Wildhammer clan

Full History

The Wildhammer clan once claimed part of the great dwarven kingdom centered on Ironforge. When High King Modimus Anvilmar died, rivalry among the Bronzebeard, Wildhammer and Dark Iron clans grew into civil war. The Bronzebeards kept Ironforge, while the Wildhammers were driven east to Grim Batol. Their attempt to build a new home there placed them directly in the path of the Dark Irons' continuing struggle for power.

The Dark Iron attack left Grim Batol cursed and unfit for the Wildhammers. Rather than return as defeated dependents of Ironforge, the clan moved north to the Hinterlands and established Aerie Peak. The mountains and skies encouraged a different military tradition: gryphon riders became their great strength, linking the dwarves to the Alliance's defense of the north in the Second War.

The ruin of Grim Batol remained part of the clan's memory. When the Dragonmaw orcs later used the fortress to imprison the red dragon queen Alexstrasza, Wildhammer riders such as Falstad became involved in the struggle to free her. The fortress that had once expelled them remained a place where the clan's fate crossed the history of Azeroth itself.