The Brass Keep is an abandoned, derelict Imperial fortress located deep within the Middle Mountains of the Empire's northern borders.
History[]
Origins[]
Brass Keep was ancient with a history that stretched back even before Sigmar slew Morath. The Elves and Dwarfs have not been able to shed light on its origins either. The architecture has the elegance of Asur construction, but no High Elf can find details of its origins in their own history. Dwarf stonemasons recognise the expert masonry, but no Dwarfen hand is known to have fashioned Brass Keep's cyclopean blocks.[3a]
Reign of Sigmar[]
Since the time of Sigmar Heldenhammer, Brass Keep as ever been a home to both Imperial and evil forces alike. In its earliest years, Brass Keep was home to a dreadful necromancer known as Morath, a man who survived the fall of the Vampire-ruled city of Mourkain, capital of the dark kingdom of Strygos, and held within his possession the legendary Crown of Sorcery.[1a]
In its past glories, Brass Keep was a mighty mountain fortress, its towers were tall and slender, and its walls were smooth and fashioned with great cunning. A great iron portal wreathed in sharpened spikes barred entry, and spectral light shone from every shuttered tower and lofty turret of the gatehouse. At the heart of the dreadful castle, a single tower of pearlescent stone rose above all others, and from it shone a pulsing dead light, a glow that drained life from the landscape instead of illuminating it.[1a]
Whatever befell that first fortress is not known, for all that was left was a lonely and forgotten husk by the time Sigmar came upon it. When Sigmar and his army entered the citadel, they saw that the walls were simply walls, bereft of ramparts or stairs, and the towers were simply columns of stone without any means of accessing them. What buildings there were in the courtyard were simply ruined shells, little more than rubble and decay.[1b]
Perhaps there had once been a mountain fortress here, but it had long since been forgotten by the race of Men. Only the single tower of pearlescent stone remained, and it was here that Sigmar confronted the necromancer Morath and ended his reign. Ever since then, Brass Keep has changed hands among many would-be conquerors over the centuries.[1b]
Imperial Rule[]
After the invasion of the Empire by Chaos Champion Cormac Bloodaxe, Norscan stragglers of his army used Brass Keep as a base. They were already gone when the Cult of Sigmar launched a crusade in 450 IC to claim all territory where Sigmar had fought. Arch Lector Ulgrim launched a crusade to Brass Keep from the Imperial capital at Altdorf, marching through Middenland with a ragged host of flagellants and holy warriors. After suffering hardships in the mountains and causing no small amount of collateral damage to friendly villages and farms, Ulgrim stalked into the ruined Brass Keep and declared it holy ground.[3a]
The Brass Keep in the Middle Mountains has been firmly under the control of Nurglish forces since the time of the Great War Against Chaos, over two hundred years ago. Today, the Empire has erected the fortification known as "The Picket" to watch over the keep and its fel inhabitants.
A garrison of Middenlander troops and Sigmarite pilgrims held the keep thereafter. Life in the keep was hard -- provisions were scarce in the mountains and the cold halls had few comforts. Worse, the inhabitants felt a sinister presence haunting both the fortress and the glacial valley. Desertion was common and even the most fanatical and devoted Sigmarite feared the necromancer Morath still stalked the ruins.[3a]
During the Age of Three Emperors, Brass Keep was in the hands of Ostland before falling to a Greenskin Waaagh!. The Reikland Emperor sent his son Mordrek in 1882 IC to retake Brass Keep. Mordrek's rule was troubled and under unclear circumstances, he embraced the worship of the Ruinous Powers, becoming Count Mordrek the Damned.[3b]
The remaining Imperial forces were routed by Undra Kul during the Great War Against Chaos. The Chaos troops unleashed a great plague by invoking the power of Nurgle, but the plague also claimed the lives of all non-Nurglite forces in the Chaos army. The survivors were transformed into the Putrid Blightkings, a loose brotherhood of Champions of Nurgle who would play a major role in the assault of the thirteenth Everchosen Archaon upon the Empire during the apocalyptic events of the End Times.[3b]
Present Day[]
The Brass Keep at present is known as a hideout for the Warriors of Chaos. Despite numerous attempts by the Empire to root them out, the latest in 2370 IC, the Brass Keep stands defiant, offering the servants of Chaos a safe haven in the region.[2a]