The Fall of Miragliano

Attention, Empire Citizens! This article or this section of the article contains information regarding the Storm of Chaos campaign and its aftermath, which is now considered a non-canon, alternate timeline.

This is the report of the Case of Miragliano in 2522 IC written by the court clerk, Bernado de Noli. It tells the fall of the city of Miragliano against a Skaven invasion, and of Prince Lorenzo of Miragliano ruler of the city that was at the times of the event on a campaign with the other alliance cities of Tileas against Remas.^[1]

Day 3, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, I have received encouraging news concerning the Alliance campaign against Remas. Here in Miragliano, we all know that the troops under your command make up the best part of the Alliance army and enjoy fame and fortune in our city. As ordered, I am writing this diary in which I collect the most important events that have occurred in Miragliano since your mercy left so that you can read it when you return victorious.

To this day, matters have been the usual and have not required Umberto's advice or my own. Young Prince Giuliano of Miragliano has made his own decisions without the need for it. I have to tell you that it reminds me a lot of your most illustrious at the beginning of your enlightened reign, it seems that so much time has passed since then. Today disturbing news has reached us at court. Border patrols have reported an increase in skaven activity in the Marshes. Villages have been mercilessly attacked and destroyed. Ratmen had never been so bold and I wonder what could have stirred them up so much.

Perhaps Nosmaldus' prophecies are being fulfilled as some doomsday prophets preach his word among the people. Regardless, I refuse to accept the possibility of the gods leaving the world in the hands of the Powers of Darkness.

Umberto advised the prince to send three squadrons of cavalry to deal with this threat. We also put the Sewer Guard on alert, as the number of rats in the city had increased enormously in recent months. We are thinking of organizing a clean-up operation of the entire city sewer before their number grows too large. I sincerely hope it's nothing serious; I'm old enough to remember the last large-scale assault by the Skaven, and I still have nightmares about it. May Verena protect us!

Day 9, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, we have received many reports of skirmishes between our cavalry and the Skaven. This disturbing news has come to us from a constant flood of refugees leaving the countryside in the west and coming to the capital in search of shelter. We are setting up a camp outside the city walls so that they can settle there. The doors remain closed and the orders say to be quarantined. The sewer cleaning operation is in progress.

Day 13, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, the plague has struck us! Since yesterday, the cruelest infection has spread through the poorest areas of the city. The camp outside the city walls is full of plague-infested men and some of them have managed to slip into the city with the help of their relatives in the face of rumors about the plague. ' The operation to eradicate vermin from the city appears to have been a success, although the Sewer Guard has reported large numbers of incidents in which entire groups have disappeared or had to withdraw due to attack by thousands of rats.that seemed to be driven by a superior intelligence. Some of the injured guards have shown symptoms of contagion. The disease causes high fevers and delirium, although it is rarely fatal to adult men and we raise our prayers of thanks to Shallya. Many nobles have left the city with their closest followers in an attempt to avoid contagion and seeking the relative tranquility of their country villas.

Day 17, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, the city of Tramaglino has fallen to the Skaven! The few survivors who made it to Miragliano tell stories about a huge horde made up of ratmen. We have summoned all the border troops, who are currently preparing for a siege. Messengers have been sent for help to Pavona and to the Alliance army in which your mercy is found. God grant they arrive before it is too late! The pestilence continues.

Day 23, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, the Skaven army has surrounded the city and their troops number in the thousands. They prevent any kind of help. Vermin attacked at night. Thousands of them razed the now empty camp outside the city and began filling the moat with trees, dirt, and all manner of debris from our ravaged lands. Our cannons and crossbows have made them pay the price of blood for their night raid, but their leaders seem not to care in the least for their casualties, as if they intentionally placed the corpses of their warriors in the pit to serve as filler material. Now on this gray day, they have positioned themselves just beyond the reach of our weapons in preparation for another night of bloody work.

Ominous noises and unnatural green lights fill the air surrounding the camp.

Day 24, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, on another night of frenzied activity and death, the pit has been filled at several points. The attack will come soon. The young Prince Giuliano has been an inspiring presence for his troops as he toured the city walls all night leading artillery fire and cheering on the crossbowmen. I am proud of their behavior. Throughout the day, we could hear an eerie sound in the distance, heading west. It sounds like the tolling of bells, but this bell doesn't exactly seem like a herald of joy, and it rings out like an icy menace.

