Name: Gelirn
Date of Birth: April 19, 2915 (Age 103 as of First Battle of the Fords of Isen)
Sex: Male
Race: Dwarf
Heritage: Dwarves of Thorin's Halls (1/2 Longbeard, 1/4 Broadbeam, 1/4 unknown Easterling)
Hair Color: Silver
Eye Color: Dark grey-green
Height: 4' 8"
Description
Gelirn seems to be an unremarkable Dwarf at a glance. One who notices the differences in body shape among Dwarves would notice he is on the hardy and stocky side, with a stout warrior's build. His thick skin is dotted with a few faint, fading scars. These heal and are replaced continuously, appearing different every few days, or over a fortnight at most. It appears he often suffers wounds but his flesh refuses to let them leave their mark on him. His bulbous nose is framed by the sort of rough, rugged face common to Dwarves that are mature, but not yet elderly. One familiar with Dwarves could identify him as being around a century old - a Dwarf in his prime, not very young but far from old age.
Other than the quick-healing scars, the only thing somewhat unusual about his appearance is his silver-grey hair. This colour is rather uncommon on most mortals at such an early part of their lifespan, but not at all rare in some Dwarven bloodlines. The hair on top of his head is swept back, falling to his shoulders, with some of it tied off into a small ponytail. A plain, long mustache droops into a beard undecorated save for two small braids woven into its bushy mass. His manner of speaking is more distinctive, as it is almost always louder than necessary, a habit that can be quite irritating. His voice is neither shrill nor lovely, but harsh, deep, and guttural. Indeed, he seems incapable of talking quietly, and those in conversation with him must get used to their ears being assailed by his booming speech.
History
Born in Thorin's Gate, Gelirn was a Dwarf of mixed heritage, part of the Longbeards not by pure blood but by upbringing. His father Gelak and mother Finhar were also born in the Blue Mountains, both to mothers of Thrain's folk who had just migrated there following the war against Azog's Orcs. Finhar was the elder, born just after her mother Stjarnauga arrived in the ancestral home of her father, an unrecorded Broadbeam. Gelak was born a few years later to Gelme, an Eastern dwarf of uncertain ethnicity who had come in response to Thrain's call to war, and Ástgim of Erebor, who had taken her new foreign husband with her in the migration from Thrór's Coomb.
Gelirn was a child when the Kingdom Under the Mountain was reclaimed. His father was one of the Dwarves who escorted his people who wished to migrate from Eriador to resettle the Lonely Mountain, though Gelak himself soon returned and sired Gelirn's brother Geloo. Their friends and relatives were divided between those who joined the new king Dáin and those who remained. Some years later, before he was full-grown but once he was judged old enough to choose for himself, Gelirn made the decision to move to Erebor with his mother's half-brother Thoka. There he resided through the rest of his childhood and into adulthood, aside from occasional extended visits to his family in Thorin's Gate.
Whenever he returned to the Blue Mountains, it was usually work that brought him there. Having grown up accustomed to the long road between the Dwarven lands, he found himself in the business of escorting merchant caravans. Though much of this was routine travel between Erebor, the Iron Hills, and surrounding settlements, he chose long journeys into dangerous territory whenever possible. Aside from his birthplace, another perilous location for traders and suppliers to service was the Grey Mountains. Early in his career, he dreamed of someday journeying beyond the Iron Hills in search of his grandfather's people. But few dared travel that way, and Gelirn never got the chance to take a job going in that direction. As new concerns took hold of his mind over the years, that goal was forgotten.
He never stopped enjoying the thrill of combat, and the feeling of defending those whose lives were entrusted to him. But as the excitement of being an adult and a fighter like his father and grandfather faded, he began to find fault in his employers and the jobs available for him to choose. In his eyes, too many of those who hired him were greedy, scheming, or cowardly. The benefits to these traits in the world of merchants were lost on the forthright Dwarf, who lost respect for these sorts, and yet continued to depend on them for livelihood.
