| 1 | !![[center: [-'''Setting-wide:''' [[Characters/TolkiensLegendariumPeoples Peoples and Races]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]]-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheSilmarillion:'' [[Characters/TheSilmarillionEruAndTheAinur Eru and the Ainur]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionEnemies Enemies]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionFirstGenerationElvenRoyalty First-Generation Elven Royalty]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionHouseOfFeanor the House of Fëanor]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionHouseOfFingolfin the House of Fingolfin]]-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheHobbit''-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheLordOfTheRings:'' [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowship The Fellowship of the Ring]], '''Free Men''', [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheElves the Elves]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheForcesOfSauron the Forces of Sauron]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | !Rohan |
| 4 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_rohan.jpg]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ->"''Arise now, arise, Riders of Theoden!\ |
| 7 | Dire deeds awake, dark is it eastward.\ |
| 8 | Let horse be bridled, horn be sounded!\ |
| 9 | Forth Eorlingas!''" |
| 10 | |
| 11 | A young and proud kingdom of [[BornInTheSaddle horse-masters]]. Founded by Eorl the Young, Rohan is a sparsely populated but fierce kingdom with a long tradition of fighting off invaders. For centuries, they have been steadfast allies of Gondor, but now against Sauron their alliance may be waning and the Riders of Rohan must gather their strength once more to survive the War of the Ring. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | !!Rohirrim |
| 14 | |
| 15 | ---- |
| 16 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 17 | [[folder:Théoden]] |
| 18 | |
| 19 | King of Rohan, uncle of Éowyn and Éomer. Théoden was betrayed by his servant Gríma who enfeebled and confused him. While Gandalf helped him come to his senses, the damage has already been done: his armies are in disarray, bands of wild men have ransacked the countryside and his only son and heir is dead. Théoden faces the challenge of standing amongst legends in the midst of his failure trying to find his own strength again, which he eventually does in the Battle of Pelennor Fields. |
| 20 | ---- |
| 21 | * AlliterativeFamily: Théoden son of Thengel, father of Théodred and brother of Théodwyn. |
| 22 | * BarbarianLonghair: Arranged in long BraidsOfBarbarism, which is less "civilized" compared to, say, Boromir's straight shoulder-length cut. Most if not all other Rohirrim had similar hairstyles. |
| 23 | * BattleCry: |
| 24 | ** The traditional one for Rohan, "Forth Eorlingas". It means "Forward, people/descendants of Eorl", referring to the first king of Rohan. Once it's "Up Eorlingas". |
| 25 | ** In two special cases, he recites different alliterative verses starting with "Arise, arise Riders of Théoden", which could well be following a traditional formula. |
| 26 | * BeardOfBarbarism: Downplayed as he's not exactly a "barbarian", but he pretty much is one when contrasted to the likes of Denethor. He's described as having a long and snow-white beard, so long that he looks like a dwarf when hunched down. It goes with his BraidsOfBarbarism. |
| 27 | * BigDamnHeroes: Just after the gate of Minas Tirith is broken and the Witch-king triumphantly enters the city, he arrives with his Rohirrim army and gives hope back to the good guys. |
| 28 | ** ''[[Literature/UnfinishedTalesOfNumenorAndMiddleEarth Unfinished Tales]]'' takes this up to eleven by pointing out that, but for the intervention of Théoden and his Rohirrim, Minas Tirith would have been lost before Aragorn and his forces arrived. Thus, while Théoden didn't live long enough to witness it, he and his men ''bailed out Aragorn''. Their deeds are equated to the legendary ride of Théoden's distant ancestor Eorl the Young, whose heroism led to the BindingAncientTreaty that established the Kingdom of Rohan in the first place. |
| 29 | --->''...the two great rides of the Rohirrim to the salvation of Gondor, the coming of Eorl to the Field of Celebrant, and the horns of King Théoden upon the Pelennor but for which the return of the King would have been in vain.'' |
| 30 | * CoolOldGuy: Despite being in his seventies, he personally leads the charge at Pelennor Fields and kills the Haradrim commander himself. |
| 31 | * DeathByIrony: As the grave of Snowmane notes, the king of a people who loved horses more than any creature ultimately died by being crushed under his horse, which had been a faithful servant up to that point. |
| 32 | * {{Foil}}: To Denethor. Both began as good rulers, but where Denethor succumbed to grief, madness and suicide, Théoden 'woke' from his madness, set aside his sorrow, and made a HeroicSacrifice to save his land. Théoden is also much warmer than Denethor, behaving in a more fatherly fashion towards his niece, nephew, and a Hobbit than Denethor does towards his own son. |
| 33 | * HesBack: After Gandalf roused him from his funk. Each successive soldier who sees him standing upright and strong again immediately kneels and says "Command me, lord!" in shock and joy. |
| 34 | * HeroicBSOD: He was trapped in a perpetual one until members of the Fellowship arrived. |
| 35 | * HonorBeforeReason: Agrees to ride to Gondor's aid...and leave his own lands mostly unguarded, even knowing of the risk of enemy invasion in his absence. [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished Which in fact is exactly what happens...]]fortunately, [[SubvertedTrope the invading orcs run into Ents]]. |
| 36 | * HumbleHero: He considers his position a grave responsibility and a burden, and is haunted by his failures. In speaking with Saruman he refers to himself as 'a lesser son of greater sires'; even after the heroic deeds he performs on his dying day, he mentions that he 'need not now be ashamed' to join the Kings of Rohan who died before him. |
| 37 | * IntergenerationalFriendship: With Merry. |
| 38 | * IAmXSonOfY: Théoden, son of Thengel. |
| 39 | * TheLastDance: He is very old and knows that the war of the Ring will be his last war and aims to leave his mark on the events, unwilling to back down at the Hornburg, even when all seems lost, and willing to go to an honorable death on Pelennor Fields. |
| 40 | * LastOfHisKind: He's of the second male line of the Kings of Rohan. With the death of his only son at the Battle of the Fords of Isen [[spoiler: and later his own death at the Pelennor Fields]], the second line goes extinct. |
| 41 | * LockedOutOfTheLoop: According to Gandalf, Théoden was the only person in the Kingdom of Rohan who never called Gríma "Wormtongue". May be PetTheDog, but look at where it got him. |
| 42 | * MeaningfulName: "People-king" in Anglo-Saxon, and presumably his real (untranslated) name meant something similar. |
| 43 | * MissedHimByThatMuch: As he dies, he asks Éomer to bid Éowyn farewell on his behalf, [[DramaticIrony not realizing that she's actually lying unconscious close to him]]. |
| 44 | * MoreThanMindControl: Théoden isn't under a magical enchantment as in the films, but he's being manipulated and possibly drugged with "subtle poisons" by a minion of Saruman to make him weak and ineffective. |
| 45 | * NamedWeapons: His sword is called Herugrim. |
| 46 | * NiceGuy: Is incredibly polite when he encounters Merry and Pippin in the ruins of Orthanc, making small talk with them and offering to indulge them with a long chat after the war (which sadly never happens due to his death in battle). {{Deconstructed|Trope}} slightly by Gandalf's warning about fraternizing with hobbits: "These hobbits will [[SkewedPriorities sit on the edge of ruin and discuss the pleasures of the table, or the small doings of their fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers, and remoter cousins to the ninth degree]], if you encourage them with undue patience." |
| 47 | -->'''Pippin''' ''(to himself)'': So that is the King of Rohan! A fine old fellow. Very polite. |
| 48 | * OutlivingOnesOffspring: He outlives his son Théodred. |
| 49 | * ParentalSubstitute: To Éowyn and Éomer. He even switches from calling Éomer "sister-son" to just "my son". And oddly enough to Merry, apparently, even though Merry's father Saradoc is alive and well. At least Merry claims Théoden was as a father to him. |
| 50 | * ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Per the norm for Rohirrim. |
| 51 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: After Gandalf nullifies Wormtongue's misdirections. |
| 52 | * RedemptionEqualsDeath: He seems to think so. He's very hard on himself about his failures until he finds the courage to come to Gondor's aid. As he's dying, he smiles knowing that he's earned his place in the halls of his fathers. |
| 53 | * RousingSpeech: Declaims some poetry to the Rohirrim after he is re-motivated by Gandalf, and before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. |
| 54 | * RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: He adamantly refuses to stay behind or go to hide in safety when his troops ride to meet Saruman's forces at the Hornburg, despite being 71 years old. Later, he personally leads his troops to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. |
| 55 | * UniversallyBelovedLeader: Explicitly stated by ''[[Literature/UnfinishedTalesOfNumenorAndMiddleEarth Unfinished Tales]]''. |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Éomer]] |
| 59 | |
| 60 | Théoden's nephew, and leader of a substantial cavalry unit, Éomer does not approve of the advice Gríma has been offering, and the orders Théoden has issued on the basis of it. He is on an unauthorised mission when the Three Hunters first meet him, and in prison on charges of mutiny and assault when they reach Edoras. As Théoden's nearest male blood relative, the role of heir-apparent devolves onto him. |
