The Book Of Days

The Book Of Days
By Finreir of Saphery, translated and compiled from the original Eltharian manuscript by Thanis Ianakussis.

The origins of the Warhammer World are shrouded in mystery and legend. Much knowledge of the ancient times has been lost in natural disasters, lost in the mists of time or destroyed in the many raging wars. Nevertheless, from ancient scrolls and manuscripts, and from glyph plaques unearthed from the ruins of once might Lustria, a patient historian can piece together the puzzle of antiquity, uncover the ebb and flow of events, learn of the struggles and triumphs, the joys and and the sorrows of the World and its inhabitants. The High Elves of Ulthuan are the most knowledgeable race on the sujbect of the history of the World. Their great ships have sailed every inch of the Great Oceans, plying the seas from the shores of tropical Lustria, Naggaroth - The Land Of EverWinter, to the distant Eastern Lands of Cathay and Argloria. Finreir the Mage Lord was possibly the greatest Elf scholar of his age, and the text below is based on his works, which are the most comprehensive and exhaustive study thus far attempted by any scribe.

The Dawn of Time

In the beginning, the Warhammer World was almost devoid of life. Cold, vast and empty, with great barren wastelands, hard ground and merciless winter. The ancestors of the Humans, Elves and Dwarfs roamed the eqatorial regions, knowing nothing of neither speech nor civilisation. Then they were visited by a race of travellers from beyond the stars. In their marvellous silver ships came the Old Ones*. They were an ancient and unfathomable race, powerful beyond imagining. The Old Ones held the ultimate knowledge of astrophysics, magic, philosophy, language and arcane power. They travelled from distant stars by means of an inter-dimensional gateway which they created above the Worlds North Pole, supposedly attracted by the strong magnetic field there.

It was the Old Ones who gave the gifts of speech and logic to the ancestors of the Elves and Dwarfs, for their own mysterious reasons. It was then which the 'life' of the Warhammer World truly began; the primitive races learned to take advantage of the elements, cultivate fertile ground, to herd animals, and begin writing their own history. It was from these humble beginings that the Great Silver Towers of Saphery and Calanth, and the Iron Fortresses of Zhufbar and Karaz-a-Karak were built; as was the Empire, Brettonia, Tilea, Estalia and Cypria.

The Fall

No-one, not even the wise Mage Lords of Ulthuan, knows what became of the Old Ones, but millenia before the current time a terrible disaster destroyed their Order. The Gateway of the Old Ones, their portal to the Realm of Chaos and the source of their power, collapsed into the north pole, and created a seething badlands, an open door to the darker dimensions; an invitation for Chaos.

Only fools would claim to understand Chaos, for by definition Chaos is incomprehensible and inhuman. In the howling maelstorm of the Realm of Chaos exist interdimensional creatures of cosmic power. The mages of Ulthuan suggest that these Daemons that emerged from the Gateway challenged, and subsequently destroyed the Old Ones. The only remnants that survived the fall of the culture were the slaves and servants that the Old Ones had brought with them from beyond the stars. Amongst these were the Slann, organisers and architects, the scientist-sorcerers. These were the chief assistants of the Old Ones. Others included the reptillian Saurus Warriors, the worker Skinks, and the gigantic Kroxigor, the beasts of burden, all collectively known as 'Lizardmen'. The Slann preserved the legacy of the Old Ones, following their Great Plan as best they could. No-one knows what this Great Plan involves, but answers can be found in Lustria, where the Lizardmen reside today, and keep the dreamlike memory of the Old Ones alive within their temples and writings. However, the Great Plan is their most heavily-guarded secret, and one which they would rather destroy than reveal to lesser races.

The collapse of the Old Ones' gate covered the world with a shower of mutating warpstone; fragments of the Gateway's structure. This mutated and deformed contemporary lifeforms, bringinf forth Beastmen, Dragon Ogres, Trolls, Harpies, and Ogres. The Elves, Dwarfs and primitive Humans (who had not received the Old Ones' attentions) were left to their own devices, fending off the unspeakable followers of Chaos as best they could. It seemed that the World was doomed to become one with the Realm of Chaos; a corrupted and maddening wasteland, enduring the torments of Daemons for all eternity.

