Dark Beginnings

It was during the great migration of the race of Dwarfs as they slowly spread across the Worlds Edge Mountains, that they first came across the Great Skull land or the Zorn U kul as they named it! "ra#elling in armoured "hrongs many ad#enturous Dwarfs sought to find great wealth in the distant Mountains of Mourn! $t first the occasional rumour came %ack a%out there %eing great wealth to %e found, %ut the #ast ma&ority of e'peditions financed %y the richer clans returned with nothing %ut stories of large greenskin tri%es occupying the lands! "heir greed getting the %etter of them, some clans %elie#ing that there was still wealth to %e found decided to mo#e together to the east! E#ery family mem%er packed their %elongings and started their long &ourney! $rtisans, warriors, miners and farmers all forsook the protection of their strongholds and started the mass migration! "he enormous column of dwarfs took many days to tra#el across the %arren lands and come to rest at Zharr (aggrund, the first strongpoint that had %een esta%lished in these new lands! )eing situated within the walls of an immense e'tinct #olcano, and near to the *i#er *uin, it could easily %e defended against the marauding greenskins and pro#ide a point of safety for the many clans arri#ing e#ery day! "he hold +uickly de#eloped into a flourishing city as the skilled Dwarfs took pride in creating a city cut deep into the rocky ground! Zharkhoran, the founder and self appointed king of the hold claimed it as his own! ,or a while the widespread Dwarfs maintained communication with each other, %ut this was all to come to an end with the coming of -haos! Time of Woe "he first the eastern Dwarfs knew of the coming of -haos was a series of #iolent earth+uakes! .#er a period of hours they destroyed many camps and killed numerous dwarfs who happened to %e mining in the lowest le#els at the time as tunnels and halls collapsed around them! "hat night the frightened sur#i#ors huddled together as on the surface a powerful storm raged a%o#e them! "he following day in a desperate attempt to get help a party was organised to tra#el west, %ut no Dwarfs were e#er recorded making it %ack to the .ld World! (ot knowing what was the cause of these portents and unsure if any help was coming, the clans mo#ed what pro#isions they could inside the parts of the city that still remained intact! ,ate struck a final terri%le %low howe#er as another earth tremor, the most powerful yet, sealed all the access tunnels and trapped the Dwarfs deep underground! Many chasms opened up within the ground as it shook, sending a few unfortunates plummeting hundreds of feet to their deaths! The War of Greed Unaware of the #iolent magical storm that was %lowing high a%o#e ground from the south east, the Dwarfs dug night and day to reach the surface! /acking most of their mining e+uipment they dug for weeks through hard %lack rock with anything they could find! $s unyielding as the Dwarfs themsel#es they named the rock .%sidian, or 0o%stinate rock1!

