"As my ship docked in Miragliano and I joined the excited crowds of passengers to take my first view of the city before me, I saw a sight then that thrilled and amazed me in equal measure. This sight moved me more than all the fine artworks and sculptures I saw in the course of my month-long stay in the city. A sight that seemed to me at that moment more exquisite a thing of beauty than anything else in the world could be. I saw a Ratman's head on a pike."
- —Wilhelm Leiber, Imperial scholar[18a]
Miragliano, formally called the Mighty Principality of Miragliano and also known known as "Miragliano the Serene," is one of the most powerful city-states in Tilea, a bastion of defiance against the Skaven hordes of the Under-Empire. Because of its position near the Blighted Marshes, which are fetid and ridden with disease, Miragliano has often been victim to outbreaks of plague over the centuries, some of them known as the worst that have ever plagued the cities of Men. The Red Pox of 1812 was the worst pestilence, wiping out three quarters of the population of the city. An infestation of large rats was blamed, and since then the city has employed professional rat catchers among its mercenary troops. As well as exterminating rats, the rat-catchers fight running battles against Skaven Gutter Runners.[1a][31a][19d] Miragliano is aware of the menace residing in its sewers and there are daily confrontations, but not yet open war.[30a]
No one knows exactly where the Skaven come from, except that there are many of them in and around the fringes of the Blighted Marshes. A high price is placed on their heads, dead or alive. Since the Red Pox, large parts of the old, squalid city have been rebuilt by the Princes of Miragliano. The city was not originally an Elven colony and grew up in a rambling way over many centuries. The Princes have gradually imposed an orderly plan on the city. This was initially drafted by the great Leonardo da Miragliano who was commissioned with this task by Prince Cosimo. It has taken many centuries since then to bring the plan to fruition. Each subsequent Prince and many of the merchant families have endeavoured to beautify the city with palazzi, piazzas, fine bridges and sculptures.[1a]
History[]
Plague Phenomena[]
Miragliano has always been plagued by outbreaks of plague, from the mysterious but non-lethal Pale Shivers described in the book "The Plague & the Principality," occurring in distant centuries,[49a] to more well-documented episodes such as the Red Pox of 1812 IC.[19f] The most recent one is the Yellow Ague, which, during the last years of the Principality, has been emptying the city of its inhabitants.[11s]
No historical records speak of an outbreak of Black Death in Tilea in 1111 IC, yet it is a common theory in the Empire that Tilean traders spread this disease in their lands.[18b]
The Discovery of the River of Echoes[]
When the first trickle of eastern Human tribes fled the horrors of the east, the ancient Elven civilization was already withdrawing from the Old World, leaving the ruins of their once grand society scattered throughout the forests and hills of the continent. Before the founding of the Empire, much of Humanity existed along the coast of the Tilean Sea, inheritors of the ancient civilizations of the past. But soon twelve tribes came from the east, fleeing some unknowable horror. With the aid of the Dwarfs, these barbarians crossed through Black Fire Pass and settled in the verdant lands of the north. The Old World was unprepared for these warlike and aggressive barbarians, but there were many who thought to profit from their simplicity.[4a]
Tilean merchants, having heard of the newcomers, were eager to widen their nets by establishing trade routes into new markets. But such ventures required a dangerous voyage, sailing through Pirates' Current, up the Black Gulf, and then traveling far over land, to eventually enter the Empire through Black Fire Pass. Or worse, they could sail along the coast to the north, through the uncharted waters of the Great Ocean and into the Sea of Claws. Both ventures were dangerous and expensive—in terms of life and gold. However, the logistical problems were solved when an enterprising Tilean merchant from Miragliano discovered the River of Echoes, a ribbon of dark water that passed beneath the Vaults and into the heartland. Seeing this as his opportunity to establish himself as a major mercantile force back home, he gathered a large band of mercenaries and braved the shadowy subterranean route.[4a]
In the end, he lost nearly half his expedition to the terrors haunting the caverns, but they emerged, more or less intact, exhausted, and nearly defeated. They wandered north, searching for settlements to establish themselves. With greater frequency, the expedition faced off against the hostile creatures of these untamed lands until they finally settled in the ruins of an old High Elf outpost and stronghold situated against a broad river. They named the site Nuln and set about to rebuild it, hoping to use this place as a trading hub for their new enterprise.[4a]
Anyway, time and deceptions have allowed the underground path to be forgotten for many centuries.[13a]
Battle of the Blight[]
Just as Miraglianese ships ply the seas from Kislev to Araby, so the merchants of Miragliano explored northward for undiscovered resources and fresh markets. However, marauding Skaven from Skavenblight made the area virtually Impassable until the decisive Battle of the Blight in 2192 IC. Duke Alfonzo of Miragliano bought mercenary aid from all corners of the world, and mounted a huge expedition into the swamps. Thousands were slain, but the Skaven were driven back to the Blighted Marshes and slaughtered without mercy.[13a]
The Skaven were not destroyed. but little was to be heard of them for several decades thereafter. Meanwhile, exploration of the upper Crlstallo River and the fringes of the Vaults, continued apace. A few skirmishes with small Goblinoid bands were reported, but the Greenskins were quickly put down and the area began to be settled.[13a]
In 2235 IC the explorer, Guido Pasolini, mounted an expedition to the source of the Cristallo River, only to discover that the ancient legend of the River of Echoes was true.[13a]
Contact between the Empire and Tilean city-states is largely confined to trade via the middlemen of Marienburg, though some Tilean Merchant Houses, especially from Miragliano and Remas, have taken advantage of the recent discovery of the River of Echoes from northern Tilea to Wissenland to set up trading offices in Nuln, Pfeildorf, and other southern towns. They hope to use this as a reliable route to bypass Marienburg and cut costs since the mountain passes are frequently blocked by snow.[38a]
The Siege of Trantio[]
Miragliano during the years has experienced humiliating defeats in the Trantine Hills around the rival city-state of Trantio.[1d]
The chance to end this affront was taken when the rogue Imperial engineer Aleksander von Helsing abandoned the Empire in search of more open-minded patrons in Tilea. There his groundbreaking work attracted the unwelcome attention of the former Prince of Miragliano, Ricardo Barolo.[40a]
Barolo made von Helsing an offer that he could not refuse. In exchange for an unlimited amount of funds for his research, von Helsing would create one of his miracle machines to conquer the city of Trantio, which has already emerged victorious too many times from Miragliano's attempts to seize it.[40a]
