Dundaeg translates as 'dark day', the name given to him by his dying mother, a young girl, barely of age. Her parents had sent her to distant relations after she got herself with child, Dundaeg's father a merchant who had come to Harwick for business. The man is said to have been of great beauty, dark in looks, and he seduced Dundaeg's mother, additionally promising her a life of many riches. He was never before seen in Harwick nor again thereafter, and none knows his fate.

Dundaeg was raised by his distant relations with little love spared for him. At the age of 14 he ran away to join a traveling group of colourful characters, a small theater troupe, and journeying with them eventually led him all the way to Bree. 17 by that time, he decided to remain in Bree and to try make this town his new home.

After getting in with the wrong crowd, Dundaeg turned to thieving, but was caught out by a Ranger of the North. The man believed to still see something salvageable in Dundaeg and after listening to Dundaeg's story, appealed to his honour as a Rohirrim. This did not bear fruit right away, Dundaeg continued his life of crime, but after a failed coup and a few weeks in the Bree prison, he took stock of his young life and found it wanting. 21 by then, he decided to return to Rohan where he joined the army. He made no secret of his past and asked for a chance to redeem himself as a defender of his homeland.

Since then Dundaeg has proven his loyalty and courage beyond doubt. He can however be prone to brooding and is known as a man of only needed words. He abstains from alcohol and women, worried he could father a child out of wedlock, and he has no wish to marry as he feels the life of a soldier is not suited to be shared with a wife.

His heart instead belongs to his horse Edla, an almost white dapple mare, extremely intelligent and fast. Dundaeg could not have afforded a horse of such quality as Edla's, not in his lifetime could he have earned the coins to buy her, yet when he first saw her he was determined to make this horse his. The man who owned her was known to have bred many horses for the King's stable, and when Dundaeg approached him to ask how much such a mare would cost, the man laughed and spoke: "She is yours for free, all you have to do is jump her over that fence over there". The mare was wild eyed and clearly not trained, so the man was having a jest, yet Dundaeg nodded and answered, "it shall be done".
Following his words with action, he then began to drag anything he could find to the fence, creating a funnel out of barrels, woven baskets and wooden planks, until the walls of the funnel were higher than the fence. Satisfied with his labour, he then tied a rope to one end of the funnel before leading the mare into the newly created enclosure. Others had begun to gather, wondering what the commotion was about, with bewilderment watching Dundaeg turn the mare loose, tying the end of the rope to the other side of the funnel. Then he began to hop around, up and down, shouting and waving his arms. The mare, startled and confused, began to shy away, until she eventually decided to jump the lowest part of her enclosure - which was now the fence.
"This was not the meaning, you were meant to ride her over the fence!"  the breeder of the mare declared angrily, yet Dundaeg shrugged and answered, "you said I shall jump her over the fence, for her to be mine, and she jumped, did she not?"
Laughter was now rising among the ranks of those who had gathered to watch the strange spectacle, many shaking their heads, speaking that no matter how smart that lad, that mare was destined for the King's stable, but surely he had granted them great entertainment, and some shouted they would buy him a drink, however, Dundaeg stood his ground and stared down the man. "Are you telling me that the word of a man of Rohan is not worth anything these days? I asked as you demanded of me, I laboured for the better of 2 hours, and now I shall be send away empty handed, despite my succeeding?"
Still there was much laughter, only to die down when a voice rose over the tumult, commanding yet not without a hint of amusement. "These days and any days the word of a man of Rohan stands, and none shall say we have lost our honour in the Mark. Take your horse, for you clearly have earned it. To have witnessed you outsmarting one who thought to outsmart and taunt you has given given me much needed humour and a good story to tell by the campfires. The mare is yours, friend, and treat her as the kingly gift she is!"
This, Théodred, son of Théoden, had spoken, and none dared to defy him, and thus Dundaeg, lowest of birth, was allowed to lead away a horse fit to carry a noble man.