So it was that during those dark and desolate times the eastern Dwarfs found some of the wealth that they had %een searching for all the long! $ large cham%er was disco#ered containing ancient artefacts and a large collection of gold and gems! In the centre of which raised on a plinth was a large and intricately car#ed golden %ull statue, that glowed %rightly from the flames of the Dwarfs torches! .#ercome %y madness and plagued %y grief of the failure to protect his people, 2ing Zharkhoran sat alone amongst his wealth and despaired! $s he sat watching the flickering of flames reflected in the golden %ull, he was unaware of su%tle #oices that slowly interrupted his thoughts! .#er many days they worked on his mind, sowing seeds of dou%t and mistrust on all those he percei#ed would take his gold! 3e %ecame increasingly aloof and aggressi#e, eying all those around him with a suspicious look! Without his leadership and faith to guide them, digging slowly %egan to grind to a halt! ,earing for the apparent change in their king many reassured him of their loyalty in a %id to ease his trou%led mind! .thers resented his lack of leadership in a time of crisis and openly criticising their new king to whom they were supposed to swear loyalty! 4ery +uickly this de#eloped into open hostilities as clans grouped together and took sides5 those supporting their king a%o#e all else, and those wanting only to dig themsel#es out and return to the other clans in the .ld World! Zharkhoran sensing a conflict was coming ga#e all those who swore loyalty to him a portion of his gold! "hrough some rousing oratories he con#inced them that those not loyal to their king were traitors who would try to steal their wealth! So it was that the clans di#ided and war erupted all across Zharr (aggrund! ,amilies fought each other when they disagreed, and the hold was split into #ast areas of control! (o longer focused on digging to the surface, the war waged for many months in the pitch %lack as %oth sides fought and retreated! Scram%ling o#er %odies in the dark and fighting for the most part with hands and rocks it was a hellish nightmare! ,or many months the fought, surrounded on all sides %y o%sidian and drinking water from underground wells! /ittle did the Dwarfs know that the rock had a%sor%ed magical energy seeping down from the storm a%o#e, they were o%li#ious to the mutating effects it would ha#e! "hey did not realise as they slept that their %odies were slowly %eing changed! Rise of Hashut $s the war waged on, Zharkhoran had increasingly %een a%sent for many %attles! -onfined to his +uarters and kept under careful watch %y his *unelord, he suffered %outs of madness as his tenuous hold on reality grew e#er weaker! In his ra#ings he spoke of ha#ing #isions of 3ashut, a no%le God of Darkness and how only through praying to him for deli#erance could they e#er hope to %e spared! 3a#ing fought an e'termination campaign against their own kin for their king and %elie#ing this to %e #isions from one of the great ancestor gods the prophecies of his race had foretold, they proclaimed the will of their king in his a%sence! Welcoming the news of such di#ine inter#ention in those desolate times many prayed for deli#erance! $s the war ended and their food ran out, the Dwarfs made a last effort and finally managed to reach the surface! "he Dwarfs that emerged from Zharr (aggrund were #ery different from those that had arri#ed only si' months pre#iously! "hey had %een terri%ly

%rutalised %y the slaying of their own kin and were altogether greedier and more %ar%aric than any of their race left in the .ld World! "hey had also de#eloped an unhealthy pallid skin colour and most had lost a lot of hair! "he land had changed as much as the Dwarfs themsel#es! $sh co#ered much of the landscape, and #ery little #egetation was left! 3uge mutant %easts roamed the lands making tra#el west impossi%le5 some were many legged and green6skinned monstrosities, others were huge chaos spawn with the heads of ogres! $ll around were #ast pits of oil, and gold seams that the earth+uakes had re#ealed! Despite %eing freed from their underground prison, none wished to return west to spread news of this new wealth after the hell they had endured! "he fate of 2ing Zharkhoran was ne#er recorded, %ut his disappearance was marked %y the arri#al of the first )ull -entaurs from Mountains of Mourn! Spawned from those Dwarfs not a%le to reach protection %efore the magical storms came they were drawn to the Zharr (aggrund from far and wide! $lthough e#idently touched %y the winds of chaos, some of the assem%led clans recognised within them Dwarf kin and the %ull aspect they associated with their god 3ashut! "hey were not to %e denied to the city %y proclamation of the -o#en of Elders, where they grouped together around the golden %ull of 3ashut! .#er the following millennia many such creatures would emerge similarly %lessed! E#er since the mysterious disappearance of Zharkhoran, the first and only 2ing in the east, a council of the oldest and wisest *unesmiths had assumed temporary control! Drawing on the magic surrounding them, each tried to forge stronger and deadlier weapons in an attempt to pro#e their worth and assume leadership o#er the city! $las, the seducti#e ways of the dark arts ha#e many paths and it was once more through greed and am%ition that the Dwarfs were drawn closer to chaos! *elishing the enormous power that sorcery ga#e o#er ri#als it was ine#ita%le that once one rose in power the others would follow suit! So it was that the *unesmiths %ecame Sorcerers and assumed o#erall control of the new Dark Empire! Whoe#er had the most power assumed o#erall leadership, a tradition kept e#er since! The Golden Age .#er the following three thousand years the Eastern Dwarfs re%uild Zharr (aggrund and prospered as ne#er %efore! "he old stronghold had %een greatly e'tended and fashioned into the shape of an enormous iggurat, at the pinnacle of which was a great temple to 3ashut where the golden %ull statue resided! "his was a time of enormous achie#ement for the Eastern Dwarfs, their city e'panded +uickly as clans took control of the a%undant natural resources! $ll of the other ancient cities were founded in this time, %uilt partly o#er ground %ut mainly underground in the style of their founding city! "rade increased with other races, including ogres and the %ar%arian humans of the north! "he Eastern Dwarfs found in them a great demand for their high craftsmanship in weapons and armour! $ small fleet was made, %ut was only used for transporting raw materials around the empire as the distant seas were plagued %y pirates and deadly sea creatures! Intricately car#ed halls and large farms were %uilt to cater for the growing population! "he magic saturated lands meant that the %irth rate was unusually high for Dwarfs and the population grew at a fast pace! Successi#e generations %ore increasingly marked

