The time of mortals is ending, and the reign of Chaos draws ever closer. The Dark Gods are at last united in a singular purpose, loosing their madness across the world as never before. In the Empire of Sigmar, Karl Franz's gaze is focused on the incursion of the savage northmen, but it is not the only threat. As the Chaos moon Morrslieb waxes full, shrill voices echo through tunnels gnawed far beneath the Empire's cities, and a Skaven host swarms towards the surface. It emerges first in the city of Ubersreik, a screeching mass that consumes all before it. Soon Ubersreik is a charnel-town, drowning beneath the malevolent shadow of the Horned Rat.

Yet even in the darkest times, there are always champions to light the way. As Ubersreik cowers, five heroes, united by capricious fate, carry the fight to the rat-men. It remains to be seen whether they have the strength to survive, let alone work together long enough to thwart the invaders. One truth, however, is beyond all doubt: should these five fall, then Ubersreik will fall with them.

In Vermintide, the city of Ubersreik is under siege as players select from a band of five heroes with different play-styles and abilities, all equipped with unique gear and personalities. Working together cooperatively, players must use their individual attributes to survive an apocalyptic invasion from hordes of relentless, power hungry Skaven, across a range of environments stretching from the top of the Magnus Tower to the bowels of the Under Empire.

A fiery tempered Bright Wizard, always in search of a greater challenge, and a long time addict to the flames of magic.

Blessed with a sharp intellect and a wicked sense of humour, Sienna will generally pass for a well-adjusted individual, in a very loose sense. She is a wizard after all. Those who witness her in battle, however, may soon catch a glimpse of how deep her dependency on the adrenaline rush of pyromancy has taken her.

Sienna arrives in Ubersreik as the prisoner of a Witch Hunter, Victor Saltzpyre, and guarded by a former State Trooper, Markus Kruber. A trial indeed awaits, but of a different kind than they all expected.

It was clear to us from the start that we needed to include a Wizard of some kind among our heroes. During the early stages of production, we therefore went through all of the Colleges, sketching up the pros and cons of each from a gameplay and story perspective. Despite several of them catching our interest, we kept coming back to the Bright Wizards and their love of burning things. Their pyromaniac tendencies and fiery tempers combined with the imagery of having Skaven go up in a pillar of flame felt just too tempting to ignore.

As we started looking into a backstory for our Bright Wizard, we automatically pictured this temperamental individual as an elderly woman. Not only were we avoiding the classical silver bearded wizard but the thought of having one of the most complex and powerful members of our group of heroes be a lady with a wicked sense of humor just felt like a perfect fit. Sienna Fuegonasus had now joined the motley crew of Vermintide heroes.

With her copper blond hair set in a tight knot on the back of her head, Sienna’s use of magic manifests itself through the fire that slowly intensifies on the top of her head and the burning tattoos that appear along her arms.

Bright Wizards like to clothe themselves in the colours of fire, stretching from pale yellow and white shades to the deepest of reds and blacks. When we started to work on her armour, we created a few versions of her outfit that used various combinations within the available colour palette, highlighting different hues and feelings of the cloth. The final design was in darker shades of red, with fire highlights, chainlinks along her thighs and wrists, and the keys of her Order dangling along her waist.

Like most wizards, Sienna prefers to use her Staff for ranged combat. Popular rumours say that the braziers of these Staves are lit by the burning souls of their victims. The Bright College makes a point of denying the rumours, but has never yielded the weapon for outside study.

Allowing her to channel her pyromagic, these Staves are often decorated with the skull of an especially hated enemy. Each Staff allows Sienna to channel her fire magic in different ways, stretching from a column of fire to rapid fire flaming spheres. However, if she casts her fire too quickly and too much, she will lose control and start setting herself on fire.

If this happens, or if the fighting simply becomes too thick and close, Sienna has the option to switch to one of her secondary weapons.  She is proficient with her custom crafted steel swords, but her favorite is the Flaming Sword. A formidable looking weapon, the Flaming Sword will not only slice and dice her enemies but also cause fire damage. When expecting to face heavily armoured foes, the Bright Wizard can select the Wizard Mace, which is perfect for bashing plate armour.

Sienna travelled to the Empire from her native Estalia when she was young. She was sent away from the village by her parents as vicious rumours whispered that their daughter was a witch.. Sienna travelled with merchant caravans, slowly making her way across the Old World to Altdorf, where – she’d heard – wizards were forged.

With the help of a Grey Wizard, who Sienna grew to resent due to his treacherous nature, she finally arrived at the College of the Bright Order in Altdorf.

Sienna mastered the Lore of Fire in Altdorf, but it soon became abundantly clear that she lacked both passion and patience for scholarly pursuits. She could not stand the slow pace of College life, and instead, she felt a void inside her that could only be filled by the addictive rush of intense spell casting. Fire magic became Sienna’s drug of choice, and she realised that she was unquestionably an addict. Accepting this fact, she decided to blaze her path through life, and has never looked back since.

Fellow Bright Wizards were wary of Fuegonasus’ temper and desire to always challenge herself to the extreme. She always strove to create the highest flame walls, the hottest fireballs or to summon the largest of Casandora’s Comets. Her peers warned that the Wind of Aqshy was not something to play with, but Sienna saw it quite differently.  She knew she needed the pyromaniacal rush of magic to not wither and die, so this was her way, and no other option would do.   

Fuegonasus has since then wandered the world, always testing her powers but, as yet, always failed to find her limits or stave off her hunger for more.

Like many of the Bright College, Sienna has a fiery temper and is quick to anger, but there’s still room room in her heart for morality and compassion. However, her addiction to fire magic is what truly shapes her life. She roams the land, offering her services as a battle wizard to anyone who can provide her with an opportunity to make things burn and get her adrenaline flowing.

Sienna harbours a wicked sense of humour that spans from the droll to the outright bawdy, but is at most times forced to wear a mask of calmness and control to hide her addiction.  In the midst of battle, her facade frequently cracks, and one would have to be both deaf and blind to not notice the rush of magic power she exudes.  

Sienna was aware of this problem. To gain further attention from the Witch Hunters was the last thing she needed.  But recently, that is exactly what she got.  Arrested under the suspicion of having killed the son of the Burgomeister of Ubersreik, and burning down his mill, she is now in the custody of Victor Saltzpyre, a veteran Witch Hunter. Saltzpyre has hired a skilled and experienced State Trooper, Markus Kruber to assist him in escorting the dangerous Bright Wizard to Ubersreik. Sienna returns to the town as a prisoner, ready to stand trial for a heinous crime, in the eyes of the Magistrates.