However, among the Dwarfs and Elves were great heroes, individuals who would turn the tide of Chaos. From the Elves rose Aenarion, the first and greatest Phoenix King, who wielded with the sword of Khaela Mensha Kaine, the Elven god of war. He was aided in his struggle by Caledor Dragontamer, the greatest of all Elf Mages. The Dwarfs were led by their Ancestor Gods, Grungni the Father Of Forges, Grimnir The Brave, Lord Of Battle, and Valaya - The Protectress of the Dwarfs. During these legendary ages that are only remembered in legend and song, these heroes and their armies fought against Chaos, and finally overcame them, by creating a great Vortex to drain the destructive Chaos magic from the World. They brought salvation to the free peoples, and the black talons of Chaos drew back to the dark corners of the world.

The Golden Age

With Chaos temporarily defeated, the World was left to the Dwarfs and the Elves. Together these two great raves colonised the World. The seafaring Elves explored uncharted lands. Trade flourished between the two kingdoms, which became peaceful, and prosperous, and very rich. Both Elves and Dwarfs founded great cities, and built many wonderous structures. Their numbers multiplied, the arts blossomed, and for a brief moment, the World was in perfect harmony. This Golden Age, however, was doomed to end in bitter war.

The Sundering

In the Elven Kingdoms, a great tragedy splintered the peoples' unity. Malekith the Accursed, son of Aenarion, had long lusted for the throne of Ulthuan. He had secretly turned to the worship of Chaos, and many Elves followed him in his fall. In one fell swoop, he murdered his brother-rivals, the Elven Princes, the Children of Aenarion. Those Elves loyal to their inheritance chose Caledor the Conqueror, cousin of Aenarion, as their new king, and war was imminent between the two factions. The conflict was bitter and closely-fought, but eventually Caledor emerged victorious, and Malekith was driven from Ulthuan.

He and his surviving followers retreated into resentful exile in the northern part of the New World. Here, on the bleak and unwelcoming shores, they founded a new kingdom, and named it Naggaroth - The Land of Chill. They waged constant war against their uncorrupted kin, and do so to this day. Now they are the Dark Elves, the most evil of Races. They are still ruled by the Ancient King Malekith, kept alive by dark sorcery, the sacrifice of innocents, and the power imbued by the Chaos Gods.

The War of the Beard

In the Old World, relations between the Dwarfs and High Elves were leading to friction, which would eventually turn to outright war. Some say that the Dark Elves played some part in this, while others insist that the Dwarfs and Elves were simply too different to peacefully co-exist. Whatever the real reason, both sides began mustering for war. The war was terrible, many great heroes on either side fell, and the blood ran red with the blood of both the opposing forces. Eventually the Dwarfs triumphed, for the Elves recalled their armies to resist the resurgent Dark Elves, sacrificing their holdings in the Old World so that Ulthuan would not fall. Some Elves didn't return the Ulthuan; instead these withdrew to the shelter of the trackless forests of Loren. These were the forefathers of the Wood Elves, the last keepers of Elf heritage in the Old World.

It was indeed a sad tale, how two noble, and mighty races fought each other for an entire age and almost completely exhausted their military might. The conflict was named The War Of The Beard, because the Elves cut the beard from a Dwarf ambassador; the worst insult possible. The war left permanent and bitter scars between the two Races, and their relations will be eternally marred because of it.

Albeit triumphant, the Dwarf armies were depleted considerably, and when a series of volcanic eruptions and mighty earthquakes in the Worlds Edge Mountains shattered their subterranean highways and mines, many of their Strongholds were left in ruin. Their power was broken, and they were attacked on all sides by Orcs, Goblins and the insidious Chaos Ratmen called Skaven. The Everlasting Dwarf Kingdom was destroyed, its treasures scattered, and all but a few Strongholds razed to the ground. Its glory is only remembered in the verses of Dwarf minstrels.

