Modgud



Modgud, the sorceress wife of Sorcerer-Thane Thaurissan, led the assault on Grim Batol during the War of the Three Hammers.

War of the Three Hammers
Modgud embraced her clan's long history of studying arcane magic. As the wife of Sorcerer-Thane Thaurissan, she had first pick of the Dark Irons' most powerful enchanted artifacts. Yet she was never quite satisfied with the offerings on hand. Modgud would often dispatch her servants to find new relics that she could study and use as instruments in the creation of spells. One of these dwarves returned with a blade that thrummed with dark energy. Modgud was immediately taken by it. For days, she retreated into her archives to unravel the dagger's mysteries. At times, she could be seen talking to the weapon. When she later emerged, Modgud called for the dwarf who had brought the blade in order to thank him. No one could find him. No one could even remember his name or his face. It was as if he had simply vanished into thin air.

During the War of the Three Hammers, the Wildhammer clan's bravery was their greatest weapon, and Modgud sought to take that from them. Under the thunderous clash of hammer against axe, she screamed an incantation and wove her profane spellwork. She slid her enchanted dagger over her palm and let her blood spill onto the stones of Grim Batol. Modgud's foul ritual brought Grim Batol's shadows to life. They sprang from the city's dark nooks and crannies, falling upon the Wildhammers with blades forged of night.

By some feat of courage, Thane Khardros rallied his remaining Wildhammer warriors and launched a desperate counterattack against the Dark Irons. Khardros bulled through his enemies with the single-minded focus of a war golem, only coming to a stop when he found Modgud. The sorceress unleashed her dark power on Khardros, but he pressed his attack. Then Modgud reached for her black blade-the weapon that had turned Grim Batol into a den of nightmare. It was not there. She had lost her cherished weapon. Or, as some would claim, the weapon had abandoned her. With one mighty blow of his hammer, Khardros mortally wounded Modgud and secured victory for the Wildhammers. It is said that as the sorceress lay dying, she repeated one phrase over and over again: "You promised..."

Legacy
Despite her death, Modgud's use of dark magic on the city, spread an evil taint through the fortress. Realizing that Grim Batol was now uninhabitable, the Wildhammer dwarves sought out a new home in Aerie Peak. This evil taint corrupted the remaining Dark Iron dwarves that had fled the losing battle to the depths of Grim Batol, and warped their descendants into the Skardyn.

Modgud apparently had a blade that General Umbriss later added to his possessions, while his troggs also have a curse called Modgud's Malady.