So the Dwarfs created a settlement upon the shoulders of the great mountain and began to mine it. Ever they delved deeper, seeking out the riches that Grungni had told them of. Indeed, their mines became so deep that they began to construct their smithies and later their homes, within the mountain. Over time, the village was abandoned as the Dwarfs discovered how to subsist underground. It was about this time that the old clan chief died, and Grungni was appointed as his successor and accepted into the clan (an action that had been unheard of previously). Grungni's first act as clan chief was to send out messengers to gather the clans and bring them to reside within the mountain. Within two generations, all of the clans had settled at Karaz-Zorn and, being awed by Grungni's wisdom and venerability and by the beauty of their new home, they appointed him Overlord of Dwarfkind. Thus was the first of the Dwarf cities built.

Under Grungni's lordship, the Dwarfs prospered, and grew in numbers in the security of the hold. They also continued to learn and invent. It was around the hundredth year of Grungni's lordship that it became apparent that the population was growing too large for the hold and so, one by one, the clans began to migrate northwards to the Worlds Edge Mountains. From there, they spread up the spine of the world, to reach even the far north by the time of the Cataclysm (of around -4500 I.C.). Obviously, by this time, Grungni had lived among the Dwarfs for over a thousand years and they had come to believe that he was the father of the Dwarfs, who had returned to guide them. They did not, however, ever ask him whether this was in fact the case.

Now, it was around one hundred and fifty years before the cataclysm when most of the Ancients left. Grungni had not, for he was loath to leave his children (as he saw them). And it was due to his isolation from the other Ancients that the collapse of the Warp gates took him completely unawares and it was all that the Dwarfs could do to seal their gates against the monstrosities without. It was at this time that Grungni began to teach the Dwarfs of the lore of runes, so that they might defend themselves against the vile magicks that had been unleashed upon the earth. In this, Grungni was wise, for he recognised the dangers of manipulating magick directly and in any case, runes, to the Dwarfs, seemed to be the pinnacle of craftsmanship. And then, in his last act as their Lord, Grungni passed the mantle of Overlord onto a Dwarf named Morgrim Forkbeard, who he regarded as strong and wise. This was to be the start of Kingship among Dwarfs, for they recognised Grungni's nominated successor and his children after him (for no normal Dwarf is immortal). Grungni left Karaz-Zorn and headed north, never to appear openly again.

The truth of it was that he was overcome with guilt because of what he saw as his failing in not following the other Ancients. His mission was to find out what had happened to the gates and establish whether it could be reversed, and his journey took him deep into the chaos wastes. Whether he found the answers he was looking for is unknown, but I will divulge to you, gentle readers, that Grungni did return from the chaos wastes only to make another grim discovery on his way south. For Grungni did come upon the hold of Karak-Vlag, which lay at the northern tip of the Worlds Edge Mountains, only to find its gates open and its inhabitants gone. Whatever Grungni saw within its empty halls led to him masking the hold within a powerful illusion that remains to this day. More information regarding Karak-Vlag may be found below under The Chaos Dwarfs.

I shall end my story of the being known as Grungni by saying that according to legend, Grungni returned to Karaz-Zorn some fifty years later, and instructed Morgrim Forkbeard to leave the city and take his people north. Morgrim and his people eventually founded the greatest known Dwarf city, called Karaz-a-Karak (or 'Everpeak' in the tongue of men). It is not known why he did this, and no one has ever managed to locate the legendary hold to search for clues. However, some few Dwarfs believe that Grungni lives on today, and that Karaz-Zorn somehow holds the key to the mystery.

1 This has a different meaning in Dwarf society, where women were responsible for every aspect of the home, or 'hearth' as they called it.

The origin of Man has long been a matter of intense speculation among Old World scholars. The common opinion is that Humans have always existed and were created by the gods and this, for certain, is the line adopted by the Church of Sigmar. More radical theories include the belief that we are descended from Dwarfs, whilst others say Elves. The Elves have slightly more to say on the matter, and if one could persuade them to speak they might say that Man, like most of the races, was created by nature and his environment. A cryptic reply, you might say, but such is the way of Elves. But let me disclose to you the truth of the matter, as has been revealed to me.

