No relic looms larger in the history of the Empire of Man than Ghal Maraz, the Hammer of Sigmar, whose name in the dwarf tongue means Skull-Splitter. It was with this warhammer that Sigmar broke the greenskin hordes, united the warring tribes of men, and founded the greatest realm of mortalkind.
The hammer was a gift of the dwarfs, forged in the deep foundries of the mountain holds and presented to the young Sigmar by High King Kurgan Ironbeard in gratitude, after the man-lord rescued him from a warband of orcs. No finer weapon had ever left the forges of Karaz-a-Karak: its head was wrought of star-metal and dwarf-runes, perfectly balanced, and so mighty that a single blow could shatter a monster's skull or scatter an entire warband. In Sigmar's hands it became the symbol of an age, the very instrument by which the Empire was hammered into being.
When Sigmar laid down his crown and departed into the east, the hammer passed into legend, kept as the most sacred treasure of his cult and his heirs. To the people of the Empire it is far more than a weapon: it is the physical embodiment of Sigmar's promise to watch over them, and its image adorns their banners, their coins, and the altars of every temple. To wield Ghal Maraz, or even to be charged with guarding it, is to carry the destiny of mankind, a burden and an honour beyond any crown.
The armoury continues
