"Today, I was taken by Señor Albarano to the High Temple of Myrmidia in Magritta. It is a sight that I shall never forget. In particular, it has impossibly large, unsupported domes. When I enquired as to the force that kept them from falling, the amused reply was simply: "Science." I remain unconvinced, and believe there must be some magical component to their construction. I received a tour of the wondrous place, and the myths associated with each carving, frieze and window were explained to me. One story stood out as particularly unexpected, so I will recount it here. Myrmidia once chose to walk the earth as a powerless mortal. At this point, she was, like her sister Shallya, a pacifist. When still a girl, her parents died, so Myrmidia went to live with her aunt and uncle, who were farmers, and very poor. They hated the girl, and took any opportunity to spite her, forcing her to work from dawn to dusk. Eventually, when she came of age, they gifted her to a local lord, hoping he would be grateful, and ease their taxes. The lord was not a kind master, and the mortal goddess was subjected to many indignities. Eventually, unwilling to accept the injustice any longer, Myrmidia, enraged, rose up and took a ceremonial spear from the lord's collection, thrusting it into his abdomen. Myrmidia was changed forever. And from that day forward, she never walked again without a spear, a weapon that came to symbolise her future struggles."
- —The Journals of Lord Karl-Rikard Goellner, 2nd Grandmaster of the Knights Panther, 1556 IC[1c]
Myrmidia is the Human goddess of honourable war, civilisation,[9], strategy, soldiers,[11a] and officers in the Old World Pantheon.[7a] Her worship has spread into the Empire from the southern lands of Tilea and Estalia in the Old World, where she is also known as the goddess of vengeance, beauty, art and honour. She is also revered as the "Patroness of Battle",[4c] "Queen of Muses" and "Mother of Invention."[4a]
Myrmidia acts as the patron deity of both the Estalian kingdoms and the Tilean city-states, and is fanatically worshipped in both of those realms. Because of this, the Cult of Myrmidia is the largest in the Old World, for all it has a limited presence in the Empire.[5a]
Myrmidia embodies the civilised tactics and strategies of warfare in comparison to the barbaric savagery of Ulrican warriors and the fanatical zeal of the Sigmarites. Hers is the domain of tactics, formation and strategy, the order within the chaos that is the battlefield. Myrmidia does not favour brute force or mindless bloodshed. She is patron of the art and science of war, who recognises both the elegance of single-combat and the sweeping vision of grand strategy.[7a]
She rewards those who fight their wars with honour. She endorses the pursuit of wisdom in warfare and inspires commanders with tactical brilliance on the battlefield, and individual fighters with quick-witted swordplay.[7a]
Myrmidia is also the patron of the cunning ruse and well-timed ambush, but she is not a cruel goddess. The defeated enemy must be granted clemency if they submit and captured towns and cities must be spared the ravages of sacking. She grants victory to the honourable but is the staunch nemesis of hubristic conquerors who visit woe upon the vanquished.[7a]
Like the Lady of the Lake of Bretonnia, several Warhammer publications over the years have hinted that Myrmidia could actually be an Elf or a deity of the Elven Pantheon, but unlike the Lady of the Lake, this has never been confirmed.[3a]
History[]
"And Tylos came to be recognised chief of the wandering Kavzar and sought to found a city for his folk. And he made covenant with Myrmidia to erect its walls, and so it was deftly done. Yet Tylos was unsatisfied, for the cities of the Elvenkind were greater, and so he bid his tribe to raise a white tower to the heavens. But Myrmidia scorned his pride and abandoned the city, and it fell to rapacious vermin, and therein foetid ground now lies, neglected and abused. And Elf and Dwarf fought, and the Elves departed, sailing their shining ships to the West, and the Dwarfs’ Everlasting Realm was brought low through the wickedness of Goblins, and Mankind filled the void and they did prosper and spread their seed. And Myrmidia took pity on the scattered tribe of Tylos, and walked among them as a mortal woman, and took up her Spear of Righteousness and Shield of Honour and slew the enemies of Men in their thousands. War was won with fire-forged metal, and the tribes of Tilea and Estalia raised her as their Queen. Yet fresh was the crown on her brow when a dart daubed in poison laid her low, and with her dying breath she bade them build a Great Ship, and she drifted seawards to the West, following the undying sun. And so she was raised once more to the halls of the divine, to rule the southern lands from a Heavenly Throne..."
