Luthien

COLOR: green My name is Lúthien Galanodel Meneldur. I chose the name Lúthien as it seemed to best accentuate and illustrate the current climate of my feelings. It means revenge, or vengence, not in my tongue as it is known now, but in dialects long dead in our modern society. It seems fitting.

I am an elf as my name might suggest, though my family name of Meneldur is a name I took straight from
my father. I also took the name he choose for himself - Galanodel - when the time had finally come to him. I did this, taking both names, to honour him as he should be honoured, for he was a great and noble elf.... As to the tale of how I came to be here, I think it might be best if I leave that to someone else to tell. At times it is better to distant yourself and let others cronical painful parts of your history. Such a tale coming from someone far removed from the events therein, is probably easier to understand than an emotion filled tirade, which is no doubt all I would be able to offer you.

Let my dear friend Ileandra tell my tale....

Name
Lúthien (Galanodel) Meneldur

Race
Elf

Class
Ranger

Age
111

Appearance
Lúthien stands at 5'6 with a long slender build, quite wiry and of course he boosts delicate features and characteristically frail body. Lúthein has long, perfectly white hair (which is an oddity in itself) and a thick streak of blue dye which colours a strand of hair above his left temple. On his both cheeks are tattoos of something close to a stylised fox paw print, also marked in blue. This is Lúthien's own personal animal, one he has an affinity with. This will probably creature who chooses to stick by him when Lúthien proves himself to be worth such a companion. Each elf in his village has such an animal but only he has chosen to mark himself in this way. He wears clothes suitable for long travel, often on foot; so dragonhide boots (a gift from his father) and leathers under a light wool tunic, all of which are forest colours of brown and green. A generous black travelling cloak with a wide hood covers the rest.

History
Lúthein was raised in a small village of around fifty or sixty elves. He is a wood elf insofar as he was raised under the trees of the wood in which he lived. His father died whilst he was quite young - probably still a teenager by human standards - and his mother was a quiet reserved soul who loved him dearly. There was also his younger brother, Zhian, who, for reasons unknown to Lúthein was scorned and outcast from the very
beginning. Lúthein's mother, Élanyë (pronounced EE-lan-EE-ay) was a form of bard and often made visits to the human town which was a mile or two's walk away. As a musician she was well known and reasonably well liked as she was particularly charismatic and loveable - open and caring - so she also was the one who did
most of the trading for the small elven village.

When Lúthein was about eighty, so still rather young, he begged his mother to allow him and his brother to join her on one of the visits to the humans he had heard so much about. Though she was reluctant to allow it, she eventually relented and both Lúthein and Zhian journeyed with her to town. When they reached town it was a
particularly busy day and when Élanyë set up her wares all was fine for the first half hour. But then a man recognised her and starting mocking her. He called her a fine series of names, but first and formost of these was whore and wench though he gave no explanation at all. Of course Lúthien and Zhian sprang up to their mother's protection but at a sight of Zhian the taunts changed and became directed at him. They mocked him for a dirty half breed, one of mixed heritage, a mongrel. Neither Lúthein or Zhian could understand this, but Élanyë insisted that they leave the town as soon as possible.

Zhian was upset and confused and had no idea what to do and so when they returned home, retreated to his home in floods of confused tears. Lúthein, however, stronger and harder and of course very protective of his younger brother, insisted on the matter being explained. Immediately. Élanyë, though she would prefer obviously to keep her secret as her secret, told her eldest son the truth. She explained that one excursion into the human village, while he was much younger, brought her into contact with a rowdy bunch of around four drunken humans. As she was alone and unable to defend herself the men took her and stood guard while one raped her, unknowingly leaving her with child.... With Zhian.

Lúthien was enraged by this tale and immediately swore revenge on behalf of his brother and his wronged father, but Élanyë begged him not to. Explaining that his father, Galanodel, swore the same vow and was killed by the humans when he went to deal with them. This piece of information, unfortunately only added fuel to Lúthien's rage and he mulled and pondered and plotted his revenge for three solid days. He did not eat or
sleep or rest or speak to anybody, instead retreated deep into the woods to be with his foxes. After this time, when he emerged from the wood he was a deeply changed man, hard, cold and vengeful and there was nothing at all his mother could say to stop him immediately leaving the village to find the humans.

