Monday, 2 January 2023

Ellahir, an elf from Mirkwood.

 The last character created was also from the Peoples of Wilderland supplement, Ellahir, an elf of Mirkwood. Below was his simple backstory. I'm found of how it weaves elements of the Hobbit into it.

The Elf from Mirkwood

Born late in the Third Age, Ellahir knew only the history of his kin through the sorrowful songs sung under the moon and stars beneath the boughs of the Woodland Realm of King Thranduil. Ellahir knew for a brief time the peace of the Great Greenwood, now named Mirkwood, for a Shadow had claimed the abandoned Elven Fortress of Amon Lanc. A dark force, the Necromancer. The fort, renamed Dol Guldur, drew orcs and giant spiders within its walls. Under orders of the King, Ellahir’s people retreated to the northeast of the wood, holding back the darkness from their borders. Ellahir was not allowed to leave the underground realm, nor were any others. And so the years passed.

Not long ago, unexpected events transpired. Dwarves from the lost kingdom of Erebor, on a quest of secret purpose, were imprisoned by order of the King, only to have been broken free by some unknown hand. The dragon, Smaug, was slain; Thorin Oakenshield, the very dwarf once imprisoned in Ellahir’s home was named King Under the Mountain. King Thranduil, for reasons Ellahir could not comprehend, marched an army of elves to the Lonely Mountain and with the men of Lake Town demanded tribute. Unknown to all, an army of Orcs and Wargs, led by Bolg, son of Azog the Defiler, ambushed the armies of men, dwarf and elf. The Battle of Five Armies was fought while Ellahir remained in the underground realm. 

Soon after, the White Council drove out the Necromancer from Dol Guldur. It was a time of great upheaval. But what did it portend for Middle Earth? Of late, Ellahir’s kin whispered the Enemy of the Second Age had returned. Many hinted they would soon travel west, past the White Towers to the Grey Havens and set sail to the Undying Lands. The thought of traveling west, without having seen the beauty and mystery of Middle Earth, troubled Ellahir. The thought of the Shadow returning vexed him. Never had he stood against it, as so many of his kin had done in ages past and present.

Ellahir vowed he would test his bow, Valour and Wisdom against the enemy before the end. But where?

East held little interest, lands of dwarves and men where few elves roamed. Soon after the Battle of Five armies, a strange pair came to the Woodland Realm. Mithrandir, the Grey Pilgrim, a wizard so it was said, held in high esteem by the elves, and one of the little folk, a hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins, who had aided the dwarves in reclaiming their kingdom under the mountain. Bilbo gave to King Thranduil a beautiful necklace of silver and pearls, a treasure of great personal value to the King, and was named elf-friend in return. Ellahir spoke with the hobbit, of where he was from, a peaceful land known as the Shire. Bilbo’s description of the hills and meadows and the carefree troubles life of a hobbits life stirred Ellahir’s soul and so he decided that was where he would travel first.

And so Ellahir left his home for the first time, seeking whatever may come.