| 61 | ---- |
| 62 | * BashBrothers: He becomes this with Aragorn. |
| 63 | * BattleCry: |
| 64 | ** At Helm's Deep: "Gúthwinë! Gúthwinë for the Mark!", which Aragorn copies with "Andúril for the Dúnedain! |
| 65 | ** At Pelennor Fields: He goes berserk and leads a reckless charge, crying "Death! Ride, ride to ruin and the world's ending!" The Rohirrim follow him and cry "Death" with one voice in reply. |
| 66 | * TheBerserker: During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, during which he spends much of his time raging like a madman as he rides down Orcs and Men in a frenzy. |
| 67 | * BigBrotherInstinct: Towards Éowyn, his sister. Upon figuring out that Wormtongue was {{stalk|erWithACrush}}ing her, he [[HotBlooded threatened to kill him]]. Unfortunately, as said threat was issued within the walls of Edoras, this resulted in Éomer's imprisonment. |
| 68 | * BindingAncientTreaty: Repeats the one that created his home kingdom of Rohan. [[AllThereInTheManual Appendix A]] reveals (and ''[[Literature/UnfinishedTalesOfNumenorAndMiddleEarth Unfinished Tales]]'' elaborates) that the treaty was established by a Ruling Steward of Gondor, and thus (like all of the policies of the Ruling Stewards) included an "until the Great King returns" clause that allowed the King to amend or revoke it as he saw fit; fortunately, said King (Aragorn) is personal friends and BashBrothers with Éomer, and the two have saved each other's lives and kingdoms on numerous occasions throughout the War of the Ring, so there's no hesitation on either side about renewing the treaty (presumably without the "until the Great King returns" bit). |
| 69 | * CombatByChampion: Engages in this with Uglúk at the edge of Fangorn Forest, to the point of dismounting his horse and facing the Uruk leader on foot. Éomer wins. |
| 70 | * DeathSeeker: After he snaps at the Pelennor Fields ("Death, death, death! ''Death take us all!''") until he comes to his senses but is facing certain doom anyway. |
| 71 | * DefiantToTheEnd: When he realizes defeat is inevitable and his death is near, he laughs at despair. Though TheCavalry saves him. |
| 72 | * TheDulcineaEffect: At the very end, [[spoiler: he says he'll duel over the Lady ''Arwen's'' beauty. Gimli calls it off, saying that Arwen is the evening to Galadriel's morning so they're basically even.]] |
| 73 | * EndOfAnAge: In [[AllThereInTheManual Appendix B]], he's the first of the major survivors of the War of the Ring to die, and his passing marks the beginning of the deaths or departures of the remaining members of the Fellowship of the Ring. It's {{downplayed|Trope}} by the fact that Samwise Gardner (formerly Gamgee) had departed Middle-earth ("[[LastOfHisKind last of the Ring-bearers]]") after the death of his wife Rose two years earlier, but the deaths ''really'' pick up with Éomer, not helped by the lack of details of the characters' other activities. |
| 74 | * FamilyThemeNaming: Éomer son of Éomund and brother of Éowyn. |
| 75 | * TheGoodKing: [[AllThereInTheManual Appendix A]] establishes him as this after the War of the Ring. |
| 76 | -->In Éomer’s day in the Mark men had peace who wished for it, and the people increased both in the dales and the plains, and their horses multiplied. |
| 77 | * HappilyAdopted: Théoden adopted him and his sister Éowyn after their parents died (their mother Théodwyn was Théoden's younger sister), and all descriptions of their family life indicate that there was plenty of love and loyalty to go around. |
| 78 | * HotBlooded: On numerous occasions. Arguably his FatalFlaw. |
| 79 | ** He promises to duel Gimli within minutes of meeting him, which later becomes a BrickJoke that actually outlasts Sauron himself. |
| 80 | ** Later detained when he threatens Gríma and draws his sword on him, but he's released when Théoden comes to his senses. |
| 81 | ** In the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, his fury nearly costs him and his men their lives, as his reckless charge leads to them being surrounded by enemies on all fronts. |
| 82 | * HumbleHero: {{Downplayed|Trope}}, but according to ''[[Literature/UnfinishedTalesOfNumenorAndMiddleEarth Unfinished Tales]]'', he's not ambitious, and he personally loves both his king and the heir-apparent (who also happen to be his uncle/adoptive father and cousin/adoptive brother respectively). It's clear that he would've been perfectly content serving Théoden, Théodred, Théodred's son, and so forth, with no hope or desire of becoming king himself...unfortunately, Théodred's untimely death bumps him up to heir-apparent instead. And even then, he continues to serve Théoden loyally, even suggesting that Théoden sit out the War of the Ring in an effort to prevent his death. |
| 83 | * TheJuggernaut: One of three individuals who emerge from the Battle of the Pelennor Fields without a scratch, despite having been in the thick of the fighting. He's arguably even more impressive in this regard than the other two, as he's the only BadassNormal of the trio (although it should be noted that he likely has at least ''some'' Númenórean heritage due to his Gondorian grandmother) -- Imrahil [[HalfHumanHybrid has Elven ancestry]], while Aragorn is borderline superhuman due to his Elven and Númenórean heritage. |
| 84 | * LargeAndInCharge: Described as being the tallest of the Rohirrim under his command. |
| 85 | * LastStand: He is ready to make one when he is caught in a seemingly hopeless situation during the Battle, right before [[BigDamnHeroes Aragorn]] comes to save the day. |
| 86 | --> He let blow the horns to rally all men to his banner that could come thither; for he thought to make a great shield-wall at the last, and stand, and fight there on foot till all fell, and do deeds of song on the fields of Pelennor, though no man should be left in the West to remember the last King of the Mark. |
| 87 | * LeeroyJenkins: His reaction to seeing his sister apparently dead was to charge headlong at the enemy, resulting in the above mentioned Last Stand. |
| 88 | * LikeASonToMe: Although Théoden calls him "sister-son" at first, he decides to call Éomer just "son" after a while, since Théodred has died and Éomer is now his direct heir, on top of Théoden having raised him since the death of his sister and brother-in-law. |
| 89 | * LockedOutOfTheLoop: Easily the most story-relevant heroic character who has no clue about the One Ring[[note]]We technically don't know how much Théoden knew about the Ring, but Gandalf does give him a private InfoDump after healing him, the two look eastward during this talk, and Gandalf later refers to "two members of my Company, sharers of a secret hope, of which even to you, lord, I cannot yet speak openly"[[/note]], which he {{lampshade|Hanging}}s during the Last Debate after Gandalf recommends the potentially suicidal march on the Black Gate. |
| 90 | -->'''Éomer''': As for myself, I have little knowledge of these deep matters... |
| 91 | * ManlyTears: Notably shed when he is trying to invoke MenDontCry instead. |
| 92 | -->Éomer said to them: |
| 93 | --->''Mourn not overmuch! Mighty was the fallen,''\ |
| 94 | ''meet was his ending. When his mound is raised,''\ |
| 95 | ''women then shall weep. War now calls us!'' |
| 96 | -->Yet he himself wept as he spoke. |
| 97 | * MeaningfulName: "Horse-famous" in Anglo-Saxon. Presumably, his real (untranslated) name had the same meaning. |
| 98 | * MissedHimByThatMuch: Significantly {{downplayed|Trope}}, but he's probably the most notable character (other than Bilbo Baggins) who misses Aragorn's wedding, having previously returned to Rohan to prepare for Théoden's funeral.[[note]]Interestingly, [[AllThereInTheManual Appendix B]] reveals that Elrond and Arwen actually stop at Edoras on their way to Minas Tirith, so he almost certainly meets them (especially since the sons of Elrond accompanied him and Éowyn to Edoras earlier), but he doesn't accompany them when they leave and only leaves himself later. Meanwhile, Éowyn doesn't return at all -- possibly [[YouAreInCommandNow she's been appointed interim leader of the Rohirrim again]] -- and thus is waiting for Théoden's funeral escort when they arrive at Edoras.[[/note]] |
| 99 | * NamedWeapons: Gúthwinë, his sword. |
| 100 | * ParentalAbandonment: Orphaned at a young age, raised by [[ParentalSubstitute his uncle]]. |
| 101 | * ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Like most of the Rohirrim. |
| 102 | * PutTheLaughterInSlaughter: He was having a lot of fun on the Pelennor fields, singing and laughing. |
| 103 | -->For once more lust of battle was on him; and he was still unscathed, and he was young, and he was king: the lord of a fell people. |
| 104 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He listens to what Aragorn has to say when he catches him with Legolas and Gimli in Rohan, and helps them by giving them mounts. |
| 105 | * RedOniBlueOni: His sister (the icy IronLady) is the blue and he (the raging [[TheBerserker Berserker]] warrior) is the red. He's also the Red to Aragorn's Blue, given Aragorn is much more "kingly" composed. |
| 106 | * RousingSpeech: He gives one of these twice in a row to the Rohirrim: right after [[spoiler: finding the bodies of his uncle and sister on the battlefield]], and again when he realizes they're surrounded and probably going to die. |
| 107 | * RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething[=/=]WarriorPrince: He's the nephew of Théoden, and grandson of the previous king Thengel. Given that the Rohirrim are a {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}}, this is expected. |
| 108 | * ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Is actually in the midst of doing this when he first appears in the story: having been ordered to remain at Edoras with his men, he instead led them out on an orc-hunting raid, which winds up annihilating the band that had captured Merry and Pippin. ''[[Literature/UnfinishedTalesOfNumenorAndMiddleEarth Unfinished Tales]]'' reveals that Théodred had also been engaging in this prior to his death, as both men recognized that the rules were not protecting Rohan. |
