Kislev

"You look down on us and think we are little better than barbarians, but you should be glad we are, for without us here, the northern tribes would be dining on the flesh of your children in your burning homes. But for the courage that flows in our veins would your lands be theirs. Look down on us? You should get on your knees and thank us every day!"

—Vitalia Kovash, Kislevite Winged Lancer^[1j]

Kislev, officially the Tzardom of Kislev, also known as the "Realm of the Ice Queen^[2a]," and to the Kislevites themselves as "The Motherland^[4]," is the most northerly Human realm of the Old World.^[2a] It is a powerful kingdom defined by the constant need to prepare for incessant warfare against the tribes of the Chaos-worshipping Northmen on their borders. Kislev is known far and wide for having some of the greatest horsemen to ever roam the plains of the southern realms.^[1b] Ruled by a mighty monarch known as a "tzar" or "tzarina,"^[1g] Kislev is a nation born from the saddle, its people's ancestry traced to the mighty horse-warriors of the Gospodar tribe who inhabited the Eastern Steppes for many millennia.^[1j]

From the Worlds Edge Mountains to the east and the Sea of Claws in the west, Kislev stands at the very frontiers of Human civilisation in the Old World, a land covered in wide-open steppes and thundering icy rivers, where lonely villages stand isolated in the empty wilderness, while mighty cities rise from the landscape like great islands of stone. The climate is harsh and unforgiving, and only the strongest, most determined people can survive here. The inhabitants of Kislev are these very same people, a race of wolf-tough and self-reliant warriors, valiant and determined in the defence of their homeland against the hated Chaos Marauders and Warriors of Chaos of Norsca, the Eastern Steppes and the uppermost Chaos Wastes.^[1b]

Since the founding of this mighty kingdom, Kislev has been under siege by the murderous forces of Chaos, a realm that sits forever at the brink of total annihilation. Countless generations of Kislevites have fought, bled, and died in the snowy tundra of those harsh northern lands, and it is thanks to these brave Kislevite warriors that the kingdoms of Men have managed to flourish to the south in the Old World, huddled together in their warm and safe homes, whilst the sons and daughters of Kislev fight till they draw their last dying breath.^[1j]

History

For a full chronology of the history of Kislev, please see Kislev Timeline.

"Long ago, many Gospodar clans lived upon the Endless Steppe. Like today, it was a vast province and was lashed with the terrible energies of Chaos. The Gospodars were beset by all manner of foul foes, and the Daemon Gods offered surcease from these attacks if the Gospodars would but bow their head in worship. But the Gospodars were stubborn."

—Militsa Lushadoch Gmelin, Ice Witch^[1y]

Gospodar Origins

Since before its birth, the people that would found and rule Kislev were the ancient clans of the Gospodar, a mighty nomadic tribe of Men native to the Eastern Steppes and the descendants of the Scythians of old. They lived, drank, loved, and died like their forefathers before them in the saddle, living out their lives in relative peace upon the open steppelands. All that changed the day the energies of Chaos began to flow like water unto the cold, harsh lands of the uppermost north after the Great Catastrophe, and foul foes and numberless Chaos beasts of all kinds began to stalk and kill off their people.^[1j]

The mighty Gospodars and their Northmen kin and neighbours, the Hung and Kurgans, fought on against the will of the Chaos Gods, for no sane Human being would willingly give up their souls to damnation. But such a foe could not be easily fought and in time, one by one, the Gospodars' neighbouring tribes were subdued and were enslaved into the worship and service of the Ruinous Powers.^[1j]

Though their kin of the steppes were mighty and fierce, they lacked the sheer willpower of the Gospodars to fight on. And fight the Gospodars did, ever believing in the divinity of their own gods, and requesting their aid against the servants of the Dark Gods. The greatest of the steppe people's gods, Ursun, the god of bears and strength, aided his people in their time of need, but even his divine strength and skill of arms proved insufficient. Slowly but surely, the Gospodars' plight proved ever more desperate.^[1j]

Then a great nature spirit called the "Ancient Widow," "Kislev" or simply "The Land," whispered to a Gospodar shaman-priestess. The spirit promised her great power if she swore to lead her people westwards, towards a distant, frozen realm where the spirit was trapped by the will of the Dark Gods. The shaman, desperate to aid her people, readily agreed and was granted the ancient and mystical power of winter itself by the Ancient Widow -- the magical Lore of Ice.^[1j]

With the Ancient Widow's guidance, the shaman quickly mastered her new and god-like powers and used them to gather what she needed to fulfill her promise. With her will-power and powerful magic, she bound the disparate Gospodar clans into a single unified people and placed herself above them as their first khan-queen, known now and forever as Miska the Slaughterer.^[1j]

With her people united and determined, the massive horde of horsemen raced across their now dying homeland, riding their hardest to escape the darkness that had come to consume them all. After many long years of bloodshed and sacrifice on the Endless Steppe, the now war-driven people of the Gospodars finally reached the mighty Worlds Edge Mountains, the final barrier that barred the way to their destiny.^[1j]

Once Khan-Queen Miska reached the other side, there, wide-eyed, she encountered a vast, snow-covered plain pulsing with mystical icy power. She immediately collapsed to the ground and wept frozen tears, for she knew the search for her people's salvation was finally over.^[1j]

Great Conquest of Kislev (1497 to 1524 IC)

Though the great nature spirit of the land known as the Ancient Widow promised this beautiful snowy paradise to the Gospodars, the land was already claimed by another large tribe of horse-borne people. The Ungols of ancient times had lived in these lands for centuries, having fought and bled their blood and the blood of their sons to halt the Greenskin menace that invaded the Old World during the reign of the first Emperor of Man, Sigmar Heldenhammer.^[1j]

Though peace between the Ungols and Sigmar's people was solidified during the Battle of Black Fire Pass, this peace did not extend towards these new invaders. Though they there powerful martial tribes, the Ungols of Kislev, and the Udoses and Ostagoths of the Empire could not hope to stand in the way of the Gospodar horde that poured out of the north.^[1j]

Under the leadership of Khan-Queen Miska, the Gospodars had become powerful and wealthy and possessed of an unmatched genius in warfare, their skills in fighting from horseback superior to even those of the Ungols. The khan-queen was not only a warrior of great skill and courage, but also a powerful wizard of unmatched power.^[1j]

Soon, the Ungols were pushed back and scattered, with the Ungols having gained an everlasting fear of the dreaded "Ice Queen." The khan-queen continued her march of conquest against the Ungol tribes for several years, eventually leading her host towards the walls and gates of the Ungol bastion of Praag itself. Though mighty and powerful, the walls of this ancient city were laid low by the powerful frost spells of the khan-queen's Ice Magic, forcing the entirety of the Ungol people westward towards their new capital city of Norvard.^[1j]

With the sudden dislocation from their native homeland, the Ungols migrated towards the northwest, forcing their way into Roppsmenn territory. All previous alliances and treaties between these two peoples ended when Praag fell, and an Ungol army under the leadership of Warlord Hethis Chaq defeated a Roppsmenn host led by their ruler, King Wieran on the cliffs overlooking the Sea of Claws. With the death of their ruler, the Roppsmenn tribes were scattered, and the Ungols claimed their former neighbours' lands and absorbed the remnants of this once great people into their own population.^[1j]

Founding (1525 to 2301 IC)

Not content to keep and cultivate the lands they had earned during their conquest, the Gospodar tribes began to further expand their territories westward until they came into conflict with the Imperial Electoral Provinces of Ostland and Ostermark. Torn with strife and constant warfare during the Age of Three Emperors, the Men of the Empire were not strong enough to halt the advance of the Gospodar horsemen as they drove deep into unoccupied territory. Soon much of northern Ostland was lost to the fast-moving tribesmen, until finally the Gospodars had to halt their advance at the edge of the Forest of Shadows.^[1j]

Though the lands the Gospodars claimed in the Empire were eventuallt won back by the military might of the Imperial State Armies, the status and power of the Gospodars eventually made the Empire consider their claim to have founded a kingdom in their own right. Khan-Queen Miska did not live to see the land she had begun to forge fully take shape, for she vanished into the north, claiming to have seen a vision of a terrible future where she would once again be needed to lead her people to salvation. Leaving her fearsome magical warblade, Fearfrost, to her daughter and heir Shoika, Miska gathered her most trusted warriors and rode north, never to return.^[1j]

By the year of 1527 IC, the Gospodar tribes under the rulership of their new khan-queen began construction of their great capital city, which they named Kislev, after the land and kingdom itself. With the new capital of her people under construction, Shoika changed her title from "khan-queen" to "tzarina" to indicate her new, sedentary reign over the lands north of the River Urskoy.^[1j]

Under the rulership of Tzarina Shoika, the city that was to become Kislev was completed, and the lands of the Gospodar slowly began to form into the nation it is today. As the first Tzarina of Kislev, Skoika established the Gospodarin Calendar to mark the years from the establishment of the new kingdom.^[1j]

Shoika's first act as tzarina was to march on the neighbouring port city of Norvard, the last bastion of Ungol resistance to Gospodar dominance of the lands of Kislev. Possession of this mighty trading port on the western coast of the new kingdom was the key that would ensure that Kislev stood at the forefront of trade and commerce with the rest of the Old World, and Shoika knew that her dreams of a unified and prosperous nation would not be fulfilled whilst the city was still in enemy hands.^[1j]

Leading her host through the open tundra of northern Kislev, Shoika's warriors initiated a new campaign to solidify their hold on the northwestern territories of Kislev. Less than two years after her crowning as tzarina, Shoika and her host of cavalry eventually besieged and captured the Ungol capital city of Norvard, renaming it Erengrad in honour of the victory. Those Ungols that survived the bloody siege fled northwards, where they were ruthlessly hunted until finally their people had no choice but to accept the Gospodar's rule over the land and assimilate into Gospodarin society.^[1j]

With this final act, the birth of the Gospodar's new nation of Kislev was complete. In recognition of this, the Gospodar people relinquished their former name and adopted the new demonym of "Kislevites," choosing forever afterwards to call themselves by the name of their new kingdom and its capital city.^[1j]

Within a few years, the cities of Praag and Erengrad were rebuilt and began to grow in size once more. Praag grew rich and powerful due to the large influx of Ungols returning to their once beautiful city to start life anew under Kislevite rulership. Erengrad experienced a huge increase in trade and wealth as the new ports and harbours that were built in the wake of the final siege by its new Kislevite masters became one of the busiest trading hubs in the Old World. From here, the Kislevites were able to sail the Sea of Claws, trading and fighting with the Norscans and the Men of the Empire, as well as keeping the few remaining nomadic Ungol tribes that refused to submit to their rule in check.^[1j]

This time of great prosperity and happiness for Kislev lasted for nearly 750 years, and over this long span of time, the bloodlines of the Gospodar and Ungol peoples inevitably intermingled, creating the hybrid society that many now view as emblematic of the present-day Tzardom of Kislev.^[1j]

Though the Ungols and Gospodars now live in something approaching harmony, there is still a large cultural division between them that has shaped Kislev's socioeconomic structure. The ruling Kislevite elite, from whom the tzar and/or tzarina always hails, are unsurprisingly all of Gospodarin heritage, though the influence of their language and beliefs is more evident in the fertile oblast of the south.^[1j]

Further north however, where the lands become more barren and the horse tribes still hold sway, there has been a resurgence in the old ways of Ungol life before the coming of the Gospodars. In fact, the city of Praag has been reclaimed in large part by the scions of the original Ungol nobility and, in many ways, is a separate power to itself in the far north of Kislev.^[1j]

Great War Against Chaos (2301 IC)

Fall of Praag (Late 2301 IC)

For generations, the sons of Kislev have fought and died on the barren plains of the far north. Chaos raids against the south are common in a land so close to the Chaos Wastes, and this endless stream of warfare has only made the people of this land hardier then those of the weaker south.^[1j]

After years of constant conflict with the northern marauders, the tzars ordered the establishment of several forts occupying the southern end of High Pass and Black Blood Pass, usually garrisoned by several hundred Kislevite troops under the leadership of a march boyar to watch for any sign of an upcoming invasion.^[1j]

As the years have gone by, these raids have grown more fearsome and numerous, and the tribes of the Ungol grew uneasy as their Hag Witches and shamans foretold a great gathering of powerful eldritch energies from the Chaos Wastes. The power of the Dark Gods began to wax stronger and stronger in the Chaos Wastes over the millennium, and war-drums were sounded as the armies of the north gathered for the great slaughtering that was to come. Cold northern winds blew particularly strong, and portents of doom abounded, allowing those with magical insight and possessed of the witch-sight to see the great storm that was coming to consume them all.^[1j]

In the winter of 2301 IC, a powerful Kurgan chieftain and Chaos Lord, Asavar Kul of the Kul tribe, led a massive invasion force of Norscan Chaos Marauders and the Warriors of Chaos towards the very heart of Kislev itself, heeding the calls of the Dark Gods with his new title as the twelfth Everchosen of Chaos Undivided. When the tribes came south, some called it the "Great Slaughtering," "The Godcalling," and "The Coming of the Storm," but in the weaker southern realms, the great Chaos assault was known as the Great War Against Chaos.^[1j]

In response, a force of Kislevite and Imperial soldiers was mustered, and faced the oncoming hordes of Chaos-worshippers just north of the city of Praag, between the towns of Murmagrad and Chazask. The allied army was unfortunately surrounded and massacred, underestimating the sheer size and numbers of Asavar Kul's army. Advancing to the western foothills of the Worlds Edge Mountains, the Chaos horde had also managed to subsequently destroy a contingent of Kislevites defending the last operational bridge on the River Lysnk, and Kul's forces crossed the last barrier between it and the city of Praag.^[1j]

For much of the spring and summer of 2301 IC, the Chaos army besieged the Ungol city of Praag, the so-called "Bastion of the North." For months now, the Chaos armies under Kul had made daring assaults against the city's walls, but the sheer ferocity of the defenders' courage proved just as fearsome as the Northmen themselves. The city walls stood high and proud, and the city's defenders hurled back their attacks time and again with desperate heroics and the use of their deadly skills with the bow. But it was not the sword or axe that proved the downfall of this great city, but one that the Kislevites had once thought was their greatest weapon.^[1j]

In the winter of 2301 IC, starvation began to run wild in the streets of Praag, the city unable to feed its numerous populace without the produce grown by the now-destroyed surrounding local farms. Though the winter cold killed far more Chaos Warriors then Kislevite defenders, the meagre defence that remained in the city after the harsh winter season's end proved insufficient to hold the walls, and at the end of winter, Praag fell to a concentrated Chaos assault. The Chaos hordes ran amok in its streets.^[1j]

With its downfall, the raw energies of Chaos engulfed the city in the wake of its mortal servants like a never ending tide of pure mutation that corrupted everything in its path, and the Bastion of the North was changed forever. Its survivors were fused together in hellish, inhuman shapes. Living bodies melted into the walls of the city, so that it became impossible to tell flesh from stone. Distorted faces peered from walls, agonised limbs writhed from the pavement, and pillars of stone groaned with voices that came from once-Human throats. Praag had become a living nightmare and a grim warning of the sufferings that lay ahead for all the peoples of the Old World if the warriors of the Dark Gods proved victorious.^[1j]

Battle at the Gates of Kislev (Spring 2302-2304 IC)

Before the fall of Praag, Tzar Alexis Romanoff had sent a plea for aid against the Chaos hordes that were assailing the gates of his city. The first to heed the call was the Elector Count of Ostland, whose army was subsequently destroyed just north of Praag. Unlike the Elector Count of Ostland however, the other Elector Counts of the Empire grew terrified, believing that all hope was lost, and that the End Times had truly come.

