Difference between revisions of "Salzenmund"
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The dead rise across the world in 1681 [[IC]] and at Salzenmund, the bones of ancient sacrifices rise from Ormsdeep as multi-limbed monstrosities snatching countless townsfolk, dragging them screaming into the lake. [[Dieter Helsnicht]] is seen simultaneously in many locations throughout the town and next morning in Castle Salzenmund, [[Einrich Moltke III]] is found dead surrounded by the inanimate bodies of his ancestors. He has no living heir. {{Fn|6b}} | The dead rise across the world in 1681 [[IC]] and at Salzenmund, the bones of ancient sacrifices rise from Ormsdeep as multi-limbed monstrosities snatching countless townsfolk, dragging them screaming into the lake. [[Dieter Helsnicht]] is seen simultaneously in many locations throughout the town and next morning in Castle Salzenmund, [[Einrich Moltke III]] is found dead surrounded by the inanimate bodies of his ancestors. He has no living heir. {{Fn|6b}} | ||
| − | Salzenmund is claimed by Sovereign Countess [[Eleonore Gausser]] | + | Salzenmund is claimed by Sovereign Countess [[Eleonore Gausser]] who proves to be one of its greatest leaders, making overtures of friendship to the Queen of [[Tor Lithanel]], [[Marrisith]]. The count of Westerland marches to take the town but is surprised to be confronted by a large, well-trained army led by Eleonore who proves to be a capable wartime leader. At a crucial point in the subsequent battle, swift cavalry and deadly archers sent by the Eonir Queen help rout Westerland Years prior. {{Fn|6b}} |
| + | The merchant, knight and Lord [[Gunter Ostrein]] marries the daughter of Count [[Reinard Gausser]] and their progeny began the Ostrein line of princes who open the town to the [[Wood Elves]], Dwarfs, Halflings, and even wizards as well as loaning silver | ||
| + | to Stirland, Talabecland, and Middenland. {{Fn|6b}} | ||
| − | After skirmishes on the border with [[Laurelorn Forest]], an [[Eonir]] and Forest Spirit army marches on Salzenmund in 2168 [[IC]], besieging it until the Baron begs for forgiveness. {{Fn|3a}} | + | In 2016 IC, the childless Count [[Wolfgar Ostrein]] was carried off by a [[Giant Eagle]] while hunting and in 2020 IC, with the support of ensorcelled nobles, generals, and guildmasters, the Wizard [[Talius]] the Exalted took control of both town and province. A devious but benevolent autocrat, Talius founded a school for poor children, introduced the [[Cult of Verena]] to the |
| + | town, reduced taxes, and improved trade with Ostland and Middenland. He even restored Nordland’s Electoral status. {{Fn|6b}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | Talius disappeared 2050 [[IC]] and the title passed to a former apprentice — Countess [[Ludmilla Gausser]], she was followed by several more but their line came to end when Count [[Ernald Gausser]] inherited the title, a man who couldn’t even read, let alone cast a spell! {{Fn|6b}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Norse shaman [[Sorn Ghoulskin]] became fixated on Salzenmund and attacked with his warhird in 2121 [[IC]] besieged the town for two years, his dying thralls raised as zombies and even fashioning a [[Necrofex Colossus]] which pounded on the Crimson Bastion until the siege was broken by Baron [[Jorgen Nikse]] and his army. The high priest of Ulric, [[Stefnir Nymus]] then declared that rulers had failed and the town was now under the rule of the White Wolf. He pledged allegiance to the Wolf Emperor of [[Middenheim]] and condemned anything he associated with the ''soft'' southern Empire. {{Fn|6b}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | The exiled nobility returned after 15 years of austere rule confirming that the [[Ar-Ulric]] himself had denounced Nymus who was executed by the mob and the gates thrown open. {{Fn|6b}} After skirmishes on the border with [[Laurelorn Forest]], an [[Eonir]] and Forest Spirit army marches on Salzenmund in 2168 [[IC]], besieging it until the Baron begs for forgiveness. {{Fn|3a}} {{Fn|6b}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | High King [[Helvar Ironaxe]] of the Norse sailed up the Salz and as the drunkard Count Gunter hid in his wine cellar, the townsfolk rallied under the command of the [[Knights of the North Star]]. After the surviving Norse fled, a disgruntled | ||
