RED ELF

NOTABLE EVENTS IN ORC HISTORY

At about this time the Elves abandon the Old World and the declining Dwarf empire is destroyed by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Orcs and Goblins pour over the lands, looting the remaining Elf cities and destroying Dwarf holds. Karak Ungor is the first Dwarf hold to fall to the Goblins, it becomes the Night Goblin stronghold of Red Eye Mountain. The Dwarfs refer to the following five hundred years as the time of the Goblin Wars, as Dwarfs and Goblins fight for possession of the old Dwarf empire.

Karak Varn is flooded and then occupied by Skaven and Goblins. The isolated Dwarf mines at Ekrund in the Dragonback Mountains fall to Orcs who rename the place Mount Bloodfang. Goblins take over the Dwarf watch towers and forts throughout the Mad Dog Pass. The Dwarf gold mines at Gunbad fall to the Night Goblins. Gunbad was the richest and largest mine in the Worlds Edge mountains as well as a source of precious gems and the brilliant blue crystal rock Brynduraz or ‘Bright Stone’. It is taken over by Goblins and fortified.

The Silver Road Wars begin between Dwarfs and Goblins. After twenty years the Dwarfs abandon the mines at Mount Silverspear to the Orcs. The mines are occupied by Warlord Urk Grimfang and known ever after as Mount Grimfang. With the loss of Gunbad and Silverspear, the Dwarfs lose their most important mines in the east and within five years they abandon the eastern fringes of the Worlds Edge Mountains altogether.

The Troll Wars. Trolls are driven north by fresh eruptions of Thunder Mountain, attacking Dwarf miners and prospectors and overrunning several small Dwarf settlements south of Karaz a Karak.

From this time the Dwarfs launch a series of attacks against Goblinheld territories. They drive the Orcs from the mountains and gain control of the whole area between Karak Kadrin and Mad Dog Pass. Mount Gunbad is temporarily recaptured by the Dwarfs but then lost again. Mount Grimfang is attacked but the Dwarfs are beaten off by Orc Chieftain Nurk Ard’ed. For the next 250 years the Dwarfs consolidate their hold over the mountains, gradually reopening many of their old mines and rebuilding countless tombs of their ancestors...

Nagash the Black excavates the Cursed Pit. Goblins and Orcs flee west to escape the necromantic evil that grips the south.

Kadrin Redmane the Dwarf Runesmith leads an expedition into the ruins of Karak Varn where he discovers a rich vein of Gromril. The Dwarfs continue to mine the vein for several years and even talk of resettling the old hold.

Kadrin Redmane killed by Orcs above Black Water leading a muletrain of Gromril ore. The Dwarf miners pull out from Karak Varn under renewed pressure from Skaven in the depths.

Battle of a Thousand Woes. A Dwarf attempt to recapture Red Eye Mountain fails when the Dwarf army is ambushed somewhere north of Karak Kadrin. Many Dwarfs are slain and the Dwarfs give up their attempted reconquests. The Dwarfs concentrate on fortification and consolidation, so few records are made of Orc activity for the next few hundred years.

The Red Cloud Goblin tribe attacks Karak Azgul and are repulsed. They then go on to attack and partially occupy the hold of Karak Azul. Ten years of hard fighting follow before the Goblins are eventually expelled.

After hundreds of years of embattled resistance the Dwarf city of Karak Eight Peaks falls to attack by Orcs, Goblins and Skaven. Its ruins and the surrounding mountains become infested with Goblins and Skaven who fight each other for possession of what remains.

Orc Warlord Dork leads a huge army of Orcs and Goblins to take the Dwarf hold of Karak Azgal which he destroys and abandons, leaving the secrets of its depths unexplored.

Three years later he attacks and captures the Dwarf hold of Karak Drazh which is occupied and renamed Black Crag. Within fifty years of the fall of Karak Eight Peaks the Dwarfs have lost all of their major holds south of Karaz a Karak with the exception of Karak Azul, which is under constant siege. All the mountains between Mad Dog Pass and Karak Eight Peaks are Orc or Goblin controlled.