Weakened by the constant civil strife and political in-fighting of the Age of Three Emperors and the endless streams of mysterious crop failures, rampant disease, and rife mutation that had preceded Asakar Kul's invasion amongst many of its provinces, the Empire suffered from unexpected rebellions and uprisings all across its territories, instigated by long-hidden Chaos Cults to further disrupt the Imperial war effort in the hopes of gaining favour from the invaders once the Empire had fallen.^[1j]

One particularly powerful Chaos Cult called "The Magi" led the largest of these uprisings, using their powerful Tzeentchian sorcerers to summon forth Daemons and other horrors upon the city of Nuln. Those who remained loyal to Sigmar prayed for deliverance, receiving an answer in the twin-tailed comet that soared in the night sky.

Magnus von Bildhofen of Nuln, later known as "Magnus the Pious," saw the comet, and inspired by his grounding in the Cult of Sigmar used his influence as a minor noble to rally the people of the city. Under Magnus's leadership, Nuln was liberated from the servants of Chaos, with Magnus soon taking his crusade across the Empire as he became an Imperial general. A massive army was assembled from the Elector Counts and other powers, either swayed by Magnus' gilded tongue or because they were afraid of the consequences of any refusal to aid the growing force. Magnus' force soon became the largest army ever assembled within the Empire in its long and war-torn history.^[1j]

Eventually, Magnus' army reached the city of Middenheim, where he sought an audience with Ar-Ulric Kriestov to gain support for the war from the influential Cult of Ulric. After Kriestov denounced Magnus as nothing more then a charlatan, Magnus walked through the Sacred Flame of Ulric -- the holiest site of the Cult of Ulric which was said to be able to separate the pure from the tainted, and the truthful from the liar.^[1j]

After miraculously emerging unscathed, Magnus proved the righteousness of his cause, and gained the support of a powerful ally. Magnus tactfully appointed Kriestov as the leader of his cavalry force. With the aid of Pieter Lazlo, the personal ambassador of Magnus, the High Elf Archmage Teclis, High Loremaster of the Tower of Hoeth, was also convinced to join Magnus' army, along with two other very powerful Asur wizards who had accompanied Teclis from Ulthuan to the Old World to help the realms of Men throw back the tides of Chaos. With his forces ready, the great Imperial army began to march towards the north.^[1j]

Knowing that the Imperial army was too large and slow-moving to be able to reach Praag in time, Magnus ordered Krestov's cavalry force, consisting of vengeful Kislevite Winged Lancers and glory-hungry Imperial knights, to ride with all speed towards the beleaguered city. Night and day, the Imperial and Kislevite horsemen rode to aid their brothers of the north, envisioning the great horrors that were to engulf the people of Praag if they tarried.^[1j]

Sadly, these fears were proven on the day the Imperial army reached the outskirts of the city. Praag had fallen, just a few short hours after the arrival of the reinforcing army. From off in the distance, they could hear the screams of dying men, the screeches of butchered woman, and the cries of the children as they saw their lives extinguished in flames and bloodshed. The Imperial army stood quiet and grim on that sorrowful hill, weeping small tears as they watched the Chaos army finish their bloody work.^[1j]

With the fall of Praag, several hundred Dwarf warriors from the city of Karaz-a-Karak marched ceaselessly towards the capital city of Kislev, hoping to aid in its defence. With the Chaos army having left the shattered city of Praag, the Imperial cavalry now assaulted the rearguard of Asavar Kul's horde, destroying them utterly before any could report the attack to the twelfth Everchosen.^[1j]

At the same time, Magnus was marching his force towards Kislev City as well, hoping to resupply before heading toward Praag, himself unaware of the terrible fate that had befallen the city. Upon his arrival on the outskirts of Kislev City, Magnus saw the Kislevite capital besieged by the forces of Chaos, with only a few detachments of Kislevites and a contingent of Dwarfs desperately fighting to keep the enemy at bay. Seeing the dire straits of the defenders, Magnus immediately ordered a charge towards the foes' rear.^[1j]

Surprised by the sudden arrival of the massive Imperial army and the unstoppable power of Teclis' magic, the Chaos lines began to waver as grim-faced Imperial soldiers drove a wedge deep into the rear of the enemy ranks. Just when the Chaos horde began to buckle at this sudden assault, Asavar Kul rallied his greatest warriors and used their greater numbers to encircle Magnus' army.^[1j]

The Imperial relief force began to get bogged down in the sea of Chaos Warriors and Chaos Knights, and Magnus was forced into a defensive position as the horde began to close in all around them. On the city walls, the battle between the forces of Chaos and the Imperial relief army was seen by the Kislevite defenders. Three hundred Dwarfs broke out of the city gates in an attempt to try and reach the Imperial relief force, but they were beaten back. Only half of their number returned to the beleaguered Kislevite capital.^[1j]

When it seemed that all hope was lost for the defenders of the city, the Imperial cavalry force which had been sent to relieve fallen Praag suddenly appeared on the northern horizon, on the so-called "Hill of Heroes," and launched a devastating charge borne of their sheer hatred for the foe upon the Chaos horde. Watching the enemy suddenly broken by the appearance of the Imperial reinforcements, Magnus spurred his troops on to one last herculean effort to relieve the city. Seeing that the forces of Order had gained some momentum, the gates of Kislev City were opened and the Kislevites and their Dwarfen allies spilled forth to slam into the army of Asavar Kul from yet another flank.^[1j]

Caught between three separate offensives on every side, the Chaos horde slowly disintegrated, and a mass rout soon ensued after Asavar Kul met his end on the edge of Magnus' blade. The plains surrounding the city of Kislev grew thick with the blood of the Northmen and their broken bodies as the Kislevites earned their vengeance upon those that had so brutally ravaged their beloved Motherland. The remnants of the Chaos horde fled back to the north, where they faced the dire punishment mete out to all those who failed the Dark Gods. Yet the body of Asavar Kul, the twelfth Everchosen of Chaos Undivided, was never found.^[1j]

The Red Bokha and the Cleansing of Kislev (2302 to 2517 IC)

Even as the armies of the Kislevites slew the last of the invading Northmen and Warriors of Chaos of the Great War Against Chaos, the damage done to the Motherland was largely beyond repair. Kislev was in ruins, its populations massacred, and its cities turned to rubble. For more then a century this state of affair lasted, with none of the reigning tzars having enough power, wealth, or even the sense of duty to reconstruct all that which their forefathers had worked so hard to achieve. Taking advantage of this distraction, all manner of foul creatures took up residence in unoccupied and depopulated regions of Kislev, killing off those few villages that had survived the initial invasion force and becoming an ever present threat to those that leave the comforts of the south.^[1j]

Things only got worse when one of Kislev's own monarchs, Tzarina Kattarin the Bloody, became one of the dreaded Vampires, and wrought a secretive and bloody massacre on the city of Kislev that gave her that cursed name. Only the intervention of her own son, Tzarevich Pavel, ended her reign of terror over the land as he claimed the throne after ending the unlife of his own mother. But even this new tzar could do little to ease the pain of a ruined kingdom, and it was only in the year 2491 IC that a new and true ruler of Kislev rose up to aid his people in this dire time.^[1j]

In the heavily forested woodland areas just east of Kislev, near the borders of the Worlds Edge Mountains, the then-ruler of Kislev, Tzar Vladimir Bokha, died fighting Goblins that had infested the region since the Chaos incursion almost two hundred years earlier. This tzar was the first in his line to take up arms and ensure the safety of his people through a systematic campaign of purges throughout the lands of Troll Country, the Northern Oblast, and the eastern woodlands of Kislev.^[1j]

Vladimir's son, Boris Bokha, was crowned the next Tzar of Kislev after his father's heroic demise. Boris Bokha was a fiery, passionate warrior, and it was said that he was born with the sound of the Bloodheart howling on the winds above him -- a good omen for a warrior of Kislev -- and the hags and wise women had prophesized that he would fight hard and die well to ensure the safety of the Motherland.^[1j]

As tzar, Boris continued his father's work of reclaiming Kislev's lands from Greenskins, Trolls and worse creatures for years, emptying the treasury of his own family to hire mercenaries to retrain the Kislevite armies, and to rebuild bridges, roads, and towns, as well as import large sums of blackpowder and Imperial engineers from the Empire to aid in fighting his wars and the widespread construction projects that marked his reign.^[1j]

Though these initiatives almost bankrupted House Bokha, and several other of the great boyar families of the Motherland in the bargain, Tzar Boris' reign will be forever remembered for his driving spirit and eagerness to reclaim the lands that had become the domains of Goblins, Trolls, Beastmen, and other foul things. During his first few years as tzar, Boris and his army of highly-trained Kislevite warriors had defeated a Beastmen horde on the outskirts of Praag, earning Boris the byname of "The Red", a testimony to the slaughter he had inflicted upon the feral Children of Chaos.^[1j]

Tzar Boris was also instrumental in the revival of the Cult of Ursun, the original religion of the Gospodar people which had slowly been overtaken by the worship of Ulric, Taal, and other foreign gods from the Empire. To do so, he underwent the trial of initiation that a priest of the Bear God Ursun must overcome to join the order, the taming of a wild bear. Boris was not seen or heard of for eighteen days during this trial, and many feared he had met a gruesome fate in the depths of the icy forests of Kislev.^[1j]

Preparations began for the coronation of Boris' infant daughter Katarin Bokha had actually begun when the search parties came across Tzar Boris' unconscious form on the nineteenth day of the search. His still body was guarded by a bear of monstrous proportions, and the beast would not let anyone near him. The unconscious tzar was also surrounded by the corpse of over two dozen massive wolves, and the snow was red with their blood. Nothing the searchers could do would entice the bear away from their ruler or convince it that they meant him no harm. Finally, after another day had passed, Boris awoke, and the bear allowed the searchers to approach and tend to their ruler's wounds.^[1j]

The tale of Tzar Boris Bokha's return to the city of Kislev has since passed into legend, though few doubt the truth of it. Four days before being found by the searchers and after much wandering, he came across the mightiest bear he had ever seen, with teeth and claws like sabre blades, and muscles that bulged with wiry veins.^[1j]

Taking this as a sign from Ursun, he confronted the beast, and it charged him, the ground shaking with the fury of its charge and a bloodcurdling roar echoing throughout the forest. With his bare hands, Boris fended off the beast's attacks but could not overpower it. The struggle lasted a full day before a massive wolf pack, drawn by the scent of the combatants' combined blood, attacked. The wolves immediately went for the bear, but Boris sprang to its aid, crushing the skulls of the wolves with his fist and tearing them from his back.^[1j]

Boris was badly wounded during the fighting, and the tzar fell to his knees and sank to the ground, clinging to life. As the wolves closed in for the kill, the bear protected his erstwhile enemy from the common foe. It stood over the supine tzar, tearing the wolves apart with its claws and savaging them with its powerful jaws.^[1j]

Boris had slipped into unconsciousness, yet each time he had drifted awake, the bear had been there, protecting him from the wolves. After being found, the bear returned to Kislev with the tzar, and from then on, whenever Boris Bokha took to the field of battle, it was atop the back of his mighty ursine companion Urskin (meaning "Bear-brother" in Kislevarin), both a symbol of Ursun's power and the Bear God's affection for Boris and an implacable enemy in battle.^[1j]

In the year of 2517 IC, after much campaigning and purging of foul creatures in the Northern Oblast of Kislev, the once-mighty tzar fell in battle near the borders of Troll Country, whilst leading a group of Kislevite horsemen. At an unnamed river crossing, the tzar charged deep into the invading Kurgan army commanded by Hetzar Feydaj but was soon surrounded and cut off from the rest of his own forces. Boris Bokha and Urskin fought with all the might and fury of the Bear God, but even Red Boris could not triumph against such odds.^[1j]

