The Brotherhood of the Axe is an elite military order within the Teutogen guard. Only the most devoted and warlike followers of Ulric are admitted into the Brotherhood. They are so named because they wield large and brutal axes, replacing the warhammers used by other Ulrican orders.[1a]
Overview[]
Although they are now technically subordinate to the Teutogen Guard, the Brotherhood’s origins go back to the days before Sigmar, when the Teutogens were the most powerful tribe in what is now the northern part of the Empire. They were an elite warrior society made up of the very finest Teutogen warriors. When Sigmar united the tribes and founded the Empire, the Brotherhood of the Axe retained their original role as protectors of the Teutogen chiefs. Only warriors of pure Teutogen blood are admitted to the Brotherhood, and they must also be warriors of proven skill and unquestioning loyalty to Ulric.[1a]
Unlike the Tutogen Guard, warriors of the Brotherhood of the Axe are traditionally armed with great two-handed axes instead of hammers. Their insignia is an axe and wolf, which they display on their surcoats.[1b]
Most of the Brotherhood are anti-Sigmarite, and because of this the order is regarded with suspicion by the Imperial authorities. However, their prowess on the battlefield is unquestioned, and they are widely admired in Middenheim.[1a]
The Brotherhood Betrayed[]
The Brotherhood of the Axe has been subverted from within, and several of its leading members — including Claus Liebnitz — are Khorne cultists of the Crimson Skull.[1a]
Playing on the warlike nature and anti-Sigmarite stance of the Brotherhood, one of the more subtle followers of Khorne the Blood God infiltrated the order several years ago. The most bloodthirsty warriors of the Brotherhood were recruited into a secret society called the Crimson Skull, where their violent tendencies and martial prowess were celebrated and nurtured. When they were judged to be ready, they took part in secret rituals of initiation, not knowing that they were selling their souls to Khorne. Now, the greatest warriors of Ulric are secretly agents of Chaos.[1a]
Claus Liebnitz was already Deputy Chief Priest and a respected veteran of the Teutogen Guard when he first came into contact with the Crimson Skull. He lost the ability to cast spells when he dedicated himself to the Blood God, but has so far been able to hide this fact; his new master has shielded him from the other effects of Ulric’s displeasure.[1a]
Only a handful of the cultists of the Crimson Skull know that their present Master is also the Deputy High Priest of Ulric. Liebnitz goes about his day-to-day business as normal, even as he plots his rise to even greater power and looks forward to the day that the great Temple of Ulric will be overthrown and turned into a charnel pit for the pleasure of the Blood God.[1a]