A trip to the Blue Mountains in 3017 proved serendipitous. At that point he was eager for a change, and this was provided by a Dwarven guild with a strong presence in Eriador. These Dwarves were generally honourable, and Gelirn learned to trust even their craftiest members. Far from Mordor and the hostile lands to the East and South, northern Eriador was still beset by evil. Angmar was rising again, and agents of that realm orchestrated the betrayal of the Longbeards of Ered Luin by their Dourhand compatriots. Gelirn's new duties often brought him into combat with these villains, to his delight.
The conflict escalated in the autumn of 3018 with the coming of the Ringwraiths. Gelirn found himself participating in battles and expeditions against the forces of Angmar more often than escorting travellers. By winter, Angmar had been crippled, and the Dourhands had lost their leader. The threats these posed were not entirely ended, but the Free Peoples of Eriador were secure enough to aid an attempt by the Dwarves of Erebor to reclaim Khazad-dûm. Gelirn's guild was quick to ally with the organization behind this expedition, the Iron Garrison, and with his leaders' approval he enlisted in the Iron Garrison.
As an Iron Garrison Guard, he worked to eliminate threats to the new colony and ward off attacks from the Orcs of Moria. When the Garrison allied with the Elves of Lothlórien to counter Dol Guldur, Gelirn joined the Dwarven attachment to the Golden Host. When that campaign had achieved its goals, Gelirn briefly returned to northern Eriador on guild business before being sent south on a special mission for the Iron Garrison. For the first leg of this journey, he was to escort a diplomat to negotiate with the Dunlendings, both to counter the White Hand menace on the western side of Khazad-dûm and to rediscover Dwarvish connections to that land from the time of Thrór.
Gelirn and his companion did what they could in Dunland, but Saruman's influence was already much greater than they were expecting. Gelirn had been to continue on to Zigil-jabâl to secure aid from the Dwarves of the White Mountains, once the envoy was safe with what allies could be found among the Dunlendings. However, at that point Gelirn turned aside from his mission to further help the cause against the White Hand. Alongside the Rohirrim defending the Gap of Rohan, he fought to hold off the host of Dunlendings Saruman had rallied, as well as the horde of Orcs from Nan Curunír.
When Saruman's armies struck against the Fords of Isen and slew Prince Théodred, Gelirn was driven back into Rohan. There he defended homes and settlements from White Hand raiders, and attempted to rally reinforcements for the defenders at the Fords. During his travels in the Mark, he joined up with some allies to thwart a surprise attack on Ered Luin by an auxiliary detachment of White Hand Orcs.
Personality and Beliefs
Gelirn is a Dwarf of simple tastes, who craves adventure. He cares little for great personal wealth, status, finery or intrigue. His desire is to earn an honest wage doing an enjoyable job, and what he enjoys is travelling to distant places and testing himself against a variety of foes. He appreciates a good, straight fight, whether it is a friendly brawl or lethal combat. After experiencing war first-hand, his outlook towards battle became more dour. However, this did not prevent him from still enjoying smaller fights, the kind in which everyone on his side often survives.
His love of combat along with his loud way of speaking often gives the impression of a belligerent and especially hard-headed Dwarf, an assumption which is only partially correct. It is true Gelirn revels in challenges, particularly of the martial kind, and eagerly puts himself into dangerous situations to experience the thrill of getting out of them. However, he rarely makes trouble where there is none, and those familiar with him know his his obnoxious loudness is contrasted by a generally agreeable personality. Unless he is in a foul mood, he does his best to be polite among allies. He has very little sense of tact and discretion, and is notoriously unable to keep a secret, but this is not due to any malice on his part.
Because Gelirn is so fond of testing his abilities and loudly voices whatever thoughts cross his mind, he is sometimes boastful, but he does not embellish nor excessively praise himself. A straightfoward Dwarf, he has little patience or respect for underhandedness, though he later learned to appreciate his allies' cunning. He comes to see the necessity of a subtle approach in these situations, and that in such cases he should hold back and follow the lead of others. He is somewhat less bold in social situations than he is in combat, but in both cases he is usually most comfortable joining in directly and announcing himself loudly.