| 109 | * StiffUpperLip: Invoked, he tries and fails (because he weeps, while telling his men not to) [[spoiler: when he finds Théoden dead]] but completely loses it when [[spoiler:he believes Éowyn to be dead as well.]] |
| 110 | * UndyingLoyalty: To Aragorn. It's this (and ''not'' any stratagems or policies concerning Rings) that motivates him to lead his Rohirrim to the Battle of the Black Gate, and [[AllThereInTheManual Appendix A]] mentions that he often rides at Aragorn's side in battles during the Fourth Age. |
| 111 | * UnstoppableRage: When he sees [[spoiler: his sister's body]] on the battlefield. |
| 112 | * WarriorPoet: He improvises some rather dark verses when he sees the carnage of the Pelennor Fields. |
| 113 | -->''Out of doubt, out of dark to the day's rising\ |
| 114 | I came singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.\ |
| 115 | To hope's end I rode and to heart's breaking:\ |
| 116 | Now for wrath, now for ruin and a red nightfall!'' |
| 117 | * WillNotTellALie: His words: "the Men of the Mark do not lie, and therefore they are not easily deceived." |
| 118 | * YouAreInCommandNow: He becomes King of the Mark when Théoden falls at Pelennor. Théoden all but {{invoke|dTrope}}s this by effectively abdicating the throne with his last breath: |
| 119 | -->'''Théoden''' ''(to Éomer)'': Hail, King of the Mark! Ride now to victory! |
| 120 | [[/folder]] |
| 121 | |
| 122 | [[folder:Éowyn]] |
| 123 | |
| 124 | Éomer's sister, and much beloved of Théoden... as well as [[StalkerWithACrush Gríma]]. Éowyn yearns to fight for her country and win honor like her brother and uncle, and falls in love with Aragorn. When both desires are rejected and the victory of Mordor seems inevitable, she becomes a DeathSeeker, hoping to fall valiantly in battle before Sauron conquers everything. |
| 125 | ---- |
| 126 | * ActionGirl: She is a "shieldmaiden" (a term borrowed from the Norse sagas) and thus she knows how to bear arms. And she has to stay behind while the men go to war? [[SweetPollyOliver Screw that]]! Though the situation is nuanced since she was expected to stay behind and lead her people in the king's place, including in the last line of defence in case he and her brother (the direct heir) did not return, and she was outfitted in full war gear when they left. |
| 127 | * AllLoveIsUnrequited: To Aragorn. |
| 128 | * BadassNormal: Compared with all the elves, dwarves, wizards or other super-powered men of exalted lineage in this book, Éowyn was just a normal woman. It didn't keep her from taking down the Witch-king with the help of Merry, an even more "normal" badass. |
| 129 | * BerserkerTears: There were tears on her cheek when she was facing the Witch-king of Angmar. |
| 130 | * BetaCouple ''and'' BirdsOfAFeather: With Faramir. |
| 131 | * BigDamnHeroes: Éowyn and Merry saved the day. |
| 132 | * BrokenBird: She has been forced to nurse an ailing uncle and endure the sexual harassment of his EvilChancellor for years. Not to mention her ParentalAbandonment issues, her cousin dying in battle, her beloved older brother being imprisoned, and of course [[DespairEventHorizon a war coming that may destroy them all]]... |
| 133 | * BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: She literally broke her arm in the struggle against the Witch-king, but it was her ''other'' arm that was the problem -- mere contact with him through the sword nearly killed her. |
| 134 | * CallToAgriculture: After Sauron is defeated, Éowyn no longer desires to be a slayer and even possibly a queen, instead, resolving to be a healer who loves "all things that grow". Faramir proposes that they start a garden somewhere. |
| 135 | * DeathGlare: At the Lord of the Nazgûl. [[StaringDownCthulhu He was not amused]]. |
| 136 | * DeathSeeker: Already a GlorySeeker, she becomes this as well after Aragorn chides her for LovingAShadow. Her expression is described as "the face of one who goes seeking death, having no hope." |
| 137 | * DefrostingIceQueen: She was [[EmotionlessGirl cold]] before, but in the Houses of Healing she slowly warms up to Faramir, eventually falling in love with him. |
| 138 | * DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Goes up against the Witch-king of Angmar and, with Merry's help, defeats him. |
| 139 | * DontYouDarePityMe: She says this to Faramir with the line, "I desire no man's pity." (Faramir responds with a rare defense of pity: "Do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart.") |
| 140 | * EmotionlessGirl: She seemed very cold and dispassionate to the other characters before she went to battle, and she stays cool and collected even while facing the Witch-king. |
| 141 | * FamilyThemeNaming: "Éowyn" is a mix of her parents' names Éomund and Théodwyn, and her brother is Éomer. |
| 142 | * GlorySeeker: Since she's from a ProudWarriorRace, she frets at missing out on all the great deeds in battle because she's a woman, and even though she's left in charge to hold the fort and lead a LastStand if it comes to that, she points out that no one will be left to ''remember'' it since they will all be dead. Amplified by becoming a DeathSeeker, since death in battle is most glorious for the Rohirrim. Even after she's injured killing the Witch-king, she doesn't like being stuck with the medics while the army of Rohan confronts Sauron. |
| 143 | * TheGoodChancellor: Théoden left her in charge of the kingdom in his absence, possibly leaving her the throne if he and Éomer didn't return. However, it is subverted, as she followed him to war in disguise. |
| 144 | * GoThroughMe: She stood before the Lord of the Nazgûl to protect her uncle. |
| 145 | -->A cold voice answered: "Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye."\ |
| 146 | A sword rang as it was drawn. "Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may." |
| 147 | * LadyOfWar: She manages to keep an air of grace and beauty usually associated with [[ProperLady Proper Ladies]] while still being a very capable warrior. |
| 148 | -->Still she did not blench: maiden of the Rohirrim, child of kings, slender but as a steel-blade, fair yet terrible. |
| 149 | * LikeADaughterToMe: Théoden initially refers to her as "sister-daughter" but eventually drops that and simply calls her daughter. |
| 150 | * LoveEpiphany: When Faramir [[LoveConfession plainly confesses his love for her]] and asks if she doesn't love him, she suddenly realizes that yes, she does. This causes her to {{defrost|ingIceQueen}}. |
| 151 | * LovingAShadow: This is how Aragorn describes her attachment to him to her brother, comparing it to a soldier's love for a valiant captain. She wants the things he represents (freedom, glory in battle), not the man himself. [[spoiler: He proves it via calling out to her borderline comatose self as he heals her with ''athelas'', and then telling Éomer to do the same when she doesn't reply. Éomer easily succeeds where Aragorn fails, and Aragorn takes it as proof.]] |
| 152 | * MamaBear: Inverted. When Théoden is attacked and defeated by the Witch-king, she steps between them and says that she'll kill the Nazgûl if he gets close to her uncle, and demonstrates the credibility of her threat by effortlessly [[OffWithHisHead decapitating]] his mount when he mocks her. |
| 153 | -->"Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, [[YouShallNotPass I shall smite you if you touch him."]] |
| 154 | * MeaningfulName: "Horse-joy" in Anglo-Saxon. Presumably, her "real" (untranslated) name meant something similar. |
| 155 | * MyGirlBackHome: She was this for her father, brother, and uncle until she decided to go with them instead. |
| 156 | * NervesOfSteel: The Nazgûl's main ability is the power to inspire fear in the heart of the bravest of men: their cry and shadow can reduce experienced soldiers to a broken crying mess, trained warriors flee before them. The Witch-king is the worst of them. But when he threatens Éowyn, standing alone before him, to an eternity of torture in the houses of lamentation beyond all darkness, she doesn't even flinch. And then ''she laughs at his face''. |
| 157 | * NoManOfWomanBorn: Aside from ''Macbeth,'' probably the most famous example of this trope. The Witch-king is quite smug, quoting that prophecy in 'Dernhelm's' face... |
| 158 | * NotSoStoic: She breaks for a moment when she falls on her knees and begs Aragorn to take her with him on the Path of Death, in desperation. She also has a little moment of weakness when she is asking Faramir to order the healers to let her go. |
| 159 | * PairTheSpares: With Faramir. Accomplished uncommonly well. |
| 160 | * ParentalAbandonment: Orphaned at a young age, raised by [[ParentalSubstitute her uncle]]. |
| 161 | * PreAsskickingOneLiner: "But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter, and you stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch him." |
| 162 | * PrettyPrincessPowerhouse: This King's niece fights for her country and takes down the leader of the Ringwraiths himself. |
| 163 | * ProphecyTwist: The Witch-king brags that no living man could stop him. Éowyn is not a living man but a woman, and kills him. Also, Merry, who gives a crucial assist, is a Hobbit not a "Man" (though strictly speaking, this is incorrect as Hobbits ''are'' part of the race of Men). While she possibly couldn't have done it without him, she's the one who actually kills the Witch-king. |
| 164 | * ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Rohirrim are a proud, fierce, and war-loving people, who value courage, loyalty, and truthfulness above all and hold warriors in the greatest of honor. Éowyn shares this worldview (at least at first), which is why it is even more unbearable for her to just sit and wait as others do all the fighting. |
