Talk:Fyreslayers
Contents
INFODUMP
Origins
To outsiders, perhaps the strangest habit of the Fyreslayers is their practice of pressing metal into their flesh, for each bears runes of gold that are literally hammered red-hot into their bodies. In battle these sigils glow, radiating heat and light as if they were just pulled from the forge. The strongest of their number – with massive crests of hair and thickly corded muscles – are so studded with such runes that they too begin to glow, beards blazing, and cinders drifting from their smouldering skin. In their battle-rage the Fyreslayers go berserk, undaunted by the size or number of their foes and wading into the enemy’s midst with axes swinging, their voices raised to issue war-songs, coarse insults or barely coherent oaths to Grimnir.[17e]
When not caught up in their emotions, Fyreslayers are pragmatic. They care little for politics, and are isolationists with scant empathy for the plight of others. Their concerns centre around fulfilling their own oaths, which usually boils down to acquiring gold by any means. Other races assume that the Fyreslayers are simply greedy, with an insatiable need to stockpile the precious metal. Would-be allies often grow quickly estranged as they witness Fyreslayers fighting alongside them one day and then against them the next. Across the Mortal Realms it is common enough to hear many call the fiery duardin unscrupulous warmongers, disloyal sellswords that are only too ready to fight alongside traitors, monsters or even worshippers of the Dark Gods.[17e]
There is truth in such claims, for Fyreslayers do seek war and eagerly fight as mercenaries. And some of their kind have accepted coin from the most unsavoury of sources. However, the full reasoning behind their actions is known only by the Fyreslayers themselves, for gold and battle are intrinsically connected to their lost deity. The duardin do nothing to halt the dissemination of even the most base accusations of avarice, for others would be less likely to part with their gold if they knew the true power held within its gleaming lustre.[17e]
The fall of Grimnir
Long before the ending of the worldthat-was, Grimnir had sung his death-song. He had ventured alone into the Northlands seeking to close the polar gates that spewed forth Chaos and allowed the minions and warping power of the Dark Gods to pour forth into reality.[17a]
During his journeys, Grimnir’s battles, deeds of valour, and tests of will were beyond count. Lost and bewildered by the insanity of the realm he had been drawn into, Grimnir did not complete his mission. However, such was his fiery determination and indefatigable strength that he was neither slain nor driven mad in the attempt.[17a]
How long Grimnir wandered is unknown, for time has no meaning in the Realm of Chaos. Yet his tale truly begins after the destruction of the world-that-was, at the dawning of the Age of Myth. During that time of legends, the gods first discovered and walked amongst the Mortal Realms. And so it was with Grimnir, who one day awoke in Aqshy and found himself surrounded by his kin. Although weak and wearied from his dreadful journey, Grimnir recognised the duardin that attended him, and he rejoiced to be back in the lands of mortals.[17a]
Despite his long plight, Grimnir sought to serve those who had revived him. He listened to their pleas and acted on them, hunting down and catching the godbeast Ignax, whom he shackled to the Land of the Chained Sun so that all might have light and fire.[17a]
Even as he rested from his task, another evil befell the duardin gods. Exactly what occurred during the event known as the Thagduegi – the Great Betrayal – is unclear, but the duardin pantheon broke apart. In the aftermath of traitorous acts, Grimnir and his brother Grungni were left shackled atop the tallest of the Iron Mountains of Chamon. There, bound in chains, the two might have stayed forever had not Sigmar – mankind’s heavenly god – stumbled upon them.[17a]
When Sigmar loosened their heavy manacles, the duardin gods were freed. Both pledged oaths to repay the favour, but hot-headed Grimnir demanded he be allowed to settle the debt immediately. A rage had built up in Grimnir during his captivity, and he needed to release it before the blazing anger overcame him. It was the duardin god’s desire that Sigmar should name a mighty enemy for him to slay single-handedly, and thereby fulfil his vow.[17a]
Sigmar greatly valued the duardin gods, for they had been steadfast allies in the past. Yet he knew also that to name an unworthy target would do great harm, for Grimnir was riled easily, and prideful over such matters. Acting impulsively, Sigmar named the godbeast that he himself thought would be the most difficult to conquer – a decision he immediately regretted.[17a]
