Karak Eight Peaks

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Banner of Karak Eight Peaks

Karak Eight Peaks is the ruins of a Dwarf hold originally known as Vala-Azril-Ungol ("Queen of the Silver Depths"). [8a] The city fell in -513 IC, over 4000 years after the founding of the Dwarf Empire and the beginning of the Dwarf Golden Age.[7a]

The city was built in the Worlds Edge Mountains, in a great bowl ringed by eight high peaks. Above the surface, walls encompassed a vast area, but most of the city was built below ground. Below the earth, the city was a made up of courts and plazas with great vaulted ceilings, and further below, the tombs of the Dwarf kings and deep mines.

The city itself was well defended. Not only were its fortifications formidable, but any hostile army would find even the approach through the eight high, enclosing mountains intimidating.

Clans

Emblem of Clan Norgrimling

After the fall of the hold, many surviving clans fled to Karak Azul and became part of their hold

  • Angrund Royal Clan. [5a]
  • Bronzefist Lode Warden Clan. [5a]
  • Brynik Survived the fall and settled to the east in Skull Pass to mine gold, trading with Karak Azul and Karaz-a-Karak. [10a]
  • Copperback Mining Clan. [5a]
  • Craghand Mining Clan. [5a]
  • Dourback Brewing Clan. [5a]
  • Firehelm Mining Clan. [5a]
  • Flinthand Mining Clan. Not the same clan as those of the same name in Karak Azul. [5a]
  • Flintheart Metalsmiths Clan. [5a]
  • Grimstone Prospector Clan. [5a]
  • Guttrik Rope-making Clan. [5a]
  • Ironback Mining Clan. [5a]
  • Ironfinger Metalsmiths Clan. [5a]
  • IronSpike Carpenter Clan. [5a]
  • Norgrimling: Mining Clan with special loathing for Skaven - the atrocities committed by the ratmen are recited to young warriors as a coming of age tale. Scattered across many holds after the fall, many have gathered to fight under the banner of King Belegar. [7b]
  • Stoneback Mason Clan. [5a]
  • Stonebeard' Engineering Clan. [5a]

History

Before and during the War of Vengeance, the ruler of the hold was King Varnulf. [8a]

More than 700 years before Sigmar, the skaven first discovered the hold and realising that it was far too strong to assault directly, the Council of Thirteen formulated a long term plan to see it fall. Both Clan Gritak and Clan Mors were tasked with burrowing beneath the city and into its deep well - this they did though it took over a century. [6a]

The Fall of Karak Eight Peaks

The end of the city came in year 4010 in Dwarf reckoning (-513 IC), when the volcanoes of the south exploded, belching great ash clouds that blotted out the sun, causing the crops that fed the city to die.[7a] The Dwarfs throughout the surrounding area retreated into the city, and suddenly the warlike Orc tribes were free to migrate into the newly-abandoned lands. The Dwarfs thought they were secure in the fortress city, but in reality they had just isolated themselves. The city was attacked from the tunnels below the city by Orcs, Goblins, and their allies in the attack, the Skaven. Taken by surprise, the Dwarfs fought a rear-guard defense in the tunnels and caves. The Dwarfs could only defend themselves from the onslaught, and gradually lost more and more ground in the defence.

The Skaven brought up warpstone from the hidden depths, or perhaps they had found it in the ash spewed from the volcanoes and using the tunnels dug over a century fed them into the wells and subterranean rivers feeding the city's water supplies, and terribly polluted them. [6a]

The skaven held the lower levels only at first as the dwarf defence was fierce and it was only when they unleashed the deadly poison wind that they could break through. The next few weeks saw the remaining dwarfs steadily driven upwards and soon only a few hundred were left. Acknowledging their defeat, the King Lunn and the the Dwarfs finally abandon the city, after sealing up the sacred shrines and whatever treasures they could not take with them. [6a][7a]

Following the victory, the Night Goblin Warboss Grotbag Dungbreath who had led the attack took his seat on the kings throne in the Great Hall for a victory feast to which a Grey Seer was also invited. [13]

Following the Fall

Several Goblin tribes established their strongholds in the city, where they warred among themselves, while in the caverns bred hideous creatures warped by the corrupted water. They fought a brutal war against the Skaven and during a battle in the ceremonial halls, Clan Mors collapsed the roof, sealing the skaven levels from the greenskins. Notably Clan Mors neglected to tell Clan Gritak and enslaved those few who survived the destruction, giving them sole ownership of the lower levels[6a]

Several expeditions have been made to retake the city or recover some of its relics, and thanks to the fame of the city and its riches, some were even humans from the Old World. Most of these adventurers never returned.

