Introducing the Marienburg Freeswords

Marshal Kurdt von Uffen
A vicious old fighter, Marshal Kurdt von Uffen is an exile form the manor of Nordstomland, near Marienburg, five years ago, and after many wanderings eventually found his way to be leader of the Marienburg Freeswords.

He leads the Eagle Confederation Knights, a tough band of younger sons of great and ambitious families, who have to leave home to make their fortunes.

He has a string of great victories behind him, and a serious dislike of beastmen: in fact anything with horns. Brave, impetuous, and bold.








Father Ulric the Black
A cleric who has seen it as his vocation to come to the borderlands and minister to the men who look to Sigmar for guidance. A reformed boozer and whorer, Ulric has long since gone on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, he also believes everyone should be on the straight and narrow, and deals ruthlessly with his men, who have come to respect him, despite his ale-free ways.

Father Ulric is fearless and confident, and leads from the front.







Luddvig the Accursed
Luddvig the Accursed is a border prince exiled from Wissenland after being accused of murder – and like all the great leaders of the borderlands, he knows how to get his way, by force or other means.

The arrival of the Marienburg Freeswords, with Marshal von Uffen and Ulric the Black, has cramped Ludvvig's style, but as Marhsal von Uffen is his cousin, he felt unable to refuse.

A renowned strategist and perjurer, he was overcome by a rare bout of bravery, and whilst fighting in personal combat with the ogre tyrant, he was taken alive, and finally sacrificed to the Great Maw. His last words were said to have been 'At least my gold is safe!'




Uter the Bastard
Sixteen year old son of Luddvig. Luddvig never planned for his early death, and certainly never allowed any of his bastard sons to be recognised as his heir in case they over threw him. When he died suddenly, there was something of a tussle for his kingdom, but Uter's mother, a Tilean whore by the name of Countess Franzeska di Polionis, was quick to exile the other rivals, and install her son as king.

Uter is something of an unknown quantity amongst his subjects: but the fact he has banned his mother from court politics bodes well. She is currently locked in Ormshole Castle, the site of the great massacre of Prince Khorandis' advance guard.

The army of the 7th Sun (Tzintzuntzan)

What follows are extracts from the life works of Alessandro Del'Arvelli, an astronomer, scholar and one time explorer from the College of Verezzo in Tilea. He has spent his life studying the art and architecture, religion and culture of the Lizardmen and those they call the Citlalicue or 'Old Ones'. Now he can be found locked away in one of the towers of the college but at one time many years ago in his youth Del'Arvelli had journeyed to the lost continent of Lustria itself and explored first hand the ruins of some of those great cities.

...From what I can gather in the year of the Xlanax a sizeable host of the Lizardmen set out across the great ocean bound for the lands of men, more specifically the region known only as the 'badlands'. It is not totally clear as to the full motivation behind this undertaking but what is known is that the slann-mage Axayacatl had spent ten lunar rotations or two hundred years in deep meditation before awakening from his trance-like state and determining that such a journey were necessary. It is interesting to note that at this point the theft of a valuable artefact by a traveller from the east is widely mentioned throughout the glyphs and that while its recovery had long been given up there had come a time when it would be possible to right the wrong that had been perpetrated.

It is this humble scholar's opinion that this army known in the lizardmen tongue as Tzintzuntzan set out with the specific goal of tracking down and recovering this lost artefact that was to be found somewhere in the 'badlands'.

Little is written about Axayacatl also known as the 'high general' or Tlacochcalcatl. The slann-mage is mentioned in texts from Oyxhotl and as such I have arrived at a tentative conclusion that it hailed from this city, or at least is it's guardian.

Referred to in the same texts as Axayacatl is the scar veteran or Tlacateccatl known as Huitzilopochtli. This mighty warrior was created with the sole purpose of guarding Axayacatl as are all Cuauhtli or 'temple guard' spawned to protect the slann mages. Accounts of his deeds and glories in battle are quite wide ranging and much celebrated. It is written that he has been ordained by the Old Ones to right a great wrong and shall never fall in battle until a specific debt has been settled. Quite what this debt could be is unclear.

