Warhammer Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Warhammer Wiki
Warhammer-Template-Spoilers
Attention, Empire Citizens!
This article contains information regarding The Age of Reckoning, a series of novels and short stories produced by both the Black Library and Mythic Entertainment for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, that follow an alternate timeline for the mortal world that diverges from that of the End Times.


WAR screen6

A town of the Old World during the Age of Reckoning.

The Age of Reckoning is the name for a period in the history of the Known World defined by the aftermath of a great plague when the Empire of Man, the Dwarfs, and the High Elves joined forces to battle the forces of Chaos, the Dark Elves and the Greenskins. It is an alternate timeline of the mortal world that represented the setting of the now-defunct massively-multiplayer online roleplaying game Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.[1]

History[]

An Empire In Chaos[]

When the first reports of the Chaos Plague began to appear in the fringe settlements of the Empire, they were dismissed as fanciful tales conjured to frighten away unwanted visitors. However, as the plague manifested in the streets of Altdorf, the situation changed dramatically. By the time Emperor Karl Franz issued his first quarantine order, the vile disease had already spread across most of his lands. The Empire's doctors worked day and night to combat the sickness, but all efforts at finding a cure proved futile.[3a]

Victims of the Chaos Plague first experienced tiredness, aching, soreness, and extreme thirst. Bouts of nausea followed, but it took nearly a month to reach the final stages of the disease. It was only then that the horrific nature of the plague became clear; those unfortunate souls who had experienced plague symptoms for three to four weeks began to change, transforming into fiendish Chaos mutants that savagely attacked any living creature they saw. Those lucky enough to avoid contracting the plague were often killed by the savage monsters spawned from it.[3a]

With each passing month, the death toll mounted. Quarantines and martial law failed to slow the spread of the disease, and paranoid fear gripped every village and town within the Empire's borders. Militiamen in plague-wracked cities were forced to combat the hordes of Chaos mutants roaming their streets, leaving their walls undefended against threats from without. Emboldened gangs of brigands roamed the countryside, looting, burning, and killing at will. The scope of the tragedy was almost unparalleled in the history of the Empire, but the Chaos Plague was merely a precursor to a much greater evil yet to come.[3a]

Dark Omens[]

Meanwhile, in the Dark Elf kingdom of Naggaroth, the Seers of Ghrond continued their unceasing study of the distant Chaos Maelstrom. Suddenly, there was a marked shift in the nebulous swirls of color and shape. The Seers watched intently, studying the ominous new patterns. When they were confident of their readings, the Seers dispatched a messenger south to Naggarond aboard a swift Black Pegasus. Great events were about to unfold in the world, and the Witch King had to be informed.[3a]

Days later, Malekith, King of the Dark Elves, read the dispatch from Ghrond. The Chaos god Tzeentch had found himself a new Champion. The followers of the Changer of Ways had assembled a great warhost for his herald and were preparing to launch a massive incursion into the lands of men, with the Empire as the likely target.[3a]

Malekith pondered the message. He was well aware of the terrible plague sweeping through the Old World. If the forces of Chaos launched an attack while the Empire was weakened by the plague, the emperor would have no choice but to call upon the nearby Dwarfs for reinforcement. With the aid of the Dwarfs, it was possible the Chaos host might be turned back. If, however, the folk of the mountains were unable to come to the Empire's defence, Emperor Karl Franz would be forced to turn to the High Elves of Ulthuan. Malekith doubted that his kinsmen would abandon the great nation of men in its hour of need, for doing so might deprive the High Elves of a valuable ally. The High Elves would respond, and would likely send several legions of warriors to repulse the Chaos attack, leaving Ulthuan vulnerable.[3a]

When the Chaos moon eclipsed the light of the sun, the dispatch concluded, the forces of Chaos would begin their march southward. Time was short, and there was much to do.[3a]

The Witch King commanded that every forge and furnace in the realm be brought to bear in the crafting of weapons, armor, and siege machines. The Beastmasters of Karond Kar were ordered to select the strongest and most ferocious creatures in their pens and ready them for battle. The fierce Witch Elves of Khaine prepared for bloody sacrifice to the Lord of Murder. Morathi, the Hag Queen, summoned forth the most powerful Sorceresses from the Convents and trained them to lead the armies of the Dark Elves. As his people prepared for the coming war, Malekith drew up his plans against the Dwarfs.[3a]

