Sigmar
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Age | 2552 (if "alive") | |
| Race | Human | |
| Current status | Emperor and later Deity | |
| Profession | Patron deity of The Empire | |
In the Warhammer Fantasy setting, Sigmar Heldenhammer is the tutelary god of The Empire. His sign is a two tailed comet or a Hammer. About 2500 years before the present time, he was a mortal who united the tribes of what is now the Empire. Sigmar's depiction in the Warhammer setting appears heavily influenced by the mythological germanic thunder god, Thor, although the inhabitants of Kislev, the Empire's northern neighbor, worship an axe-wielding thunder deity named Tor. In addition to Thor, Sigmar appears to be partially inspired by sword-and-sorcery barbarian heroes, especially Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, Charlemagne, the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and Arminius, the warlord who led the Germanic tribes against the Roman legions at the Teutoburger Wald.
The Imperial Calendar (IC) which takes its starting date from Sigmar's coronation as Emperor, places his birth as the year -30, in the Reikland area in the southwest of the Empire, to the Unberogen tribe, generally considered to have been one of the most powerful pre-Empire tribes. The night of his birth was marked with the appearance of a twin-tailed comet, which the human tribes took as a sign of great portent from the gods. In the year -15, Sigmar is believed to have helped drive off a Goblin invasion of his village, and in the same year, led a punitive expedition against a Goblin war-party that was holding Kurgan Ironbeard, a king of the Dwarf people, a prisoner. In gratitude, Kurgan presented the young warrior with a magical rune-enchanted warhammer called "Ghal Maraz" ('Skull-splitter,' in the Dwarf Khazalid tongue).
Sigmar then went on a campaign to unite the disparate tribes of the future Empire, and one by one they submitted, either by conquest or diplomacy. The most famous incident was his subjugation of the belligerent Teutogens, the largest and most powerful of the tribes, who lived near the Middle Mountains in the north central Empire, near the current location of the Middenheim City-State (Freistadt). Their chieftain, Artur, was defeated by Sigmar in single combat, and this is commonly held to have been the point at which Sigmar gained control of the tribes of the Empire.
From that point onward, Sigmar embarked upon a campaign of purgation and liberation throughout all of the tribal lands, primarily against the Beastmen (Beasts of Chaos) and Goblinoid races (Orcs and Goblins), culminating in the First Battle of Black Fire Pass (IC -1), in present-day Averland, in the southeast of the Empire. Following this great victory, Sigmar returned in triumph to his native Reikland and was crowned Emperor Sigmar Heldenhammer I('Hammer of the Goblins') at Reikdorf, the site of the current Imperial capital of Altdorf. This date remains the Empire's greatest holy day, as it marks Sigmar's coronation and abdication fifty years later (IC 50) - it is in the summer of the Imperial year, on the 18th day of the month of Sigmarzeit.
Sigmar set up the leaders of the twelve tribes that followed him as the Elector Counts of the Empire, a position that remains to this day. The Runefang swords, commissioned by Sigmar to the legendary Dwarf smith Alaric the Mad, were not finished before Sigmar's abdication, but nevertheless remain among the most potent symbols of Imperial rule.
In his fiftieth year of reigning, Sigmar put by his crown and set off to see what lay beyond the World's Edge Mountains to the east, in a similar fashion to the Dwarf ancestor/warrior deity Grimnir the Fearless, who legendarily strode off into the Chaos Waste to do battle with the Powers of the Warp. Sources conflict on the details of what precisely motivated Sigmar to do this; some accounts claim he set off to return Ghal Maraz to the Dwarfs, but the famous rune-hammer has traditionally been the weapon of the ruling Emperor and the primary symbol/relic of the Sigmarite cult, founded by Johann Helstrum in IC 73. A number of heresies have sprung up regarding the authenticity of Ghal Maraz, but the official Imperial position is that the weapon wielded by the Emperors is the hammer of Sigmar.
Following his disappearance, Sigmar passed over the World's Edge mountain range and no human ever saw him again. Since he was never known to have died, this may have played a large role in the early successes of the cult established in his honor. It is now the foremost religion in the Empire and is inextricably intertwined with the political, cultural, and national identity of the Empire and its people. Interestingly, Sigmar never claimed to be a deity and his own religious beliefs while alive are subject to conjecture, although tradition dictates that he was crowned Emperor by the High Priest of the cult of Ulric, the northern god of winter, wolves, and war. However, the priests and worshippers of Sigmar often receive measurable and often positive answers to their entreaties and petitions, suggesting that something with some measure of power is answering them. Many take this as a sign that Sigmar indeed is a god, and watches over the Empire.
