Game of Grudges-Dwarven Narrative AAR
Game of Grudges
by Mercenary2479
Chapter 1: The Dawning of War
The young Karl Franz looked around at his subjects as he was ceremoniously given the title of Emperor. Long had he dreamed of this day, the chance to be on par with even Sigmar himself was an opportunity few would ever be given the chance to even try in their lifetimes. He looked at the myriad expressions on the faces of his people, and what he saw legitimately surprised him. He had expected cheers, good will, and general happiness that such a decisive and capable leader had ascended to rightly claim the title of Emperor. Instead he saw blank expressions, a few scowls, and above all else consistent expressions of fear. This fear was not of Karl Franz himself, but rather fear of the unknown that inevitably came with the arrival of each and every new Emperor. It was no secret that outside of Altdorf, The Empire had devolved into a shadow of it's former self. Secessionists not only had broken away from The Empire in the surrounding areas recently, but were mustering for war to end The Empire outright. Nomadic hordes of Greenskins hungrily looked at Altdorf as a great prize ready to be razed and made a stepping stone for greater WAAAAGHS!!! in the future. Finally, Mannfred von Carstein has been resurrected from the dead far to the east in Sylvania. Inevitably, the living and the dead will one day have to fight once more for the ancestral throne of Sigmar himself and the right to rule over all of the living. These were but some of the challenges Emperor Karl Franz would have to contend with, and it was safe to say that such an undertaking would be on par with the challenge Sigmar once faced when building The Empire to begin with.
Chapter 2: The Scourge Cleansed
The early days of the rule of Karl Franz were tumultuous at best. The nomadic Greenskins had been dealt with, and the Imperial Secessionists had also been brought to heel. However, Karl Franz rapidly found himself facing new enemies that proved too powerful and relentless for The Empire to seemingly hold back. The von Carstein bloodline had expanded and conquered rapidly, and already was beginning to encroach upon The Empire proper. The Empire's fellow Simgarite kin had for the most part been swallowed and consumed by the undead war machine that was beginning to look unstoppable. To make matters worse, Karl Franz had Dwarven neighbors particularly in Karak Norn that he had managed to offend in some way. The exact nature of this offense is uncertain, all that is recorded is that the two entities went to war for "undisclosed reasons" and realistically that is all that actually need be recorded. Dwarves are not notorious for forgiveness and indeed tend to hold onto even the most insubstantial slight for generations, sometimes eternally if they feel such diligence toward an offence is necessary. With Mannfred von Carstein decisively humiliating him on the eastern fringes of The Empire, and the Dwarves of Karak Norn pressing hard against him to the south, Farl Franz's days seemed numbered. It was in these dire times that some good news came to The Emperor via envoy. His spy network operating out of The Badlands reported that the notorious and dangerous Black Orc Warboss Grimgor Ironhide had been killed. The Dwarves and Greenskins had restarted their ancient feud and had utilized polar opposite tactics when it came to approaching this war. Grimgor Ironhide had reportedly little difficulty outright convincing, bullying, maiming, and generally goading one Greenskin clan after another to flock onto his banner through confederation. The Dwarves on the other hand did not confederate into one great entity as The Greenskins had, but rather formed an elaborate and in depth series of alliances assuring they all worked in tandem and generally operated as one front against the threat of Grimgor Ironhide and his vast hordes. The result eventually swung in favor of The Dwarves who could field more armies simultaneously with multiple treasuries working in tandem and had also managed to burn down the Greenskin capital Black Crag on multiple occasions. The likelihood of victory in the war boiled down to economics for this reason and eventually allowed The Dwarves to eliminate their most ancient foe and become the dominant force over The Badlands. The spoils of victory had been divided equally among many different Dwarven sovereigns, and no one seemed certain if this system would continue to work without a common enemy to fight anymore. It all mattered little to Emperor Karl Franz. Although relieved one of the great evils of the world had been brought to heel, plenty more still threatened to destroy The Empire closer to home at the moment.