But the Imperial engineer refused, as he believed his work should help Humanity, not hurt it. Unfortunately, this choice led to von Helsing's death, as soon after von Helsing's corpse was discovered with Barolo's sword stuck in its back, grim evidence of what happened to those who defied the prince. Barolo stole the engineer's research and Steam Tank blueprints and gave them to his own engineers, demanding that they build a version of von Helsing's miracle machine modified to his own unique specifications. But in spite of his near-limitless funds, Barolo's engineers were equally unable to develop a power source for the machine.[40a]
Yet in the face of Barolo's attempts to "persuade" them otherwise, less than a year after von Helsing's demise, work on the machine of miracles was complete, although Prince Barolo would live to regret never enquiring exactly how his engineers had managed to craft a workable power source.[40a]
Shortly thereafter, the Principality of Trantio was besieged by Barolo's forces. Barolo waited until his neighboring city-state had barely managed to stave off his initial deployment before he unleashed his secret weapon. He led the final charge against Trantio's defenders from his newly built Steam Tank against the weakened defenders. But just when victory seemed to be in Barolo's grasp, the secret of what his engineers used to empower his miracle machine was revealed.[40a]
A Beastmen Bray-Shaman, a foul mutant of Chaos, was unnaturally attuned to the Aethyr and able to manipulate the magical forces that von Helsing had needed to truly power his machine. Driven insane by its incarceration within the Steam Tank to serve as its power source, and with an insatiable appetite for vengeance, the creature tore a hole into the Realm of Chaos with its abilities which allowed a Bloodthirster of Khorne and other such Daemonic horrors to emerge into the mortal world. Then Daemonic onslaught rained havoc upon the unfortunate Trantine defenders.[40a]
Yet von Helsing earned his vengeance from beyond the grave when Barolo was driven insane in the grasp of the Greater Daemon of the Blood God. he was still screaming when the Daemonic incursion ended and all of the servants of the Blood God were dragged back into the Realm of Chaos.[40a]
What became of Barolo and his damaged Steam Tanks is unknown, but rumors claim that its blueprints have been carried to the Ten-Tailed Cat Inn in Taalagad by a witness of the hellish battle.[40a]
Today[]
In a daring move, Thanquol, one of the greatest and most infamous Grey Seers of the Skaven, ventured into Miragliano, captivating the influential burgomeisters with promises of power and everlasting life in the name of the Skaven cause. The unsuspecting leaders eagerly embraced his mystical pledges, blinded by their belief in his enchantments. Tragically, the consequences of their blind faith unfolded as the warpstone dust he had distributed led to horrifying mutations. Ultimately, the mutated burgomeisters met a grim fate, stoned to death by their once-trusting fellow citizens.[17b]
Miragliano’s size has currently diminished due to civil strife, exacerbated by the death of Prince Borgio the Besieger and the spread of the Yellow Ague.[34a]
Timeline[]
See also Tilean Timeline for events concerning the whole territory of Tilea and sources.
Archaic Age (ca. -700 to -1)[]
- ca. -15 IC - A Tilean merchant from Miragliano discovers the River of Echoes and built a fortified trading post on High Elven ruins, the settlement was called Nuln and quickly became a rallying point for local tribes in times of trouble. Tilean traders spread the worship of their Classical Gods, especially Shallya, and Verena.
Era of the Araby Wars (1240 to 1491)[]
- 1382 to 1420 IC - A series of indecisive conflicts arises between Bretonnian barons and mercenaries in the pay of the Prince of Miragliano. The skirmishes take place in the foothills of the Iranna Mountains, near the small town of Ravola which is famed for its vineyards.
- 1425 - The Prince of Miragliano arranges a conference to put a stop to the feuding between Tilean landowners and Bretonnian barons. The Bretonnian Baron du Bors challenges the Tilean venator Etto ‘The Fierce’ to a joust. The resulting Tournament of Ravola sees the flower of Bretonnian chivalry soundly beaten by Tilean knights and ends Bretonnian pretensions to domains in Tilea.
Age of Exploration (1492 to 1999)[]
- ca. 1600 IC - Caccino the Wise, priest of great renown in the Cult of Verena, establish a great temple of the goddess deep below the folds of the Irrana Mountains in northern Tilea.
- 1711 IC - Grand Count Maximilian III von Hochkirsche, Elector of Nuln, loose his last battle against the mercenary forces of Miragliano, thus abandoning any claim towards the principality.
- 1812 IC - The Red Pox spread in northern Tilea from Bretonnia. In Miragliano, nearly one in three citizens is laid low by the disease. Large rats are blamed for spreading the pox, and Miragliano begins to employ a standing force of Rat Catchers among their mercenary troops. Skaven armies emerged in the wake of the pox, expecting to find Bretonnia and Tilea weaker targets than the Empire. However, the people of both countries put up a desperate defence, and the Skaven force was defeated.
- ca. 1999 IC - A small area in downtown Miragliano is overrun by vermin. All of the citizens have fled or died in these disease-ridden streets and the Governor Maximo anxious to rid the city of the vile and diseased terror before it spreads to other districts throughout the city hires many different warbands as ratcatchers with the perspective of a rich reward, five gold crowns for every full bag of rats.
Era of Enlightenment (2000 to Present)[]
- 2000 IC - A new age of art, culture, and prosperity flourishes in Tilea. In Miragliano, a city that had developed in a rambling way over many centuries, a bold redevelopment plan is implemented by Prince Cosimo. He employs Leonardo da Miragliano to redesign the city’s streets and plazas. Leonardo builds many towers that list in the marshy ground. Rather than being regarded as a liability, the towers spark a fashion of leaning structures that goes on to characterise many of Tilea’s cities.
- 2004 IC - The Skaven siege the city of Miragliano and are driven back, Leonardo da Miragliano took part to the battle and analyzed the Skaven machinery such as the Screaming Bell.
- 2192 IC - Duke Alfonzo of Miragliano mounted a massive offense into the Zombie Swamps in a conflict known as the Battle of the Blight while suffering heavy casualties the Tileans managed to push back the Skavens deeper into the Blighted Marshes and expelled the Ratmen from the areas surrounding Miragliano this allowed principality to expand into territory that was previously uninhabitable thanks to the Skavens.
- 2235 IC - The explorer Guido Pasolini mounted an expedition to the source of the Cristallo River, only to discover that the ancient legend of the River of Echoes were true. The discovery brought great power to the city of Miragliano.
- 2243 IC - The pirate captain known as the Black Cygnet returns from plundering shipping lanes to the New World. He uses his ill-gotten gains to establish the estate of Udolpho. Rumours begin to circulate that it is a site of dark and experimental sorcery.
- 2276 IC - A Bretonnian army crosses northern Tilea territory to gain access to the Old Dwarf Pass to lend its help to the Border Princes raided by Settra’s Undead hordes. Supported by a great number of mercenaries, Sir Cecil Gastonne and other Bretonnian exiled knights muster their forces and marched on the Principality of Matorea to meet their enemies in a decisive battle.
- 2283 IC - Smarra Udolpho invites the household of Isabelle Di Lambrusco to visit the Udolpho estate to celebrate their impending nuptials. Isabelle’s jealous brother murders her on the eve of the wedding. She returns from the grave to haunt the estate as the Spectre Bride.