| + | Town Council pressured the count to grant them a town charter, which they secured in 2190 [[IC]]. {{Fn|6b}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | Baron [[Thorsten Nikse]] took the throne in 2291 [[IC]], a bloodthirsty man who did his best to avoid the tedious business of ruling in favour of fighting Beastmen or Norscans. When Chaos rose in the north, he didn’t wait for Magnus’s call but he and his army boarded ships take the fight to the enemy in Norsca. The sole survivor returned ten years later, describing the last sight of Baron Redhelm hacking into a mutated leviathan with a boathook as the waves took them both. {{Fn|6b}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | His son Roderic was only a year old when he inherited, so the town and province were ruled by the grandmaster of the Knights of the North Star, Lord [[Herbert von Laue]]. He guided the town on a steady path, brokered a new peace with the Elves of [[Laurelorn Forest]], following instructions from Emperor [[Magnus the Pious]]. {{Fn|6b}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 2368 [[IC]] Baron [[Ludwig Nikse]] married [[Brunhilde Todbringer]], this alliance was quickly followed by the Treaty | ||
| + | of Schoninghagen, confirming that Nordland and Salzenmund were once again tributary to the City of the White Wolf. The Gausser family were enraged and refused to accept the treaty. [[Werner Niske]] married his daughter Anike-Elise to Graf [[Boris Todbringer]], but in 2502 [[IC]], it was the new Emperor [[Karl-Franz]] who marched north to fight invading Norscans on the coast, rather than the Graf of Middenheim. {{Fn|6b}} | ||
==Locations== | ==Locations== | ||
Revision as of 07:20, 5 July 2022
Salzenmund is the capital city of Nordland and seat of its Elector Count, Theodoric Gausser.[1b ][2b]
It is located east of the Silver Hills in central Nordland.[1a] The Old Forest Road connects Salzenmund to Middenheim.[2a] The city is built on the slopes opposite the Ormsdeep - a deep lake from which the River Salz flows to the Sea of Claws. [6a]
History
Humans of the Jutones migrated from the south into the Silver Hills, adopting the tallest peak, Jutone’s Nest as a outpost and raising wooden dwellings on the slopes. Wooden piles were sunk into the shallows of the Ormsdeep shallows, with halls raised over the water. [6b]
In the decades before the birth of Sigmar the High Chief of the Jutones was Marius but his people were harried from the north by Norse, in the east by the Udose and by Teutogens in the south. Artur of the Teutogens defeated Marius in combat, he took much of the tribe west but Adda the Stalwart, chieftainess of the Was Jutones refused, entrenching her people in the village of Salzenmund. [6b]
It did not become part of the new Empire founded by Sigmar, as the nearby Eonir were feared by the other tribes and Adda herself sought divine protection by building a great temple to Ulric. Over the next few centuries, the settlement and mines grew to become a small kingdom, the first of the so-called Silver Kings was a exiled Dwarf from Karak Norn, Thumm Feldpick who introduced several techniques to massively enhance the mining. [6b]
The growing wealth did not go unoticed and Wilhelm, second son of the Graf of Middenland marched out to conquer the petty kingdom and so the Nord Lands became the new Barony of Nordland and finally part of the Empire. For 400 years the principality was ruled by the Moltkes, a warrior dynasty from Middenheim but in 1070 IC, Emperor Boris Hohenbach arranged for the Moltkes’ imprisonment in Altdorf, handing the province and Electorial Vote to his lackey, Duke Voltimand Salzwedel. [6b]
The Black Plague devastated the province as it did most of the Empire, spreading via trade and wiping out most of the Nordland population. When Norse raiders landed on the coast they found settlements choked with corpses but the Skaeling Harald the Roarer took the town of Salzenmund, but the castle held out under the daughter and son of the absent Duke, Carin and Markus.[6b]
