-In the distant past rats infesting some decaying ruin are thought to
have fed upon a mighty source of magical power. This power was a
substance called warpstone - soildified fragments of raw sorcery formed
during the Time of Chaos. Under its unwholesome influence the scuttling
vermin mutated, growing in size and intelligence into the vile Skaven.
SKAVENBLIGHT
-Unknown to the world, deep in the rotting heart of the Blighted Marshes festers the vile capital of the Skaven -
Skavenblight. This shell of a once-great city lies half-sunken in the noisome morass, a relic of the men that lived there and
a testimony to the corruption spreat by the children of the Horned Rat.
Long before finding Skavenblight a traveller in the marshes would come across one of the many rotting slave-hulks that
rows listlessly through the turbid waters. Flotillas of tiny coracles cluster in their wakes, occasionally swarming out to
gather the black corn growing amidst the reed beds. Burly Skaven overseers ply the lash on miserable slaves struggling to
make their quotas. They ignore the odd coracles which disappear into the mist or overturn with a splash. Escape through
the marshes is impossible and tha worst punishment that the grain-slaves can suffer is to be abandoned in that black
morass.
Closer to the centre of the marshes huge, solitary buildings rear up out of the murk, their narrow slit windows staring out
accusingly over the water. Slave-hulks cluster darkly about the quays and an endless, trudging line of bent-backed figures
carry baskets of corn inside. From within a great grinding and squealing of turning mill-wheels echoes relentlessly.
Greenish lights flicker and flash at the narrow windows as the great mills grind mutant corn between warpstone wheels to
feed the starving hordes of Skavenblight.
Beyond the great mills a vague outline can be seen through the mist, an angular rise amidst the monotonous flatness of the
fens. Irregular tongues of fire leap up from it and a far-off rustling can be heard as of many sounds melded together by the
distance. Moving closer, the indistinct bulk resolves itself into a great ruined city spreading out of the grey smog.
The veils of clammy mist writhing slugishly across the marshes hide much of the ruins but the lines of old walls and arches
can still be seen protruding from the sucking mud. Deeper into the city the land rises, and the buildings rear up higher on
the firm ground. Broken houses mingle with shattered halls, cracked paving stones tilt crazily up from deserted market
places. Here and there the ground is pocked with dark tunnel mouths gouting flames or foul vapours and the earth trembles
with rhythmic cadences from far below. Pale lights gleam high up in some of the tallest buildings, as if paying homage to
the mighty structure which dominates them.
IF ANYONE HAS A COOL PIC OF A SCREAMING BELL, SEND IT TO ME AND I'LL POST IT HERE
BEHOLD THE BLACK ARK IN ALL OF ITS GLORY
-At the very centre of the city a single, cloud-piercing tower reaches towards the heavens above a great tremple. At the top
of the tower a monstrous belfry lies at the very edge of sight, circled endlessly by dark shapes. The allenshrouding mists
coul closely about this unholy place, as if to hide it from the affrighted gaze of the world. This is the Temple of the Horned
Rat, site of the Skavenīs first and greatest act of corruption. Once of gleaming white marble its cracked and pitted surface is
blackened with the smoke of forge and sacrifice. Its vaulted aisles ring with chittered devotions, its ruined chapels echo
with unholy communion. this is the birtplace of the Skaven, the heart of their dark Under-Empire.
Beneath Skavenblight there exist a labyrinth of tunnels so complex that even the Skaven have no accurate maps of them.
The upper layers are broadly divided into districts, each one ruled over by one of the great clans. Here methane-burning
cressets line the winding tunnels, lighting the way with lurid flowers of read and blue flame. In the district of Clan Skryre
lightning confined in glass spheres crackles high above, casting a ghastly flickering light over everything. Skaven and their
slaves toil endlessly in great forges, laboratories and workshops manipulating warpstone, experimenting with new
weapons, forging the masses of material required by the teeming populace the Under-City. In some districts steel-wheeled
carts are hauled along metal rails by tireless, smoke-belshing iron beasts and great tread-wheels wind up cages from the
lower levels.
The lower levels of Skavenblight are a dark nightmare, where the unskilled slaves and the lesser Warlord clans struggle to
survive amidst the squalor and filth. Moisture runs down the walls, mixing with the effluent and waste washed down from
the upper levels until it is often knee-deep. Cave-ins and floodings are daily occurrences here and slave gangs work
constantly to clear the narrow passages and shore up the older tunnels, with the slaves all too often being caught in turn by
further disasters. In dark, forgotten corners weird mutants and escaped slaves lurk, hunting through the labyrinthine
darkness for careless slaves or unwary Skaven to snatch away and devour.
Long stone-cut passages extend away from the Under-City to the north and west, diving beneath the roots of the Black
Mountains, each one guarded by clanrat outposts or complex traps. Thousands of miles of secret tunnels spread out from
Skavenblight, through the Vaults, under the Worlds Edge Mountains and beyond. Webs of tertiary passes riddle the Grey
Mountains and stretch out under the unsuspecting cities of the Empire and Bretonnia.
Gnawing north and south through the Worlds Edge Mountains the Skaven tunnels push out beyound the boundaries of the
Old World to Araby, the South Lands, the Dark Lands and eventually even to Lustria, Naggaroth and Cathay.
THE UNDER-EMPIRE
-The insidious spread of the Skaven continues tirelessly and unceasingle,
gnawing at the roots of civilisation like a cancer. They seek to bring
corruption and decay to the Old World, causeing the downfall of all
civilsed races so they can feed on the ruins and dominate all living
creature. The Skaven under-empire spreads apace and the Horned Rat grows
in power every day - though for most part he sleeps, awaiting the call
from his children that will awake him and bring down to the mortals to
feed upon their decaying flesh.
When the Horned One rouses the Skaven erupt into an intense period of
warfare and strife, laying waste to towns and cities in an orgy of
destruction. In these times not only do the Skaven wage war upon other
races but among themselves as well: the slow, the weak and the foolish
are set and torn apart. The Skaven race purges itself of its weaker
members and makes slaves of the defeated.
SKAVEN CLANS
-The Skaven are divided into clans of which the Warlord clans are by far
the most populous. Each Warlord clan has a pecking order ranging from
the lowiest weakling slaves to the most powerful warriors, and
ultimately to the Skaven Warlord, who is the cruel and cunning master of
the entire clan.
Life for all Skaven is marked by constant squabbles and fights for
supremany. These individual clashes are fought with tooth and claw or
knives. There are few fatalities but nearly all Skaven are scarred from
these fights, many have lost an ear or eye. Skaven crippled in fights
can expect only to be summarily despatched by the victor.
Skaven have many slaves, many of them Skaven beaten in combat, but some
are other races defeated in battle. Slaves occupy the most miserable
position in Skaven society, often being used in dangerious experiments
or as cannon fodder in battles. Their lives are brutish, painful but
mercifully short.
I'm open to any ideas and suggestions that anybody has for me. Also players of SKAVEN are always welcome here as I am a fellow commander of the armies of the Horned Rat. Comments welcome as long as they are clean. The SKAVEN will conquer all others that oppose them with their masses. Long live the Council of 13! MY PAGE IS A WHOLE LOT BETTER NOW AND I AM CONSTANTLY UPDATING IT!(Finially I'm getting around to it) You can E-Mail me at ZOGGGS@yahoo.com
