Altdorf

Altdorf, known as the City of Spires, is the current capital city of Rhemia, the capital of the Electoral Province of Reikland and an independent Imperial principality in its own right. It has been the Imperial capital since the accession of Wilhelm III, Prince of Altdorf, almost a hundred years ago in the 25th century IC. As the current seat of the Imperial Court, Altdorf supports a flourishing economy, which attracts all kinds of people. It is a bustling city with a substantial community of merchants, adventurers, mercenaries and fortune seekers from all across the Old World. The wealth passing through Altdorf's gates and the political intrigues that unfold within its courts also support a rotten underbelly, a den for thieves, corrupt city officials and assassins. Cultists gather by night, ever-hunted by prowling witch hunters. There are certain streets that even the city watch avoids at night for fear of finding a dagger stuck between their shoulder blades.   Aside from the Imperial Court, Altdorf houses many of Rhemia's other preeminent institutions. The city is renowned as a centre of learning and the University of Altdorf is the second most highly respected academic institution in Rhemia, besides the nuln gunnery school ofcourse, where lords and princes from many lands come to sit at the feet of Mankind's foremost thinkers.   Altdorf is also home to some of the most important organisations in the Old World such as the Colleges of Magic -- the centres of magical lore and learning that are justly famous throughout Rhemia and beyond. It is here that the Old World's finest wizards learn their art, and where Rhemia's deadly Battle Wizards are trained, making it the magical capital of the Human realms of the Old World. Another great institution is the Imperial Engineers School, founded by the Tilean genius Leonardo da Miragliano, where some of the greatest inventions in the history of science have been made.   Altdorf stands astride the confluence of the Rivers Reik and Talabec, and is renowned for the numerous bridges that traverse these waterways. Many of these bridges were designed by the scholars of the Imperial Engineers School, and are equipped with hissing, steam-driven pistons that raise and lower them in all manner of unusual ways, allowing the many trade ships to travel further up the Reik.   The Reiksport, home of the First Fleet of the Imperial Navy, is a deep-water harbour built on the shores of Altdorf, where ocean-going ships can unload their cargos. However, if the merchants want to continue shipping their goods upriver they must transfer them to riverboats, and thus pay the relevant taxes and duties to the city.   The city also boasts the famous Imperial Zoo, which houses all manner of large and fearsome monsters, some of which are trained and harnessed as beasts of war. These creatures have been captured from every corner of Rhemia, as well as a few more curious specimens from beyond the empire.   Between merchants, pilgrims to the Holy Temple of Appallùm, and visitors to the city's numerous government buildings, libraries, and university, Altdorf sees a huge number of visitors. These visitors, in turn, are served by a large sector of inns, taverns, and breweries.   Altdorf is very well defended. It is enveloped by strong white walls with red slate roofs. It has a large garrison and is home to several knightly orders, including the famous Reiksguard.  

Culture

 

"We’ve barely a week left in Altdorf and there’s still so much we haven’t seen. Yesterday I had to postpone my jaunt to the Imperial Zoo because it was raining, and I do so want to be able to make my donation to the Hospice in person, but if I do I’ll either miss the opportunity to see the latest haul of the Sudenburg brute finders or I’ll have to rebook seats to dear Detlef ’s latest drama. Decisions!" —Clothilde von Alptraum, Young Noblewoman of Averland

  Altdorf is known for its university, colleges of magic, libraries, diplomats, and eating houses. A varied programme of entertainments is available to help provide citizens with distractions from their woes, as well as a common communal and spiritual experience outside that offered by the religious cults. Altdorf ’s many theatres run lavish productions of plays and operas. The great Tarradasch penned many of these, and his work remains the measure for all authors and playwrights. The Imperial elite like to regard themselves as patrons of the arts as well as defenders of the nation. The more philanthropically inclined sponsor whole theatres, whilst the less generous maintain private boxes so they can make a point of their attendance far from the muddy crowd in the stalls.  