- ca. 2302 IC - After the defeat of the Witch King Malekith in Ulthuan at the Battle of Finuval Plain, Asarnil begin his self-exile with Deathfang in the city of Remas and is hired by the Prince of the city-state against Miragliano. In the naval battle of the Siren‘s Rocks, Asarnil and Deathfang destroyed Miragliano‘s entire fleet, and ended the city‘s supremacy at sea.
- 2302-2320 IC - Terror in Tilea. In the years that follow the Great Summoning, a number of attacks are made on the Tilean city-states. Many small towns bordering on the Blighted Marshes are razed or simply disappeared.
- 2309 IC - During the summer, the Imperial scholar Wilhelm Leiber visits Miragliano. With great stupor, he discovers that Tileans don't deny the existence of the Skaven and to the contrary are eager to share their knowledge on the matter and seek new allies against their menace. Once back in his homeland, the man wrote his magnum opus, The Loathsome Ratmen and All Their Vile Kin, to alert the Empire about the incoming danger, but his book was destroyed by the church of Altdorf and Wilhelm spent his last days in an asylum.
- 2321 IC - Skaven warships are spotted in the Tilean Sea. Many coastal raids begin at this time. During the winter, Clan Eshin Gutter Runners make a number of raids on Imperial, Bretonnian, Tilean and Estalian warfleets at anchor in their respective ports. The Gutter Runners use firepots and naptha to burn the fleets with varying levels of success. In the end the Dwarfs of Barak-Varr destroyed the Skaven fleet. To date the perpetrators of these attacks are still unknown to the Tileans which only have seen flotillas of strange ramshackle craft near Tobaro.
- 2418 IC - Otranto Udolpho, a maverick sorcerer, tries to conquer the Udolpho estate at the head of an army consisting of undead troops and a regiment of Daemonettes.
- 2430 IC - Melmoth Udolpho sells his soul to Slaanesh in return for a promise that he would never be bored again.
- 2442 IC - The Miraglianese sculptor Angelo Fittorini becomes renowned for his beautiful depictions of the gods and goddesses of the Old World.
- 2485 IC - Borgio makes himself Prince of Miragliano. He executes so many of his enemies by hanging them from Miragliano’s leaning towers that the buildings are said to lean more during his reign than at any other time.
- ca. 2485 IC - The Reman General Mandalari the Magnificent siege the city of Miragliano. Thanks to a stratagem plotted by Prince Borgio, the Miraglianese army manages to disrupt the attack, routed by the timely counter-assault the Reman host is forced to flee.
- 2489 IC - At the battle of Villa Vennia, Borgio the Besieger defeats a mercenary army from the Republic of Remas.
- 2495 IC - Battle of Via Veddia, Miragliano defeats Verezzo.
- 2497 IC - Prince Donato of Pavona brokers an alliance with Trantio but perishes after consuming a meal of poisonous mushrooms. His widow, Lucrezzia Belladonna, soon remarries, choosing the dashing captain Ranuccio for her husband. At the battle of Vittoria Viccia, Borgio the Besieger defeats a mercenary army from the Principality of Trantio, assisted by the last minute betrayal of the mercenaries from Pavona who attack their Trantine allies in the rear. Miragliano is established as the most powerful principality in Tilea.
- 2503 IC - Borgio the Besieger is murdered in his bath with a toasting fork. Street fighting breaks out in Miragliano as various factions vie for power, and Borgio’s excellent mercenary army fragments as captains lead their regiments away from the city in the hope of new employment. Braganza’s Besiegers, Vespero’s Vendetta, and Bronzino’s Galloper Guns are just a few of these regiments of renown.
- 2506 IC - Ysidro d’Amato, styling himself ‘The Water Wizard’, becomes one of the richest merchants in Miragliano after monopolising the city’s supplies of potable water.
- 2507 IC - Miragliano is beset by a virulent outbreak of the Yellow Ague, which is traced back to the water sold by d’Amato. Calls for his arrest are made but he flees the city and vanishes. Genevieve Dieudonné manage to escape with Aleksandr Kloszowski and Antonia Marsillach from the haunted estate of Udolpho.
Storm of Chaos[]
Events described during the Storm of Chaos.
- 2522 IC - The city of Miragliano is lost by the hands of the Skaven in The Fall of Miragliano battle.
Government[]
Since the death of Prince Borgio the principality of Miragliano is ruled by his dowager, Dolchellata Belladonna as a regent, assisted by a council made up of the elders of several merchant families.[19a]
Inhabitants[]
Miraglianese (or Miraglean) citizens can carouse at any hour, day or night, as stated by the licensing laws.[7a][23a]
One of their many amusements are the traveling circuses. Their steel-barred wagons host monstrosities such as leering harpies or toothless manticores.[39a]
Miraglianeses are deadly with the crossbow, the city's official weapon, and thanks to the constant training of the Marksmen of Miragliano's recruits, Miragliano has far fewer pigeons than any other Tilean city.[7a]
While in Tilea, when a debt can't be paid a challenge can be given to the debtor. The rules of Miraglianese debt-duelling allow for someone to step in on another’s behalf.[24b]
Northern Tileans use the Imperial Calendar or one of its many variants as well as the Verenean Calendar. This is especially the case in the city states of Miragliano and Trantio, for they more frequently deal with Bretonnians and Imperial folk.[15a]
The Role of Mercenaries[]
"Left! Right! Left! Righ… No, your other right, Squig for brains! You march like that, the Goblins will be sticking you full of holes before you can even untangle your feet!"
- —Miraglianese drill sergeant[19c]
Miragliano and Remas maintain a certain long-standing enmity, and the two cities frequently war against each other, often soliciting the aid of the various small Tilean states, and employing sell-swords and mercenaries from all over the Old World.[5a] Despite their diversities on the battlefield, both armies wear short capes and broad-guarded shortswords.[25a]
Miragliano does not hire a militia force like other Tilean city-states, instead maintains a large army of mercenaries on long-term contracts that also acts as a Watch, when not on campaign. They even employ a cadre of Rat Catchers, professional soldiers specially trained to patrol the canals and sewers to deal with the swarms of rats and ratlike creatures that creep out of the Blighted Marshes.[19e]
Rat Catcher of Miragliano[]
"You see these here notch-as on my bandoleer? Thas-sa means I kill twenty Ratmen. Anton, he has the dogs and they-a smell them out, then I sticks them with-a my spear, thas what we-a call sollecitare—it means, the tickler, see? Because of all the barbs on its-a side, see. It kills the Skaveni very much, and then wes-a sticking their stupid little skulls on-a the town gate, as-a warning. Accorde, they always come back again, the very next night too. Theys-a never giving up, and so neither does we."
