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Skaven Reaper

Images of the Reaper in the form of a Skaven were commonly used during the time of the Black Death, though the Skaven would be considered nothing more than fanciful legends only a few centuries later.

The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, the Great Plague, or simply the Plague, so named for the black spots it caused on the skin as the victim was consumed by the disease, was first seen in the year 1111 IC in the southern regions of the Old World, causing many to believe that it had been spread by Tilean tradesmen. Communication at the time was limited, and it was only when the disease decimated the streets of Nuln and Talabheim that the true extent of the epidemic became known.[1a][1b] No efficacious treatment was known to exist, though bed-rest and fluids may improve the patient's chances of survival, as do restraints being used to contain the worst effects of the patient's convulsions.[2a]

The disease was fast-spreading and fast-acting, killing its victims in days if not hours after the symptoms presented. No known medicine could help, and the speed of the disease provided no time to study it. The disease was soon thought to be unstoppable, with supplication to the gods thought to be the only way to be spared. Both the low and high born suffered, and in 1115 IC Emperor Boris Goldgather himself was declared a victim of the sickness (although in truth he was killed by the shuriken of a Clan Eshin assassin). By then, the Empire's population had been reduced to less than half the size it had been a generation before.[1b]

The Black Death was in truth a plague manufactured by the Skaven of Clan Pestilens and was intended to weaken the Human lands of the Old World enough to allow the ratmen to successfully launch an assault that would bring about their Great Ascendancy over all of the other mortal races of the Known World. Within only months of the plague's appearance, the Skaven launched their invasion of the surface world, initiating the great conflict known as the Skaven Wars.[2a]

History[]

A Forgotten History[]

Although the Black Death of 1111 IC remains well-known, the histories of the Empire have forgotten or deliberately omitted the accompanying invasion of the Skaven during what became known as the Skaven Wars. They have become instead simply a plague of unusually large rats, feeding off the many dead of the plague so as to achieve fantastic populations and size. And now the deeds of Emperor Mandred Ratslayer have been softened, nearly forgotten, reducing him to a child's folk hero. Imperial etchings often show him chasing pesky vermin from the streets with just his boots.[1b]

It began in the winter of the year 1111 IC, with seemingly spontaneous outbreaks of a strange and virulent new disease occurring simultaneously in the cities of Altdorf, Talabheim and Nuln, a disease that would quickly become known by the name the "Black Plague." Thousands died in the first outbreaks and, as ragged columns of refugees crowded every road and river crossing in their eagerness to escape its effects, the plague was quickly spread across the whole of the southern Empire. In response, many of the towns closed their gates, driving the refugees away on pain of death. But it was too late, for the plague already held the Empire fast.[2a]

Within weeks of the plague's arrival entire villages were depopulated, while in the towns and cities all good order collapsed as frightened citizens barricaded themselves into their homes and ever more corpses littered the streets. Of all the great cities only Middenheim was spared, saved when its ruler, Count Mandred, ordered the viaducts that gave entrance to the city raised.[2a]

Thinking the plague had been sent to judge them for their sins, vast bands of flagellants wandered the countryside, scourging themselves as they prayed to Sigmar for forgiveness. On every street corner heretic prophets proclaimed the End Times were at hand. Then, as winter turned to spring, it seemed the worst of the plague had abated. But it soon proved to be a false dawn as, from the depths beneath the earth, an even greater menace arose. A menace that sought to take advantage of the catastrophe they had created so they might be given a chance to murder and enslave the Empire's suffering population.[2a]

Coming of the Ratmen[]

"Stories, tales and rhymes originating from the small and more far flung villages and districts of the Empire do much to tell us of the dark and deadly history that surrounds them. Scholars would do well not to ignore the fiction written for children, for much truth and history is held in the words."