Urksin was able to fight his way clear of the Kurgans and carry the wounded tzar back to the rest of his army, but it was already too late; Boris had taken a score of mortal wounds. Only when the battle was won did the tzar slide from the back of Urskin and die on the cold hard ground of the Kislevite oblast. The army of Kislevites were agasp and mourned his passing, whilst his faithful companion Urskin roared in mourning for a full night before vanishing into the bleak northlands, and legend holds that Urskin continues to seek vengeance upon the servants of Chaos that slew his master.^[1j]

With the death of Tzar Boris, the now fully grown Katarin Bokha became the new Tzarina of Kislev, the latest in a long line of rulers descended from the ancient Khan-Queen Miska of the Gospodars. Katarin, a powerful Ice Witch called the "Ice Queen" by her foes, rules with a cold majesty, beloved by her subjects and feared by her enemies. But barely four years into her reign, the land began to shake as the drums of war echoed throughout the lands of the north, as the greatest Chaos invasion of the Old World since the time of the Great War Against Chaos, will forever decide the fate of her new kingdom. The long-feared End Times had finally come.^[1j]

End Times (2524 IC)

In the late autumn of year 1000 of the Gospodarin Calendar (2524 IC), Kislev was completely overrun by the great Chaos invasion launched by the thirteenth Everchosen Archaon: Kurgans, Hung, Skaelings, Vargs, Baersonlings, Aeslings, Graelings, Sarls, Bjornlings and a hundred other Chaos-worshipping Norscan and Northmen tribes came south under a single wrathful banner. And this time, the End Times truly rode with them.^[4]

Men, Beastmen, Chaos beasts of the dark forest and hideous monsters surged through Kislev in numbers never before seen. They swept south, not to conquer or plunder, but to destroy. Cursed Praag was engulfed by howling Daemons and horrors undreamed as Erengrad fell to midnight reavers in Norscan wolfships who burned the western seaport to the ground. The capital city of Kislev, impregnable fastness of the Ice Queen Katarin Bokha herself, was taken by storm in a single night of terrifying bloodshed. Its towering walls were reduced to rubble, thick with screaming forests of impaled men and women whose ruined bodies were attended by red-legged carrion-feasters as black as the smoke of the city's doom.^[4]

Those who abandoned Kislev before the Chaos war-host reached its walls fled into a land gutted by war and bleeding in its aftermath, where mercy was forsaken and savagery the common currency. Ruined settlements burned on every horizon, their timber palisades cast down, the slitted eyes of beasts-that-walked-as-men gleaming as they feasted in the ashes.^[4]

All across Kislev, the fleshless bones of its people were stacked like cordwood as altars to the Dark Gods. And this was but the opening move in the last war the world of Mallus would ever know.^[4]

Geography

Lands of Kislev

"Through blood runs power of land...If concentrate...can feel Ancient Widow in every beat of heart, in every breath. Kislev is Land, Land is Kislev!.. We are Kislev!..."

—Bara Doya, Hag Witch

To gaze upon the beautiful, snow-encrusted lands of the Tzardom of Kislev is to also gaze upon a bloodied plain of snow, violence and barren tundra that stretches as far as the eye can see. This inhospitable land is Kislev, a kingdom that has always been the first barrier between the savage lands of Norsca and the Chaos Wastes and the fertile, civilised lands of the far south of the Old World. To live in this hard, frigid land is to know bloodshed and misery without end, a land that only breeds the hardiest of warriors to combat the threats that are constantly posed against the mortal world.^[1b]

The Kislevite people are these same warriors, a wolf-tough and self-reliant nation of Men that is often seen by their more "southerly" neighbours as nothing more then barbarians themselves. But such lack of insight into the minds of a Kislevite is ill-founded, as due to living at the very borders of a realm of madness and corruption, the people of Kislev have always valued bravery, duty, and determination above all other traits. To live at the edge of reality and the Realm of Chaos, the Kislevite has had to give life their all, lest they and their kingdom finally fall to the damned servitude of the Dark Gods.^[1b]

To the south and south-west, Kislev is bordered by the great and powerful Empire of Man, a nation to which Kislev and her people have always been allied in an eternal brotherhood of arms and comradeship after the great victory won and fought by the future emperor Magnus the Pious, the saviour of Kislev and the entire Old World during the Great War Against Chaos over two hundred years ago.^[1b]

For centuries, the warriors of Kislev and the soldiers of the Empire have fought side-by-side against the forces of the Dark Gods that continue to assail their gates year after year, and although relations between the two nations are not always harmonious, they have always responded to the call of battle whenever the other is found in peril from the worshippers of Chaos.^[1b]

The great expanse of the Sea of Claws marks the western coast of Kislev and those communities that survive through fishing and whaling must constantly face the terrors of the Norscan Chaos Marauders, who sail across those perilous waters in their eagerness for riches and plunder. Kislev has no official navy or fleets at her disposal, and the only fleets of ships located anywhere near these coastlines are owned by independent merchant princes operating out of the trade city of Erengrad. Thus, it is almost guaranteed that coastal stanitsas have to fend for themselves when they spot another Norscan raiding party arriving upon their shores.^[1b]

To the north-west, along the northern coast of the Sea of Claws, lay the desolate and often barren region of frigid tundra known by many as Troll Country. This land has earned its name by the huge diversity of Trolls that has made their homes here, a result that stems from the constant flow of the mutating Winds of Magic southwards from the Chaos Wastes. As such, the land itself is infertile and barren, resulting in a lack of agriculture and established settlements.^[1b]

Several attempts have been made to settle in these hostile lands by many different peoples, the most prominent of which were the now near-extinct Roppsmenn tribes. However, ever since their near-annihilation by the Gospodars, no other people has managed to tame the harsh territory; not even the Ungol horse-lords of northern Kislev have any desire to lay claim to such a cursed and unforgivable land.^[1b]

To the east, the land has given way to large tracks of woodland that grow towards the foothills of the Worlds Edge Mountains. From here, numerous tribes of Orcs and Goblins have crossed the mountain passes and made permanent settlements, plaguing both Dwarf and Kislevite towns alike settled along the mountain roads. It is also from here that the Kislevites and Dwarfs engage in regular trade with one-another, a mutual benefit that has aided in both peoples' prosperity.^[1b]

The Steppes and Oblast

"It ain't natural to live out there without a good roof of stone above yeh. I kept in my wagon with a big hat on, so's I didn't go mad like them. Nary a decent mountain to be had within eye-shot and naught but open skies and empty land all around you. I tell you it ain't natural..."

—Demzad Urgrimson, Dwarf merchant of Karaz-a-Karak^[1b]

Unlike the lands of other kingdoms, the unique feature of Kislev's geography is the massive, sprawling grasslands that covers much of her territory. These grasslands are known as steppes or the oblast to the Kislevites, a vast landscape where a traveller is never warm, and the air is parched and dry from a lack of moisture. Very little rain falls on the steppes, meaning only the hardiest grass and plants can survive in such a cold climate. However, when the rain does fall, it usually comes in a thunderous downpour, flooding the nearby banks and rivers and stopping all but the most foolhardy from travelling.^[1b]

Aside from the common small Kislevite villages, known as stanitsas, virtually the only inhabitants of the oblast are the nomadic tribesmen who roam the steppe in groups, constantly searching for new grazing grounds to feed their herds of livestock. The soil in the northern lands of Kislev is particularly poor, and only in the more temperate and fertile south can farmers coax crops from the land without much difficulty, forcing most of the northern Ungol tribes to rely on livestock-raising and pastoral agriculture to support themselves.^[1b]

Chaos Marauders of Northmen stock, also known as kyazak in Kislevarin, have also dwelled in the steppes for many generations, but these ferocious warrior-tribesmen do not grow any crop or rear any animals; instead, they take what they need by force, attacking local stanitsas and ambushing any travellers they come across for gold and food. Such is the vastness of the steppes that it is next to impossible for the Kislevite crown to hunt all these raiders out of their lands for good.^[1b]

Notable Regions

• The Blight

• Troll Country

• Eastern Oblast

• Northern Oblast

• Southern Oblast

• Eastern Oblast

Notable Rivers

• Iron River - The Iron River is located in southern Kislev.^[1ab]

• River Lynsk

• River Urskoy

Notable Roads

• Belyevorota Pass - A pass through the Worlds Edge Mountains infested by Greenskins.^[6a]

Notable Settlements

• Chazask - A town located north of the city of Praag, near the town of Murmagrad.^[1j]

• Enisov - Enisov is a stanitsa nestled in a valley, overlooked by the brooding fortress of its boyar.^[1z]

• Erengrad - Erengrad is Kislev's great port city and the heart of its rich trade with the Empire and the rest of the Old World. ^[1b]

• Kislev City - Kislev City, often called simply Kislev, is the capital city of the Tzardom of Kislev and home to the magical Ice Palace of Tzarina Katarin.^[1j]

• Krakjunov - A settlement east of Erengrad. It was the site of a battle during the Great War Against Chaos.^[7a]

• Krasicyno - A settlement south-west of Praag. It was the site of a battle during the Great War Against Chaos.^[7a]

• Mazhorod - A settlement east of Krakjunov. It was the site of a battle during the Great War Against Chaos.^[7a]

• Murmagrad - A town located north of the city of Praag, neighbouring the town of Chazask.^[1j]

• Nekoltra - A stanitsa known to possess a great armoury.^[1k]

• Praag - Praag is Kislev's great northern city that was once the capital of the Ungols' lost kingdom that served as a bastion against the twelfth Everchosen Asavar Kul's forces during the Great War Against Chaos. It is still considered cursed by the energies of Chaos despite having been reconstructed, purified and repopulated in the wake of the last major Chaos incursion.^[1j]

• Vitkal - Vitkal is a stanitsa of the oblast.^[1aa]

• Urszebya - Urszebya is a settlement located north-east of the capital city of Kislev. It was the site of a battle during the Great War Against Chaos.^[7a]

Climate

"Bah, all that kvas makes them mad! Who would want to live there anyway? The summers are cold, the winters are freezing, and if the nomads don't kill you, the marauders will! I tell you, they're welcome to the place!"

—Sebastian Wurtz, merchant of Nuln^[1c]

Kislev's climate varies enormously, ranging from long, dark winters to warm, balmy summers when the long grasses can catch fire. During particularly hot summers, which is a rarity in Kislev, this threat is particularly dangerous, for such steppe fires can spread with unimaginable rapidity since the grass is so dry, and many unwary travellers have been trapped and burned to death on the oblast by such a conflagration. Such fires are rare, and for the most part, Kislev is a cold, bleak land with little sunlight to warm the body.^[1b]

Kislev's deadly cold winters are infamous throughout the Old World, and when the snows come, the land is held tight in its iron grip. Temperatures plummet to far below freezing, and to be caught out on the Kislevite oblast in winter is to die. Snow blankets the land in white, and such is the unending vista of featureless whiteness that covers the land that the Kislevites have a term in the Kislevarin tongue for such emptiness. It is known as raspotitsa, which means "roadlessness", and no one that values their life dares to travel in such times. Even outside the months of winter, the northern reaches of the Kislevite oblast are often covered in snow year-round, and the temperature never reaches far above freezing.^[1b]

When spring finally comes to Kislev, it brings with it a mixture of snow and rain, and with the break of the winter, the steppe comes alive with people as the nomadic tribes migrate to find fresh grazing, the kyazak marauders seek out new prey, and caravans of merchants set off with fresh cargoes to take to far-off markets. Travel in spring is dangerous, as the icy landscape of the oblast becomes muddy, and wagons often become trapped in the mud, where they will no doubt be abandoned to enable the caravan to move on before it becomes prey for kyazak.^[1c]

Autumn is when the people of Kislev hunker down to weather the harsh winter to come. Old men wearily shake their heads and declare that this coming winter will be hard; it is something of a tradition for the elderly of Kislev to complain that each coming winter will be the hardest yet and then proclaim how the winters were harder when they were younger. In the autumn, firewood is stocked, livestock slaughtered, and crops stockpiled so there will be enough food to last the long, dark months until spring comes again.^[1c]

Government

"Of course the tzarina is our ruler, and her authority is boundless. You still aren't going in without the boyar's say-so."

—Dmirov Irinasyn, guard at the armoury of Nekoltra^[1k]

The ruling government of Kislev is usually defined by scholars as a centralised, autocratic monarchy governed by hereditary rulers known as tzars or tzarinas.^[1k] The Tzar or Tzarina of Kislev is a powerful figure who claims to be the direct descendant of Miska, the first khan-queen of the ancient Gospodar people who founded Kislev.^[1g]

In theory, the tzar or tzarina has absolute power within their kingdom, for they are considered the spiritual and political rulers of the land and its people. The tzar or tzarina has the power to issue their own edicts, create new laws, command vast armies and gain the fealty of all subjects living within Kislevite lands. In realty, however, the people of Kislev are far more autonomous than even the icy resolve of Tzarina Katarin would wish.^[1k]

The lands of Kislev are a mostly empty country, with vast tracts of land known as the oblast separating what meager settlements still remain untouched by warfare. Such distance makes governing near-impossible, and as a result, these settlements have become highly independent from the crown of Kislev. The inhabitants of these towns and villages still recognise they are subjects of the Ice Queen, but they would be profoundly surprised to learn that the tzar or tzarina expects them to do whatever they demand. Instead, each Kislevite settlement is directly governed at the local level, usually by an elder or village chief who has the support of all the adults in the community.^[1k]

Since the kingdom's very founding, it has been the sole responsibility of the tzars and tzarinas to lead and defend their people against all forms of harm or invasion that would enter their homeland. As such, the issue of warfare is considered paramount within the political landscape of Kislevite government. The threat posed from the Chaos Wastes of the north is considered real and imminent, and as such, all Kislevite leaders are assessed by how well they can defend their people militarily from this ever-present external threat.^[1k]

Often, this means that the peasants of the oblast put up with new taxes, rather than risk weakening their defences, but it can also lead to the nobles, known as boyars, withdrawing unpopular taxes, as discontent among the common folk makes for less effective warriors. This political climate and the necessity of constantly being ready to face an external enemy ensures mutual dependence and cooperation between various feuding nobles.^[1k]

The Frozen Court

"The heart of Kislev is here. A heart of ice, holding us firm in the face of great threats."