And so it was that the legendary duardin sought out Vulcatrix, Mother of Salamanders, she who first birthed flame into the worlds.[17a]
There are several tales that recount the last thing Grimnir did before setting out. Some say he downed a keg of ale, proclaiming it had to have been brewed by one of the legendary family of Bugman. Others tell of how he bid his brother Grungni to forge him a new axe for the monumental task, while those of the Vostarg lodge claim Grimnir helped choose the site of their original magmahold before embarking on his quest. All versions agree that it was not long before Grimnir strode into the Hills of Aqshy searching for his quarry. Grimnir went alone, but he did not go quietly, booming out his challenge every few strides, and hurling coarse speculations about his opponent’s lineage.[17a]
When at last Grimnir came before Vulcatrix, she uncoiled endlessly like a molten river from between smokebelching peaks. Gleaming blade and burning fang met in showers of sparks, each blazing ember from those mighty strikes outshining the stars themselves as god sought to best monster.[17a]
The Fyreslayers tell that it was Vulcatrix’s spite which claimed Grimnir’s life, for he delivered a mortal blow to his enemy but was felled by her death throes and the poisons that erupted from her rent form. So great was the heat released by the duel’s climax that a cataclysm followed: a fiery blast of noxious gases levelled mountains and created the Plains of Aqshy. The scorching of the lands, however, cleansed them of the foul sulphurous dusts that had once rendered them barren. Elsewhere, the falling embers formed the volcano Vostargi Mont, and dozens more across the realms.[17a]
The nova-like event ignited the magics of Aqshy, and the impossible heat alloyed the divine spirit of Grimnir with the Great Salamander’s blood of liquid metal. God and godbeast were intertwined, and scattered far. Flaming ruin streaked across the skies, blazing like meteors to fall across the realms, while all across Aqshy volcanoes answered the outburst with eruptions like some final tribute.[17a]
Magmaholds
After Grimnir’s destruction, the god’s followers made their home in Aqshy. Here, along the vast volcanic mountain range known as the Salamander’s Spine, the first magmaholds were created. These were similar to karaks, the underground strongholds of other duardin, but there was one essential difference: the Fyreslayers chose exclusively to carve their underground passageways beneath active volcanoes.[17b]
As the Fyreslayers became more familiar with the volatile environments in which they dwelt, they achieved greater and greater feats of engineering and stonecraft. Eventually they learned to channel rivers of magma, using the molten rock to bore new tunnels, or to form defensive barriers through which no foe could pass.[17b]
It has been many ages since outsiders have been allowed to enter a magmahold, for the Fyreslayers have grown ever more gruff and isolationist. In the Age of Myth – before the Fyreslayers were so guarded – some few did pass beyond the gates of such a fastness to describe what they saw there. Dark passages gave way to high arched chambers and many-pillared halls.[17b]
It was said the architecture lacked some of the artisanal flair of the stonework that marked the duardin karaks, yet they were still works far beyond the most skilful human engineers. Even then, however, it was apparent that the Fyreslayers would rather carve foes than rock – such tasks were to be completed, and completed well, but it was not anyone’s life work. There was one area in which magmaholds bested karaks however, and that was in the hoarding of treasure.[17b]
Magmaholds were quickly filled with gold as the scions of Grimnir sought traces of their lost god. Most of the precious metal contained little or none of the divine spirit of Grimnir, and even that which did was soon drained. The by-product of ur-gold is simply gold, a substance that swiftly accumulated within the magmaholds. Thus, even the poorest Fyreslayer cities could boast vast ancestor-statues and rune-etched masks forged from solid gold, as well as columns that stretched out of sight bearing countless gilded braziers, which cast a brilliant gleam upon everything beneath them.[17b]
Doubtless it was the Fyreslayers’ riches – and the many enemies they made due to their mercenary ways – that drew invaders to their holdings. Not all the attacks were raids made in the name of plunder, however, for the Age of Chaos was dawning, and it was swiftly transforming into an era of terror. Wave after wave of assailants attacked civilisations across the Mortal Realms. Corruption, mutation, and plague were rampant.[17b]