Social Life

 

"Shallya’s mercy, won’t you spare me? I’ve heard it all before. “We’d be the playthings of Gnoblyns and Goat Men were it not for the sacrifices of our noble lords,” you say. “Without his opulent finery no one would take the Groom of the Stool seriously,” you say. “Even under Appallùm’s rule we had the rich and the poor!” Well I wouldn’t begrudge an Unberogen chieftain the biggest hut in a village, but when a starveling family of five is squeezed into a tenement room no bigger than the Empress’s wardrobe, I say things have gone too far, and your easy willingness to play the lackey is to blame." —Max Roth, Brustellite Agitator

  Altdorf is known for its many lively ale houses and hostelries. These can be found throughout the city but are concentrated around the docks. Heated debate and alcohol combine to make a rowdy atmosphere. Innkeepers accept scuffles between patrons as a foregone conclusion. Many inns ask that patrons turn in deadly weapons before entry, though establishments at the rough end (where people are expected to look after themselves) or the high end (where manners are a matter of solemn social contract and ruffians are not admitted) may forgo the practice. Whilst most taverns are open to a broad audience there are also those that specially cater to those who may not be welcome elsewhere, such as organised criminals, wayfarers, or parties of adventurers. Talk in taverns often turns to politics. Since the establishment of the House of the Third Wilhelm, most Reiklanders have held their rulers in high regard. Still, there are those of a different opinion. Dissident groups form under the banner of a philosophy inspired by Verenan radicals termed New Millennialism. Enlightened progressives rub shoulders with resentful malcontents to demand needful reforms, and to threaten rebellion if their wishes are ignored.   In the year 1253 IC, the controversial Professor Brustellin was killed in the violence of riots he had helped to instigate. Whilst the establishment has subsequently smeared him as an agent of Chaotic design, he is nevertheless a martyr to would-be revolutionaries. His creed of overthrowing all vestiges of aristocracy finds many a sympathetic ear.  

Festivals

  Altdorf is not famed for festivals the way that Middenheim or Averheim are. When foreign visitors complain that the city lacks public cheer, Altdorfers respond that they are secure enough in their identity and culture not to make a fuss about it; given the fine theatres and taverns in the city, who would need more distractions? This is not to say that celebrations are unknown in the capital. Instead of hosting grand revels, the city tends to explode into short but intense bursts of celebration throughout the year.