—Boroda Natalyasyn, burgher of Kislev City^[1z]

The heart of Kislevite government lies within the tzarina's magical palace of ice, located within the very heart of the capital city of Kislev.^[1c] Its walls, ceilings, and floors are constructed of magically-fashioned and maintained blocks of ice, formed by the powers of Tzarina Katarin Bokha herself as an Ice Witch who commands the Lore of Ice. It is from here that the Ice Queen governs her realm through her agents and generals rather then at the front like her predecessors.^[1i]

This, however, does not mean she cares little for her kingdom. Indeed, this simply reflects the personality of the Ice Queen, as Katarin is a stern yet caring ruler whose drive is to simply improve the power of her realm against those that might seek to topple it. One such move in aid of this goal is her attempt to cement a centralised authority.^[1n]

Tzarina Katarin has declared she is the source of all law and justice in Kislev. Thus, any attempt to make, or even enforce laws is a criminal act unless the person in question is authorized to do so by the tzarina or by her representatives.^[1r] To enforce this new mandate, Katarin uses the ruthless efficiency of the Chekist, which are the tzarina's secret police. The Chekist are the eyes, the ears, and the sword of the tzarina's rule. Should one of her subjects break or abuse the law, they are often taken into custody by the Chekist. Loyalty and efficiency are the hallmarks of the Chekist, and though they may arrest and torture innocent people from time to time, they have never convicted and executed the wrong individual.^[1t]

Below the tzarina's rule are a myriad of nobles with a variety of titles. However, those nobles with real, actual power and significance within Kislev are divided between two titles. The druzhina are the lowest rank within Kislevite nobility, a title that is generally given to the leaders or village chiefs, known as "atamans," of a Kislevite settlement. The rank of druzhina is a traditionally hereditary title, but the Ice Queen has been know to use the title as a reward to those individuals who publicly affirm and support her power, authority and preferred policies.^[1n]

Above the druzhina are the middle-ranked nobles known as the boyars.^[1i] Across most of Kislev, the boyars are the most powerful individuals within the land, for they hold fealty to a great number of settlements and other druzhina nobles under their rule. Due to the lack of a truly centralised government within the kingdom, the local power each boyar wields has made them far more important than their actual standing within the Kislevite nobility's ranking of precedent would make them seem.^[1n]

Rules of the Frozen Court

In the presence of the tzarina, there are certain rules that must be followed. Ensuring the proper etiquette is followed by all supplicants are the tzarina's palace guards, dangerous men of peerless skill in arms, and a resilience that rivals even the courageous Dwarfs of the Worlds Edge Mountains.^[1n]

While the rules of court are strictly enforced, Tzarina Katarin keeps them simple. She wants people to obey them, not have an excuse to punish those who break them. The total effect of these simple rules is to keep everyone in court constantly aware of where the tzarina is and where she is looking. And because she always dresses to have an impact, the rules make it difficult to spend any time at court without subconsciously forming the idea that the tzarina is the centre of the world. The rules of the Frozen Court include the following strictures:^[1n]

• No one may turn their back on the tzarina, which means backing away from her, primarily. She almost always leaves a room immediately after finishing a meeting, so people can leave easily.^[1n]

• No one may sit in the tzarina's presence. Katarin has granted personal exceptions to this rule to a few valuable or influential individuals who have trouble standing for long periods. Even they tend to rise when she enters a room, the exceptions being those who no longer have legs.^[1n]

• No one may stand behind the tzarina. This rule is interpreted to mean everyone within the room must be within her field of vision and is only strictly enforced while she is seated. She normally stands for a few moments at her throne, to give people time to move into view.^[1n]

• No one's head may be higher than that of the tzarina. Fortunately, she is a tall woman, and her throne is always raised on a high platform. People do have to bow when she enters or leaves a room, however.^[1n]

• Nobody below the rank of boyar may speak directly to the Ice Queen, and boyars may only speak to her when invited to do so. While this is generally true, the tzarina is known to make exceptions on a whim or in special circumstances.^[1n]

• Katarin's personal bodyguards are exempt from all of these rules, so they can do their job properly, and they always enter rooms ahead of her, both to check for threats and to warn courtiers that the tzarina is about to arrive in their presence.^[1n]

Local Government

Throughout most of Kislev, settlements called stanitsas are ruled by individuals known as "atamans," the title given to the ruling village chiefs. The ataman discharges nearly all the functions of government, enforcing the law, settling disputes, and setting priorities for the settlement they currently rule.^[1m]

The ataman has almost unlimited authority within their settlement, for there are few with the power to contradict them, and even those who officially have such power are normally too far away to have any effect on day-to-day affairs. Despite this, few atamans rule as tyrants. In most cases, the wise women and priests of the Kislevite gods, or in recent times, the Great Orthodoxy, provide a counterweight, and in the cases where the ataman is not the leader of the village's garrison or rota, the rotamaster also has significant influence.^[1m]

Tzarina Katarin Bokha claims all atamans are appointed by her and serve at her pleasure. In practice, atamans reach their office through a variety of traditional routes, and the tzarina simply issues proclamations "appointing" the current ataman. Katarin knows her proclamations are mere formalities, but for now, that is enough. Once people come to accept the formality as necessary for someone to become an ataman, she will have the power to genuinely control such appointments.^[1m]

In most ethnically Gospodar stanitsas, the ataman's position is held by a hereditary noble family of the druzhina class that passes it on from generation to generation, though the details of inheritance vary from settlement to settlement. Matrilineal inheritance is common, though female atamans (called "atamankas") are somewhat rarer and make up only about a quarter of the total numbers.^[1m]

Very few ethnically Ungol stanitsas in Kislev have surviving nobility, as the Ungol's leaders were completely wiped out by the victorious Gospodars when they invaded the Old World. In these places, elections are used instead to decide who shall become the newest atamans. In many border stanitsas, the best war leader becomes the ataman. Such atamans have almost invariably served as rotamaster, but it is quite common for them to abandon that role to concentrate on more strategic matters.^[1m]

A few stanitsas, particularly among the Gospodars, retain old traditions of having rival candidates duel for the position; most of these duels are to first blood, but rumours persist of isolated settlements that still impose fights to the death. Other contests are also possible; one stanitsa in the Eastern Oblast requires candidates for ataman to wrestle a bear, in tribute to Ursun, whilst another, in the southwest, holds a singing contest. Even the villagers there are baffled as to the origin of the custom, but recent extreme good luck (the Spring Driving bypassed them entirely, for example) makes them reluctant to change anything that might offend the spirits.^[1m]

Language

The language spoken by the people of Kislev is known as Kislevarin and is a blend of the original Ungol and Roppsmenn tongues with the addition of the language brought by the migrating Gospodars. Over the centuries, this has become the dominant of the three languages, with the addition of some Reikspiel words and conventions from the neighbouring Empire to the south.^[1e]

There are, of course, many different dialects of the language within Kislev, and Kislevarin is spoken somewhat differently in different regions of the kingdom, though the differences between these broad dialects are slight. There is almost never any difficulty in mutual understanding, and non-Kislevarin speakers are generally unable to distinguish between different dialects of the language without conscious effort.^[1e]

The regional differences correspond mainly to the old tribal divisions of the land from hundreds of years ago. The most significant of these dialects (in terms of numbers of speakers) are Sudevarin, which is spoken in the south, Krevarin, which is spoken in the east and centre of the country, and Dolvarin, which is the principal language of the north and of the tribal kyazak raiders who plague the farmers.^[1e]

In the stanitsas of the far north, the older tribes and families keep alive the distinctive Górelsk dialect, said to be the last surviving remnant of the unpolluted language of the Roppsmenn, and they take great pride in their culture and language, which is said to be much more musical than standard Kislevarin. Some Kislevite city-dwellers -- especially the less affluent population -- also have their own distinctive dialects. An example of this is Tzavarin, still spoken by some of the population of Kislev, though these city dialects are now mostly extinct due to assimilation with standard Kislevarin.^[1e]

Society

"When I travelled into that cold land, I expected the Kislevites to be dour and miserable, Lady knows I arrive after a month of snow, but everywhere I travelled I encountered life and humour. Dark humour, it has to be said, but what else could flourish in a country so wracked with woe as Kislev?"

—Florian Barthold, Bretonnian guilder^[1b]

Two Peoples Made One

Kislev is a country forged from various warring invaders who finally settled alongside each other. The bulk of the nation's population is mostly made up of two tribal peoples, the Ungols of the north and the Gospodars of the south, while the remaining population consists of the Norscans, and the last remnants of the Roppsmenn people. Tribes such as the Dolgan have migrated from the Eastern Steppes and made their new homes in Kislev's northern borders, while many of the people that inhabit the south display many of the cultural traits of the Empire, as it is common for people in this region to interact and mingle their bloodlines with families from across the border.^[1c]

In fact, Kislev is almost two nations in one. On the one hand, there are the more civilised peoples of the southern oblast and the cities, where the lands are relatively fertile. And in the north, particularly north of the River Lynsk, there are the wild, nomadic tribes. During the time of Sigmar, over two millennia ago, the harsh lands north-east of the River Urskoy were populated by the Ungol tribes, who also dominated the smaller tribes of the Roppsmenn who lived in what is now Troll Country. Sharing many cultural and linguistic traits with the Kurgan steppe nomads to the east, the Ungols were a scattered people consisting primarily of nomadic horsemen. Sigmar's influence did not stretch this far north, and they remained independent of yet on friendly terms with the confederation of Human tribes founded by Sigmar in the central Old World that formed the nucleus of the Empire of Man.^[1c]

Of particular importance to the formation of Kislev's present society was the arrival of the powerful and wealthy Gospodars from the Eastern Steppes in 1494 IC. Torn with strife at the time, trapped in the endless civil conflicts of the Age of Three Emperors, the Empire was in no position to contest these lands, and the superior arms and tactics of the Gospodars drove the Ungols to the west and north, who in turn absorbed the Roppsmenn completely into their own culture.^[1c]

Over the following century, the power of the Gospodars grew, and the new kingdom's capital city of Kislev was founded. The former Ungol capital of Praag grew in size as the Gospodars used the River Lynsk to launch incursions into the remaining Ungol territory, eventually forcing the Ungols to accept Gospodar rule, who were now beginning to be called Kislevites after their capital city. By this time, the former Ungol city of Erengrad had grown into a busy port ruled by the new Kislevites, and from here, the Kislevites were able to sail the Sea of Claws, trading and fighting with the Norscans and on occasion the Empire, as well as keeping the Ungols in check.^[1c]

This state of affairs existed for over 750 years, and by this time, Gospodar and Ungol society had blended, to a greater or lesser extent, into the nation of Kislev as it is known today. The ruling Kislevite elite, from whom the tzars and tzarinas hail, are of ethnic Gospodarin heritage. The influence of the Gospodarin language and beliefs is more evident in the south of the kingdom, particularly in the cities of Kislev and Erengrad, while further north, the land becomes more barren, and the horse tribes of the Ungol still hold sway.^[1c]

In fact, the city of Praag has been reclaimed in a large part by the old Ungol nobility, and in many ways is a separate power in the north. Though there is still much bad-blood between the two Kislevite peoples, they are nevertheless united by their hatred of the Chaos Marauders and the Warriors of Chaos that prey on them from Norsca and the northern Chaos Wastes. This military need has also led to a blending of culture and customs.^[1c]

Ungol Law

In some regions of Kislev, generally in the more remote parts of the oblast, Ungol law still applies. Tzar Boris Bokha made this concession, which won him the support of a large number of Ungol warriors, but his successor and daughter Tzarina Katarin would like to undo it. She would prefer Gospodar law -- with her at its head -- to apply everywhere in her domain. However, she has to respect the edicts of her father, and so she works within Ungol law in those areas.^[1s]

The inhabitants of any place in Kislev under Ungol law can petition for their home to be transferred to the jurisdiction of Gospodar law, and Katarin grants any such petition that has substantial popular support in the place in question. Changes in the other direction, towards the jurisdiction of Ungol law, are not permitted. Ungol law is not written down anywhere authoritative. Rather, it is a customary jurisprudence remembered by the judges and the wise women and applied according to common sense. It is unwise to argue the details of the definition of a crime in an Ungol court.^[1s]

Ungol law contains the normal prohibitions against theft and violence but also maintains a number of provisions reflecting the hard life of the oblast. Refusing hospitality is a serious offence, only a little below murder. Some allowance is made for the circumstances, but turning someone away from your camp is always a criminal matter. The basic rule is that more permanent settlements must offer hospitality and that, if both groups are equally nomadic, the responsibility falls on the larger.^[1s]

Abusing hospitality is an even more serious offence than murder, and some Ungol judges argue that it is the most serious offence possible. It is one of the few cases in which a judge might order innocent members of the criminal's group to be punished as well. However, the most important mark of gravity is that the Ungols put a lot of effort into finding and punishing those who commit this crime, in some cases spending years on the hunt. For example, one Tilean follower of Ranald, the god of fortune and thieves, was finally slain by a half dozen travel-worn Ungol warriors on the streets of Sartosa for his theft from his hosts while resident among the Ungols. Hospitality does not, of course, extend to followers of the Ruinous Powers, and refusing hospitality to them or abusing their trust is perfectly legal.^[1s]