Men are products of natural selection, just like Elves and Dwarfs. For countless ages they dwelt east of the World's Edge Mountains in what is now the Dark Lands and the Steppes. Here they lived as nomadic hunters upon the plains, in ignorance of the Elves and the Dwarfs. It is said that the Ancients knew of Men soon after they arrived on this world and yet did not approach them as they did the Elves and later the Dwarfs. Perhaps this was due to Mankind's level of civilisation, or its nomadic nature. But whatever the reasons, when the Cataclysm occurred Men were wholly unprepared for what fate dealt them. Whereas the Dwarfs had been shielded by their mountain fastnesses, and the Elves by the mountains of Ulthuan, the Humans were afforded no such protection. Instead, they were overcome by a tide of Dark Magick that few escaped. Those that were affected most severely were horribly warped, becoming unspeakable monstrosities or writhing pools of flesh. Thankfully, many such individuals died instantly, or soon after. Some however turned upon their kin, sparking desperate fights for survival among the remaining Men. From this event were born many of the foul creatures that still plague the world today, including the Beastmen.

Thus was lost over a quarter of Mankind, and more still fell at the hands of the newborn fiends. Those Men that survived were not unchanged. Some displayed mutations and others went mad. The majority suffered more subtle changes, but nevertheless the seeds of Chaos had been planted within them. And this could occasionally manifest itself in a new generation or later in life, especially when Chaos was strong in the world. Typically, the taint would be either physical mutation or madness, and this is still the case today.

But by far the most important change was to Men's psyches, for Chaos expanded and heightened the range of emotions felt by Men. Hatred, fear, anger and lust were to name but a few of the powerful impulses that Men began to feel. But they were not all negative. Indeed, Men became passionate, driven and curious, among other things. It was these traits that lifted Men from their primordial tribal and nomadic existences and pushed them forwards. Not only that, but they had become psychically self aware to some degree, which would later allow them to master the magicks that had become part of the world. Yet it is important to know that the minds of Men had been set against themselves, for many of the emotions were conflicting, and conspired to make Men unpredictable. For example, whilst they desired change, so were they also fearful of it; whilst they felt anger, so they feared the wrath of others; and so on. Thus the Elven adage: Trust not the motivations of Men, for they too know not what they want.

The importance of the above was not only in that it marked the dawn of Humanity - it also marked the rise of the Gods of Chaos (so-called because they arose from influx of Dark Magick). They were created by the minds of Men and the various monstrosities that the cataclysm had brought. So from rage arose Khorne the Blood God, from despair and fear of death came Nurgle the Lord of Decay, from lust came Slaanesh the Lord of Pleasure, and from ambition and inventiveness rose Tzeentch the Lord of Change. Others included Alluminas the Lord of Light, who desires stasis and fears change. There also came Solkan the Avenger, who is righteous and conceited. The final two are little known today; they are Malal and Arianka, and more on them may be found under Religion below.

All of the gods that arose at that time have subsequently become known as either Gods of Chaos or Gods of Law. There is little practical difference between the two groups (as both seek dominion over the world) except for the way that they operate in current society - the Gods of Chaos work (generally) without the laws of current society, whilst the Gods of Law work within them. Obviously, what is Law and what is Chaos are relative concepts and may vary between countries and individuals, and so many prefer to label all such gods as Gods of Chaos. Although it is open to much debate, the Gods of Chaos are thought to be Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh and Tzeentch; whilst the Gods of Law are thought to be Alluminas, Solkan, Arianka and Malal. More about these gods may be found in the section on Religion although suffice it to say that there is little love lost between any of these gods, not just between Law and Chaos.

