In honor of Tolkien Day (The man’s 121st Birthday) I redesigned some old characters from back in the utter heights of my Lord of the Rings fandom. I created my own continent far to the East of Middle-Earth: Rómenor. This continent was populated by Men and Elves who had emerged far from the origin places of their more widely known counterparts. From the fall of Utumno a servant of the original Dark Lord, Morgoth, stole away to the Western edge of this continent and (using her considerable gifts as former Maia of Aulë) manipulated the land to raise an impassable fence of mountains, sealing off the continent. She wages war upon the Elenath (the Host of the Stars), who in turn establish secret guarded kingdoms. Two kingdoms of Men emerge with the coming of the sun, after the Elenath have resisted siege and made themselves disappear for centuries. They are the matriarchal society of naval warriors, the Gaerandirim, Wanderers of the Sea, occupying the Southern coasts to the west of the Great Lake, Daerelin; and the Men of the North, living deep underground, hardy and strong, Cevendroth, the Earth People.
So all Tolkien geekdom aside, here are the four leaders of Rómenor (minus The Dark Lady)
Eldarion of the White Crown is one of the twin sons of Edwë, the deceased king of the Elenath who was slain in the initial battle with the Dark Lady. He leads the majority of his people in the hidden island, Tol Elenath, situated in the midst of the Daerelin, the Great Lake. The lake is bordered by thick forest, made dense and tall by their arts. The shores of the lake are always in mist, to hide the glittering capital of Eldarion. He wields a mighty spear that belonged once to his father, Gurthad the Death Hurler.
Elrandir, brother of Eldarion. He establishes a kingdom in the trees of Eryn Fuin, Darkwood, wielding the Dreadsword, Gaermegil. Elrandir takes the name Tauron, Lord of the Forest, and kills or imprisons all who are unfortunate enough to wander close to his territory. His is a war of secrecy and assassination, flitting in between the shadows. In the battle that claimed his father’s life, Tauron lost his right eye, and in the years of siege that followed he lost his wife. Thus he is loath to wage war openly, and rarely gives his followers leave to explore beyond the forest’s edge.
Bor is the leader of the Cevendrim who live in vast caverns deep beneath the mountains of the North. During Baer his father’s reign, his people delved further into the mountain than ever before and awakened a powerful Earth Spirit. All feared to approach the Spirit save for Baer, who helped the spirit escape her imprisonment. She revealed herself to be Emelamar a Maia of Aulë who had become trapped after her explorations had been too eager. Baer was stricken and Emelamar became his Queen. Thus Bor is half Maia and the divinity of his blood grants him vast strength and long life. When Baer died, the immortal Emelamar disappeared once more into the Mountain, leaving for her son a gem wrought of her grief, a shining azure tear that would become his badge of authority as well as the promise that so long as he remain in contact with the Earth, she would protect him. The Cevendroth are a rigidly gender-divided society. Men and women live in separate areas of the mountain, male children taken from their mothers at the age of 9 during the Sundering, and reuniting with women only to be mated during the Time of Reunion. Other than those moments, the men and women live separately and autonomously with separate governance, military, forming relationships and family units with each other. Those of the Line of Baer are considered to rule both gender classes and can choose to dwell with their mates if they so choose, but rarely exercise this privilege. Bor commands both male and female battalions in times of war. His ferocity earns him the title of Raug the Demon, wielding Meneldring the Sky-Hammer.
Kaela, the Lady of the Gaerandirim of the Coast. She wields the Siglim, glittering daggers that can slip through the weak points of any armor. She is pragmatic and wise, a master strategist, opting to avoid confrontation if possible. She commands an army of mostly men, but the Gaerandirim allow women to serve openly. Her people are nearest to the Dark Lands and have thus suffered the most violence. They are war-hardened and fierce, sea-worthy and formidable. The Elenath dub her Falathrin, Mistress of the Coast.
Aaaand… just for fun, Kaela in her royal attire.