Ungol Responsibility

The fundamental concept of Ungol law is that a group is responsible for the actions of all its members. If a member of a group commits a crime, any member of the group may be punished for that crime. The smallest such group is the family, defined as all the blood descendants of a living woman and the husbands of any married women in that bloodline. In Ungol culture, it the men who change families when they get married. Families split into groups defined by the blood descendants of a matriarch's daughters when she dies. Ungol law has nothing to say about actions taken within a family, and the elders discipline their younger members as they see fit. In most cases, however, the harsh environment that prevails across the oblast, especially in ethnically Ungol regions of Kislev, ensures families pull together simply to survive.^[1s]

It is normal for an Ungol family to travel together or live in the same place, and while individual members may leave, it is unheard of for a family to be split between two stanitsas. Above the families in the Ungol societal hierarchy come the clans and tribes, as well as the stanitsas. Both clans and tribes were originally defined by blood links, but over the centuries, they have simply become traditional groupings. It is unusual, but not unheard of, for an Ungol family to change their clan or tribe, though an individual woman must belong to the clan and tribe chosen by her family. It is not uncommon for Ungol men, on marriage, to change both clan and tribe as well as family. Stanitsas are places of residence, typically of village size, and often host a number of families and even different clans or tribes.^[1s]

If a crime is committed against an individual, the penalty can be levied on any individual who shares membership with the criminal in a group to which the victim does not belong. Thus, if both criminal and victim are in the same family, there is no possible group to take the penalty. If they are in different families within the same clan, a member of the criminal's family must be punished. If they are in different clans, anyone in the same clan may be taken. Ungol law states that the actual criminal is the preferred target of punishment, and the judge grants the criminal's group a period of time to produce the malefactor for punishment. This deadline is normally at least a week, occasionally as long as a year; the length depends in large part on how politically and economically important the criminal's group is.^[1s]

Ethnic Gospodars are, for the purposes of Ungol law, considered to be one family. That means any crime committed by a Gospodar against an Ungol may be avenged on any other Gospodar. This part of Ungol law is something Tzarina Katarin thoroughly dislikes, due to the likelihood that such a custom would damage the unity of Kislev. In response, she has established a group of Gospodars who track down the real perpetrator of any crimes against ethnic Ungols still under the jurisdiction of Ungol law and take the punishment if they fail. These stelniks, as they are called in Kislevarin, are often themselves criminals convicted under Gospodarin law given a chance to work off their penalty. They often pursue the bounty hunter career.^[1s]

Under Ungol law, Kislevites are considered to be a single group, and all foreigners are treated as a single family. This generalisation has led to an innocent Tilean merchant being executed for a murder committed by a mercenary from Stirland, and Katarin would like to find some foreign volunteers to play the same role as the stelniks in hunting foreigners who committ crimes against those Kislevites still under Ungol jurisdiction. So far, however, they have been in short supply, particularly as Ungol judges have been known to give foreigners only until sunset to find the true criminal.^[1s]

Ungol Courts

Ungol law courts consist of a single judge who listens to the evidence, asks questions as he wishes, and then makes a decision. The judge decides what evidence to hear, and the verdict is at his sole discretion, as is the penalty. There is no appeal. Although the formal requirements are simple, most judges are chosen based on their experience and reputation for fairness. In principle, the two parties to a case can choose anyone qualified whom they agree on, and in the past, things worked that way.

In recent times, Tzarina Katarin requires any Ungol judge to have her approval to attain the position, so groups under Ungol law choose judges in advance and send the names to the court in Kislev City for official recognition. Such methods are often unwieldy and take up far too much of the tzarina's time, so she delegates the minor appointments to her representatives -- who are usually her fellow Ice Witches. For the most part, this process works well enough and provides something close to justice quickly enough to allow life to continue on the unforgiving steppes of the oblast. If an Ungol judge becomes corrupt -- or worse, seduced by the Ruinous Powers -- it can be disastrous.^[1s]

Most Ungol judges are elected, though some areas have different customs, such as always appointing the oldest living man or someone who was crippled fighting against raiders from the north. In almost every case, the ataman of a stanitsa is also a judge, though he is never the only judge present. The only rule is that the judge must not belong to the same group as either the victim or the accused. Thus, a judge between two families must be from a third family, which means that a judge between a Gospodar and an Ungol must be a foreigner, though the Ungol tribes have agreed that the tzarina in person can also serve as a judge in such a case.^[1s]

When judging between a Kislevite and a foreigner, there is no neutral group, so any judge can serve. As a result, foreigners rarely win their cases. Foreign judges are chosen based on their actions, and their names are sent to Kislev City in the normal way. Witch hunters from the Empire are chosen quite frequently, as they often impress the Ungols with their commitment to hunting down foul Chaos Cultists. They also have no objection to handing out harsh sentences and are willing to travel the oblast to reach the cases. Katarin has recently refused an application to appoint a particular witch hunter as a judge, and he proved to be a secret cultist of Nurgle, so this has strengthened her hand somewhat among the Ungols.^[1s]

Ungol Punishment

The Ungol do not use fines as punishments, though they may require compensation to be paid to victims. Similarly, they do not use imprisonment as a punishment, but criminals may be held while they await trial. Suspects are normally held by their own family, rather than by the accusers, in order to ensure the right person suffers if the decision goes against them. As a result, Ungol punishments are almost entirely corporal.^[1s]

Flogging and branding are popular, and the number of lashes or the size of the brand depends on the nature of the crime. Crippling is only employed when a whole group is held to bear some responsibility for a crime, as a crippled member becomes a burden on the group. Indeed, it is not uncommon for a crippled criminal to be killed by their family, an action outside Ungol law. However, minor mutilations, which do not affect a person's ability to survive, are used in much the same way as brands. Finally, capital punishment is common. The following specific punishments are popular in Ungol areas, but most judges have their own favourites.^[1s]

• Punishment by Arrows - The criminal is tied to a post, and archers shoot arrows at them. The number of arrows, and the distance between the archer and the post, are determined by the judge. This punishment can be anything from a death penalty to a light slap on the wrist. In almost all cases, the victim is allowed to nominate an archer. The Ballad of Isukin and Noga includes a famous scene in which Noga shoots twenty arrows at Isukin -- who was convicted of betraying Noga -- from five paces and misses every time. In the ballad, this act is the start of an alliance that overthrows a horde of Kurgan. Satirical versions in which Isukin kills Noga as soon as he is untied are almost more popular than the original ballad.^[1s]

• Punishment by the Glove - A metal glove that opens like a clam shell is heated until it glows and then is closed on the criminal's hand. It is left closed for a number of heartbeats depending on the severity of the crime as determined by the judge and then removed.^[1s]

• Punishment by the Helm - A closed helmet is heated until it glows and then is forced onto the criminal's head. This punishment is a form of execution, and if the judge is feeling merciful, the helmet is riveted to the base of the skull with a long spike, causing near-instant death and sparing the criminal considerable pain.^[1s]

• Punishment by Horse Running - The criminal is tied to a rope, which is tied to the saddle of a horse. The horse is then set into motion. Many variations of this punishment exist, allowing it to be tuned to the crime by the judge. The length of the horse's run can be controlled, as can its speed. Similarly, the length of the rope and the means by which it is fastened to the criminal make a difference. A rope tied around the waist allows the criminal to run as fast as they can. One tied around the wrists makes them more likely to fall, while one tied around the ankles guarantees that they will be dragged. Further, the horse might be ridden or simply driven into a gallop out onto the oblast. Leaving the horse to its own devices means the final level of the penalty is in the hands of the gods, something appealing to some judges.^[1s]

• Punishment by Spirit's Mercy - The criminal is driven out into the oblast, branded on their face with a mark indicating that it is a legal duty to deny them hospitality. This act is basically a death sentence, and in most cases, the criminal is driven out naked and with no possessions, which guarantees a swift death. However, in some cases, the criminal is allowed full equipment, particularly if their family is very popular or if the judge feels they was justified in their actions, even if they broke the law. It is still essentially a death sentence, but a few people manage to survive alone on the steppes. Suren the Dead is a legendary example; certainly, his exploits in support of his family and against the raiders from the north have been exaggerated in the telling.^[1s]

Gospodar Law

Gospodar law is more like that of the Empire and has been strongly influenced by it. Some Kislevites feel there has been too much Imperial influence and long for a return to the good old days of proper Gospodarin justice. Tzarina Katarin, however, likes the centralised legal system, so no change is likely any time soon.^[1s]

The biggest difference between Ungol and Gospodar law is that the responsibility for a crime rests solely with the criminal; Gospodarin courts cannot flog someone just because their cousin is a thief. Nearly as significant is the fact that Gospodar law is written and defined by the wording of the tzarina's proclamations. The judges must make decisions in accordance with this written law and, thus, must study it before they can be entrusted with a court. Although the written law exists in Kislev, it is simple compared to the laws of the Empire and leaves a lot of room for judicial interpretation.^[1s]

Gospodarin jurisprudence naturally has the standard sorts of laws against theft and violence, but Gospodar law also contains a number of regulations that are more specific to the needs of the kingdom of Kislev. It is illegal for adult Kislevite males to not possess, maintain, and practise with appropriate weapons.^[1s]

For most of the nation, this law is irrelevant, as there are far more pressing reasons to be ready to fight. However, in the cities, there are some who want to get around the law, and the judges and Chekist worry about the possibility of armed vagabonds rioting when they realise they can't be stopped. Before the danger of the thirteenth Everchosen Archaon's coming Chaos invasion of the Old World became manifest, the pressure to change the law was strong, but the reminder of just how much of a threat the raiders from the north are has undermined this position for now. It is important to note Kislevite women are permitted to wield weapons; it is merely not a legal obligation for them.^[1s]

A number of laws concern the proper respect being shown to the nobility -- and especially to the tzarina. It is a criminal offence to criticise the tzarina in any way or to undermine respect for her rule. This law is enforced harshly against boyars, atamans, and others in positions of authority but much more loosely against ordinary citizens. This law was decreed by the tzarina directly; any sign of dissent or disloyalty among the people with the actual power and resources to disturb her rule must be eliminated immediately, but low-level murmurings and jokes among the commoners can be tolerated. Of course, serious suggestions that the tzarina should be replaced are considered treason and dealt with harshly no matter the rank of the offender.^[1s]

One result of the enforcement of these laws is that the common people of Kislev tend to see the tzarina as far more sympathetic towards them than she is toward the lower nobility. While a petty noble might drag a shopkeeper to court for not bowing low enough to them, the tzarina overlooks drunken conversations about taxes being too high, even when the Chekist is present. This reason is why the common folk have great affection for the tzarina, and while Katarin may not have planned for this consequence, she is certainly taking steps to maintain it.^[1s]

The laws for the Kislevite nobility are enforced more strictly against the ordinary people. Criticism of the nobility is not illegal but disrespect towards them is. Peasants are required to give way to nobles, to always speak politely to nobles, and to change their actions if what they are doing is inconvenient for a noble. Some boyars press cases for violations of these rules with great vigour, particularly in the cities. The rural nobility tend to be a little more tolerant, as there are fewer people to back them up if the peasants come to hate them.^[1s]

Gospodar law does not contain any requirements to offer hospitality, but it does contain laws punishing abuse of hospitality. These laws state a host should be treated as a member of the nobility by his guests. As a result, very few people in the Kislevite cities ask for hospitality from people they are not already friendly with. Out on the oblast, customs of hospitality are very strong, and abuse, while rare, is punished with the full force of the law.^[1s]

The importance of the Bear God Ursun to Kislevite culture is reflected in Gospodar law. Most notably, it is illegal to kill a hibernating bear, and there is a general consensus that the most serious penalties are appropriate for such an offence against the sacred.^[1s]

Gospodar Feuds

Gospodar law permits feuds between families, possibly under the influence of Ungol law. The law allows an individual, or an individual's family, to take revenge for an injury suffered. The person receiving the injury need not be the guilty party. It is, of course, therefore also permissible to take revenge for the injury inflicted in revenge.^[1s]

The legal mechanism intended to bring feuds under control is the additional law that it is not permissible to take revenge for a reasonable injury inflicted as punishment for a crime recognised in a court of Gospodarin law. If the punishment is unreasonable, however, this rule does not apply. Taking revenge for a reasonable punishment is, however, regarded more seriously than inflicting the original injury.^[1s]

Tzarina Katarin would dearly like to abolish the law on feuds, as it undermines her authority and attempt to centralise all law in Kislev in her own hands. However, too many nobles still see it as essential to their dealings with each other, and she is not politically strong enough to force them to give up their feuds. She prefers the current situation to having the nobility defy her authority, so it remains, for now.^[1s]

However, the law that allows Gospodar courts to bring feuds to an end is having an effect, as slightly weaker parties are tending to bring issues to court rather than continue the feud on their own. The tzarina has instructed her agents, particularly the Chekist, to be particularly vigilant about groups who do not respect the decisions of the courts.^[1s]

Gospodar Courts

Gospodar courts are run by judges who are professional or semi-professional appointees of the tzarina. In remote areas, the ataman of the stanitsa almost invariably holds this position, but in the cities, the magistrates are increasingly becoming a professional, "middle-class" group separate from the nobility. Katarin Bokha encourages this trend, and a few of the powerful nobles can see the threat it poses to their power. They do not, however, typically want to take on such a dull job, which means that Katarin's plan is proceeding well.^[1s]

Most Gospodarin courts have a single judge, though those set up to judge boyars or higher members of the nobility have three judges who must agree unanimously in order to convict. Kislev City and Erengrad each have a single permanent court for the nobility, while Praag has two, a reminder of the unrest among the northern boyars. The judge decides who speaks, what other evidence can be admitted, and whether the accused is guilty. There is no appeal, but a judge who issues a decision that contradicts the law can be tried for treason. Even if the judge is found to have broken the law, the judgement against the person convicted still stands.^[1s]

The penalty is determined by the victim or the victim's family. The law sets out a list of permissible penalties, but they are not distinguished by offence. A victim can choose to have a verbal insult punished by slowly torturing the criminal to death, and that penalty is enforced. The main check on this is the possibility of a feud, as discussed above. Of course, when the victim is politically powerful or wealthy and the criminal is not, it's not really an issue; boyars often inflict draconian penalties on peasants.^[1s]