- —Extract from the Bellona Myrmidia (Reman edition), sacred book of the followers of the goddess of war, translated by Professor Heinrich Grüberhaus of the University of Altdorf[7a]
Long ago, at the dawn of Human civilisation, legends claim Myrmidia once walked among mortal Men as an embodied goddess.[1c][7a]
She proved to be benevolent towards the people of the city of Tylos, helping its king Tyleus to erect its walls, and so it was deftly done. Yet Tyleus was unsatisfied, for the cities of the Elves were greater, and so he bid his tribe to raise a white tower to the heavens. But Myrmidia scorned his pride and abandoned the city, and it fell to rapacious vermin, and therein fetid ground now lies, neglected and abused.[7a]
Yet some tales tell that she came back to aid the people of the southern realms of the Old World on different occasions. Two of these are extremely similar in their particulars, even though they must have happened millennia apart.[12a][13a]
In -1017 IC, the Vampire Lord W'soran, known in the south as "Nourgul the Wamphyro," was killed by Abhorash in the Temple of Myrmidia of Magritta disguised as a member of the long-forgotten order of the Myrmidons. How W'soran managed to survive, and why he attacked the south of the Old World and Araby under the name of one of his old allies remains a mystery.[13a]
Yet in 1750 IC the ancient Nourgul waged war again on the petty kingdoms of Estalia, razing all the land between the Irrana Mountains and the Southern Sea in what the Estalians call the War of Blood. Wherever he conquered, he gathered grimoires and artefacts, from the pettiest trinkets to the most potent tomes. His ultimate aim was to possess the Tome of Wisdom, which was kept in the city of Magritta.[12a]
Nourgul's army laid siege to the city for a month, at the end of which the defenders fell strangely silent. Victorious, Nourgul flew into the city on his steed, a gigantic Vampire Bat, and entered the temple of Myrmidia where the Tome of Wisdom was housed. It was in that temple, beside the book he so prized, that his burnt ashes were found. No one has ever explained this turn of events,[12a] but some say the goddess Myrmidia appeared and personally destroyed the Vampire, reducing him to ash with her divine light.[14a][Note 1]
Myrmidia the Mortal[]
"I deny the minor thus: Myrmidia was a god before she was a mortal. It is clear from verified Tilean and Estalian texts that Myrmidia chose to become mortal. Further, I offer evidence from the Universities of Altdorf and Nuln, where many old Oghams have been translated that refer to an Eagle Goddess known in the Reik before Sigmar was born, long before Myrmidia walked as a mortal."
- —from the 11th Letter of Professor Hans Pfaff of the University of Altdorf to the Kingdom of Bretonnia.[1e]
"They say she walked with them, taught them to use a spear, showed them great art, learning, truth, honour -- she sounds like an Elf to me."
Myrmidia is reported by some sacred texts to once have walked the earth clad in mortal flesh. She is a goddess from the Classical age of ancient Tilea, depicted as the daughter of Verena and Morr, and is said to have been given to mortal parents as a child. At this point she was, like her sister Shallya, a pacifist. Sacred texts claim that when Myrmidia, as a mortal woman, was born, her parents died early and she had to live with her aunt and uncle. Both treated her poorly and forced her to work from dawn till dusk. Eventually, they sold her off to a local lord, under whom she suffered many indignities before killing him with a ceremonial spear.[1c]
Myrmidia would allegedly grow into a warrior maiden and rally the people of the southern Old World against all enemies.[1] Tileans claim she was born in Remas and conquered Estalia, while the Estalians claim she was born in Magritta and conquered Tilea. Regardless of which version is true, she united the southern civilisations.[1b] The day she was crowned queen of the southern realms, however, she was assassinated. When Myrmidia lay dying from her wounds, she ordered a great ship be built, and, it is said, sailed west upon it, there to return to her home amongst the gods, known now, and forever after, as a goddess of war.[1b]
The similarity between Myrmidia and the rise of Sigmar sparked heavy religious controversy in the Empire. The southern people claimed that Myrmidia, in contrast to Sigmar, had always been a god that had chosen to incarnate herself in the mortal world to better know the ways of Men, in contrast to Sigmar who was born as a man and later ascended to godhood during his life. Heresies appeared that claimed that Sigmar had been a god as well before and was actually the son of Ulric. The Cult of Sigmar tried to quell these stories, but they proved a popular myth.[1b]
While Imperial records seem to imply that the woman named Myrmidia appeared after the formation of the Empire,[1b] other sources seem to imply that Myrmidia as a warrior-goddess was worshipped already in pre-Imperial times around Magritta, her temples protected by an order known as Myrmidons. The Bellona Myrmidia claims that she guided the founding father of Tilean civilisation, Tyleus, in the founding of a great city and that she abandoned him when the people began to erect a large edifice in pointless toil.[1d] Others believe that multiple local gods, such as an Eagle Goddess that was even worshipped as far north as the River Reik,[1e] and Margileo, the Guardian of Honor, have been folded into one goddess and that the mortal conqueror has similarly been absorbed into that same figure.[1f]
Some scholars suppose that Cailledh, the goddess of rage and battle worshipped in the Old Faith, may have been a predecessor to Myrmidia. Small statues of this warrior woman are occasionally found in barrows and other ancient sites scattered around the Old World.[8a]