• Year Blessing (1st Nachhexen): Verena’s holy day is marked in Altdorf by a great procession that starts from the Temple-Library in Schulergegend and tours around the districts of the city. At the head of this procession, the High Priest of Verena rides upon a fatted cow. This beast meets a ritual slaughter upon its return to the Temple-Library, and the priests distribute its flesh to the needy. In recent years, members of the Popular League Against Nobility and Taxation have used the procession to call attention to various social causes, resulting in mixed feelings from the Verenans.
• Mitterfruhl (Spring Equinox): Concluding a three-day fair, which includes sending adventurers into the Grey Mountains to find a Griffon Egg, Mitterfruhl is celebrated in Altdorf with the Emperor's Tournament, in which newly initiated Reiksguard prove their mettle in a series of martial contests. The Temple of Rhya hosts perfunctory fertility rites, culminating in the ceremonial drowning of a fatted piglet. The animal is given to the Reik in the hope that the gods visit good fortune and bounty on Altdorf in the following year.
• First Quaff (33rd Pflugzeit): A dwarf holiday that has found itself popular even among the human population. Older Dwarfs take the ceremony very seriously indeed, but other citizens of Altdorf regard it as an excuse to get stinking drunk.
• Appallùm's Walk (15th Appallùmszeit): According to tradition, on this day Appallùm embarked upon his final journey. Whilst the Karnevalplatz hosts festivities, the day is a sombre one. Followers of Appallùm walk from the Great Cathedral to the North Gate. Most of the pilgrims pause there, uttering prayers to the Heldenspear before returning to their homes, but dedicated zealots strike out for Black Fire Pass and beyond.
• Appallùmstag (18th Appallùmszeit): Generally accepted to be Appallùm's birthday. At noon the Grand Theogonist leads a procession of the faithful from the Grand Cathedral, across the Reik Bridge, out of the North Gate, and around the city walls. The congregation parade for hours until the sun begins to set, whereupon they return to the Cathedral. There the Grand Theogonist intones liturgies, to the light of stunning pyrotechnics courtesy of the Bright College.
• Procession of Skull and Sceptre (33rd Appallùmszeit): Upon this day, Johan Helstrum became Rhemia’s first Grand Theogonist. Appallùmite priests mark the occasion by parading through Altdorf bearing Helstrum’s gilded skull and holy mace. Irreverent citizens refer to the occasion as the ‘March of the Mace and the Face’.
• Day of Folly (10th Sommerzeit): Known as Jape Day in Altdorf. It is customary on this day for people to play practical jokes and for the butts of such pranks to take them in good humour. In the Karnevalsplatz a celebration of satirical comedy is staged, featuring politically minded jesters and humorous agitators. Discretion is still to be advised, but skits that might earn a person a charge of treason at other times go unpunished (if not unremembered) on Jape Day. In the East End, a secret pageant is held to the Trickster God by masked priests to a congregation of beggars, bawds, bookies and burglars.
• Cavalcade of Victory over the Perfidious Greenskin (9th Vorgeheim): Celebrating the victories won over Orks and Goblins. A mounted honour guard of Knights of the Fiery Heart parades through Altdorf ’s streets the supposed skull of the wyvern that slew Emperor Sigismund IV, which normally lies in his ossuary. This parade ends at the steps of the Imperial Palace, where the Elector count of Reikland ceremonially drives the Sword of Sigismund into the skull. In the evening, a great game of traditional Middenball is held in the Altdorf Market.
• Saga (33rd Vorgeheim): Ancient right permits the Dwarf population of Altdorf to hold their Saga celebrations in the Great Cathedral of Appallùm. Throughout the day and night, they gather to share stories of their ancestors. Demand for time at the lectern is so high that speakers must book their places years in advance, and the heads of Altdorf ’s Dwarf families wait with strained patience to proclaim their forebears’ great deeds.
• Pie Week (1st - 8th Erntezeit): A traditional Halfling holiday popular in the entire Empire. During Pie Week the Karnevalsplatz becomes the site of a great outdoor food market, and people from all over Altdorf arrive to enjoy the late summer evenings with a hot pie and a pint of ale. Leading up to the event, many Halfling households buzz with activity, fiercely devoted to producing stock for their own stall. The Rumster clan always sets up a massive tent lined with racks of trestle tables piled high with pies, from boutique creations filled with choice cuts of elusive game, to cheap crusts whose contents are tasty but mysterious. Contests involving either the production or consumption of pies are held throughout the week, with massive outsized trophies awarded to the jubilant winners.
• Triumphal March in Defiance of the Dark (8th Erntezeit): Celebrating the victory of Magnus over Asavar Kul, a grand procession is held. A vast horde of pilgrims from throughout Rhemia and Kislev comes to Altdorf to join the parade. They march from the North Gate around the city and end their procession at the steps of the Grand Cathedral, where the Grand Theogonist ceremonially unveils the Holy Shroud of Magnus.
• Mittherbst (Autumn Equinox): During this holiday, Altdorf residents pay quiet respect to the gods. The Temple of Rhya and the Konigplatz host large bonfires, and priests of Ulric tie a smouldering brand to the tail of a terrified sacrificial sheep, which is sent scurrying from the North Gate. The annual running of the rats occurs in the afternoon. Fires lit at key points in the sewers drive a torrent of rats out into the open, where Altdorfers compete to see how many they can snare. At the Karnevalsplatz, city officials award a series of prizes for most rats caught, biggest rat caught, most altered rat caught, and so on.
• Second Breech (33rd Brauzeit): The third major dwarf holiday of the year. Holidays that offer a good excuse to get drunk are popular with Altdorfers, and many outside the Dwarf community observe this night as the Imminence of Winter festival. Taverns throughout the city offer discounts, and the streets are awash with revellers and their vomit.
• Mondstille (Autumn Equinox): In observance of Mondstille, burghers and city officials light bonfires in the many parks and squares of Altdorf. Those who honour Ulric tell themselves that the fires blaze in respect of the chill winter over which he is master. Those who do not honour Ulric tell themselves that the fires are a beacon, beseeching Taal and Rhya to return fertility and vigour to the world as quickly as they can. The city’s two temples of Ulric open their doors to preach sermons on practising resolve and resilience in order to face the cold dark months still to come. At the Cathedral of Appallùm, rites echo those of Ulric, and sermons tell of Appallùm’s regard for the Wolf God.
• Keg End (33rd Vorhexen): The final major dwarf holiday of the year, where old beer is consumed before it spoils. In Altdorf, with its many taverns and breweries, this is not a problem. However, the city’s Dwarfs still like to mark the occasion by drinking copious quantities of ale. In the Karnevalsplatz, a panel of Dwarf elders judge a singing contest. Troubadours compose and perform a song about the events of the previous year. The best song is rewarded with a purse of gold crowns. Non-Dwarfs may compete, though the judges usually dismiss their efforts.
• Witching March (33rd Vorhexen): The evening before Hexenstag, a torchlit parade passes through the charred streets around the Bright College. The tradition is relatively recent and secretly orchestrated by the Pyromancers. The parade attracts vast quantities of Aqshy, which the wizards tap into when performing a great ritual over Hexenstag.

