Savage Reprisal Intro

Sometimes I catch myself dazing off and dreaming of better days as an apprentice cooper in Altdorf. Then I have to snap back into reality – best not think of those days, drags the soul down to think of brighter times. The war came, Altdorf lay burning, the streets littered with corpses – there was no time to be an apprentice cooper. Lad had to make a quick coin somehow to feed his kin. Took to a life of thieving, was caught quickly, and sent off as a private in the Altdorf ‘volunteers’. No, can’t think of rosier days knowing what hell me and other lads went through.

They sent the newly formed Altdorf Volunteer Regiment, composed of all the vagabonds of the city, to defend the northern frontier of our ally Kislev, Praag. Then the blood-tide came from High Pass… the Bloody Summer of Praag they call it now, but they don’t know what it was like to live through that nightmare. No, can’t think of the past after living through that. ‘Go recuperate with lighter duties in Norsca’ they said. ‘Autumn in Norsca ain’t so bad, its the winter that’ll get yer bones’ they told us. From hell into hellfire they sent us. We thought we’d finished with Khorne back in Praag, but Khorne hadn’t forgotten our boys. That bastard of a false-god sent his zealots after us in Norsca and the bloodshed started all over again. You ask me about how it was before the war, I can’t tell you, those memories are washed away with the gore of Norse savages and my brothers-in-arms.

The boys ask me why I volunteered for this regiment, I say to them ‘Did you volunteer? Well I didn’t either.’ Then they say ‘Well if you didn’t volunteer how did you end up a lieutenant? That ranks for the noble folk.’ Then I tell the boys, ‘When the blood-crazed of Khorne come chargin’ at your regiment and all the officers die, and you’re the highest ranking lad, you get promoted.’ I didn’t want this job, who would want the rank that requires you to command others to fight to die? I spit upon Chaos for startin this whole damn war. Couldn’t those bastard gods stay up in the frigid Chaos Wastes and fight amongst themselves?

Now commands from on up tell us we’re to march to Fort Straghov at the foot of Black Blood Pass, hold it until the Kislevites come to relieve us. The last garrison I’m told was found slaughtered, though strangely enough they lay in a scene resembling a bloody orgy. Messenger told us apparently a band of the most beautiful women visited the garrison late one night, his greatest shame he had to leave and couldn’t stay with his company and the ladies. His loss was his luck. He left and lived, they stayed and died. The women? No sign. Stinks of Chaos I tell you. I ain’t gonna let my boys get gutted like pigs by some crazed Chaos women. Bloody war. You say there were better days before this war? All I can remember is blood… everywhere blood.

~ Jurgen Kuper, Lieutenant of the Altdorf Volunteer Regiment