One by one the karaks were broken and the duardin driven out of their mountain holds. Enemies were everywhere – skaven and grots tunnelled from below, many tribes of men were corrupted and turned into blood-crazed killers that rampaged across the plains, beastmen stormed out of the forests, and daemon armies scoured the lands. Once driven out of their mountain dwellings, the duardin refugees were little more than prey for creatures such as troggoths, gargants, and other monsters that stalked the lands. It was a time of disaster for the duardin, save only in Aqshy, where the magmaholds of the Fyreslayers held strong.[17b]
Aided by their molten defences, Fyreslayer holds proved tough nuts for the Chaos forces to crack. It was significant also that all the Fyreslayers were followers of Grimnir, that is to say, they were warriors first and foremost. Invasion after invasion was repelled. A few magmaholds were breached and destroyed, but these were the smaller ones. Only when the followers of the Dark Gods turned to subterfuge did they meet with real success. Chaos forces, disguised as refugees from fallen kingdoms, were allowed to enter. Their targets were no longer the impenetrable walls of the magmaholds themselves, but the societies within: the lodges.[17b]
The cost of Defense
During the Age of Chaos, the magmaholds that survived did so by closing their gates. Refugees of broken civilisations, including many duardin from the karaks, sought the safety of the magmaholds, but were met only with silence as they battered upon iron-bound gates. Grim-faced and stoic, the Fyreslayers admitted no one.[17b]
But even though the Fyreslayers closed their gates to those seeking sanctuary, they still marched out to bring war to the forces of Chaos.[17b]
Fyreslayer armies – known as fyrds – emerged from secret tunnels at will. Far from the magmaholds, new passages opened up, filling once more with lava in the wake of those who traversed them. These armies marched out into the Chaos-ridden lands and sold their axes to the highest bidders. Desperate tribes or besieged cities paid exorbitant prices in gold to the Fyreslayers. The violence of the times meant there was always a need for their services.[17b]
During this time of horror and strife, the Fyreslayers multiplied and prospered. Secure in their volcanic homes and growing ever wealthier, the burgeoning populations within the magmaholds led to many splinter groups striking out in hopes of establishing their own domains. So did the Fyreslayers spread all across Aqshy, where they found the richest deposits of ur-gold and Magmadroth eggs. They followed ur-gold trails, mercenary contracts and tales of fortune into other lands until they had established magmaholds in every realm.[17b]
Where possible they gravitated towards volcanic regions, but at need they tunnelled into living mountains in Ghur, established bases amongst the sky-islands of Chamon, and hollowed out cairn peaks in Shyish. All continued to amass gold, largely through payment for their employment as mercenaries, but occasionally by seizing it from foes, or even by mining.[17b]
Unbeknownst to the Fyreslayers, however, they were not as immune to the designs of Chaos worshippers as they thought. Agents of Tzeentch, the Great Conspirator, were quick to whisper to the survivors of fallen kingdoms, reminding them not to forget who refused to open their gates to them in their darkest hour. Tales of the Fyreslayers’ mercenary ways were often stretched, and even those who successfully hired them were bewitched into believing themselves ill-used by greedy duardin.[17b]
The Plague God Nurgle invented a new pox, one that clung to a single substance: gold. If touched, infected metal drove mortals to distraction, so much so that they would kill one another to possess it. All races that coveted gold were susceptible to the disease, and its grip on Fyreslayers, who already suffered from the glimmerlust, proved especially deadly. Several previously impregnable magmaholds were torn apart internally as the lodges that dwelt within became corrupted.[17b]
Born of Flame
Also known as the Bright Realm and the Realm of Fire, Aqshy is made up of dozens of different continents. Once, these were all accessible to one another, connected by bodies of water, but they have since been fractured. Some lands were blasted apart by the battle of Grimnir and Vulcatrix, and even more were broken up by the ruinous energies released during the Age of Chaos. Now it is nearly impossible to reach the different landmasses without the use of Realmgates. Despite the size of the realm and its multitude of dangers, the fyrds of the Fyreslayers have scoured every corner of its lands searching for traces of ur-gold.[17c]
The Fyreslayers originally hail from Aqshy, and have since spread to all the realms. It is still in the Realm of Fire, however, where their flames burn brightest. Even after long ages, more Fyreslayer lodges can be found in Aqshy than any other realm. The reason for this is simple: there are more ur-gold deposits and Magmadroth eggs to be found in the Realm of Fire than anywhere else.[17c]
