Sigmar Heldenhammer (WAR Lore)
Sigmar Heldenhammer is the founder and patron god of the Empire. About 2500 years before the present time, he was a mortal human who united the twelve tribes living between the Grey Mountains and the World's Edge Mountains, with the tribal territories becoming the twelve original states of the Empire.
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History
The Imperial Calendar (IC) which takes its starting date from Sigmar's coronation as Emperor, places his birth as the year IC -30, in the Reikland area in the southwest of the Empire, to the Unberogen tribe, generally considered to have been one of the most powerful pre-Empire tribes. The night of his birth was marked with the appearance of a twin-tailed comet, which the human tribes took as a sign of great portent from the gods. In the year IC -15, the young lord Sigmar led a punitive expedition against a Greenskin war-party that was holding the Dwarf King of Karaz-a-Karak, Kurgan Ironbeard, a prisoner. In gratitude for his rescue, Kurgan presented the young warrior with a magical rune-enchanted warhammer called Ghal Maraz ('Skull-splitter,' in the Dwarf Khazalid language).
Sigmar then went on a campaign to unite the disparate tribes of the future Empire, and one by one they submitted, either by conquest or diplomacy. The most famous incident was his subjugation of the belligerent Teutogens, the largest and most powerful of the tribes, who lived near the Middle Mountains in the north central Empire, near the current location of the Middenheim City-State of Freistadt. Their chieftain, Artur, was defeated by Sigmar in single combat, and this is commonly held to have been the point at which Sigmar gained control of the tribes of the Empire.
From that point onward, Sigmar embarked upon a campaign of purgation and liberation throughout all of the tribal lands, primarily against the Greenskin and Beastmen races, culminating in the First Battle of Black Fire Pass (IC -1). Following this great victory, Sigmar returned in triumph to his native Reikland and was crowned Emperor Sigmar Heldenhammer ('Hammer of the Goblins') at Reikdorf, the site of the current Imperial capital of Altdorf. This date remains the Empire's greatest holy day, as it marks Sigmar's coronation and also his abdication fifty years later (IC 50) - it is in the summer of the Imperial year, on the 18th day of the month of Sigmarzeit.
Sigmar set up the leaders of the twelve tribes that followed him as the Elector Counts of the Empire, a position that remains to this day. The Runefang swords, commissioned by Sigmar to the legendary Dwarf smith Alaric the Mad, were not finished before Sigmar's abdication, but nevertheless remain among the most potent symbols of Imperial rule.
In his fiftieth year of reigning, Sigmar put by his crown and set off to see what lay beyond the World's Edge Mountains to the east, in a similar fashion to the Dwarf ancestor/warrior deity Grimnir the Fearless, who legendarily strode off into the Realm of Chaos to do battle with the Chaotic powers. Following his disappearance, Sigmar passed over the World's Edge mountain range and no human ever saw him again.
The Cult of Sigmar
In the years after his abdication and disappearance, a cult was established in the name of Sigmar within the Empire, that quickly grew into a fully-fledged religion. It is now the foremost religion in the Empire and is inextricably intertwined with the political, cultural, and national identity of the Empire and its people. As a god, Sigmar is worshiped as a unifier of mankind, and a protector of the weak and innocent against the insidious threat of Chaos and dark magic. There is some political conflict between the leaders of the cults of Sigmar and Ulric - the northern god of winter, wolves, and war - but within the armies of the Empire followers of both cults are often found fighting side by side.
The cult of Sigmar is divided into four main holy Orders:
- The Order of the Silver Hammer - Members of this Order are commonly known as Warrior Priests. They travel the Empire, promoting the Cult, opposing Chaos, and generally bringing glory to their god. They frequently join the ranks of the armies of the Empire, attending to the spiritual needs of the soldiers and inspiring them on the battlefield.
- The Order of the Torch - These are the priests who officiate at religious ceremonies, hear confessions of the faithful, and organize and lead events on holy days.
- The Order of the Cleansing Flame - This Order deals primarily with those who practice forbidden magic. Often confused with secular Witch Hunters, members of this Order are most concerned with rooting out corruption from within the ranks of the Cult.
- The Order of the Anvil - This is a monastic Order whose members live out their lives in isolation from the rest of society, dedicating themselves to meditation and prayer. The main function of this Order is to study and interpret the Word of Sigmar, which forms the basis for Imperial law.
Sigmarite Iconography
- Ghal Maraz - In the Dwarf language (Khazalid), it means 'skull-splitter', the legendary hammer of Sigmar, forged by the Dwarf runesmith Alaric the Mad, is a symbol of Imperial unity, and the defense of humankind and the Empire. Along with the Twin-tailed Comet, it is the primary sign of Sigmar employed by the Cult. In remembrance and honor of Ghal Maraz, the martial arm of the Sigmarite cult, the Order of the Silver Hammer, use warhammers in battle.
- Twin-tailed Comet - The sign that appeared in the heavens on the night of Sigmar's birth, it has become a universal symbol of his cult.
- Griffon - Popular following the 2300s and the reign of Emperor Magnus I ('the Pious'), this was his personal heraldry that has been adopted by the Emperors that have followed him (the so-named 'Griffon Emperors' of Reikland), the griffon has been adopted to some degree by the Sigmarite cult as well, particularly in the form of the Jade Griffon, a magical artifact worn by the Grand Theogonists to protect them in battle.
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