The time has come, after their triumph against the Wood Elves of Athel Loren, the various Dwarf armies are finally returning to their holds. Sadly, war comes with sacrifices and on this occasion, that sacrifice came in the form of the Great King of Karaz-a-Karak, Thorgrim Grudgebearer, who passed away at the tendrils of the Tree Ancient Coeddil, leaving no heirs to his kingdom behind.

Without any natural heirs in line, a special council has been convened wherein you, the great warriors and runelords of the many Dwarf kingdoms, must now gather to elect your High King. To even be considered, a candidate must be of noble blood and must have accomplished great things for your people. Right off the bat, every candidate except Kragg the Grim has stated unequivocally that they will contribute towards ending the Asrai terror incursions into their kingdoms. However, there’s plenty of areas where they disagree. Here are your candidates:

• Belegar Ironhammer, The Leader of Clan Angrund and the bane of Greenskins and Skaven. If he is elected, Belegar swears to retake Karak Eight Peaks and restore it into the gem of the Dwarf realms, a mighty capital city to all Dwarfs that shall stand for millennia to come.
  
• Byrrnoth Grundadrakk, King of the coastal stronghold Barak Varr. A veteran of many wars with the Druchii Corsairs and the Vampire Coast, this seafaring king intends to secure the Dawi’s borders by leading an invasion of the pirate isle of Sartosa, ridding the Dwarfs of the pirate scourge once and for all and allowing them to seize a great bounty which may be redistributed across all the Dwarf holds.
  
• Vala Kemma, True Queen of Karak Eight Peaks and wife of Belegar Ironhammer. Queen Kemma believes her husband would be ill-suited to the monotonies of High Kingship. Instead, she proposes that she is elected first High Queen of the Dwarfs so that she can run the economy and diplomatic relations while funding her husband’s campaign to retake their ancient homeland. Vala’s manifesto mirrors her husband Belegar’s in many ways and she too hopes to restore the Karak as a Capital for all Dwarfs.
  
• Garagrim Ironfist, Son of Ungrim Ironfist and Slayer Prince of Karak Kadrin. Unlike his Southern kin, Garagrim is more concerned about the growing tide of Chaos in the North than he is regarding local threats. A usurper has challenged Morkar to the crown of Everchosen and with that development, it is only a matter of time until Chaos invades the materium once more. Rather than waiting for them to attack, Garagrim proposes a pre-emptive offensive against Chaos. As High King he will march North and with the assistance of the Ice Queen of Kislev, they shall push the forces of Chaos back and seal the Polar Gates once more.
  
• Kragg the Grim, Master Runelord of Karaz-a-Karak. Despite not particularly wanting the title of High King, Kragg is appalled by the notion that an outsider would take the throne of Karaz-a-Karak. Therefore, as the highest-ranking Dwarf in his hold, Kragg has opened himself up to election. Contrary to many of his rivals, Kragg has no interest in yet another war. If his kin are attacked, he will rally the forces of Karaz-a-Karak to their side on a case by case basis. Otherwise he will favour a hands-off approach to ruling, cutting industrial regulations and allowing maximum autonomy to the various Dwarf Kingdoms.
  
• Ungrim Ironfist, Slayer King of Karak Kadrin. As perhaps the greatest Dwarf warrior alive today, Ungrim has a long slew of military accomplishments behind him including beating the Ogre mercenary Gogfag Maneater, holding off a Chaos Invasion at the Battle of High Pass and as of just before the war with the Wood Elves, it was Ungrim who killed the King in the Woods, Orion. With all this behind him, Ungrim’s warrior spirit has not waned. Instead, if he is elected he will take advantage of the power vacuum in the East following from the unexpected collapse of Drazhoath the Ashen’s rule over the infamous Black Fortress. With Ogres and Dawi Zharr at each other’s throats, the time to expand Eastwards and reclaim their lands from their fallen kin and the brutes has come. It is time to reclaim the Dwarf Empire of old.
  
• Alrik Ranulfsson, King of Karak Hirn. Alrik’s return from the war with the Wood Elves has not gone to plan. While he was away fighting for the late High King, his hold was taken by the treacherous Skaven lord Tretch Craventail. As High King of the Dawi, Alrik vows to retake Karak Hirn from the Vermintide and from there, Ranulfsson will lead an almighty purge of Skaven across all the Dwarf kingdoms. He will not rest until every last trace of the Under-Empire has been vanquished from the Dawi Kingdoms.
  
• Kazador, King of Karak Azul. Following the implosion of the Greenskin Waaagh! that raged across the Empire of Men, Kazador believes now is the time to turn his sights towards retaking Karak Drazh, also known as Black Crag. Its former ruler the black orc Gorfang Rotgut died attempting to hunt Throgg the Troll King and since then, the hold has been the nursing bed of the injured black orc war-boss Grimgor Ironhide, since his defeat at the hands of the Emperor of Men. The time has come to reclaim the ancient Dwarf hold and kill the Once and Future Git once and for all.
  
• Helga(r) Longplaits, Queen of Krag Bryn. As the last surviving member of Clan Bronn’s ruling family, Helga has a burning thirst for vengeance against the Orcs. Following the death of Wurrzag da Great Green Prophet, word has it that Azhag the Slaughterer is traversing the wastelands occupied by the savage orcs, recruiting members of savage tribes like the Top Knotz, the Teefsnatchaz and the Bloody Handz tribe to wage another Waaagh! soon. As High Queen, Helga will place all her attention into ridding the world of Azhag’s threat, leading her troops into battle herself and controversially, allowing military access to Eltharion the Grim of the High Elves to wipe the Greenskins hordes out together once his mission in Lustria is complete.
  
• Thuringar Orc-Hewer, King of Karak Azgaraz. After his older brother Gunrig was killed by a goblin assassin, Thuringar has had to become well accustomed to the ways of Greenskins. He has slain many orc raiding parties that entered the Grey Mountains through his reign hence his title but after several encounters with the night goblin warlord Grulsik Moonclaw, Thuringar now understands the importance of squashing the goblin menace. If elected to High King, Thuringar intends to lead an anti-goblin crusade across the Old World. Unsurprisingly, Thuringar and Belegar Ironhammer are good friends.
  
• Brokk Ironpick & Thurma Grintzagaz, King and Queen of Karak Norn. Thanks to their close proximity with the Empire of Men, Brokk and Thurma are well aware of the importance of close diplomatic relationships. As mutual High King and High Queen, they will seek to establish the closest of military alliances with the Empire, even going so far as always having an army camped within the Grey Mountains to defend the realms of men should they be invaded again. Domestically, they shall cut taxes across the Dwarf Kingdoms and shall encourage them to trade with their neighbours in order to incentivise economic growth.
  
• Thorek Ironbrow, Master Runelord of Karak Azul. Despite not holding royal blood or coming from Karaz-a-Karak, Thorek has been allowed to enter due to the close advisory role he held with the late King Thorgrim. While he certainly seeks to defend the Dwarf holds from further attacks by Greenskins, Skaven or the Wood Elf terrorists led by Durthu and Scarloc, Ironbrow’s reign will focus predominantly on domestic policies. Thorek intends to train a whole new generation in the ancient art of Runesmithing and has proposed a 6% increase in national consumption taxes to fund the construction and opening of a massive new Brightstone Mine and to fund the rebuilding of Karak Izor following its destruction by the Wood Elves.
  

Those are your candidates. Who will you elect to follow in the footsteps of Nurn Shieldbreaker, Kurgan Ironbeard, Gotrek Starbreaker and Thorgrim Grudgebearer?