Lastor

Name	Lastor
Race	Man
Occupation	Ranger
Age	84

Outward Appearance

Tall by Bree-standards, but of average height among his own people. Lastor has brown hair that’s starting to turn grey and brown-green eyes. His voice is a low barritone and his demeanor seems somber, even though he is friendly in conversation. Lastor often looks lost in thought, with his gaze cast downwards. His attire is simple and grey, though he wears the crimson of the Cardolan nobility. Its color comes from a dye made from the red hawfingers that dot the hills of his ancestral lands.

– Early Life –

During her pregnancy, Eliannen the wife of the ranger Ohtar, decided that she wanted their child to be born near Tharbad in Cardolan, the land of her ancestors. Thus the couple began a perilous journey from Esteldín, all the way south along the Greenway, via Bree and eventually to Herne. There, Lastor son of Ohtar, was born. A descendant of Pelingail, a famous knight who had fought in the ancient wars against Angmar. When Lastor came of age his parents would send him to Esteldín to become a ranger. His formation was in no way unusual. In time he learned how to track different types of creatures, how to survive in the wilderness, what kinds of plants had medicinal uses and how to wield a sword and bow. The area where he truly excelled, however, was the study of Dúnedain history and among themselves his mentors agreed that if Lastor had been born in Gondor he would’ve probably become a scholar, rather than a ranger.

– Watcher of Roads –

Among his kin Lastor had gained a reputation of being strong-willed and during his training this attitude had led to several conflicts with his mentors. After his twenty-first birthday, Lastor immediately requested to patrol the Greenway by himself and since no senior ranger was eager to take the stubborn young man under his wing, the request was grudgingly approved. Lastor enjoyed a great sense of freedom in the years that followed, but he was nonetheless devoted to his duty of protecting merchants, travellers and the few vulnerable settlements Eriador still had left. In those years Lastor had a cheerful disposition and, contrary to the reserved attitude of most of his kinsmen, was a merry and talkative fellow. He made many friends during those days, especially among the people of Bree and Herne, and they were relationships that would last a lifetime. Among his close friends he counted the halfling Abelard Underhill (who introduced him to the art of smoking pipe-weed), Mabel Parsons (a tavern-wench from the Comb and Wattle Inn) and the town-clerk Frederik Greythorn. His familiarity with the people of Bree-land was such that they gave him the epithet “the Watcher of Roads” and he was a welcomed guest in many homes and taverns.

– Life in Combe –

All of this was very irregular, as the rangers normally operated by protecting the small settlements of Eriador from a distance without getting too much involved. Though Lastor was very aware of this fact, it was during this period that he started asking questions about who he was and what kind of life he really wanted. Did he want the life of a ranger or had others made that choice for him? As he came into his thirties he had gotten tired of his wanderings and envied the people of Bree-land and their stable and peaceful way of living. The attraction was so strong that he eventually started working as a carpenter for John Thorne in the village of Combe and for the very first time in his life he owned a home and felt like he was part of a community. This decision was not received well by his fellow Dúnedain, but they accepted the fact that he desired a life that was different from theirs. Lastor (or Wederik, as he now called himself) lived happily in Combe for nearly thirty years. As time passed, however, his friends became older while he remained relatively young. Eventually Lastor saw many of his friends pass away from sickness and old age and it didn’t take him long to notice that those friendships were not so easily replaced. To his own astonishment, he had become much less talkative and had adopted the melancholic attitude that was so common among his Dúnedain kin.

– Wanderlust –

As the years passed, Lastor grew ever more reclusive until he favored the company of his books and scrolls over that of his peers. He revisited the histories of Númenor and Arnor which he studied in his youth and he longed to explore the vast planes of Rohan and the library of Minas Tirith. It wasn’t until gossip and suspicion started to spread that he realized that the people of Combe now saw him as an outsider. He had slowly come to the conclusion that he had overstayed his welcome and that it was time to return to his own people. Nowadays, Lastor once again patrols the Greenway, though he mostly keeps to himself. He finds renewed joy and fulfillment in his life as a ranger. As long as he has some Old Toby in his pipe and the comfort of an inn to look forward to, he is content. Despite his solitary attitude some old friendships have recently been rekindled. In the absence of his chieftain Aragorn, his friend Halbarad now often calls on Lastor and he has taken on increasingly more responsibilities in the fight against the Enemy.