The earliest Fyreslayer settlements were founded along the vast mountain range known as the Salamander’s Spine. Accounts of how many holds were established there differ; however, the volatile nature of the region’s volcanoes has changed much of its landscape, meaning there is no way to verify any such claim. All of the forefathers of the current lodges came from this region, and it was the forges of these holds that roared to life with the supernatural flames of the Zharrkhul, the firestorm that raged over the skies of Aqshy after Grimnir met his doom.[17c]
Once the epicentre of Fyreslayer culture, the Salamander’s Spine is now a desolate place. Most of the original magmaholds have been destroyed, and the few that remain have been ransacked many times. In spite of this historic decline, it is common for the lands and empires of Aqshy to remake themselves, starting anew after being swept clear by fire. So it proved for the Fyreslayers, although their legends tell many tales of the Salamander’s Spine and the lodges that began it all.[17c]
VOSFORGE The original Vostarg lodge lived in Vosforge, largest of the magmaholds carved into the Salamander’s Spine. More lodges have sprung from that one mighty bloodline than any other of the first-forged. Hundreds of current lodges can trace their heritage directly back to those who came from that vast fortress. Today, the lodge that still bears the Vostarg name has made its home in Furios Peak, the largest volcano in the Cynder Peaks mountain range. The magmahold was founded by Urgom-Grimnir, the first to climb the Thousand Stairs and lay pick to stone where it now stands.[17c]
THE HARRWORLD Of the place of the Greyfyrd’s origins, the Harrworld, nothing is ever said. The mountain that stood over the halls of the first of their line, the Greygrend, has been levelled. Nearly all lodges that have suffered disproportionately from the glimmerlust can trace their roots to the Greygrend, but these duardin do not speak of their troubled heritage.[17c]
The Greyfyrd still maintain holds in Aqshy, including Asharak in the Bright Mountains and the Emberhalls in the Caustic Peaks, near the city of Hammerhal Aqsha. Their fastness on the Scarred Isle, however, was destroyed by Archaon during the Realmgate Wars. All of these locations are connected by the firepaths, portals that lead back to the Greyfyrd’s capital, the Gateswold in Chamon.[17c]
KARADRUM While natural disasters and civil strife claimed some of the firstforged, it was the armies of Chaos that destroyed the Grymdar. Their hold of Karadrum was taken and the lodge’s Runefather slain. The refugees that escaped chose a new leader, and became the Hermdar lodge. Taking vows of vengeance, they stormed back to reclaim what had been their hold, freeing the captives therein from a terrible fate. Yet the mountainside had been riven beyond repair by the ferocity of the fighting, and so the remaining Zharrgrim priests caused the volcano to erupt, burying the underhalls in waves of lava.[17c]
The Hermdar have remained in Aqshy ever since, establishing a new magmahold, the Grymhold, beneath the highest mountain in the Adamantine Chain. From there they continue to sell their martial services, most especially to the human tribes of the Flamescar Plateau.[17c]
DRAKENHAL The first-forged known as the Drakendreng lodge were famous for their monster-slaying skills. Emulating Grimnir, they hunted the largest and most ferocious beasts they could find, and lined the gates of their magmahold, Drakenhal, with their quarry’s skulls. Perhaps it was this, or the rumoured size of their fabled treasure hoard, that drew Nagwroth the fyre serpent. Offspring of the titanic godbeast Nagendra, Nagwroth coiled around the mountain, and the ensuing battle destroyed Drakenhal.[17c]
During that great catastrophe, the Drakendreng’s ruling dynasty was severed, and the survivors founded the Lofnir lodge. They left the ruins of their old home and pursued the wounded Nagwroth all the way to Ghur. There they established a new magmahold, Rufhal, within the domed volcano of Crownpeak. Since then, they have sought to fulfil the oaths of vengeance that their ancestors swore against Nagwroth.[17c]
OTHER LOCATIONS The Cynder Peaks mountain range is perhaps the most volcanically active in Aqshy. Its constant eruptions bring up and spit out much that has long been buried deep. Many lodges watch where these fireballs land, for they leave craters rich in ur-gold, as well as shiny clusters of Magmadroth eggs. As the largest of the lodges, the Vostarg have claimed this lucrative region as their own.[17c]
History
Age of Myth