- —Nicolas de Lampedusa, Tilean mercenary, Rat-Catcher Regiment[10a]
The Tileans have the terrible curse of inhabiting the closest land to the great Skaven spawning ground of Skavenblight, which lies in the Zombie Marshes. Although they have been spared the worst of the plagues, they have instead suffered the greatest share of the sorties of the Ratmen. So many times have the Skaven marched against the people of Tilea that they have long-since forgotten the luxury of pretending that the Ratmen do not exist, and instead have devoted themselves fiercely to protecting their cities and exterminating the Skaven found within them. The Rat-Catchers of Miragliano, one of the most famous mercenary regiments in all of Tilea, are employed by the prince of that city solely to destroy the Skaven menace.[10a]
The City[]
This city stands upon hundreds of small islands, connected by stone-banked canals. The landward side of the city is marshy and unpleasant, but Miragliano itself is airy and clean. Water is a problem - the surrounding sea is obviously undrinkable, while the streams and small rivers that permeate the marshes to the north lie several miles distant. The residents buy what they need from the local water sellers, who ply the canals in their small barges. Recently Ysidro d'Amato had achieved almost total control over the city's freshwater, and been able to treble the price. The city fathers had protested but had to give in and pay him. He has been a powerful man for a time, but then the Yellow Ague had come, and investigating scryers laid the blame on contaminated water leaving him without the option if not to leave the city.[1a]
Miragliano is a great trading city whose small, light ships are a scourge to the large trading nations. Miragliano has Tilea’s largest fleet and its ships regularly sail as far afield as the deep south, although running the blockade of Magrittan ships in the Southern Sea can prove difficult. The Miraglianians are a vigorous and ambitious people. Merchants from the city can be found all over the Old World - buying furs, sea ivory and amber in Erengrad, trading the goods of the New World in Marienburg and bartering with hard-faced Arabians in Magritta.[5a][19d]
While all Old World cities and towns have guilds, in Miragliano these are considered more like anarchic 'clubs', well far from the highly controlled one in Talabheim or Marienburg, where the guild system has reached its highest development, or at least this is the opinion of some Marienburgers.[2c]
Miragliano is bisected by several broad and elegant canals and many other narrow ones. The populace use these as streets and so there is always a traffic of ornate barges going to and from through the city, under its many bridges. However, these canals can become smelly and make the city vulnerable to plagues. Besides this, the canals do, of course, make easy ways into the city for Skaven agents. To guard against this there are canal gates, each blocked by a huge iron portcullis and guarded by rat-catchers.[1a]
The defenses of Miragliano are strong and utilize the marshy nature of the countryside. The moat is very wide and the walls are specially designed to give maximum advantage to artillery. This is all the work of the genius Leonardo, before he entered service with the Emperor,[1a] and the later adjustments made by Prince Borgio.[11a]
The Princes of Miragliano have always been patrons of learning and science as much as art, if not more so. Being so close to the mountain passes, and in past centuries under some threat from Bretonnia and the Empire, the Princes have been especially concerned with warfare and defences. It is no surprise that not only Leonardo da Miragliano, but also Borgio the Besieger began their careers in this city. The defences of Miragliano feature several tall towers which were built to give a view far across the flat landscape. Unfortunately, because of the unstable nature of the ground, most of these are leaning at awkward angles.[1a]
However, thanks to the exceptional engineering skills of the architects (Leonardo among them) these towers do not fall down. Indeed, Miragliano has set a fashion in architecture which has been copied in other cities, especially Luccini where the Princes are renowned for their great sense of humour. Now every city either boasts its own leaning tower or aspires to have one. Only in Tilea could such a thing happen! Borgio once commented that executed men look so much better hanging from a leaning tower. He should know! He would often execute his opponents a dozen at a time. It is said that the weight made the towers lean over a couple more degrees during his rule![1a]
As Miragliano is divided by numerous wide channels and many other narrow ones, the population uses them as streets, so there is always a dense traffic of ornate barges going and coming through the city, under its many bridges. However, these canals can become foul and make the city vulnerable to pests. In addition to this, channels can, of course, become easy access routes for Skaven agents. In anticipation of this, canal doors were created, each of which is blocked by a huge iron portcullis and guarded by rat catchers.[9]
Miragliano is not the chaotic labyrinth that used to be inside the walls of most imperial cities. The city is made up of distinct and identifiable districts, as distant and independent from each other as individual nations. In part, this is due to the elaborate civic improvements and planning orchestrated by the genius Leonardo da Miragliano. Under his direction, Prince Cosimo had devastated much of the old city, to replace it with a well-ordered and easily navigable metropolis. The inland areas of the city, more difficult for the attackers to reach, became the homes of wealthy merchant princes and those who had earned their favor. These were also the artistically enriched temple quarters that were the showcases of the city's wealth and devotion. The outer sections were entrusted to the mercenary barracks, taverns and brothels that served them, and to the workers and sailors who worked to fill the princes' coffers. Around the entire city, thick walls protected against invasion and numerous towers protruded from their soggy foundations to protect those walls.[9]
But it is not the genius of the engineer who prevents the districts from swelling beyond their borders as in the cities of the Empire. But the fact that much of the city is built on numerous small islands, so that in many places the canals take the place of the streets, and the thick walls and guarded doors keep the boundaries distinct between merchants and servants.[9]
Miragliano is one of the study voyage of the Master Wizards of the Colleges of Magic, eager to learn from the most refined minds in the classic grandeur of Tilea.[16a]
The city is also rumored to be a haven for Vampires who infiltrate the upper echelons easily thanks to the complex political intrigues typical of Tilea.[22b]
Glassmakers[]
Miragliano is a city famous for its glassmakers. Their exquisite glass made from quartz pebbles stands out for its clarity and purity of color. Many temples request colored panes for their stained-glass windows.[36a]
So skilled are the glassblowers in Miragliano that poisoned liquids poured in one of these glasses causes it to shatter due to the impure substance.[35a]
In Miragliano the art of mirror-making is seen as a semi-mystical act, and some glassmakers treat their creations with an almost religious reverence. Only the most privileged can afford to own one of these sublime mirrors.[36a]
One glassmaker renowned for her skill is Ilaria Acutis, a woman who left Miragliano under a cloud. She became obsessed with creating the perfect mirrored surface, always striving for greater clarity in the glass and more flawless silvering on the reverse. She began to experiment with exotic additions to the quartz, which led to her securing a small quantity of warpstone stolen from Skavenblight. The resulting mirror was unparalleled in its reflective qualities, but the images it revealed to the viewer were altered to reflect their soul more than their physical appearance.[36a]
Rumors of her perfect mirror spread through Miragliano society, until the prince, Borgio the Besieger himself inquired whether he might buy it. Acutis was reluctant, but the ruler insisted. When the prince saw how the mirror reflected him, he ordered her death and she fled to Altdorf. The mirror was later stolen by a curious Skaven Warlock Engineer, who recognized its power. The Warlock Engineer now seeks the maker to enslave her and command her to use her crafts to forge a great mirror as a weapon.[36a]
Theaters[]
"As you may now know we of the Miragliano Mummers are renowned throughout the Old World for the extreme, ahhh, the verisimilitude of our fabulous sets. Usually, we use only natural substances for our props and scenery, not the wood and canvas panels and cloths so beloved of set designers in the Empire. At our Miragliano playhouse, we have spared no expense for the stage of our production of ‘The Disembowelment of Didrick’. Tonnes of dressed stone upon which real moss is encouraged to grow. Real rivulets of water. The expense is, ahhh, phenomenal."
