The War Within #3: the Ringing Deeps

October 3, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"The History of the Expansions" series — The War Within, part 3. The story of World of Warcraft told expansion by expansion, with the patches that changed it. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

The third part of The War Within goes down the Coreway to the Ringing Deeps, the industrial caverns of Khaz Algar. This is home to the Machine Speakers, the Earthen who look after the titans' machines. They guard the machine that awakens the sleeping Earthen, and their leader made a deal with Xal'atath to switch it back on the wrong way.

The Machine Speakers

The Machine Speakers are Earthen who spent millennia trying to repair the great machine that wakes new Earthen from the sleep the titans left them in. Their city is Gundargaz, and it was recovering from a nerubian attack when the heroes arrived.

Their leader, High Speaker Eirich, seemed focused on one single thing: getting the machine working again.

Eirich's betrayal

After millennia without managing to repair the machine, Eirich made a secret deal with Xal'atath. She would give him the power to switch it back on, but at a price he hid from everyone: the Earthen would awaken as skardyn, corrupted creatures, instead of true Earthen.

When the heroes discovered the plan, Eirich mocked them and fled through a Void portal.

Magni awakens the Earthen

The one who saved the day was Magni Bronzebeard. He channeled the power of Azeroth itself into the machine and purified it. For the first time in millennia, Earthen began to wake up, free from corruption.

Without Eirich, the Machine Speakers chose Brinthe as the new High Speaker. Eirich hid in the Stonevault with the followers he still had, and was later found turned into a skardyn by the very power he had accepted.

The kobolds and the Assembly of the Deeps

The Deeps were also home to many kobolds, and their raids had been getting in Gundargaz's way. Brinthe chose another path: she helped Skitter, leader of the Quickwick tribe, to overthrow the Candle King, the tyrant who controlled the kobold tunnels.

With the Candle King overthrown, Brinthe invited the Quickwick to live in Gundargaz. Earthen and kobolds formed the Assembly of the Deeps, an unlikely alliance between the keepers of the machines and the miners with candles on their heads.

Why this chapter matters

The Ringing Deeps show Xal'atath's method in The War Within: she does not attack only with armies, but by offering each leader exactly what they want most. Eirich wanted the machine working. Later on, the nerubian queen Ansurek will want a throne.

Where to see it in WotLK

Halls of Stone, in the Storm Peaks: Brann Bronzebeard's dungeon in the titan halls of the stone dwarves.
Ulduar: the titans' machines and the Keepers corrupted by an Old God, with the same idea of corruption coming from within.
Kobolds in Elwynn Forest: the candle-headed kobolds of the first human zone are the same ones who appear in the Deeps.