Fantome Designs and Musings…
Not all of the forces of Order come are heralded with the flash of thunder or the smell of salt water.
Throughout the realms the screech of steam engines and the smell of black powder herald the Iron Weld.
Noble engineers stride on mechanical wonders alongside the laborers upon whose backs their empire has been built.
It is through their industry and ingenuity that the free cities defences are produced, and it is through their architectural advancements that they rise.
Unlike the Hosts of Sigmar or the Children of Alarielle, the Ironweld fight not on the promise of rebirth or life eternal, nor rest in gilded promised land.
Yet despite the myriad of creatures lurking in the shadows, ever hungry for the souls of mortal men, they march ever onwards.
No loss of limb, nor fear of death could hinder their steps, and even in their most mortal hour all can return to the great furnace, stoking the beating heart of the Weld
All Born to the Weld know that even if they were to fall, they would do so lifting the Nobility ever higher to stand amongst titans and gods.
For it is through their artifice that they become legend.
Through Sacrifice, Progress.
We Give it all for the Weld, and Nothing Less.
Fanmade Ironweld Arsenal Battletome:
Like many others since the inception of Age of Sigmar I have been waiting to see how the normal men and women of the Realms come to be represented, from the citizens of Azyr to the settlers who go on to form Freecities and the refugees trailing in a never ending stream back towards the Golden city as the tides of chaos, death and destruction ravage the Realmscape around them.
To my mind humanity, that is to say those who aren’t enhanced by divinity or some other kind of beyond human paladins, give context to the setting beyond the simple wars that rage. It is through the filter of their humanity that we can see the horrors and wonders that roam the mortal realms, and from the scale that they provide we can understand the size, stature and potency of the varied monstrosities we might witness. As I wasnt a fantasy player before Age of Sigmar became a thing i had no pre-existing loyalties to the factions of old, no fond memories of Empire and Brettonians to niggle at the back of my mind when imagining the shapings of the armies of Man to come in the later Age of Sigmar lore.
One of the most interesting elements to me was the seperation of the Ironweld Arsenal, a faction comprised of the heavy artillery and siege engines of old accompanies by engineers and the potential this could open up in terms of how the faction would grow, expand and become a unique force on the battlefields of Sigmar. The concept of soot drenched, smoke belching armies chewing their way through the battlefield, a vertiable force of the industry of man that held little reverance to the will of Gods and Daemons, who trusted in the strength of their own steel and heat of the flames of the furnace.
Faction Preamble…
The Ironweld Arsenal are unlike many other factions born of the Mortal Realms, united not of one race but of a common purpose, the industry of war in Realms ever savaged by onslaught. Led by the knights and templars of their Noble houses the armies of labourers bear with them artillery the likes of which the armies of the realms could barely imagine, mortal men and women elevated not by deity but innovation and ingenuity.
Born of what was once simply a small complex in the ever-sprawling expanse of Azyrheim the Ironweld Arsenal have existed in some guise or another since the cities of Sigmar were founded, they were tasked with the design and manufacture of the weapons lining golden walls of the capitol. In the centuries that have followed as the empires of Order have expanded out across the realms so too have the arms caravans of the Ironweld, with every new city births a new factory complex, ever expanding to meet the growing need for arms to defend the cities of Sigmar.
In the early days of its inception the finest artisans and craftsmen, engineers and blacksmiths from all corners of the Realms flocked to the workshops of the Weld, with Aelf, Duardin and Man all working together in a near flawless harmony toward the common defence of their peoples. It was however with the discovery and later recovery of Grungi, the finest craftsmen of the Deities, that the ranks of the Weld truly flourished. As the great furnace of Azyrheim was stoked so too was competition between the apprentices to compete for the much-stretched Gods time, once close companions became professional rivals all striving to earn the Master Smiths approval.
In time those seeking out the Forge in Azyrheim were not simply mortals, the primitive cultures of the Realms had birthed many a minor deity. From Bak’tush the Metal serpent of Aqshy through to the Choir of Cogs in the Hyshian mountains many made the long journey to Azyr to petition for the tutelage of Grungi. It was from the finest of these fledgling gods that Grungi formed a pantheon of craftsmen, his veritable Council of Iron that these students might spread throughout the realms, sharing the knowledge that their Master had imparted upon them to those worthy of it.
Throughout the Golden Age of the realms the Ironweld Flourished, without their benevolent deities the great houses of the Weld grew and prospered as their innovations shaped the very world around them. The great clockwork City of Midnight in the Realm of Shadow became a living embodiment of the ingenuity of the Ironweld, the Great Furnace of Chamon produced forged metals in capacities hitherto unseen in the realms able to arm entire companies in the briefest of days, and in Hysh the first great factory city was born, Cor Temporis the Walking city.
It was however as chaos descended upon the Realms, when the tides of war sent all other factions reeling that the Ironweld Arsenal had an unprecedented period of growth. The demand for arms and armour grew hundredfold overnight, every forge complex found themselves inundated with orders for the newest, the strongest and best that could be forged. It was then in this manner that the Ironweld Arsenal truly found their role within the Realms, in one moment they had ascended from simply another faction vying for room within the bustling metropolises of the cities of Order to the beating heart of industry driving progress forward in the face of overwhelming odds.
Unlike many of the newly founded empires during the resurgence of Order within the Realms, the Ironweld are formed not of a single common race nor heritage, instead they are bound together through the industries of war drawing patronage from the length and breadth of every realm. From the Duardin and Men first forming the workshops in the Azyrite Metropolis to the Slag Harvesters of the Chamon plains each brings a unique talent to add to the factories of the weld, a unique method of destruction that they might rebuff the foes of Order with. It is then an odd sight to behold when the nobles of the Ironweld gather in their councils of war, a unique tapestry of cultures true titans of war and industry gathered to ultimately decide the fate of the arsenals of Order.
Now emboldened by the flow of weapons coursing through the Realms the empire of the Ironweld has expanded into titanic Factory city states in the name of their Noble houses, a distinguished sight in a number of Realms each is an artificer construction of the most talented engineers of the age. All the while the envoys of the Ironweld form an ever present voice in the expanding empires of the Freecity integrating themselves into smaller factory districts in these burgeoning metropolis. It is through these two lines of expansion they have managed to secure a network of caravans able to supply the armies of order all the while their cogforts carve out an empire in the name of the Weld.
Now the empire of Steam and Gunpowder stands on the brink of independence, their Empire has grown as war fills their coffers, ready to forge out and join the wars of Gods and Titans.
Artisans of Sigmar 