Yv Dunwald

> "*The orcs want peace, do they? Well they should. I fought with 'em at Hyjal. A sturdy lot, that I'll give 'em! But they step outta line and they'll learn good and quick that they ain't no match for dwarves!*" - Yv Dunwald
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A veteran of the Second and Third Wars, Yv Dunwald is a hardy Wildhammer Dwarf. Once a mighty gryphon rider of Aerie Peak, her experiences in the great wars combined with the tragic loss of her gryphon companion, Gwaihir, has lead her to seek the path of a Paladin of the Holy Light.

## Background

### Early Life

Yv (pronounced like "Eve") Dunwald was born in the town of Dunwald in the Twilight Highlands. Her parents, Siggy and Gormlaith, had eleven children, and Yv was the youngest, and strangely, the only daughter.

Growing up with ten dwarven boys made Yv quite tough pretty quickly. Though they were fiercely protective of her, her brothers loved to torment and tease her. Yv broke her first nose at age 6 when her brother Angus had stolen her doll and thrown it out the window.

Their life was a hearty and happy one. Yv's family were not THE Dunwalds, but they were a close branch of that family, and so their lifestyle was fairly luxurious for Wildhammer standards. Siggy and Gormlaith kept a warm hearth, and some of Yv's fondest memories are eating hot, dripping legs of mutton, drinking watered-down mead, and sleeping in fine bearskins.

But by no means was her early life merely feasting and relaxing. On the contrary, the children would often play outside, running through the fields of the Highlands, climbing into the gryphon aviaries to help feed the majestic beasts, and playing at wooden swords in the yard.

### Marriage and Family

As she grew, so too did her fondness for gryphons. Yv endeavored to become a gryphon rider, and so began to train in the aviary. It was there that she fell in love with one of her instructors, a rider named Beor Firebeard. Though Firebeard was almost her father's age, the two fell in love. They were married shortly after her 60th birthday, though the fiery Yv kept her own surname.

Together, they had 7 children - and there must have been something in the Dunwald family tree, for Yv only had sons. Many of whom became gyrphon riders too.

### The Second War

When the Second War broke out, the Warchief Doomhammer marched some of his forces into the lands of the Wildhammer Dwarves, and the lands of the Dunwalds were part of that attack. Yv and her family helped Kurdran Wildhammer and the others in these battles, fighting fierce campaigns against the orcs in the Highlands and Hinterlands, scattering armies off the Thandol Span, and generally waging a guerrilla campaign to harry the orcish invaders.

It was during this time that Yv really acquired a zest for battle. Prior to the war, she was fierce and fiery to be sure, but really it was the beauty and freedom of a gryphon rider that attracted her. Now, however, with blood on her stormhammer and sweat mingling with her warpaint, she realized that a warrior was what she was.

The Wildhammers, once distrustful of the humans and their mountain dwarf cousins, soon joined the Alliance, and Yv with them. While she still preferred the company of her own kin and of the high elves, the long-term allies of the Wildhammer dwarves, she began to appreciate the other races of the Grand Alliance.