A party of the finest hunters and warriors in Naggaroth was dispatched to the lands of the greenskins with a single directive: bring back the most powerful Orc Warboss that could be found.[3a]

When the hunting party returned with both an Orc and a Goblin, Malekith was surprised. It seemed the two were inseparable, jointly leading a powerful new tribe calling themselves the "Bloody Sun Boyz". The goblin shaman, Gazbag, provided the brains while the towering brute of an Orc, Grumlok, supplied the muscle. For each, Malekith forged a magical amulet that greatly amplified the wearer's abilities. In addition, the Witch King secretly included a spell of command that would compel the two leaders to gather their tribe and march east into the World's Edge Mountains. There, they would capture the fortress at Eight Peaks and build a mighty Waaagh! to eradicate the Dwarfs. This being done, he commanded his warriors to return the captive greenskins to their home.[3a]

With his plan set in motion, Malekith waited for news from the World's Edge Mountains. With the Dwarfs occupied by the fight against the coming greenskin Waaagh!, they would be unable to answer the emperor's call for help when the Chaos army reached his borders. The High Elves would sail east for the Old World, and Malekith would launch his attack. At last, the Witch King would claim the birthright denied him for millennia by his weak-blooded kin. The Throne of Ulthuan would be his.[3a]

The Bloody Sun Rises[]

In the Badlands, Gazbag and Grumlok were reunited with the Bloody Sun Boyz. Immediately, the two set out to fulfill Malekith's magically-implanted command. Led by their newly-empowered Warboss and Shaman, the Boyz began their march to the World's Edge Mountains, assimilating any greenskin tribe they encountered and destroying those who would not join. Never before had the Orcs and Goblins seen such strength and power from two of their own kind, and the ranks of the Bloody Sun Boyz swelled as rumors of their deeds spread.[3a]

As the greenskin horde approached Karak Eight Peaks, the Dwarfs gathered within its walls, confident that the impregnable fortress was in no real danger. When Gazbag used his amplified magic to blast a hole in the impossibly thick wall surrounding the city, the Dwarfs were dumbstruck. Never before had an invading army broken through the perimeter of Karak Eight Peaks. As a wave of snarling, bellowing greenskins poured through the breach, the dour but determined defenders of the doomed city prepared to make a last stand. The news spread like a shockwave. How could one tribe of greenskins capture the seemingly impenetrable fortress? Though few admitted it, many Dwarfs were badly shaken by this impossible defeat. In Karaz-a-Karak, High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer vowed revenge, commanding every Dwarf in the city to make preparations for a great war.[3a]

Privately, the high king was gravely concerned. Rumors that the greenskin forces were led by a Warboss with the strength of ten Orcs and a Shaman with magical abilities never before seen would not normally concern him, as Dwarfs were prone to exaggerate. However, the fall of Karak Eight Peaks could not be ignored, nor could its effect on the morale of his people. Secretly, the high king dispatched a rider to the Empire to alert Karl Franz of the possible danger to his own lands should the Dwarfs fail to halt the greenskin invasion. Though the high king was too proud to ask the emperor for help, he hoped the urgency of his message would result in just that.[3a]

Meanwhile, far to the south, Squig riders and Boar Boyz set out in all directions from Karak Eight Peaks, spreading word of a great Waaagh! gathering at the fortress. Legions of Orcs and Goblins began streaming into the captured stronghold and the lands surrounding it. Each Orc and Goblin Boss paid homage to Grumlok and Gazbag, pledging his "ladz" to the destruction of the Dwarfs.[3a]

On both sides, great armies were assembled. The Dwarfs were determined to retake Karak Eight Peaks and avenge its loss, while the greenskins cared for nothing but the elimination of as many Dwarfs as possible.[3a]

The Dark Powers March[]

Alexis lazlo

Alexis Lazlo, the messenger of Emperor Karl Franz met the Phoenix King Finubar to ask his aid once again.[1]

Two months after the fall of Karak Eight Peaks, the high king's army set out to drive the invading Greenskins from the Worlds Edge Mountains. As the Dwarfs marched south along the slopes of the great volcano Karag Dron, the world suddenly grew dim. In the sky above, the sun began to darken, and the landscape was bathed in an eerie, unnatural light the color of deep crimson.[3a]

From atop the tallest spire in Naggarond, Malekith watched Morrslieb eclipse the sun. His spies in the Old World had relayed messages confirming the success of the greenskin attack on the Dwarfs. The Witch King's plans were unfolding precisely as arranged.[3a]