The Fyreslayers began as the followers of Grimnir during his life in the Age of Myth. After his mutual destruction with Vulcatrix, those followers, now the Fyreslayers, became possessed with gathering the material known as Ur-Gold in order to use its power and release it in battle.[17a]
The Fyreslayers first settled in Aqshy, in the Salamander's Spine mountain range creating the first Magmaholds. These holds, built only into active volcanoes, were soon filled with gold. These became the first Fyreslayer Lodges, known as the First-Forged.[17b]
Whether through ill fortune, failed bloodlines, civil strife, or sheet belligerence, the First-Forged lodges break apart. Only Vostarg live on to the next generation of lodges.[17d]
Age of Chaos
The threats of Chaos during this age cause the Fyreslayers to shut the gates to their magmaholds, locking out refugees from broken Karaks. Meanwhile Chaos lays siege to all the major magmaholds and many of the smaller ones as well with the Skaven being the most effective against them. After a century of war though the Fyreslayers have weathered all the Dark Gods could throw at them.[17d]
Two great migrations of Fyreslayers happen during the Age of Chaos. The Time of Flames begins after a period of cataclysmic volcanic eruptions shakes Aqshy, bringing tons of Ur-Gold to the surface with many new lodges born in the following gold-harvest. The second begins towards the end of the Age of Chaos new veins of Ur-Gold are discovered in Ghyran, Shyish, and Ghur. Hundreds of Runesons set off to found new lodges swelling armies as the new lodges make themselves known.[17d]
Age of Sigmar
When the Tangrim Lodge is paid in coin from Azyr containing ur-gold word quickly spreads to all lodges and for the first time lodges migrate to Azyr seeking ur-gold.[17d]
During the Soul Wars, all Fyreslayer cities are assailed by the dead. Magmaholds fall at a rate unheard of in the Fyreslayers' history. All the lodges in Shyish suffer losses with several destroyed and others abandoned. While the magmic powers of the Zharrgrim Priesthood are enhanced by the increase in magical energies.[17d]
As the Bad Moon rises more often, dozens of magmaholds are assaulted and several smaller lodges are overrun.[17d]
The soul wars
The Fyreslayers weathered the Age of Chaos, defending their magmaholds and expanding during an era of terror and war. The Age of Sigmar began with promise, as the dominion of Chaos was lifted from many lands and growing civilisations offered new opportunities to earn ur-gold, yet trouble was brewing in Shyish[17h]
When Sigmar re-opened the Heavens and unleashed his Stormcast Eternals upon the Mortal Realms, he began a new era. The battles of the Realmgate Wars aided the Fyreslayers. They relieved some of the building pressure that the armies of the Dark Gods were exerting, for during the long Age of Chaos the Fyreslayers had been the only force of Order to stand firm against them. Now, with new enemies to contend with, many of the Chaos armies were drawn off to fight elsewhere. Sieges that had lasted decades were abandoned or weakened, allowing duardin counter-attacks to finally drive them off.[17h]
This new epoch was filled with battles, for many factions that had long remained hidden emerged to strike a blow against their Chaos oppressors. The mercenary services of the Fyreslayers were in great demand, and no few lodges were forced to expand their treasure vaults. The coveted ur-gold was not merely stockpiled, however, as the constant wars allowed the Fyreslayers to release its pent-up power at rates never before seen. It was a time of great prosperity.[17h]
As Sigmar’s alliance reclaimed lands, cities and civilisations began to be raised once more. Although the Fyreslayers did not aid in any building, they did help in their own way, for there were orruks to scour, ogor tribes to hunt down, and beastmen to beat back into the wilds.[17h]
Over time, several Fyreslayer lodges established close ties with the new cities of Order. It was not unusual in larger settlements to see fyrds of Fyreslayers marching in and out to collect their fees. Some lodges – such as Bulder and Hermdar – developed closer ties, and the Tangrim lodge even built a forge-temple within the city of Azyrheim. Across the Mortal Realms many Runesons struck out to found new lodges, and some of these grew rich hiring out their services to the burgeoning cities. And then the winds shifted, and a time of dread omens and malign portents began.[17h]
Portents of Doom
Fell shadows lengthened across the Mortal Realms, and dark omens were everywhere for those that could see them. For a long time this did not include the Fyreslayers, who went about their mercenary business as usual, showing a combination of duardin practicality and gruff disdain for any form of soothsaying. Yet soon, when the sun disappeared for days on end during dark solstices, even the surliest of Fyreslayers began to feel the unnatural chill that was creeping over every realm.[17h]
