Volkmar the Grim
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Volkmar the Grim is a fictional character in the fictional setting of Warhammer Fantasy. Volkmar is the Grand Theogonist of Sigmar in the Empire - the post is analogous to that of the Pope.
As head of the Sigmarite Church, Volkmar was an Imperial Elector and, together with the two Arch-Lectors, many claimed - in private - he represented the true power behind the Throne.
Volkmar rode into battle on a grand "War Altar" bearing the sacred icon of the Empire, the Griffon. As well as being a powerful spellcaster, Volkmar was adept with the sword.
In the years leading up to the Storm of Chaos campaign, the Sigmarite clergy were conflicted over a young warrior priest named "Luthor Huss" (a pun on Jan Huss/Martin Luther), who had openly denounced their increasingly decadent ways. Huss never attacked Volkmar in his speeches, displaying his respect for the old man's resolution and focus. Many urged Volkmar to excommunicate Luthor but Volkmar refused. Many speculated he knew something about Huss he did not wish to share until the time was right. The ageing Volmar was much concerned with the growing might of Chaos in the North, and spent long hours reading unholy grimoires in search of an answer to the stirring evil. Many began to doubt his sanity. He became increasingly removed from Church affairs, and the influence of the Arch-Lectors grew unchecked.
[edit] Storm of Chaos
Volkmar decided the time had come. He knew he had to halt the rise of Archaon before he became too powerful to be halted. Drawing an army of the faithful and the state troops of Talabheim, the combined Empire force army met the foes in the Troll Country. The fighting ebbed back and forth, but Volkmar realized the foe's unending stream of reinforcements would prove fatal to his army. Volkmar charged Archaon, calling out a challenge to the Chaos leader. The priest knew Archaon could not refuse, for his position could only be maintained with fear and respect: to show any kind of weakness would invite challenges to his power from his followers. Archaon slew Volkmar and destroyed the war altar he had ridden. The remnants of Volkmar's army were allowed to flee, to spread word of the Empire's coming fate.
A year passed. Be'lakor, the Dark Master had been released from his prison. Eventually the daemon chanced upon the same Kislevite battlefield where Archaon had triumphed. There he discovered Volkmar's frozen corpse and the ruins of his war altar and protective amulet. Be'lakor suddenly hatched a plan. The daemon laid a taloned hand over the dead man's chest and, using his most truly ancient sorceries, dragged Volkmar's soul back from the aethyr and into his body. The process is thought to have regenerated the priest to his prime, for Be'lakor needed Volkmar not only alive, but healthy, so to prolong his torture. Be'lakor ordered Volkmar chained to his army standard, so the the spectacle of his suffering would crush the resolve of the Empire's defenders. Be'lakor would also upstage his rival. Archaon had merely slain Volkmar; Be'lakor meant to subject him to a lifetime of physical and mental torture.
The banner, like Be'lakor's plan, was short-lived. Immediately prior to the Siege of Middenheim, Volkmar loosed 'an inhuman roar' and broke free of his enchanted bonds, laying about his tormentors with the chains that had bound him. He was rescued by King Louen Leoncoeur of Bretonnia, who carried the priest to the shelter of Middenheim's Shallyan temple. At the final battle of the campaign, Volkmar was avenged: Be'lakor and his entire daemonic legion were banished by Teclis. After the siege many clergymen, including the new Grand Theogonist, expressed concern over the return of the supposedly dead High Priest. Volkmar was later accepted back by the church, but did not regain his position.
Volkmar has returned from beyond the grave to a time of great upheaval, madness and anarchy. Only the future will tell if the ever-sinister reign of Johann Esmer will be ended, if a great schism in the church will be thwarted, or if the Empire's greatest living Sigmarite will take back his post.
After Archaon's forces were entirely routed, a force from the Vampire Counts of Sylvania arrived at the gates of Middenheim with a vast army. Mannfred von Carstein, the leader of the army called on the city to surrender and serve him or if they refused they would serve him as the undead.
Volkmar left the city and confronted Mannfred. He reminded Von Carstein that an earlier Grand Thorgonist had killed Vlad von Carstein, Mannfred's sire, and that he would do the same to Mannfred. Mannfred was faced down and returned to Sylvania.
[edit] Volkmar in Warhammer Fantasy Battle
It has been confirmed that Volkmar will return as a special character in the forthcoming edition of Warhammer Armies: Empire, although a new edition of the miniature fingure is not planned for the foreseeable future. Riding the restored War Altar, Volkmar will not only be subject to the improved rules for Sigmarite warrior priests, but also to the rules for "frenzy".
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