In 1114 IC, the Skaven attacks both the besieged and the besiegers who form an uneasy alliance to push the ratmen back into the hills. When Duke Osric died alongside the Emperor in Carroburg, the new Duchess, Carin sought help from Graf Mandred von Zelt of Middenheim who broke the Skaven at Dietershafen. For the remainder of the campaign, Carin rode with Mandred, forging alliances with other provinces before returning to Salzenmund with a fresh army, routed the remaining Skaven and married a Moltke in a political alliance. [6b]
During the Age of Wars that errupted after Mandred's death, Salzenmund prospered but also ensured that its military was rebuilt. IN 1244 IC, Count Einrich Moltke defeated armies of Orcs and Beastmen and famously defeated the Necromancer Dieter Helsnicht, the Doomlord, later gloating that it took a Nordlander to deal with a Middenheim problem. His son, Gottfried Moltke defeated the Dark Elf corsairs of the Black Ark Ecstasy of Pain in 1267 IC and the victorious Count even brought back a substantial chunk of masonry smashed from the Ark by a warlock under his command. [6b]
In 1375 IC, the Count of Nordland, Adalbert Moltke tries to broker a peace between Talabecland and Stirland at his capital but the gathering is attacked by Daemons of Khorne and the envoys are slaughtered, each side blames the other for the violence and the war continues. Salzenmund is left in ruins. [4a][6b]
Duke Hjalmar of Hargen defeats his opponents and successfully takes the title of Elector Count by 1401 IC, but his seat is at Dietershafen, using the ruins of Salzenmund as a prison camp for those who displease him. he becomes the first and only Nordland Emperor, reigning for six brutal years before he is assassinated with a tent peg hammered through his eye. [6b]
The now ramsackle town in the ruins of Salzenmund is subsequently ruled by Prince Ludger Moltke but in 1420 IC Count Brakh Metalmane leads a Chaotic host from the Middle Mountains to attack first Beeckerhoven and then Salzenmund. The Prince had no chance of surviving the assault until Jarl Asvaldr arrived and joined the fight - together they defeated the enemy and an alliance was formed. [6b]
The Jarl's daughter, Unni married Ludger and their son Angmar Moltke would succeed, having grown up fighting alongside with Skaeling warriors on seaborne raids. His dying father implored him to reunite the province and Angmar made good on his vow as he leads his warhird through the province, offering protection from bandits, Beastmen and Ostland in exchange for fealty and tribute. [6b]
The dead rise across the world in 1681 IC and at Salzenmund, the bones of ancient sacrifices rise from Ormsdeep as multi-limbed monstrosities snatching countless townsfolk, dragging them screaming into the lake. Dieter Helsnicht is seen simultaneously in many locations throughout the town and next morning in Castle Salzenmund, Einrich Moltke III is found dead surrounded by the inanimate bodies of his ancestors. He has no living heir. [6b]
Salzenmund is claimed by Sovereign Countess Eleonore Gausser who proves to be one of its greatest leaders, making overtures of friendship to the Queen of Tor Lithanel, Marrisith. The count of Westerland marches to take the town but is surprised to be confronted by a large, well-trained army led by Eleonore who proves to be a capable wartime leader. At a crucial point in the subsequent battle, swift cavalry and deadly archers sent by the Eonir Queen help rout Westerland Years prior. [6b]
The merchant, knight and Lord Gunter Ostrein marries the daughter of Count Reinard Gausser and their progeny began the Ostrein line of princes who open the town to the Wood Elves, Dwarfs, Halflings, and even wizards as well as loaning silver to Stirland, Talabecland, and Middenland. [6b]
In 2016 IC, the childless Count Wolfgar Ostrein was carried off by a Giant Eagle while hunting and in 2020 IC, with the support of ensorcelled nobles, generals, and guildmasters, the Wizard Talius the Exalted took control of both town and province. A devious but benevolent autocrat, Talius founded a school for poor children, introduced the Cult of Verena to the town, reduced taxes, and improved trade with Ostland and Middenland. He even restored Nordland’s Electoral status. [6b]
Talius disappeared 2050 IC and the title passed to a former apprentice — Countess Ludmilla Gausser, she was followed by several more but their line came to end when Count Ernald Gausser inherited the title, a man who couldn’t even read, let alone cast a spell! [6b]
