Editing Endhammer (section)

===What's the Deal with the Empire?===
With the Everchosen dead and the Empire saved, Sigmar's spirit left Karl-Franz's body at Averheim. The Emperor seemed to age half a century in a day, his anatomy burned out by housing a god. The greatest Emperor since Magnus the Pious died bedridden and infirm in the moment of the Empire's triumph, leaving it leaderless and divided. Boris Todbringer, the next logical leader of the Empire and Karl-Franz's only rival during his election... died after completing his mad quest to kill [[Khazrak The One-Eye]]. His only acknowledged bastard, Heinrich Todbringer, was quickly legitimized by Ar-Ulric and (lest some weak, southern Sigmarite become the new Elector-Count of Middenland).

Who is Heinrich Todbringer? Champion rider. Warrior extraordinaire. Dark of hair and broad of shoulder, and already father to numerous bastards of his own. He is exactly the kind of leader Middeland needs in the anarchy of "Endhammer." He is also a cruelly efficient man, and all of his half-brothers have been assassinated since he took the throne of Middenland. Even now, he leads sortes out into the Drakwald to clear out what remains of Archaon's horde (and engage in the futile effort of recovering his father's remains). After promising Theoderic Gausser the ruined city of Marienburg, Nordland swore to support him in his bid for Emperor. Even now, Gausser capers madly in the ruined manors of Marienburg, wearing a mask filled with mint and other “protective herbs.” The Glottkin's plague made sure there are no more Marienburgers to make good on their promise to behead him. In addition, Heinrich has sent messengers to the Norscan of Salkalten, wondering if he can't win himself another supporter by offering him the Electorate of Ostland.

Todbringer's rival is Luitpold Holswig-Schliestein II (A.K.A. “Karl's Jr.”). He rules the remnants of Reikland with the support of Grand Theogonist Luthor Huss. The surviving Reiksguard have also sworn for Luitpold, and while Stirland is considering its options, they appear to be in the Sigmarite camp. Luitpold is not a ruthless warrior like Heinrich, having learned far more from his father's role as a statesman. The makeshift palace at Carroburg is abuzz with messengers and diplomats, looking for support in Wissenland, Averland, and even far-flung Bretonnia.

Balthasar Gelt thinks both of these young men are fools. He finds the entire Electoral system foolish. After all, if you wanted a bloody republic, why limit the candidates to a group of inbred, overly suspicious Elector-Counts? He hides in the court of Emmanuelle von Liebewitz, living by her good graces and his continues supply of zombie sentries for the vulnerable Nuln sewer system. Feelers are being sent out to his colleagues and former pupils in the magical community. Why let these noblemen decide who leads the Empire? A man like Karl-Franz or Magnus the Pious comes once every half-millenium. Far better if the Emperor was the best man for the job, and not just the man with the deepest pockets or biggest army. And who could claim to be more skilled or more intelligent than Balthasar Gelt?

Meanwhile, Stirland, Averland, and Wissenland are full to bursting with refugees from the east. Kislevites and Hochlanders mix with halflings of the Moot. Realizing they can never return home, some turn to the western horizon, looking for new opportunity.

The authorities of the Empire once tried to conceal the existence of Skaven from the public, but that is now impossible. The terrified survivors perceive Skaven schemes everywhere. Political agitators accuse their opponents of working with them. Peasants sometimes accuse people with buckteeth or large ears of being Skaven in disguise. Corrupt politicians blame all the shortcomings of their regimes on "Skaven saboteurs". Posters are pasted around cities by religious orders warning the public not to fall into vice, as this is "just what the corrupting ratmen want them to do". A paranoid "Rat Scare" has gripped the Empire.