Another story written in the Bellona Myrmidia's "Book of Transgressions" tells the tale of the Dark Maiden, a woman rescued by Myrmidia who, in thanks, warned the goddess of an ambush that lay ahead. Myrmidia sent her forces to flank the ambushers, and the resulting battle, the Massacre of the Three Gorges, proved to be the turning point in Myrmidia's campaign. The Dark Maiden then left for the mountains, there to live the life of "a stranger in a very strange land," and vanished from Myrmidian records.[1g]
The Dark Maiden receives only seven definite mentions in the Bellona Myrmidia, but this has been enough for her to have a far-reaching impact upon the Myrmidian Cult. Three Imperial knightly orders revere her as their patron, and two monastic orders have sworn to follow her reclusive ways. One such is the Hermitic Order of Nahmud's Peace, or the Leoricans as they are more commonly known.[1g]
Gaelen's Legacy[]
Tinea was an ancient city in the western Border Princes, not far from the border of present-day Tilea. It was there, millennia ago, that Myrmidia discovered ancient texts penned by the Elf scholar Gaelen. She was intrigued by the complexity of the anatomical drawings found within, so passed them on to the cult of her mother, Verena.[6a]
Over 2,000 years later, Gaelen's Anatomy is a primary medical textbook of the Empire, celebrated by the Tinean Fellowship.[6a]
Appearance[]
Statues of Myrmidia portray her as a woman in the prime of youth, standing tall, head held high, clad in the traditional panoply of Classical Remas, a plumed helm and muscled cuirass of bronze. She leans on a spear and bears a shield emblazoned with an eagle, which features heavily in the Cult of Myrmidia -- a symbol of her keen insight and broad view in battle, an animal some legend says she can transform into.[5a][7a]
Myrmidia is also often associated with lions, and one of these animals often rests at her feet, showing how she can subdue even the strongest foe with her feats of arms. A stylised lion head with a giant mane looks quite similar to her sun symbol, often depicted with a female face smiling benevolently upon it. She is known for her calm, honourable approach to all matters and her clerics do what they can to emulate this.[5a][7a]
Tileans believe that Myrmidia was taught by her mother how to mark time by observing the heavens, which was why she installed a lunar calendar as her realm's dating system when she united all of Tilea and Estalia.[1i]
When still mortal, Myrmidia often consulted the seers of the Cult of Morr, as she valued the prophetic advice of her distant father. Today, Myrmidia's faithful continue this practise, and Augurs of Morr can often be found accompanying Tilean and Estalian armies. But Myrmidia's cult also has its own oracles: The Blessed Order of True Insight.[1h]
Estalians say that Myrmidia might wage war with eagles, but that she spoke through crows, the cleverest of the clever birds. And also more readily found on battlefields.[4b]
Myrmidia in often portrayed in the art of the Old World in her three aspects or archetypes as goddess of war and strategy: the "Ideal Captain," the "Mistress of the Battlefield" and the "Resolute Warrior."[10a]
Wargear[]
- Spear of Righteousness[7a]
- Shield of Honour[7a]
Notes[]
- Note 1:Warhammer: The Old World Rulebook doesn't specify on which occasion Myrmidia was able to save the city of Magritta from the assault of the Necrarch Vampire Lord Nourgul, but the events of 1750 IC are the only ones without a proper explanation.
Connection to Abhorash[]
It is strongly implied in the lore of Warhammer that there is a connection between Mymridia and the Vampire Lord of the Blood Dragons bloodline known as Abhorash. Before being slain by him during the sack of the Estalian city of Magritta, a confused W'soran, the Vampire Lord and founder of the Necrarch bloodline, asked Abhorash why he was doing this.[13a]
The Vampire knight looked up at the statue of the goddess Myrmidia with a wistful and sad expression and answered that he was "repaying a debt." Then, he tossed his spear up, caught it easily and sent it hurtling, point-first, towards W'soran's heart.[13a]
Trivia[]
Myrmidia is inspired by the Roman goddess of war Bellona and the Greek deities Athena and Aphrodite, the goddesses of wisdom and beauty, respectively, in the Tilean/Estalian variants of the Cult of Myrmidia.
Her name is based on the Myrmidons, the legendary Greek tribe to which the heroes Achilles and Patroclus are said to have belonged. The name is derived from the word for "ant," owing to the Myrmidons' organisation and prowess in battle and mythological origin as a nest of ants who were given human form by the gods.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Salvation (RPG)
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War (5th Edition)
- 2a: pg. 82
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition: Tome of Blessings - A Guide to Priests & Religion (RPG)
- 3a: pg. 12
- 4: Knight of the Blazing Sun (Novel) by Joshua Reynolds
- 5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Rulebook (RPG)
- 5a: pg. 207
- 6: 'Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: A Guide to Ubersreik (RPG)
- 6a: pp. 60-61
- 7: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Up in Arms (RPG)
- 7a: pp. 61-65
- 8: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Archives of the Empire Vol. III (RPG)
- 8a: pg. 56
- 9: Total War: Warhammer (PC Game)
- 10: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Marienburg: Sold Down the River (RPG)
- 10a: pg. 99
- 11: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Career Compendium (RPG)
- 11a: pg. 124
- 12: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Night's Dark Masters (RPG)
- 12a: pg. 12
- 13: Master of Death (Novel) by Josh Reynolds
- 13a: ch. 13
- 14: Warhammer: The Old World Rulebook (Specialist Game)
- 14a: pg. 55