Of Dark Waters
The Raven
Ravens have long been understood to be messengers, able to move between the material world and the realms of aether – inhabited by spirits, gods and more sinister beings.
The raven is a prominent symbol in the religions of many cultures – though whether of good or evil varies. Whether a blessing or a curse, the coming of a raven is always auspicious.
The Dark Waters
Legends of The Dark Waters are as old as the world, scrying pools in which the worthy can see glimpses of possible futures. Such pools sometimes occur naturally in areas saturated by Dark Magic and that has led many to mistrust and fear them. For many cultures, however, they are a central focus of their religion and are guarded by strange, often mutated wardens.
The most powerful waters are not found in nature, however. They were created by the gods before even the Eldar walked the earth – some say they were used to shape reality itself. To gaze into such waters is to lose one’s mind.
The Temple of Han'to
Built into natural rock, the ancient Temple of Han’To predates human civilisation and the secrets of its origins are lost even to the elder races. What few know is that at its heart stands a dais, upon which resides a font of Dark Waters – thought to be the last of its kind.
Which god created the waters (and for what purpose) remains a mystery and the language carved into the temple’s walls has defied all attempts to translate it. The carved reliefs, however, paint a terrible picture of doom befalling the world and reveal a number of signs that will precede it…all of which have now come to pass.
The World of A Middlehammer Tale
We aim to make A Middlehammer Tale as accessible as possible, with people able to participate regardless of the army they collect or the game they play.
However, for our narrative to have a solid grounding we decided to create a world of our own in which to set our tale. The themes and stories we present should be widely applicable and participants can use as much or as little of our setting as they like in their own projects.
Why not explore the setting for yourself?