Outside the Kislevite settlements, law is enforced by "oblast justices." These judges are as much a form of police as judicial agents, and they bear many resemblances to the bounty hunters of the Empire. Unlike city judges, they are also permitted to impose penalties, though some take pride in dragging criminals before their victims for punishment. If a settlement is without a judge, which is rare, or has a complaint against the ataman, which is more common, its members may appeal to the oblast justices.^[1s]

The need for oblast justices is assessed on the apparent level of crime in a region of the kingdom -- meaning, if things appear to be calm, the residents are reluctant to stir things up too much by undertaking detailed investigations. On the other hand, if there is an obvious problem, many try to scare it back into the shadows, for tales of close links between oblast justices and local crime syndicates are common. The Chekist spend some of their time looking for such corruption.^[1s]

Gospodar Punishment

As noted under Gospodar law, any legal punishment may be meted out for any crime at the victim's discretion under the feud provision. Punishments tend to be harsh, but very few victims go against the shared social sense of what is reasonable, and those who do are often ostracised, even if they are not targeted by a feud. Of course, nobles feel that harsh punishments are entirely appropriate when a peasant assaults a noble, and they do not care if peasants want to ostracise them.^[1s]

Fines, of any amount, are a permitted punishment. Half of the fine goes to the court -- and thus to the tzarina's treasury -- while half is kept by the victim. Fines of a bit more than twice the cost of any damage are universally recognised as reasonable, and victims of theft who restrict themselves to such punishments can get a reputation for justice and mercy even as they vigorously pursue anyone who wrongs them. It is common for victims to require a fine in addition to any other punishment.^[1s]

Flogging, up to one hundred strokes with implements ranging from a light cane to heavy leather straps loaded with weights and spikes, is another popular penalty. The most popular form of legal discussion in taverns is of the appropriate level of flogging for hypothetical offences. Branding is not permitted under Gospodar law. It used to be, but it was abolished after a series of petty thieves were branded "rapist" or "cultist of the north."^[1s]

Mutilation is generally only applied in cases of wounding, where it is common for the same injury to be inflicted on the criminal. Nobles can often get away with imposing injuries that correspond to damage done to their property. An urchin who broke the windows of a noble's house might be blinded, for example. The death penalty is also available but rarely used by the common folk for anything short of rape or murder. Nobles use it more loosely and commonly impose it on peasants even for the death of valued animals.^[1s]

Ice Magic

Perhaps it is because of their northern home's proximity to the dread Chaos Wastes, where fell sorcerers abound, that Kislevites have long acknowledged that magic is vital to the protection of their land. The wintry oblasts of Kislev are ruled by a wizard, Tzarina Katarin Bokha, the most powerful of a coterie of skillful female magic-users specialising in elemental frost magic known as Ice Witches. The first Ice Witch was Miska, a shamaness of the Gospodar tribe, who united the clans of her people and rose to rule them, becoming their first khan-queen.^[3a]

These wizards have complete control over the frost magic of the Lore of Ice, also called Ice Magic and, among many other abilities, can unleash deadly blizzards, lacerate their enemies' flesh with a storm of freezing hail, and freeze the very air itself into a glacial wall. They can shrug off the bite of the coldest winter, and can kill with an icy kiss, sucking the warmth from their victims. The most dangerous of the Ice Witches allow themselves to be possessed by the ravenous nature spirits of the oblast tundra, briefly becoming vicious, shrieking killers, as implacable as winter itself.^[3a]

According to the traditions of the Imperial Colleges of Magic, by rights those of the Empire should fear and despise these Ice Witches, for they practice a form of magic beyond the bounds of the laws set down by the High Elf Archmage Teclis for the spellcasters of Men at the time of the Great War Against Chaos. Yet the Ice Queen of Kislev is an implacable foe of Chaos and a steadfast ally of the emperor, and Kislev's spellcasters are therefore tolerated in the Empire.^[3a]

Some scholars postulate that Ice Magic does not actually stem from the Winds of Magic, but emanates from the land of Kislev itself, its power derived from the spirits of the howling tundra to protect the realm from the unnatural assault of Chaos. The Kislevites regard their land as a sacred spiritual entity as embodied in the Ancient Widow, making it debatable whether Ice Magic can be regarded as "true magic" as the Imperial Colleges and the High Elf Loremasters of Hoeth would describe it, or as a form of shamanistic elementalism. The Ice Witches are famously reticent to speak to outsiders, and so the exact source of their formidable arcane powers can only be guessed at.^[3a]

Ice Witches

Since the time the first khan-queen came to Kislev and conquered the lands for the Gospodar tribes, there had always been descendants of her bloodline that have the mystical ability to manipulate the powers of winter itself. These magic-wielders are known by the Ungols and Gospodars alike as Ice Witches, an all-female sisterhood of powerful wizards that strives to protect and guard the icy magic that courses through Kislev. To most Ice Witches, defending Kislev itself is simply a means to that same end.^[1q]

The Ice Witches of Kislev are more than just women with the ability channel the Ancient Widow's cold flows; they are an organised sisterhood who works together to achieve shared goals. Formed over a thousand years ago by the Gospodar khan-queens, the Ice Witches have manoeuvred their way into influencing almost all matters in Kislev.^[1q]

They strive to ensure almost nothing is beyond their reach. They suppress competing philosophies and forms of magic and promote those sympathetic to their causes. Even the traditional Kislevite cults have been carefully monitored and guided through the centuries. The witches are keen to ensure no Kislevite religion ever gains the same all-encompassing power seen in other Old World nations, as such supremacy often heralds the suppression of their kind. In this vein, the recent rise of the Great Orthodoxy, whose clergy seek to centralise and make uniform all religious practice in Kislev, has become extremely concerning to the Ice Witches, who are eager to see Tzarina Katarin, the most powerful of their kind, move openly to weaken or suppress it.^[1q]

Religion

Traditional Kislevite Gods

"The gods are great, but only a fool would trust them with his life."

—Borya Bearfinder, priest of Ursun^[1f]

Kislev is a land of many religions and superstitions. There are a variety of foreign and local gods that the Kislevites worship, but their religious practices are not limited to just them. The people of Kislev believe the gods are the greatest of all otherworldly creatures, but also believe there are innumerable lesser nature spirits who must be appeased, several of which are considered the worldly servitors of the gods. Many are the animistic agents of the forest and sky, and many are the Kislevite traditions, oaths, and expressions that have arisen in respect to these spirits.^[1f][1u][1z]

There are countless spirits found throughout Kislev known by many local names, all with their own associated traditions and rituals of worship and supplication. Even among those traditions whose origins can no longer be remembered and are likely pointless, the superstitions persist. It is considered a mark of good manners and intelligence among Kislevites to honour even lesser spirits, while their neglect or disrespect is seen as a display of low breeding, ignorance, and furthermore, a simply unlucky action.^[1z]

All of these supernatural entities, whether god or spirit, must be respected, for respect is the heart of Kislevite religion. Their gods, much like their winters, are indifferent and often arbitrary, but if respected may allow their followers to live in their harsh and unforgiving land, at least for another day.^[1u]

Perhaps the three most common and well-known faiths of Kislev are those of the deities Ursun, Dazh and Tor.^[1f] Ursun, god of bears and strength, is the most revered god of Kislev and its national patron, for he is considered Kislev's principal war god and the primary god of the ancient Gospodars when they still lived in their original homeland within the Eastern Steppes.^[1u]

Dazh, the god of fire and the sun, maintains perhaps the most structured and civilised cult of the Kislevite pantheon, which usually represents the comforts of fire and hearth, and is believed by Imperial scholars to have been the original divine patron of the Ungols.^[1v][8a]

Tor, the god of thunder and lightning, is the least well-known of the traditional Kislevite gods, as his worship is mostly associated with the elements of nature such as lightning and thunder, rather then as embodied within a god proper,^[1w] but Imperial scholars believe he was the original divine patron of the Roppsmenn ethnic group.^[8a]

Foreign Gods

As the Gospodars were ethnically linked to the Chaos Marauder tribes of the Northmen, such as the Kurgan, Dolgans and Khazags, several aspects of Kislevite religion originated in the Eastern Steppes and were later brought to Kislev by the arrival of Gospodars during the great migration westwards. The worship of the traditional Kislevite gods is thus more prominent farther north in the kingdom, where those nomadic traditions are more tightly held.^[1f]

The further south one goes, the more the influence of the southern gods of the Old World Pantheon could be felt, for the border between the nations is ill-defined and equally so is the divide between their cultures. Most of Kislev's theological concerns centre on their three primary gods, but the gods of the Empire are often also welcomed in the communities of this frozen land.^[1w]

An example of this religious crossover is the case of Ulric, the god of war, winter and wolves and Taal, the god of nature and the wilderness. The attitudes and domains of these gods are a natural fit for the dour Kislevites, and though they are not as popular as Ursun or Tor, some Kislevites, especially in the south, pay respect to them, and their cults are significant in Kislevite culture and politics.^[1u][1w]

Taal's worship is effectively the same as in the Empire, save that he is always portrayed as a stag and never a bear and, perhaps due to the difficulty of farming on the oblast, Rhya is seen as his minor adjunct rather than his equal. Meanwhile, Ulric has several temples within Kislev, his holy days are observed, and his martial order is present as the Knights of the White Star. Both cults coexist easily enough with that of Ursun, (though Kislevites depict the wolf as the bear's younger, weaker, less intelligent, but still respectable rival and wonder how Taalites cannot see the obvious superiority of the bear over other animals) while Ulric's martial nature allowed him to be easily worshipped next to Tor.^[1u][1w]

There is also the matter of deities that seem to approximate those found within the Empire while still being culturally distinct in Kislev. An important goddess in Kislev is Salyak, who seems to be a Kislevite variant of Shallya. More a mother of mercy than a maiden, she intercedes less often than her Imperial counterpart in the lives of mortals. There is also Kalita, the god of merchants, considered a member of Dazh's court, and the Kislevite approximation of Handrich, the Imperial god of merchants and commerce.^[1x]

Kislevites simply cannot understand the worship of Morr and Ranald, the Imperial gods of death and trickery, for worshiping death and the notion of an afterlife was distasteful to them and they had little time for venerating a patron of thieves. However, many visions and dreams granted to Kislevites sensitive to such things often featured a dark, cowled, death-bringing figure and his trickster companion, known in the folklore of the oblast as "Misery and Misfortune".^[1x]

Great Orthodoxy

The Great Orthodoxy is the organised state religion of Kislev, founded by Tzar Boris Bokha around 2480 IC (it was said to be "a generation old" in 2502 IC) and has been gaining in political power and influence among the Kislevites of all ethnicities since then. Tzar Boris was concerned that the nature of religion in Kislev -- often taking the form of informal, widely divergent shamanistic rites overseen by wise women, witches and hags in rural areas -- put it at risk of being easily infiltrated and subsumed by the Dark Gods, thus allowing Chaos Cults to flourish. The Great Orthodoxy was thus formed as an attempt to organise, formalise, centralise and regulate traditional religion in Kislev, keeping the various religious cults (the Cult of Ursun, Cult of Dazh, Cult of Tor, Cult of Salyak, etc.) under the strict and watchful eye of the centralised -- and government controlled -- Great Orthodoxy.^[10a]

The Great Orthodoxy has quickly become one of the wealthiest organisations in the Old World, and its cathedrals are rich both in grandeur and influence. Its clergy, the patriarchs, are the sentinels of the Kislevite faith, inspiring those around them to greater acts of devotion with folk-songs sung as battle-hymns and reliquary boxes containing the bones of long-dead heroes. The current leader of the church is Supreme Patriarch Kostaltyn, a demagogue who, though seemingly almost unhinged to outside observers, is to his followers an invulnerable battle-priest.^[4][10a]

Those who ignore the Great Orthodoxy's edicts, refuse the demands of its leaders, or even dare question its aims risk being accused of heresy and punished, sometimes never to be seen again.^[4]

However, while some have learned to work within the strictures of the Great Orthodoxy and are able to wield its might to their own ends, many Kislevites still prefer to cling to the old ways of the traditional cults and utterly reject the centralisation of their faiths. Since Tzarina Katarin is seen by many as being a supporter of the "Old Faith," in the mold of the ancient Gospodar khan-queens, those who oppose the dictums of the Great Orthodoxy tend to give their political support to her.^[10a]

However, the Great Orthodoxy has over the decades since its founding come to possess wealth and influence to rival that of the Kislevite crown itself, and such is the dire period it exists in that even grievous oversteps in its authority and public pronouncements of the evils of witchcraft are insufficient for the Ice Queen to act directly against it, lest Kislev be torn asunder by religious schism and the resulting civil strife.^[4][11]

Wise Women

The tribes of Kislev are a superstitious folk, and those who minister to such superstitions within a stanitsa are known by the Ungol tribes collectively as "wise women". These wise women are an ancient tradition of wizards that still survives among the Ungol tribes, and their influence extends even to the Gospodars.