The Legacy of Nagash

South of the Old World lies a land of which few speak. In the Book Of The Dead, written by mad Abdum Ben Raschid, the history of this land is recorded. It was well over four thousand years ago that the first true human civilisation rose here on the banks of the Great River. Its people built cities, ships and roads, and were ruled over by Priest Kings. A noble amongst them, named Nagash, brother of the reigning Priest King of Khemri, started to study the dark arts, and in time unlocked the secret of immortality. This laid the foundations of the unholy arts which Men would later call Necromancy. Nagash seized the throne of Khemri in a bloody coup, and delved ever deeper into the forbidden lore.

The other Priest-Kings, wary of Nagash's evil power and his sinister motives, formed and alliance and fought a long and bitter war against him. Eventually, after many a battle, Nagash was defeated, and fled to Cripple Peak, where for long years he brooded, and plotted his revenge. He gathered his forces, bade his time, and finally attacked the kingdom of the Great River. A great plague had conviniently weakened the defence of the kingdom, and no inhabitants were left alive. Ever after, the land would be known as the Kingdom of the Dead, where only the Undead stalk, animated by the dark magic of Nagash. From here the curse of Undeath spread over the world like a black smog, consuming all in its path. From then on the dead have never rested easy in their graves.

The Rise of Man

When the Elves left their glittering towers and cities in the Old World, the land was left to the Orcs, Goblins and the ancestors of the Humans, who fought each other bitterly, every square inch of land being paid for in blood. In the Dwarfs, the early Humans found a staunch ally, and learnt how to forge weapons and fashion armour. They fought the enemies of the Old World together, and forged a strong bond of friendship. Amongst the human tribes a great leader of Men would emerge, his birth heralded by the falling of a twin tailed comet. He was Sigmar, later known as Heldenhammer, the saviour of mankind.

When still in his youth, Sigmar rescued the Dwarf King Kurgan Ironbeard from the Orcs, and was presented with a great warhammer Ghal Maraz -the Skull Splitter, for his efforts. When Sigmar rose to leader of the Unberogen tribe, he was able to unite the scattered humans. Time Of Sigmar Sigmar led his tribes against the Orcs and Goblins, and with the help of his Dwarf allies, he utterly crushed them at the Battle of Black Fire Pass.

Under the banners of the twelve human tribes, Sigmar was crowned Emperor. His captains, the tribal chiefs, were each given a province in the land between the Worlds Edge Mountains and the Grey Mountains. In time, the descendants of these chiefs would become the Elector Counts of the Empire, and from the ranks of which future Emperors would be chosen. The Emperor Sigmar busied himself in strengthening his domain, fighting many wars against his enemies. Under his banner, the Empire was born, the most powerful human nation in the Old World.

For fifty years, he ruled wisely. But then Sigmar decided to leave the fledgling Empire to his heirs. He rode towards the east, and into the realms of legend. Where or how he died, no-one knows, but in time the Men of the Empire came to venerate him as their patron god.

Gilles Le Breton

In the fertiles lands between the Grey Mountains and the Great Ocean, the Human tribes fought the Orcs for supremacy. Finally, some thousand years after Sigmar, Gilles of the Brettoni tribe drove out the greenskins, and created the kingdom of Brettonia. His power was based on a core of armoured horsemen called Knights, who followed the iron principles of their goddess, the Lady of the Lake. Thus were laid the foundations for the Code of Chivalry. Since those times, the valiant Knights of Brettonia have pledged themselves to the service of the Lady Of The Lake, and sought to uphold the knightly virtues and their honour, in her name.

The Struggles of Humanity

The Human kingdoms grew in power, and were developed and advanced rapidly during the following millenia, but they were always beleaguered by their enemies. Eleven hundred years after Sigmar, the Black Plague, the deadliest of diseases, wiped out the greater part of the Empire's population. In its wake, the Skaven emerged from their tunnels below, and for a while it seemed that the Empire was doomed. Count Mandred Skavenslayer however, rallied the Elector Counts under his banner, and eventually drove the Skaven back below ground.

