"Makaisson wanted to call this ship the Unstoppable...but for some reason my uncle wouldn’t let him."
- —Varek Varigsson, of Clan Grimnar[1]
The Spirit of Grungni airship created by the Slayer engineer Malakai Makaisson confronts a Dragon.
The Spirit of Grungni is a Dwarf Thunderbarge-type airship created by the infamous Slayer engineer Malakai Makaisson. The Spirit of Grungni and its crew have been on many adventures, and it has famously carried the adventurers Gotrek and Felix as well as Ulrika Magdova and Snorri Nosebiter on board. [1]
According to Malakai, the Spirit of Grungni is the second airship to have been built, as the first airship he constructed, the Undestructible, catastrophically exploded on its maiden voyage.[1]
Borek the Scholar, uncle of Varek, forbade Malakai from naming his new airship the Unstoppable because of what happened to his last two creations. In a twist of terrible luck and great irony, the Ironclad Unsinkable sank on its maiden voyage, and his first airship, the Undestructible, exploded magnificently.[1]
History[]
The airship Spirit of Grungni was created sometime after the invasion of Nuln by the Skaven, and was located somewhere near Nuln in the Wissenland. During its construction, a force of Skaven attacked the Lonely Tower, a fortified base from which dozens of Dwarf engineers and alchemists laboured. After beating back the vermin, the airship lifted off and headed straight towards the grand Imperial city of Middenheim, where it landed on the massive city-square right in front the Temple of Ulric.[1]
The Spirit of Grungni airship as depicted in Total War: Warhammer III.[2]
After gathering supplies the airship lifted off once more, reaching a fort located within Kislev's northern frontiers, just before the towering peaks which mark the boundary of the Chaos Wastes. This was the last pit-stop for the crew before they finally made their journey towards the Chaos Wastes, looking for the legendary hold of Karag Dum. The unnatural landscape of the Chaos Wastes would've made this venture impossible and downright suicidal, but flying by air has allowed the expedition to not only avoid the hostile landscape of the Chaos Wastes, but also the endless nameless creatures which prey upon each other within it.[1]
As such, the worst the airship faced were the occasional lone Harpy or Chaos Fury and the Warpstorms which ravage the skies. However, due to powerful runic protections, the airship was left untouched by the magical storm. After some time, the airship was followed by a small trail of Chaos Warriors, until finally the airship came upon a literal river of them all converging upon the hold of Karag Dum. The city appears as if besieged, with four massive warcamps all encamped around it. Each camp is dedicated to one of the Chaos Gods.[1]
Layout[]
The Spirit of Grungi is a truly massive warship, able to house a contingent of Dwarf warriors, engineers and navigators onboard. Its air-balloons are painted in the image of a mighty Dragon, inside of which is thousands of smaller balloons filled with light-than-air gas, known as liftgas cells.[1a]
The airship has components that mimic the Ironclads of Barak Varr. Some of the controls resembled those of an ocean-going ship. There was an enormous steering wheel which looked rather like a cartwheel, except that it had handgrips around the rim at strategic intervals to allow the pilot a comfortable grip. Felix Jaeger imagined that by swinging the wheel the pilot could alter the direction of the aircraft.[1a]
Beside the wheel were set a group of levers and a square metal box bearing all manner of strange and alarming gauges. Unlike with an ocean-going ship, the pilot stood at the bow of the craft behind a shield of glass so that he could see where he was going. The airship is armed with portholes and emplaced turrets, from which batteries of cannons similar to organ guns are placed. Crow's nests are also placed on either end of the airship's gondola.[1a]
Sources[]
- 1: Gotrek and Felix: Daemonslayer (Novel)
- 1a: Ch. 6: "Departure"
- 2: Total War Blog - Thrones of Decay: Introducing Malakai Makaisson