ORDER BATTLETOME

KNIGHTS OF

BRETONNIA

The Survivor

Darkness surrounds me. I see a flash of light in the darkness.

I saw a maelstrom of chaos and death. The death of an entire world. I heard the screams of men,

women children. I heard their sorrow, their fear, their anger. It was horrible to behold, their

pain, their struggle. I heard the cackling of the dark gods, heralding the souls of the lost and

damned towards their end.

Amidst it all, I remember the Hammer. The Tyrant and the God-King, wrestling for its handle, as

they too plunged towards the end.

It all disappeared. All became dark again, as it once was aeons before. The shadows took formless

shape, and I closed my eyes for an eternity.

Now I have opened my eyes again. Where am I? I feel pain…and sorrow. And I do not know

why.

I do not feel whole. It is as if my essence has been ripped from me. Who am I?

I open my eyes. There is light now. I can see, at last. I drift through the void. The black, empty

void…but it is not empty. There are sparks of light. Magic. Energy…and life.

But I do not remember. Who I am. Where I am. What I was. But I shall try to remember, I must.

I watch magic and energy play around my fingertips. I feel the life, the souls pass by me. It

writhes and squeals. Great powers are at work. Powers of Chaos and Order. The void begins to

take shape. Nine great realms do I see. I see the souls take form, they are drawn to the realms.

They will fill the realms with life.

I begin to remember. I remember a Lover. I remember betrayal. I was betrayed. By a Master of

Death. A Mortarch of Night.

My Daughters. My Sons…I remember them too. I watched them, as they stood valiantly against

the end of times. They were too proud to bow before even destiny themselves, truly sons and

daughters worthy of their mother.

But I was not with them. I left them to die. In their greatest hour of need, I was not with them. I

am filled with sorrow. What kind of mother was I to abandon my children.

A tear streaks down my face. I remember the truth. I betrayed myself.

Once, I was whole. But in the embers of that dying world, I cast myself apart.

I wanted to be free. To leave it all behind. To abandon my precious sons and daughters.

My rage. My sorrow. My fear. My pain. My past.

That is what I am. Discarded, discarded by my own self. Another tear streaks down my face.

I feel a pull. One of the realms, it is calling me. I answer it, and begin my descent. The magic here

is more frantic. More energetic. More lively.

I remember her now. I remember myself.

I was kind, and noble. I loved my children, and they accepted my love.

But I was also cold. Cunning. Merciless. And they were horrified by me. Frightened.

Yet all the same, I abandoned them, I left them to die. I failed to protect their noble souls from

eternal damnation.

No.

SHE abandoned them.

SHE was not a worthy mother.

SHE lied to her children. Her chosen. Her sons and daughters.

I am not HER. I am her rage. Her sorrow. Her fear. Her regret. Her past.

I am what she cast out during the end of times. She failed them, but I will be better.

I will find my children. And I will protect them this time. I will not let them die in vain.

I draw near now. I can feel it. I am falling. I can feel them down there, below me. The life. The

souls.

My children. They called me here.

What if they still fear me?

What if they do not accept me?

It matters not.

I have come all the same. A mother will always come to find her children. And so have I.

Another tear. I am almost there.

My children, I am coming. Wait for me.

I am here.

History of the Bretonnians / Notable Events

The Age of Myth:

A divine comet plunges into Ghur; in its core a mysterious being from the old world; a fragment

of a goddess, she lays claim to the souls within this realm

Human tribes in the realm of Ghur unify (well, not really, they wage war on each other too) and

become the Bretonni

The Greenskin Plight (Constant Ork Raids)

The Long Winter (War with the Northern Ogres)

The Underwar (Skaven Tunnel Wars)

Thanduin the Godslayer (The greatest hero to ever live, slayer of the godbeast Oberon)

Discovery of “Worlds End” (Massive Realmgate)

Founding of the principles of chivalry and honor, founding of the noble houses

Founding of the Round Table after the first great Bretonnian Civil War (Council of all the major

noble houses, a position must be secured through the martial prowess of the head of each noble

house, these men are named Grand Lords; the Round Table take votes and decide the course of

action on affairs that affect all Bretonnians)

Culture dominated by many different beliefs; discovery of magic and founding of the Ladies of the

Lake

Legends tell of a being of incredible power that lives within the depths of the forests; said entity is

often worshipped and names “The Lady”

The Age of Chaos:

Invasion of Chaos begins; Khorne besieges “Worlds End”

Battle for “Worlds End” and subsequent destruction of “Worlds End” to prohibit further

daemonic incursions on orders of Circe the Enchantress, Grand Prophetess of the Lady

Circe begins turning the different noble houses against one another, demands fealty to herself

Several houses begin strange practices (Slaaneshi influences and cults)

Circe springs her trap: she is revealed to be a Keeper of Secrets that has been corrupting the

Bretonnians from within, and turns brother on brother

Circe’s main goal remains in the shadows (It is to capture the “Lady” and use her godly power to

somehow find and free Slaanesh)

Leads to the second great Bretonnian Civil War, Circe summons her demon legions and mortal

followers to support the corrupted Bretonnians

Wilhelm the Avenger/Demon Slayer/Chosen of the Lady: last son of a house fully corrupted by

Circe, refused to bow to her -> is chased down and mortally wounded by his own brother

Is saved from the cusp of death by “the fairest maiden in all the realm”; she gives him her blessing

and askes him to be her champion; he must rally the Bretonnians to destroy Circe lest she

annihilate the realm

Renewed and invigourated, Wilhelm travels the realm, banding together the different noble

houses; he falls in love with the young damsel/mage Lilia when he secures the support of the

