In the mists of time, before the rise of Man, a tragic war was fought between the Dwarfs and the Elves, two powerful races at the pinnacle of their strength. This was a time of legendary acts and powerful magic, and countless heroes rose and fell over the course of the War of the Beard, known amongst the Dwarfs as the War of Vengeance. Set against the backdrop of this epic conflict, the Dwarf legend Brok Stonefist and the masterful Elven Lord Salendor fought each other numerous times during this bitter war, each one refusing to back down from the other. Thousands of years later, in these days of decline for both the Dwarfs and the High Elves they would be regarded as two of the mightiest warriors in the known were many legendary individuals just as powerful as them. Thousands of lives were lost in the brutal and uncompromising clashes between Brok and Salendor, and they are remembered by their descendants with fierce pride.

Brok Stonefist of Karak Azgul was a mighty warrior, ancient even at the time of the War of the Beard. He had led his clansmen to countless victories early in the tragic conflict and became much hated and feared by the Elves who fought his armies. Brok rose to his position from humble beginnings, spending several decades as a messenger, running communications along the ancient tunnels connecting the various Dwarf holds that in times of old were still in use. He knew the tunnel layouts like no other living Dwarf, and seemed to have a mental map of everywhere he had travelled. As his beard grew longer and decade upon decade rolled past, he was sought out by many Thanes and Lords to lead mining expeditions into renowned for his subterranean navigational skills.

When the war broke out against the Elves of Ulthuan, Brok was called upon to guide forces from Karak Azgul beneath the plains and attack the Elves from behind their lines. On one such mission, Elven arrows struck down the Thane leading the army, and Elven cavalry encircled the Dwarfs, who then formed a defensive shield wall. Seizing the initiative, Brok screamed a warcry and stormed out of the shield wall. Without thinking, the Dwarf warriors leapt after him, a counter-attack that shocked the Elves who were hacked down before they could react. With Brok at the forefront, the Dwarfs managed to punch their way through the Elf line and make a fighting retreat back to their tunnels. Once there, the Dwarfs looked to Brok for leadership, and reluctantly he accepted. That night Brok led the sorely depleted Dwarf force through tunnels that had not been in use for hundreds of years, and directed the miners to excavate to the surface. The tunnels came up in an undefended area, and Brok led the Dwarfs on a savage surprise attack fought earlier that day, crushing them completely.

From that day forth, Brok was greatly respected by those who followed him. He was given the honourary title of Ungdrin Ankor Rik, Lord of the Tunnels, and over the next hundred years became one of the most accomplished of all the Dwarf generals in the War of Vengeance. He led the Dwarfs of Karak Azgul to countless victories, and earned a fearsome reputation amongst the Elves. They named him Arhain-tosaith, which translates roughly as 'the , shadowy one of the earth'.

It was only when Brok Stonefist faced the armies of Lord Salendor of Tor Achare, who would become his ultimate nemesis, that he was ever matched on the field of battle. Salendor was a young and brilliant Elf Lord who led his troops with a mastery far beyond his youth, having been alive barely two centuries. The young Salendor was a calculating tactician and a skillful master of the blade, who was also versed in the magic arts. His cool demeanour and quick strategic mind served him well against Brok, and the two quickly became fierce rivals. Whenever the armies of Karak Azgul appeared behind the forces of Salendor he managed to counter the attack, and every ploy Brok attempted was efficiently responded to by the young Elf. At the Battle of Blind River, Brok attempted to undermine the ground beneath the feet of Salendor's army that was marching through the night. Rumoured to have been gifted with mystical prescience, Salendor realised the ruse at the last moment. He sent a troop of Ellyrian Reavers galloping over the traps and the ground collapsed behind them as they raced through the night. When the dust-covered Dwarfs launched their attack from the subterranean tunnels, they found the Elves waiting for them with spear and bow.

Over the next hundred years, Brok and Salenclor clashed numerous times in the midst of bitter combat, and the meeting of these two mighty heroes was always an epic confrontation that could last hours on end. Neither foe could overcome the other, and neither backed down an inch in these contests. Brok was as strong as the mountains themselves, and it is said that no Elf ever moved as swiftly as Salendor, as if he knew every move that his foe was about to make even before his enemy did. The pair sought each other out in battle whenever possible, hacking their way through countless enemies to face each other in single combat.

It was in the great battle of Athel Maraya that the pair had their final confrontation. Several Dwarf armies, including a strike force led by Brok, besieged the doomed Elf city. Miners guided by Brok tunnelled beneath the fair city walls, undermining them and causing several wall sections to collapse, creating breaches that the Dwarfs marched through. Dragons circled the elegant towers, descending in devastating attack runs through the city streets, incinerating hundreds of Dwarfs who were cooked inside their red-hot armour. Brok and his battle-seasoned troops came to the surface in the middle of the city, striking with brilliant timing to coincide with the fall of the walls, and confusion filled the streets. The Dwarfs fought fiercely for every inch of ground they gained, suffering horrendous casualties from archers within the towering buildings, dragon-fire and desperate Elf militia who were fighting to protect their own homes and families.

Dwarfs bearing torches and flaming brands lit fires, which combined with the dragon-fire, resulted in a rapidly spreading inferno, turning the city into a deadly furnace. Both sides of the battle were forced to abandon the city or face being engulfed within it. Just as these fires took hold of the centre of the city, Brok came face to face with Salenclor for the final time. As the city burned down around them, the two warriors weaved a deadly dance of sword and axe, ignoring the entreaties of their comrades to flee the city. Elegant bridges toppled and delicate towers collapsed, raining a fiery shower of debris around the heads of the combatants, but still they fought on, ignoring all but the movements of their foe. Eventually, the Dwarfs and Elves were forced to flee the intense heat, leaving the two heroes battling until the city was completely engulfed.

Thus the two rivals are remembered, neither willing to back down from the fight, and the flaming city falling around them until they were consumed. Amongst the Elves, it is said that even after death, the two rivals continue to wage their war, battling each other through the millennia as ghostly shades. Amongst the Dwarfs of Karak Azgul, Brok is revered as the pinnacle of Dwarfishness, personifying the stubborn fighting spirit of his people. Both will live on in memory as two of the most brave and uncompromising warriors of their people.