Today the Empire is the strongest, wealthiest and most famous of the realms in the Old World, but it was not always so. In a time before the Empire, before the taming of the land, the tribes of Man survived in the wilderness. They fought against Orcs, Goblins and Beastmen, and against each other.

Then the passing of a great twin-tailed comet heralded the birth of the first and greatest of the rulers of Men: Sigmar, later to be called `the Heldenhammer`, or the `Hammer of the Goblins` in the many legends about his life.

The Unberogens, the tribe that followed Sigmar, are the most renowned in the legends. Under the leadership of Sigmar, the Unberogens defeated the human tribes who opposed them. Sigmar unified the scattered tribes through war, cunning and diplomacy. He was a great warrior and a charismatic leader, but above all, he had a vision: a land ruled by Men which was free of Orcs and Goblins, governed by fair laws and protected by a strong army. In Dwarfs he found staunch allies who armed and equipped his warriors with steel weapons and armour, recognising the need of support in their never-ending war against Orcs.

The Teutogens were their main human competitors in war, and these fought long and hard against the Unberogens, until finally acknowledging their rule when their chief was defeated in single combat by Sigmar. Though the Unberogens and Teutogens were the greatest of the tribes, the legends mention many others as well: Thuringians, axe wielding men of the mountains, Cherusens, the master hunters, and Merogens with their long spears which were said to be the terror of Orc warriors.

All in all, twelve great tribes followed Sigmar as he waged war to free the lands between the mountains and sea from the grip of the Orcs and other evil creatures. With his Dwarf allies, Sigmar utterly crushed the massed armies of the Orcs in the Battle of Blackfire Pass, inflicting on them the greatest defeat of all time.

After the bettle, when Sigmar stood victorious, he divided his newly founded Empire between the twelve tribal cheifs who commanded his warriors in battle. Their holdings would become the provinces of the empire and, in due time, their rulers would be known as Elector Counts.

Though the Empire is often referred to as a single nation, this is not really the case. This great kingdom of Men is not as unified as if would first appear to some. In fact, the Empire is a group of individual and independent states, joined together by ties of culture, language and common interests. Today, in the time of Emperor Karl Franz, these states are of two kinds: city states and provinces. Originally only the provinces held political power, but over the years larger cities have grown in importance and become self-governing.

The provinces are based upon the ancient tribal homelands whose people were ruled by their own chieftains, who became Counts during the reign of Sigmar. Some of the provinces are now lost to war, hunger or plague, while others have been renamed or changed their shape. In addition, old rivalries and hatreds have caused many civil wars within the borders of the Empire, further fragmenting the land`s unity. Thus several provinces of old no longer exist.

The cursed province of Sylvania, for example, long haunted by the dread Vampire Counts, was once of great importance, but is now a backward rural area ruled by the Count of Stirland and shunned by all sane folk. Solland is no more than memory now, for it never recovered from the destruction wrought by the Orc Warlord, Gorbad Ironclaw.

Marienburg was once part of the Empire, but gained independence through a massive transfer of gold into the Imperial coffers during the reign of Boris Goldgather. Any subsequent attempts to subdue Marienburg and bring it back within the rule of the Empire have failed, and today Marienburg remains a fiercely independent city where the Count of Norland, nominally the ruler of Marienburg, is forbidden to return under pain of death.

The Counts are hereditary rulers whose families have long held the position of an Imperial Elector. Over the centuries, the title of Count has passed from family to family as old dynasties withered away, intermarried or perished in battle.

With the death of the Emperor, the Counts gather to choose one of their own number as successor. Hence, in addition to being Counts, they are also Electors of the new Emperor amd for this reason their full title is more properly Elector Counts. Though all Counts of the Empire are Electors, there are others who have gained the right to vote through politics, bribery and religious influence.

The poerful cults of Sigmar and Ulric, the old god of wolves and winter, can both cast their vote and influence which Count will become the emperor. Curiously, even the Elder of the Mootland, the leader of the Halflings, has earned the right to vote in the election, due to the Halflings` contribution to Imperial cuisine! However, the current Elder of the Mootland, Hisme Stoutheart, is more interested in the timing of his next meal than political intrigues.

After the bloody Battle of Blackfire Pass, where the power of the Orcs was broken for a thousand yaers, King Kurgan Ironbeard showed his gratitude to Sigmar by presenting a gift of magic to the newly fledged Empire. A Dwarf will always repay a favour (just as he will never forget a grudge), and Sigmar`s warriors had been instrumental in the defeat of the greenskin hordes. Thus the King set to work Alaric the Mad, greatest of the living Runesmiths, ordering him to make twelve great runeswords, one for each of the mighty chieftains of Men who commanded Sigmar`s armies.

It is the Lore of Runes which entraps and binds the Winds of Magic into the metal and makes the Dwarfs unrivalled smiths, whose magical weapons, armour and talismans are prized even above the works of the great Elven smiths. Only Dwarfs know the true secrets of the Runecraft, and they guard their knowledge jealously. Now this skill was harnessed to make blades of unsurpassed power for Sigmar`s generals.

For many years Alaric toiled, and his beard grew long. Many years even for a Dwarf, and more than a lifetime for a Man. When Alaric finally emerged from his secret forges beneath the mountains, Sigmar had long since passed eastward to whatever fate overtook him, and the chieftains who fought for him in the beginning were long dead.

The Runefangs were presented to the ruling Emperor Heydrich, who divided them between the Elector Counts. Each blade was a mighty weapon in its own right, making the wielder all but invincible on the battlefield. It also became a symbol of the authority and prestige of the Elector Count who wielded it.

Many years have passed and the Empire has fought many wars and withstood countless invasions, but the Runefangs have survived through the ages. Ten are in the hands of the Elector Counts themselves, while the Runefangs of Solland and Drakwald now rest in the Imperial armoury of Altdorf, brought forth only during times of strife and war.

Many times in the past Runefangs have been lost to the enemy, only to be later recovered. The most famous of these tales is the legend of the Solland Sword. It was taken by Gorbad Ironclaw, the greatest of all Orc warlords ever to tread the soil of the Old World. The ravages of this dreaded greenskinned despot devastated Solland to such an expert that it has never recovered. The Count of Solland was slain by Gorbad and the Runefang taken from his corpse. It was only after many years that an expedition of Dwarfs and Men recovered the revered blade from Chimera`s lair beneath the mountains of the Worlds Edge. Today the Runefangs remain as they always have been: symbols of the glory of the Empire and magical weapons of terrifying power.