Gazing from hollow eye sockets, Nagash, Supreme Lord of the Undead and self-proclaimed ruler of Shyish, could still see much. It was Nagash’s unwavering belief that the souls of all mortal creatures should pass to him upon their death, for he was the ruler of the underworlds. He gazed upon the Mortal Realms and saw many races that withheld his due: the Sylvaneth sought to recycle the souls of their fallen, while the recently discovered Idoneth Deepkin were actually stealing souls for their own mysterious uses. Worst of all, Sigmar, who still sought Nagash as an ally in the great war against Chaos, was plucking the brightest souls of mankind to forge his Stormcast Eternals.[17h]
Enraged, Nagash forswore all others, denouncing even former allies as thieves and betrayers, and therefore enemies. Enacting a plan long in the making, the god attempted to drown all life in a flood of necromantic magic. It was this dire event that triggered the many omens of doom that were witnessed across the Mortal Realms. While the Great Necromancer’s ultimate goal was foiled, he did succeed in unleashing a tidal wave of death magic that raged unchecked across the realms. Thus began the Soul Wars.[17h]
The Necroquake
Nagash’s ritual triggered a great evil, a sorcerous blast known as the Shyish necroquake, for its epicentre was in the Realm of Death. Across the realms the dead awoke, all lands were faced with invasions by spectral hosts – phantasmal horrors that sought revenge against the living – and fell magics flowed unbound throughout the realms.[17h]
For the Fyreslayers the attacks were a shock. Lodges from all the Mortal Realms came under sudden and intense assault. Magmaholds that had held out against innumerable foes during the Age of Chaos now found their defences availed them little against spirit-armies that could materialise within their mountain strongholds, bypassing hundreds of feet of solid rock. Phantom hosts simply floated over rivers of magma that had once held back Chaos hordes.[17h]
In Aqshy, the Vardhraz lodge fell in a single day to a surging undead horde – there were no survivors. The magmahold of Brynbak was breached for the first time in its long history. Its stout defenders managed to stave off defeat and destroy the invaders, though only through emptying their treasure vaults in order to craft enough runes for their armies. The lodge’s Vulkite Berzerkers were so overloaded with ur-gold that those who survived the hammering-in process became unstoppable killing machines, cleaving great swathes through the spectral hordes. Yet it was a victory at great cost, for many of the duardin warriors that survived the battle expired shortly after. Their hearts had burst, for even robust Fyreslayer frames are rarely able to withstand so much divine power.[17h]
While magmaholds in all the realms were assailed, the lodges of Shyish bore the brunt of the necromantic storm. Half a dozen holds were wiped away by the Nighthaunt spearheads, and an equal number had their bloodlines severed. Some suffered a slain Runefather, while others lost their entire royal family. The Bharnak lodge lost all members of their ruling dynasty except for a single Runeson, making the matter of succession easy. Others were not so fortunate. After their patriarch fell beneath a surging tide of Chainrasps, the last remaining Runeson of the Durnhok lodge was so overcome with grief he immediately vowed to become a Doomseeker. Ever faithful, the entire lodge took a similar oath and became grimnyn, destined also to wander the realms as slayers without hearth or home.[17h]
Evil Tidings
The waves of undead were not the only effect of the necroquake. Just as those who were slain continued to fight, so too did many sorcerous conjurations linger long after they should have expired. Mages across the realms found the potency and longevity of their spells greatly increased.[17h]
Buffeted by fell winds, many magmaholds in Shyish witnessed the eternal flame of their forgetemple guttering like a candle in a hurricane. Several – including those of the Ulrung and Zhuffnok lodges – were snuffed out altogether.[17h]
With nothing but cooling embers where flames should be, the warriors of the Zhuffnok lodge underwent the ritual of grimnyn. Their deathsongs sung, they marked their faces with white skull-masks and marched out to find either hope or a glorious ending. Although the fires had gone out within their own forges, those of the Ulrung lodge did not give up hope, for the flames in their fyresteel axes still burned bright. With the runic protections of their magmahold – the Ulfort – lost, the lodge was forced to fight their way out of their own halls to escape the spectral hordes assailing them. Cast out into the gloom of the underworlds, the Ulrung began an epic journey to escape Shyish.[17h]