| 165 | * RebelliousPrincess: Although she doesn't carry the title of "princess", her uncle the King raised her as his daughter and she is his second in the line of descent after his son's death. When he leaves for war, she chooses to disobey him and follow him into battle. We see her spirited side when she is teasing Faramir on the walls of Minas Tirith in particular. |
| 166 | %%* RedOniBlueOni: She's the Blue Oni to her brother's Red Oni. |
| 167 | * RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: She is of the Royal House of Rohan and she will ''not'' be left behind. |
| 168 | * SamusIsAGirl: She took up the alias of "Dernhelm" to go to war. However only Merry and the Witch King seem to have been fooled; the soldiers in her company knew who she was and that she was bringing Merry along in defiance of the King's orders but pretended ignorance. |
| 169 | * SecondLove: She ends up with Faramir after having had a short [[LovingAShadow soldier crush]] on Aragorn. |
| 170 | * SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: She falls in love with Faramir for his more admirable qualities after [[LovingAShadow having pursued Aragorn for the wrong reasons]]. |
| 171 | * StaringDownCthulhu: Her eyes grey as the sea were [[DeathGlare hard and fell]] and made the Witch-king, Captain of Despair, spear of terror in the hand of Sauron, doubt himself. |
| 172 | * StayInTheKitchen: For years she is relegated to tending Théoden and being stalked by Wormtongue while the men ride off to war. When Théoden himself finally rides off to war she wants to go too, but she's left in charge in his absence. Later she wants to follow Aragorn but is rejected. She goes in disguise to the Battle of Pelennor Fields anyway where she kills the Witch-king. When Éomer wonders why she did such a thing, Gandalf and Aragorn point out that at least he could relieve his stress and despair by going out to kill Orcs while she had no such option. |
| 173 | * SugarAndIcePersonality: Aragorn, Legolas, and Merry describe her as [[EmotionlessGirl cold and stern]] when we see her in Rohan, but she shows a [[DefrostingIceQueen much warmer and affectionate side]] to Faramir in the Houses of Healing, even before he declares his love for her. |
| 174 | * SweetPollyOliver: Dresses up as "Dernhelm" so she can sneak into the army. |
| 175 | * ThreatBackfire: No living man may hinder the leader of the Ringwraiths... but Éowyn is a woman. |
| 176 | * TranquilFury: Before the Lord of the Nazgûl. Calm and deadly. |
| 177 | * UniversallyBelovedLeader: |
| 178 | -->'''Háma''' ''(regarding Éowyn)'': All love her. [[YouAreInCommandNow Let her be as lord to the Eorlingas, while we are gone.]] |
| 179 | * YouAreInCommandNow: {{Downplayed|Trope}} as it's in anticipation of an emergency, rather than during the emergency. On Háma's recommendation, Théoden appoints Éowyn interim lord of the Rohirrim while the soldiers march to the Hornburg. She retains her position when Théoden subsequently leads the army to the Pelennor Fields, but it's unknown whom she passes the duty to when she [[SweetPollyOliver rides off with the army in disguise]]. |
| 180 | [[/folder]] |
| 181 | |
| 182 | [[folder:Gríma Wormtongue]] |
| 183 | |
| 184 | An elder of Rohan who was seduced by Saruman's promises of power, Wormtongue was King Théoden's adviser. He used clever words and "leechcraft" to wear down the aged king's mind, weakening the kingdom and allowing Saruman's armies to run rampant. |
| 185 | ---- |
| 186 | * AnimalMotifs: He is called Wormtongue, but "worm" as used in Tolkien's works can refer to snakes, dragons and plain old worms due to the ambiguity of Old English ''wyrm''. Gandalf calls him both a snake and a "witless" worm (note the traditional malicious cleverness and deceitfulness of snakes and dragons in European culture), and Saruman straight-up calls him "Worm". His paleness, heavy "hooded" eyelids and long pale tongue give him a reptilian air. |
| 187 | * BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: [[spoiler:Frodo chooses to spare Saruman, even after the former wizard attempts to directly murder him, hoping he'll somehow redeem himself. But Saruman just ''has'' to taunt Grima one last time...]] |
| 188 | * DirtyCoward: Despite repeated offers of forgiveness from the good guys, he is too spineless to leave Saruman -- especially when proving his loyalty to Rohan requires saddling up and joining the army at the Hornburg. |
| 189 | * DirtyOldMan: Toward Éowyn, who is much younger. |
| 190 | * TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:Killing Saruman once he has had enough of his mistreatment]]. |
| 191 | * EvilChancellor: To Théoden, as an agent of Saruman. |
| 192 | * EvilOldFolks: Described as wizened, probably meaning he's around Théoden's age. |
| 193 | * FaceHeelTurn: According to Gandalf. |
| 194 | -->'''Gandalf''' ''(regarding Wormtongue)'': But it was not always as it now is. Once {{it|IsDehumanizing}} was a man, and did you service in its fashion. |
| 195 | * HeelFaceDoorSlam: [[spoiler:Frodo offers him a very-undeserved chance to turn his life around, and he seems to want to accept it; then, Saruman reveals what Gríma ''[[IAmAHumanitarian did]]'' to Lotho Sackville-Baggins, and everything just goes to hell.]] |
| 196 | * HumiliationConga: [[spoiler:The way Saruman treats him, especially after the fall of Isengard.]] |
| 197 | * ItIsDehumanizing: Gandalf deliberately {{invoke|dTrope}}s this when referring to Wormtongue -- to Wormtongue's face, no less! (See the quote under FaceHeelTurn above.) |
| 198 | * ManipulativeBastard: Successfully delays and weaken Rohan's war effort, even after Gandalf manages to escape his imprisonment at Orthanc and warn Théoden of the danger to Rohan. It's not made clear how much of the manipulation was Wormtongue's idea and how much was Saruman's. |
| 199 | -->'''Gandalf''' ''(regarding Wormtongue)'': He was crafty: dulling men’s wariness, or working on their fears, as served the occasion. |
| 200 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 201 | ** 'Gríma' is an Old English word meaning both "mask" and "spectre/goblin/nightmare". |
| 202 | ** 'Wormtongue' can mean "snake-tongue" and/or "dragon-tongue", both evoking his deceitful words aimed at the king's ear, but he also literally has an unusually long pale tongue. |
| 203 | * MirrorCharacter: Just as how Saruman is in many ways a miniature version of Sauron, Gríma bears a lot of similarity to Sméagol. Both were people who were never particularly good, and fell into evil for rather petty reasons. Both are largely known by a name other than the one they were born with, but are called by their real name by those who care about them. Both of them learn that BeingEvilSucks and end up largely debased by their corruption, but [[RedemptionRejection end up too ensnared to leave it behind]]. And both are ultimately responsible for the deaths of the one who corrupted them, but die in the process. |
| 204 | * TheMole: In Rohan, the spy and agent of Saruman. |
| 205 | * OhCrap: |
| 206 | ** Effectively his reaction when he realizes that Gandalf was allowed to bring his staff into Edoras. |
| 207 | --->'''Wormtongue''' ''(to Théoden)'': Did I not counsel you, lord, to forbid his staff? That fool, Háma, has betrayed us! |
| 208 | ** ''[[Literature/UnfinishedTalesOfNumenorAndMiddleEarth Unfinished Tales]]'' includes an account of the Nazgûl capturing Wormtongue while he was on his way to see Saruman (whom they had just been interrogating on the whereabouts of the Shire). Needless to say, he's so terrified that he reveals that Saruman had lied to them, and [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain promises to never breathe a word of their encounter to anyone]]. (It should be noted that, per [[WordOfGod Christopher Tolkien's notes]], Tolkien later altered the sequence of events so that Wormtongue never met the Nazgûl.) |
| 209 | * TheQuisling: He turned traitor to Rohan after Saruman promised him money and [[StalkerWithACrush Éowyn]]. |
| 210 | -->'''Gandalf''' ''(to Wormtongue)'': How long is it since Saruman bought you? What was the promised price? When all the men were dead, you were to pick your share of the treasure, and take the woman you desire? Too long have you watched her under your eyelids and haunted her steps. |
| 211 | * SmugSnake: He loses control as soon as Gandalf enters the scene and flies back to hide behind his master. |
| 212 | * StalkerWithACrush: To Éowyn. Gandalf supposes that Saruman promised to let him have her after Rohan falls. |
| 213 | * SycophanticServant: To Saruman, especially towards the end. |
| 214 | * TreacherousAdvisor: [[HeelFaceTurn Was a loyal public servant of Rohan at first, but Saruman twisted him.]] |
| 215 | * WiseOldFolkFacade: He's initially described as having "a pale wise face", but as it turns out, his wisdom is ''why'' he's so dangerous. |
| 216 | [[/folder]] |
| 217 | |
| 218 | !Gondor |
| 219 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_gondor_8.jpg]] |
| 220 | |
| 221 | ->''"Gondor! Gondor, between the Mountains and the Sea! West Wind blew there; light upon the Silver Tree"'' |
| 222 | |
| 223 | The first and last line of defense against Mordor and TheRemnant of the once-proud kingdom of Númenor, Gondor considers itself the bastion of the Men of the West. With Sauron's power ever increasing, it is they who must face the brunt of his wrath, and ultimately it is in Gondor the fate of Men will be decided. |
| 224 | |
| 225 | |
| 226 | !!Men of Gondor |
| 227 | ---- |
| 228 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 229 | |
| 230 | [[folder:Faramir]] |
| 231 | |
| 232 | ->''"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."'' |
| 233 | |
| 234 | Boromir's younger brother, but the two are quite different; while Boromir is constantly tempted by the Ring and succumbs to it, Faramir [[IncorruptiblePurePureness rejects it on principle]] without even seeing it, and later wards off the temptation quickly when he discovers it's in front of him. (This was changed [[RuleOfDrama for dramatic reasons]] in the films, but even then it's more about securing it for his father Denethor than using it himself.) He becomes even more central in the third novel, as the action moves to his homeland of Gondor. |