Theatres of Miragliano are well known in all of the Old World, even if in truth, they're different from how Altdorfers imagine the sophisticated Miraglianese style, withgaudy gold-and-purple-painted frontage.[24a]
For some reason, the enthusiasm for Tilean grand opera that is long established in Nuln has never really reached Altdorf. While the Grand Opera House puts on standards like Otenno and The Magic Suit, the crowds are more likely to go for bawdy Bretonnian comic operas like La Belle Matilde, or Orron and Erris.[24a]
But touring companies often benefit from the open-minded attitude of other patrons. Companies of Tilean players from Luccini and Miragliano are especially encouraged to visit The Temple of Drama which stage their dramas in a spirit of generous cultural cross-pollination.[24a]
Recently the city fathers had banned from the playhouse plays considered overly morbid and liable to incite public disorder. Some of the banned ones are: Brithan Cragg's Ystareth, The Plague Daemon and Orfeo's Tall Tale, The Doom of Zaragoz, Detlef Sierck's The Treachery of Oswald and The Strange History of Dr Zhiekill and Mr Chaida, Ferring the Balladeer's incredibly violent Brave Konrad and the Skull-Face Slaughterer, Bruno Malvoisin's obscene Seduced by Slaaneshi, The Baneful Lusts of Diogo Briesach. All play with dark and stormy nights, and weary travellers forced to stay the night, puritanical harridans, family curses, secret passages, much-altered wills, and ghouls, goblins and ghostliness.[11a]
During the Yellow Ague pandemic, many of these theaters were forced to close by the city fathers to contain the infection.[11a]
Rich Districts[]
The more prosperous districts of Miragliano were located right in the heart of the old city and are protected from the expansion around it by its thick stone wall. Situated as it is on an island separated by the labyrinth-like maze of warehouses, shops and taverns that appealed to merchant fleets and their crews. A small pier runs alongside a massive shutter that acts as an access through the inner wall. Here, it is not the members of the mercenary guard hired by the various corporations to protect their possessions and maintain a semblance of law in the merchant district that control access to the district, but the guard of Prince Borgio, hard-faced men, scarred veterans who their teeth were already cut like war dogs. Over their reinforced leather armor, each of them wears a tabard decorated with the scarlet field and black tower of the prince himself. Rat paws hang from the leather straps on soldiers belts as a reminder that catching mice and guarding gates were part of the soldiers' duties. Beyond the gates the narrow canals and streets are lined with tall palazzos, the upper floors feature large stained glass windows and massive skylights.[9a]
The wealthy districts of Miragliano feature tall buildings with numerous great stained-glass panels and enormous skylights, even more prevalent than in those of the Ponte Eterno of Remas.[9g]
Citadel[]
The last line of defense of the city, should the enemy breach the other components of the fortification system, the citadel of Miragliano is defended by a gate enhanced by dwarf runes that began to burn bright red when operating.[12a]
Palazzo Villarias[]
Reachable by gondola in the rich districts of the city is the cold, clammy palazzo of countess Carlotta de Villarias.[9a]
It is located in one of Miragliano’s most prosperous districts. It was in the very heart of the old city, and was protected from the sprawl around it by its own thick stone wall. Located as it was on a separate island from the warren-like maze of warehouses, shops and taverns that catered to the merchant fleets and their crews.[9a]
A massive gray stone building. Like the other palaces, this one also sports an extravagant portico, with fluted columns in black marble. Intricate carvings twisted on the cloak in a way that made think of snakes as much as of vines.[9a]
The winding corridor and stairway are adorned with Statues of quality and antiquity adorned marble pedestals spaced along the walls. Where the statues were absent, portraits took their place, displaying the fading features of once powerful men. Each was the work of a master, though it was evident no one hand had painted any two. Moreover, many of the portraits featured men in costume dressed after the fashion of noblemen from ages past. It is a singular collection, for it is apparent that the portraits bore no familial connection with the mistress.[9a]
Everywhere amidst the artwork and elaborately engraved moulding that framed every doorway is the air of decay. Dust had silently gathered in the corners, in the cracks of the marble floors and crannies of the skirting, on the frames of portraits and on the brows of statues. Cobwebs dangled from the narrow space at the top of the vaulted ceilings. The contessa did not maintain a large household.[9a]
Beyond a double doors, massive things of dark Drakwald timber, with a pair of leering gargoyles carved into the face of each panel.there is the Black Room. The floor is made of onyx, the lustrous black stone shine in the flickering light cast by a hanging chandelier. The walls are draped in heavy black cloth.[9a]
Palazzo Margrave[]
The fabulously wealthy Baroness Theodora Margrave is known as a noble native of Altdorf but in truth, she's a proud member of the Lahmian Sisterhood from Nuln. She is a patron of the arts. Particularly musicians and singers, and all of her servants can sing or play to delight her hosts.[21a]
Strada dei Cento Peccati[]
Strada dei Cento Peccati (Street of the Hundred Sins) is a street near the port, full of taverns, brothels, premises dedicated to the witch's root, fighting pits and other places for even less decorous amusement. It is said that not even the most austere priest of Morr could cross that street without discovering something that would make him forget his priestly vows.[9]
This street of illegal pleasures is the most dangerous in the whole city. Murder is more common than venereal disease and alcoholism, and not a single night goes by without a cart of corpses being collected the next morning from the quicklime pits outside the city. It is whispered that many more die without their bodies being found, either killed during dark rites, or abducted to be taken to the dwellings of necromancers. It is also rumored that some of the taverns and brothels, and especially the premises dedicated to the witch root, drug their customers, and that the unfortunate victims wake up in the secret cellars of some boat sailing towards the slave markets of the distant Arabia, a fate perhaps worse than death.[9]
It was a lawless district, to which even the guard dared not to venture during the night hours.[9]
Purple Kitten[]
A bordello of the Strada dei Cento Peccati built on two floors is managed by Madame Livia, a wizened hag which would smite her girls to entertain some of the brothel’s more curious customers, and their less than common tastes. Normally, the least appealing of the girls was given such duties, but Madame Livia never failed to threaten her prettier workers with such punishment when they were not compliant with her wishes and the demands of business.[9]
The Black Boar[]