There were more grim tidings. Since its discovery by the Fyreslayers, members of other races had failed to recognise ur-gold for what it truly was, save only the white-furred sorcerers of the skaven. Yet now, some of the undead forces were being drawn to large ur-gold deposits and attempting to plunder them. Where the worst of the eldritch storm thrown up by the necroquake struck, the powerful Shyishan magic had started to leech some of the ur-gold’s power.[17h]
It was as if Nagash himself were stretching out his cold, bony fingers to pluck at the Fyreslayers’ most coveted possession. The only cure to stave off the slow siphoning of Grimnir’s spirit was to ignite the runes in the heat of battle. And there was yet another ill omen: the Bad Moon, casting its malevolent and sickly light, was on the rise.[17h]
FYRESLAYERS SUB-FACTIONS INFO DUMP
VOSTARG
The Vostarg are the only Fyreslayer lodge that still carry the name of one of the first-forged lodges, who breathed the same scorched air as Grimnir himself. Heavy with pride in their legacy and traditions, the Vostarg strive with unmatched aggression to not only equal the deeds of their storied ancestors, but to surpass them.[17i]
Beneath the smouldering volcanoes of the Cynder Peaks, the hammers of the Vostarg lodge ring ceaselessly upon their anvils like the drums of war. Amongst the oldest of the Aqshy Fyreslayer lodges, the Vostarg can trace their lineage back to the legendary Vosforge. From their sprawling magmahold of Furios Peak, the might of the Vostarg casts a blazing glow across the lands. Their reputation as brutal mercenaries and fearsome warriors stretches far beyond the borders of their domain.[17i]
The Vosforge was the largest of the first-forged magmaholds and the last of the original holds to fall. It held out against enemy sieges during the Age of Chaos, fighting off countless armies of the Dark Gods. Each time the foe stormed the gates the duardin hurled them back, bloody and broken onto the scorched plains. But always the enemy returned.[17i]
In the end the Vosforge was undone by avarice and discord rather than by the foe. Its last Runefather, Thorgar-Grimnir, broke a Chaos assault by slaying the Bloodthirster commander, but he soon fell of his own wounds. Thorgar left behind a dozen Runesons but no chosen successor. Leaderless, the foe had retreated, leaving the magmahold unassailed. Yet the lodge had no peace.[17i]
Each Runeson was convinced that he alone deserved the inheritance. With civil war about to erupt and the Chaos forces beyond their gates forming for another assault, the Runemaster divided the lodge’s ur-gold among the Runesons, lest infighting bring destruction to them all. He bade them each to gather followers and go their separate ways. So it was that Vostarg were broken and scattered across the realms like Grimnir himself. The emptied Vosforge was sacked many times and became an abode of evil things. Only one Runeson, Zhafor, took up the mantle of Vostarg, and his descendants still drink to his honour at every Ghuzfest.[17i]
The Vostarg are now the largest of the Fyreslayer lodges. Aggressive attack has always been their hallmark, and their legacy of bold triumphs is second to none. Down the long ages they have been led to greatness by a long line of successful, and prolific, Runefathers. Indeed, the Vostarg are sometimes referred to as the All-fathers, for they have produced more Runesons that have marched out to found their own kingdoms than any other lodge. Their current leader, Bael-Grimnir, has consummately maintained this tradition, for he has sat on the rubyred Fyrethrone for centuries and has fathered at least fifty sons.[17i]
It is not in the begetting of sons alone that Bael-Grimnir has carved out his legend. Over his long and battle-filled career, the Runefather’s war-ventures have brought in mountains of ur-gold. According to the meticulous records recited by the Battlesmiths, he trails only his fabled ancestor Thorgar-Grimnir in the acquisition of the Fyreslayers’ most precious substance. Such a holy tribute to the duardin god of battle commands great respect from the other lodges, even those not related to the long line of Vostarg.[17i]
GREYFYRD
Grim, fierce and for hire, the battle-hardened warriors of the Greyfyrd lodge are notorious mercenaries that never say no to a mission, so long as their fee in gold is met. Amongst their number stride legends, for Greyfyrd produces heroes the way active volcanoes produce smoke: frequently and in impressive volume.[17i]
The Greyfyrd are bold crusaders. Their warriors can be found across all the Mortal Realms, for their main stronghold, the great Gateswold in Chamon, contains many Realmgates. At any one time there might be a score of Greyfyrd armies out campaigning across the realms.[17i]