mutations, though they were #ery slow to de#elop! Whilst they had %een focusing on fashioning large cities in the surrounding lands and esta%lishing a large empire, the greenskin tri%es had grown #astly in strength and num%er! 3o%go%lin, orc and go%lin hordes all fought for domination in a ne#er ending struggle that was occasionally %rought right to the gates of the great cities themsel#es! ,inally some 7888 years after they had first #entured east, the doors to the west were opened as they succeeded in %reaking the %ack of the greenskin hordes at the )attle of )lood! $rri#ing in the Worlds Edge Mountains, the armoured group of am%assadors were surprised to find how their race had de#eloped and flourished! ,inding their way to 2ara a 2arak with the help of some shocked Dwarf guides they were ama ed as they learned of all the #ast holds that had %een esta%lished in their a%sence, and angered %y the %etrayal of the el#es! Upon %eing recei#ed into the throne room of the 3igh 2ing Gotrek Star%reaker the am%assadors recounted the long story of how they had sur#i#ed the treason of their kin, how their empire had grown and how it was trading with many races! Despite %eing &u%ilant a%out his recent #ictories in the War of 4engeance, he was infuriated %eyond %elief %y their open heresy of not worshiping the true ancestor gods! "heir o%#ious mutations, open confessions of trading with %ar%arian followers of chaos and use of dark magic infuriated him still further! (ot wishing to %e a kin slayer himself he denounced them as foul chaos worshipers, had their %eards sha#ed off, and %anished them from e#er returning to the Worlds Edge Mountains! So the hostile message was %rought %ack to the clans in the east! In anger they took the name -haos Dwarfs as a mark of defiance against their former kin, and ha#e %orne it e#er since as a way to inspire dread for their enemies! $lthough they were shocked a%out %eing told 3ashut was not actually an ancestor god, their god had clearly gi#en them the power to sur#i#e and prosper against all the odds! .#ercome %y anger they once more turned to him for strength! The Second Coming of Chaos ,or many months plans had %een in the making to wage a long campaign on the greenskin tri%es in an attempt to remo#e them fore#er as a threat to the safety of the empire! Upon recei#ing word that there was to %e war with the old holds, the -haos Dwarfs %egan to concei#e a most cunning plan! *ealising that there was no way the -haos Dwarfs themsel#es could wage a war on all the holds together they %egan to systematically dri#e the Greenskin tri%es west! Using careful diplomacy and %ri%ery, they knew that once started it would %e impossi%le to stop a united army of all the tri%es in the Dark /ands! "hus %egan the Go%lin Wars for the Dwarfs in the west, an act that has ne#er %een forgotten! ,or many centuries the -haos Dwarfs were content to continue forcing the tri%es west, %ut this was all to change! During the %i6centenary Great ,east of 3ashut, the grounds once more shook and the sky was rent apart in a cataclysmic storm rising like a #ast %lack column from south east of their capital! )urning ash and many tonnes of rock rained down from a%o#e! )elow them the halls and tunnels of Zharr (aggrund twisted and shook, causing many to once more %e trapped underground! $s they #entured out to disco#er what had %een the cause of the de#astation they came across a %lack crater, gargantuan in si e, at the centre of which was a large %lack tear that

was an a%erration to nature! $larmed %y what this could mean, the -o#en desperately prayed for answers from their god of darkness! E#ery month that passed the ground twisted and shook with increasing ferocity and tear grew larger, pouring out a thick smoke that corrupted and mutated all it touched! $fter many months of despair they finally had a #ision of the future purpose lord 3ashut wished them to take! "he -haos Dwarfs were to pro#ide a great toll of sacrifices and use the powerful emotions of the oppressed to fuel the fires of Zharr (aggrund! )y doing so they would %ring power to their god 3ashut and he would protect them from daemonic legions that were fore#er poised ready to come through the tear and destroy the world! "he golden age was o#er5 ne#er to return, and their dark path had %een laid %efore them to the de#astation of all! "he time had come for the -haos Dwarfs to %ring their dark war to the .ld World!