Gelirn usually follows his gut and his heart, rather than his brain or the directions of others. His preference for intuition over logic and discipline can make him frustrating to work with, but this attitude usually brings him to allies in need. Though his sense of duty is lacking, his sense of personal loyalty is not. Fortunately for him, he has so far been tough enough to escape any situation in which his intuition fails him.
Though he had an Easterling grandfather, his family's cultural traditions seem the same as any Longbeard's. They publically invoke the name of Durin, while Mahal receives their solemn, private reverence. Gelirn was taught Khuzdul in its pure form as a child, and the name he goes by is one adopted from a Mannish language. Unlike some Dwarvish outer names, 'Gelirn' has no known meaning, but as is also traditional, it is clearly based on the names of his father and grandfather. His true name seems to be known only to his family. Some people have suggested he himself has forgotten his Khuzdul name, and this is all that prevents him from revealing it to outsiders.
Skills and Equipment
Gelirn carries the gear of a standard Dwarven Guardian: an axe, a shield, and heavy metal armour. He has trained himself to carry such equipment long distances without suffering fatigue, so that he is always ready to defend his companions on the road. As one accustomed to defending, his strikes are not as deft as some Dwarves', but he knows how to use his axe, his shield, and his armour to stand against assaults that would overwhelm a less sturdy combatant. Though he is not especially nimble, he is usually quick enough with his shield. He carries a bow for when ranged combat is necessary, but he dislikes using it and often neglects its maintenance.
Despite seeming oblivious to his inappropriate volume in conversation, he uses his powerful voice to great effect in combat. He does not even need to call out insults to taunt his foes, the mere sound of his voice is distracting enough that few opponents can resist attempting to silence it. At full volume, Gelirn has been known to make even frenzied combatants stagger and become disoriented. Of course, such methods are not usually approved by his comrades. Working for caravans, Gelirn learned to ride and tend ponies and goats. In Rohan, he learns to fight from atop a properly-trained steed. His talent for riding is not noteworthy, just enough for him to travel, and later use his more impressive combat skills from ponyback.
As a youth, he was taught metalworking techniques, for skills of craft are of great importance in Dwarven society. When he was able to choose, he favoured combat skills over creative ones, and his smithing abilities were mostly relegated to maintaining his equipment rather than forging anything new. Having learned Dwarven techniques for over a decade, his knowledge of metals is still impressive to most Men, and so among them he is more likely to put such skills to use, meagre as they are to most other Dwarves. Among his usual gear are the tools needed to extract metal from the earth and shape it.
At the time he gained new employment in Eriador, he wore into combat a chain hauberk with a surcoat decorated in common Dwarf-fashion. His extremities were protected by thick leather boots and gauntlets, reinforced with steel. His pauldrons and spiked helmet were made of a dark-coloured steel, like iron in appearance but much stronger, as was his undecorated axe and large, thick shield. A hooded cloak kept him comfortable on the road. The cloth he wore was tan and burnt orange in colour. When at ease, he wore a simple tunic, jacket and trousers of the sort worn by lower-class Dwarves. Such equipment he had purchased years ago using the wages he earned and money his relatives lent him so that he could begin his career. It was of common Dwarven quality, quite fine craftsmanship from a Man's perspective, and strong enough that he rarely encountered an opponent who could penetrate it.
However for his deeds in Khazad-dûm, the Iron Garrison outfitted him in finer gear befitting their elite Guardians. With the understanding that he would continue to serve their interests, Bósi and Brogur's smiths granted him an entirely new set of armour intricately-shaped and detailed Dwarven style. His hauberk was replaced with a solid breastplate and armoured skirt, and his new helm, pauldrons and shield were less bulky but even stronger thanks to superior materials and crafting lore discovered in the lost city. His new axe was from the days of Durin, with a blade of shining steel and modestly inlaid with brass. The cloak the Garrison granted him depicted the same stoic faces as the statues lining those halls. For his journey to Dunland, he was also given more respectable civilian attire: a fine Dwarf-make patterned shirt, trousers and a jacket decorated with semiprecious stones.
Later in Rohan he put some of his Iron Garrison armour aside in favour of equipment more suited to riding. Appyling his armour-working skills, he adjusted a green Rohirrim hauberk to fit him, and put on matching boots and a cloak with a white horse, so that the Horse-lords would know him as an ally.