With a reputation spread far and wide, the warriors of Greyfyrd are much sought after as mercenaries. They have changed the fates of many who have hired them, including the Ninefold Kingdoms of Obsidia, the Gloomtribes of Shyish and the Neolantic Bloodlands. Their cost in gold is high, but for those willing to meet their demands there are no questions. Over the centuries the Greyfyrd have fought for, alongside and against nearly every major faction of the realms.[17i]
Most other lodges have a number of caveats, qualms or stipulations regarding the acceptance of certain mercenary jobs. The Greyfyrd, however, have only one: that their price be met. In this manner they have served countless paymasters, joining wars just and unjust alike. In the end, it is all the same to those of Greyfyrd, for they care not for sides or for causes save their own.[17i]
Those of Greyfyrd no longer mine, and only the Zharrgrim priesthood and those who would be Battlesmiths still work the forges. It is war they want, and it is a profession much in demand. Such non-stop battling ensures every Greyfyrd army is full of grizzled veterans. Many from Greyfyrd are marked by their lives of combat, their skin and muscles thick with battle scars, while others have lost an eye, or have missing hands replaced with blades. Since the Age of Myth countless fyrds have marched in and out of the Gateswold, either heading out to war or returning home from one. It is foretold by the lodge’s priests that only when Grimnir returns will the Greyfyrd have rest and cease their realm-spanning campaigns.[17i]
The Battlesmiths of Greyfyrd do not speak of their lodge’s troubled heritage, the dark secrets of their founders or the dubious deeds of their kin. Instead, they spend weeks recounting the sagas of each Runefather since the infamous Hurdar-Grimnir. It was he who held firm against the skaven tides from the Verminvaults, and bested a Bloodthirster single-handedly. The chanting of the deeds of Grimwrath Berzerker Asgeran, first of his kind, takes longer still. And so it goes for every era, with epic tales of lodgelords, priests and even warriors that rose from the ranks to heroically keep oaths, slay foes and collect gold. Not all of Greyfyrd’s paragons are in the distant past.[17i]
The current Runefather of the Greyfyrd is Hursgar-Grimnir, a great warrior who claims to have slain every kind of creature that walks, slithers or flies. A dozen of his Runesons too have made their mark, having garnered enough fame in battle to qualify them to lead their own lodge. Yet even amongst that roll call of heroes one stands out: Grimwrath Berzerker Braegrom, Blessed of Grimnir. A terror of the battlefield, Braegrom carves a path of red ruin through anything he faces.[17i]
HERMDAR
The Hermdar are descended from the Grymdar, one of the first-forged lodges, whose hold of Karadrum was captured early in the Age of Chaos. With their royal family slain, the remnants elected the greatest Karl amongst them as Runefather. Taking the name Hermdar-Grimnir, he led them in an oath to retake their lost kingdom, slaying every one of the skaven and Chaos enslavers that had despoiled it. The Runefather commanded the old hold to be sealed with magma, and founded the Hermdar lodge beneath the mountain range known as the Adamantine Chain. It was from the fires at the heart of those peaks that they unlocked the secret of blending fyresteel so that it never lost the heat of its first forging.[17i]
The Hermdar have become well known in Aqshy. Oath-takers and skull-breakers, the lodge played a vital role in preserving the freedom of the region’s peoples during the Age of Chaos. They take what gold they can, but are known to fight tyranny even without pay.[17i]
LOFNIR
The Lofnir boast vaults filled with Magmadroth eggs. They rear more of the beasts than any other lodge, and their bond with the creatures is stronger. Perhaps this is because the Lofnir venerate Vulcatrix alongside Grimnir, seeing in the godbeast the same fiery temperament as that of the duardin battle-god. The lodge is also famous for the skill of their Zharrgrim priests, who show a particular aptitude for magmic summonations.[17i]
The Lofnir’s warriors are easily identified by their soot-stained hands and feet, markings that are gradually made permanent over the course of battles by ritual tattoos. This distinctive appearance has its roots in a rite of passage, as would-be warriors must traverse a bridge of red-hot fyresteel whilst carrying a Magmadroth egg. It is also said to harken back to Grimnir’s fight with Vulcatrix, during which – according to the Battlesmiths – the god himself started to burn from the intense heat radiating the molten hide of the Mother of Salamanders.[17i]
Sources
- 17i: pg 16-18
