Once the last big Norscan raids of the nineteenth century had come to an end, trade grew rapidly in this region. Erengrad was the natural centre of trade, with ships arriving from Olricstaad, Marienburg and even farther away, and increased in size and population, while the Prince of Erengrad gained in wealth and power. As Uttila Khan marched on Talabheim, Prince Ingjald the Red of Erengrad tied the other Norscan kingdoms along the Lynsk to him, establishing Erengrad as the leading power of the north. Ingjald the Red even led a joined campaign south into Ostland, which caused much concern in Talabheim. Thus, in the 1900 IC treaty Uttila Khan committed his forces to aid Talabheim, if the Ropsmenn should reach the river Talabec.

A century later, Ingjald's descendant Prince Peter married a Gospodar descended from Alexandr IV, the nominal successor of Alexandr Njevski. Peter quickly laid claims to the throne of Kislevite Kingdom, which still lived in the legends of the Gospodar. He also formalised the confederation of Ingjald the Red, tying the other Norscan petty states along the Lynsk even closer to Erengrad in the Confederacy of Kislevan States. Peter's son, Alexander, did not have ambitions to match Peter's own, and little happened. All of this changed drastically, when Alexander died in 2099 IC.

Igor the Terrible and the Unification of Kislev

Alexander was succeeded by his eldest son, Prince Igor. From the very beginning, Igor established his reputation of ambition and ruthlessness. Albertus writes:

The very minute the crown of Erengrad had been placed on Igor's head, he ordered the beheading of every third man in his hird, claiming their pledge of allegiance had not been properly sincere and submissive. The story spread, and Igor was called the Terrible within a week of his succession to the throne, apparently much to his liking.

Accounts by Tsarist historians - especially those in Norse employ - are less critical of Igor, but his rule was so cruel and had left such an impact that even they do not try to redeem him entirely.

The next year, Igor sent a formal invitation to the Prince of Dorogo to join the Kislevan Confederacy. Once the Ungol Prince realised that this meant recognising Igor as his superior, he proudly dismissed Igor's messenger who returned to Erengrad. When the messenger returned, Igor had already mustered the mighty army of the north Kingdoms and marched on Dorogo. Albertus reports:

Igor the Terrible arrived at Dorogo with his mighty army, before a proper defense had been organised. Way too late did the Prince of Dorogo, proud descendant of Uttila Khan, realise how weak his Ungol riders had become. Two centuries of peace and prosperity, not least stemming from trade agreements with Igor's own predecessors, had left the Ungol idle, adapting the indolent life of their Gospodar workers. Many had even married with the Gospodar, blurring the necessary divide between the lord and the commoner.

Dorogo fell in the late summer of 2100 IC. Igor had the Ungol Prince beheaded, and the whole centre of the town burned to the ground. Igor ordered the construction of a grandiose castle complex called the Kremlin - including the largest temple of Ulric in Kislev - erected in its place. He also renamed the town Kislev, capital of the Conferederated States of Imperial Kislev, declaring his attempt to unify all of Kislev. The army spent the winter in Kislev City, and then split up, campaigning through the petty principalities of central and southern Kislev for years, confirming Igor's supremacy over all of Kislev and replacing some Ungol aristocrats with Igor's Norse generals. The Talabec Barons who had survived the arrival of the Ungol Khan seemed happy to accept a new liege lord.

Igor's younger brother, Prince Ivan, ventured all the way to Talabheim who had accepted to join the Kislevan Confederacy. However, while Ivan was in Talabheim, a coup d'état took place, leaving the Talabheim Emperor dead and Prince Ivan forced out of town without a signed treaty. Twenty years later, while Igor was tightening his grip on Kislev City (this was when he founded the dreaded Kremlin Guard), he installed Ivan as King of Erengrad, apparently to secure Ivan's support for Igor's son, once Igor himself was gone. Albertus writes:

Once Ivan was King of Erengrad, he set out laying plans for revenge on Talabheim, and marched on the city the following year. Yet, Sigmar be praised, the campaign was a disaster, and Ivan was captured. For once, Igor the Terrible showed some compassion, as he accepted to return the lands of Ostermark to the Emperor in Talabecland in return for Ivan's life. The Agreement of Braxis was a reality, and the first acres of Sigmar's holy land had been regained.

Whether Igor's motivation really was compassion or rather a way to get his strongest supporter back in exchange for a number of insubordinate barons who had caused all sorts of problems, remains an open question.

Around the time when Ivan returned, Igor had consolidated his control of all Kislev between the Lynsk and the Talabec. Rather than settle with this, he regrouped his army and planned a campaign east into the Foothills of the the World's Edge Mountains and the Steppes beyond. However, his campaigns of conquest were not as successful here as they had been in Kislev proper. In 2134 IC he finally stopped his campaigns, declared that the Foothills and Farside were now part of his Confederacy and returned to Kislev City. Once he had returned, Igor declared his mission at an end, and proclaimed himself and his progeny Tsar of all Kislev, Overlord of the North. Technically, Kislev stayed a confederacy, since the petty Norse Kingdoms along the Lynsk along with a few others in the south and west remained independent states (indeed, Kislev's official name is still the Confederated States of Imperial Kislev), yet in reality the Kislev Kings now had less independence than the Elector Counts of Sigmar's Empire. The unification of Imperial Kislev was at an end.

_____________________________
3) These events are based on Warpstone's Talabheim project. I have changed some details slightly, especially making Ivan the brother of Igor, rather than his son. In my view Igor was in his thirties in 2100, which makes it implausible for him to have a son of age the following year.