The emperor's advisors had told him that in the north the Winds of Magic blow strong once more, and dark omens abounded of a terrible storm that would engulf the world in war. Ever since the Great War Against Chaos in 2301 IC, the number of Beastmen and Chaos cults had steadily increased over time. The emperor decided that a show of military force could only strengthen his position as the new emperor, and so he began a military campaign to clear the wilderness of enemy threats.

Īfter ascending to the Imperial throne, Karl Franz wished to prove to his beloved subjects that he was not a man of decadence or greed, but a man that would lead his people in their darkest of times. Luitpold I died in his sleep in 2502 IC and in a close vote of the Elector Counts, Luitpold's son was elected to replace him, and was crowned Emperor Karl-Franz I in the High Temple of Sigmar in Altdorf. Karl Franz takes the fight to the Beastmen astride his Griffon mount Deathclaw. Just when it looked as if the emperor and his son were about to fall to a Minotaur's axe, Wood Elves burst out of the forest and came mysteriously to their rescue, cutting the Beastmen down in a hail of arrows, before vanishing back into the trees. The Reiksguard bravely defended their lord, but they were butchered by a trio of Ghorgons. In 2470 IC Emperor Luitpold I and his infant son, Karl Franz, were ambushed in the Reikwald Forest by Beastmen. ' Will you not die for your Empire? Will you not fight for your families? Sally forth then, into the jaws of death and cry havoc this day, that you may live within the annals of history.' The emperor frequently took personal command of his troops, wielding Ghal Maraz, the fabled magical warhammer given to Sigmar himself by the Dwarf High King Kurgan Ironbeard over two thousand five hundred years ago, or his Runefang sword, and riding atop Deathclaw, his Griffon mount of many years, alongside his second-in-command and personal friend Reiksmarshal Kurt Helborg. Thanks to his tireless efforts on behalf of his people, the Empire flourished during his reign as never before: the Imperial School of Engineers in Altdorf grew, the Colleges of Magic thrived and his armies marched from victory to victory. Patriarch and head of House Holswig-Schliestein, Karl Franz, who was elected to the Imperial throne in 2502 IC, followed in his father Luitpold I's footsteps, and was hailed as a patron of the arts and sciences, as a military innovator and as a valiant general.

Karl Franz, also spelled Karl-Franz, formally Emperor Karl Franz I Holswig-Schliestein, bearer of the titles ' Protector of the Empire,' ' Defier of the Dark,' ' Sigmar's Heir,' ' Emperor of the South,' ' Emperor Himself,' and ' Son of Emperors,' is the current Emperor of the Empire of Man, the Elector Count of Reikland, the Prince of Altdorf and the greatest statesman and general the Empire and perhaps the entire Old World has seen in many centuries.

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