The Blood Grudge

DWARFS "he tortuous relationship %etween the -haos Dwarfs and their kin in the Worlds Edge Mountain could fill #olumes! Indeed, within the Great )ook of Grudges held in 2ara 6a6 2arak there are hundreds of grudges waiting to %e a#enged! "he greatest and oldest of these entries %eing known simply as the 0)lood Grudge1! Since the time it was written no Dwarf has e#er spoken the )lood Grudge itself, for to do so would compel all those who listened to take the Slayer .ath! Unlike their intense hatred of the race of Greenskins, the de#ious Ska#en, or the foul legions of -haos, the Dwarfs hatred of their eastern kin is of a completely different order! With their ancient enemies it is perhaps easier to comprehend as they are hideous monsters that kill and destroy without honour! "hese enemies ha#e taken countless Dwarf li#es o#er the centuries as they destroyed much of the old empire! $gainst such foes the Dwarfs ha#e waged millennia long campaigns, and will go out of their way to crush them in their +uest for #engeance! "heir intense hatred of the -haos Dwarfs is ultimately %orn out of a deep sense of shame! "hey feel shame for ha#ing a%andoned their kin in their time of need, %ut also an unfathoma%le shame for ha#ing such a%ominations still li#ing! ,or this reason, of the countless thousands of grudges held within the Damma 2ron, the )lood Grudge is the only one they know deep down cannot %e a#enged! Why9 )ecause the grudge was ne#er their:s to a#enge, and is the only one that they ha#e truly accepted as their own fault! Such acceptance is hard for all Dwarfs to comprehend, and it is why they %ecome angry and confrontational at the merest mention of their e'istence! "he Dwarfs see the -haos Dwarfs as traitors to the $ncestor gods, to the Dwarf people, and to their #ery way of life! "heir dealings with the ruinous powers of -haos is a horror for all Dwarfs to witness, and until the last of them is no more to the Dwarfs they will always %e a%ominations that must %e destroyed!

CHAOS DWARFS ,or their hostilities in ages past, the -haos Dwarfs ha#e ne#er forgotten or forgi#en the western Dwarfs! "hey see their kin as ha#ing %etrayed them in their time of need, a%andoning them to madness and death when all they e#er wanted to do was sur#i#e! "hough they were thrust into the fires of -haos, they were re6forged and rather than %urning were ultimately led to 3ashut! 3owe#er much they might 0appreciate1 ha#ing %een made stronger %y their e'periences, it was ultimately a %etrayal and should ne#er %e forgotten! "he -haos Dwarfs ha#e an o#erpowering sense of sur#i#al, and will do anything it takes to ensure this will happen! It has led them down many dark paths, %ut still they endure! Many of the western powers, like the Dwarfs, would find it impossi%le to accept that such actions were all simply part of their unwa#ering determination to sur#i#e! Whilst they may condemn them %y their short6sightedness, most will ne#er know the depths to which the -haos Dwarfs ha#e sunk into damnation, and the unimagina%le terror that such a fate holds! "he -haos Dwarfs see the Dwarfs as stu%%ornly %ound to their fate5 to slowly diminish and die with their honour intact, whilst they instead will em%race anything that will ultimately prolong their sur#i#al, no matter the cost! "he two races will not acti#ely go out of their way to engage each other in %attle, %ut should they do so a mighty clash of emotion will ensue as %oth races sort out grudges and #engeances dating %ack thousands of years! :The Chaos Dwarfs are the walking dead just waiting for my axe to remind 'em'. Durgrim Iron%eard