The Black Boar is a beer hall operated by a displaced Reiklander brewer, and catered especially to the needs of men from the Empire. The ceiling of the building is much higher than normal, for the floor was set well below street level. A sign in the shape of a dark and stout pig creature spells in crude letters, the name of the place written in Reikspiel. It is a brewery that offers alcoholic beverages more adapted to the particular tastes of the people who are looking for something stronger than Tilean wines and smooth Bretonnian beers. Mercenaries, sailors and caravan guards mainly from the Empire come here, although there are also Kislevites and some dwarves. To its patrons, it is a familiar setting in a foreign land.[9]
The Black Boar's patrons considered the inn a home away from home and viewed any Tilean who entered the tavern as an intruder.[9]
Maid of Albion[]
The Maid of Albion is a dockside tavern located in the seediest district of Miragliano. It is characterized by its burrow-like interior, a filthy environment befitting its reputation as a dive. The tavern serves as a gathering place for various unsavory characters, including seamen, mercenaries, and bandits, who frequent it to share their tales and drown their sorrows.[9f]
La Strada di Falco[]
Street renown for his black market was to pick up slaves kidnapped in the Strada dei Cento Peccati or other illegal weres such as drugs like the Crimson Shade, used by Tileans in their vendettas to have that little advantage during a duel, but even the soldiers in the pay of the Prince of Miragliano are consummate consumers.[9a]
Unscrupulous merchants like Abdul-Qaadir get rich thanks to the strong addiction created by the exotic substance.[9a]
Sell-Sword Inn[]
An Inn at work during the 21th century, frequented mainly by mercenaries in search for a contract.[1d]
Merry Archer[]
An inn where the notorious Maximilian Damark, captain of the Marksmen of Miragliano enlist his new recruits, usually after noon.[1c]
Crooked Crossbow[]
Another inn where the Marksmen of Miragliano hire youngbloods.[1c]
Purple Sheep[]
An inn frequented by both the common people and noblemen, such as the vengeful Peacocks. Here the clients often indulge in the pleasure of gambling.[33]
Halfling district[]
Here is located the Quinsberry Lodge, an organisation dedicated to ensuring equal rights for Halflings across the Old World.[8a]
Princely Palazzo[]
Power structure of the rulers of Miragliano, in its library are stored Leonardo's manuscripts.[1a]
Universita de Miragliano[]
Universita de Miragliano known as University Miragliano is an ancient and influential institution whose scholars range in the most disparate disciplines, from medicine to the study of the undead. The institute independently publishes its own texts thanks to the University of Miragliano Press, which over the centuries has published daring treatises, such as Children of the Night: The Fall of the Von Carsteins and the Nature of Those They Command, printed in 2406 from Maria Conte's studies.[26a][14a]
Schola Chirurgica[]
"Ach, you should not die this night. You're a strong young feller. Tomorrow, maybe, but not just now."
- —Grandfather Gunther Wernicke, Physician, student of the Schola Chirurgica[14a]
Schola Chirurgica (Surgical School), is a place of science where medicine is studied in its various forms. Such it's its prestige that people from all over the Old World came to the University of Miragliano to study the wonders of modern medicine.[14a]
The Oubliettes[]
In Miragliano there is a place spoken of only in whispers: the Oubliettes. It is said that kept in these deep holes are creatures of such worrying aspect and nature, that to look upon them is to see fear itself.[29a]
Instead of hiding from the dangers of the world, Miraglianese scholars study and scrutiny the monstrosity that puts risk the human race. The men who oversee the Oubliettes are learned scholars. They employ trappers and commission them to obtain certain specimens. Rewards are substantial, but the risks are high, finding a minotaur, let alone trap and transport it is not an easy task, but the benefits are obvious.[29a]
With the right connections is possible to gain access to these places to grasp a sight of some of the creatures held there: common and Horned Squigs, Giant Rats, Skaven, mighty Rat Ogres, Tree Kins, Treemen, Beastmen such as the ferocious Minotaurs, Basilisks, and also winged bestiality like the dreaded Manticores, Wyverns and feral Griffons. It's a terrifying experience which can make a weak observer insane. Among them are also scholars from the rest of the old world, curious to note the progress made in the study of these creatures.[29a]
The Foundries[]
Miragliano foundries are known throughout the Old World for the production of the famous Miraglianese Armours, even adopted by the Knightly Orders of the Empire. But the forges also churn out cannons such as those of the master gunner, Bronzino, renowned for the results they achieved during the Borgio expansion wars. Ironically, in the past the same forge used for the production of these weapons had been used by Leonardo da Miragliano himself, for the production of his bronze statues.[1e][19b]
Eastern District[]
Miragliano is not the chaotic warren found within the walls of most Imperial cities. The city is formed of distinct and identifiable districts, as removed and independent from one another as individual nations. This is partially due to the elaborate civic improvements and planning orchestrated by the genius Leonardo da Miragliano. Under his direction, Prince Cosimo devastated much of the old city to replace it with a well-ordered and easily navigated metropolis.[9a]
The easternmost district of the city is a part of the old city that was never reconstructed by Prince Cosimo to match the orderly planning of the great Leonardo. Five hundred years later, it remains a confusing maze of streets lying in complete abandonment, with some sections now unreachable as the canals have become a muddy quagmire.[9a]
Only those with something to hide still live in this area. The land has begun to sink here, and the entire island is slowly crumbling away to join the marshes beyond the city walls. It is a dilapidated district, abandoned, and all but deserted. The canals have become so choked with mud and overgrown with weeds that they are no longer navigable. The network of dubiously maintained bridges must be crossed to move about the district. Only the thick walls surrounding the area have been kept up. Their bases have been shored up with rocks, boulders, gravel, and rubble to prevent them from sinking and to preserve the integrity of Miragliano’s outer defenses.[9a]
Sometimes, a crew of laborers can be seen retrieving pieces of art from the district, like the heavy statue of a cavalry hero from the forlorn remains of a piazza, salvaging the works of art before the swamp can consume them.[9a]
Fallen tiles from rotting roofs, broken cobblestone streets, and decaying bridges are common sights here. The only sign of human life is people and scavengers attempting to recover pieces of art or other goods still useful, like furniture and doors.[9a]
A guard tower still stands in the district but lies unused.[9a]
In this district, in one of the many ruined palazzos, was once the lair of a necromancer known as Carandini. A red-roofed building is reachable from another ramshackle palazzo leaning toward the necromancer’s lair—the second-floor balcony of this nearly touches it.
It is said that the famous Brunner the Bounty Hunter has been cleaning up the place for some years, preventing the necromancer from bringing the mummy of an ancient Priest-King of Nehekhara back to life.[9a]
Old Quarter[]
"I actually liked it there. So much more honest, in a strange way. Only... I might have burned down Miragliano's Old Quarter as collection on a debt. I'm not welcome there any longer."
