Lore

Back to Main Page

Border Princes – Year 2512 IC

This article details the geopolitical and supernatural landscape of the Old World as it stands in 2512 IC, providing adventurers and inhabitants of the Border Princes with essential context for the turbulent era. The Old World (encompassing the Empire, Bretonnia, Tilea, Estalia, the Border Princes, and the fractious city-states of the Wasteland) teeters on the brink of catastrophe. Scarred by centuries of war, Chaos incursions, and monstrous hordes, these human realms cling to fragile alliances and ancient grudges. In the south, the Border Princes serve as a bloody buffer against the encroaching greenskin tides, where opportunistic warlords carve out ephemeral kingdoms amid ruins of forgotten empires. The year 2512 marks a pivotal moment of internal strife in the Empire, even as external threats multiply, setting the stage for the gathering Storm of Chaos.

Overview of the Old World

The Old World in 2512 IC is a patchwork of feudal kingdoms, mercantile republics, and war-torn principalities, united only by their shared peril from Chaos, Orcs, Skaven, and the Undead. Human dominance is recent and tenuous; Elves once ruled these lands, Dwarfs delved deep beneath them, and now both ancient races watch warily from their enclaves. The Sigmarite Empire stands as the cultural and military heart, but its provinces are divided by rivalries. To the west, chivalric Bretonnia enforces a rigid hierarchy under the Lady's grace. Southern Tilea and Estalia thrive on trade and mercenaries, while the Border Princes embody lawless ambition. Kislev's ice-blasted steppes guard the north against Norscan raiders, and the independent Wasteland city of Marienburg hoards wealth in the northwest. Major cities like Altdorf, Couronne, and Miragliano pulse with intrigue, while the wilds teem with Beastmen herds and Goblin warbands. Warpstone-tainted Skaven gnaw from below, and whispers of Necromantic resurgences echo from Sylvania. The year has seen the Turmoil of 2512 erupt in the Empire (a Chaos-fueled civil war orchestrated by the Purple Hand cult), further eroding unity. As greenskin Waaaghs! swell in the Badlands and Chaos warlords stir in the north, the Old World's fate hangs by a thread.

The Empire

The Grand Theogonist of Sigmar's realm, forged by the god-king Sigmar in -1 IC, spans from the Grey Mountains to the World's Edge. In 2512 IC, Emperor Karl Franz I (elected in 2502 IC) rules from Altdorf in Reikland, a beacon of enlightened absolutism amid provincial feuds. Reikland thrives as the Empire's economic core, its armies bolstered by state troops, Knights Panther, and wizardly Colleges of Magic (re-established in 2430 IC after near-destruction). However, the Turmoil of 2512 has ignited civil war: the Purple Hand Chaos cult infiltrates nobility, sparking assassinations and rebellions across provinces like Stirland and Ostermark.

• Key Provinces and Rulers (2512 IC):
• Reikland: Emperor Karl Franz; capital Altdorf. Heart of the Empire, recovering from the Great Fire of 2431 IC.
• Middenland: Graf Boris Todbringer; capital Middenheim. Ar-Ulric's seat, plagued by Drakwald Beastmen.
• Averland: Elector Countess Emmanuelle von Liebwitz; capital Averheim. Southern breadbasket, harried by Black Fire Pass Orcs.
• Stirland: Elector Count Wilhelm von Drak; capital Wurtbad. Borders Sylvania's undead shadows.
• Ostermark: Elector Count Alberich Haupt-Anderssen; capital Bechafen. Eastern frontier against greenskins.
• Sylvania: (De jure under Stirland) Haunted by vampire remnants; recent purges by Oswald von Drak weakened Necrarch influence.

The Empire's armies number in the tens of thousands, emphasizing disciplined infantry, artillery from Nuln, and Black Guard elites. Yet, internal cults and Beastmen raids strain resources, with the Colleges of Magic vital against Warp sorcery.

Bretonnia

West of the Grey Mountains lies Bretonnia, a land of Grail Knights and peasant drudgery, blessed (or cursed) by the enigmatic Lady of the Lake. King Louen Leoncoeur, crowned in 2500 IC, has unified the dukedoms after decades of fragmentation, his royal Grail Companions a match for any foe. Couronne, the capital, gleams with chivalric splendor, but the realm's feudal system grinds peasants into serfdom, fueling peasant uprisings in Bordeleaux and Gisoreux.

• Key Dukedoms (2512 IC):
• Couronne: King Louen Leoncoeur. Royal seat, hub of Grail quests.
• Lyonesse: Duke Bohemond. Coastal stronghold against Norscan raids.
• Parravon: Duke Carcassonne. Horse-breeding heartland, scarred by Orc incursions.
• Mousillon: (De facto independent) Ruled by rogue knights; vampire-tainted swamps breed horror.

Bretonnia's knights errant charge with reckless valor against greenskins in the Border Princes, but border skirmishes with the Empire over Grey Mountain passes simmer, exacerbated by Skaven tunneling in 2513 IC (foreshadowed in 2512).

The Border Princes

The southern frontier, a graveyard of ambitions where Tilean mercenaries and exiled nobles feud over crumbling forts. In 2512 IC, the Princes (petty kings like those of Akendorf, Barak Varr's environs, and Myrmidia's shrines) face annihilation from Orc hordes. The Black Mountains and Badlands swarm with Goblin tribes, while the Blood River marks a perpetual warzone. Recent devastation from Tamurkhan's Chaos plague-wyrms (2509-2511 IC) has left fields barren and populations halved, yet warlords like Drugat the Cruel rebuild on spite alone. The region serves as a mercenary crucible: Tilean condottieri hire out to the highest bidder, and Dwarf holds like Karak Hirn offer uneasy alliances. No true unity exists; alliances shatter like glass, and every harvest brings new Waaagh! threats.