And so it was that Humanity entered its darkest hour. For hundreds of years whilst Elves and Dwarfs battled Chaos to the west, Men fought as best they could against the various horrors and even against themselves. And so finally it came to pass that Chaos was driven northwards and the Warp gates began to shrink. Now many of the Human tribes had long worshipped the earth and its various constituent gods (even before they actually existed) and there existed among some of the tribes of Men a priestly class known as the Druids. They maintained the various shrines and crude temples, and made offerings up to the gods. So it came to pass that shortly after Chaos had been vanquished one appeared among the druids. Ancient druidic inscriptions describe him as a venerable Man with a strange manner of speaking. It is said that he taught them of nature and the earth but also that he taught them a form of magick based upon their own tongue, for they were to be protectors of nature and guides of men. And then, after instructing the druids to travel west across the World's Edge Mountains, he vanished. The druids obeyed his command, and took their tribes westwards.

Thus was born one of the most ancient of the magickal arts and the most ancient of religions. It is not known whether this mysterious figure was indeed one of the Ancients or an Elven mage of the day. Either way, he saw the need to teach the early Humans in the ways of magick so that they might protect themselves and the world from Chaos. More on this form of magick may be found under Druidic Magick.

Thus ends my account of the ancient days.

The nature of magick

It is important to remember that all forms of magick stem from the Warp. As it enters the material plane, magick is the raw stuff of chaos and just as matter affects the Warp, so this warpstuff affects matter that it comes into contact with - twisting and rearranging it into new forms. The result of this is that the areas around the Warp gates have been altered beyond all recognition and have become known as the Chaos Wastes. This warping effect is ongoing however, and so not only is the landscape in constant change, but also any beings entering the Wastes are subjected to Chaos and its mutating effects. This is also true of wizards who attempt to harness this magick, for they too find themselves altering (see below under Dark Magick). This pure stuff of Chaos is known as Dark Magick, and just as it alters the world, so is it altered by the world. For Dark Magick does not remain for long in its pure form. Instead, it is forged (some would say purified) into a new form by the matter that it comes into contact with, as is the case in the Warp.

Thus, Dark Magick when exposed to water becomes so-called Water Magick, and Dark Magick that moves high into the sky takes the aspect of the air and becomes Air Magick. And so, Dark Magick becomes either one of the four Elemental forms, or one of the four Metaphysical forms (as outlined below). This transformation is by no means permanent, and the nature of any magick will be dictated by its surroundings at any one time. Regardless, once magick has been changed by the material world, it loses its warping effect. As a result, those drawing upon one of these eight magicks are a lot safer than those who use Dark Magick. That is not to say that there are no adverse consequences to the use of these so-called 'Colour' magicks, for there are, and the consequences can in some cases be just as dangerous.

The fundamental difficulty which can arise from the use of 'Colour' magicks stems from the fact that each of them has the properties of the element (or meta-element) that they represent. As a result, where a wizard predominantly uses one of the 'Colours', without reference to its opposing (and balancing) twin, he begins to take upon himself some of the attributes of that 'Colour'. For instance, Necromancers specialise in death magicks and therefore over time, they start to suffer certain afflictions associated with death, such as an increasingly cadaverous appearance (as their skin undergoes a process similar to decay) or developing an unwholesome stench. Not only that, but such wizards are also affected mentally, and a growing obsession with the 'element' (e.g. death) in question is usually the first of many symptoms.

The final form of magick is by far the most esoteric and is not formed by any natural process. It is known as Light Magick, and is created when the eight Colours are reintegrated. The resulting magick is not only pure (being balanced and without the taint of Dark Magick), it is also to some extent the most versatile (being effectively uncharacterised energy). As a result, Light Magick may be used in anything from shielding spells and auras to ground splitting offensive spells. Unfortunately, the reintegration of the Colours is a most arduous process that only the most capable of Elf mages can hope to master. Note that Light spells are utilised by non-Elven wizards (see below under Battle Magick and The Most Noble Brotherhood of Light) to a lesser degree.