Quick Overview
The Dark Iron dwarves' defeat in the War of the Three Hammers drove them south, but exile did not end their ambitions. Thaurissan founded a new kingdom and renewed war against the Bronzebeard and Wildhammer clans. His desperate summoning brought Ragnaros into the world and transformed the southern mountains.
Full History
The War of the Three Hammers began when the Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron clans ceased to accept a common rule. Driven from Ironforge, the Dark Irons followed their leader Thaurissan into the southern mountains. Their new seat offered distance from the victorious Bronzebeards, but it did not extinguish their claim to power or their resentment of the clans that had expelled them.
Thaurissan built his strength and launched another offensive. While the Dark Irons struck north toward Ironforge, Modgud led a separate army against the Wildhammers at Grim Batol. The southern clan ultimately failed on both fronts. Modgud fell and the survivors withdrew, leaving Thaurissan with an army shattered and a kingdom facing ruin.
In desperation, Thaurissan called upon power he could not govern. Ragnaros the Firelord emerged from beneath the earth, killing the sorcerer-king and devastating the surrounding region. The upheaval raised Blackrock Mountain and bound much of the Dark Iron realm to the elemental lord. The exiles' war for a throne had ended in subjugation to a force beyond any dwarven crown.
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