| 235 | ---- |
| 236 | * AlwaysSecondBest: Men have deemed him second to his brother Boromir all his life, being more gentle and scholarly, less flamboyant than his brother in times of war when warriors were honored above all (even his father loved Boromir most). And after the War, he became second best to King Elessar. Note that he never grew bitter about his eternal second place (quite the opposite really). |
| 237 | * AuthorAvatar: Tolkien has stated that Faramir is the character the closest to his personality except in courage. This was shaped by Tolkien's experiences in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. |
| 238 | * BadassBookworm: Far more scholarly than his brother Boromir, and far more interested in the history and lore of Gondor, but a very capable soldier and commander as well. |
| 239 | ** When he meets LoveInterest Éowyn, the PrettyPrincessPowerhouse of a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race]] that includes [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu herself]] ''and'' her Berserker brother, they're both recovering from serious illness, and Faramir still comes off as one of the greatest warriors of the age: |
| 240 | --->And she looked at him and saw the grave tenderness in his eyes, and yet knew, for she was bred among men of war, that here was one whom no Rider of the Mark would outmatch in battle. |
| 241 | * BetaCouple: With Éowyn. |
| 242 | %%* BewareTheNiceOnes: Faramir is one of the sweetest, gentlest characters in the setting |
| 243 | * BlueBlood: The Stewards have always been very powerful Blue Bloods in Gondor (which is why they managed to keep the title in the family at all, until it eventually became hereditary), without ever being "royalty". |
| 244 | * TheCaptain: Of the Rangers of Ithilien, played straight. |
| 245 | * CallToAgriculture: Sounds like he's having such a call when he and Éowyn confess to each other. At that point, his demotion from "Ruling" Steward was imminent. But later the newly-crowned king Aragorn makes him Prince of the province of Ithilien. |
| 246 | * TheCreon: Unlike his brother Boromir, Faramir seems to have no intentions of grabbing any power - rejecting an overwhelming opportunity and motive to become the Ruling Steward of Gondor or even the King. |
| 247 | * CulturedWarrior: Offers a history lesson to the Hobbits after having taken them prisoners in the aftermath of a bloody battle with the Haradrim. |
| 248 | * DreamingOfTimesGoneBy: He often dreams of the Downfall of Númenor, the isle that sank under the sea three thousand years ago. It is based on Tolkien's own of a land being drowned beneath a rushing wave. |
| 249 | * EarnYourHappyEnding: TheUnfavourite son who lost his beloved older brother, fighting a doomed war against the Dark Lord, and nearly becoming the victim in a murder-suicide by his own dad. Gets better, gets a princedom, gets true love. |
| 250 | * FamilyThemeNaming: Faramir and Boromir are both names constructed from Quenya. However, Faramir is the only named character in the Steward's line ''not'' to be named after a First Age hero. There ''had'' been a second Faramir in the Legendarium, but Tolkien later revised the name into Gelmir. |
| 251 | * HalfHumanHybrid: |
| 252 | ** Several (dozen) generations removed. He and Boromir (as well as their maternal uncle, Prince Imrahil) actually are descended from elf maiden Mithrellas, the legendary Nimrodel's handmaiden who married a Prince of Dol Amroth. May explain why many characters think they appear noble and regal like the ancient Dúnadan kings. |
| 253 | ** Word of God also has it that the Steward family is somehow descended from Anárion (Elendil's second son and Isildur's brother) - probably through a daughter since they have no claim to the throne. That would make them far ''far'' away descendants of Elros Half-Elven and ultimately Lúthien, like Aragorn. |
| 254 | * AFatherToHisMen: His men are extremely loyal to him because they know he cares for them and puts their welfare ahead of his own and will not waste their lives seeking for glory. Heck, he even inspires great loyalty in soldiers who ''aren't'' under his command. |
| 255 | * {{Foil}}: |
| 256 | ** To his brother Boromir. They have very different ideologies in the book and make very different choices, most notably with the Ring. Although the brothers loved each other dearly, Faramir knew Boromir well enough to guess that the Ring found him easy prey. |
| 257 | --->"[Boromir] was a man after the sort of King Eärnur of old, taking no wife and delighting chiefly in arms; fearless and strong, but caring little for lore, save the tales of old battles. Faramir the younger was like him in looks but otherwise in mind. He read the hearts of men as shrewdly as his father, but what he read moved him sooner to pity than to scorn. He was gentle in bearing, and a lover of lore and of music, and therefore by many in those days his courage was judged less than his brother’s. But it was not so, except that he did not seek glory in danger without a purpose." |
| 258 | ** Also to his father, Denethor. Both are noble and powerful pure-blooded Númenóreans with the abilities to read the hearts of other men and to command over them, who share a love for ancient lore and other scholarly pursuits over feats of arm. Yet [[LikeFatherLikeSon all these similarities]] only highlight their differences: the son is warm, gentle and understanding where the father is cold, harsh and scornful. Although both are very insightful into others' characters, Faramir pities and loves others, while Denethor looks down on them. Faramir chooses to keep on fighting despite having lost all hope, Denethor succumbs to despair. Faramir demonstrates humility and open-mindedness, Denethor displays arrogance and stubbornness, etc... |
| 259 | * GentlemanAndAScholar: Highly intelligent and scholarly, he is also a gracious host and very pleasant individual, able to have a good and friendly conversation with various people from very different cultures and backgrounds (Frodo, Sam, Éowyn, Merry, etc...). |
| 260 | * TheGoodChancellor: He comes from a whole line of those: despite being actually better rulers than their royal predecessors, none of the Ruling Stewards ever tried to take the throne for themselves, and instead they did everything they could to preserve the realm against the growing threat in Mordor in the name of the King. Faramir himself goes on to be Aragorn's loyal Steward, his First Adviser and Head of the Council of Gondor. |
| 261 | * GoodIsNotNice: While unquestionably a heroic figure, he [[HeroAntagonist mercilessly grills Frodo when he catches him and Sam in Ithilien]] and picks apart the inconsistencies in his story when he notices that Frodo's withholding information. Later, he's openly hostile to Gollum, having discerned his deviousness and malicious intentions (even if he remains ignorant of details). |
| 262 | * IGaveMyWord: In ''The Two Towers'', he rejects the temptation of the Ring in part because of this: "Not if I found it on the highway would I take it, I said. Even if I were such a man as to desire this thing, and even though I knew not clearly what this thing was when I spoke, still I should take these words as a vow, and be held by them." |
| 263 | * MartialPacifist: Violence is a last resort for him, which is why he spares even Gollum and treats him as well as he can while he is his prisoner. His men are also forbidden to harm animals. |
| 264 | * MeaningfulName: "Faramir" is Quenya for "jewel of the seashore", from "fára" (seashore) and "mírë" (jewel) - his mother was fond of the sea. Mardil Voronwë, the last Steward to a King and first Ruling Steward, was also the last of the stewards to have a Quenya name until Faramir, the last Ruling Steward and first Steward to a King since Mardil. |
| 265 | * TheMenFirst: The first time we saw him in ''The Return of the King'', he was ready to face five Nazgûl riding their fell beasts, alone on horseback, to protect three of his men who had fallen to the ground. Later, while holding the outer defenses against the armies of Mordor, he wouldn't leave his men behind and return to the safety of Minas Tirith, arranging instead for Gandalf himself to escort the wounded back. In the end, as captain, he was the last one to enter the city (or be carried in as it happens). |
| 266 | * MissingMom: His mother Finduilas died five years after his birth. |
| 267 | * NiceGuy: He treats Frodo and Sam very well, in the circumstances, and is kind to Éowyn in the Houses of Healing. |
| 268 | * OfficerAndAGentleman: Extremely honorable (to the point he wouldn't lie even to an orc) and impeccably courteous (even toward his war prisoners). |
| 269 | * PsychicDreamsForEveryone: Has these sometimes. His repeated dream about seeking the Sword That was Broken was what impelled Boromir to seek out Rivendell. His repeated dreams of the Downfall of Númenor was based on Tolkien's own dreams of a land being drowned beneath a rushing wave. |
| 270 | * PsychicPowers: Like his father, he is repeatedly said to be able to "read the heart of men", and demonstrates this ability when he sees in Gollum's mind (which apparently has a lot of "locked doors and closed windows, and dark rooms behind them"). |
| 271 | * RageBreakingPoint: He breaks for a second after his father admits to him he wishes Boromir - his most loyal son - had lived in his stead, resulting in TranquilFury: "For a moment Faramir’s restraint gave way. ‘I would ask you, my father, to remember why it was that I, not he, was in Ithilien. On one occasion at least your counsel has prevailed, not long ago. It was the Lord of the City that gave the errand to him.’" Precise and chillingly polite, yet adorned with that ironic ''my father'' to maximize impact. He goes straight for the jugular, blaming his father for his brother's death (and in the end it was one of those things that made Denethor snap - guilt over his sons' deaths). |
