The folks at Warhammer Online have posted the second chapter of Cruel as Ice, Cold as Steel, a piece of fiction set in the Age of Reckoning.

First came the layers of heavy, indigo-hued woolen robes and steel-toed leather boots, then a reinforced kheitan made of quilted fabric and tanned human hide. Over the kheitan went a hauberk of blackened steel mail, with long sleeves and a broad skirt that hung down to mid-calf. The weight of the steel rings rested heavily on Rathann’s strong shoulders, aggravating the pain of the many bruises and shallow cuts that marked his arms and torso. The druchii scarcely noticed. He’d suffered worse on a daily basis during his years of training.

The audience hall was silent once more as Rathann laced up the front of the chain hauberk and reached for the gleaming black breastplate hanging from the wooden arming stand. The long ranks of Black Guards lining the chamber were silent and still once more, watching the Dark Elf’s every move. Buckling on the complicated layers of armor was normally a task for one or more trained slaves, but the Black Guard were trained to do without such luxuries. Rathann’s bloodstained fingers worked swiftly and surely, cinching the straps and setting the hooks with deft, practiced movements.

Read more here.