Dynasties have come and gone.
Cities have risen into grandeur and fallen into decay.
Thrones have reared their proud magnificence and crumbled into the dust of oblivion.
Nations have swollen into greatness and melted into insignificance.
Through it all, has come a sobering truth on the nature of mankind: their impact on
the world has rarely been their triumphs, and all too often their frailties.
It was human weakness that created the ruins of Kavzar, the Desolation of Nagash and the
dread power of Mordheim, and these will stand as monuments to the human race far longer
than any statue or headstone.
Yet while the elder races might look down upon humanity with well deserved scorn, they
must do so tempered by the knowledge that while their own time has come and gone, mankind’s
brightest days may yet still lie ahead.
The human race has stumbled and at times fallen, but in its struggle can be glimpsed the wonders
they might achieve if their darker nature could be overcome.
This vision of human potential is often fleeting, but sometimes takes root in an idea, a nation,
or even a single soul.
And perhaps the greatest blessing to befall the human race is that one such soul today
rests within Emperor Karl Franz: Elector Count and Grand Prince of Reikland, Protector of
the Empire and the Defiler of the Dark.
Even while still an infant, Karl Franz had the mark of destiny upon him.
Born the only son of Emperor Luitpold I in 2470, he was nearly slain before he had seen
his first year.
While travelling through Drakwald Forest, the Imperial family was set upon by Beastmen.
Nearly overrun, they were unexpectedly rescued by the Fay Folk of Athel Loren.
The elves held no regard for the Emperor’s gratitude, instead caring only for the child’s
safety, naming him “Harathoi Koiran” or “Young King” in their tongue.
Curiously, they seemed to speak to Karl Franz in prophecy, whispering to the infant to “break
it, then make it whole”.
Despite these cryptic portents that seemed to herald grandeur, Franz was not particularly
well regarded by the nobility of the Empire and seemed ill-prepared for greatness.
He developed a rakish and debonair reputation, far more likely to be spotted in a tavern
or gambling den than in any Chapel of Sigmar.
The birth of his son seemed to ground Karl Franz though, and he began approaching the
duties of his station with greater respect.
Even at the age of thirty-two however, despite personal training from Ludwig Schwarzhelm,
the Emperor's Sword of Justice, Franz had not participated in any major campaigns and
both his martial skill and statesmanship remained unproven.
With the death of his father in 2502, Karl Franz inherited the titles of Prince of Altdorf
and Elector Count of Reikland, along with the ancestral sword, the Runefang “Dragon’s
Tooth”.
One of his first official duties was to cast his vote and decide who would succeed his
father as the new Emperor.
Despite his prestigious titles, most Elector Counts did not consider Karl Franz a strong
contender for the throne, viewing him as too young and unproven to be a serious choice.
It was only out of a sense of loyalty to his father that he cast a vote for himself but
was content to live a comparatively tranquil life as merely the ruler of Reikland.
While voted a distant second to Boris Todbringer of Middenland, neither candidate received
enough support to be named Emperor.
As a second vote was organized, Karl Franz took to patrolling the forests surrounding
Altdorf to better acquaint himself with the capital.
During one such patrol, the Prince and his retinue were set upon by Forest Goblins, only
for Franz to single-handedly slay an enormous Arachnarok Spider and the Goblin Shaman riding
atop it.
As his men rallied around him, one of his Reiksguard revealed himself to be an assassin.
Exhausted after the Goblin ambush, Karl Franz would have been murdered at this man’s hand,
if not for the sudden appearance of a mysterious ethereal figure.
This ghostly emerald Knight parried the blade meant for Franz and then slew the would-be
assassin.
Before he vanished, the Knight ordered Franz to meet with the King of neighboring Bretonnia
before the 2nd vote could be called, warning that if the old grudges that divided mankind
were not overcome, the Three-Eyed-King would destroy them both.
Despite his apprehension, Karl Franz met with King Louen Leoncoeur in the Imperial fortress
of Helmgart.
Through a vision of prophecy granted to him by his own goddess, the Lady of the Lake,
King Leoncoeur had come to believe that only through Karl Franz could the realms of man
be saved from the predations of Chaos.
Here the Bretonnian King unknowingly repeated words Karl Franz had heard far earlier, claiming
the Lady had spoken “something must be broken, shattered, before it can be remade anew”.
Though he did not remember the first time he heard these words, Franz was convinced
by this strange encounter and he arrived back in the capital with far greater resolve.
Through a mixture of cunning guile, political idealism, and public displays of unifying
rhetoric Franz swayed several of the Elector Counts to his cause.
But the head of the Cult of Sigmar, the Grand Theogonist Volkmar von Hindenstern, grew enraged
when Franz spoke of the Lady of the Lake’s prophecy, claiming no Emperor would ever heed
the words of a foreign god.