—Josef Federmann, Folk Memory and the Persistence of Human Knowledge, New Scholastic Press, 2301 IC, page 76.[2a]

With the first thaw of spring, the great malevolent hordes of the Skaven armies emerged to make war upon a tottering and plague-harried Empire. One by one, the depopulated towns and villages of the southern Empire were overrun, their defenders slaughtered while their settlements were burned and their crops and livestock stolen and taken underground.[2a]

The Elector Count' armies were helpless, weakened as much by years of corruption and neglect at the hands of the greedy and incompetent emperor of the time, Boris Goldgather, as it was by the plague. Soon, only the great cities of the south still held out against the ratmen hordes, while the plague inexorably spread to devastate the Empire's northern provinces just as it had those of the south.[2a]

Then, in the year 1115 IC, the much-hated Boris Goldgather succumbed at last to the plague himself, giving his embattled people at least some cause for celebration. Ironically, Boris was one of the plague's last victims. After four years of devastation, the worst of the outbreak seemed to have run its course. But by then anywhere between half and three-quarters of the Empire's population was already dead.[2a]

Huge tracts of the Empire had become wasteland, while Skaven armies raged unchecked across Reikland, Averland and Talabecland. Worse, the ratmen's depredations and the depopulation of the grain belt of the south had resulted in a terrible famine that claimed the lives of many of those who had so far managed to survive the worst excesses of disease and war. And yet the horrors of those years were not yet done.[2a]

Hour of the Rat[]

"I saw a scene from nightmare: a landscape pockmarked wirh burning pyres to the horizon, as vast black and choking clouds blotted out the sun. And all across that landscape, the rulers now not just of the lands below but by right of conquest the lands above, the hordes of the Ratmen scurried and chittered and triumphed, sure the hour of their Ascendancy had come round at last."

The Chronicles of Nuln, 1111-1124 IC, kept under lock and key in the restricted archives of the Count of Nuln's palace.[2a]

Now the Skaven struck in earnest. With the land all but on its knees after four years of plague, over the course of the next seven years they began to systematically loot the surviving settlements and enslave their Human populations. By dead of night, scuttling armies of Clanrats would surround a farm or village and set fire to it, clubbing or netting the inhabitants as they tried to flee the flames. In this way tens of thousands of men, women and children were captured, to be driven in shuffling, despairing columns to great slave camps set up within the ruins of the once-proud cities of Pfeildorf and Ubersreik.[2a]

There, the lucky ones would find themselves forced to work to grow food for the ratmen above ground, while the less fortunate were dragged underground to work in the mines and forges of the Under-Empire, never to be seen again. Soon whole swathes of the southern Empire were ruled by the ratmen, while those few pockets of resistance that still held out -- cities like Altdorf, Nuln and Talabheim -- were but besieged islands set within a vast sea of evil.[2a]

The greatest nation of the Old World had been reduced to little more than a shadow of its former glories, while its people suffered under the yoke of their new, inhuman masters. Had the Empire fallen then, the other kingdoms of the Old World might well have followed, leaving the children of the Horned Rat to hold illimitable dominion over all. And, all across the lands of Sigmar, the people looked to the sky in search of portents, hoping against hope their god might show some sign they were still within his favour, some sign of grace. Most of all they prayed that, as had happened in the past, some hero might arise among them and lead them to deliverance. They prayed for a hero. And soon, their prayers were answered.[2a]

Mandred Skavenslayer[]

Alone of the great cities of the Empire, Middenheim had survived the years of the Great Plague and the famine that followed it largely intact. At the order of its ruler, the Elector Count Mandred, the city's viaducts had been raised at the very beginning of the disaster. Realising that so long as Middenheim stood the Empire would not fall, a vast host of Skaven encircled the city in the winter of the year 1118 IC.[2a]

Destroying the four viaducts that provided the only access to the city, the people of Middenheim prepared confidently for siege, their morale bolstered by the knowledge that in a thousand years their city had never fallen. But they had never faced such an enemy before. Within days of the arrival of the main Skaven armies, the first ratmen infiltrators were found in the great network of tunnels and catacombs beneath the city. Surrounded, attacked simultaneously by siege and from below, the city seemed on the brink of falling. But at this critical juncture Count Mandred came into his own, showing his genius for leadership and military strategy.[2a]

Mandred ordered the lower levels flooded and a series of barricades and outposts built to defend the higher levels, detailing his best troops -- including such famed regiments as the Knights of the White Wolf and Mandred's own bodyguard, the Teutogen Guard -- to man these defences. Often, the count patrolled these subterranean defences himself, seeking to raise the spirits of the tunnels' hard-pressed defenders. By coordinating the defence of both the tunnels and the city itself, repositioning his troops on an hourly basis in order to face the everchanging threat, Mandred ensured the city held out for months as famine and their own pestilences began to take a heavy toll on the ratmen hordes. By early spring, the ratmen were so weakened and riven by internal dissent that the siege collapsed.[2a]

