Dwarf versus High Elf in bitter conflict This was fought in the mists of time before the rise of Man. Anthony Reynolds tells us of this dire age.

In an era long past, more than 2,000 years before the birth of Sigmar, the renowned Phoenix King Caledor I steered Ulthuan through its time of turbulence, the vicious civil war that tore the Elven nation apart. As brother fought brother for control of the isle and the Phoenix Crown itself, Caledor led those loyal to his cause against the traitorous Malekith, eventually driving him from Ulthuan.

Despite the troubles that had befallen the Elves, they were still a mighty nation, their magic at its pinnacle and dragon-riders soaring through the skies above Ulthuan. The streets of Ulthuan were filled with the sounds of despair and much lamentation when the time came for Caledor to pass away.

Caledor had left his successor, his son Caledor II, with a strong army and the most powerful navy in the world, but the folly of hereditary kingship was soon to be learned. Caledor II, though sharing the blood of his father, had none of his good sense and wisdom. The young Phoenix King was rash and impetuous, vain and pompous. He was a mighty warrior, but with Ulthuan desperate for stability, far more was needed in a leader than he could provide.

Early in his reign, trade routes with the Dwarfs which had been closed during the times of Elven civil war were reopened. The Dwarfs were at the peak of their power, and their runesmiths had a far greater knowledge of their art than is present today. Dwarf-forged steel was the finest in the world, and their intricate clockwork toys were the delight of Elven children. Great underground roads linked the flourishing Dwarf strongholds, and the Dwarfs knew little of the strife the Elves had suffered, believing themselves to be far removed from any danger.

As the Elves of Ulthuan forged friendships with the Dwarfs, Malekith the Witch King continued to plot against the Phoenix King. Garbed as warriors of Ulthuan, Dark Elves began to strike brutally against the trade routes, slaughtering countless Dwarfs and seizing their wares. Suspicion naturally fell on the High Elves of Ulthuan.

King Gotrek demanded recompense from the Elves. When word of this demand reached the Phoenix King his reply was immediate and undiplomatic. He sent a message saying that the Phoenix King did not answer demands but granted pleas. Dwarfs are a touchy, proud race and to suggest to a Dwarf King that he should beg for anything was almost as bad as suggesting he shave off his beard. King Gotrek sent a blunt reply to Caledor saying he made pleas to neither Elf nor god and demanded twice the recompense originally asked because of the implied insult. Caledor sent the Dwarf ambassador back with his beard shaved off and said that if Gotrek wanted compensation, he should come to Ulthuan and collect it himself. While all this was going on, agents of Naggaroth were abroad throughout the Old World stirring up trouble. Now it was a matter of honor, and there could now be only one outcome: war.

Dwarf armies marched down on the trading city of Tor Alessi (present day L'Anguille in Bretonnia) and laid siege to it. King Gotrek swore an oath that he would have his money or its weregeld price in Elf blood, or he would shave his head. It was a mighty oath. His ambassador had already become a Trollslayer from the shame of having his beard shaved, and the Dwarfs were determined that their king should not endure a similar fate.

Upon hearing of the Dwarf attack Caledor was outraged. He instantly dispatched an expedition to relieve Tor Alessi. It was a mighty fleet and a great army. As they watched the towering ships sail forth, his advisors were dismayed because they feared that the dispatch of such a force would leave Ulthuan almost defenseless. Caledor flew into a towering rage and dismissed their fears as groundless.

In the Old World the war dragged on. Neither side was strong enough to overcome the other. The fortress cities of the Dwarfs were virtually impregnable. The dour, stalwart Dwarf troops were quite unlike any foe the Elves had faced before and they simply refused to give up or admit defeat, even when hopelessly outnumbered. This was not the berserker fury of the Chaos Hordes; this incredible tenacity was allied to tactical cunning and consummate military skill. For their part, the Dwarfs were astonished by the power of the Elf forces. They had judged the strength of Ulthuan by that of the least of its provinces. The huge armies of mailed knights and disciplined infantry was not what they had expected. Still, in true Dwarf fashion, they were not about to admit to a mistake.

The war engendered a legacy of hatred and bitterness that was to last for thousands of years. In response to the beard-shaving incident, the Dwarfs chopped down entire virgin forests to spite the Elves. Both sides fought until almost their entire military strength was spent. Tired of their lack of success, Caledor II dismissed his generals and took command personally. It was his last great mistake. At the fourteenth siege of Tor Alessi he charged right into the heart of the Dwarf infantry and was cut down by King Gotrek who snatched the Phoenix Crown from his corpse and took it in payment for the Elves' insolence.

The Dwarfs retreated from the field claiming that honor was satisfied and refused to answer any Elf petitions for the return of the crown. Gotrek claimed that if they wished, they could come to Karaz-a-Karak with an army and plead for its return.

Even as the Elves mustered a suicidal expedition to besiege Karaz-a-Karak, the world's most unassailable fortress, word came that the Dark Elves had invaded Ulthuan once more. The Witch King's plan had come to fruition.

The first Phoenix crown remains in the great vault of the Everpeak to the present day, a source of festering hatred and recrimination between the two peoples. The Dwarfs refer to the Elves as oathbreakers and beardclippers, while the Elves call the Dwarfs thieves. It was a petty, spiteful and pointless war and worse was yet to come.