The wise women keep the oral lore of their tribes, mediate with the nature spirits of the steppes and the oblast, and keep a vigilant eye out for the taint of Chaos. Naturally, everyone hates them. That is, of course, a slight exaggeration, but no where are the wise women, or the hags, actually popular. The reasons for this become clear when their activities are examined in more detail.^[1q]

Wise women are primarily called "wise" because they know much of the history of the Ungol tribes and of their dealings with the creatures of the steppes. They use this knowledge to help the tribe. In some areas, the ability to recollect such information might make them popular, but on the northern steppes of Kislev, their knowledge consists almost entirely of past disasters and the depredations caused by the mortal and Daemonic servants of the Ruinous Powers.^[1q]

Thus, their advice almost always consists of telling people they cannot do things that might look like a good idea. That valley might look sheltered and fertile, but it was home to a Chaos Cult that bound Daemons. Travelling south with the horses might earn a fortune, but if the rota (garrison) does not perform a particular ritual, then the Ghosts of a raiding band of Kurgan will be freed to come after them. And so on.^[1q]

Gender Roles

In terms of gender roles, organised religion in Kislev is generally seen as a man's world, while the practice of magic is a specifically female art. The reasons for this are two-fold. The roles of warrior and hunter are traditionally almost exclusive to men in Kislev, and thus so are the priesthoods of Ursun and Tor. The existence of Imperial priestesses of Taal and Ulric are taken by many traditional Kislevite priests as an example of the Empire's decadent ways and the womanly softness of its culture.^[1v][1x][1y]

Only in the Cults of Dazh and Salyak are these gender restrictions somewhat lifted, but the scarcity of priestesses overall in Kislev make such arrangements rare regardless. The Ice Witches, meanwhile, for fear of an ancient prophecy claiming a male witch would one day taint their Ice Magic, have long decreed that men are inevitably corrupted by magic, a belief strongly held by all members of Kislevite society but one increasingly undermined by the existence of the Imperial Colleges of Magic.^[1v][1x][1y]

Foreign Relations

The Empire

Kislevites still remember the alliance they forged with the Empire that brought victory during the Great War Against Chaos some two centuries ago, when the Imperial general and future emperor Magnus the Pious came to their aid.^[9a]

Not all in the Empire bear Kislev goodwill, however. The Elector Count of Talabecland remembers his Grand Province's ancient claims to large portions of what is now Kislevite territory.^[9a]

Trade and commerce between Kislev and the Empire moves mainly along the River Talabec.^[9a]

Marienburg

Kislev is a great distance from the city-state of Marienburg in the Wasteland far to the west and has little sea trade to speak of. The ships from the Kislevite port city of Erengrad rarely venture farther west than Marienburg itself and Kislevites are renowned as clumsy sailors prone to getting lost the moment they go out of sight from the shore.^[6b]

Other nations' vessels carry far more of the Erengrad commercial traffic, such as it is, while Kislev itself relies on the Imperial river routes, open all through the year, to bring it the imports its people need. Of far greater concern to the former tzar Boris Bokha and his boyars and now to his successor Tzarina Katarin Bokha, are the constant threats their kingdom faces from the Chaos Wastes to the north, the savage Hobgoblin and Northmen nomads on the neighbouring Eastern Steppes, and the dangers of rebellion at home caused by the political tensions between the different ethnicities that comprise the Kislevite people.^[6b]

In constant need of soldiers, the tzarina's government spends a fortune raising native elite troops and hiring mercenaries to supplement Kislev's forces. With her people already stretched to the limit by taxes, the tzarina has recently floated large loans, like her father before her, on the Marienburg Export-Import Exchange. In particular, Jaan van de Kuypers, head of the most powerful family in the governing Directorate of Marienburg, holds several Kislevite promissory notes. His influence with the previous tsar was so great that he has essentially become Kislev's de facto ambassador in Marienburg.^[6b]

Notable Kislevites

• Tzarina Katarin Bokha - Katarin Bokha, daughter of Tzar Boris Bokha, is the current reigning Tzarina of Kislev and titled the "Ice Queen" due to her aloof majesty, inscrutable nature as well as her mastery of Ice Magic. Like all rulers of Kislev, she is of ethnic Gospodar descent. Her magical power is drawn from the land of Kislev itself, giving her command of the harsh and cold elements. Katarin is the greatest of the Ice Witches of Kislev, and is so suffused with the power of the Lore of Ice that even her flesh is cold and pale. Some whisper that she is the reincarnation of the first Gospodar Khan-Queen Miska, and it is said that when she ascended to the throne, the Bokha Palace grew a whole new wing made of ice, half a mile long.

• Tzar Boris Bokha - Boris Bokha was a great Tzar of Kislev who reigned in the late 25th century IC and undertook a number of major reforms of the nation's government to better centralise the tzar's control over the realm and reduce the opportunities for Chaos to corrupt his people. Tzar Boris established the Great Orthodoxy that combined all the cults of the traditional Kislevite pantheon of gods -- Ursun, Dazh and Tor -- under a single, centralised church hierarchy under the governance of Supreme PatriarchKostaltyn. Tzar Boris is the father of the current reigning Tzarina Katarin Bokha.

• Supreme Patriarch Kostaltyn - Kostaltyn is a priest who serves as the current supreme patriarch of the Great Orthodoxy, which was created by Tzar Boris Bokha to unify the traditional cults of the Kislevite pantheon -- the gods Ursun, Dazh and Tor -- under a single, centralised church hierarchy intended to make it easier to prevent Chaos corruption from infecting the faithful. Kostaltyn is a charismatic fanatic who believes that the Great Orthodoxy should be the primary political as well as spiritual power in Kislev, and he is often at odds with Tzarina Katarin who seeks to make herself the only true source of authority in the Motherland. Additionally, many of the faithful of the traditional Kislevite cults have a great dislike for the changes the Great Orthodoxy has wrought to their faith and these believers are sure that the tzarina and her fellow Ice Witches stand with them.

• Mother Ostankya - Mother Ostankya is an Ungol Hag Mother rumoured to live in the Duklys Forest of Kislev. The stories about her among Kislevites call Mother Ostankya a protector of the Motherland, and that only those who wish to harm the land need fear her. While some dismiss her very existence as a local myth, Supreme Patriach Kostaltyn, leader of the still young Great Orthodoxy faith of Kislev, had men search the forest for her coven of servant hags. Although these Hag Witches remained elusive, enough witness testimonies, given under a "certain amount of duress," were gathered for the supreme patriarch to consider her a very real threat to the nation. Mother Ostankya is currently the only true Hag Mother active in Kislev and is considered the leader of all other Kislevite Hag Witches.^[12][13][14]

• Naryska Leysa (Golden Knight) - Nariska Leysa, known as the "Golden Knight," is the current champion of the Ice Queen of Kislev, Tzarina Katarin Bokha. "Golden Knight" is always the title taken by the champion of the reigning tzar or tzarina of Kislev. This is an honorary rank bestowed on the greatest warrior among the lower druzhina nobility (or occasionally in Kislevite history, boyars or even the common soldiery). Naryska is the daughter of the previous Golden Knight, who died at the side of Tzar Boris Bokha, Katarin's father. As a girl, Naryska learned swordcraft from her father, honing her skills as a warrior from the finest in the realm. Though she was derided by her peers as women were not viewed as natural warriors in the traditionalist Kislevite culture, she stood forward as a candidate to become the Guardian of the Tzarina when the druzhina moved to elect her father's successor and she proved to be the best candidate.^[12]

• Ulrika Magdova Straghov - Ulrika Magdova Straghov is the daughter of Ivan Mikelovitch Straghov, one of the Kislevite march boyars who guards Kislev's borders against the depredations of Chaos from the north or east. She is a tall, independent woman, as ferocious in combat as any man, skilled with the bow, and an accomplished horsewoman. Felix Jaeger first met Ulrika on the Dwarf airship Spirit of Grungni, as they flew to the far north in search of the lost Dwarf hold of Karag Dum. Felix was immediately attracted by Ulrika's stunning looks and confident nature, so different from most Imperial women. Their affair proved to be passionate but stormy, until circumstances drove them apart. Ulrika was later transformed into a Lahmian Vampire by her sire Adolphus Krieger and took part in many adventures across the Old World in the years before the End Times.

Forces of Kislev

Organisation

"Dey fight good, dem Kislevites. I fight wit' 'em last year when the Gryphon Legion ride south to the Wasteland looking for pay fighting, hey? Dey fight in the saddle, and dey look like dey born there. In fact, I don' think I never seen one get off his horse."

—Enzo Marcoclio, Tilean mercenary^[1d]

Standing at the very doorstep of the Chaos Wastes' madness and Chaos corruption, the Tzardom of Kislev has been, since its founding, a nation driven by constant warfare. Throughout the course of Human history, Kislev has always bred hardy people, not only because of the harsh climate and generally infertile lands, but also due to the constant depredation wrought by the raiders who habitually come down from the Chaos Wastes.^[1o]

The fiery hatred of Kislevites for these Men of the North is well evident, for so many years have the sons of Kislev died by their hands, with the traditionalist Ungol tribes of the north bearing the greatest of this hatred.^[1o]

Known by the Kislevites as Kyazak, meaning "Outlaws" or "Raiders" in Kislevarin, these raiding parties are an ever-present threat to Kislevite settlements and caravans north of the River Lynsk, and some have managed to even cross the river itself, and prey upon the more defenceless stanitsas of the south.^[1o]

But most Kyazak incursions are usually small and short-lived. Unable to match the speed of the Kislevite cavalry, most raiders are usually harassed until they are forced to retreat back north, unable to catch and kill their targets in the wake of the lightning-fast hit-and-run reprisals of their intended victims.^[1o]

This strategy of warfare is common in the Kislevite north, where the lack of numbers forced many Ungol and Gospodar tribes to adopt these hit-and-run tactics to wear down their opponents rather then using overwhelming numbers. With their skills at horsemanship and archery, this tactic has proved highly successful numerous times over.^[1o]

If the Northmen manage to bypass these tribes of horse-archers, and attack the more defenceless towns south of the River Lysnk, local Kislevite nobles would gather a rotas, meaning "squadron" or "unit" of the famed Kislevite Winged Lancers unto their banner and drive the Northmen out of their land. This is common amongst those towns of ethnic Gospodar heritage, and is known as the most common way for the Kislevites of the Southern Oblast to counter huge Chaos incursions.^[1o]

Occasionally, a particularly powerful chieftain or Chaos Lord would rise amongst the tribes of the Norscan and Kurgan peoples and lead a massive invasion consisting of a confederation of several Northmen tribes into the heart of Kislev.^[1o]

In such a situation, the bulk of Kislevite stanitsas and cities would pool their rotas of Winged Lancers together, forming them into pulks, meaning "battalion" or "army" in Kislevarin. When enough pulks are assembled, the combined Kislevite army would intercept the invasion force, attack the Chaos Marauders from all sides, and demoralise their enemy until they fled the field in a mass rout.^[1o]

Infantry

• Kislevite Warriors - Kislevite Warriors comprise the primary melee infantry of most Kislevite armies. Kislevite Warriors armed with halberds are decent at withstanding a charge and bound by their deep blood ties to the Motherland will fight to the bitter end for Kislev.^[12]

• Kossars - Kossars form the backbone of the tzarina's standing army of infantry. The original Kossars were an Ungol clan who worked as mercenaries, fighting for the Gospodars against other Ungol clans who had adopted a unique, hybrid style of combat, skilled with both axe and bow. They went on to teach the Gospodars these tactics. The present Kossars are simply units of Kislevite soldiers comprised of both ethnic Ungols and Gospodars who now use these tactics in battle.^[1p]

• Kislev Ranger - Kislev Rangers are expert scouts, infiltrators, skirmishers and trackers who sometimes offer their skills to the armies of the Motherland. These troops are excellent shots with a bow but can also hold their ground with a sword.

• Akshina - The secret police of the tzars, these troops excel in ambush with their rapid fire crossbows and deadly accuracy. They wear wolf-fur coats and commonly act as scouts and skirmishing troops when employed in the Motherland's armies.

• Sibyrian Hunters - Men from the harsh tundra and steppe of the northern oblast, these hunters are a harsh breed and archers of unmatched skill, who are a welcome presence as ranged infantry in the armies of the Motherland.

• Tzar Guard - The Tzar Guard, also called the Bokha Palace Guard and the Kreml Guard, are selected from among the greatest Kossars to guard the Winter Palace of the tzarina. Wielding the mighty berdiche, a large, two-handed heavy-bladed greataxe, these heavily-armoured melee infantry strike fear into the hearts of their enemies.

• Streltsi - The Streltsi are an elite branch of the tzarina's army that specialises in the tactical use of a combination of blackpowder rifles and the use of a halberd, much in the same way as the Kossars.

• Ice Guard - The Ice Guard are an elite fighting formation of warrior women, equally skilled with bow and sword. But where they differ significantly from other Kislevite units is that they are able to channel the elemental Ice Magic of their realm in a similar manner to their Ice Queen -- the most powerful practitioner of this unique form of magic.

Monstrous Infantry

• Balewolves - Balewolves, known colloquially as "The Things in the Woods," are fearsome Chaos beasts known to lurk in the dark forests of Kislev and the northeastern Empire. While they resemble common wolves, these are no ordinary beasts, but creatures born from Chaotic mutation, their gait resembling more so a man's than a wolf. The Balewolf is a huge and hulking creature, who dwell in the darkest corners of the woods of the Old World. A monstrous creation of Chaos, this beast was born from some nefarious yet unknown origin, however its connection to the Ruinous Powers is undeniable. Dark magical energy snakes and contorts around every wound it suffers, knitting the Balewolf's form back together wherever its hide has been pierced. Yet, to cause such a wound would require a feat of tremendous strength, for the creature's skin is thicker than toughened leather, capable of turning aside most blades and arrows alike. With unnatural power and massive jaws capable of crushing a man's body in two, very few have faced a Balewolf and lived to tell the tale. While these creatures might have been spawned as a consequence of the blight of Chaos upon nature, this does not mean that they directly serve the will of the armies of the Ruinous Powers. The Ungol Hag Witches of Kislev, whose power comes from their bargains with the nature spirits of the Motherland, are able to bind Balewolves to their will so as to use them in the Kislevite armies they support or lead. The Koldunjas, those Hag Witches who wield the magical Lore of Beasts, can even summon them directly onto the battlefields.