Ladies of the Lake

The Civil War reaches its peak in the Siege of Trostheim; Wilhelm leads a crusade of knights and

free men to reinforce the trading port of Trostheim, which is beleaguered by Circe herself

While the Ladies of the Lake, including Lilia manage to trap Circe and attempt to banish her for

good, Wilhelm faces his corrupted, former brother in a final duel

Wilhelm manages to slay his brother and break the chaos army, and the Damsels banish Circe

back to the realm of Chaos

Circe is furious; she lays a curse on the Bretonnians, swearing that she will return to annihilate

their people and devour their souls alongside their goddess; she lays a curse on Lilia in order to

take revenge on Wilhelm; “He will not die a warriors death…” “…a death by the hands of his

beloved” “…a son of Wilhem will rise, from the blood of his fathers before him, who will deliver

your people unto salvation…or unto ruin and eternal damnation.”

After the remaining chaos armies are routed and hunted down, Wilhelm is crowned King of

Bretonnia; a new position of leadership that will rule alongside the Round Table

Circe’s curse comes to fruition: Driven by the curse, Lilia slays Wilhelm while he sleeps with a

dagger to his heart; it is only after the deed is done that she realizes what she has done; horrified,

she flees and goes into exile with her yet unborn son

Wilhelms death is mourned greatly by all; yet the Bretonnians do not despair and instead take

hope in the future and continue on

Major rebuilding begins; however they are constantly on the defence against chaos invaders

The Age of Sigmar:

A beleaguered Bretonnian army is reinforced from unexpected quarters; as lightning bolts strike

from the sky, the sons of Sigmar materialize next to the knights and charge into battle against the

Chaos fiends

The Stormcast asses the situation and deem the Bretonnians capable of handling themselves for

the most part; they assist in the rebuilding of “Worlds End” so that the Bretonnians can travel to

different realms, but for the most part leave to assist in reconquering more important areas

However, uneasiness on both sides; the Bretonnians do not trust the strange outsiders of steel and

lightning, while the Stormcast grow suspicious over the strange religious cult of the Lady that now

dominates Bretonnian society (instead of praying to Sigmar)

The third great Bretonnian Civil War between the Ladies and the noble houses: the common folk

are afraid of the strange new Warriors, and back the Ladies of the Lake, who fear that the

Stormcasts will attempt to weaken their position of power; in the end, the Round Table must

concede and allow the Ladies a single vote, as well as the fact that a King must possess their

blessing to be crowned.

The Malign Portents

Malign Portents begin to curse the realms…

Lady Isabella, the young daughter of the current King leads a crusade of Knights to assist their

Stormcast and Order allies in the campaign against Nagash; this is much against the demands of

her father and many other Grand Lords

The crusade (as we all should know, ‘twas the Malign Portents campaign) goes very badly, only

few of her men return home with Isabella

Back in Bretonnia they discover a coven of Necromancers have rampaged through the lands with

their undead hordes; while they are quickly brought to heel by the remnant crusade forces, the

damage has already been done

The populace is terrified, the armies demoralized, and the Isabella’s father and brothers have been

slain, leaving her the only remaining heir to the throne; this leads to general infighting and

instability between the lords vying for power amongst eachother

However, since she lacks belief in the Lady, she receives no blessing and cannot claim the throne,

and so much stabilize the situation on her own

A new hero is born: The city of Villianenburg is under assault from a massive Griffon; the cities

defenders are unable to slay it, and the lord is to proud to ask another house for assistance

A young man strides forth from the city to face the beast; he is larger and stronger than any

commoner, and even more than most every knight

He calls himself Richard, and declares himself to have descended from the blood of Wilhelm the

Avenger

He vows to save Bretonnia from its damnation; in his fight against the griffon he barehandedly

beats it into submission; however, instead of killing it, he takes it as a mount

He begins to travel through Bretonnia gathering a cult following; even gaining the blessing of the

Ladies of the Lake; however, unknown to all he is beset by a terrible curse: Circe the Corruptor

watches the young warriors every step, waiting for his resolve to weaken…

He comes into conflict with Isabella, who is currently attempting to keep Bretonnia together and

well defended; While their goals differ, both realize that they will benefit from an alliance with

each other

The Soul Wars

Dark clouds roil on the horizon. In Shyish, the great necromancer enacts the next step of his

ritual. The godkings warriors of lightning seem more suspicious than ever. The Ladies of the Lake

plot and scheme behind the back of the nobles, who fight amongst eachother for scraps of power.

All the while, Circe’s great curse looms over the entire land, threatening to engulf them in death.

The Bretonnians will face a challenge never seen before; time will tell if their heroes (Isabella,

Griffon Knight) are up to the task, and if they can live up to the footsteps of the legends of the

past… the SOUL WARS have begun.

Thanduin the Godslayer duels an Ogre Warlord during the Long Winter

Thanduin the Godslayer battles an enourmous Seadrake

William the Avenger thanks the Lady for saving his life; in return she asks of him to save her land and her

people

William the Avenger, Chosen of the Lady and Judgement Incarnate, assembled in full war gear

Sir Richard battles an apparition of Circe; who often haunts the young knight, in an attempt to break his

resolve

Lady Isabella

Lady Isabella’s brother Lord Chamon mourns the death of their father, King Arteron. He dies at the hands

of an undead monstrosity, summoned by the necromancer conclave. Isabella is off crusading when her

father is murdered.