During the centuries, the Dorkhome dwarves and the SlayerRock slayers had experienced several vicissitudes, at times as allies, at times as foes.
The slayers are barbarian dwarves dedicated to the cult of war, the art of fighting, and forging weapons. They never wear armour because they want to feel the wounds an adversary manages to inflict on their flesh. They appreciate a good death, and for this, in fervour and frenzy, they risk their lives. In the year 903, a Chaos Lord cast his net of influence over Galzar, King of the Slayers, enthralling him with insidious suggestions and malevolent counsellors; eventually, this drove the berserker dwarves to occupy Dorkhome, the city in the mountains.
Thaina, the Dwarf King, who had no intention of clashing with his brothers, managed to save himself, protected by the armies of his ironclad dwarves. These warriors represent the most feared striking power among the dwarves, legends even saying that none of them ever takes off their armour, which seems to have become an integral part of their body structure; they wield weapons that each one has personally forged, impregnating the blade with his own blood, making it magical and indestructible.
A few years later, in 930, Punkarf Redaxe, a slayer and an adventurer, defeated MunlahFeth, one of the most powerful chieftains of the volcano giants. From his treasure, he retrieved the Belt of the Dwarf Kings, a powerful magical artefact that had been lost for centuries, the symbol of command over all dwarves. When he put on the belt, the warrior felt a flash of energy surge through his body, and a new awareness filled his mind: it was the wisdom and the experience of the old Kings under the mountain.
Once he returned to SlayerRock, Punkarf was recognised as the new and rightful King of the Slayers. He then went to the plains to meet the exiled King Thaina and his dwarves, and there they gave him their support and blessing so that all dwarves may be reunited as one people.
When the news of the recovery of the Kings’ Belt reached Dorkhome, Galzar prepared for the fight, but few dwarves were willing to fight the bearer of the Kings’ Belt, so they abandoned him. Punkarf wanted to fight the usurper Galzar in person, slayer against slayer, in a furious duel. They fought with axes and hammers, wounded each other and rolled among the sharp rocks under the mountain until Punkarf prevailed, ending the Chaos-corrupted dwarf. Thus it was that Punkarf became King of all dwarf peoples, a slayer fit for the times of war that were brewing.