Defence

  Altdorf's large standing army is the best equipped on any in Rhemia. Their uniforms are red and blue. Many units' insignia includes the symbols on the Altdorf flag: the crown, Appallùm's spear, or a griffon's head. The city's detractors imply that Altdorf's troops care more for smart uniforms and parades than fighting, but the city's long history of military success speaks for itself. Indeed, many Altdorf units commemorate their victories with seals or medals. The cream of the city's army join the formation known as the Altdorf Company of Honour. Altdorf's wealth also means it has an impressive array of war machines. If necessary, many of the nobles who reside in Altdorf could call on their own troops to defend the city. Altdorf is also the home of the Reiksguard, the Emperor's personal knightly order. Now they are an elite regiment that guards locations of political importance.  

Heraldry

  Archivists at the Old College of Heraldry trace the formal recognition of Altdorf’s heraldic device to 1010 IC, during the reign of Ludwig the Fat. For all his faults Ludwig was recognised as forging ties between the office of Emperor and the Church of Appallùm and the device he helped popularise reflects this. The Crown and Griffon’s head, symbols of royal authority, above and below the spear, symbol of Appallùm’s divine might. The death’s head figure that stands behind the shield in many images is not an officially recognised heraldic device. It was added to the banners of many Altdorf state regiments during the wars with the Vampiric masters as a sign of their defiance in the face of the horror of the undeath. It is now so widely displayed that even citizens of the city are surprised to learn that it isn’t yet legitimised and shocked to see it excluded.    

