Detlef Sierck
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Attention, Scribe of the Lexicanum!
This article needs some improvement on its citations. |
| Your Excellency, with respect, you are wrong. The dramatist tells the truth. It is the historian who lies. Detlef Sierck, Upon My Genius[1a] |
Arguably the greatest actor, producer and playwright of The Empire, Detlef Sierck is also the lover and companion of Genevieve Dieudonné. He is probably a greater dramatist than Tarradasch.
Contents
History
Detlef was born in 2476 IC[1b], the son of a vegetable merchant in Nuln.
Giving proof of his extraordinary talent, Detlef gained fame and fortune in Middenheim. He was later hired by the Count of Middenland to write, perform and direct a theatre play called The History of Sigmar. Determined to create a masterpiece, Detlef saw no reason to spare in the expenses. Unfortunately an outbreak of plague cancelled the megalomaniac project.
Forced to assume all expenses and responsibilities, Detlef was ruined. Unable to pay, he was incarcerated in the Mundsen Keep, a debtor's prison, for the princely sum of "119,255 gold crowns, 17 shillings and 9 pence"[1c].
Oswald von Konigswald made Detlef an offer which he couldn't refuse: all his debts would be paid, and he would be handsomely rewarded for the creation and direction of a new theatre play based upon Oswald's heroic feat: the slaying of Constant Drachenfels (which feat occurred when Detlef was only 4 years old)[1b].
Detlef accepted and wrote a play named Drachenfels which was performed at Castle Drachenfels before Emperor Karl Franz, Prince Luitpold, the Electors and other high-ranking officials.
He is currently the owner of the very successful Vargr Breughel Memorial Theatre, patronized by Prince Luitpold[2]
Known works
- History of Sigmar (full title, The True history of Sigmar Heldenhammer, Founder of the Empire, Saviour of the Reik, Defier of the Darkness)
- Drachenfels (later rewritten and renamed as The Tragedy of Oswald)
- To My Unchanging Lady: a sonnet cycle, dedicated to Genevieve, widely considered his best work.
Notes
- The name of the character is possibly a homage to film director Douglas Sirk.
- Warhammer Companion states that Drachenfels was defeated by Oswald in 2480 IC[3] and Detlef remembers that he was 4 years old at the time[1b].
- However the timeline appearing in the Boxtree books give Detlef's birthdate as 2471 and the date of Drachenfels' death in 2477 (the Boxtree timeline also states that Karl Franz was elected and crowned in 2491).
- Detlef is frequently referenced in the Gotrek & Felix series, often when Felix Jaeger sees his circumstances as overly melodramatic.[4]
See Also
- List of Books of the world
Sources
- 1: Drachenfels (novel) by Kim Newman
- 2: Genevieve Undead (novel), Part One Stage Blood
- 3: Warhammer Companion, pg. 91
- 4: Skavenslayer (novel) by William King, The Battle of Nuln