The ambitious and fanatical Arabians too, sought to take the Empire. The Sultan Jaffar invaded Estalia, with a view to take all before them, but were met by a strong force of Imperial and Brettonian Knights. The Arabians were defeated and driven back to their land. The final battle was held in Araby itself, at El Haik, were Jaffar himself was slain.

Just over three hundred years ago, the terrible threat of the Vampire Counts of Sylvania brought the Empire to the brink of destruction once more. The restless dead fought a divided Empire, and only the heroic effots of individual Elector Counts, with their Dwarf and Elven allies saw the destruction of the Vampires. The last and most dangerous of these, Mannfred Von Carstein, was defeated in the cataclysmic battle of Hel Fenn. The Undead hordes were defeated, the Count's body was never found, and it is claimed that he is still alive, plotting the downfall of the Empire from his secret hideaway in Sylvania.

The Great War against Chaos

Just over a hundred years before this time, the fickle Gods of Chaos set aside their own petty rivalries, and united to overthrow the free races of the Warhammer World once and for all. Few men are willing to even whisper the names of the Chaos Gods, but those who know the forbidden lore can name Khorne - The Blood God, Patron of Rage and Destruction, Tzeentch - The Master Of Change, father of magic and mutation, Slaanesh - The Prince Of Chaos, giver of Pleasure, and Nurgle - God Of Death and Plague, and of both physical and spiritual corruption.

Everywhere, from the Dwarf kingdoms to the High Elf realm of Ulthuan, the hordes of Chaos fought the free peoples. Everywhere they were victorious. It seemed that the end of the World had come. It was a dark time. The followers of Chaos, had finally laid waste to Kislev and Norsca, the stubborn Kislevites having proved a veritable bastion of Imperial resistance until they were finally defeated. Reinforcements from the Empire and the Dwarf holds had gained sufficient time to arrive and prepare, and it was hoped that they would hold the Chaos hordes. With them came Magnus The Pious, with a great army of Imperials, Dwarfs, Brettonians and Elves, and met the Chaos hordes in an epic battle at the gates of Kislev. The Humans and their allies won, though at great cost; the Empire was left in ruin and disarray.

When Magnus returned, he was crowned as Emperor, and under the watchful eye of the High Elves, he established the Colleges Of Magic, that have since been the foremost schools of the mystic arts anywhere in the World.

The Present Time

The current time holds both the dawning of a new age of enlightenment, and also the threat of destruction. There is little unity between the free races. Old grudges and feuds mar the relations between their peoples. Man fights man, and against his erstwhile allies.

In the far South, the unspeakable Nagash stirs once more.

Men of the Empire whisper that the Vampire Counts grow restless in their sleep.

In the Badlands, the Orcs and Goblins breed and multiply. Each year they attack the Old World with greater ferocity and wreak greater havoc. Each year they exact a heavier toll of death.

Beneath the Old World, the Skaven gnaw the roots of society, waiting for the chance to bring ruination and plague to the free nations, so they can inherit the rubble in the name of their god, The Horned Rat.

The Enemy Within

Yet the greatest of dangers comes from within. Everywhere there are those who are all too willing to exchange their soulds for the promise of ultimate power. Traitors and Chaos worshippers walk amongst men, spreading corruption. In the north, the might of the Chaos gods, bloated with more power, ever grows. Mad-eyed fanatics and flagellants preach that the apocalypse is upon us. With each passing day, the final victory of Chaos is brought closer.

However, there is still hope. The men of the Empire and Brettonia will suffer no evil, and have turned back every Chaos army to assault their borders. The Dwarfs plan a re-conquest of their strongholds, a great war which would sweep their ancestral homes clear of greenskins. The High Elves wake from their long, dream-like decline, and look to their weapons once more. Finally, the King and Queen in the Wood still hold court in Loren, and keep eternal vigil over their domain.

There is still hope.

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