Skaladrak Incarnadine

Skaladrak faces the unwelcoming forces of the Dwarfs.

Skaladrak Incarnadine was a legendary Emperor Dragon that ravaged in ancient times the mountains near Karak Kadrin.^{[1a][3a][4a][5a]} It would later spawn many powerful Dragons, including Graug the Terrible^[1a] and the fierce Fyrskar.^[4b]

History

In -720 IC it was first recorded as destroying several mines near Karak Kadrin.^[1a][4a] The constant mining and manufacturing of the Dwarfs had stirred it from its slumber, and he sought retribution against those foolish enough to disturb him.^[6a]

Around -650 IC^{[1a][2b][3a][4a]}, the Dragon attacked Dwarf King Baragor's retinue as he crossed the Worlds Edge Mountains to marry his daughter to the son of the High King at Karaz-a-Karak, resulting in the bride's death. This is commonly assumed to be the event that pushed Baragor to become the first Slayer King of Karak Kadrin.^[1b][4b][6a] Baragor tracked down Skaladrak and attempted to exact revenge, but he didn't manage to kill the beast, taking only a scale and causing a grievous wound that forced the creature to flee. The newly christened Ungrim then returned to Karak Kadrin to turn it into the Slayer Keep.^[6a]

In 1420 IC, Skaladrak ravaged again the lands around Karak Kadrin.^[1a][3a][4a] At first, Dwarf caravans and patrols around Karak Kadrin began to disappear, and lone Dragon Slayers found signs that a Dragon was on the prowl in the mountain passes around the Hold. Consulting the Book of Grudges, the Dwarfs soon discovered that there was only one Dragon powerful enough to accomplish these attacks - Skaladrak had returned.^[6a]

By then, however, Skaladrak had already tired of dining on small groups. Instead, he had found a mining shaft high in the mountains that connected to Karak Kadrin. This mine was too high up for any army to attack, so the Dwarfs had left it relatively unguarded. Skaladrak exploited this weakness, and stalked the dark caverns on his way to the hold, fighting against the Dwarfs when they realised its intent.^[6a]

Even though they managed to grievously injure the great Dragon, the return of Skaladrak to Karak Kadrin cost the Dwarfs many, many lives. What's more, the Dwarfs' long memory reminded them of this creature's past predations and the woe it had caused their long-dead King Baragor. Altogether, the disaster rekindled the fury of the Dwarfs to a level unseen since the War of the Beard.^[6a]

Slayer and Dwarf Warrior alike banded together to form a massive army, and marched from the hold behind one of the descendants of Baragor. Dragon Slayers had tracked Skaladrak back to his lair, and the army was approaching the site of the cruel beast when they ran into a foreign army (probably Skaven).^[6a]

These fiends hadn't bothered to exterminate the Dragon while he focussed his merciless appetites on Karak Kadrin, and indeed, they had sat back and watched the carnage for millennia. Now, however, Skaladrak was in danger of Dwarf attack, and they would not stand by and lose their favourite terror-inflicting beast.^[6a]

In the end, after fifty years of torments, Dragon Slayer Throrin the Crazed eliminated this threat.^[2b]

Sources

• 1 Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (4th Edition)
  • 1a pg. 20
  • 1b pg. 91
• 2 Warhammer Fantasy RPG 1st Ed.: Dwarfs - Stone and Steel
  • 2a pg. 29
  • 2b pp. 108-109
• 3 Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (7th Edition)
  • 3a pp. 17-18
• 4 Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (8th Edition)
  • 4a pg. 21
  • 4b pg. 53
• 5 Warhammer: Storm of Magic (8th Edition)
  • 5a pg. 120
• 6 Games Workshop - On the Trail of a Dragon: A small campaign through Dwarfen history.