Fall of Karak Eight Peaks

The loss of the great Dwarf hold of Karak Eight Peaks in the Warhammer world, after a war of over a century and a half ending in -513 IC, in which Skaven broke in through tunnels dug beneath its mines while Greenskins besieged it from above.

Fictional record. This page describes an incident from a fictional setting, not a real event. Information is based on the cited canon, with adaptations and interpretation distinguished where necessary. It is kept separate from the real MineArchive corpus — see Fictional.

Cause

A long-prepared Skaven assault through tunnels driven below the hold's deepest workings, combined with Greenskin attacks on the surface.

Contributing factors

The Time of Woes: volcanic eruptions to the east blotted out the sun and killed the crops, Greenskin hordes migrated west, and the Dwarfs had withdrawn into their cities. The Skaven also poisoned the wells with warpstone, sent giant rats against the food stores, and used new weapons, the warpfire thrower and the poisoned wind globe.

What happened

The Dwarfs of Eight Peaks believed themselves safest in the depths, and it was from below that their enemies came. The Skaven first struck at the mines and minor holds of the Worlds Edge Mountains through the Underway, but at Eight Peaks they met heavily armoured Ironbreakers in the narrow passages and lines of handgunners and cannon in the upper levels, and every level cost them dearly. The warlord clans turned to the Council of Thirteen, and a plan nearly ten generations in the making followed: the Orc tribes on the surface were set to attack the hold together, the wells were slowly poisoned with warpstone, Clan Moulder's giant rats raided the dwindling food stores, and Clan Skyre's warpfire throwers burned through the gromril-reinforced gates while its poisoned wind globes killed Dwarfs in the dark by gas. After more than a century and a half of fighting the last few hundred Dwarfs abandoned the hold. The Skaven renamed it the City of Pillars; the Greenskins then broke into the upper levels and the two fought on until Clan Mors collapsed a vaulted roof to seal the Greenskins out of the lower halls.

Rescue & recovery

The survivors, a few hundred Dwarfs, fled. Centuries later Belegar Ironhammer, descendant of the last king, Lunn, led about five hundred Dwarfs back to retake the surface and upper levels, which they hold under near-continuous siege.

Canon & adaptations

Told in Games Workshop's army books, roleplaying supplements and novels, summarised here from the Warhammer Fantasy Wiki and the Return of Reckoning Wiki; the books themselves were not read. The wiki gives the hold's former population as 95,000 but no death toll for the war.

Recorded claims

Each claim is marked with its basis — explicit canon, MineArchive inference, adaptation only, or fandom interpretation — and attached to the source(s) below. Where tellings disagree, both are kept.

• The War of Eight Peaks lasted from -701 to -513 IC. (explicit canon) ¹
• The Skaven prepared their attack for over a century, driving secret tunnels and striking the hold from beneath while Greenskins attacked from the surface. (explicit canon) ^1,2
• The Dwarfs had withdrawn into the city after volcanic eruptions and the advance of a Greenskin army outside. (explicit canon) ^1,2
• The Skaven poisoned the wells with warpstone and used warpfire throwers and poisoned wind globes against the defenders. (explicit canon) ¹
• After more than a century and a half of fighting the last few hundred Dwarfs fled, and the Skaven renamed the hold the City of Pillars. (explicit canon) ^1,2

Sources

1. (interpretation) Karak Eight Peaks — Warhammer Fantasy Wiki — Fandom (community wiki)
2. (interpretation) Karak Eight Peaks — Return of Reckoning Wiki — Return of Reckoning (Warhammer Online community server) wiki

Record created: 11 October 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026