According to Dwarf tradition the rampages of Urgok the Beard Burner occur about this time. Orcs and Goblins almost overwhelm the remaining Dwarf holds but are finally beaten back at the Battle of Black Water.

The time of Sigmar sees the Orcs and Goblins driven out of the lands west of the Worlds Edge Mountains. Orcs take refuge in the deep forests or travel north into the Troll Country. Goblins flee to the mountains. A massive Orc army is defeated at the Battle of Black Fire Pass (in the year 1), a resounding defeat which paved the way for the accession of Sigmar as the first Emperor.

Gilles le Breton conquers all the lands west of the Grey Mountains and creates the land of Bretonnia. Orcs and Goblins retreat to the Grey Mountains and northern forests under pressure from the new Bretonnian armies.

Guillaume, the third Bretonnian King, defeats a large Orc army at the Battle of Armandur and drives out the last of the Orcs from northern Bretonnia.

Around this time Gorbad Ironclaw defeats Crusher Zogoth and unites the Ironclaw and Broken Tooth tribes at the fortress of Iron Rock.

The greatest Warlord of all time, Gorbad Ironclaw, leads a huge Waaagh into the Empire. Averland and the Moot are devastated. Averheim and Nuln are taken and burned. At the battle of Solland’s Crown Eldred Count of Solland is slain and his magic sword the Runefang of Solland taken by the Orcs. Solland is devastated. Gorbad is badly wounded at the Battle of Grunberg, but the battle is won and the Empire army flees back to Altdorf.

Altdorf is besieged. The Emperor Sigismund is killed in the fighting. Gorbad’s wound causes him to become weaker and weaker, until the Waaagh gradually loses impetus. The Orc army breaks up leaving the eastern half of the Empire in ruins.

The beginning of the Errantry Wars when Louen Orc Slayer, the King of Bretonnia, declares his intention to rid Bretonnia of Orcs. Over the next century Bretonnian territory is gradually cleared of Orcs who take to the mountains and forests to escape the king’s knights.

The Great War Against Chaos in the north forces many Orc tribes southwards into the Empire and Worlds Edge Mountains. Some join Chaos but others attack the Chaos armies as they pass.

Bretonnian King Charlen announces his intention to carry the Errantry Wars east into the Border Princes and beyond. Bretonnian knights win a huge victory against Orcs at Blood River, and more settlers move east into the Border Princes.

The Goblin Warlord Grom leads a coalition of Orc and Goblin tribes into the Worlds Edge Mountains. After defeating the Dwarfs at the battle of Iron Gate the Waaagh moves into the Empire. Much of the north and east is devastated and Nuln is burned to the ground. Grom leads his armies to the sea where he builds a huge fleet and sails into the west, never to be seen again in the Old World.

Years later it is discovered that Grom reached the Elven Kingdoms of Ulthuan, causing great destruction until finally defeated by the High Elves.

The Battle of Death Pass. A Bretonnian army is defeated by Morglum Necksnapper. The Bretonnian king declares the Errantry Wars at an end.

The Battle of the Jaws. An Orc army is defeated at the western end of Mad Dog Pass by Dwarfs led by Duregar. Dwarfs subsequently beaten at the Battle of East Gate by the Night Goblin Warlord Skarsnik. The partially resettled Dwarf hold of Karak Eight Peaks is under constant pressure from surrounding Goblin tribes.

Orc Warlord Gnashrak unites the Orcs and Goblins of the eastern Worlds Edge Mountains and leads a huge army along the Silver Road towards Karaz a Karak. The Orcs rampage through the mountains for years, causing considerable destruction and even threatening to capture the capital. Eventually Gnashrak is defeated and captured at the Battle of Broken Leg Gulley by a Dwarf army led by Lord Ungrim Ironfist of Karak Kadrin.

An Orc army under Gorfang Rotgut besieges Barak Varr and later joins up with Orc and Goblin tribes led by Morglum Necksnapper to attack Karak Azul. The Orcs briefly take possession of parts of the Hold and Gorfang captures many kinsfolk of Lord Kazador.

Orc Warlord Azhag the Slaughterer leads a huge army of Orcs and Night Goblins into the northern Empire. He is finally met and defeated at the Battle of Osterwald.