by veteran member of the standing military and commanded by the same man during the siege. The cities few Paladins were appointed “Moral Watchers”, who ensured that troops maintained discipline, the punishments tended to be decided democratically by the city residents and refugees, a shrewd move by Madred to ensure civilians played a part in military affairs to avoiding defeatism.
However despite all these precautionary measures, there are some decisions made by Mandred that are somewhat controversial. Madred decreed that the Skaven were to be denied any means by which to support themselves on Middenland soil:
“It was a decision made with a heavy heart, but mercy must make way for practicality in times of war, I decreed that all farms, towns, Villages and trading posts in the borders of Middenland be put to the torch. The Desert we will create will prove that the Skaven are not invincible, for soon it will be their Grave.”
Count Madred “Skaven Slayer”. Taken from “The Wars of Mandred” Vol. 2 Chapter VII
The destruction caused was absolute, and any supplies, food, refugees were all advised, but usually forced, to Middenheim. However this move made by Madred ensured that the Skaven were forced to fight on Mandred’s terms, but despite all the preparations and strict planning nothing could have prepared Madred or the people of Middenheim for what came next.
In the autumn of 1118 the forests surrounding Middenheim erupted with Skaven, and immediately began travelling along the viaducts to gain quick entrance to the city. Mandred however had predicted such a tactic, using barrels of Black powder buried in the viaducts’ foundations, and several ‘determined’ militia men, all four were destroyed in tremendous explosions almost simultaneously. The scale and awe of such an act shocked the Skaven strike teams and they quickly pulled back. However even in the first night Mandred did not relent, as arrow, cannon and musket fire rained down upon the Skaven forces inflicting fatalities and stopped any further attacks on that first day.
Drawn by artist Von Reiken in 1127 as a reminder of Skaven seige tactics at Middenheim.
Following these events thousands upon thousands of Skaven continued to pour out of the forests over the next four days, until their numbers stretched in all directions around the city. Their numbers are recorded at around half a million, although this is probably heavily overestimated. But there is no doubt that Mandred was hopelessly outnumbered by the Skaven.
A trench system with wooden defences appeared along the landscape and a large scale construction effort began on the earth ramp side of the city. Although as mentioned in previous chapters the Skaven had a reputation in the southern lands of the Empire for poor siege warfare tactics, they appeared to have learned some lessons when they descended upon Middenheim. On the fifth day the Skaven launched a huge assault on the city walls and slowly pushed their construction, a siege tower with a built in bettering ram, up the earth ramp using huge deformed rats similar to that of beastmen ogres. Skaven began climbing the sheer rock faces towards the walls and Skaven archers launched volleys from their tower. It is still a mystery as to how the Skaven constructed their tower so quickly, however reports say that many lesser rats were involved in teh construction, and parts were brought peice meal from the forests, showing a heavy degree of planning.
However, once again, Mandred was quick to act. Rocks, arrows and other heavy and sharp objects were hurled down on the climbing Skaven, and despite their best efforts were unable to reach the wall foundations. As for the siege tower it met a similarly disastrous end. As it approached the main portcullis, the cities Dwarven Cannon opened up blasting apart the ogre rats and most of the battering ram crew. As the towers ramp opened up on the main battlement Mandred himself ordered the team of archers and musket men waiting to greet them to open fire. A second cannon volley smashed the lower tower’s framework, toppling it from the side of the ramp crushing a number of Skaven at the bottom. Mandred throughout this second assault stood watch over the battlement and was commented on by the Guard captain:
“He stood there amid the fires, the shrieking, the shouting and the Musket fire, and never once flinched. But when he gave the order to fire when that tower opened its jaws, it was as if he was Sigmar himself. The Skaven’s faces showed fear rather than defiance when they saw our troops readying their Muskets, and for many it was the last thing they would ever see. It was in that moment I saw the Skaven in a different light, they were no longer the unstoppable monsters I imagined, they were frail, afraid and doubtful. It was also in that moment that I knew we would win this war.”
Captain Marco, taken from “The stand of Middenheim” Vol. 4 Chapter X
Unknown artist, simply titled "The moster of Middenheim"
The Skaven then pulled back into their trenches and once again Rifle skirmishes and the occasional probing attack was all that took place for the next seven days. Mandred’s men continued to shout defiance to the Skaven and also hung mutilated Skaven corpses from the battlements, or threw common city rats over the walls to their deaths. Although despite this psychological warfare, it was largely ignored by the Skaven and the cities population was terrified when Skaven began eating the Human and Skaven dead over their camp fires in the later weeks.
