[Historien om Emmanuelle von Liebwitz: tilbage til kilderne]
Jeg har fra starten af Warhammers levetid haft en fascination af Emmanuelle von Liebwitz af Nuln. En magtfuld, smuk og ligefrem sexet hersker i en grum og beskidt verden. Det her er ikke et udtømmende studie, men i et par indlæg vil jeg forsøge at samle op på hvad vi ved, og måske begynde at tegne et samlet – og fornyet – billede. I denne artikel vil jeg starte med at se på det officielle materielle (ikke en komplet gennemgang, men det jeg selv har på hylden), så læs videre hvis du ikke er bange for at se kejserinden uden tøj på.
Ad fontes
Jeg har ikke brugt kræfter på at bekræfte den første introduktion af Emmanuelle, men det er muligvis blot som et navn og en titel i Warhammer Battle. Efter en kort kommentar WFRP-grundbogen (1st. edition) optræder hun i nogle af de kun semi-kanoniske romaner der peger karakteren i lidt forskellige retninger. 2nd. edition behandler hende decideret dårligt, og først med 4th. edition begynder der at komme mere kød på damen (so to speak) – der sker også en drejning i karakteristikken, men mere om denne “redemption arc” senere. I virkeligheden er de få og modstridende kilder en del af anledningen til at myten om hende vokser. Spoiler-advarsel for de citerede værker.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
[Grundbog (1st. edition), 1986] Ser man bort fra romanerne er denne snas omtrent så udviklet hun bliver de næste 20 år:
The current ruler of Nuln is the Countess Emmanuelle von Liebewitz, who is famous for throwing lavish parties and all night balls in her splendid palace, which many regard as rivalling the Imperial court in Altdorf. Regarded as the most eligible spinster in The Empire, she attracts suitors from every comer of The Old World.
Empire in Flames
[Scenarie, The Enemy Within (del 5), 1989] Emmanuelle bliver måske nævnt i rygter et par gange i kampagnen (?), men det føles meget påklistret da hun i slutningen dukker op og bliver gift med den nye kejser. Hurraaa!
Aged 28 (i 2512, red.) and from Nuln City-State. Ostensibly neutral, she is secretly involved with Heinrich Todbringer (the son of Graf Boris Todbringer). As a result she supports the pro-Ulric faction.
It takes only half an hour to crown Emperor Heinrich X, even though Emmanuelle forgets most of her words and has to be prompted
Drachenfels
[Roman af Kim Newman, 1989] Emmanuelle deltager i romanen som tilskuer til skuespillet Drachenfels der opføres på den hjemsøgte borg ved samme navn. Ingen særlig rolle; beskrivelser går mest på hendes forfængelighed.
The lady mayoress and chancellor of the University of Nuln, Countess Emmanuelle von Liebewitz, rumoured to be the most eligible spinster in the Empire, was not winning any friends with her whining about the tedious details of the hundreds of masques and parties she had thrown. Karl-Franz was both amused and appalled at the realization that the countess was cooing over Luitpold not in any motherly sense but because she regarded the future Emperor as an ideal marriage prospect despite the obvious disparities of age (bogen foregår ca. 2505, så hun er mindst 21 år (måske noget ældre), og prinsen er 12, red.) and temperament between them.
The Countess Emmanuelle was endeavouring to outshine everyone in the room (…) Their gowns (den anden part er Lilli Nissen, aldrende primadonna, red.) were a match for tastelessness and discomfort. (…) complemented themselves on their youthful appearance, venom dripping from every syllable. (…) Emmanuelle was wearing another astonishing creation this evening. It took the off-the-shoulder concept to such an extent that it might almost be classified as off-the-entire-body.
Beasts in Velvet
[Roman af Kim Newman, 1991] Emmanuelles søster/bror Leos er romanens “beast” – h/n fortjener sit helt eget afsnit, men Emmanuelle fylder indirekte en del. Vi får kælenavnet “Yelle”, endnu større amorøse drifter, tro på guder (måske), lidt om hendes forældre – og familiens mørke hemmelighed. Hendes rolle i Leos’ undergang er utilgivelig, men også apokryf – selv i den formindskede grad man i rollespillet anerkender romanerne, er dette ikke et element der er båret med over.