Hailed as the hero of the Empire, Count Mandred did not rest on his laurels. He launched a crusade to drive the Skaven from the Empire. Gradually, the Skaven armies were driven underground. Seen now as the Empire's saviour, Mandred was elected emperor to unanimous acclaim, henceforth to be known by the title of honour as Emperor Mandred Skavenslayer.[2a]

The story of this great hero has been shamefully neglected and all but forgotten in the present day. Most shamefully of all, after Mandred's death, as the scholars of the Empire sought desperately to deny the existence of the ratmen, he has become known as Emperor "Mandred Ratcatcher." The Emperor Mandred's murder is now considered the work of a single mutant acting alone rather than the vengeance of the Skaven race.[2a]

Pathology[]

From Hendrik Grau, Principles of Medicine, Altdorf Press 2313 IC:[2a]

Black Plague: Also known as "The Death." Extremely virulent infectious disease characterised by the sudden appearance of dark blotches, or "plague-marks," on the skin, with these marks swiftly spreading to cover the patient's entire body. The rapidly progressing symptoms of the disease include: fever, delirium, convulsions, loss of control of the bodily functions and a swelling and seizing of the major joints that causes the limbs to gnarl and twist, crippling those who manage to survive the disease. Fatalities occur in nine out of ten cases, with death resulting from ever-worsening convulsions that begin anywhere from a few minutes to a week after the first symptoms of disease.[2a]

No efficacious treatment exists, though bed-rest, prayer and fluids may improve the patient's chances of survival, with restraints being used to contain the worst effects of the patient's convulsions. Due to the highly infectious nature of the disease, patients should be kept in isolation and their bodies disposed of by cremation after death. Further, in order to reduce the risk of the spread of contagion, the patient's belongings and lodgings should be burnt and a program of mass extermination of the local rat population begun immediately upon discovery of even a single case of the disease. Vector believed to be the common black rat.[2a]

Black Death Timeline[]