Despite this weeklong standoff Mandred was ever vigilant, but then something happened that even he did not predict, and is the only time in which Mandred admits he was outmanoeuvred by his enemy. Two weeks after the first Skaven attack on the city, just after midnight, the main drainage points of the cities Sewer system exploded with larger and much more aggressive versions of the common city Rat. Four point of the city were under simultaneous attack and militia, women and children were torn to pieces in the first minutes. Mandred immediately tried to take control of the situation, but the tactic the Skaven were using was never countered by the Empire until this point, because how does one fight a sea of vicious, swarming rats? Within ten minutes after the first alarm was raised, regular Skaven troops began to appear in the city, within half an hour nearly a quarter of the city was lost. Burning barricades in the main streets were the only things slowing the Skaven advance, and the Skaven had renewed attacks on the walls outside the city. Some Skaven were even making it onto the walls from the outside as there were simply too few troops to keep them at bay. It was in this desperate moment that the Priest’s of Ulrich offered Mandred the idea which saved the city:
“Mandred ordered that all the cities lamp oil supplies be mixed with the Priest ‘formula’ and poured into the sewer system through the smaller access points. Gallon upon gallon was poured down into the darkness and thrown onto the Skaven forces from roofs and behind the barricades. Then Von Leizen himself emerged from the temple, the man glowed from head to toe in energy and magic’s. I had only heard stories of the power of the Bright Wizards but I saw firsthand just how terrifying they can be. From an overlooking balcony he stood looking down on the sea of oil glistening fur, shouting in a language I could not understand. His staff then set alight with flame; there was a flash, and then heat, upon heat. When my eyesight and hearing recovered I heard screams, shrieks of agony, and a sea of fire. The sewer gratings erupted in flame shooting into the sky throughout the city. Buildings burst into flame, flour supplies exploded blowing apart their storehouses, and the entire city shook with fire and death. We had won…but at what cost?”
Captain Marco, taken from “The stand of Middenheim” Vol. 4 Chapter XIV
Drawn under Mandred's personal war artist to commemorate those who died in the Sewer Blasts and the brave men who managed to hold the city walls despite all the odds.
Despite the carnage that had been wrought to the city, Mandred seemed not to notice; he secured the main sewer access openings and then ordered seven Militia companies and his elite company, the ‘Knights of the White Wolf’, down into the system itself to push the Skaven out of the Sewers entirely. Despite the Militia’s determination, they took heavy losses and pulled back to makeshift barricades inside the main Sewer tunnels. On the surface it took three days to completely extinguish the fires and much of the city was gutted, however enough infrastructure and food had survived to continue on with the siege and the city still held firm.
Over the winter moths there was constant fighting within the Sewer system; however the Skaven didn’t appear to have any smaller vermin left to use, as only regular infantry were ever seen in the tunnels. However this did not make the fighting any less vicious. Soldiers slept, ate and fought in the torch lit darkness; the Skaven launched constant attacks on the watch posts created in the Sewer systems. Mandred himself constantly inspected these areas and spent time down there days at a time, and created a new company he named the “Sewer Watch”, a military order which now exist in all major cities in the Empire. The Skaven tried many tactics, they launched feints, tunnelled behind the watch posts, and towards then end even tired to collapse the tunnel system altogether. The Skaven at some points managed to gain access to the city and small assassin squads killed several military commanders including Captain Marco. However all that resulted from this subterranean battle was a war of attrition the Skaven were slowly loosing.
As winter turned to spring, the already starving Skaven forces began dying in great numbers from some kind of mass illness. However the Skaven were not intent on keeping it to themselves. As they began withdrawing into the deeper parts of the Sewer system, they infected the Middenheim water supply with their own ailment, the Black Death. It spread quickly through the human population and everyone expected the worst for the city. However for some unknown reason, attributed by the Priest of Ulrich as Sigmar’s intervention, most people who caught the illness quickly recovered and many didn’t catch it at all.
By this point the Skaven began their long retreat south towards Altdorf although it is unlikely that any made it to their destination. So it was that Middenheim won the greatest siege in the Empires history and inflicted a wound that the Skaven never truly recovered from. For many counts this alone would have been enough, however for Mandred this was merely the beginning, as in autumn 1118 he vowed he would not stop until the Skaven had been wiped from the face of the Empire.
“Middenheim showed us that the Skaven are not invincible, they screamed, they begged they bled and they died. We showed that a city militia can beat them, what could an entire trained army do? Let us march forth and find out together.”
Mandred’s speech before the Middenland council, justifying his decision to send Middenheim’s army to Talabheim.
Next Chapter IV: The Three Year March
EXCELLENT man! well worth the wait, + rep, cant wait for the next one
This is just phenomenal! I've been getting really into the Warhammer setting recently, but have lacked the cash to get any of the core rulebooks. This is very well-written and engaging, and is really helping me get into the lore.
This is just phenomenal! I've been getting really into the Warhammer setting recently, but have lacked the cash to get any of the core rulebooks. This is very well-written and engaging, and is really helping me get into the lore.
I soooooo hope this story doesn't end here. The way you write keeps me so interested it's like I'm there! I just can't stop picturing all those heroic moments in my head. Please keep writting!
A History of the Empire I: SkavenBlight
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Originally Posted by Gand
times --> 10,000 years from the 31st to 41st Millennia - that's where the bulk of the history lies.
from the supplement book, then add my own parts inbetween for effect.
