Being the second son of the toymaker Eyjar, Eykell never expected to take over the family business, and certainly not so young as he had to. The Bardings lived in peace and prosperity during the time of King Bain and King Brand, and Eyjar made a strong competitor to the numerous toymakers in Bree, standing toe-to-toe with even Dwarven craftsmen. He taught his two sons, Eystein and Eykell, along with his wife, Geirbjorg, to follow him in his craft, bringing much wealth to his family through Eyjar and Sons and eventually making enough to move into a house near to the market-place where their family remains to this day.

In 3019, when the Easterlings gathered at the borders of Dale began to march into the kingdom, Eykell answered the call for able-bodied men willing to serve their king, going against his parents' desire for their sons, skilled artisans who were needed for their skillful work, to be thrust into the field of battle. He joined a group of long-time friends in joining Dale's levies, marching out alongside Ófeig, Sigfast, and Thórvald in the shield-wall, ready to lay down his life.

Ófeig was speared in the ribs during the Battle of Dale, and died soon after, coughing up blood. Thórvald lost both his good hand and a leg in the fighting but lived due to the quick work of Eykell and Sigfast, and on the third day of fighting, the three survivors fled with the rest of the armies of Dale into Erebor, returning a week later to retake their home once news of the downfall of the Lord of the Rings came to the Lonely Mountain.

In the weeks after reclaiming their home, however, both Eykell's elder brother, Eystein, and his father, Eyjar, died at the hands of new  Easterling refugees flooding into Dale, filling Eykell's heart with a seething hatred for their newfound neighbors. Now, having mourned their losses, he seeks to rebuild his father's business without his father, working hard with his mother to rebuild their old lives together.