Chapter 3: A New Foe
Emperor Karl Franz may have shown the aptitude necessary to survive in recent conflicts with The Vampire Counts and Karak Norn, but seemingly that was ALL he had been actually been able to do. A good deal of the surrounding area around Altdorf was a smoldering ruin and day after day was the logistical and military nightmare of trying to figure out how to fight a war on two fronts against superior opponents. While most historians (of various races) agree that Karl Franz performed as ably as possible given the situation, the results were about all that could be expected. The von Carsteins continued to swallow up territory into The Midnight Aristocracy and steadily creeped toward Altdorf while Karak Norn laid waste to territory in the southern frontier of The Empire and began to close on the Imperial capital as well. However, it seemed that if Karl Franz could just hold on to Altdorf, The Empire's survival was possible. After all, Karl Franz's rule had started with just Altdorf as well. It was then, seemingly at the lowest point of Karl Franz's career that the bad news just kept coming. The Chaos Wastes in the northeast began to churl and roil, and it heralded the coming of a wave of Chaos Warriors. The Old World itself began to twist and turn to the maligned and perverse images of the chaos gods, and The Empire was no exception. Now faced with the prospect of internal dissent, mutations, and a more difficult time keeping what little territory he had left from enemy hands Karl Franz fell to despair and despondency. He would spend days at a time sulking and muttering to himself and refused to have his chambers lit, illuminated, or made more cheery for any reason. Any attempts from family and friends to cheer and inspire Karl Franz back to great deeds proved fruitless and Karl Franz began to hear insults and low talk of him from the soldiery and peasants alike. Most expected this would lead Karl Franz to fits of rage or irrational behavior, but instead The Emperor simply continued in his duties seemingly either unaffected or just too despondent to even care anymore. When looking at the extended life of Karl Franz from a historical perspective, the arrival of The Chaos Hordes had a profound effect on Karl Franz. Although not entirely shattering his mind the event changed him, his personality, and his rule forevermore.
Chapter 4: The Ultimate Evil
As Karl Franz sat brooding in his darkened chambers, envoys came to him en masse and halted at the door. None of them knew exactly how to break this latest news. The last time such dire tidings had come from The Chaos Wastes, it had radically shifted the mindset of The Emperor and none wished to see yet another breakdown from their beloved leader. Ertrund, the youngest envoy present at the tender age of sixteen gathered himself and boldly walked before The Emperor. He stated clearly and succinctly "My lord, we come before you with news from The Chaos Wastes. It would seem the previous incursion was not an isolated event, but instead the machinations and plan of a Chaos Champion arisen in The Wastes itself. He goes by the name of Archaon The Everchosen, and he brings The End Times with him at the behest of The chaos gods. Emperor Karl Franz at first did not respond, allowing a gloomy silence to fill the room. It was then followed with a lengthy and humorless laugh from The Emperor. "So...Ertrund was it? How do you intend to spend your last days in known existence?" Ertrund shuddered at the question but gathered himself and replied "With a sword in my hand Emperor, defending the innocent and defying Chaos itself to the last." For the first time in months, Karl Franz actually managed a smile and replied "Well spoken young one, it seems you and I will be sharing the same fate." Karl Franz at that point did what he could to muster what forces he had left and fought diligently to avert the greatest threat The Old World has ever known. It was during The End Times surprisingly enough, that The Empire would reach it's high water mark. Karl Franz was met yet again with dignitaries, but much to his surprise these envoys were not Imperial, but rather fellow Sigmarite nobles coming before him. It seemed that some but not all of them had been destroyed by The Vampire Counts, and many still endured and came before Karl Franz now. One sovereign Sigmarite ruler after another came before Karl Franz and knelt at his feet, swearing fealty and loyalty to The Empire made official by confederation. Suddenly, Karl Franz had huge swathes of territory, armies, supplies, and for the first time in the recorded rule of Karl Franz, The Empire had become a legitimate power. The Empire's now bolstered armies marched hard against their ancient foe The Vampire Counts as well as against Archaon The Everchosen himself. As The Empire swelled and grew to meet the new threat, the vast network of Dwarven networks and alliances came to bear side by side alongside the humans. Archaon The Everchosen was a bit taken aback, for his arrival had seemingly done more to unify his enemies than any other event in the recorded history of The Old World. However, The Vampire Counts were still relatively isolated and had few other nations that called them friend. For this reason, they seemed like the most logical target of Archaon's initial assault. Due to this decision a fierce and bloody struggle erupted between the forces of Chaos and undeath. Archaon The Everchosen eventually prevailed but at a terrible cost. His enemies magical aptitude, attrition due to vampiric corruption, and other factors severely crippled his war efforts. While The von Carstein bloodline had been laid low for the last time, The combined efforts of The Empire, Bretonnia, and the many Dwarven Realms all stood united and ready to fight Archaon The Everchosen tooth and nail.
Chapter 5: A New Evil
Reply With Quote
