hat Master Runesmith was Alaric, creator of some of the greatest weapons ever wielded in battle. A century in the making, the Runefangs were gifted to each of the Empire's Elector Counts. Some say that the century Alaric spent toiling at his forge drove the Runesmith to obsession and paranoia. His peers considered the Runefangs Alaric's greatest achievement, but the Runesmith himself refused to accept that he had reached the height of his art.

Alaric sought a new rune, and in time, found a variation on the Rune of Kingship — the Rune of Ages. This Rune would not only retain and distill the wisdom of each of its wearers, passing it on to those who followed, but give the bearer control of their very destiny. Any who wore it would become master of his fate, and that of his entire race.

Yet, Alaric found that no matter what material he set the Rune of Ages upon, it would shatter as the last blow was struck. Stone, iron, Gromril, dragon scales — all proved too weak to contain the mighty energies of his new Master Rune. He set out upon a great quest to find a substance strong enough to bear the rune's awesome power. For long decades, Alaric wandered the dark roads of the Old World, through its mountains and forests. Nowhere could he locate the material he sought, and as time went on, he became more and more obsessed, leading Dwarfs and Men to give him a new name: Alaric the Mad.

While passing along what is now the Old Forest Road (at that time it was little more than a well-trod woodland path), Alaric was ambushed by a band of Skaven. Though now aged and stooped, Alaric was a veteran of many battles and dispatched the vile Ratmen with ease. From nearby, he felt the presence — as only a Master Runesmith could — of some unknown but incredibly powerful ore. He followed his uncanny instinct and, deep beneath the knotted roots of a twisted oak, found a chunk of material strong enough to hold the Rune of Ages — warpstone. Alaric barely hesitated before he pried the chunk of rock out of the ground. Perhaps his once-wise mind was clouded by his overwhelming desire to prove himself the greatest Runesmith the world had ever seen, or perhaps the evil of the warpstone reached out and touched his already weakened reason.

The next chapter of Alaric's story is rarely told. It is said that he travelled to the Grey Mountains, where he constructed a mighty forge fuelled by the volcanic lifeblood of the peaks. Alaric worked upon the weirdling ore day and night until he had produced a gleaming crown, upon which he struck the Rune of Ages.

As Alaric looked upon his creation, his mind cleared. He had been blinded by madness and obsession, but now he saw his horrible error. The crown would not distill the destiny of those that wore it but would instead draw out even the smallest shred of evil intent and transform its wearer into the vessel for all the malice of all those who wore it before.

Alaric was horrified by what he had created, but he knew that the crown could not be destroyed. He resolved to hide it away. He travelled to the Great Forest, to the windswept Howling Hills, and descended into the depths of a worked-out Dwarf mine from the times before the War of the Beard. There he sought a place in which to hide the crown for eternity. Alaric hewed a chamber from the living rock, placed the crown within, and sealed the chamber with the most potent of warding runes.

Background: Evil Reawakened

Copyright © Games Workshop Limited 2007. Games Workshop, the Games Workshop logo, the Nemesis Crown logo, the Nemesis Crown, Warhammer, Warhammer logo, GW, White Dwarf, Citadel, the Citadel Device, Chaos, Nurgle, Tzeentch, Slaanesh, Khorne, the Chaos faction logos, Bretonnia, Kislev, Dogs of War, Elf faction logos, Ogre Kingdoms, Gnoblars, the Ogre Kingdoms faction logos, the Tomb Kings of Khemri, Tomb Kings logos, Vampire Counts, Dwarf logos, Orc & Goblin devices, Night Goblins, Skaven, the Skaven symbol devices, and all associated marks, logos, places, names, creatures, races and race insignia/devices/logos/symbols, vehicles, locations, weapons, units, characters, products, illustrations and images from the Warhammer world are either ®, TM and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2007, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. All Rights Reserved.