Surprisingly (or perhaps not at all), the cults of Sigmar and Ulric do not get along well. The Ar-Ulric and the two Arch-Lectors of the Sigmarite faith, as well as the Grand Theogonist (current: Johann Esmer), all maintain a vote in the election of the Emperors. While the cult and its leaders are often corrupt and hip-deep in the byzantine politics of the Empire, it is a faith that preaches courage, justice, honor, and the protection of the weak and innocent from evil. It is also nationalistic and sees the preservation of Sigmar's original holdings as a sacred duty. The church's iconography primarily centers around images directly connected to Sigmar himself: the comet and the hammer are the foremost of these. Also a popular national and religious symbol is the griffon, the personal heraldry of Emperor Magnus the Pious, who saved the Empire from disaster during the Great War Against Chaos in IC 2302-2303. It is likely that Magnus will be canonized as a saint within the next century (current year: IC 2522).
It is a well-known theory among the theologians of the gods of the Old World that a Champion of Light arises to do battle with the forces of Chaos when they unify around their periodic leaders. Many have felt that Sigmar may have been one of these, and a number have argued for Magnus the Pious as well. The most recent case came in the year IC 2522, under a young man named Valten of Lachenbad, who became the central figure around which the Empire rallied to fight Archaon the Everchosen in the recent Storm of Chaos event. Valten was especially noted for his incredible strength, instinctive leadership, and strength of will. Furthermore, he strongly resembled the appearance ascribed to Sigmar in Imperial legend, and sported a birthmark on his chest of Sigmar's legendary twin-tailed comet. Hailed as the 'spiritual leader of the Empire' by Emperor Karl Franz I and presented with Sigmar's own hammer Ghal Maraz, Valten was believed by many to be an avatar of Sigmar or the returned god under a different name. He was assassinated shortly after the war with Archaon ended, ostensibly by an assassin of the Skaven Clan Eshin (the warpstone dagger would suggest their involvement, although it was indicated in the text that count Boris Todbringer of Middenheim and the Grand Theogonist Johann Esmer might have been involved), but this development was covered up by the Emperor and Valten's lieutenant, the Sigmarite warrior-monk and prophet Luthor Huss, who discovered Valten in the days before Archaon's invasion. It should be noted that only Valten's blood was found, not his body, suggesting that he may still be alive.
The Saga of Sigmar, the story of his life can be found in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle main rulebook, 6th Edition. Also, a more detailed account can be found in The Life of Sigmar, published by Black Library.
[edit] Sigmarite Iconography
- Twin-tailed Comet - The sign that appeared in the heavens on the night of Sigmar's birth, it has become a universal symbol of his cult. The twin-tailed comet has appeared two other times in Imperial history, in IC 1999 over the capital of Ostermark, Mordheim, prior to its destruction when the comet crashed in the middle of the city, destroying most of the civic structures and killing a substantial portion of the population. That particular comet was given the name 'Sigmar's Hammer,' since it was looked on as a herald of Sigmar's will, and since it destroyed the city of Mordheim, considered the capital of sinners, gamblers, drinkers, whores, and criminals, the comet has also become an icon of imminent Sigmarite judgment. A twin-tailed comet also attended the appearance of Valten of Lachenbad in IC 2522, and he bore the image of the heavenly icon on his chest. These were looked on as largely irrefutable evidence of his status as either an avatar of or the reborn Sigmar.
- Ghal Maraz - In the Dwarf language (Khazalid), it means 'skull-splitter', the legendary hammer of Sigmar, forged by the dwarf Alaric the Mad, is a symbol of Imperial unity, and the defense of humankind and the Empire. Alongside with the Twin-tailed Comet, it is the primary sign of Sigmar. In remembrance and honor of Ghal Maraz, the Order of the Silver Hammer, the martial arm of the Sigmarite cult, use warhammers in battle. It is a sign of particular banefulness to orcs and goblins, as the greenskin races are believed to hold an ancestral memory of the danger and death Ghal Maraz has meted out to their kind throughout history.
- Griffon - Popular following the 2300s and the reign of Emperor Magnus I ('the Pious'). This was Magnus's personal heraldry, and has been adopted by many subsequent Emperors, most notably the 'Griffon Emperors' of Reikland. The griffon has also been adopted by the Church of Sigmar in general, and by former Grand Theogonist Volkmar in particular. The War Altar of Sigmar carried an ornate statue of a Griffon wielding Ghal Maraz, the emblem of Magnus's dynasty. On his chest, Volkmar also wore the Jade Griffon, a protective amulet of great power fashioned in the likness of Magnus's heraldry. In his sermons, Volkmar frequently referred to Magnus's words and deeds favourably; and there is evidence that, prior to his death, Volkmar was laying the groundwork for Magnus's canonisation. The motion has not been pursued by the current Grand Theogonist, Johann Esmer. Although the Jade Griffon amulet was cleaved in half by Archaon in the battle in which the Everchosen slew Volkmar, the Church of Sigmar has subsequently recovered and restored both the Jade Griffon and the War Altar of Sigmar.
- Imperial Cross - A long-standing symbol of Imperial unity, the top three arms stand for the northern, western, and eastern tribes of the ancient Empire, and the bottom refers to the Dwarfs, the Empire's oldest and staunchest allies. It has connotations of unity and oaths fulfilled.
