Hyldnir

Hyldnir
Main leader	Thorim
Formerly	Lich King † (Valkyrion)
Race(s)	Frost vrykul
Base of operations	Brunnhildar Village, Sifreldar Village, Valkyrion
Theater of operations	Storm Peaks
Status	Active

The Hyldnir is the main tribe of frost vrykul in Storm Peaks, living primarily in Brunnhildar Village, hence why they are also known as the Brunnhildar. Most, if not all, female members of the are warriors and train to compete in the Hyldsmeet, a competition in which warriors fight to determine who shall rule by Thorim's side. They are constantly warring with the Sons of Hodir in the name of the Thorim. They have a strict matriarchal society with the males, both Hyldnir and other races, as they think men are good for naught but slave labor, mostly in the nearby Forlorn Mine. Even females not of their faction are regarded with more respect than any man.

History

They are the servants of Thorim, a keeper of Ulduar. In these times, the Hyldnir were the allies of the frost giants. That ended when Thorim's wife, Sif, was slain by Loken, Thorim's brother. A war between the Hyldnir and the Sons of Hodir started after Thorim brutally attacked the ice giants that were framed for the death of Sif. Thorim exiled himself to Temple of Storms in grief.

Wrath of the Lich King

This section concerns content related to Wrath of the Lich King.

During the war against the Lich King, the Scourge sent three emissaries and all were dismembered. Because of their disdain for men, most weren't interested in allying with Arthas. However, in the village of Valkyrion, their leader Yulda the Stormspeaker delivered the village to the Lich King in exchange for him making her Val'kyr. After joining up with the Scourge, one of the ways the Hyldnir of Valkyrion served the Lich King was by capturing proto-drakes and their eggs and taking them to the Blighted Pool, waters filled with corruption and disease intended to infect them with the plague, turning them into plagued proto-drakes. This act marked the beginning of the war between them and her former sisters.

Some time after, a raid of Hyldnir from Sifreldar Village raided the goblins at K3 when that outpost was first set up and took off all the men as captives to work in the mines, leaving the females. Most of them were later rescued, except for Zeev Fizzlespark. Trying to rescue him, the adventurer found a female vrykul prisoner, Lok'lira, who helped them get Zeev back after they helped her to escape. She granted the adventurer a Hyldnir illusion that allow them to confront Agnetta Tyrsdottar and free Zeev.

As Lok'lira wanted Thorim to break out of his stupor and rally his allies to retake Ulduar, she ordered the adventurer to enter the Hyldsmeet, which they won and allowed them to meet the Keeper. After a short discussion, Thorim left his throne to take his revenge on his brother and stop the war between the races of frost. However, all of this was a plan of Loken, who disguised himself as Lok'lira to trick Thorim into leaving the Temple of Storms, in order to capture him and take him to Yogg-Saron.

In Ulduar, the Old God Yogg-Saron used an illusion of Sif to control Thorim. After Thorim was brought to reason by the adventurers, she transformed into a tentacle.

Exploring Azeroth

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

Following the war against the Jailer, the brothers Bronzebeard reported that the tribe is still active in the Storm Peaks, and still use men as slave labor in their mines.

Culture

A Hyldnir Overseer.

The Hyldnir raid in Northrend to turn the males of the other races into slaves. Thereby, a lot of male vrykul work in Forlorn Mine under the watch of Mildred the Cruel.. They work the slaves very hard, often killing them when there is opposition. The leaders of rebellions are killed without pity.

Their disdain for men has one exception: Thorim. They run a competition called the Hyldsmeet to decide which of the Hyldnir should rule at his side. A vrykul lady can't even enter the competition if she hasn't won at least one duel to the death. At the center of Brunnhildar Village is the Pit of the Fang, where they battle each other while riding on polar bears.

They use polar bears on the ground, that they have traditionally gotten in the Hibernal Cavern. For flying mounts, they mount blue proto-drakes. In Brunnhildar Village, they nest all around in the mountains above the village.

Notable members

Name	Role	Status	Location
Sif (presumably)	Thorim's former wife	Deceased	Ulduar, The Clash of Thunder
Yulda the Stormspeaker	Betrayer of her people	Killable	Valkyrion
Gretta the Arbiter	Arbiter of Hyldsmeet	Alive	Brunnhildar Village
Agnetta Tyrsdottar	Challenger of the Hyldsmeet	Killable (WoW) Deceased (Lore)	Brunnhildar Village
Mildred the Cruel	Controls the Forlorn Mine	Alive	Brunnhildar Village
Brijana	Overseer of the battle against the Sons of Hodir	Alive	Brunnhildar Village
Astrid Bjornrittar	Overseer of the third test of the Hyldsmeet	Alive	Brunnhildar Village
Sigrid Iceborn	Winner of the Hyldsmeet and challenger for the ascension at Valhalas	Killable (WoW) Deceased (Lore)	Icecrown

Unnamed

• Hyldnir Overseer
• Hyldnir Drakerider

Items

•  [Hyldnir Spoils]
•  [Hyldnir Headcracker]
•  [Hyldnir Painbringer]
•  [Hyldnir Harpoon]
•  [Hyldnir Runeweaver's Garb]
•  [Sharpened Hyldnir Harpoon]
•  [Crown of Hyldnir]

Inspiration

The Hyldnir are much like amazons, as they are warrior-women who hate men and use them for slaves.