Mere moments before the vote however, Volkar saved Franz from another would-be assassin’s
blade, recognizing a mark upon the assailant as that of the dark god Tzeentch, the Great
Deceiver.
In the second vote, Franz’s fiercest rival, Boris Todbringer realized the tide had turned
against him.
Wanting a strong empire more than the Emperorship, he was the first to bow to the newly crowned
Emperor Franz I.
As his first act, Karl Franz brought the symbol of his office, the legendary Warhammer Ghal
Maraz, down on one of his closest supporters, killing not a man, but a horrible abomination
of the dark gods.
The attack revealed to the Elector Counts the taint of Chaos that had infiltrated their
ranks and been behind the many attempts on Franz’s life.
With the efforts of the ruinous powers to prevent his ascension to the throne wholly
thwarted, Karl Franz moved to unite his fractured Empire.
His first campaign burned out the Beastmen and Chaos cultists that had taken root in
the wilderness, and slaughtered Norscan raiders that had once preyed upon Imperial coastlines
unopposed.
During subsequent wars against the greenskins of Waaaagh Spleenrippa and the Eastern Hordes
of Mrkhal-hai The Savage, Emperor Franz finally proved his martial prowess, personally striking
down Orc Warbosses and Champions of the Ruinous powers.
Franz was swiftly recognized as one of the greatest Emperors of the modern era.
His unwavering loyalty to the Empire gained the respect of both his own people, and the
other great nations and races that bordered the nation.
Gifted a griffin egg taken from some great peak by the Wood Elves, Franz hatched and
raised the creature to maturity himself.
Deathclaw, as the beast came to be known, was reputed to be among the mightiest Imperial
Griffins to have ever lived.
The image of Emperor Franz riding atop its mighty form became iconic, replicated across
tapestries and spoken of in epic poems across the whole of the Old World.
Countless victories cemented Franz as a national hero, but it was in the Third Battle of Blackfire
Pass that he was first seen as a worthy successor to the God King Sigmar himself.
In 2519, the Imperial Army with Franz in command responded to the growing threat of an Orc
Waaaggh approaching Averland.
Black Fire Pass was the natural choke point with which to confront the horde, and Franz
arrived only barely in advance of the greenskins.
The carnage that erupted was the equal of any battle to have ever been fought in the
Old World, with even Deathclaw brutally mauled by a giant in service to the orcs and forced
to retire to the rear.
At first the battle seemed to favor neither side, until a surprise charge by Orc cavalry
smashed through the Imperial artillery.
As the Empire’s lines collapsed, Marius Leitdorf, Elector Count of Averland was killed
in personal combat with the Orc Warboss, Vorbad Ironjaw.
At this sight, the Emperor was left with only a single chance to rally the Imperial forces
and charged forth with his remaining knights to face down the Warboss himself.
It is said that Franz fought Ironjaw with furious resolve, but could not match the brute
strength of the warboss and was forced to his knees.
Yet at the very moment he should have perished, Franz was enveloped in a golden aura, rising
again to his feet not as the Black Armoured Emperor, but rather, if the stories can be
believed, as a fur clad Barbarian King.
While this primeal visage lasted only an instant, the ancient battle cry he bellowed stunned
the Orc warboss, and that split second of hesitation cost Vorbad his life.
The astonishing victory at Black Fire Pass and the pivotal role Emperor Franz played,
has been used to great effect ever since.
Seemingly favored by Sigmar himself, Franz has skillfully leveraged his image within
the Empire to win both the support of the people and the various Elector Counts.
Today he is widely seen as one of the greatest statesmen in the Old World, regarded as the
equal of any Elven King or Dwarven Lord.
His ability to know when to compromise and when to stand firm has turned potential confrontations
or even civil wars into opportunities for reconciliation.
So great is his political prowess, that what to a lesser Emperor might be jealous rivals,
are to Franz, stalwart allies.
As a patron of the magical arts and sciences, Franz has worked to expand human understanding.
With his support, the Imperial School of Engineering has achieved astonishing breakthroughs while
the Colleges of Magic have become more and more prominent within Imperial Armies.
Under his reign, the promise of an Empire under a just and moral standing seems possible.
Karl Franz has a vision for humanity beyond that of his contemporaries, and he has dedicated
his life to realizing that vision, astonishingly, through sheer will.
But he is still just a man, a man born into a world of unceasing war and endless terrors.
His reign has seen him confront wonders and horrors, but the greatest foe still lies ahead.
Bold deeds and great courage are needed against the encroaching darkness, and the fate of
the world, be it damnation or salvation will soon
be decided.