Date: 30 Nov 2001
The Early Years
Scene 1
Gweneleth was a golden-tressed maid of Rohan, the kingdom north of the White Mountains - an ally to Gondor. She was a daughter of one of the captains of King Th?oden's cavalry. One day she met Olin, a tall, handsome young man-at-arms from Gondor, on one of his courier missions to the Court of Edoras in Rohan. There in the great Feast-Hall of Meduseld they met, fell in love, and were later married.
The first two years of their marriage were spent in Minas Tirith, the Throne City of Gondor, where Olin served as a knight of the Citadel Guard, under Denethor II, 26th Ruling Steward of the High Kings. Gweneleth conceived in midsummer of 3006, 3rd Age, and in the autumn Olin took her to Calembel, the chief village of the province of Lamedon, his place of birth, and the residence of his kin.
In the spring of the year 3007, a son was born to Gweneleth and Olin. He had the fair hair of his mother, instead of the dark locks of the Men of Gondor, descended from the N?men?reans of old, and his eyes were a dark, forest green, not gray.
Gweneleth called him "Llewyss" - a strange name, not one of Gondor's heroes of old, nor of Rohan's. How it came to her is not here told, but Gweneleth would not be gainsaid, and it became his "mother-name".
Ten years later, a daughter was born to Gweneleth and Olin, and she was called Rose Thistle. She had the dark hair and gray eyes of her father, and was most beloved of her parents and her brother.
Young Llewyss, at the age of twelve, had no visions of becoming a member of the Citadel Guard, like his father. In learning the knightly arts of the sword and the bow, he was an indifferent student. He had learned his "letters" and history and life skills easily, and he was bored. He began to spend much time wandering the fields, vales and mountainsides around Minas Tirith, learning of the wild things: flora and fauna, and living off the land,
much to his parents' dissatisfaction. He was always bringing back little creatures, much to the delight of his small sister, who, on several occasions, would have toddled off after him, had not her mother been watchful. His father was usually away in the Tower of Guard, high atop the seventh tier of the Fortress City, or out on some sortie into the borderlands. He regretted he could not spend more time with his family, but the minions of Mordor were
beginning to cause mischief in other realms.
At the onset of the War of the Rings, Olin had wanted to return his family to Calembel, as the Dark Days approached, but Gweneleth would not hear of it. So, they endured the fear of the siege of the city, and suffered the grief of Olin's death in the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
Gweneleth never fully recovered from the loss of her husband, and never remarried. Llewyss now surrendered his wanderlust to assume responsibility as male head of the family, in his own mind at least, but his eyes and heart ever strayed to the far distant horizons.
In the First Year of the Fourth Age of the Sun, Rose Thistle, at age five, mysteriously disappeared from the field surrounding their home. There had been rumors of skirmishes with Haradrim scouting parties, looking for slaves. It was never discovered whither she had been taken.
A year later Gweneleth died of her compounded grief, and Llewyss now felt an even greater emptiness in his life. He did not wish to return to the village of his father, that of his own birth, though he had numerous kin there. Nor did he wish to go to Edoras, though he knew he would be welcome by his mother's kin. He finally sold the small cottage and piece of land, and gathering up a few belongings, he bade farewell to a few friends. It was his
intention to wander north along the great river Anduin, wherever the path lead him. He knew he was walking into an uncertain future, but the sense of complete freedom was both exciting and a bit scary.
The Early Years
Scene 1
Gweneleth was a golden-tressed maid of Rohan, the kingdom north of the White Mountains - an ally to Gondor. She was a daughter of one of the captains of King Th?oden's cavalry. One day she met Olin, a tall, handsome young man-at-arms from Gondor, on one of his courier missions to the Court of Edoras in Rohan. There in the great Feast-Hall of Meduseld they met, fell in love, and were later married.
The first two years of their marriage were spent in Minas Tirith, the Throne City of Gondor, where Olin served as a knight of the Citadel Guard, under Denethor II, 26th Ruling Steward of the High Kings. Gweneleth conceived in midsummer of 3006, 3rd Age, and in the autumn Olin took her to Calembel, the chief village of the province of Lamedon, his place of birth, and the residence of his kin.
In the spring of the year 3007, a son was born to Gweneleth and Olin. He had the fair hair of his mother, instead of the dark locks of the Men of Gondor, descended from the N?men?reans of old, and his eyes were a dark, forest green, not gray.
Gweneleth called him "Llewyss" - a strange name, not one of Gondor's heroes of old, nor of Rohan's. How it came to her is not here told, but Gweneleth would not be gainsaid, and it became his "mother-name".
Ten years later, a daughter was born to Gweneleth and Olin, and she was called Rose Thistle. She had the dark hair and gray eyes of her father, and was most beloved of her parents and her brother.
Young Llewyss, at the age of twelve, had no visions of becoming a member of the Citadel Guard, like his father. In learning the knightly arts of the sword and the bow, he was an indifferent student. He had learned his "letters" and history and life skills easily, and he was bored. He began to spend much time wandering the fields, vales and mountainsides around Minas Tirith, learning of the wild things: flora and fauna, and living off the land,
much to his parents' dissatisfaction. He was always bringing back little creatures, much to the delight of his small sister, who, on several occasions, would have toddled off after him, had not her mother been watchful. His father was usually away in the Tower of Guard, high atop the seventh tier of the Fortress City, or out on some sortie into the borderlands. He regretted he could not spend more time with his family, but the minions of Mordor were
beginning to cause mischief in other realms.
At the onset of the War of the Rings, Olin had wanted to return his family to Calembel, as the Dark Days approached, but Gweneleth would not hear of it. So, they endured the fear of the siege of the city, and suffered the grief of Olin's death in the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
Gweneleth never fully recovered from the loss of her husband, and never remarried. Llewyss now surrendered his wanderlust to assume responsibility as male head of the family, in his own mind at least, but his eyes and heart ever strayed to the far distant horizons.
In the First Year of the Fourth Age of the Sun, Rose Thistle, at age five, mysteriously disappeared from the field surrounding their home. There had been rumors of skirmishes with Haradrim scouting parties, looking for slaves. It was never discovered whither she had been taken.
A year later Gweneleth died of her compounded grief, and Llewyss now felt an even greater emptiness in his life. He did not wish to return to the village of his father, that of his own birth, though he had numerous kin there. Nor did he wish to go to Edoras, though he knew he would be welcome by his mother's kin. He finally sold the small cottage and piece of land, and gathering up a few belongings, he bade farewell to a few friends. It was his
intention to wander north along the great river Anduin, wherever the path lead him. He knew he was walking into an uncertain future, but the sense of complete freedom was both exciting and a bit scary.