The Estalian bright wizard, Sienna Fuegonasus has shown a certain aversion towards the city of Miragliano, declaring that she can no longer return there due to a fire set in the old quarter of the city to collect a debt, this was before the events of the End Times.[37]
Stalking Tower[]
One of the many leaning-towers of Miragliano, this structure was occupied by the legendary Chaos Lord, Mordrek the Damned. Atop its undulating battlements he duelled with the Dwarf Slayer, Gotrek Gurnisson, even if the result of the fight is unknown the slayer managed to survive for sure.[32a]
Fortified Canal Gates[]
Despite their name, such canal gates are separate from the system of gates used to maintain the water levels of Miragliano's canals. Designed to block attempts by the Ratmen to infiltrate the city's canal system, they take the form of heavy iron portcullises situated at the junctures where the canals meet the waters of the marshes outside the city. The small bells ar the top of the gates are connected by thin wires to fishing hooks, intended to give the alarm by catching the clothes of passing swimmers, while both above and below the waterline the surfaces of the gates themselves are covered in viciously barbed hooks. Patrolled during the day by Miragliano's ordinary City Watch, at night the canal gates are guarded by the same men responsible for patrolling the banks of the city's many canals; the famed Rat-Catchers of Miragliano.[18a]
Temples[]
Grand Chapel of Mathann[]
Manann is known in Tilea as Mathann. The cult plays a significant role in the public life of Miragliano. Its temple was built around the site of the old Miragliano temple by the maritime prince of Miragliano thanks to the donation of the Reman admiral Ludovico Dandola.[34b][34c]
The Chapel is second in prominence only to the Cathedral in Marienburg. It claims supreme authority in the southern Old World, although the cult in Tilea and Estalia is scarcely unified.[2a][34b][34c]
Mathann has a more classical character in Tilea than Manann in the Empire. The temple is a tall colonnaded building covered in painted frescoes of Mathann and his many aquatic servants.[34b]
There is an undeniably Elven influence to the slender towers and elegant arches — this is the Sea God as patron of the placid Tilean Sea rather than the raging Sea of Claws.[34b]
The statue of Mathann is a work of great beauty, sculpted by Leonardo da Miragliano from white marble shot through with veins of turquoise. It portrays Mathann in his chariot, pulled by dolphins and accompanied by beautiful Naiads and sea creatures. The statue stands in a seawater pool which, by some ingenious contrivance, laps at the statue in waves.[34b]
The priesthood in Miragliano is preoccupied with trade and countering the Stromfels-worshipping pirates of Sartosa. They try to stay neutral on nautical matters in relation to the rival city of Remas, but local pride fosters some factionalism against the temple there.[34b]
The High Priest in Miragliano is a hardened naval commander, Wave Lord Antonio Leontaris. His craggy, unsmiling face is testament to his many years in spiritual and physical conflict with the pirates of Sartosa and Araby. He has appointed a crew of captains to research the Skaven navies of Clan Skurvy and Clan Skuttle.[34b]
Temple of Myrmidia[]
The Myrmidian temple of Miragliano was reduced to ruins by the Ratmen during the 26th century. To punish this wickedness, a group of mercenaries led by the Order of the Blazing Sun ventured into the stinking lairs of the skaven, far below the ruins of the temple. Among these adventurers there were also the famous duo made up of the Dwarf Slayer Gotrek and the Human chronicler Felix Jeager.[32a]
Temple of Mercopio[]
One of the main temples dedicated to Mercopio, the Lord of Commerce and Prosperity in the Old World, rivaling that of Marienburg and Magritta.[2b]
Great Library of Miragliano[]
One of the largest Verenean Temple-Library. Such as every temple dedicated to Verena contains a library, crammed with every important tome that the local priests can acquire.[3a][28a] It was here that a version of the story about the Tournament of Ravola was retrieved. The chronicle narrates of how thanks to the then Prince of Miragliano the Bretonnian claims on the lands of Tilea were stopped once and for all.[1f]
Sewers[]
The sewers and catacombs beneath Miragliano are pitch dark and very dangerous, the specialized Ratcatchers the city employs aren't the only threat the Skaven have to face, Prince Rametep and his court of Ghouls prey Ratmen and any grave robbers who tries to get close to his treasure.[22a][31a]
Under-Miragliano[]
"The best way to remove a rat from a hole is being to send in a bigger rat."
- —Old Miragliano witticism[9a]
Of all the human cities Skaven have preyed upon, no city has suffered more than the city of Miragliano. The upper city is the closest to Skavenblight, and lies just a few miles from the outskirts of the Blighted Marsh. The date of the tunnel's excavation to Under-Miragliano was around 0 to 1000 IC. [17a] The importance of the settlement is not only of a strategic nature as even some Breeder Queens are nourished under the downtown of Miragliano.[31a]
Surrounding Lands[]
On the land side of Miragliano, the vast swamps stretch many leagues away. These are shallow lakes, populated by tall reeds and interrupted by small islands of more stable ground. The barges and barges are the means of transport there. Enterprising merchants collected freshwater from the swamps to sell to the thirsty city dwellers.[9d]
Beyond the many leagues of swamps, there are hills and gently sloping meadows, huge fields of grain and vegetable crops, orchards of fruit trees, labyrinthine vineyards and vast expanses of pasture for cows and sheep. This constitutes the food source of Miragliano, protected by forts with garrisons of soldiers of Prince Borgio himself who was strategist enough to understand that a hungry army would win none of Miragliano’s many wars.[9d]
But shortly after leaving the last fort behind, the farmlands disappear to make way for a more desolate landscape. It is dotted with isolated human settlements, but for the most part it is made up of vast tracts of uninhabited virgin land. The rare stretches of leveled and grassy terrain show where farms had once been or, more rarely, where some intrepid peasant was still struggling to wrest a livelihood from the land. A dusty brown path winding through the trees and rocks passed each of these deserted or inhabited farms, like a relic of the days when peace and security had reigned in the hills of Tilea.[9d]
The rolling hills protect deep shady depressions, places the sun cannot reach. Streams and streams meander through the deep valleys that mediated between the hills, fostering the growth of forests in each of them. To the north of the rock-strewn hills and their wooded valleys stretches a great plain of sandy ground dotted with sloppy and confusing clumps of thin, stunted trees, sometimes made up of a few dozen, sometimes a few hundreds that made up an irregular forest. The thickets advance towards the few roads and trails, and threatening to cover them completely.[9d]
This ungoverned region is home to only a few hardened trappers, loggers, hunters and rangers, who made a miserable living in the wilds. Herds of beastmen prowl these places; Small tribes of orcs and goblins, who lead a miserable and precarious life there, raided the weakest caravans of merchants who dare to walk the poorly preserved roads. Gangs of human predators lurk alongside the monsters: outlaws and deserters from the many mercenary companies hired by the merchant princes. Sage was the traveler who did not trust anyone he encountered in those wild lands.[9d]
To the west of the city of Miragliano lies the dangerous Blighted Marshes, a vast expanse of sinister swamps and marshes, where the capital of the empire of filthy Ratmen is located. The armies of Miragliano are always prepared to face the attacks of the Skaven as they do against the armies of rival city-states.[9d]