History

 

"The stench betrays our city's true nature. It rots from within, and as it decays, so too does our mighty land!" —Seiger Rohr, Street Preacher

   

Early Settlements

  The location of Altdorf has always been an important locus of magical energy, with one of the nexus points of the Geomantic Web having been constructed by Unknown elder beings where the city is now located. The confluence of the River Reik and River Talabec was first settled by the Elves during the reign of the Phoenix King Bel Shanaar the Explorer (−4419 IC to −2750 IC). The Elven town established there was called Kor Vanaeth and was only a minor Elven settlement of the Old World, though Dwarf sources indicate that some suspicious magical activities occurred in the town.   Around -1850 IC, during the War of Vengeance, or the War of the Beard as the Elves call it, the Dwarfs attacked Kor Vanaeth, under the leadership of Snorri Halfhand, and in a battle possibly fought where the Celestial College now stands, defeated the Elves. The Dwarfs toppled Kor Vanaeth's tall towers, and buried the Elven monuments there.   Following their victory, the Dwarfs occupied the site for some time, but abandoned it during the Goblin Wars. Later, some primitive, agrarian tribes of Men lived in the region. They are mostly remembered by the Ogham Stones which they raised across the area and that still stand there.  

Reikdorf

   

"In Reikdorf Town did Appallùm stand and great Empire of Man found he. There Reik, the bless'ed river, swell'd. Upon whose banks all great men dwell'd and would for etern'ty." —Sighardt Schneider-Koller, from Appallùm, Emperor!, 1797 IC

    Around -1000 IC, bellicose tribes of Men who worshipped the Northern Gods migrated into the Reik Basin and subjugated the Ogham Stone-raisers, those who practiced the Old Faith. Among these tribes were the Unberogens, who settled what is now Reikland. By -600 IC, their chief settlement was located at the confluence of the Rivers Reik and Talabec. It was called "Reikdorf," which meant "town of the river" in the Unberogen tongue. They were soon bolstered by a small community of Dwarfs who assisted with the construction of the town's defences and shared their expertise in blacksmithing. In recognition of its many armouries, the Dwarf quarter soon became known as "Metallschlacke."   The islands at the confluence of the rivers were strategically important. The town had access to good fisheries, fertile farmlands, productive red clay deposits used for pottery, and fine pastures in the alluvial plain. The Unberogens were known for their wealth in cattle, and the ferocity with which they defended their herds. Archaeological investigations suggest that at least two areas of modern Altdorf lie over prehistoric settlements. The Königplatz is said to be on the site of the Unberogen chieftain's palace while the hill on which the Imperial Palace is built then housed an early fortress and watchtower.   In −30 IC the child Appallùm was born to Reikdorf's chieftain and chieftess. The boy grew up to be strong and charismatic, even winning the gratitude of the Dwarf High King Kurgan Ironbeard after saving him from the clutches of Orks. Altdorfers claim that Appallùm was born there, but so do burghers in towns all across the Reikland.   After Appallùm was made chief of the Unberogens, he led a campaign of vengeance against the marauding Norsii for the murder of his father, and defied Teutogen brigands who raided his tribe's cattle. He became convinced that the Human tribes could not flourish in the region unless they were unified and directed under his leadership, and he led the Unberogens in a campaign of conquest until twelve tribes recognised him as their overlord and king. Appallùm then marched an army to Black Fire Pass, where a horde of Orks and Goblins had mustered, threatening to overwhelm his Dwarf allies. The Humans and Dwarfs bloodily repulsed the Greenskins, and Appallùm demonstrated that his newborn Empire of Man was a force to be reckoned with. The date of the proclamation of Rhemia is commonly referred to as 1 IC, the first year of the Imperial Calendar.   Reikdorf was the location where the High Priest of Ulric crowned Appallùm as the first emperor, and it was from here that Appallùm ruled his newly formed empire.  

