Coffee, Code, and Chronicles

While Karl Franz holds the throne in Altdorf, the “Wolf of the North," Graf Boris Todbringer of Middenheim is the undisputed ruler of the “City of the White Wolf," Middenheim, the Duchy of Middenland, and protector of the non-electoral province of Nordland, Boris represents the fierce, Ulrican spirit of the northern Empire: shaggy, grizzled, and perpetually addressing the grievances of the Cult of Ulric regarding the Cult of Sigmar. Boris is recently a widower. With two sons, a bastard, and the eldest, Heinrich, and the younger, a literal drooling idiot, and “the Princess." Boris dotes on his daughter Katarina.  His state functions are strained by his relationship with the Emperor in Altdorf and the Emperor's ties to the Cult of Sigmar. As an adherent of Ulric, though possibly mostly ceremonial, the Graf has taken particularly visible and vocal positions in direct opposition to the Emperor, such as the Emperor's recent declaration: There are no such things as mut...

Lying above the delta of the Howling River in the Border Princes are the Varenka Hills. The Varenka Hills are north of the Dwarf Karak ("Hold") of Barak Varr, an elaborate trading port literally embedded in elaborate and highly secure cave system. The hills have become something of a refuge (depending on the Old World timeline).  In the years leading up to and during the Storm of Chaos c. 2522 IC, many fleeing the invasion from the Chaos Wastes, fled over the Black Mountains through Winter's Teeth Pass or Black Fire Pass. The Varenka Hills were a heaven compared to the Greenskin raiders of the mountain passes, the hordes of horrors in the Hvargir Forest, or still more Greenskin hordes on the tundra between the Khyprian Road and the Old Silk Road. The River Treblecz offers no refuge, only shoals, rapids, and falls. The refugees trade extensively with Barak Varr and the Dwarves are known to provide arms and training for defending and defeating the goblin and orc tribes that...

Untergard. Home of “tax cheats!" Former home of “tax cheats." Untergard, as the Graf Sternhauer knew the settlement on the River Taub, was founded by villagers running from the Graf's “unjust taxation." The settlement grew quickly and soon expanded across the river, building a robust hub of commerce with “fair tolls" to cross the river. Unfortunately, Untergard was besieged in the Storm of Chaos in 2522-23 IC. The bridge made it a strategic prize for the forces of Chaos marching toward Middenheim. Imperial forces were victorious, but it left one half of the town destroyed and the other half in ruins. The surviving residents attempted to rebuild, but soon abandoned what remained to the forest and the roving Beastmen hordes of the Drakwald. Today, Untergard's western ruins on the Taub is home to river pirates, Beastmen, and mutant “communes." The pirates, Beastmen, and mutants have taken to worshiping a “god" in the form of an idol made of wyrdstone...

Flowing out the Grey Mountains on the western edge of the province of Reikland, the River Teufel runs red, literally, through the city of Übersreik and then north where it meet the River Reik at the Castle Reikguard. The color of the river is thought to be the result of the great deposits of iron ore in the mountains, mined by the dwarves at the river's source. It is most commonly thought to be the blood of great dwarven losses in their unceasing battles with the Greenskin hordes that besiege the dwarven holds. Which is superstition and which is fact remains debated. The river's confluence at Castle Reikguard is thought to be the most dangerous part of conducting commerce on the Teufel from Übersreik. It is often braved over the toll of the Grünberg Canal, the banditry on the roads that follow the river through town and village, or the creatures of the Reikland Forest.

The mysterious Schmitterling is the leader of the Red Triangle, a cult of the chaos god Tzeentch. He has only been seen by the Company in the distance and spoken to through his corrupted followers. The Schmitterling makes no secret of his goals. They are in his name: The Butterfly. From cocoon to larve to beauty: change embodied in nature.  Change.  The very change in nature shows the beauty of Tzeentch’s perfect goal for the world.

Of the sanctioned cults in the human realms, Ranald is not widely worshiped. Shrines and places of worship are hidden in dark alleys, snugs of “shrine clubs," and other quiet out of the way places. Priests and Initiates of Ranald are, simply, thieves and trickster. Most are wanderers, many are adventurers, and few still publicly known. The “priest" Pit van Karrs of Übersreik and proprietor of the Bricks Keller is an example. Known to the underground and well connected, his initiates run a wide reaching congregation from the tavern. The most publicly known center of worship is in Marienburg, a charter city-state, separate from the Empire. The temple to Ranald is a grand house of worship, rivaling the greatest temples to Sigmar and Ulric in Altdorf and Middenheim, respectively, with a grand, golden chancel and altar and towering vaulted ceilings. Ranaldans will often say a prayer with their index and second fingers crossed. The symbol is used not just in prayer but to invoke Ra...