Attending on Axayacatl is the Tlamacazqui, the skink chief Itzli. His mention is only in passing and only in direct reference to the slann mage itself. Suffice to say Itzli holds great power and standing in the army. He is always depicted being borne into battle on a giant beast. I believe the creature to be the one they call a stegadon although my colleagues scoff at the notion believing them to be mere legend and long since extinct. I know better of course for I have seen the fearsome creatures in the flesh long ago and they exist...oh how terrifying an aspect are they that would turn the heart of even the most valiant knight.

The Elven Host of Prince Korandis

How the High Elves of Saphery came to be involved in the bloody conflict in the Badlands is a tragic tale indeed for it was when Kurdt Von Uffen, Marshal of the City of Middenheim declared a purging of the forests of Luchtenfragen that Prince Yrellion of Saphery began to march alongside the men of Middenheim. A hundred years before, Von Uffen's grandfather had rescued relatives of Yrellion from an orc horde and, ever proud, Yrellion relished the chance to repay the debt and prove in battle the perfection of elf courage and the discipline of his forces, though he took only a small bodyguard brigade with him to the fight.

Men and elves gladly marched alongside each other, feeling that no evil could conquer such an alliance as theirs. Sadly, such an assumption was proved sorely wrong as in the forests of Luchtenfragen the beastmen hordes fell upon them. Yrellion and his bodyguard were cut off from the main Empire forces and when he saw Von Uffen signal a retreat, Yrellion cried out in horror, for many a human soldier and the entirety of the elf host would surely be butchered. Alas he was right - for only Yrellion's long-time friend, the war eagle Fithrir, survived to bring news of the elves' fate back to Ulthuan. It was there that Yrellion's cousin, Korandis listened to Fithrir's tidings and made white-knuckled fists of his hands in rage as he learned of his cousin's betrayal at the hands of Von Uffen.

A month later, Korandis inherited his cousin's title and a single hour after that he set sail for the lands of men. Yrellion's body had still not been found and the coward Von Uffen would have to be brought to justice. Korandis was a strong and popular prince in his homelands, far from last choice to succeed the current phoenix king when the time came, but his pride and his temper were also well known and all who threw scented flowers into the sea to bid his warhost farewell, knew that dark tidings and spilled elf blood were the only certainties in such an expedition...

The Commanders:
Commander in Chief: Prince Korandis of Saphery
Gauled by the loss of his cousin Yrellion, for whose death he blames the Marshal of the Marienberg Freeswords, Korandis has marched on the badlands. The expedition was launched, not only to capture the flying fortress but also to deny it to his enemies, including the thrice cursed marshal. In his homeland, Korandis is known as a brave warrior and a loyal friend, but also for his recklessness and the dreadful results of his impetuous temper. Nevertheless, this time things are different. Korandis, usually full of fire and zeal, has spent months grimly plotting his campaign and about how he will bring the coward, Von Uffen, to justice.

1st Lieutenant: Calistari, the Moon-Sage
Calistari was a childhood friend of Korandis, and though in recent years she has grown fearful of Korandis' tempestuousness and the ruin it may bring to the elf race one day, she has vowed to aid him on his mission of conquest and revenge. Calistari is a highly accomplished mage and an able leader herself. It is known in particular the destain for which she holds the undead and the art of necromancy. With her, she not only brings her own considerable arsenal of magic, but also a troupe of swordmasters of Hoeth who guard her on all her travels.

2nd Lieutenant: Bel Fenorr, Captain of the Iceshard Spears
Bel Fenorr, though a minor noble of undistinguished breeding, he has proven himself time and time again a fierce fighter and a stalwart guardian of Ulthuan. He can most often be seen leading regiment upon regiment of spearmen, levied from his homelands in the north of Saphery. Above all else, he believes in the superiority of the elves over lesser races - which is all the more fortunate for Korandis as it is this sense of superiority that has won Bel Fenorr to Korandis' cause.