Averland
The Enemy Within Campaign ..... Averheim
Averland is one of the wealthier provinces of the Empire. This is largely thanks to the fact that the domain is far less forested than it is further north, and the climate is less unkind. These advantages make it easier to farm the land and have provided Averland with a flourishing trade in breeding fine horses. The province's affluence means its armies are often clad in gleaming armour, equipped with the latest innovations in weaponry, and adorned with outlandish feathers and decoration on their yellow and black livery.
The main route into the Empire from the south - Black Fire Pass, which leads through the mountains from the lands of the Border Princes - winds down through the foothills of Averland. This is the route taken by many invasion forces into the Empire, and so the province has formed the front line against attack on innumerable occasions. Mighty fortresses and watchtowers guard the end of the pass, but there have been times when these defences were overwhelmed and marauding hordes have poured through into the heartlands of the Empire. Most notable was the terrible invasion in 1707 led by Gorbad Ironclaw, the greatest orc warlord in history. Gorbad's armies rampaged and ravaged the lands of the Empire, and he was only stopped after his attempt to besiege and sack Altdorf failed. The entire province of Solland was wiped from the map, and the disinherited nobles of that land settled in Averland, whose banner now bears their icon, a stylized sun, in memory of those terrible events.
The greenskins have proved a grave threat time and again, and Averlanders have developed a particular loathing for these war-mongering brutes. In 2420, the goblin chieftain Grom led another massive invasion that swept across the Empire, and a recent incursion saw the Elector Count Marius Leitdorf slain, and the invaders were only thrown back by the intervention of the Emperor himself.