The Norse shaman Sorn Ghoulskin became fixated on Salzenmund and attacked with his warhird in 2121 IC besieged the town for two years, his dying thralls raised as zombies and even fashioning a Necrofex Colossus which pounded on the Crimson Bastion until the siege was broken by Baron Jorgen Nikse and his army. The high priest of Ulric, Stefnir Nymus then declared that rulers had failed and the town was now under the rule of the White Wolf. He pledged allegiance to the Wolf Emperor of Middenheim and condemned anything he associated with the soft southern Empire. [6b]
The exiled nobility returned after 15 years of austere rule confirming that the Ar-Ulric himself had denounced Nymus who was executed by the mob and the gates thrown open. [6b] After skirmishes on the border with Laurelorn Forest, an Eonir and Forest Spirit army marches on Salzenmund in 2168 IC, besieging it until the Baron begs for forgiveness. [3a] [6b]
High King Helvar Ironaxe of the Norse sailed up the Salz and as the drunkard Count Gunter hid in his wine cellar, the townsfolk rallied under the command of the Knights of the North Star. After the surviving Norse fled, a disgruntled Town Council pressured the count to grant them a town charter, which they secured in 2190 IC. [6b]
Baron Thorsten Nikse took the throne in 2291 IC, a bloodthirsty man who did his best to avoid the tedious business of ruling in favour of fighting Beastmen or Norscans. When Chaos rose in the north, he didn’t wait for Magnus’s call but he and his army boarded ships take the fight to the enemy in Norsca. The sole survivor returned ten years later, describing the last sight of Baron Redhelm hacking into a mutated leviathan with a boathook as the waves took them both. [6b]
His son Roderic was only a year old when he inherited, so the town and province were ruled by the grandmaster of the Knights of the North Star, Lord Herbert von Laue. He guided the town on a steady path, brokered a new peace with the Elves of Laurelorn Forest, following instructions from Emperor Magnus the Pious. [6b]
In 2368 IC Baron Ludwig Nikse married Brunhilde Todbringer, this alliance was quickly followed by the Treaty of Schoninghagen, confirming that Nordland and Salzenmund were once again tributary to the City of the White Wolf. The Gausser family were enraged and refused to accept the treaty. Werner Niske married his daughter Anike-Elise to Graf Boris Todbringer, but in 2502 IC, it was the new Emperor Karl-Franz who marched north to fight invading Norscans on the coast, rather than the Graf of Middenheim. [6b]
Locations
- Castle Salzenmund, seat of the Elector Count.[2b] It is built in the hills overlooking Salzenmund and has a very unique design: the approach to it is so narrow that it needs no curtain wall. It is nicknamed "Jutone's Nest" due to the fact that Salzenmund marked the western reaches of an ancient tribe known as the Was Jutones.[1b]
- The Nordland Silversmith's Guild is responsible for some of the finest silverware in the Empire.[1b]
- Salzemund has a notable Temple of Ulric. It is over 2000 years old. It is made entirely of wood and built in a unique hexagonal, three-storied design. Inside is a fire similar to the Eternal Flame of Middenheim.[1c]
Military
The city is the home base of the Knights of the North Star. [5a]
Notable People
- Theodoric Gausser lives in Salzenmund.[1b][2b]
- Maximillian von Kirscheschlage' is the Burgomeister of Salzenmund, handling its day-to-day affairs.[1c]
- The High Priest of Salzenmund is Erich Granholm, who is a rival of the Ar-Ulric
Religion
The Jutones gave thanks to Olovald for fish from the lake and also Gnistre, a god who dwelt in the waters of the Ormsdeep and who rewarded sacrifice with silver. [6b]
Notes
- The Was Jutones are not the same Jutones that Sigismund II conquered. They were in Westerland, and the Was Jutones seem to have lived in Nordland and Ostland.
Sources
- 1: Sigmar's Heirs
- 2: Warhammer Armies: The Empire (8th Edition)
- 3: Archives of the Empire Vol I
- 3a: Laurelorn Forest, pg. 75
- 4: White Dwarf 383 (UK)
- 4a: The Age of Three Emperors, pg. 71
- 5: Up in Arms
- 5a: Knightly Orders of the Empire, pg. 27
- 6: Salzenmund (book)