The young viscount’s (Leos, red.) sister, the notorious beauty Countess Emmanuelle von Liebewitz, had enough devotion to the amorous arts for any one family. (…) Back in Nuln, she was the foremost hostess in the Empire (…) The whisper was that the countess always went to these functions escorted by Leos, but that he came back alone, leaving his sister in the arms of ther amour-of-the-moment. (…) Emmanuelle was bored, and boredom made her angry. She had not ventured out on this hell of a night to watch some cowlike creature (danserinden Milizia, red.) shake her udders all over a stage. (…) Emmanuelle screamed. She hated being in a room with commoners. (…) She prayed to all the gods. She asked for forgiveness. Mama, Papa, forgive me! Leos, forgive me!
“But I don’t want a little sister,” a pretty child said “I want there to be only me.” Her father protested, but mother – already a convert to the cause of her eldest daughter’s position as the Empire’s greatest beauty – was insistent. “What my little Yelle wants, my little Yelle shall have.” Their father, the old Elector of Nuln, knew what his wife and daughter wanted was wrong, but he had always been a slave to women. In the end he was glad to have one less in his household. And he had always wanted a son. If he had lived, he would have found an ally in the ‘boy’, Leos, who grew up to hate women so much… (…) Father, Chancellor of the University of Nuln, would lock himself up with books of history, while mother supervised the children. Yelle would be rewarded, Leos would be beaten. (…) When Yelle was seventeen and Leos eight, mother died in a coach accident (…) Shortly after the death of ther pet cat, Yelle stopped beating the boy. She was his mother now and could have him sent away or punished at will. She used her power over him sparingly, remembering just what she had created in her brother. Besides, Leos was now devoted to his sister. (…) Emmanuelle became quite protective of Leos, mothering him far better than their real mother had.
Emmanuelle was talking in a low, serious voice, giving orders to Daniel Dorrie, one of her retainers and, it was rumoured, one of her lovers. (…) Emmanuelle was back in Nuln with her courtiers and her conscience, her sister buried in the family vaults with an inscription referring to her as ‘beloved son and brother’.
Skavenslayer
[Roman af William King, 1999] Her får vi en historie sat i Nuln og en cameo af Emmanuelle. Onde skaven angriber under et maskebal på slottet – en type festlighed der kommer til at tegne komtessen. Hun er stadig en partygirl men udviser også mod. Det er muligvis også første optræden af byens (og stadsfruens) hemmelige politi. Det nævnes også at hendes krav på tronen er spinkelt og muligvis en foræring fra hendes barndomsven kejseren.
At that time, the Countess Emmanuelle was at the height of her fame, power and beauty
It must be that brother of hers! Leos was a bad influence. (…) Soon it would be time to reveal that Emmanuelle’s guest, the Emperor ’s own brother-in-law, was secretly a mutant and worse yet, the countess’ latest lover.
a portrait of the Elector Emmanuelle, a ravishing raven-haired beauty garbed in a less than modest ball gown
She pulled off her mask to reveal a pale but determined face. “I believe you are looking for me,” she said defiantly. “I am Elector Countess Emmanuelle!” (…) “I will do no such thing,” Countess Emmanuelle said shakily. “I would rather die than order my troops to surrender to you foul vermin.”
Forges of Nuln
[Scenarie/baggrund (til 2nd. edition), Paths of the Damned-kampagnen (del 3), af Robert J. Schwalb, 2006] Indeholder en kedelig beskrivelse af Nuln med et kort afsnit om Emmanuelle, og hun optræder som biperson til et, tada!, maskebal. Introducerer Wolfhart, hendes inkompetente nevø. Fremstillingen er entydigt negativ, en “dum dåse”. Hun er “midaldrende” hvilket henviser til at 2nd. edition er sat i 2522, så hun er cirka 40 (?).
Emmanuelle gained her seat around the same time that Karl Franz was crowned Emperor. A childhood friend of the current ruler, she had a claim to the title of Elector Count, but not a good one. By currying the favour of Franz—some suggest she seduced him—she took the title of Elector Countess in 2503. (…) She proved she had no head for governing; she was more concerned with the luxuries of her status than with the minutia of ruling (…) She detests the burghers and commoners of Wissenland (…) the Countess adores the city. She loves the culture, the pomp, the majesty, its history, and its deep coffers. No matter how desperate the plight of the commoners, she can always be guaranteed comfort and pleasure whilst installed in her seat as Countess of Nuln. (…) Most consider her barely competent in her position. The saying goes, “the Countess’ head is as empty as her manifesto.” Still, the people love her. Now in her middle years, she retains her youthful beauty
She (is) wearing a long white dress beaded with pearls. She wears her brown hair piled on top of her head in ringlets and is a breathtaking beauty. She wears a simple white mask that suggests the features of a fox. (…) the Countess loses some of her credibility with the rest of the Elector Counts (not that she had much in the first place).
