Lorehammer: Bretonnia, the land, the lie

Bretonnia is renowned as the land of chivalry and shining knights, but is it really? The land was forged together centuries ago by humans fighting back against orcs who inhabited the lands. Eventually the humans united under a king and pushed the greenskins back into the high mountains.

Shining Knights

Bretonnia’s geography keeps it spared from the brunt of most chaos or greenskin attacks. Nestled behind mountains, the lands are relatively free from the paths of Waaaghs or chaos invasions. Bretonnia still suffers from its share of raids from both these threats, but to a lesser extent than Kislev or the Border Princes. Skaven and Chaos Beasts are also active, and the undead are never far beyond the village fences.

Bretonnia’s reputation for martial prowess stems from its readiness to send its troops beyond its borders to fight for others. The Empire is often the beneficiary of this fighting zeal. Bretonnian Knight Errants frequently rally to the cause of fighting against chaos or greenskin invaders.

This zeal is partly explained by the system of knighthood present in the land. For the nobly-born knighthood is not given, but must be won after performing suitable deeds. The most common deed is to drive the greenskins ever further back into the mountains, and take over another sliver of land. Others errands may include fighting against foreign invaders or keeping the mountain passes safe. Once they are deemed to have passed their tests a Knight Errant becomes Knight of the Realm.

Knights Errant are quick to rally to any banner that may win them their knighthood, and past kings of Bretonnia have shrewdly used this to their advantage.

The Quest

Knights of Bretonnia fight to defend their allotted lands, always from the back of a steed, unless they are feeling empathetic towards their peasants. Some knights are too restless for the realm, and these soon leave their posts on a quest to find the Lady of the Lake. She bestows great powers on those knights who find her. These become Grail Knights, the most powerful of the land.

A dark heart

The provinces of Bretonnia are mostly similar – verdant lands dominated by farms and vineyards, with gleaming castles thrusting their towers to the sky. There is one exception to this – the cursed lands around the dread city of Mousillon.

This city has fallen prey to many calamities over the years, usually revolving around the undead. Vampire Counts have ruled the city of many occasions, and Mousillon was once the site of a counter-Crusade as undead forces of Khemri under Settra ravaged the lands. These days the shadows lie heavy around Mousillon and most Knights Errant would rather hold a craggy mountain pass than win lands here.

The lie

The forest of Loren is the principal feature within Bretonnia, part of yet apart from the rest of the land. This is the home of the Wood Elves and theirs is another tale. Bretonnia is their unwitting dupe for the Lady of the Lake is nothing more than a Wood Elf cloaked in illusions, sending petty gifts to the humans in response for their protection.

Through her human agent, the Fay Enchantress, the wood elf keeps the humans in line. The Wood Elves are few in number, their forest is large and their threats are many. Better to have the iron-clad savages spill their blood to defend the forest before their enemies ever reach its borders.

Grimdark

Bretonnia is the land of chivalry and shining knights, but as with everything in the Old World, it’s heart is dark and tainted.