Day 25, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, as I predicted, the attack took place tonight. Hordes of mangy ratmen, armed with ladders, rushed over the city walls. The walls and their defenses designed by Leonardo and Borgio have been the cause of countless Skaven deaths. In a crossfire, a barrage of crossbows, shrapnel and cannonballs has destroyed them while our men threw stones and kettles of boiling oil and tar that burned them alive.

However, they continue to attack. The combination of their feverish ferocity and their sheer numbers allows some of them to reach the battlements and then face the city guard, led by your son, who makes them know the taste of steel. Guards repel breaks the Skaven annihilating hundreds and suffering, in contrast, very few casualties. With shouts of victory they celebrated the retreat of the enemy at dawn. Our joy was immense, but our sorrow was greater when daylight revealed that the number of enemies had not diminished despite the bloody carnage of the previous night. Furthermore, the bell tolls kept echoing, getting louder and closer.

Umbero has analyzed the attack and, in confidence, has told me that he believes that it was only done to test our defenses and that, in addition, it was executed by the worst Skaven troops. The fact that they were not supported by his infamous war machines supports Umberto's theory. I am very afraid that this has only been the beginning.

Day 26, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, once again, the arrival of night does not allow us to rest, for at that time the ratmen become more active. The constant vigils at night, the effects of the pestilence, the large number of rats slipping through the streets and the omnipresent ringing of bells undermine the morale of our troops and the population.

In spite of everything, we have reserves of food and ammunition and we still hope that the messengers have been able to cross the enemy lines and appear at any moment with outside help.

Day 27, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, the Skaven are in the inner city! Last night we were attacked by appearing from the sewers and canals. At first, they were just a few elite infiltrators, clad in black and equipped with deadly poison weapons. They raided our water tanks and barns and burned and poisoned everything in their path. Our troops managed to drive them back underground. The Sewer Guard and many volunteers pursued them to discover the point where they had managed to breach our sewer system and to try to seal the entrance with explosives, so that the battle continued under the city floor. But it was a trap!

Our men were attacked in the dark tunnels by hundreds of ratmen and, according to some fragmented reports that have reached us, this time the Skaven made extensive use of their diabolical sorcery. Thick green smoke appeared in the sewers, releasing vapors that were lethal by inhalation and even by mere contact with the skin and eyes.

Our men were annihilated in those stinking tunnels and the Skaven reappeared once again on the city streets. This time they were better warriors than those who had attacked the walls and they were better equipped: they were armed ratmen accompanied by gigantic monsters and huge and ferocious rats that in a short time invaded the entire city. In addition, they carried machines that fired green fire and other horrible weapons built by those diabolical wizards who were also there, in front of the ratmen, and they crushed our troops with their terrible powers.

From the main balcony of the citadel I can see how the city burns with flames while I hear the screams of dying men and I can perceive the stench of death enveloping our city like a shroud.

Attacks on the walls resumed and our troops were unable to abandon their positions to help fight in the streets. This is not a foolish assault, but a well-coordinated plan that undoubtedly demonstrates the cunning of our enemies.

This time the troops carrying the ladders and grapples advanced under the covering fire provided by their long-barreled arquebuses that fired at our men with total impunity thanks to the cover of their short pavise. I would never have imagined that their number was so immense. May God protect us!

Three strange platforms carrying huge bells were pushed from within the ratman lines and atop each one could be seen a skaven sorcerer shouting loudly in his horrible language. The bells began to ring and I immediately recognized the horrible sound I had been hearing for so many days. Only this time the sound was infinitely louder and more powerful in its devilish strength. Soon, the vibrations reached an unbearable level that forced many men to bend down trying to cover their bleeding ears, others took to the scorched streets running in panic. Finally, the muzzles of the cannons began to vibrate in unison with the sound of those bells and, at that moment, the walls cracked and huge gaps opened in them, even in the highest parts of the walls, which could support! direct hit from a cannon shell!

The young Prince ordered the artillery to open fire on those evils with all the cannons available that had not been damaged due to the effect of the vibrations. Many of the cannon shells simply bounced off those unholy bells and made them ring even louder if that was possible. At last a projectile seemed to find its target and one of the bells exploded. A sigh of relief rang out from our men, but immediately afterward an entire section of the wall collapsed as a result of the horrible cacophony. With a hideous howl, the skaven rushed into the breach. Now everything is in chaos and the battle continues inside the walls.

