"Mighty is Sigmar, who saves a Dwarf king from dishonour,
How can I reward him?
A hammer of war, a hammer of Iron, which fell from the sky with two tongues of fire,
From the Forge of the Gods,
Worked by Runesmiths,
Ghal Maraz its name, the Splitter of Skulls."
- —Saga of Sigmar Heldenhammer
The legendary warhammer Ghal Maraz of Sigmar Heldenhammer
Ghal Maraz, which means "Skull-Splitter" in the Dwarf tongue of Khazalid, is the name of the legendary magical warhammer once wielded by the founder and patron god of the Empire, Sigmar Heldenhammer.
For millennia after Sigmar's disappearance at the end of his reign, the warhammer was lost, and a lesser duplicate crafted by Dwarf Runesmiths had secretly taken its place among the regalia of the succeeding emperors. The true warhammer was rediscovered in 2512 IC and is now wielded by the current emperor, Karl Franz.
History
Origins
This mighty magical weapon was gifted to the young Unberogen prince Sigmar in -15 IC, when a young Sigmar and his warband of Unberogen warriors rescued the Dwarf High King Kurgan Ironbeard from his captivity by the Orc Warlord Vagraz Headstomper and his small army of Greenskin warriors. In addition to its practical use, the warhammer was also a symbol of the treaty of friendship between the Dwarfs and the Unberogen tribe of Men that led to the spread of sophisticated iron-smithing, literacy, and engineering among the tribes of Mankind that inhabited the lands of the Old World that would later become the Empire.
Created by the Ancestor God Smednir, Ghal Maraz is one of the greatest weapons ever made, rivalling even the great Ancestor Weapons of old. Such was its power and the secrets of its making that not even Alaric the Mad, the legendary Dwarf Runesmith, could create a weapon rivalling its power. Such are the mysteries of the warhammer that it has even been suggested that it possesses some form of sentience, favouring some users over others.
What is known is that the weapon has never failed its wielder in battle. The weapon is stated to have either four or five extremely powerful Dwarfen runes carved into it. This displays the incredible power of Ghal Maraz, as no Runelord thinks it is even possible to make a runic weapon with more than 3 runes.
In addition to the blessings of the Dwarf Ancestor Gods, the Skull-Splitter was also anointed by the mighty war god Ulric, Sigmar's own patron deity, ever since the day when Artur the Teutogen threw the future emperor into the god's sacred, menhir-ringed flame. Miraculously, Sigmar emerged from the fire unharmed, his weapon ablaze with the Wolf God's cold fury, and defeated Artur, thereby bringing the Teutogens into the Empire and establishing himself as Ulric's Champion.
With the blessings of Smednir and Ulric combined, Ghal Maraz is the bane of all that is unholy -- for in the hands of Sigmar it defeated Daemon Princes of Khorne, the dreadful Everchosen of Chaos, and has even destroyed the Lord of the Undead, the Great Necromancer Nagash himself. Indeed, few are the creatures of evil who can bear to look upon its radiant nimbus and survive the experience.
When Sigmar vacated the Imperial throne in 50 IC, it is unknown whether he left his warhammer upon the throne along with his crown, or whether he took it with him. Historical texts differ on this point: some say that the first emperor left Ghal Maraz on the throne, others that he took it with him, and still others that the Dwarfs returned it to a future emperor some years later, saying that Sigmar had left it with them on his journey to the east.
The exact powers of the warhammer are a state secret of the Empire and not shared with outsiders. In the legends, Ghal Maraz is depicted as vastly more powerful than the weapon currently wielded by the emperor. Stories claim that the warhammer was originally able to detect the servants of Chaos hidden among Mankind, slay an Orc with a single blow, abjure Daemons and other entities of the Realm of Chaos, shield Sigmar from harmful magic and even that it could fly and once destroyed a Daemon Prince with a single strike.
Despite the historical controversy, the Cult of Sigmar and the Imperial government both insisted early in his reign that the mighty warhammer in the possession of the incumbent emperor Karl Franz was the original. The discrepancy between the powers that that warhammer exhibited, which included strengthening its wielder, bypassing non-magical armour and renewing the vitality of anyone who held it, compared to the legendary powers of Sigmar, was explained away as a case of historical exaggeration.
The haft of Ghal Maraz is said to have been made of rowan (also known as witchwood). For this reason, rowan is seen as particularly sacred by the Cult of Sigmar.
Rediscovery
In truth, the warhammer originally in the possession of Karl Franz and all of his predecessors upon the Imperial throne after Sigmar was a duplicate magical weapon. Powerful, but not the original relic. The true Ghal Maraz was found by adventurers during the civil strife of the Turmoil of 2512 IC in the Black Fire Pass and returned to Karl Franz after they defeated the Tzeentchian Lord of Change Sheerargetru.
What all the emperors since Sigmar had possessed until 2512 was a replica of the original warhammer; a powerful magical weapon, blessed by the priests of the Cult of Sigmar and constructed by skilled Dwarf Runesmiths, but only an imitation. The truth of the duplicate's creation after Sigmar's disappearance had long remained one of the most tightly held state secrets of the Karaz Ankor, for it was the Dwarfs who kept the shameful secret of the warhammer's disappearance from their Human allies.
Sources
- Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Dwarfs - Stone and Steel (RPG), pp. 59-60
- The Life of Sigmar (Background Book), pp. 6-98
- Heldenhammer (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- Empire (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- God-King (Novel) by Graham MceNill
- Let the Great Axe Fall (Short Story) by Graham McNeill
- Birth of a Legend (Short Story) by Gav Thorpe
- The Witchhunter's Handbook (Background Book), pg. 47
- Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Empire in Ruins: Part 5 of the Enemy Within Campaign (RPG)