Lore:Unnvald Ironhand

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Thane Unnvald Ironhand
ON-npc-Thane Unnvald Ironhand.jpg
Race Nord Gender Male
Born 2nd Era
Resided in The Rift
Previous Ruler Position Established
Appears in ESO

Unnvald Ironhand was a Nordic noble from the mid-Second Era. He was most well known for assembling the Nords of Skyrim and leading a series of campaigns against the Dunmer of Morrowind after a raid killed his family in Riften. He returned home as a celebrated hero but when the Ebonheart Pact formed sometime later, he was disgraced and sentenced to the Thanedom of Fullhelm Fort, a stronghold near the pass between provinces.[1] Unnvald's prized weapon was Bonebane, a two-handed sword[nb 1] that was originally kept on a memorial that overlooks Morrowind to the east.[1]

History[edit]

Hallfrida; Unnvald's granddaughter

Unnvald was a Nord hailing from Riften[1] and the Ironhand clan.[2] In his youth, he ventured around the world and explored old ruins and barrows. In one such place, he discovered his weapon, Bonebane, and carried it ever since. He claimed the sword was gifted to him by a beautiful ghost and that it was originally held by one of the Five Hundred Companions.[1]

At some point in time, he settled down, married a woman,[1] and fathered a daughter,[3] who would then have a child of her own named Hallfrida. The families lived in Riften but not long after Hallfrida's birth, Dark Elves raided the city and burnt her parents' farm on the way, leaving no survivors. As means to avenge their deaths, Unnvald gathered many warriors from all over Skyrim and sailed off once or twice a year to raid Morrowind.[1] Details from this time are currently unknown and in one year, a skald from the Bards College traveled with him, in the same year Davon's Watch was sacked. Early in Hallfrida's life, Unnvald hired Thorulf as his housecarl and he stuck by his side ever since.[1]

Thorulf; Unnvald's housecarl

One of Unnvald's most well-known battles was in a pass through the Velothi Mountains, in which he defended Fullhelm Fort from the undead conjured by necromancers of Fort Virak, a keep on the other side of the pass in Stonefalls.[4][5] That battle was known as the Battle of the Bones and a memorial depicting Unnvald was built just south of Fullhelm Fort. He claimed that it was built to honor the deceased but his granddaughter believed it was made to taunt his enemies since it cannot be seen from Fullhelm Fort but is particularly visible from Fort Virak. After the battle, Unnvald left Bonebane in a chest near the memorial, vowing to never pick it up again.[1]

Statues of Unnvald were built in Riften and Windhelm and for a time, he was celebrated across Skyrim.[1] In 2E 572, the Ebonheart Pact, an alliance between Nords, Dark Elves, and Argonians was created[6] and one of the stipulations placed by the Tribunal Ordinators was to put Unnvald on trial. As a comprise, the Ordinators decided to ban references to him and his exploits while the Jarls of Skyrim offered him the Thanedom of Fullhelm Fort. Unnvald initially rejected the offer since it was so far from his wife's grave but took it to avoid persecution from the elves.[1]

By 2E 582, Unnvald became paranoid that the Jarls were out to get him as he accused one of Jarl Angjord's messengers of being an assassin and beheaded him.[1] At around the same time, Thorulf approached Unnvald with a gift, a token of his faith to him. A couple of weeks later, the undead once again invaded the area and assaulted Fullhelm Fort.[3] Thorulf was ordered to retrieve Bonebane for Thane Unnvald but the housecarl claimed it was destroyed.[1] The King's Arrow, an agent of the Pact ventured across the Rift to recover lost pieces of Wuuthrad and made their way to the fort and met Unnvald Ironhand. The Thane refused to listen to their story and Thorulf kicked them out.[7]

While the King's Arrow defended the fort with a retrieved Bonebane, the housecarl, revealed to be a worm cultist, summoned a skeleton and told the thane that the undead had entered the manor. Unnvald went into a mad panic and attempted to burn down the manor while Thorulf ran away. It is unknown if Unnvald died in the manor or if he lived but Fullhelm Fort was saved and the King's Arrow made off with the shard of Wuuthrad.[8]

Gallery[edit]

  • Fullhelm Fort

  • Fort Virak

  • The Battle of the Bones Memorial

Notes[edit]

  • ^  Most references to Bonebane call it a sword and its appearance in-game is a sword but the Improved Emperor's Guide to Tamriel calls it an axe and the Battle of the Bones Memorial in-game has a statue with an axe.

See Also[edit]

Books[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hallfrida's dialogue in ESO
  2. ^ Lineage of Clan Ironhand contraband text in ESO
  3. ^ a b Thane Unnvald Ironhand's dialogue in ESO
  4. ^ Battle of the Bones Memorial
  5. ^ The Improved Emperor's Guide to Tamriel: Skyrim — Flaccus Terentius, 2E 581
  6. ^ The Second Akaviri Invasion — Yngmaer Raven-Quill, Historian Royal of the Bards' College, Solitude
  7. ^ Approaching Thunder quest in ESO
  8. ^ The Thunder Breaks quest in ESO
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