Emblem of the Red Eye Tribe as depicted in Total War: Warhammer.
The Red Eye are a confederation of Night Goblin tribes that dwell in Red Eye Mountain - the long-lost Dwarf Hold of Karak Ungor.[1a][2a] Since the fall of the old Dwarf empire it has become the most notorious Night Goblin stronghold north of Mad Dog Pass. The Red Eye tribes have daubed their crude symbol on the old Dwarf gates and the rocks near by. The sign of the Red Eye is that of the biggest and most dangerous confederation of Goblin tribes whose warriors raid far into the eastern provinces of the Empire.[4a] There, the Greenskins feud constantly with each other and fight for control of their lair with Skaven. Many of their kind have never seen a live Dwarf, although High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer has vowed that one day soon his people will return.[9c]
History[]
Karak Ungor, the lair of the Red Eye tribes.
Karak Ungor was the first Dwarf Hold to fall to the Greenskins in -1500 IC, becoming the Night Goblin stronghold of the Red Eye Mountain.[1b][2a][6b][7a][7b][8c][9b][10b]
Karak Ungor means 'Delving Hold' in Khazalid and was so called because of the vast network of deep caverns beneath the mountain. The mines here were the deepest in the old Dwarf realm. The Dwarfs dug very deep to reach the rich veins of rare and precious metals in the great fault line which lies beneath the Worlds Edge Mountains. Some say the Dwarfs of old burrowed so deeply and created so many caverns that they forgot exactly where their tunnels all led.[2a]
It was the Skaven who showed the Night Goblins how to penetrate into the deeply hidden stronghold.[10a][10b] The Greenskins emerged unchecked out of the deepest mineworks, appearing suddenly in the very centre of the Dwarf city. By the time the Dwarfs were alerted to the attack, it was already too late. Pushing bloodthirsty packs of Squigs before them, the Greenskins rampaged through the city’s living quarters. As they had already bypassed the dozens of interlocking levels of defence that surrounded the outermost layers of the mountain steadfast, there was little in the way of organised resistance to stop the tide, though that did not mean the Dwarfs would not try. Here and there, knots of warriors stood back to back and attempted to hold off the attack, but one by one, even these defended tunnels were taken. Hoping to save the women and beardlings, King Kargsson, of the Stonehelm Clan, gave the order to abandon the city. To allow time for the refugees to escape, King Kargsson himself led a hopeless counter-attack, holding the foe at bay in a heroic rearguard action. Knowing it was the only way, he ordered the secret tunnels to be collapsed behind the last of the retreating Dwarfs, sealing himself and his bodyguard in with the foe. The last sight the refugees ever had of King Kargsson was the doughty lord still singing his deathsong while he swung the fabled rune axe known as Foecleaver, before the archways were demolished behind the last of them as they made good their escape.[9a]
Apparently there were also Orcs in the invading army, but they soon abandoned the area, leaving it in the possession of the many Night Goblins of the Red Eye tribe.[8a]
In the more than four thousand years since its abandonment, no fewer than three High Kings of old have been slain fighting to regain Karak Ungor’s gates.[9c]
Battle of a Thousand Woes[]
In -975 IC,[1b][2b][6b][7a][9b] Dwarf King Skorri Morgrimson led a massive Dwarf army northwards in an attempt to recapture Karak Ungor. The Dwarfs cleared their enemies from the southern valley and gate, but were ambushed and driven back when they attempt to enter the stronghold itself. A few Dwarfs, including Furgil, Skorri's youngest son, managed to infiltrate the lower halls, but they did not return.[2b][7a][9b] Some say his party was ambushed by Night Goblins and that Furgil was devoured by a Troll, driving his bodyguard Gudrun to become a Slayer,[5a] while some records indicate he was killed by Skaven instead.[5b] Skorri led the remnants of his army back to Karaz-a-Karak and died shortly afterwards.[2b][7a][9b] Many Dwarfs were slain and the survivors gave up their attempted reconquests.[1b] Dwarfs call this conflict the Battle of a Thousand Woes, but Greenskins refer to it as simply 'annuver big stunty bake'.[8c]
Grimgor Ironhide[]
Grimgor Ironhide.
After emerging from the Dark Lands and invading the Empire and Kislev, Warlord Grimgor Ironhide was forced out of the northern lands by the Ice Magic of Tsarina Katarin.[4b][6a] In a towering rage Grimgor returned to the Worlds Edge Mountains. His anger was so palpable, even his bodyguard kept their distance.[8b]
Then he finally decided to find a base from which to strike, and the ancient Dwarf Hold of Karak Ungor seemed just the right place to start. Most of the Red Eye Goblins that swarmed through the former Dwarf Hold were already followers of Grimgor, and the few that weren't soon learned their mistake.[4b][6a]
Awed by his incandescent anger, the bravest of the Night Goblins dared to approach Grimgor and lead him to the depths beneath their mountainous lair. In the deepest tunnels, the Night Goblins had encountered a Skaven lair,[8b] which had been first tunnelled at some point between -1500 and -1400 IC.[3a][3b] There, Grimgor found a vent for his insatiable appetite for carnage - a seemingly never-ending supply of ratmen. Grimgor swung his axe until the tunnels and caverns were filled with twitching corpses and piled offal. The Skaven threw themselves into combat, for the ratmen fed uncountable numbers into the fray solely to occupy Grimgor's fury,[8e] and while it wasn't the challenge Grimgor wanted, it was at least battle without end.[8b]
Month after month the battles raged, thousands of Skaven and Greenskins dying for each room, each corridor. Time and again Grimgor would think the Skaven destroyed, just to stumble on a secret passage hiding yet more of the vermin. With no map and both the Night Goblins and Skaven adding to the already labyrinthine passageways, Grimgor retired to the upper levels, leaving his followers to battle it out in the depths. For many years, in the spring Grimgor led his followers into Kislev or the Empire, slaughtering all who stand before him, and in the winter he retreated to his stronghold in the remains of Karak Ungor, known to men as Red Eye Mountain, and there spent his time murdering the Skaven that infested the lower levels. But by 2521 IC[8d] there were signs that he was growing weary of this and sought to enlarge his domains. In the latter years he had lingered ever longer in the Empire and some feared that one year he wouldn't return to Red Eye Mountain.[4b][6a]
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Orcs and Goblins (4th Edition)
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (4th Edition)
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Skaven (4th Edition)
- 4: Warhammer Armies: Orcs and Goblins (6th Edition)
- 5: Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (6th Edition)
- 6: Warhammer Armies: Orcs and Goblins (7th Edition)
- 7: Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (7th Edition)
- 8: Warhammer Armies: Orcs and Goblins (8th Edition)
- 9: Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (8th Edition)
- 10: Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2nd Ed.: Children of the Horned Rat