Duren Twelvehammers

this is a WIP
=== Brief: ===
A veteran of the second and third wars, Duren strives to mete out even handed justice with a hammer, shield, and the guidance of the Light. Recently returned to Ironforge, Duren is one of a handful of survivors of a patrol thought lost after the destruction of Theramore Island. An old and seasoned soldier, he wrestles with his obligation to family and his recent calling to the path of the light.
=== Physical Description: ===
At 199, Duren is a dwarf well into old age. Bright green eyes twinkle from his craggy, age-worn face, while bright silver hair tumbles down to his shoulders. He wears his beard in the traditional two-braid fashion, its length indicative of his age and wisdom. Standing at 4'4", Duren is just short of average for a dwarf. A consummate imbiber of malted beverages, Duren is rarely found without a stein in hand when not on the battlefield.
=== Youth: ===
Duren was brought up the son of a Jori Twelvehammers, brewmaster of the 12 Hammers brewery in Underforge one of the many warrens below the bustling caverns of Ironforge proper.
A happy child, Duren took to the axe early, stalking rats in the brewery’s storeroom after his mother and father had turned in for the night. It was there at the age of 6 he was first bloodied - he had caught a Whiskermaw kobold stealing pony kegs by the light of a stubby candle. The altercation would have killed the lad, had his parents not been awoken by the shrieking kobold cursing the young dwarf and imploring “You no take candle!” They rushed in to find the grinning boy proudly holding up the gruesome creature’s head, it’s candle eternally snuffed. Duren was unaware how badly he was hurt, the battle fervor having set upon him even at such a young age.
=== Adolescence: ===
Though his parents had hoped he would continue the family business, his fate was set. Instead of the barrel, barley and malt, Duren took up the axe. Duren soon volunteered for the Ironforge Militia and was often found in the Military Ward of Ironforge proper. 
=== Adulthood: ===
With his training and eagerness to fight the good fight, the transition to Ironforge Guard was an easy one for Duren Twelvehammers. Always in good spirits, a twinkle in his eye, and a keg fermenting in the barracks (he retains his family's love of fine ale to this day), Duren was as dedicated a soldier as one could ask for. He spent many decades patrolling the streets and caverns of the great city under the mountain. He helped keep the peace during the Greybeard Uprising, fought long against the Stonebrow Clan, and helped break the Red Griffon’s smuggling operations. Duren was instrumental in putting down the Whiskermaw rebellion, which earned him a promotion to sergeant of the guard and unfortunately more paperwork than street patrols.
=== The Second War: ===
By the time of the Second War, Duren had proven himself a skilled commander. When the Generals sought out able bodied dwarves to secure Ironforge, Duren volunteered to join the fight. Being a respected member of the Ironforge Guard, he was placed with Valgar Slatefist and the Deadeyes, a unit of mountaineers. Though he had never fired a gun outside the practice ranges in the Guard headquarters, Duren did his best to aid the Deadeyes during the war.
As the Horde thundered north into Khaz Modan, laying waste to Loch Modan, The Deadeyes and Duren were busy. The mountaineers skirmished with the Horde Scouts streaming up from the Burning Steppes, but it soon became evident they would be over-run - the onslaught of Doomhammer's marching north was too much to turn back. Runners were sent into Loch Modan to warn the people and urge them to flee via the tunnels to safety. Duren and the Deadeyes worked day and night to slow Doomhammer’s march. In the end, the Deadeyes did little to slow the Horde, and Loch Modan was lost. One of the last to return to the mountain fortress of Ironforge, Duren is still troubled by the brutality he witnessed at the hands of the Orcs during their attack.
=== The Third War: ===
Duren's exploits during the third war. [WIP]
=== The War in Outland: ===
Duren's activities during the war in Outland. [WIP]
=== The War against the Lich King: ===
After the initial landing and push into the Howling Fjord, Duren spent most of the war stationed at Valgarde until he was selected along with four others to represent his unit at the Argent Tournament grounds. Sitting in the shadow of Icecrown Citadel, Duren did what he could to raise the spirits of the others he camped with. Be it singing bawdy songs or sharing a pint black as a Nerubian's heart, his presence brought a certain levity to the tournament. After the fall of the Lich King, Duren was promoted and transferred to Theramore Island.
=== The Cataclysm: ===
With the transfer to Theramore, Duren was given command of a scouting unit - The Grumpkins - reinforcing the island and tasked with gathering intelligence on the horde’s movements in the region. They often spent weeks in the field, scouting Dustwallow marsh and the southern Barrens, living off the land and tracking the Horde. Many a skirmish was fought in those days, something Duren relished - his tour in Northrend was mostly filled with logisitcs and parade formations, not the sharp song of axe and shield.
Periodically, Duren and his Grumpkins would resupply at Theramore where he got to know some of the residents, more of the soldiers, and members of the Knights of the Silver Hand stationed there. More often than not Duren would while away the nights playing cards with the soldiers or trading war stories with men over a pint of black. One man he did find a particular kinship with was Harrson Clee, Knight of the Silver Hand. As it turns out, Clee and Duren had nearly met multiple times throughout the Icecrown campaigns - they were both stationed at Valgarde and the Argent Tournament, though had never crossed paths until now. Clee and Duren became good friends and strong allies.
=== Pandaria: ===
On patrol near the Barrens, Duren's Grumpkins were ambushed by a band of orcs laying in wait for assault on Theramore. They waged a mighty battle, of which few survived on either side. As Duren and a handful of shieldbrothers and sisters tended the wounded, they witnessed from afar the detonation of the manabomb that destroyed Theramore.
The Desperate Gambit
The Armies of the Horde were pouring south as warbands of orcs, trolls and Tauren crossed the Southern Barrens into Dustwallow. Duren and his few surviving Grumpkins; Jormund Feldspar, Eruwen Stormvine, Bjorn Ironguts, and Frikka Skyhammer, were cut off behind enemy lines. They were forced West into hostile territory with few supplies and no hope for reinforcement. Left with few options, they came up with a daring and dangerous plan: cross the continent of Kalimdor to Ashenvale, hoping to make the Night Elven Stronghold.
The trek took quite some time, as they were often diverted from safe and easy routes. With Garrosh's war effort in full swing, they spent months dodging warbands and continuing to slowly make their way to eventual safety.
=== The Heroes Return: ===
After making their way to the forests of the Ashenvale, the company returned to Stormwind as MIA veterans and were given a heroes welcome. The trials of their trek across enemy territory has taken a heavy toll on each of them, though Duren’s long tenure in the military has helped him throughout. 
New Day Rising
After returning, he spent time in the Cathedral of Light paying his respects to Harrson Clee and the Silver Hand for those lost in Theramore.  While spending time in meditation and prayer at the cathedral, Duren was touched with a vision:
A brightly burning fire lit Duren’s brow as he charged across a dark battlefield. In his hands, runes danced across a great hammer, familiar yet unknown to the dwarf. Before him howled legions of demons, while behind him charged an army gleaming with a bright light. As the two forces met, a deafening crash rang out like the hammers of the great forge. Duren had become the anvil upon which the battle’s fate would be forged.
Returning to Ironforge, Duren conferred at length with Valgar Highforge, Brandur Ironhammer, and Beldruk Doombrow about the vision he saw in the Cathedral of Stormwind. After long deliberation, Duren was brought into the fold of the light, his purpose now realized. He was to be trained as a paladin, to help lead the armies of the light in the coming conflicts.
Category:Dwarf
Category:Alliance
Category:Alliance Paladin