The Ruins Of The Woods:

The Drakwald, along the Old Forest Road: (Autumn 2528 Imperial Calendar)

The column slowly made its way along the debris entangled remains of the Old Forest Road. The massive avenue through the tangled woods had been ravaged like everything else and was now missing flagstones and had hungry vegetation scattered about it. The forest was already encroaching on the sides of the road and the trees loomed overhead. Men and Dwarfs had been sent ahead of the column to clear away the worst of the debris and make a path for the army.

Everyone was on edge as they watched the shadows between the trees. They had encountered a few small Beastman warbands and the occasional tribe of scattered Northmen but, on the whole, their journey had not been as harrowing as many of them had expected. Rest was still sparse and uneasy as every member of the column knew there were no safe havens in the forest. They had come across several old manors and fortified inns that had long since been destroyed. Even several bandit hideouts that their scouts had come across had been burnt out and ravaged by the followers of Chaos. Now, with the followers of Chaos displaced or largely wiped out due to the conflicts of the End Times, the forest was unnervingly quiet.

They had been marching for nearly a week and had made good time, desperation forcing them to move as quickly as possible. Still their lack of draft animals, their weariness and their concern over the possible threats that lay in the woods slowed them down. Some of the men, usually the scouts, had gone into the woods to try to forage for food to supplement their shrinking supplies. Unfortunately the rampage of the Beastmen and the plagues of Nurgle the year before had killed most of the game in the Drakwald. Still the huntsmen kept trying and the occasional untainted deer was found and killed but they were rare and the meat was carefully rationed.

None of the men, despite their increasing exhaustion and disgruntlement, refused to abandon their emperor's army. Not only was their nowhere they could run to but their flagging loyalty would also be reaffirmed whenever they saw the figure of Sigmar at their head.

Sigmar hoped to reach the city of Krudenwald. Since his return to the mortal world he had tried to learn as much about the modern Empire as he could, supplementing his discoveries with the knowledge he had learnt over the centuries he had been watching the world from within the Wind of Azyr. He expected Krudenwald to be a ruin, like every other settlement in the north but, assuming it was not irreparably corrupted or infested with mutants and Beastmen, they could make a more fortified and secure camp. Still, at the pace they were going, it would be a very long time until they reached where Krudenwald had stood.

Still the column marched on, steadfast in their determination. If at least this much of the road had survived in the depths of the Chaos warped woodland then other remains of man's accomplishments must have lasted the trails of the End Times as we. Krudenwald was likely gone but something of use would still be standing, something they would be able to shelter within.


Sigmar was, once again deep in thought as he marched at the head of the noble force of Men and Dwarfs. After several days with no distractions, he had finally been able to turn his thoughts to the magical powers that were now a part of his very being. Despite the months of practise he had before and during the siege of Averheim and the weeks since then, the powers of Azyr were still something of a mystery to him. Every time he unleashed them it was on instinct. It wasn't the fluid and controlled spellwork that more practised Incarnates like Gelt, Malekith, Alarielle and Nagash had unleashed, his powers were used not unlike the former Incarnate of Beasts, a bludgeon designed to hammer the enemy with raw power.

Whilst he had followed the road east he had also kept himself busy trying to understand the magical wind that was bound to him. Many hours had been spent trying to feel out the powers of the heavens while h walked. He had not dared openly experiment with the magic as he didn't want to risk spooking his men. Still he had been able to grasp some of the potential his abilities gave him. He was able to see slight wisps of the knowledge that Azyr could grant him. It seemed only Gelt was aware of what he was doing as every now and then the alchemist would glance at him, his thoughts unfathomable as he still kept his face hidden behind the tarnished gold mask.

Hours passed in relative silence as Sigmar tried to reach out further, grasping for the magical power of the stars. He knew that the Celestial Wizards of the now destroyed Imperial Colleges were able to vaguely discern the future with their powers. Though such abilities were still beyond him, Sigmar tried to work his way to understanding the messages written in the stars, fumbling through the ways of Azyr on instinct.

It took the words of a scout to finally return his attention to the world around him and even then the scout had to repeat his words.

"What did you say?" Sigmar asked.

"About a league down the road," the young man dressed in the ragged wear of a militia huntsmen said. "There's an old manor. Looks like it belonged to someone important because its really big and the walls still standing in most places. It should be big enough for the lot of us to bed down in."

Sigmar dismissed the scout and settled down to ponder what he had just been had told. The column continued on down the road towards the site the scout had informed him about but Sigmar spent much of the time considering whether or not it was wise to make camp at it.

Finally, as they approached the ruin, he made his decision.

"Men," he called out, his strong voice carrying over the column. "There is a manor ahead of us. We will be bedding down there for the night."

A weary sigh of relief echoed from the column. The Men seemed to visibly sag at the prospect of rest whilst the Dwarfs remained much more stoic by comparison. Still Sigmar was sure the doughty warriors were also grateful for the prospect of camping in a somewhat more secure location.