Melee and Missile Cavalry

• Kossovite Dervishes - Dervishes are a type of light cavalry employed by Kislevite armies. Like Kislev's renowned Ungol Horse Archers they are drawn from the nomadic, Ungol inhabitants of the emptier, wilder Northern Oblast of Kislev, but unlike them the Dervishes specialise in melee combat. With their well-bred and cared-for horses, the Dervishes are known for sneaking up on enemy lines and the use of hit-and-run tactics, as they prefer not to stay in combat for long.

• Ungol Horse Archer - Ungol Horse Archers are mounted light cavalry auxiliaries recruited from the northern, nomadic Ungol clans of Kislev. They are some of the fastest cavalry in the Old World but lack the discipline of regular army units. They are trained to fight with bow and arrow from a young age and love to run rings around their opponents, attacking, withdrawing and then attacking again.^[1o]

• Winged Lancers - The Winged Lancers are part of the ethnically Gospodar branch of Tzarina Katarin Bokha's army, made up of heavily-armoured shock cavalry that fight in small squadrons called rotas against the enemy. They form the bulk of Kislev's cavalry, being midway in strength between the light Ungol Horse Archers and the even heavier Gryphon Legion.^[1o]

• War Bear Riders - War Bear Riders comprise the most elite heavy cavalry forces of Kislev, often comprised of former Winged Lancers who have earned the right to ride a War Bear sacred to Ursun, the Bear God patron of the Motherland, through their valour.

• Gryphon Legion - The Gryphon Legion are the elite core of Kislevite military power, as well as a standing full-time company of veteran Winged Lancers. The ranks of the Gryphon Legion are drawn exclusively from the ethnically Gospodar nobility of the Motherland and fletch their wings with Griffon feathers, hence their name. They are often seen employing their services across the Old World as mercenaries, but their loyalty will always be to the tzarina and their homeland of Kislev. In terms of equipment, training and numbers, the Gryphon Legion is comparable to an entire brotherhood of Imperial knights.^[1o]

Chariots

• Kislevite War Sled - Pulled by two massive, armoured War Bears, these sleds can bring supplies and ammunition to the battle but can also act as firing positions for marksman or as a platform from which the sled can charge through enemy ranks.

Artillery

• Urugan Cannon - The Urugan Cannon, named for the sharp, screeching sound that it makes when fired, is a light blackpowder artillery piece used by the armies of Kislev that is capable of firing multiple shots before needing to be reloaded. It is a lightweight weapon that works on the same principal as the Repeater Weapons of the Empire. It consists of several light, small barrels and a carriage that includes a protective screen for the crew and four wheels that enable the crew to move it from place to place quickly. The Urugan Cannon shoots a virtual hail of lead shot, filling the air with whistling death.

• Kislev Great Cannon - Functionally very similar to an Empire Great Cannon, these artillery pieces lob massive cannonballs to smash into enemy ranks. However, they are far rarer in a Kislevite army than their southern counterparts.

• "Little Grom" - "Little Grom" is a massive blackpowder cannon employed by the armies of Kislev. It is one of the last of the remaining "Thunderers", twelve cannons forged over two centuries ago to help defend Kislev from the assault of Chaos during the Great War Against Chaos that began in 2301 IC. Due to its immense size, Little Grom must be pulled by a pair of War Bears atop a magical layer of ice. Only a handful of these mighty artillery pieces remain in the hands of the Kislevites.

Warbeasts

• Cave bats - Cave bats are a type of fell bat often employed as beasts of war by the armies of Kislev when they are commanded by Ungol Hag Witches, summoned and controlled by their magic. With a body as long as a grown man, cave bats are a fearsome sight. They are darker than midnight and silent as death, even when in full flight. In fact, the only noises that a cave bat makes on the hunt are horrible gobbling slurps when it sinks its distended mouth into living flesh. In truth, a cave bat bears as much resemblance to an ordinary bat as a maddened lion does to a domestic cat. Those who have encountered them, and lived, tell how they hunt with unerring accuracy, swooping down to knock knights from their saddles or pick off lone warriors unawares.

• Elemental Bear - The literal embodiment of the land of Kislev, this magical beast is a titanic, icy construct created in the shape of a great bear by its summoner that can be unleashed by the armies of Kislev. It is magically summoned into being by both the Kislevite people's deep spiritual connection to their land's many animistic nature spirits and the arcane skill of those Kislevite wizards learned in the Lore of Ice.

• Feral Bears - Feral bears are often employed as beasts of war by the armies of Kislev when they are commanded by Ungol Hag Witches, summoned and controlled by their magic. A common sight throughout the forests of the Old World, the hardy bear is an intimidating beast. Common to the Empire, revered by the Kislevites, but often feared by both, bears are not a natural threat to wayward Men -- preferring a diet of berries and fish. But the wilds of the Old World are as unforgiving as its cities, and in times of devastation a hungry bear may set its appetite on lost travellers or stray patrols.

• Feral Ice Bears - Feral ice bears are often employed as beasts of war by the armies of Kislev when they are commanded by Ungol Hag Witches, summoned and controlled by their magic. From head to haunch, the ice bear is a lumbering mass of muscle. Apex predators of the frosty north, tempered against the fringe territories of Chaos, these born-killers ambush their meals cloaked in snowy white. Frequent manhunters, stories of Kislevite forager parties going missing at the borders of an ice bear's range surface all too frequently.

• Frost Wyrm - A Frost Wyrm is a massive reptilian creature born of magic who primarily roosts in the Crags of Shargun in Kislev. The Frost Wyrm is a hulking, flightless reptilian beast, deadly in combat with its massive fanged jaws, scything claws and a vicious lashing tail. The Frost Wyrm acts as both an individual unit in Kislevite armies, or as a mount for Tzarina Katarin of Kislev or her allied Ice Witches.^[12]

• Giant Spider - A Giant Spider, formally known by scholars as Arachnidis titanicus, is a deadly arachnid hunter who can grow to be the size of a horse, easily capable of ensnaring and overwhelming a fully-grown man. Giant Spiders are often employed as beasts of war by the armies of Kislev when they are commanded by Ungol Hag Witches, summoned and controlled by their magic.

• Incarnate Elemental of Beasts - The Incarnate Elemental of Beasts is an Elemental spirit born from the Wind of Ghur, summoned through savage and secret rituals known to few Men. They are used by the mostly female wizards of Kislev to defend the homeland at all costs.

• Snow Leopard - Snow Leopards are large, feline species that inhabit the icy tundra. Tamed versions of these cats are used by Ice Witches and Kislevite armies as fast stalk troops.

• Spider hatchlings - Spider hatchlings, also called spiderlings, are a type of Gigantic Spider who are the poisonous offspring of the mighty Arachnarok and lesser Giant Spiders. They are often employed as beasts of war by the armies of Kislev when they are commanded by Ungol Hag Witches, summoned and controlled by their magic.

Heroes

• Patriarch - A patriarch is a senior-ranking priest of the Great Orthodoxy, the newly-organised religion of Kislev which worships the entire Kislevite pantheon of gods -- Ursun, god of bears, strength and the wilderness; Dazh, god of fire and the sun; Tor, god of thunder and lightning, and Salyak, goddess of comfort and healing -- as a single cult rather than broken up into their traditionally separate cult hierarchies. This was an innovation created at the direction of Tzar Boris Bokha during his reign in an attempt to create a more centralised and united religious establishment in Kislev to better defend the Motherland from the assaults of Chaos. Needless to say, this move was controversial and opposed by those who preferred the traditional cults of the Kislevite pantheon, leading to some religious strife. Nevertheless, patriarchs of the Great Orthodoxy will often march to war alongside Kislevite armies.

• Frost Maiden - A Frost Maiden, also called an Ice Maiden, is a young Kislevite Ice Witch of Gospodar descent who has completed her training as an apprentice witch but must now begin her own, independent studies of Ice Magic to fully master her powers. When Tzarina Katarin Bokha's personal attention is not required, it falls to the female Ice Witches of the Ice Court to represent her might instead. Since the time of the Gospodar khan-queens there has been an Ice Court, a powerful political body devoted to preparing the noble Gospodar daughters of Kislev to take on positions of power. It is from this body that the Frost Maidens -- Ice Witches yet to complete their training -- are drawn. Akin to an academy, the Ice Court schools the young women within its halls in matters of diplomacy, intrigue and wizardry until they are ready to take on the roles of full Ice Witches.

• Hag Witch - Hag Witches are ethnically Ungol witches who are followers of Kislev's Ancient Widow, capable of cursing their enemies and communing with the powerful nature spirits of the Motherland using the Lore of the Hag, the Lore of Beasts, the Lore of Death and/or the Lore of Shadow. Few Ungol women develop magical powers without first demonstrating "the sight." Thus, most Hag Witches were wise women first. The Hag Witches' powers are said to be a blessing and a curse, for although the hags can undoubtedly aid their local communities, the spirits demand a high price for their compliance: premature aging. Because of this consequence, most wise women dread the possibility of the spirits answering their call. As well as the wise women, those who suffer a great loss -- such as the death of a husband or child -- may also be chosen by the spirit of the Motherland known as the Ancient Widow and gain an intimate understanding of Kislev's tormented spirits. Hag Witches who come to power in this way often live alone, grieving for their lost loved ones and fading youth.

• Bear Tamer - A bear tamer is an individual skilled in taming wild bears for service in the military forces of Kislev. The bear is a sacred animal in Kislev and venerated by the Cult of Ursun. Therefore, boyars often recruit bear tamers to add these mighty beasts to their forces.

Lords

• Boyar - The boyars are the middle-rank nobility of Kislev, the nobles who hold real power between the tzars and their own subordinates among the druzhinas and the peasants. They are all ethnic Gospodars, and the rank is universally hereditary. As the Motherland's ranking nobles, boyars are powerful men and women within the lands of Kislev. They each govern specific areas of Kislev, including scores if not hundreds of stanitsas (villages), as well as larger towns and small cities. Especially large cities are governed by boyars of singular prestige. This is a hereditary rank, although royal edict can raise a person of any birth to the title. On the battlefield, boyars are tough and doughty fighters -- the best in Kislev, save for Tzarina Katarin Bokha herself and her champion, the Golden Knight. They are grim, determined individuals that have fought many battles in the past and are often used to lead pulks of warriors against invasion forces.

• Ice Witch - Ice Witches are powerful, ethnically Gospodar female wizards who are the practitioners of the Lore of Ice and the Lore of Tempest. Women of great magical power, of whom the Tzarina Katarin Bokha is their most famous and formidable member, they command the very elements through their mastery of Ice Magic and bring to bear the might of their land in defence of their great nation. The Ice Witches are a strange breed, being physically and spiritually linked to the seasons of Kislev, growing weaker in the summer and stronger in the winter.

• Druzhina - A druzhina is a member of the lowest rank of formal nobility among the Gospodars of Kislev. Many atamans hold this rank, as do a significant number of rotamasters. The rank is traditionally hereditary, but Tzarina Katarin Bokha has recently started making individuals druzhina for life in return for great service to the crown, the Motherland or for financial contributions. She has even extended this privilege to some Ungols, which has created some discontent among both the Gospodars and other Ungols who remain uneasy with cooperation with the state created by their conquerors. Tzarina Katarin often uses the rank of druzhina to reward influential Kislevite individuals who publicly affirm and support her power and authority. These rewards are almost always only for life, but she has occasionally granted a druzhina the right to pass the title on to his heirs.^[12]

Miniatures

Videos

Interactive Map

Trivia

Kislev's location, history, language, religious hierarchy, and culture correspond with a mixture of medieval and early modern Slavic states located in the real world nations of Russia, Belarus, Poland and Ukraine. In particular, the older descriptions of Kislev borrow mostly from the history and culture of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as well as the Tsardom of Russia while the "newer" version of Kislev seen when Games Workshop fleshed out the faction in Total War: Warhammer III and Warhammer: The Old World seems to take further inspiration, at least aesthetically, from the medieval Kievan Rus' confederation of early Russian states.

Kislev is the name of the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar.

See Also

• Kislev Timeline

Sources

• 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Realm of the Ice Queen (RPG)
  • 1a: "Front Cover"
  • 1b: pp. 6-8
  • 1c: pp. 9-10
  • 1d: pg. 11
  • 1e: pg. 12
  • 1f: pg. 13
  • 1g: pg. 14
  • 1i: pg. 15
  • 1j: pp. 16-21
  • 1k: pg. 22
  • 1m: pg. 23
  • 1n: pg. 24
  • 1o: pg. 25
  • 1p: pg. 26
  • 1q: pp. 27-28
  • 1r: pg. 29
  • 1s: pp. 30-33
  • 1t: pg. 34
  • 1u: pp. 35-37
  • 1v: pp. 37-39
  • 1w: pp. 40-41
  • 1x: pp. 42-44
  • 1y: pp. 44-47
  • 1z: pp. 47-53
  • 1aa: pg. 125
  • 1ab: pg. 45 (Map of Kislev)
• 2: Warhammer Armies: Kislev (6th Edition)
  • 2a: pg. 1
• 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: The Winds of Magic - Advanced Magic & Wizardry (RPG)
  • 3a: pg. 25
• 4: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
• 5: With Ice and Sword (Short Story) by Graham McNeill
• 6: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Marienburg Sold Down The River (RPG)
  • 6a: pg. 22
  • 6b: pg. 25
• 7: Storm of Chaos (6th Edition)
  • 7a: pg. 11
• 8: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Salvation (RPG)
  • 8a: pp. 9
• 9: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Sigmar's Heirs (RPG)
  • 9a: pg. 26
• 10a: Who Is Kostaltyn Of Kislev? (Archived)
• 11: Son of Kislev (Short Story) by Andy Hall
• 12: Total War Blog: Patch 4.2 Shadows of Change Content Additions - Part 3: Kislev
• 13: Total War Blog - Shadows of Change: Introducing Mother Ostankya
• 14: Things in the Wood (Short Story) by David Guymer