User:Aehren

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A while back I was quite active in the 40K Lexicanum, but these days it seems to have enough users (and the first signs of over-kill are plain to see). Anyway I always liked the Warhammer fantasy fluff better (probably has something to do with the fact that the humans are NOT completely insane, the Elves are NOT arrogant to the point of stupidity, and that the Dwarfs DO exist). Well the fantasy lex seemed more or less abandoned, and now and again I do have a bit of spare time. So what the heck... someone has to clean up this mess.


Wisdom of the ages

  • If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country. - E.M. Forster, Two Cheers for Democracy


  • The first requisite of civilization is that of justice. - Sigmund Freud
  • All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honour, duty, mercy, hope. - Winston Churchill
  • Beware of thinkers whose minds function only when they are fuelled by a quotation. - Emile Cioran, Anathemas and Admirations (you're well advised to remember that one when you watch the populist and pitiful speeches of certain ambitious politicians)
  • At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. - Aristotle
  • It is more proper that law should govern than any one of the citizens: upon the same principle, if it is advantageous to place the supreme power in some particular persons, they should be appointed to be only guardians, and the servants of the laws. - Aristotle
  • Dura lex sed lex - the law is harsh, but it is the law.
  • It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it. - Julius Caesar
  • There is only one rule and law you must truly follow: Don't get caught.


  • The mob is the mother of tyrants. - Diogenes
  • Mob law is the most forcible expression of an abnormal public opinion; it shows that society is rotten to the core. - Timothy Thomas Fortune
  • Extremists and populist movements are exploiting people's fear of those who are not like us. We can see the consequences in the form of terrorism and racially motivated violence. - Kjell Magne Bondevik
  • There is nothing more foolish, nothing more given to outrage than a useless mob. - Herodotus


  • Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervour, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind.
And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so.
How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar. - This statement was not made by Julius Caesar and it has also been wrongly attributed to William Shakespeare, but the actual author is unknown. The article on it at Snopes.com states : "No record of this quote has been found prior to its appearance on the Internet in late 2001." Nevertheless, the rationale is true, and proven throughout history (especially recent one).


  • Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - Who will guard the guards themselves? - Juvenal, Satires
  • Si vis pacem, para bellum - If you wish for peace, prepare for war - Vegetius, De Re Militari
  • By way of deception, thou shalt do war.
  • A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords at dawn.
  • Exitus acta probat - the end justifies the means
  • Great empires are not maintained by timidity. - Tacitus
  • If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.
  • The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.


  • There is no knowledge that is not power. - Mortal Kombat
  • Knowledge is power, Guard it well. - motto of the Blood Ravens
  • (Believers) are civil, educated and ignorant. They're not mad. They're trained to believe, not to know. Belief can be manipulated. Only knowledge is (truly) dangerous. - Scytale from Dune Messiah written by Frank Herbert. This quote was changed by myself, the changed parts are in brackets "( )".
  • Knowledge is only the first step on the path of power.
  • We're drowning in information and starving for knowledge. - Rutherford D. ROGERS, American librarian, Yale University


  • I asked: "What is the most important virtue a samurai may possess?" The first to answer was the Crab. "Strength! For a weak man is not a man at all." Many in the room quietly nodded, but the Lion was next. "Courage, for even if a man is strong, should he be a coward, his strength will serve nothing but his flight." Many more nodded at the wisdom of the Lion but when the Unicorn spoke up, there was naught but silence. "Resourcefulness, I think. Strength and courage are good and well, but if a man cannot think, he cannot make use of any of his virtues." And then suddenly, a quiet voice spoke from the crowd. I almost did not hear it as it softly said: "Loyalty." All turned to see the Scorpion standing in the corner, picking from the fresh sashimi on the table. "For is a man is not loyal, all his virtues serve your enemy." - extracted from the Way of the Scorpion from the Legends of the Five Rings
  • A general does not need knowledge of tactics, strategy, movement or any other military matter. He only needs the perception to recognize men who do have such knowledge, the intelligence to put them in positions of authority and the willpower to let them do what they do best and not hinder their efforts with his own desire for glory. - extracted from the the Way of the Scorpion. - Please notice that such a general needs the loyalty of these men, and that absolute loyalty is all too often an illusion. "Does not need" does not mean that he can't have these skills; in fact I personally think that he should have a certain degree of knowledge about warfare so that he can control his followers or he will be deceived.


  • May you live in interesting times. - It seems to be a Chinese curse. The reasoning is the following: quiet times are the best, as everything is peaceful and safe. Interesting times are dangerous, stressful, full of conflict and destruction. Still I would like to live in interesting times because truth be told these are also times of change and tremendous progress (technological, political, but also social, etc). As I grow older and wiser (?) I may change my mind.


If you like to read about High Fantasy: valiant knights, political intrigues, ruthless warlords, tales about loyalty, cunning and betrayal I can only strongly advise you to read the A Song of Ice and Fire series.

  • A Game of Thrones
  • A Clash of Kings
  • A Storm of Swords
  • A Feast for Crows
  • A Dance with Dragons

To the other Warhammer Fantasy wikis out there

Let's begin with stating the obvious: there are (and will be) other wikis about the Warhammer Fantasy universe in the Web. IMHO they are currently simply worse than this one. AFAIK this is presently the best English wiki about the Warhammer Fantasy universe out there. Please don't be deceived by this statement: it isn't the best because it's amazing and complete (there is still an incredible amount of work to be done to reach that status). It's the best wiki because the competition is sorely lacking.


There is the clear possibility and danger that someone might simply copy/paste the contents of this wiki to improve another one. IMHO this would be truly a sad development. Put yourself into the shoes of any Lexicanum contributor; someone who spent a considerable deal of time and effort in improving an article in this wiki. That person sees his work simply copied by another wiki. That person would be pissed (at least I would). That's one of the main reasons this wiki doesn't copy.

Another thing: you're wasting a considerable amount of time in copying our material. What you should do, is join this wiki and improve it even further. The rules are simple and fair enough: don't be a dick. Avoid presenting your own theories as fact, provide proper sources and don't copy the original texts from GW.


However if you're truly determined to copy the material of this wiki AFAIK there is not much we could do about it. We always knew that our work could/can be copied at any time to any place. I'm also not going after other wikis looking for trouble. Sometimes I look around to get fresh insight, learn of new ideas, theories and speculations, to have an evil laugh at their mistakes, and to look for other ppl's opinion about the quality of this wiki but that's all. So if you're truly too lazy to write you own articles and desperate enough to copy the work of other ppl then by all means, go ahead. I won't stop you (I'm certainly not going to spend my money hiring a lawyer to sue you).


Another issue: software and hardware is getting better all the time: an improved form of wiki may appear in the future, a replacement. Another danger is that the owner(s) of the site simply decide to terminate the whole wiki (read: become unwilling to pay the bill any more). I don't know them and I honestly think that's truly unlikely any time soon, but I know that nothing lasts unchanged forever. IF any of this becomes true the contents of this wiki could/should be copied and preserved for the enjoyment of the readers.


So why am I writing this strange text at all? Sheer self-interest. I have taken the moral high ground and I created a clear recruitment add.

Let me also point out that:

  • Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.
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