The inhabitants of these northern states generally have to deal with much greater hardships and military threats than those of the more civilized south, being that much closer to the daemons, Beastmen and other dangers of the northern Chaos Wastes. These lands are divided into the northern Imperial states - Hochland, Ostermark, Ostland, Middenland and Nordland. The Great Forest, Drakwald Forest and the Forest of Shadows are all essentially part of the same dark, untamed wilderness, with the green blanket of trees punctured only by the abrupt mountain range known as the Middle Mountains. The vast forests that comprise the central and northern Imperial lands stretch almost unbroken across the countless leagues from the state of Reikland to the northern border with Kislev and the shore of the Sea of Claws. To the north, the rolling hills and rapid streams of the south and east are gradually transformed into the forested lowlands and deep waterways that define the heart of the Empire. To the south are the inhospitable Black Mountains and to the east are the Worlds Edge Mountains that mark the eastern extent of the Old World. To the west of these are the Grey Mountains, beyond which lies the Kingdom of Bretonnia and the Wood Elves' magical forest of Athel Loren. The southern Imperial states - Averland, Reikland, Stirland, Talabecland and Wissenland - resemble a broad chalice, partially surrounded by near-impassable mountain ranges from which drain the mighty rivers which are the lifeblood of Imperial trade. The Imperial states correspond roughly to the ancient tribal territories brought together by Sigmar when he united the tribes of Man beneath one crown to defeat the greenskins of the Old World.
It should be noted that the Empire is not truly a single, centralized nation, but instead a confederation of individual, feudal states united only by the common tongue of Reikspiel, a shared faith in Sigmar and a mutual Imperial culture. There are ten provincial states in the Empire, each ultimately ruled by a feudal lord known as an Elector Count who owes his or her power to the unifying figurehead and ultimate authority of the Emperor. Today, the Empire is led by Karl Franz I, who rules from his court in the Imperial capital city of Altdorf. This action solidified the relationship between Men and Dwarfs and planted the seeds for the burgeoning Empire through trade between the two races. Sigmar was deified after his death by his people and his promise of eternal aid from the Empire for the kingdoms of the Dwarfs still stands today. The greatest nation of the Old World, the Empire is ruled by an Emperor and is composed of the descendants of the ancient tribes of Mankind united by the great Human warrior Sigmar Heldenhammer after the Battle of Black Fire Pass. Having yet to succumb to any threat, external or internal, it is the faith, the sense of righteousness, and the unconquerable spirit of the realm's citizens which gives the Empire its strength, as well as the ruthless efficiency of its military and religious orders. Īlthough not as skilled in craftsmanship as the Dwarfs or in magic as the High Elves, the people of the Empire are not beholden by the limits of tradition to the same extent as those elder races and continue to progress culturally, technologically and magically. It was forged by the warrior-king and ascended deity Sigmar from the primitive tribes of Human barbarians who inhabited what became the lands of the southern Empire more than 2500 years ago. The Empire, sometimes referred to as the Empire of Man, is an electoral monarchy composed of feudal states that is the largest and most important of the Human nations in the Old World.
" Three things make the Empire great faith, steel, and gunpowder." - Emperor Magnus the Pious Ī shield depicting symbols of Imperial power.