The cracked and stony soil of the northeastern lands of Tilea is not good for agriculture. However, the Tileans were capable of growing olive trees, raising their robust and woolly sheep and mountain goats, and cultivating the fetore grape with which they obtained the characteristic frizzante wine. But the life these lands promised was very poor, and merchants saw little incentive to explore further.[13]
Countryside[]
The countryside beyond Miragliano is characterized by rolling, hilly terrain, with isolated pockets of humanity interspersed amidst vast stretches of uninhabited wildland. Streams and brooks snake their way along deep hollows between the hills, nurturing thick woods that fill each valley. On the north side of the boulder-strewn hills and their forested hollows lies a great plain of sandy, level ground. Stands of thin, scraggly trees are scattered in clumps, sometimes only a few dozen, other times a few hundred, forming an irregular forest, plagued by groups of bandits and Beastmen.[9b]
The Shrine of the Seven Mercies[]
Deep in the countryside, maidens of Shallya catering to the needs of the poor peasants and farmers who braved the wild to feed the swarming cities.[9e]
Behind it's white walls and cross-shaped windows a small marble statue stoods atop the altar—the image of a beautiful woman crafted in the classical Tilean style, a golden heart held in her hands, as though offering the shimmering organ to the supplicant kneeling before the idol. It's a symbol of the selfless sacrifice of the Goddess of Mercy—offering of her own body that others might find solace and peace, the sick might be healed and the halt made whole. It was an example that the priestesses of her faith were expected to follow, a standard to aspire toward.[9e]
Lifting up the flagstones set behind the statue there is an hole beneath it with a bottle of dark Bretonnian glass. The holy waters of the Temple in Couronne, the blessed spring from which Shallya’s tears dripped into the world of men. They were precious beyond the weight of gold, for within the Tears of Shallya were the divine healing powers of the goddess herself. The Seven Mercies had never had a large supply of the Tears, only enough to guard the priestesses themselves against the diseases they hoped to cure, for what good would a healer be if she were to fall victim to a plague?[9e]
In recent times the temple has been stormed by warriors of chaos devoted to the god Nurgle, the priestesses were at that juncture treating Red Pox patients and would have been easily annihilated had it not been for the local militia supported by the bounty hunter Brunner hired by Elisia one of the priestess.[9e]
Villa Bertolucci[]
Like many rich Tileans, the Bertolucci family has a villa outside the city walls of Miragliano.[9b]
The villa had been opulent and splendid in its day. A two-story structure, the upper floors had been devoted to bed chambers, music rooms, dining halls, and every pleasure of its noble owners, while the larger lower floor had served as quarters for servants, as stables and kennels, kitchens, and storerooms. The villa’s walls were still intact, but its wooden shutters and doors had long ago collapsed into rotten ruin.[9b]
The villa's old kitchen is in a state of disarray, with cracked and broken tiles, grass growing through the floor, and dead brambles scattered in corners. Despite sunlight streaming in, the room remains shadowy and cold, revealing its neglected and abandoned condition.[9b]
The house of Bertolucci has paid some mercenaries to protect the building from bandits and Beastmen.[9b]
Subsidiary Settlements[]
Miragliano is a regional centre of political power, wielding significant influence over the settlements listed below.[19a]
Yet a local ruler can independently move war to its rivals, for example, a wealthy Miraglianese duce is currently fighting one of his enemies on the way to Trantio in the proximity of the Tarano river, with the support of Oglah Khan's Wolfboyz, skilled fast cavalrymen that out best even the duce's pistolers. Travelers are easily stuck between the interminable civil wars and have to be at their diplomatic best to avoid upsetting every side at once.[51a]
- Campogrotta - An average village. Tilean end of the Alimento Tunnel; a small community of Dwarfs lives here.[19a]
- Portomaggiore - A small town to the north-west of Miragliano.[13]
- Tramaglino - A town not far from Miragliano.[12a]
Notable Groups[]
- Guard - The personal guard of the prince of Miragliano.[12a]
- Sewer Guard - Men tasked with the costant patrol of the city sewers.[12a]
Notable Miraglianeses[]
- Alfonzo of Miragliano - Duke Alfonzo of Miragliano was the commander of the mercenaries which liberated in a huge expedition the Zombie Swamps and the lands around Miragliano from the Skavens.[13]
- Borgio the Besieger - He was Prince of Miragliano, nicknamed “The Besieger” because of his unsurpassed expertise in siege warfare.[1]
- Dolchellata - Widow of Borgio and older sister of Lucrezzia Belladonna.[1]
- Ennio Corbucci Volonte - Once a powerfull and feared loan shark from Miragliano. Whose only daughter is married to Alberto Bertolucci.[9b]
- Leonardo da Miragliano - One of the greatest inventors ever born in the Old World.[1]
- Verspasian Kant - He is the present day Magister Patriarch of the White Order of Altdorf.
Miniatures[]
A sewer network terrain board was especially constructed for the game Tilean Days, an expansion for the specialist game Mordheim. The terrain board was fairly narrow (approximately 6") and had six levels to it, with each level accessible at either end by holes. The top represented street level, where the warbands started out. The second level was the sewers and below that were the caverns and catacombs of the vermin. A specific scenario called: "The Rat's Liar" was specifically designed to be played on this board by several players working together against the game master who controls all the Skaven.[31a]
Trivia[]
The city of Nuln was established by a Tilean merchant from Miragliano upon an elvish ruin before year 0 IC. This attest the city as older than Luccini, considered by many the oldest city of Tilea.[4a]
Miragliano has not always been a principality, in the past it was a duchy and even recently,[13a] but given the sources it is not possible to know whether it was shortly before or shortly after Borgio's death.[24b] What is certain is that in the alternate timeline of Storm of Chaos, the city has once again been ruled by the House of Miragliano.[12a]
In the alternative universe of Blood Bowl Miragliano has his own team, the Miragliano Leopards, composed entirely of High Elf players. This team is one of four participants of the Tilean League.
The city aesthetics resemble that of renaissance Venice.
The Tilean trend of building increasingly leaning towers is a reference to a real practice in medieval Italy, where every wealthy person gave prestige to his image by starting the construction of a tower in his name, the higher the height the greater the prestige it conferred.
Sources[]
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- 32: Gotrek and Felix: The Serpent Queen (Novel) by Josh Reynolds
- 32a: Chapter Map
- 33: Gotrek and Felix: The Reckoning (Novel) by Jordan Ellinger
- 34: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Sea of Claws (RPG)
- 35: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Old World Armoury (RPG)
- 35a: pg. 74
- 36: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Archives of the Empire III (RPG)
- 36a: pp. 31-32
- 37: Warhammer: Vermintide II (PC Game)
- 38: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Sigmars Heirs - A Guide to the Empire (RPG)
- 38a: pg. 26
- 39: Temple of the Serpent (Novel) by C. L. Werner
- 39a: Ch. 3
- 40: Inferno 42
- 40a: pp. 33-37
- 49: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Terror in Talabheim (RPG)
- 49a: pg. 45
- 50: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Apocrypha 2 (RPG)
- 50a: pg. 76
- 51: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Tribes and Tribulations (RPG)
- 51a: pp. 66-67
- 52: Total War: Warhammer (PC Game)
- 52a: Campaign Map