Day 29, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, Miragliano has been lost. The young prince Giuliano, with what little remains of our army has retired to the citadel. Umberto has sacrificed his life in a noble attempt to resist in the main square to give time for more men to retreat to the citadel. I pray for his soul and that of those brave warriors. The gate is closed and the outside of the city is burning. The cursed Skaven are wiping out hundreds of people. They have killed the old, the sick, the wounded, and they have taken women and children. I don't even want to imagine the horrible fates that await them. Our beautiful city is being searched and looted by these demonic creatures and what cannot be looted is turned to ashes. They don't fight to conquer, they fight to destroy!

There is nothing we can do except pray for help. Have the gods abandoned us?

Day 30, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, last night the Skaven re-emerged from the sewers and entered the deepest dungeons of the citadel, near the tinderbox. It could have meant our end if it weren't for Sergeant Micco Pietra, who was on watch. He ordered the guard who was with him, a young soldier, to run upstairs to raise the alarm as he entered the room with a torch in hand, what followed was a true act of heroism that deserves to be remembered! The tinderbox exploded amid a massive roar that shook the foundations of the entire citadel and buried the skaven under the collapsed ground, eliminating the possibility of further attacks from underground for some time.

He saved us, but now, without a magazine, our guns will only have enough ammunition to fire a few shots. The looting of the city continues, the citadel is totally surrounded by a dense fog that rises from the ruins. But, not content with burning it all, the ratmen are now tearing down most of the stone buildings and outer walls. Despair floods our hearts as the tolling of the bells continues.

Day 31, Brumoso, 2522 IC

My dear Prince, the Skaven army has formed a huge circle around the citadel today, bombarding us with everything within its reach. The defensive magic on the walls has not protected from the worst and its projectiles and spells have not dealt us much damage. We fired our last projectiles and have already depleted our reserves of gunpowder and crossbow pivots; We can only wait to see what happens.

My dear Prince, the end has come! We watched helplessly as the enemy sent another new monstrosity in the direction of the citadel gate. It looked like a cannon, but on its back there was a kind of magic stone of a diabolical nature that is suspended between strange mechanisms that I cannot understand. The cannon-pushing creatures stopped about two hundred yards from the gate as the skaven lines parted to let him pass and the ratman archers lowered their bows for a creature that appeared to be the general of the vermin horde to pass. A massive skaven, outfitted in flamboyant armor and covered from head to toe by all manner of weapons and strange contraptions, advancedsolemnly towards the weapon as a flash of light played around his body. Behind him came a dozen more similarly equipped Skaven (they were probably more sorcerers, albeit of lower status). They took up positions around the cannon in a semicircle and facing the gate.

The Skaven leader raised his normal hand (the other was some kind of hideous arm-like mechanism) toward the gun's side controls and the mechanism began to hum in a monotone. The chief sorcerer moved to the center of the semicircle and one of his subordinates replaced him with the weapon. At a command from its leader, the Skaven pushed a large crank and the weapon emitted a small beam of green light that slammed into the citadel gate. All the skaven got, however, was a dense cloud of smoke as the runes engraved by the Dwarves on the citadel gate began to burn bright red, defying the evil magic of the ratmen.

Expressions of glee crossed the faces of our men in the citadel, greatly irritating the leader of the Skaven, as he strode out of position, headed for the weapon, pushing the lower-ranked sorcerer with all his might. Its massive claw tore at the Skaven's chest, and he fell into a pool of his own blood. The cruelty of these creatures never ceases to amaze me. So the general spent some time with the gun controls and eventually returned to the circle and ordered another wizard to shoot. Amid a tense silence, the creature lowered the lever again, and this time the devilish machine worked too well. A bolt of blinding light erupted from the barrel of the weapon and struck the door like thunder. The machine continued to fire one beam after another and, before long,

The Skaven leader and the rest of the sorcerers began chanting as another bolt of green light erupted from their elongated weapons, converging on the strange gem that powered the weapon, spinning at blistering speed as the power increased. The barrel of the weapon was now white from the temperature, but, unfortunately, the door was in the same state and, suddenly, one of the engraved runes disappeared, since its powers had been exhausted by the incessant assault. Immediately afterwards, the remaining runes vanished and the gate began to melt until, in no time, it became a pool of liquid metal: the way into the citadel was open and the skaven leader ordered the final assault.

I can hear the clamor of the contest in the lower rooms of the tower where we are. They're coming this way, and in no time, everything will be over. The young prince Giuliano is ready to die wielding his sword. Forgive me if you can, my dear prince, for I have failed in my duty to protect him and the city in your absence. Soon I will receive the last sanction for my failure. I will hide this book somewhere safe, in the fireplace, in the hope that it will reach your hands intact. May the gods have mercy on our souls!

Your devoted servant

Bernardo da Noli.

