Great Beings of the World: The King of The Skies
Transcript of lessons from the Grey College, Altdorf
The nations of men, as they stand, are young compared to our world. Our closest allies, the Dwarfs, can remember more than 10,000 years of civilization to their name, while the Empire, at barely a quarter of the length of existence, is the oldest surviving human nation in the Old World, while Bretonnia can recall a thousand years of existence as an unified nation. Both the Elves and the Dwarfs have many individuals who remember the time before Sigmar, and even they wouldn't dare to call themselves old before the truly ancient existences that inhabit the remote corners of our continent.
It therefore necessary for the wandering wizard to know and understand such existences, lest you stray into the path of their ire and be wiped from existence, or in the worst case, draw their attention and anger towards the Empire.
The first of such beings we will speak about is one who is ostensibly an ally of the empire, for all that humans have seldom seen him since the time of Sigmar, the Progenitor of the Brankroki, the King of The Skies.
Dwarf legends go that nearly 7000 years ago, when the Great Catastrophe occurred and before the establishment of the Great Vortex of Ulthuan, massive amounts of magic inundated the world. Where there is magic, there is mutation, and one very rare, benign mutation occurred among the griffons of the Far North, which gave them sapience. The First amongst them then struck an alliance with the dwarf Ancestor gods, and fought together with the dwarfs to weather the Great Incursion, killing Kholek Suneater, the First-Born of Krakanrok the Black, ancestor of Dragon Ogres, together with King Otrek Gornsson, the first king of Kraka Drakk, and Snorri Klausson, the legendary Runelord and the founder of the Halls of the Everlearning.
Most of the ancient records available to human scholars, and records preserved from the days of Sigmar himself affirm his existence, no matter how fantastical it may seem. Most dwarven records agree that the King, more than thrice as large as a common griffon, moves accompanied by a massive storm cloud, commanding wind, rain and thunder with his will. According to Elven records, attributed to the mages Saphery, and the Chracian nobles of Tor Vernath, unlike the other Branakroki, the King of the Skies is not limited to a single Wind, but in fact can manipulate all Eight Winds of Magic and has even learnt High Magic.
According to most sources, he usually roosts within the first aerie of his people, built above the Kraka Drakk. Clad in armor of gromril with runes inscribed in them by Snorri Klaussson himself, the progenitor of the Brana is also said to possess an article of great power gifted to him by the Ancestor Gods of the dwarfs to mark their alliance. The presence of him and his people are one of the major reasons why the Northern Dwarfs could quickly come to the aid of their southern family when the greenskin invasion occurred shortly after the Great Earthquake had devastated the southern holds of the Karaz Ankor, saving a number of holds from the fate of destruction.
Dwarf records say that the King of the Skies had simply plucked away the Warboss of the Red Eye Goblins, as the northern host approached the besieged Karak Ungor, causing confusion in the ranks of the horde of greenskin, who soon fell to infighting as they are won't to, and allowed for a far easier clean up than it would have been otherwise.
According to the records of the First War of Black Fire Pass, it was the King of the Skies who had slain the Wyvern of the Orc Warboss Urgluk Bloodfang, who was then subsequently killed by the Heldenhammer in single combat, cementing the alliance of the Dwarfs and Men, as well as the Brana.
In terms of threat levels, the King of the Skies ranks along with the oldest Star Dragons of Caledor, or the ancient wyrms and beasts of Chaos like Krakanarok himself. Considering his relatively friendly attitude towards the Empire, great care should be taken, in the very unlikely case of an encounter, to reinforce the good impression. The Empire would disavow any hostile actions and individuals in entirety, as the Brana remain an older and closer ally to the Karaz Ankor than the Empire, and a force the Empire is entirely unwilling to alienate, even before considering the devastation the ancient griffon himself could lay down.
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@soulcake A new Omake for the Omake throne
