[Elfhelm]

All-right then, here's my character!

Name: Herebrand son of Halador
Race: Man, Rohirrim
Age: 25

Herebrand is very tall for a man of Rohan, towering 6'4 above the ground. He is thin, but muscular from weapon training and hard work. He has neat, shoulder-length golden hair with eyes bluer than the sky on a fair weather day and a trim golden beard. Overall, he has a well-formed, handsome face with bold features and a usual good-natured smile. His normal attire includes a grey traveling cloak (that once belonged to his father), a layer of light chain-mail, and a green tunic for the upper body, and leather riding pants and tall boots for his legs.


Herebrand has many distinct traits. He is a perfectionist who wants everything to be done perfectly, and that usually means his way. Other than that, he is fun and cheerful when not in battle, and grim and dour when on the battlefield. He sometimes is overcome with periods of despair, but they often pass quickly. Another important trait of Herebrand is the he is a believer in honor. If his honor is offended, he believes he has no choice other than to defend it. Honor is one of the most important things to him, and if it got to die honorably on the battlefield, he will do so willingly.

History:

Herebrand is the oldest son of Halador, who in turn is oldest son of Herefara, a hero of Rohan during the War of the Ring. Probably being a direct heir of Herefara inspired Herebrand's ideas of honor, for Herefara died on the Pelennor Fields and was forever memorialized in a Rohirrim ballad. Ever since he first heard "The Mounds of Mundburg," Herebrand had been obsessed with conceptions of honor, conceptions that remained into his adulthood. He constantly strived to perform chivalrous deeds, and wished not to die of old age, but on the battlefield like his glorious grandfather. (Also, though he does not know it, Eriador was his great-uncle on his mother's side.)

Since he was of noble lineage, Herebrand received the best training a Rohirrim could have. He was tutored in the use of the longsword by Lord Elfhelm, another Rohan's greatest heroes who was too old to fight orcs on the borderlands. From his expert teaching, Herebrand became skilled in the longsword's use, and at his side he carried a blade given to him by Elfhelm himself. However, though he was a good sword fighter, Herebrand really excelled with the bow. He could shoot from his horse better than some veteran Rohirrim could shoot from the ground. But that was also due to Herebrand's horse Aglar ("glory"), who seemed to be smarter than any of the other Rohirrim's steeds, and who followed his master's commands perfectly.

By age 21, Herebrand was already an experienced Rider of Rohan who had participated in campaigns in Rhun and the Eastern Borders of the Reunited Kingdom. He became a member of an elite eored that was led by Elfwine, King Eomer's son and the Second Marshal of the Mark. Herebrand and Elfwine became close friends, and soon Herebrand began to frequent the Golden Hall. He also gained the favor of King Eomer, and it looked as if he would earn a high position in Edoras.

But things changed when at age 24, his father was slain in an orc ambush in the Wold. Elfwine's eored hunted down and killed all of the dispicable band, but that did not ease Herebrand's grief. Halador's only possession on him was his old cloak made for him when he was a boy. Herebrand vowed to wear this cloak everyday as a sign that he still honored his father. Herebrand had inherited a large estate, but he left it to his mother, for he did not yet desire to give up his warrior life.

In time, his grief did ease, though it haunted him in the night's late hours. As consolation, Elfwine gave Herebrand the command of a small patrol of 12 hand-picked men, and these "outriders" did much of the scouting for the eored. When Taralphiel's plea reached the ears of King Eomer, he asked his son who would be the best Rohirrim to aid the people of Swan-wood. At once, Elfwine suggested his "outriders", and said that there were none better in Rohan. So King Eomer comissioned the outriders of the Second eored to help the Taralphiel's people, for he did not forget the promise he made to her long ago. Departing from an outpost in the West Emnet, the 12-man patrol headed south, intent on reaching Calembel and a rendezvous with the Swan-wood's delegate.

Equipment/Weapons: Longsword, Rohan Bow, father's cloak, engraved dagger (taken from the body of an orc-chieftain), battle-horn, and a horse named Aglar.

I await Ruling Ring and Burzdol's reply to my PM before I make my first post.