Month/Year Location Event Source
Geheimnisnacht 1111 IC Skavenblight The Skaven Seerlord Skrittar performs a powerful magical ritual that succeeds in ripping chunks of warpstone out of the Chaos Moon Morrslieb, which will then orbit the Known World until he calls them down to recover them and claim a great fortune among the Skaven. Dead Winter Prologue[3a]
12th Nachgeheim 1111 IC Altdorf Emperor Boris Goldgather meets with various Elector Counts and important politicians of the Empire to discuss the current situtation: the Norscans of Snagr Half-Nose occupy Marienburg and Drakwald is recovering from being ravaged by the Beastmen. Goldgather issues two decrees: One taxing all able-bodied peasants for the Imperial army, and one eliminating tax breaks for the class of lowborn warriors known as Diensleute. Dead Winter Ch. 1[3a]
Nachgeheim 1111 IC Bylorhof The Black Plague first appears in Bylorhof. It is rumoured to have appeared in large Imperial cities as well. Dead Winter Ch. 1[3a]
Nachgeheim 1111 IC Nuln The Elector Count of Nuln outlaws the import of cattle from Stirland for fear of the plague. Dead Winter Ch. 1[3a]
Nachgeheim 1111 IC Altdorf It is revealed to Sigdan Holswig, the Prince of Altdorf, that plague has come to Sylvania and Stirland. Dead Winter Ch. 2[3a]
Nachgeheim 1111 IC Skavenblight Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch IV of Clan Pestilens introduces the Black Death to the Skaven's ruling Council of Thirteen -- a disease that he claims kills nine of ten humans, but is harmless to Skaven. Dead Winter Ch. 2[3a]
Nachgeheim 1111 IC Nuln The Elector Count of Nuln lays off hundreds of Dientsmenn due to the loss of the Imperial tax breaks for their employ. Led by a man named Wilhelm Engle, many of them plan to march on Altdorf to protest the emperor's actions. Dead Winter Ch. 2[3a]
Brauzeit 1111 IC Altdorf Five thousand former Dienstleute, under the leadership of the old soldier Wilhelm Engel, march on Altdorf. Known as the "Bread Marchers," they set up a shantytown in the Altgarten. Dead Winter Ch. 3[3a]
Kaldezeit 1111 IC Middenheim Graf Gunthar of Middenheim resolves not to pay the emperor's soldier tax and prepares for a siege. He also decides not to let plague refugees into Middenheim. Dead Winter Ch. 3[3a]
Kaldezeit 1111 IC Bylorhof The people of Bylorhof turn to the worship of the ancient god Bylorak in desperation to find relief from the plague. Dead Winter Ch. 3[3a]
Kaldezeit 1111 IC Nuln The first cases of the Black Plague appear in Nuln. Dead Winter Ch. 4[3a]
Kaldezeit 1111 IC Skavenblight Warlord Krricht Dwarf-Slicer of Clan Mors orders an attempt on the life of the Skaven Clan Pestilens Plague Priest Puskab Foulfur, the probable creator of the Black Death. It fails. Dead Winter Ch. 4[3a]
Nachgeheim 1111 IC Altdorf The first cases of plague appear in the Niederhafen district of Altdorf. Emperor Boris Goldgather, however, has these cases blamed on the Bread Marchers. Dead Winter Ch. 5[3a]
Kaldezeit 1111 IC Bylorhof After turning away from Bylorak, the people of Bylorhof bring in plague doktor Bruno Havemann of Wurtbad. Morrite priest Frederick van Hal's nephew Johan van Hal contracts the plague. Dead Winter Ch. 5[3a]
Kaldezeit 1111 IC Skavenblight The Skaven Plague Priest Puskab Foulfur makes an alliance with Blight Tenscratch of Clan Verms. Foulfur promises to alter the Black Plague to be infectious against Skaven, while the latter will supply Clan Pestilens with ticks with which to spread the disease. In addition, Clan Verms will help Foulfur usurp the position of Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch IV. Dead Winter Ch. 5[3a]
Kaldezeit 1111 IC Altdorf Emperor Boris Goldgather orders the Reiksknecht, his personal knightly order, the Kaiserjaeger, his secret police, and the Scheutzverein, the Altdorf city watch, to attack the Bread Marchers camped in the Altgarten. The Reiksknecht plan to defy the emperor's orders, but are foiled by the Kaiserjaeger, who learn of this and place caltrops in the horsemen's path. Many Reiksknecht are killed or captured, but some twenty escape. Dead Winter Ch. 6[3a]
Kaldezeit 1111 IC Middenheim Rumours of plague in Middenheim's Westgate district spread. Dead Winter Ch. 6[3a]
Ulriczeit 1111 IC Altdorf Plague erupts in Altdorf's poorer districts. Meanwhile, the survivors of the Bread Marchers and Reiksknecht go to ground in the city, constantly hunted by the Kaiserjaeger and Scheutzverein. Dead Winter Ch. 7[3a]
Ulriczeit 1111 IC Bylorhof After Johan van Hal dies, it is revealed that he did not in fact succumb to the plague, but was rather drained of blood by Dr. Havemann's leaching treatments. Out of grief and guilt, Johan's mother Aysha (sister-in-law and former lover of the Morrite priest Frederick van Hal) kills herself with a knife. Dead Winter Ch. 7[3a]
Ulriczeit 1111 IC Skavenblight Blight Tenscratch visits Puskab Foulfur to see his progress on a Skaven-killing variant of the Black Plague, and shows him the deadly diggerfangs which they will use to assassinate Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch IV as part of their treacherous bargain. Dead Winter Ch. 7[3a]
Ulriczeit 1111 IC Altdorf Arch-Lector Wolfgang Hartwich leads a group of former Kaiserknecht sheltered by Sigdan Holswig into the Courts of Justice of Altdorf to rescue their grand master, Baron von Schomberg. Disguised as Morrite priests, they make it all the way to his cell. However, Baron von Schomberg has already contracted the Black Plague and wishes not to be rescued, believing that his death will become a rallying cry for other nobles who oppose the corrupt rule of Emperor Boris Goldgather. Dead Winter Ch. 7[3a]
Ulriczeit 1111 IC Nuln Walther Schill and his apprentice Hugo kill a giant rat in Nuln. Dead Winter Ch. 7[3a]

Sources[]

  • 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Children of the Horned Rat (RPG)
    • 1a: pg. 31
    • 1b: pg. 32
  • 2:The Loathsome Ratmen and All Their Vile Kin (Background Book)
    • 2a: pp. 76-77
  • 3:Dead Winter (Novel) by C.L. Werner
    • 3a: Prologue, Chs. 1-7
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