The E ic of Gilgama!
During the great storm, which was to trap those Dwarfs who had migrated east underground, the ground shook and twisted under the immense magical forces! $s it so shook, many ca#erns and tunnels were to open up! $s the Dwarfs e'plored the perilous darkness, they were ama ed to find countless cham%ers of unusual architecture forming a #ast ruined city under the ground! What was perhaps more astonishing to the e'plorers was that they could find no traces of any ci#ilisation to ha#e e#er e'isted there! "he city was so ancient, it was supposed that those who %uilt it must ha#e done so thousands of years %efore! Many thousands of years later as the -haos Dwarfs del#ed e#er further under their city, a series of stone ta%lets were disco#ered recounting the rise and fall of a nation! "hese ten ta%lets %eing the only written record to %e found of the ci#ilisation that e'isted %efore them, and apparently car#ed %y a scri%e named Gilgama ! What the words of the story mean has long %een de%ated! The First Ta"let So it is written that the Draw hira did mo#e into the lands of Darkness, and settled within the walls of the great #olcano! "here to spend many long years car#ing walls of stone to protect against the "error of the north! ,or around the city was disco#ered much wealth in the ground, which the Draw hira did keep unto themsel#es! "hus it was for many an age, del#ing e#er deeper into the %lack rock!

The Second Ta"let So it is written that many long years after work on the #ast city had %egun, it was disco#ered that there e'isted under the earth the ancient ruins of a much older ci#ilisation! "hese ruins %eing of a shape to which there was no pattern, and with tortured faces car#ed upon their walls %edecked with gold! 3ow and why such a city could ha#e %een %uilt was clear to none! ,or many years the Draw hira were to ponder the mysteries unearthed to them, %ut alas there were no traces of those that had gone %efore! The Third Ta"let So it is written that the portents coming %efore the great storm were to destroy much which had %een created! Many were the Draw hira killed %y the droughts, disease and famine to %efall the lands, and after ten years of slow destruction the worst was yet to come! ,or the mountains rum%led and %efore them the ground did shake, destroying the once great city! The Fourth Ta"let So it is written that as the lands were left in ashes, and the ri#er of ruin flooded our lands, a sa#iour did come to deli#er the Draw hira! $rri#ing from the distant mountains, he was cloaked in shadows and the darkness followed him! ,rom his eyes glowed a light of purity, and the Draw hira %owed %efore his greatness! The Fifth Ta"let So it is written that under the protection of the Dark /ord, the Draw hira and their city did rise from the ashes! )ut such peace was not to last, for the "error of the north did come once more to claim the lands! Much was the %lood spilt %y the terror, %ut our di#ine Dark /ord lead the army in a great #ictory, crushing all his enemies %efore him! The Si#th Ta"let So it is written that the Draw hira did thri#e as ne#er %efore under the direction of their /ord! ,or unto them he did %estow the knowledge of stone and metal, and great were the Ziggurat created under his eye! Such ad#ances were not known to the lesser races that %eat upon the walls of our great city, and the Draw hira were content to mock their primiti#e ways! The Se$enth Ta"let So it is written that another great hero rose to lead the Draw hira, and Enkida was the name gi#en unto him! $nd the Draw hira did thri#e under ha#ing two such %lessed leaders! Such things were not meant to last, and Enkida was to desire the power that the Dark /ord did possess! 3is lust for power was to %e the undoing of the Draw hira, and so it was that the two great leaders did plot and plan to destroy each other! The Eighth Ta"let So it is written that the two great lords did wage a war on the mountains around the great city, each with many followers unto them! .nce the great armies were slain, the two lords ascended to the highest peak and fought a %attle in the hea#ens! Many weeks later the no%le Dark /ord returned once more from the mountains, %ut his #engeance upon his people who had %etrayed him was to condemn the Dra hira to eternal damnation!

The %inth Ta"let So it is written that the Dark /ord did re#eal his true face to the Draw hira, and smote them down throughout the city for daring to defy his greatness! $nd from somewhere in the south a great e'plosion occurred, and rocks did rain down upon the great city! $nd fire did fall from the sky, and the ground did shake! $nd the immense #olcano walls that once protected the city did tum%le down, %urying all within! The Tenth Ta"let So it is written, so it was done that the once great city is destroyed, and that the Draw hira are no more as those %efore them! "hose not killed %y one of the great calamities to descend ha#e slowly disappeared! In the darkness the "error has arisen, how it is that it comes deep %elow the ground9 $las, the terror is coming for me and my words will %e all that remains! Gilgama , scri%e!