It took another ten minutes for whatever ruin the scout had noticed to come into view. Removed from the Old Forest Road was a large enclosure. A large stone wall surrounded the remains of a large fortified house. It was clear, from the thick vegetation that once again pushed up close to the walls and the massive rents in the stonework, that the afflictions that had struck most of the Empire when the Glottkin invaded had been what laid this structure low. The manor itself was missing its roof, blackened beams sticking out of the partially shattered walls, and soot stained the walls, likely from raids that had taken place after the daemonic vegetation had been cleared.

"We'll make camp within the walls," Sigmar said as his men filed towards it. The foremost ranks had their halberds lowered, ready to defend themselves against whatever might still lurk within the remains of the building. "I want this cleared and ready for tents to be pitched. Other teams will secure the walls and set up a watch."

Sigmar then turned to Gotri Hammerson. "I would like you and your kin to see to suring up these walls. I'm sure you would be masterful at ensuring we are well guarded."

Gotri gave a grunt in affirmation and ordered his own contingent to follow after the Imperial soldiers.

The next few hours were tense as the men and Dwarfs filed into the specious courtyard of the old manor. It was clear the enclosure had been built to accommodate a large family and staff as it managed to easily hold the entire column and whatever supplies they had been able to carry with them. Immediately work began to clear debris, build barricades and set up tents. The Dwarfs worked meticulously at patching up the holes in the outer wall. Men, under the instruction of gruff Dwarf foremen, hauled stone into position and helped set up stakes and other obstacles to help fill the gaps in their defences. Sentries were posted as well, peering into the thick, hostile woods as they watched over the work-teams.

As the men worked Sigmar walked among them, giving the occasional words of encouragement and even stepping in to offer aid whenever possible. The lengths their emperor was willing to go amazed many of his men and spirits that had been slowly worn down by the endless monotony of the march were raised once again.

The vegetation that had invaded the grounds of the manor were also being cleared. There were no obvious signs of mutation that could be found but the men were still wary of the thick growth that had penetrated the walls.

The men sent to search the ruins of the manor returned untouched, reporting only of a few areas of the building that were unstable. They were quickly reassigned to other duties, reinforcing the defences, setting up shelters and taking sentry positions. It took several hours but eventually the Dwarfs assigned as foremen decided their human labourers had done a passable, if shoddy, job.


As night fell over the manor and the stars came out, Sigmar went to the walls of their new shelter. Despite the possibility of attracting hostile attention, the men had built several fires to provide some kind of light and warmth for the physically and mentally exhausted soldiers.

A few sentries stood alert, peering out into the darkness of he surrounding woods and shielding their eyes from the fires to keep their night vision. Several Dwarfs also stood in positions, looking far less weary as they stood at unflinching attention and glowered into the forest.

Keeping quiet so as not to disturb those sleeping, he walked up to one of the rents in the wall and placed a hand on one of the wooden barricades that barred the way.

He stared into the forest, his eyes boring into the shadows between the trees, waiting for a sign that something was out there, whether it was friendly or not. The Drakwald was oppressively dark, the light of the torches and camp-fires seemingly being swallowed by the shadows of the trees. At the same time the forest was also unnaturally silent. No birds, animals or even less the natural beasts of the woods could be heard, as if something had emptied the forest of all life. Sigmar frowned at what was, yet another affliction, put upon his land by the trials of the End Times.

His eyes straying away from the woods, he once again looked to the stars. With every passing day since his return to the world they had become brighter to him. He could feel them and the influence they had on the world, the ways in which their powers revealed the paths of the future and the might he could call upon from them.

This night the shattered remains of Morrsleib were dim compared to the night before. There were still several bright fragments but most of the pieces were simply lying cold and dark, some fragments had even disappeared completely. Sigmar had no idea what exactly the broken Chaos Moon could now do, considering the baleful power that it had exerted over the mortal world when it had been whole. Daring to look into the centre of the cluster of fragments, Sigmar searched for the perverse sight he had seen at Middenheim.

Despite his best efforts, the writhing mass he had once seen squirm at the centre of the broken moon was not in evidence. Instead the remains of the moon lay still and dark.


The journey after the manor continued apace. The Men of the Reiksguard and the Dwarfs of the Zhufbarak continued to struggle down the remains of the Old Forest Road as they headed I the direction of Krudenwald. The rest and good feeling that a night in shelter of the ruined manor had given them had disappeared in the days since then and the fatigue of the long, drawn out march had returned.

No-one truly knew how far from Krudenwald they really were by this point. Every familiar landmark had been destroyed except for the road itself.

The scouts that went ahead of the column continued to report anything they could find but it seemed the further east and north they travelled the greater the destruction seemed to become. Soon the only evidence that man had built anything in the woods was reduced to the shattered remains of building foundations and the scattered fragments of ruins. Where once scattered inns, hamlets and manor houses had laid there were only endless banks of trees growing over one another and struggling against the boundaries of the road.

The next few nights were spent on the road itself, exposed but safe from the cloying grasp of the trees. Scouts no longer dared deviate from the path unless they were told to and whilst they all returned safe they kept talking about a feeling of eyes watching them.