| 272 | * RavenHairIvorySkin: A Númenórean trait. Both he and his brother are said to be attractive. |
| 273 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He provides assistance to Frodo and Sam once he learns of their quest (after making them sweat a bit) and shows mercy to Gollum when Frodo vouches for him (though Gollum doesn't realize it). |
| 274 | %%* RedOniBlueOni: The Blue to Boromir's Red. |
| 275 | * SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Faramir is the sensitive one in this pair. And being the ''sensitive'' one of the pair he is shown leading a commando team well behind enemy lines, holding troops together with nothing but charisma while the Nazgûl are hovering above him, and defeating a great warrior in single combat. From all of which you will infer, he is part of a BadassFamily. |
| 276 | * SiblingYinYang: With Boromir; see {{Foil}}. |
| 277 | * TallDarkAndHandsome: He and his brother are described this way. |
| 278 | * TheThreeFacesOfAdam: He is the Prophet in the Denethor-Boromir-Faramir trio, the wise one despite being also the youngest. |
| 279 | * TheUnFavorite: Note that his brother Boromir (who was the favorite) deeply loves him and Faramir, far from being jealous, feels exactly the same. As the books themselves describe: |
| 280 | -->"Between the brothers there was great love, and had been since childhood, when Boromir was the helper and protector of Faramir. No jealousy or rivalry had arisen between them since, for their father's favour or for the praise of men. It did not seem possible to Faramir that anyone in Gondor could rival Boromir, heir of Denethor, Captain of the White Tower." |
| 281 | * WarriorPoet: Despite being a more than competent warrior, Faramir is first a scholar and devotes a lot of time to philosophy, lore, and music. |
| 282 | -->"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend: the city of the Men of Númenor; and I would have her loved for her memory, her ancientry, her beauty, and her present wisdom." |
| 283 | * WarriorPrince: Though not technically royalty, he's the son of the Ruling Steward and ''de facto'' king of Gondor. He becomes a real Prince after the war when King Elessar offers him Ithilien as a principality. |
| 284 | * WellDoneSonGuy: Subverted in that, while Denethor makes it clear he is a disappointment to him, Faramir ''doesn't'' compromise himself in trying to get his father's approval. Which actually is one of Denethor's major complaints about him. |
| 285 | -->"Your bearing is lowly in my presence, yet it is long now since you turned from your own way at my counsel." |
| 286 | * WillNotTellALie: Even to ensnare an orc. He does use [[HalfTruth half-truths]] and omissions however (against both Frodo and his father). |
| 287 | * TheWisePrince: Practically his defining trait, and why he is able to resist the Ring. Unlike Boromir, he fights merely to defend, not also for power and glory. He also does not wish for a Gondor that dominates other lands and realms, but rather a Gondor that treats them with honor and equal dignity. Coupled with his greater knowledge of lore, aided by Gandalf's tutelage, this means he recognizes the danger the Ring poses, the futility of using it, and the prudence to stay the heck away from such danger. (Indeed, he never actually gets to see the Ring.) |
| 288 | * YouShallNotPass: Pulls this off rather successfully in the defense of the Causeway Forts (the "gatehouse" of the Rammas Echor, a wall that surrounds the Pelannor Fields, between Minas Tirith and Osgiliath). His troops despite being forced to retreat from Osgiliath are able to hold off the army of Minas Morgul for the better part of a day despite being massively outnumbered and are only forced to fall back after the army from the Black Gate outflanks them to the North. And even then, Faramir leads a rearguard action that allows the majority of his forces to withdraw unmolested. |
| 289 | [[/folder]] |
| 290 | |
| 291 | [[folder:Denethor]] |
| 292 | |
| 293 | The current Ruling Steward of Gondor, Denethor rules from Minas Tirith in the absence of the King. A wise and effective (if [[GoodIsNotNice proud and rather cold]]) ruler, he is known for his strange powers of farseeing, [[{{Foreshadowing}} often exhibiting extensive knowledge of far-away current events long before he should reasonably have been able to be informed of them]]... |
| 294 | ---- |
| 295 | * TwentyFourHourArmor: Seen as a symbol of his stubbornness and pride, but also redeeming values thereof. |
| 296 | -->[Denethor] stood up and cast open his long black cloak, and behold! he was clad in mail beneath, and girt with a long sword, great-hilted in a sheath of black and silver. "Thus have I walked, and thus now for many years have I slept," he said, "lest with age the body should grow soft and timid." |
| 297 | ** Unfortunately, it's ultimately {{subverted|Trope}}: the armor never sees any use, and the sword winds up being used to threaten Beregond -- who's a loyal soldier of Gondor...who's just killed some fellow Gondorian soldiers...in an effort to save Faramir from being killed by Denethor...who's Faramir's ''[[OffingTheOffspring father]]''. |
| 298 | * AlwaysSecondBest: Despite being very competent himself, in his youth Denethor was always placed second to captain Thorongil not only in the hearts of men but also in his father's love and esteem. He grew really bitter about this and rather insecure. By the time of the War of the Ring, he couldn't bear the thought of being second best to Gandalf in his son's heart and respect (whether this was true or not), nor second to Aragorn in honor and glory, which ended rather tragically for him. |
| 299 | * ArmchairMilitary: He is the supreme commander of Gondor's troops but never steps on the battlefield himself. |
| 300 | --> Denethor laughed bitterly. ‘Nay, not yet, Master Peregrin! [Sauron] will not come save only to triumph over me when all is won. He [[TheChessmaster uses others as his weapons]]. [[NotSoDifferentRemark So do all great lords, if they are wise, Master Halfling. Or why should I sit here in my tower and think, and watch, and wait, spending even my sons?]] For I can still wield a brand.’ |
| 301 | * BlueBlood: The Stewards have always been very powerful Blue Bloods in Gondor (which is why they managed to keep the title in the family at all until it eventually became hereditary), without ever being "royalty". |
| 302 | * BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler: He loses his wife, both his sons, his city, and his people, and he ends up lighting his own pyre in madness and despair.]] |
| 303 | * TheCaligula: Gradually devolves into this. Although he starts out as tough but reasonable -- lighting the beacons, sharing in the rationing -- his slide into despair erodes his sanity, and he starts becoming more paranoid and unreasonable. |
| 304 | * TheChessmaster: He thinks of the war as a duel between him, Gandalf and Sauron, and the participants as his pawns or theirs. He has been setting up his pieces into place for years, waiting for Sauron to finally strike. According to ''[[Literature/UnfinishedTalesOfNumenorAndMiddleEarth Unfinished Tales]]'', he did a rather good job. |
| 305 | -->Thus Sauron tested the strength and preparedness of Denethor, and found them more than he had hoped. |
| 306 | * DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Faramir's apparent death]] and an extremely large invasion force at his doorstep, along with visions in the palantír which caused him to believe that Sauron had captured Frodo and thus obtained the ring: |
| 307 | -->"[Gandalf's] hope has failed. The Enemy has found it [the Ring], and now his power waxes; he sees our very thoughts, and all we do is ruinous." |
| 308 | * {{Determinator}}: It's often overlooked, but he used the Palantír for ''years'' to contest his will against Sauron's, but was not overpowered the way Saruman was (despite Saruman being a Maia, a being on the same order as Sauron). The reason Sauron shifted from attempting to dominate Denethor directly to pushing him over the DespairEventHorizon was ''because'' Denethor's will was too strong. It is also stated that Denethor was protected from corruption by the fact that he, as Steward ruling in the king's stead, possessed the legitimacy to use the Palantír, something that Saruman lacked. |
| 309 | * DramaticIrony: He obsesses over the visions, shown to him by Sauron via the Palantír, of the Black Ships of Umbar, filled with reinforcements poised to strike a fatal blow to Gondor. When the ships finally arrive, his own troops emerge from them to save Gondor and secure Sauron's defeat. |
| 310 | * DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: And he very nearly takes Faramir with him.]] |
| 311 | * TheEeyore: The man lives on Sauron's doorstep... and his main information source is being manipulated by Sauron. Is it any wonder he's a pessimist? |
| 312 | * FallenHero: The tragedy of his fall lies in how great he could have been, had he been a little less proud and a little less desperate. |
| 313 | * FamilyThemeNaming: Most of the names in the family tree of the Stewards of Gondor belonged to First Age heroes (Húrin, Túrin, Echtelion...). Denethor was named after the leader of the Laiquendi (the Green-elves) in Ossiriand during the Years of the Trees, and he married Finduilas of Dol Amroth, who was named after the daughter of King Orodreth of Nargothrond (another first-age elf). |
| 314 | * FatalFlaw: {{Pride}} and Despair. Despite being competent, he was AlwaysSecondBest to captain Thorongil/Aragorn in his youth in the hearts of men and also Denethor's own father and grew to become bitter and insecure, refusing to acknowledge Aragorn as the rightful king. By the time of the War of the Ring, he couldn't bear the thought (whether it was true or not) that he was second to Gandalf in his own son's heart rather than to him. He would eventually lose himself to madness and grief after seemingly losing both his sons and Gondor and would rather burn himself and his still alive son to death. |
| 315 | * {{Foil}}: |