A Night at the Opera
[Fra scenariesamlingen Rough Nights & Hard Days, af Graeme Davis, 2019] Sat i Nuln og med en større birolle til Emmanuelle der involveres i indtil flere mulige attentater i operahuset, og hun er fremstillet som sjov og kompetent (den gennemgående tråd i scenarier er hendes kusine, gravin Maria-Ulrike von Liebwitz af Ambosstein). Det er utroligt nok også første gang man ser en officiel illustration af hende (af Sam Manley), plus imponerende stats der også fortæller en historie. Hendes Dooming (dødsvarsel): “They end is not thy end.” Jeg har for nemhedens skyld blot indsat hele beskrivelsen herunder (klik på damen for at få hele teksten med).
Empire in Shadows Companion
[Tillæg til The Enemy Within-kampagnen (del 1), 2020] Warhammers store kampagne blev genudgivet til 4th. edition som Director’s Cut. Nedenstående beskrivelse fandtes også i den gamle udgave (1986), men denne version er lidt mere malende. Og så er alderen igen korrigeret (Karl-Franz sættes i samme afsnit til 35).
Emmanuelle II of House Liebwitz, Grand Countess of Nuln and an Elector Countess, is based in Nuln. She is 27. She has no publicly named heir, fuelling rumours that she has at least one secret child hidden away.
Empire in Ruins
[Scenarie, The Enemy Within-kampagnen (del 5), 2021] I den nye udgave af kampagnens slutning er Emmanuelle ikke blot staffage for kejseren men en aktiv politisk spiller, og deres barndomsvenskab er en afgørende brik (dog: lidt uklart hvordan de har været venner som børn eftersom Karl-Franz jo er 8 år ældre). Hendes venskab med kejserens førsteelskerinde, Maria-Luise, er “ægte”, og ML kalder hendes for “Emmy”. Der sættes også navn på flere af hendes betroede folk. Ift. originalen har hun skiftet side fra Ulric til Sigmar og vinder Wissenland i borgerkrigen. Hendes stat-line er genbrugt fra Rough Nights og beskrivelsen ændret lidt:
She is a careful and clever political player, but not without caprice — as a number of co-conspirators would attest, if they still lived. Emmanuelle has faced down her share of horrors, and narrowly avoided disaster during Altdorf’s Great Fog Riots (henviser til Beasts in Velvet, red.) and a chain of events that saw a portion of Nuln destroyed eight years ago (henviser til Skavenslayer, red.). Emmanuelle emerged from the aftermath a stronger ruler, but with an edge of ruthlessness when it comes to the pursuit of her own protection.
Emmanuelle is a strong and beloved ruler (…) Emmanuelle’s chief obsession is to obtain a license to annex the neighbouring province (Sudenland, red.). (…) She underestimates the seriousness of the conflicts between provinces in the Empire’s north. (…) Alliegience: Moderate Sigmarite
Countess Emmanuelle has an especially fine tunic that is somehow both formal and the height of fashion. (…) Emmanuelle sweeps in and gives ‘Karl-Franz’ (ikke den rigtige Karl-Franz, red.) an elegant wave. She speaks loudly for all to hear, ‘What a gathering. It rather reminds me of the event your father arranged for your 16th birthday, Your Majesty.’ (…) “Oh come on. You might fool this lot, but I’ve known him (den rigtige Karl-Franz, red.) since we were children.”
The Grand Countess and Karl-Franz are old friends and staunch allies. The Grand Countess is honoured to manage her suzerain and has no desire to rule the whole Empire. (…) Use the knowledge of ‘Karl-Franz’s’ deception, but do not give away the secret, out of regard for Maria-Luise’s position. Seek maximum advantage while averting a total Imperial breakdown. (…) Emmanuelle is articulate, and measured in her use of words and shrewd in her judgement
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Næst: … men blev vi klogere på hvem hun egentlig er?
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