Allies and Companions
Gelirn's most faithful companion is his loyal pony, Tafi. He purchased Tafi in Erebor years ago, and the pony accompanied him on every journey from the Lonely Mountain since. The little dark brown pony is not especially fast or tough, but he is strong enough to bear Gelirn and his supplies, and brave enough to remain calm when enemies are near. The pair is often circled by a third ally, one far less devoted and yet somehow just as bound to Gelirn. This is the raven Wrac, a young bird of Roäc's folk. It would be unusual for such a common Dwarf to have the services of these famed talking ravens, were Wrac anything like the noble messengers the stories tell of. He is rather a bird of many vices, particularly rudeness, cowardice, pride, gluttony and bigotry. He and Gelirn have not revealed how exactly they came to be companions, nor why they remain so. It is known only that Wrac is unwelcome among his own kind, few Dwarves would suffer his company, and for some reason he refuses to follow any other than Gelirn.
While working for his new employers in Eriador, he met many new friends and allies. Other than his fellow guild members, he made the acquaintance of fellow adventures such as Limhir the Lore-master and Connall the Champion, as well as finding his old friend Marssongr the Minstrel. He also allied with the Rangers of the North, who coordinated much of the campaign against Angmar.
For underground travel, the Iron Garrison assigned to Gelirn a riding-goat they called Muncher. This goat was no less brave than Tafi, and served Gelirn well in Khazad-dûm. Gelirn preferred to keep Tafi nearby, however, and usually only relied on Muncher for places the pony would not go. In Rohan, Gelirn found himself in need of a steed capable of participating in combat. He was soon told of a pony named Dustylegs, who had been raised to train children to ride but was too unruly for such work. Thus, Gelirn was able to purchase Dustylegs for an affordable price. This war-steed was white and tawny in colour, and nearly a full-sized horse. He was not as well-behaved as Tafi but much bigger, stronger and faster, suited for combat in Rohan. While Gelirn rode Dustylegs, Tafi would often need to remain behind in safety, but Gelirn never travelled far without his old pony.
Future
Some Elves and mortals are said to have the ability to predict the future. Few of these claims are true, and Gelirn seems to think it's all rubbish with the possible exception of hallowed Dwarvish legends. However a few Rune-keepers among his folk have included his fate in their foretellings. It is agreed that if Sauron destroys the kingdoms of Men, Gelirn will not hide, and he will die before the Enemy comes to eradicate the realms of the Dwarves. Otherwise, it is expected that Gelirn will one day be free to travel as far as he wishes, to clear the way for future travellers, and to discover the mysteries of his ancestry. He will live this life for as long as he can keep it up, always seeking to challenge himself. One day he will find the challenge he can neither back down from nor overcome, and then he will die. Whether he will be satisfied with such an end remains to be seen.
Shortly before the Golden Host assault on Mirkwood, a rumor began to spread of a prophecy regarding a Guardian. The prediction is believed to state:
"A crash of thunder, a broken shield. The wall of spears moves in time to the drum-beat of doom. A shroud of despair as the great beast descends… You are a mighty Guardian, but not all friends can be saved."
It has yet to be determined who and what this prophecy refers to. Gelirn himself seems to think it is nonsense.
Name and Inspiration
Gelirn's name is meaningless per se, but based on the names of his forefathers. In real life, he was created to play with my brother's character, Geloo, and named to match. Unlike most of my characters, I did not have an etymology in mind for him. When I decided to look into the lore more, I explained his lack of an Old Norse name by him not being pure Longbeard in upbringing. More recently, I decided he would be part Easterling in origin. I named his father Gelak, and connected these names to the Turkish root 'gel', meaning 'come', by naming Gelirn's grandfather Gelme, which means 'arrival'. Analogous to Uzbek being used as one Easterling language, I figured Turkish could be used for the language Gelirn's paternal ancestors took their outer names from. Gelirn started as a stereotypical hard-headed, battle-loving, hard-drinking Dwarf. To some extent, he still is, but I have developed his personality further.
