Runefang

Of all the treasures held by the Empire of Man, none are so coveted or so storied as the twelve Runefangs, the ancestral swords borne by its Elector Counts. Each is a masterpiece beyond the skill of any living smith, and to carry one is to hold the authority of an entire province in a single sword-hand.

The blades were forged in the earliest days of the Empire by Alaric the Mad, a dwarf runesmith who laboured for lifetimes at the request of Sigmar's heirs. Drawing upon the deepest secrets of the Runes of the Dwarfs, Alaric wrought each Runefang from meteoric steel and set within it runes of such potency that the finished blades cut through plate, mail, and the flesh beneath as though they were still water. A Runefang never dulls, never rusts, and never fails its bearer; some say the swords will hold their edge until the world itself ends.

Because Alaric drove himself to madness perfecting them, no more than the original twelve will ever exist, and the loss of even one is a catastrophe mourned across the Empire. Elector Counts have waged wars and toppled dynasties to recover a stolen Runefang, for the sword is inseparable from the office. When a count raises his Runefang before his massed regiments, the men of his province see not merely a weapon but the living proof of their ruler's right to command, forged in an age of heroes and carried into every battle since.