Far to the north, out of sight of the eyes of men, a great black warhost erupted from the tempestuous Chaos Wastes. Swarms of grotesque creatures marched in ranks alongside regiments of warriors and marauders, all led by a Chaos Lord bearing the banner of Tzeentch. In the Empire, terror and panic erupted at the sight of the red eclipse. Riots and fires broke out in every district of Altdorf. The city guard was hard-pressed to contain the situation, but the eclipse soon passed and by nightfall, order was restored. The event was not forgotten, however, and many citizens of the Empire, shaken by what they believed to be an omen of terrible events to come, packed their belongings and departed their homes hoping to find shelter in the mountains to the south and east. A growing sense of doom hung over the people of the Empire, and hope for any respite from the plague was smothered by the fearful sight of the red eclipse.[3a]

For the Dwarf army marching to reclaim the fortress at Karak Eight Peaks, the eclipse seemed to confirm a dread that had been growing within them. The black sun in the crimson sky was a stinging reminder of the loss of Karak Eight Peaks to the Bloody Sun Boyz and seemed to be a symbol of the inevitable victory of the greenskin horde now gathering there. Maybe the last days of the Dwarfs was finally come. Resigned to their doom, the grim-faced warriors trudged across the harsh, mountainous terrain.[3a]

In Altdorf, the emperor received the high king's message and ordered several regiments into the mountains to assist the Dwarfs. Though he sorely needed the troops to secure his borders and combat the spread of anarchy in his realm, Karl Franz was honor-bound to respect the pledge made by Sigmar never to refuse aid to a Dwarf. Just then, an outrider delivered a report from the north -- a great Chaos army was on the march and would reach the Empire's borders within a week.[3a]

Assessing his deployments in Nordland and Ostland, Karl Franz realized that the picture was desperately bleak. The plague had thinned the ranks of his armies, wreaked havoc with supply lines, and decimated the morale and industry of his people. The Empire was ripe for conquest, and would fall quickly without help. The Dwarfs could not possibly send warriors to protect the Empire. If they did not recapture the fortress at Karak Eight Peaks quickly, they might never do so again. Only the High Elves could save his people now.[3a]

Summoning his most trusted Griffon rider, the emperor composed a letter beseeching the ruler of the High Elves for assistance.[3a] Alexis Lazlo, a descendant of Pieter Lazlo, brought like his ancestor a message to Lothern to the Phoenix King Finubar with a request identical to the one of her ancestor, joining Emperor Karl Franz in the impending war.[1]

When the messenger arrived in Lothern, the Phoenix King was already well aware of the Empire's plight and had been making preparations to send troops. Finubar summoned Prince Tyrion, a warrior and general without peer among his people, and charged him with the defense of the High Elf lands. Confident that his realm would be secure, the Phoenix King set sail at the head of a flotilla of Elven warships. From the Straits of Lothern, the vessels passed into the Great Western Ocean carrying hundreds of the most skilled warriors among the High Elves. When word of the Phoenix King's departure reached Malekith's ears, the Witch King gave the order to begin the invasion of Ulthuan.[3a]

In the dead of night, a great fleet of Black Arks set out from Naggaroth. As the floating fortresses approached the shores of Ulthuan, the invasion force split in two, with one half bearing down on the Blighted Isles while the other steered south for the Straits of Lothern. Soon, legions of Dark Elf warriors spilled forth onto the shores of their ancestral homeland.[3a]

In Karak Eight Peaks, a great greenskin Waaagh! was building. In the northern reaches of the Empire, the servants of Tzeentch had already marched deep into Ostland and were laying waste to everything in their path. Prince Tyrion's army raced north to engage the marauding Dark Elves, only to learn that a second invasion force had begun a siege of Lothern.[3a]

Recognizing that the only way to counter the threats arrayed against them would be to combine their strengths, the leaders of the Empire and the nations of the Dwarfs and the High Elves convened a great Council of Wisdom in the Imperial capital of Altdorf. At this summit, the three rulers forged a pact that their peoples would fight as one and strike back at the enemies who would conquer their homelands.[3a]

The Age of Reckoning had begun.[3a]

Sources[]

  • 1: The Shining Guard (Comic) by Graham McNeill/Background-Story
  • 2: The Sword is Forged (Short Story) by Nathan Long
  • 3: www.warhammeronline.com (Archived Website)
Advertisement