| 316 | ** To Théoden. While Théoden managed to pull himself out of his despair and find the courage to save the day, Denethor went mad from grief after having seemingly lost both his sons and Gondor. He's also a whole lot more haughty and unforgiving (and from a much greater lineage) than the noble but kindly Théoden, which Gandalf specifically warns Pippin of before their meeting. |
| 317 | --->"Théoden is a kindly old man. Denethor is of another sort, proud and noble." |
| 318 | ** To Gandalf. They represent two different ideologies and two different images of "stewardship". In particular, Denethor is TheChessmaster moving his pawns and watching over the board from his tower, while Gandalf is TheStrategist fighting on the field and personally overseeing the realization of his plans. Both are terrible and powerful old men with a short temper (Pippin even thinks Denethor looks more like a wizard than Gandalf). |
| 319 | ** To Faramir. Both are nearly pure-blooded Númenóreans, windows on ancient Númenor, but Denethor represents its fallen glory, the pride and envy that led to its downfall, whereas Faramir stands for its greatness and wisdom. While Denethor ends his life in fire and despair, Faramir embraces hope, love, and life, and dies at the advanced age of 120 years old. |
| 320 | * GoodIsNotNice: He is willing to sacrifice anything for Gondor, although [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation this depends]] on [[KnightTemplar how "good"]] you consider him to be. |
| 321 | * HeWhoFightsMonsters: vs. Sauron, via the palantír. Sauron looked back. |
| 322 | * HiddenHeartOfGold: Very deep down, but he does love both his sons. |
| 323 | * InsufferableGenius: He is after all a great lore-master and a competent ruler, though not a very charming or nice one. |
| 324 | * ItsAllAboutMe: For a slightly more generous definition of "me." According to [[AllThereInTheManual Appendix A]], Denethor "saw in all the deeds of that time only a single combat between the Lord of the White Tower and the Lord of the Barad-dûr, and mistrusted all others who resisted Sauron, unless they served himself alone." Hence his friction with Gandalf (and to a lesser extent Faramir and Aragorn), fellow enemies of Sauron who nonetheless don't share Denethor's views on how the War of the Ring should be handled. |
| 325 | * {{Jerkass}}: To a degree, but he's given enough positive traits to balance him out to GoodIsNotNice, such as knighting Pippin and being overall a strong-willed and forceful leader. |
| 326 | * JustTheFirstCitizen: Denethor is the king in all but name, and is entitled to do nearly all of the things that the king would (including use of the palantír). However, despite his proud statement that only in a land of less royalty could he become the outright king, Denethor resents the fact that an heir could take his authority from him. |
| 327 | * KickTheDog: He outright tells Faramir that he wished [[spoiler: he died instead of Boromir.]] |
| 328 | * KillItWithFire: [[spoiler: How he meets his end.]] |
| 329 | * LivingLieDetector: Gandalf mentions it is difficult to deceive him, as he can perceive much of what is in the mind of men, and dangerous to try. His son Faramir seems to have inherited this ability, as he is able to immediately detect when Gollum lies to him. Even Sauron chooses to deceive him by ManipulativeEditing rather than outright falsehoods, as when he [[spoiler: shows Denethor a vision of ships with black sails coming up the river through the palantír to make him believe the forces of Mordor were about to recieve yet more fresh reinforcements from the corsairs rather than his own forces' relief from Aragorn]]. |
| 330 | * MurderSuicide: [[spoiler:Burns himself alive and very nearly takes a comatose Faramir with him.]] |
| 331 | * MyCountryRightOrWrong: In one of his letters Creator/JRRTolkien points out that Denethor thought of Sauron primarily as a threat to Gondor rather than as an evil power, and if he had won by force of arms he would have tried to become an imperialistic conqueror over Sauron's former empire. And in ''[[Literature/UnfinishedTalesOfNumenorAndMiddleEarth Unfinished Tales]]'', it is said that Denethor loved Gondor too much to be pushed into treachery in the manner of Saruman; he could only be pushed over the DespairEventHorizon by becoming convinced that Gondor was doomed. [[BatmanGambit This is precisely what Sauron does]]. |
| 332 | * ObfuscatingStupidity: He tries to pass off questioning Pippin instead of Gandalf as "an old man's folly", but Gandalf sees right through him. |
| 333 | * OlderThanTheyLook: Even though he is white of hair when we meet him and deteriorates in a rather short timespan, he nevertheless is described as robust and reasonably strong despite obviously being of advanced age. One would never get the idea that he's close to 90 years old at this point (though him having the blood of Númenor in his veins might have helped in that regard). |
| 334 | * OutlivingOnesOffspring: The death of his elder son Boromir affects him greatly. |
| 335 | * PassiveAggressiveKombat: With Gandalf. Most notably, after Gandalf and Pippin ride to Minas Tirith on [[SuperSpeed Shadowfax]] and obtain an audience with Denethor, Denethor grills Pippin regarding the circumstances surrounding Boromir's death for an hour while pointedly ignoring Gandalf (who is bearing much more urgent and war-relevant news regarding Saruman and the Rohirrim). Afterwards, he attempts to pull the ObfuscatingStupidity card mentioned above. |
| 336 | %%* ThePatriarch |
| 337 | * PetTheDog: Knighting Pippin, considering there are plenty of people who likely wouldn't have taken the Hobbit seriously. He's actually pretty gracious about it, at least before he ''really'' starts to lose it. |
| 338 | * ProphecyTwist: The Ships of Umbar. [[spoiler:The palantír didn't tell him that Aragorn had captured the ships, driven off the Corsairs, and loaded them with thousands of soldiers from coastal Gondor.]] |
| 339 | * TheProudElite: A man of high lineage and status, tall, intelligent, and competent. He also comes off as arrogant, cold, and disdainful. |
| 340 | * PsychicPowers: He is repeatedly said to be able to read the minds of men to some extent, and indeed he does seem to understand much more in conversation than what other characters willingly reveal. |
| 341 | * RegentForLife: He knows Aragorn is coming to reclaim the throne but refuses to cede authority as long as he lives. [[spoiler: Which isn't long.]] |
| 342 | * ReleasingFromThePromise: He does this to Pippin just before his sanity goes. Pippin refuses to accept it. |
| 343 | * TheResenter: He's been resenting Aragorn ever since they were rivals in his father's court and Ecthelion openly favored the stranger over his own son. |
| 344 | * RulesLawyer: Denies Aragorn's kingship on the basis that he is not Anárion's heir, whom the council of Gondorian nobles has always held the be only proper holder of the title 'King of Gondor.' (Aragorn does descend from Anárion through Fíriel, daughter of King Ondoher of Gondor, but he is not a direct male-line descendant.) |
| 345 | * SanitySlippage: It's been happening gradually for a while as he enters the story, but he only breaks after the seemingly fatal wound of his second son. |
| 346 | * SelfImmolation: [[spoiler:He lights his own funeral pyre]]. |
| 347 | * SilverFox: Pippin thinks that on the surface, he looks "much more like a great wizard" than Gandalf does, since he appears older, more powerful and even ''more handsome'' than the latter (the text is actually "more... ''beautiful''".) |
| 348 | * SourSupporter: He agrees with Gandalf that they need to cooperate, but still makes it clear he isn't happy at all with his plan and thinks it's doomed to fail. |
| 349 | * TallDarkAndSnarky: Denethor's Númenórian lineage make him be quite a tall, foreboding figure. He's also ''very'' acid with his words. |
| 350 | * TheThreeFacesOfAdam: The Lord in the Denethor-Boromir-Faramir trio. He struggles to maintain his position when it is threatened (by Sauron or by Aragorn), to find a balance between risking too much and not enough. |
| 351 | [[/folder]] |
| 352 | |
| 353 | [[folder:Imrahil]] |
| 354 | |
| 355 | Denethor's brother-in-law and the Prince of Dol Amroth, a fiefdom of Gondor. Imrahil is a noble man with a bit of elven blood who leads the knights of his city to the defense of Minas Tirith. He becomes the acting ruler of Gondor after Denethor's suicide but promptly recognizes Aragorn to be his king. After the War of the Ring, Éomer marries his daughter Lothíriel. |
| 356 | ---- |
| 357 | * AnimalMotifs: The swan. The symbol of the fiefdom of Dol Amroth is the Silver Swan. It's also heavily reinforced by the name given to Dol Amroth Knights: The Knights of the Silver Swan. |
| 358 | * BlueBlood: The Princes of Dol Amroth are a very important family in Gondor, and the rulers of their own fiefdom in Belfalas. |
| 359 | * CombatMedic: While nowhere near as good a healer as Aragorn, Imrahil was the one who removed the arrow that felled Faramir. (He also cleaned the wound.) Notably, he was also the one who discovered that Éowyn was NotQuiteDead. |
| 360 | * HalfHumanHybrid: Many generations removed. One of his distant ancestors married Mithrellas, an elf-woman. Legolas bows to him on sight. |
| 361 | * HumbleHero: Unlike Denethor, he immediately recognizes Aragorn as the Heir of Isildur and the legitimate ruler of Gondor. |
| 362 | * TheJuggernaut: Along with Aragorn and Éomer, he emerges from the Battle of the Pelennor Fields without a scratch despite being in the thick of the fighting. Later, when the army of the West is surrounded at the Black Gate, Imrahil and his men are stationed facing Mordor and the heaviest part of the assault. |
| 363 | * KnightInShiningArmor: Played straight. |
| 364 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: During the Last Debate with Gandalf and company, he raises some very important questions regarding the defense of Minas Tirith. |