Finale

Two days later, Prince Lorenzo arrived at the ruins of Miragliano at the head of his army. All that remained of what was once the lofty city were the ruins of the citadel. The prince found there the head of Bernardo da Noli skewered on a pike in front of the door. No body could be recovered, only some burned bones, and there was no trace of the young prince Giuliano. It is said that, maddened by grief, Prince Lorenzo wept tears of blood cursing the silent sky.

The mercenaries, who made up most of his army, abandoned him when they saw that the prince had no money to pay them. The members of the other cities of the Alliance. terrified by what they had witnessed, they returned home to defend their own territories. They offered help to the desperate prince, but he refused. With the few soldiers at his disposal he launched into a frantic pursuit after the Skaven who. laden with treasures and slaves. they retreated back to the Blighted Marshes. The Prince and his followers reached the Skaven rear on the outskirts of the Marshes and, though outnumbered, charged. Nothing could stop the Prince's feverish madness: the Skaven were intercepted and mercilessly annihilated, but the main force of the Skaven army had already disappeared into the marshes.

Without stopping. Prince Lorenzo advanced through the Blighted Marshes, calling his lost son by name. The perennial mists that cover those damned swamps closed behind him like a heavy curtain, thus marking the departure of the House of Miragliano from the scene of Tilean history.

Aftermath

The disgraced former Imperial Count Leopold von Stroheim - once an aspirant to the lordship of the fledgeling province of Neuland on the island of Albion - led the remnants of the defeated force through the Blighted Marshes until cornered and destroyed by a force led by Warlord Quickpaw and Grey Seer Squelch. After the invasion Skaven are already plotting new attacks against the weakened Empire.^[2]

The Last Battle

The rain seemed to be in keeping with the atmosphere of that day, which was to be the last of his life. Dawn shed a fading light on the Sick Marsh and Leopold von Stroheim, former general of Emperor Karl Franz, knew well that dreams of conquest were over for him. He no longer considered himself an Elector Count : now he was just a swordsman for hire. This was what Lord Ravenbrandt had made him see when he used his influence at court to bring him back from the newly created province of Neuland, in Albion.. Since then, his luck on political issues had plummeted. He was no longer welcome in the court of the Second House of Wilhelm, and both his friends and allies had vanished like the morning mist. Finally, he was going to finish his career in those desolate marshes under the rainwater.^[2]

He stopped to take a drink from his canteen and basked in the burning heat of the Tilean brandy that was burning his throat. It was early to start drinking, but after hearing the news from the scouts, he knew the liquor would be ruined if he didn't drink it now. The few men he had managed to save from Prince Lorenzo's army after the Miragliano disaster huddled trembling around the crackling fires, nervously glancing at the horizon. Fewer than a hundred had survived the battles that followed the fall of the city, and the ratmen had pursued them ever since, all the way to this wasteland at the edge of the Sick Marsh. The warrior prieststhey passed among the other soldiers offering prayers and listening to confessions. Even they were aware that they were lost.^[2]

Suddenly there was a cry from the pickets, so he capped his canteen and hurried over to his armored mount. Leopolf climbed into the saddle and galloped to meet his personal guard of white wolf knights. His horse's ears were pressed tight against his skull in fear, and he understood that perfectly. Until recently, he hadn't even come to believe in the existence of rat creatures; maybe the Mad Baron of Averlandhe wasn't so crazy after all. His throat was dry and he took another swallow of brandy, after which he passed the canteen to the knights as he watched the enemy emerge from the unhealthy mist ahead of them. Ragged banners waved above a sea of ​​hairy, mangy fur that stretched as far as the eye could see. By Sigmar, do they never end? The foul odor of those creatures reached him, as did their monstrous screeches. Suddenly, he felt a chill down his spine caused by the dark ringing of a bell that only heralded destruction. Leopold drew his sword and shouted: "Men of the Empire!Today we face death, but we are brave men and even if they take our lives, they will never defeat us! Go ahead!.^[2]

Leopold von Stroheim spurred his horse and charged in front of his army, the last charge of his life.^[2]

Trivia

• The fall of Miragliano is an article interpreted and written by the scribe Alessio Cavatore on White Dwarf Issue 83.
• Is interesting to note that on both story arc, during the events of Storm of Chaos and The End Times, Tilea and therefore also Miragliano fell exactly in the year reported in the article (2522 IC), if this is coincidental, or a voluntary decision by the authors remains unknown.

Sources

• 1: White Dwarf - Issue 83.
• 2: White Dwarf - Issue 84.