Of course the events Élanyë spoke of happened very many years ago, for Zhian was already fifty years of age. The human in question was obviously dead, but by ingratiating himself amongs the town people and asking shrewd questions Luthein very quickly heard rumours of a man who once boosted of bedding an elf. The rumours were confirmed by a young girl in a tavern named The Leaping Doe who told Lúthein that her grandfather had always made up rediculous stories like that while he was alive. Content that he has found his
prey Lúthein let the girl leave the tavern where she worked and followed her home.

In that home he found the young girl's husband and three year old son. He also found this young girl's brother and her father, son of the human rapist. Lúthein waited only for that night to fall before taking his revenge.
Catching them sleeping, he crept into the house and set upon them one by one, quietly slitting their throats with the curved hunting knife which once belonged to his father. Even the little three year old child.

Covered in the blood of his enemies Lúthein returned home but his mother could abide what he had done. Even for the sake of her honour she couldn't stand the fact that he had become such a cold, hard murderer and so, she sent him away.
With grim farewells Lúthien left the village, venturing out into the world to find somewhere else to safe to live. He had far distant kin, a cousin in the land to the east so his intent was to go there. But it was a long journey and one taken with humans nearby along every step of the way.

These creatures, these strange and terrible creatures are his one true bane. Their very existence sickens and offends him as he likens all these creatures to the one who so violated his mother. Half elves he treats with a strange kind of pity, for they are so like his brother, but humans he has very little patience for. At all. He hates them. They are his sworn enemy.

In time it happened that Lúthien could no longer stand to be among those creatures he so loathed. He retreated to the woods and trees right in the middle of his journey, choosing instead to forgo all humanoid contact and live within the trees. It was hard at first, for he was unused to such hardship. However, the animals and the
woods themselves seem to take pity on him. The first few days were the hardest, but gradually it became that the thought of returning to the world was still harder. The woods and trees understood Lúthien. The birds and animals were his friends. He picked up, rapidly, the many wonderous things they could teach him about nature and wild things. Hunting and tracking became almost second nature, simply because he had little choice but to learn or starve.

This went on for three years. For three years Lúthien was all but a recluse, stepping out of the woods and trees for only the highest of emergencies. But after this blissful existance free of the presence of those he so hated, it quickly became plain that this was no life for him. Not a real life. Lúthien's place was among his people. So, he continued moving, almost travelling towards his distant kin until he came upon the land known as La Ruta Verde.

It seemed familiar to him, though he could not say why, and the very name Puerto Verde struck such a chord in him that he was compelled to stay. A chord which vibrates with the trilling notes of a distant song, a memory lost, for now, in his near youth, a memory of some other near kin...

Weapons
Longsword, short sword, longbow with a quiver usually filled with twenty arrows, two daggers.

Languages Spoken
Common, Elven

Our adventure finds Lúthien halfway along the journey to his cousin, doing everything in his power to earn the means to travel as he must to reach his distant kin. He has no problems at all with using humans; they are little more than animals- no worse than animals, for no animal would steal from another of its kind, kill it for no reason, rape it, murdering their own. No, Lúthien is more than happy to use them to his own end, but he will
never trust them, never respect them, never love them. Unless of course, some new revelation or understanding comes to him and helps him return to the kind and easy soul he once was.

He decides to take the Cureno Verde because he understands that it will help him gain what he needs to cross the country. Never once did he anticipate that he would end up working for humans and though it rankles him no end, Lúthien is able to deal with it, simply because he has no intention of letting these men get away with what they are doing and the way they are treating him. As soon as he has what he needs out of them.... they will
pay.

COLOR: green That is a very strong and powerful way of putting it, Ileandra. You must think me a brute....

I don't. I think you have had to grow up very quickly, taking a name for yourself and venturing into the world long before you should have. You are a hard man, filled with hate and a burning lust for vengence. It consumes you.
COLOR: green It does not consume me. I would never let something so dark as hate rule my life.

Is that right. *pause* In that case, I wish you well. I have done as you asked, I have told your tale. I hope it rings true to the actual events.

COLOR: green It does... and you have my thanks, though you seem to hint at something I have no memory of.

I do? Well... perhaps you should think on that a little more... see if you can regain that memory.

COLOR: green Perhaps I should. Will you help me?

I will not; my work here is done. Besides, in a matter such as this I believe that you will learn and you will understand when you are ready and not a moment before.

COLOR: green An interesting riddle. As you wish then....

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