The Ancient Widow, said by Kislevites to be a primal spirit who embodies the land of Kislev itself, is believed to have whispered to a Gospodar shaman-priestess of the Endless Steppes, centuries ago, promising her great power if she swore to lead her people westwards to the Old World, towards a distant, frozen realm where the spirit was trapped by the will of the Dark Gods.[1a]
The shamaness, desperate to aid her people who were locked in a losing competition with those of their neighbours who had sworn themselves to the service of Chaos, readily agreed to the bargain. She was then granted by the powerful spirit the ancient and mystical power of winter itself in the form of mastery of Ice Magic, the Lore of Ice. With the Ancient Widow's guidance, the shaman quickly mastered her new and god-like powers and used them to gather what she needed to fulfill her promise.
With her intense willpower and powerful magic, she bound the disparate, nomadic Gospodar clans into a single unified people and placed herself above them as their first khan-queen. She carried out her promise and began to lead them on a great jounrey to the west, to the lands called home by the Ancient Widow.[1a]
Hag Witches and the Ancient Widow[]
The Hag Witches of the Ungol people who inhabited the lands of what was to become Kislev before the Gospodar arrived are said to have been chosen by the Ancient Widow and gain an intimate understanding of Kislev's tormented spirits.[1b]
Hag Witches who come to power in this way often live alone, grieving for their lost loved ones and fading youth. The Hags can also use their magic to assume the form of the Ancient Widow herself, a grey-haired monstrosity over eight feet in height, with glowing eyes, rusted metal teeth, and long, iron talons.[1b]