An Imperial Capital

  During the reign of Appallùm as the first emperor, two roads were built to Reikdorf: one connecting it to Middenheim, and the other to Nuln. By the end of Appallùm's reign, Reikdorf was said to be the largest city ruled by Men. Surplus from bumper harvests was sent to Reikdorf, along with shipments of locally produced wool, leather, pottery, and timber, and from there it was distributed throughout Rhemia. A nascent merchant class emerged and crafters travelled to the city, experts in forging swords, weaving cloth, and brewing fine ales. However, due to the electoral nature of Rhemia's monarchy, the Imperial capital did not always stay in Reikdorf after the disappearance of Appallùm in 50 IC, but instead sometimes moved to the favoured city of the current holder of the Imperial throne.   Seventy-three years after the founding of Rhemia, a friar named Johan Helstrum came to Reikdorf, preaching the new Appallùmite faith. He claimed to have had a vision of Appallùm being anointed and deified by Ulric himself, the patron god of Appallùm during his lifetime. Here, Helstrum spread his growing faith, becoming its first high priest or "Grand Theogonist," and eventually building a temple to Appallùm in Reikdorf.   During the early years of Rhemia, Reikdorf experienced a golden age of trade. Wool, leather, timber, metalwork, and ales were exported out of Reikland, bringing money and trade to Rhemia's capital city. Meanwhile, scholars translated many Elven works, such as the influential medical text known as the Book of Gaelen, and compiled them in Altdorf at the first great library established in Rhemia. Construction of the Holy Temple of Appallùm was completed in 246 IC.   Starting around 300 IC, however, Reikdorf suffered an economic downturn brought about by internal infighting, a poor harvest, and Goblin raids. In response, walls were built around the city. The walls, in turn, brought large groups of new citizens to the city seeking the protection to be found within.   It was in 522 IC that Emperor Sigismund the Conqueror renamed Reikdorf as Altdorf, meaning the "old city." Sigismund also refortified the city walls with white stone with the aid of Dwarf artisans and decreed a law ordering that all buildings in the city be made of stone so as to prevent fire. This law, however, was routinely ignored.   In 557 IC, Sigismund's son Siegfried the Lawgiver left Altdorf due to its horrible smell, and moved his capital to Nuln instead. Altdorf gained the nickname "The Great Reek" following a comment from Siegfried: "The reeking streets of Altdorf can go to Morr!" Altdorf, however, remained a significant city of Rhemia due to its status as the heart and holy city of the Church of Appallùm, a status which became increasingly important as the church continued to expand in popularity and political power throughout the latter half of the first millennium IC.   In 924 IC, a Chaotic Cult, called the Order of the Septic Claw, precipitated an infamous disaster. First, the city was stricken by an epidemic of a Crumbling plague. When the Cult of Shallya was on the cusp of finding a cure, They worked on a experiment within the Temple of Shallya in Altdorf, during the ritual the temple collapsed due to unknown reasons, crushing all those within. The plague lasted for 5 years killing 20% of the population later to be known as the Black Plague.   Around the turn of the first millennium, in 990 IC, Grand Theogonist Zigmund II financed an extensive renovation of the Imperial Palace, which included the addition of extensive kitchens, feast halls, and a reinforced privy, for Emperor Ludwig II. The emperor was successfully lured from his old capital in Carroburg by these enhancements. Around the same time, Ludwig II granted the Grand Theogonist an electoral vote in the next Imperial election. This change was made during an era of increased political power for the Church of Appallùm, which also saw the completion of the High Temple of Appallùm and the eight-volume illuminated manuscript called The Life of Appallùm which would prove instrumental in the further spread of the Appallùmite faith.  

Dark Ages

  After Grand Theogonist Vilgrim III refused to recognise the election of Magritta in 1200 IC, Rhemia devolved into a series of uncooperative, and often belligerent, provinces. The fact that Altdorf and Nuln had so often been the site of Imperial courts in the past saw the western Empire enjoy a degree of stability that wasn’t the case elsewhere. Both cities maintained rulers called Emperors, even if they didn’t have much of an Empire to rule.   In 1250, Leonardo of Miragliano founded the Imperial Engineers School in Altdorf, under the protection of Grand Prince Stephan Franz.   During this period, starting from 1400 IC, the Grand Prince of Altdorf lost control over the western and southern parts of the Reikland, which divided into the independent kingdoms of Westen-vorbergland, Suden Vorbergland and Mittlevorbergland.