It was on the fourth day of travel after leaving the manor that the scouts reported back claiming they had found Krudenwald. The city was ruined and abandoned but the remains were still there and relatively intact. There were also no signs of inhabitation by Beastmen, Marauders or Skaven. The news seemed to raise the morale of the column once more, with many men showing visible relief at the news.

The next few hours passed much more slowly as officers commanded their men to keep their regular pace and not tire themselves out in a rush to reach the remains of the settlement. Despite the reprimands from their leaders both the Men and the Dwarfs were heartened by the possibility of not sleeping in the shadows of the twisting trees of the woods.

The trees did not thin at all before the column ran into the outer walls. The gateway into Krudenwald had been battered down long ago and the stains of soot and the scars of axe, claw and proboscis scarred the moss covered stone. The optimistic atmosphere began to bleed away as the men marched through the gates and into the sodden husk of Krudenwald. Thankfully, whilst the thick vegetation of the woods outside had not overrun Krudenwald, the tight streets of the ruined city still forced an oppressive atmosphere on the column.

Scouts were sent ahead to ensure the streets were safe. After reports returned assuring the leadership of the column of the city's safety, the march began again. Like all cities of the Empire Krudenwald had a fortified district set aside for the urban estates of the aristocracy and rich merchants. Guard barracks were also often situated in these areas and would have to be secured.

The march through Krudenwald's streets was slow, the debris littering the roads and the threat of collapsing buildings on either side of the streets forcing the column to move carefully and slowly. Dwarfs immediately moved to test structures that showed signs of unsteadiness for the possibility of falling down. The journey through dilapidated city took the rest of the day and the sun was lower back over the horizon by the time the scouts led them to the gates of the district.


Sigmar felt ambivalent about his current situation. Like the rest of the column he was glad to be out of the forest's shadow and back under the shelter of a man-made structure, albeit one that had suffered heavy damage and wear. At the same time the destruction and decay visited upon Krudenwald had been incredibly disheartening to him, providing yet another example of the devastation visited upon his nation by the servants of Chaos.

The Men and Dwarfs of the column had occupied the barracks that was attached to the periphery of the elite district. The barracks were built to accommodate hundreds of men and easily held the column's reduced numbers. Sentries had been placed on the walls, barricades had been set at the shattered gate and the weak points in the wall that the Zhufbarak had pointed out. Finally, at Gotri Hammerson's insistence, the Dwarfs had used the final hours of twilight to demolish the buildings around the compound. His Dwarfs had systematically shattered the load-bearing supports of each structure and toppled them with methodical speed.

Now the men of the column slept more soundly than they had in weeks. Unlike the cursed ruins of Middenheim or the foreboding trees of the Drakwald, Krudenwald's ruins still felt familiar and natural.

Sleep, however, did not come so easily to the emperor. When he shut his eyes he dreamed of distant realms, of an endless lit by countless glittering stars, of a bright shining city situated in the heavens themselves that shone like a beacon.

On other nights he had seen what he was sure were portents of his future plans. He saw new settlements and castles sprout from the ruins of the Empire. Then, just as hope was renewed, they would be engulfed by flames. Armies of mutants, Beastmen, the walking dead and other foul monsters assaulted the land in a never ending parade of obscenity. Armies of valiant men rode to face them and fought courageously, bathing blood and fighting till their blades were dulled but still the foes came on in endless floods of pure evil.

Too often he had woken from these visions in a cold sweat, the sensations of his dreams too vivid, too real. The future was written in the heavens, the very power that was now a part of him.

The dreams were a sign, proof that his people would stand proud once again. Yet they were also warnings of the trials that would follow. Even in victory there would be no peace. The world was still a vile and dangerous place and he would have to work harder than ever before to safeguard his lands. Already he was formulating new designs. He would have to build a centre for his new empire. From there he could reconnect with any other survivors, build new settlements and strongholds and secure the lands of men.

Getting up from the cloak he had laid down on the floor of the barracks, he stood up and carefully walked out into the compound. He felt the chill air of Late Autumn brush over his face as he stepped out of the building and entered the open space. Most of his nights played out this way now. He would awaken from his increasingly vivid dreams and walk out into the open air. By now the men were fully aware of his behaviour and ignored him whenever they spotted him on sentry duty.

Looking up to the night sky he once again regarded the stars. Past the fragments of the Chaos Moon, which had once again changed the shape and placement of the chunks of warpstone, the stars shone bright in his eyes. When he looked at them he imagined he could see pictures, the portents of his dream once again appearing in his minds eye as he looked into the night sky.

Sighing, his breath steaming in front of his face, he shit his eyes and contemplated the images that still remained prominent in his thoughts.

War was inevitable, he knew that even before the dreams told him so. However, there was still hope. In his mind he had pictured a new capital for his empire and the visions in his mind had shown him that it could yet still rise. He had envisioned a shining beacon that mankind could rally around and he would build it. A light of order for all mankind.