| 365 | * ReluctantRuler: While not strictly reluctant to rule, he’s quick to recognize Aragorn as his king and shows no hesitation about returning the Stewardship of Gondor to Faramir. |
| 366 | * TheRemnant: Imrahil and his people are actually a unique case among the fiefdoms that make up Gondor. Dol Amroth was one of only two kingdoms of Dúnedain origin in mainland Middle-Earth to survive the Fall of Númenor (the other kingdom was Umbar, which soon fell under Haradrim influence and became a mortal enemy of Gondor). When Gondor was established, Dol Amroth willingly forsook its independence and swore allegiance to the larger kingdom. As such, the Princes of Dol Amroth are afforded a special degree of respect among Gondorian nobililty. |
| 367 | * SupportingLeader: To Aragorn, although Imrahil appears relatively little: even while officially remaining interim Steward of Gondor, he insists that Aragorn’s his king (despite the latter’s deliberate refusal to claim the title until after Sauron’s defeat) and takes his suggestion of marching on Mordor as a direct order. |
| 368 | * WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: Despite supporting Gandalf’s BatmanGambit, Imrahil questions whether Sauron will really fall for it. |
| 369 | * TheWisePrince: Plays this trope completely straight. He even offers to personally escort Legolas and Gimli to the Houses of Healing to visit Merry, although Legolas politely declines and sends him to participate in the Last Debate instead. |
| 370 | * YouAreInCommandNow: Gandalf places him in command “in the Lord’s [Denethor’s] absence,” and once he learns that said absence is in fact [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]] due to SanitySlippage (and that Faramir is also in no shape to rule), he assumes the role of interim Steward of Gondor. |
| 371 | [[/folder]] |
| 372 | |
| 373 | [[folder:Beregond]] |
| 374 | A common man of Gondor who serves as a soldier in Minas Tirith. Beregond is appointed Pippin's guide to the city and quickly becomes close friends with the hobbit, as does his son Bergil. |
| 375 | ---- |
| 376 | * ArsonMurderAndLifesaving: During the siege of Minas Tirith, he deserted his post and killed the porter with the keys to the Silent Street, as well as two members of the Guard. However, he only did this to protect Faramir from a premature funeral pyre, and only slew the others because [[PoorCommunicationKills they would not listen to him]] and attempted to kill him first. After the crowning of King Elessar, Beregond is brought before the new King. King Elessar spares him from execution because of the circumstances but discharges Beregond from the Guard and orders him out of Minas Tirith... so that he may be reassigned to Faramir's newly formed personal Guard in Ithilien as its captain. |
| 377 | * TheEveryman: Beregond represents the average citizen of Gondor. Unlike the erstwhile members of the Fellowship, he has no hand in making the decisions that will change the course of the war. All he can do is fight as best he can based on the decisions of others. But in the end, he is not exempt from having to make a moral decision in the face of extremity. |
| 378 | * OddFriendship: He and Pippin take to each other quite quickly despite the fact that he's a plain man-at-arms and lifelong soldier of Gondor, while Pippin is a hobbit from the other side of the Western world. |
| 379 | * PromotionNotPunishment: As a result of the "[[ArsonMurderAndLifesaving Lifesaving]]" above. |
| 380 | * ToBeLawfulOrGood: Stay at his post knowing what's going on, or ditch it (and risk the death penalty) to go save Faramir from a premature cremation? Not that it's much of a question in the moment, it just comes back later. Notably, some of the soldiers between him and Faramir decided on the "lawful" course of following the orders of a man who'd openly declared his intent to commit a murder-suicide, and Beregond has to cut them down. |
| 381 | * UndyingLoyalty: To Faramir. Even though Beregond isn't under his actual command, he still admires Faramir greatly and considers him to be the best Minas Tirith has to offer. Unlike many of his comrades, Beregond values Faramir's scholarly tendencies and laments that he's considered the "lesser son" by some of Gondor's troops because they live in an era that prizes warriors above all else. |
| 382 | * YouShallNotPass: He leaves his post in order to pull one of these to stop Denethor from lighting Faramir's pyre. |
| 383 | [[/folder]] |
| 384 | |
| 385 | !Other Men |
| 386 | |
| 387 | [[folder:Ghân-buri-Ghân]] |
| 388 | |
| 389 | Leader of the Woses (or Drúedain), a primitive tribal population of indigenous people that lived around the lands of Rohan and had a deep contact with the forests and wielders of a very powerful and intrinsic magic. They are very mysterious and elusive, but ultimately good people who refuse to side with Sauron and prove to be invaluable allies. |
| 390 | ---- |
| 391 | * BadassNative: The Woses may not like fighting but Ghân (and his people likewise) is a fierce man whose deep power over nature is not to be trifled with. |
| 392 | * CrypticBackgroundReference: We know next to nothing about the Woses in Lord of the Rings aside of a scant few throaway references. In ''Unfinished Tales'', we get a few glimpses of their cultures from the perspective of Elves and men of Rohan, but it's still very distant. |
| 393 | * DarkIsNotEvil: They look very fearsome and not at all aesthetically pleasing, with their odd proportions, but they're unambiguously heroic. |
| 394 | * EloquentInMyNativeTongue: Despite the fractured speech, Ghân is very wise and perceptive, and even has a few poetic turns of phrase that are only brought down by his YouNoTakeCandle speech. |
| 395 | * EnemyMine: Ghân doesn't seem ''too'' fond of the Rohirrim given the long history of racial tension between them and his people, but he immediately hurls that aside because he ''loathes'' Orcs, same as the Rohirrim. |
| 396 | * EthnicMagician: There's something definitely oriental in the Drúedain, as the book describes them building statues of fat men sitting cross-legged, while other writings by Tolkien state they often employ meditative trances while in said positions themselves, all of which brings [[UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} Buddhist]] culture to mind. As for the magic, although it is not shown in the story, it's also stated they have their own magical arts and can even make their guardian statues come to live. |
| 397 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Ghân and the Woses seem patterned around various indigenous people across history. |
| 398 | * HiddenElfVillage: Woses aren't elves (far from it), but they likewise live in a secluded area in Rohan. |
| 399 | * JungleDrums: The Woses are initially unseen but their foreboding drums can be heard, which scares the Rohirrim. Despite this, it's clarified their drumming is their way of warning that the Orcs are getting dangerously near and greeting the Rohirrim. The prose mentions that after the War of the Ring, the Rohirrim would never again fear the drums of the Woses, and rather rejoice when they hear them. |
| 400 | * MagicalNativeAmerican: The fantasy equivalent of it. Ghân and his people are a very tribalistic and technologically primitive people who nonetheless know more about nature and magic than all of Rohan and Gondor combined. |
| 401 | * MartialPacifist: Ghân states the Woses don't fight, though they do hunt and have the weapons to defend themselves if need be. |
| 402 | * NobleSavage: Ghân is a wise and noble leader, as is his people. They are all unaffected entirely by Sauron's dark influence. |
| 403 | * PoisonedWeapons: The Woses poison their arrows, which makes them quite foreboding according to the Rohirrim. |
| 404 | * ScarilyCompetentTracker: Ghân has keen knowledge of events unfolding ''very'' far away because the Woses are ''just that good'' at reading tracks. |
| 405 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: Ghân shows up for one chapter, but it's entirely his doing that the Rohirrim arrive on Gondor on time. Without him, the Rohirrim would have been late and Gondor would probably have fallen by the time they arrived. |
| 406 | * StaffOfAuthority: Ghân goes around with a wooden staff that seems to indicate his rank among the Woses. |
| 407 | * StealthExpert: The Woses can blend (and find pathways) in the forest like nobody's business. They manage to sneak the entirety of the Rohirrim past Sauron's eyes, and Ghân himself pretty much vanishes on the spot after talking with Theodén. |
| 408 | * StealthHiBye: The literal second Ghân finishes doing his job and talking with Theodén, he vanishes in the forest and out of sight without anyone noticing. |
| 409 | * YouNoTakeCandle: Ghân speaks in a fractured, odd manner of speech, evidently because Westron isn't his mother tongue and he's not used to conversing with outsiders. Despite this, he's rather perceptive. |
| 410 | [[/folder]] |
| 411 | |
| 412 | [[folder:Halbarad]] |
| 413 | A Ranger of the North and kinsman of Aragorn. At the urging of Elrond, Halbarad leads the Grey Company, a squad of thirty Rangers (plus Elrond's sons, Elladan and Elrohir) to bring Aragorn the standard Arwen made for him and urges him to enter the Paths of the Dead. Halbarad becomes Aragorn's standard-bearer and follows Aragorn until the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where he dies, never to see Eriador again. |
| 414 | ---- |
| 415 | %%* TheLancer: To Aragorn. |
| 416 | * ProphecyTwist: Upon arriving at the door to the Paths of the Dead, Halbarad declares that "[his] death lies beyond it." While technically true (he does indeed die some time after entering the Paths), he survives the Paths of the Dead and seems to be doing perfectly fine until the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. |
| 417 | * WeHardlyKnewYe: He shows up for the first time shortly before the Paths of the Dead and dies on the Pelennor Fields just a few chapters later. |
| 418 | [[/folder]] |
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