The most recent attempt was made by Belegar in 2473 IC who led the descendants of the clans that once ruled the city. Belegar and his Dwarfs have gained a foothold in the city - the Dwarfs largely confined to the surface and upper levels of the city and grimly hold on - despite being under a near-continuous siege. Slowly they find and seal off the tunnels which the Goblins and Skaven used to breach the city, as well as walling off areas too poisoned by Chaos to be reclaimed. [9a]

It was visited by the adventurers Gotrek & Felix, and it was in the tunnels beneath the hold that Felix came into possession of his magical sword Karaghul. [1]

The Skaven call it the City of Pillars and its expanse has changed hands many times over the centuries. In 2522 IC it was ruled by Clan Mors and had a population of about 95,000 Skaven. The ruling Clan mine the substantial warpstone deposits, growing rich and powerful on the profits as well as via the mercenary troops it sells to other Clans. [2]

In an attempt to break the deadlock and reclaim more of the hold, King Belegar requested further aid from his kinsmen in Karak-a-Karaz and his oldest relative, Lord Duregar raised an army, marching to Karak Eight Peaks. As they progressed, they fought and defeated a greenskin army at the Battle of the Jaws in Mad Dog Pass and then through Death Pass towards the hold leading to the Battle of the East Gate. [12a]

End Times

In 2523 IC, Queek was tasked by Grand Lord Gnawdwell in swiftly taking the hold and was given a vast army to do so - but also that he must do it quickly so that he could so that he could aid the other clans. The attack began with the detonation of huge amounts of explosives that had been secreted in the depths of four of the eight peaks - those mostly controlled by the greenskins. Karag Nar, the Sunrise Mountain was extremely successful reducing its height by half and killing tens of thousands of greenskins as well as sealing off any access to the East Gate. Many thousands of skavenslaves were then launched at the Dwarf held areas having been heavily dosed with skavenbrew and more skaven died in this initial assault than there were Dawi within the entire hold. [14a]

After the brutal Battle of the Hall of Skalfdon, the Dawi withdrew further and further into the Citadel but also found that the runes of Valaya no longer shone when struck and King Belegar's wound would not heal. They did however seek to keep the landing shelves of Karag Lhune free for the gyrocoptors that provided vital communications with the other holds until it was overrun by spider riders. The last pilot to make it inside was Torin Algenonsonn who brought a message for the king from the High King himself. [14c]

Dire news was conveyed - Karak Azul had fallen and the surviving holds were too hard pressed to send aid - in fact Thorgrim asked Belegar to try and safeguard the refugees moving towards him. Despite his own lack of troops, Belegar sent rangers to try and aid them as much as they could. [14c] The Archgate was the first fortification to be attacked by Stormfiends whose power breached this, the penultimate defense layer of the remaining Dwarf held areas. [14d]

Locations

Cut-away diagram of Karak Eight Peaks
  • Arch of Kings: A extremely large stone bridge crossing a wide river several hundred feet below, later the water was poisoned and diverted. The southern end is a well-protected stone door - the Archgate. [14d]
  • Citadel: [14a]
    • Hall of Pillared Iron. [14a]
      • King's Hall: A high palatial chamber with high arches and in which stood the throne of the ruler of the hold. Windows looking at each of the eight peaks meant that it was well-lit. [14a]
  • Gates
    • East Gate: Several miles inside Death Pass, the Dwarfs built a seemingly impregnable fortress entrance where the pass narrowed to about a hundred yards across. [12a]
    • West Gate. [14a]
  • Hall of Reckoning. Before the fall , it was known as the Grand Avenue and was a continuation of the Ungdrin, the Underway, acting as a main artery of the hold. [14a]
    • Door of Bar-Undak: A reinforced door that led to the Citadel. [14a]
  • Tor Rudrum: rocky bluff. [14c]
    • Karag Lhune: Landing shelves for gyrocoptors. [14c]

Notable

Gallery

  • Karak Eight Peaks and its surrounds

  • Exterior of the hold.

  • Hall of Reckoning during the End Times

  • Belegar Ironhammer

  • Gotrek & Felix and other adventurers exploring the tunnels of Karak Eight Peaks

  • Occupied Karak Eight PEaks

Notes

  • The hold is known as Carag Eight Peaks in early material. [11a]

Sources

Uncited

The Dwarf realms
Karaz-a-Karak - Karak Kadrin - Zhufbar - Karak Azar - Karak Azgal - Karak Azul- Karak Hirn - Karak Angazbar - Karak Gantuk - Karak Izor - Karak Norn - Karak Ziflin - Karak Eight Peaks - Barak Varr - Karak Zorn - Karak Eksfilaz - Karak Kaferkammaz - Karak Grom - Karak Azgaraz - Karak Angkul
Norse Dwarf holds Kraka Dorden - Kraka Drak - Kraka Ornsmotek - Kraka Ravnsvake
Lost holds Kadar-Gravning - Karag Dron - Karak Azorn - Karaz Bryn - Kazad Thrund - Karak Drazh - Karak Dum - Karak Khazarak - Karak Krum - Karak Ungor - Karak Varn - Karak Vlag - Karak Vrag - Karak Zanda - Ekrund - Mount Silverspear - Karaz Ghumzul

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