Dwarfen Realms

The Karaz Ankor, shattered by the Time of Woes (-1500 IC onward), endures in isolated holds. High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer rules from Karaz-a-Karak, his Book of Grudges a ledger of eternal vendettas. In 2512 IC, Karak Eight Peaks remains a three-way siege: Dwarfs under Belegar Ironhammer vs. Skarsnik's Crooked Moon Goblins and Clan Mors Skaven (ongoing since 2475 IC).

Major Holds (2512 IC):

• Karaz-a-Karak: High King Thorgrim. Everpeak, seat of defiance.
• Karak Kadrin: Slayer Keep, led by Ungrim Ironfist. Doomed warriors seek glorious death.
• Barak Varr: Sea hold under Byrnoth Grundadrakk. Besieged by Gorfang Rotgut's Orcs (2503-2507 IC).
• Karak Azul: King Brynnoth Ironarm. Iron mines, recently raided by Boggrub Legbiter (2470 IC).

Dwarfs trade grudgingly with humans, their runesmiths forging wonders amid encroaching darkness.

Elven Realms

High Elves (Ulthuan): Phoenix King Finubar sails the Great Ocean, defending the Vortex against Dark Elf Corsairs. Eltharion the Grim raids Naggaroth (2423 IC), but Malekith's return (2403 IC) brews invasion.

Dark Elves (Naggaroth): Witch King Malekith schemes from Naggarond, his Black Arks slave-raiding coasts. Crone Hellebron leads bloody cults in Har Ganeth.

Wood Elves (Athel Loren): Orion and Ariel rule the enchanted woods, isolationist but fierce against intruders like Kemmler's Undead (2496 IC).

Elven influence wanes in the Old World, their ancient colonies long abandoned.

Other Nations

Tilea & Estalia: Mercantile southlands. Borgio the Besieger's death (2503 IC) leaves Miragliano under Leonardo da Miragliano; incessant city-state wars rage.

Kislev: Tzarina Katarin (ascended 2517 IC, but tensions build in 2512) guards against Chaos; Boris Bokha's death (2452 IC) lingers in memory.

Marienburg: Independent since 2429 IC, a trade nexus rife with intrigue.

Major Threats

• Chaos: Norscan tribes raid coasts; Archaon's crowning (ca. 2519 IC) looms, but 2512 sees Purple Hand cults festering.
• Greenskins: Waaaghs! under Azhag the Slaughterer invade (2512-2515 IC); Badlands hordes threaten all.
• Skaven: Under-Cities like Skavenblight plot; Nuln's near-fall (2499 IC) and Quetza's fall (2489 IC) show their reach.
• Undead: Sylvania simmers; Heinrich Kemmler's campaigns (2491 IC) and Arkhan's thefts (2453 IC) revive ancient horrors.
• Beastmen & Others: Khazrak One-Eye's Mootland herds (2516 IC prelude); Ogres under Greasus (2487 IC) hunger southward.

Recent Events (2400-2512 IC)

A chronicle of strife shaping 2512 IC:

• 2401 IC: Siege of Monte Castello (500 Tilean mercenaries repel 10,000 Orcs).
• 2402 IC: Lustria discovered; human explorers clash with Lizardmen.
• 2402-2405 IC: Fourth Parravon War (Bretonnian invasion of Reikland ends in ransom).
• 2415 IC: Night of a Thousand Arcane Duels (Imperial wizards' civil war razes Altdorf).
• 2420 IC: Waaagh! Grom the Paunch sacks Nuln, ravaging the south.
• 2429 IC: Marienburg secedes from the Empire.
• 2453 IC: Arkhan the Black steals the Liber Mortis from Altdorf.
• 2470-2471 IC: Boggrub Legbiter raids Karak Azul and Averland.
• 2475 IC: Siege of Karak Eight Peaks begins.
• 2480 IC: Oswald von Königswald slays Constant Drachenfels.
• 2484 IC: Great Flood devastates the River Sol.
• 2485 IC: Borgio the Besieger rises in Tilea.
• 2488 IC: Morglum Necksnapper crushes Bretonnians at Death Pass.
• 2491 IC: Heinrich Kemmler's Undead rampage into Bretonnia.
• 2496 IC: Kemmler defeated in Athel Loren.
• 2499 IC: Thanquol's Skaven overrun half of Nuln.
• 2500 IC: Louen Leoncoeur crowned King of Bretonnia.
• 2502 IC: Karl Franz elected Emperor.
• 2503 IC: Borgio murdered; Tilean power shifts.
• 2503-2507 IC: Gorfang Rotgut besieges Barak Varr.
• 2509-2511 IC: Tamurkhan's plague invasion wastes the Border Princes and south Empire.
• 2510 IC: Spinny Backstab's Goblins raze Middenheim environs.
• 2511 IC: Glumhof destroyed by Forest Goblins.
• 2512 IC: Turmoil erupts (Purple Hand ignites Imperial civil war); Azhag's Waaagh! begins; Dark Elves raid Lustria coasts.

These events underscore a world unraveling: alliances fracture, monsters multiply, and the Old World's heroes steel themselves for the darkness ahead. For denizens of the Border Princes, survival demands cunning as much as steel.