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"As the sea is to Eataine and the forests are to Avelorn, the fire-mountains are for Caledor. Forget this truth and we lose ourselves."

Caledor I to his son Imladrik[3a]

Caledor, formally the Kingdom of Caledor, is a thinly-populated, mountainous realm of the island-continent of Ulthuan. Its sparse High Elven population has ever belied its power, for it is here, beneath the blazing peaks of the Dragonspine Mountains, that the Dragons dwell. Here, long ago, came Caledor Dragontamer. Mightiest of the ancient Elven mages, he bound the fearsome Dragons to his will, using harnesses of enchanted truesteel smelted in the fiery heart of Vaul's Anvil. His descendants named their kingdom Caledor in his honour.[1b]

In the centuries that followed, great granite fortresses sprang up in the misty vales, and from them, the so-called "Dragon Princes" rode the thermals over sullen volcanoes. None could stand against them in battle, for the nobles of Caledor were fearsome mages as well as mighty warriors, borne upon Dragons that were terrible to behold. Though the Dragon Princes were few, the destruction they wrought was unmatched, and few dared court the wrath of Caledor. Eventually, the mountains cooled, and the fury of the volcanoes ebbed.[1b]

As the peaks lost their fire, so did the Dragons lose theirs. One by one, they drifted into slumber, becoming ever more difficult to rouse. As the strength of the Dragons waned, so did the power of the Caledorian princes. Their grip on the Phoenix Throne slackened, and the old realm of Caledor was eclipsed by other kingdoms of Ulthuan. Yet even in their weakened state, the Caledorians are still formidable, and their voices still carry much weight at the Phoenix Court.[1b]

Caledorians are haughty even by the standards of other High Elves. Indeed, "Prince of Caledor" is a byword for arrogance amongst Elves of other lands. For instance, the banners of the Dragon Princes remain upright whilst all the others are dipped to acknowledge the rule of the Phoenix King prior to battle.[1b]

When forced to remark upon it, Dragon Princes claim that this stems from the reign of Caledor the Conqueror, who granted them this right as a sign of respect for their noble sacrifice. They say that it is not for them to countermand the word of Caledor. Such an act would be to offer far greater disrespect to the lineage of Phoenix Kings than ten thousand erect standards could ever achieve. Others point out that even before Caledor granted this boon, the Dragon Princes refused to lower their banners anyway.[1b]

The Kingdom of Caledor is the location of Vaul's Anvil, the fiercest of all Ulthuan's volcanoes. Upon this blazing black island at the very tail of the Dragon Spine sits the Shrine of Vaul, the Elven god of the forge. His temple rests in a great tower of black adamant rising out of the steaming lava within the volcano's crater. The temple can only be approached over a narrow drawbridge of truesteel. Within this shrine, the priests of Vaul forge weapons of power and devices of infinite cunning for use by the Elf lords.[1b]

The priests of Vaul ritually blind themselves when they enter the Order of Vaul. The act of putting out their own eyes has greater significance than merely leaving the priests sightless. While they lose their earthly vision, they gain something far more. They are bestowed with the skill and shrewdness of their patron deity, and the understanding of the sorrow and suffering that Vaul has undergone to protect the Elves. This knowledge and wisdom enables them to harness the fickle Winds of Magic and use them to create weapons of incredible potency for the High Elves who fight to protect Ulthuan.[1b]

History[]

Caledor TWW III

Heraldry of the Kingdom of Caledor as depicted in Total War: Warhammer III.

In ages past the land of Caledor was the domain of Dragons of all kinds, both great and small. They made their homes high in the encircling mountains. There, deep within the catacombs of volcanic caves and tunnels, the most powerful Dragons of old made their nests of raw gold and gemstones. They grew large, far larger than the Dragons of present times, and slowly multiplied until the skies grew dark with their wings. All this happened many years before the ancestors of the Elves first came to Ulthuan.[2b]

When the first Elves came to the land of Dragons, Caledor Dragontamer took possession of it, and named the land for himself. Caledor subjugated the Dragons, mastering them with the aid of sorcery until they submitted to his will. Then Caledor and his sons, riding Dragons and with all the Dragons of Caledor at their back, travelled the length of Ulthuan and all Elves acknowledged their rule. Thus began a golden age of order that ended with the Coming of Chaos and the rise of Aenarion, the first Phoenix King.[2b]

Caledor Dragontamer recognised Aenarion as the god Asuryan's chosen one, and presented the Phoenix King with Indraugnir, the greatest and oldest Dragon of that age of the world. Then together Aenarion and Caledor led Dragonriders against the daemonic Chaos hordes, and drove them from the heartlands of Ulthuan.[2b]

Their victory proved to only a temporary respite, for afterwards the armies of Chaos grew stronger and battled with the Elves once more. Many Beastmen were slain and Daemons destroyed, but behind every corpse stood another slavering warrior, another minion of the Dark Gods. Many Elves and Dragons were slain and all the time the Dragons grew weaker and fewer until it seemed that they would be defeated.[2b]

The tale of Caledor and Aenarion, and of their eventual victory over Chaos, is told elsewhere. Though they triumphed in the end it was at a terrible cost. Caledor himself was trapped forever in the Great Vortex of Chaos. Aenarion was slain. Many bright and wondrous things were ended as the power of magic was drawn away from the mortal world. The Dragon lairs cooled. The few Dragons that remained grew sleepy and weary. Increasingly they slept, and the Elves of Caledor found it harder and harder to rouse them.[2b]

Now Dragons are a rare sight in the skies of Caledor. The Dragon Princes whose ancestors rode to war on the back of Dragons now ride armoured equine steeds instead. Those Dragons that can be awakened soon weaken and tire, and must resume their sleep in order to regain their strength. Consequently, the Dragon Princes do not even attempt to rouse the Dragons except in cases of dire need.[2b]

Caledorians[]

Caledorian Dragon Rousers, like their illustrious ancestors, can wake mighty Dragons and bind them to their will with harnesses of truesteel.[5a]

Forces of Caledor[]

Caledor is a sparsely populated, rugged, volcanic region which has been home to Dragons since ancient times. The folk of Caledor favour hot, fiery colours for their plumes and decorative motifs, and they are the only High Elves who commonly use black for plumes and crests. The taming of Dragons is a warrior tradition in Caledor, and it is from here that the Dragon Princes come. Their plate armour is often tinted green or sometimes red, and its design is intended to reflect the scales and horny spines of Dragons.[2a]

Dragon Princes of Caledor wear armour whose colour and style evokes the great Dragons of their land. Their horses are bedecked in plate and scale to mimic the appearances of the mighty drakes. Greens, blues and reds are all commonplace heraldic colours of the Dragon Princes. However, golden Dragons are amongst the rarest of their kind, and those nobles who bear golden livery rank amongst Caledor's greatest champions.[4a]

Just as the Dragon Princes bear the colours of the Dragons, the soldiers of the kingdom's citizen levy wear the colours of the nobles they serve -- most commonly a combination of reds and greens. Even the common citizens of Caledor draw great pride from the realm's Dragons, and their swords and helms often bear stylised Dragon wing designs.[4a]

While almost all Caledorian banners bear the image of one of the great Dragons of old, a few hark back to their kingdom's greatest heroes. The sword of Caledor the Conqueror is a common symbol in the northern princedoms, for it was from here that his lineage sprang.[4b]

Notable Locations[]

  • Avethir - Major city[1a]
  • Shrine of Addaioth - Shrine[1a]
  • Stonesung Plateau - Fortress[1a]
  • Summersong[1a] - Capital city
  • The Arcspan - Fortress[1a]

Sources[]

  • 1: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (8th Edition)
    • 1a: pg. 8
    • 1b: pg. 10
  • 2: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (5th Edition)
    • 2a: pg. 44
    • 2b: pg. 57
  • 3: The War of Vengeance: Master of Dragons (Novel) by Chris Wraight
  • 4: Uniforms & Heraldry of the High Elves (Background Book)
    • 4a: pp. 48-49
    • 4b: pg. 50
  • 5: Total War: Warhammer II (PC Game)
    • 5a: Campaign map

Gallery[]

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