#garulf

          The Riders of Rohan were the horse-mounted warriors of the Rohirrim, divided into several éoryd led by the Marshals of the Riddermark. At the time of the War of the Ring, many riders did noble deeds and many others perished in battle.           Among the éored of Éomer who overran the Uruk-hai of Uglúk were his squire Éothain, who doubted the tale of holbytlan captured by orcs, and the warriors Gárulf, Adwig, and Ethelred, who lost their lives in the fight. The Three Hunters were given horses by Éomer, Aragorn riding Hasufel, once the steed of Gárulf, while Legolas and Gimli together rode Arod, once the steed of Adwig. Ethelred’s horse, Brego, fled the battle and ran wild, until eventually he was recovered and returned to Edoras, where Aragorn soothed him into a steed worthy of riding into battle once more.            Two valiant captains of the Riders were Grimbold of Grimslade, descendant of Grim, and Gamling the Old. Grimbold served under Théodred, Second Marshal of the Mark, and took command of the Fords of Isen after his prince fell, holding it until reinforcements arrived. Gamling, known in his youth as Baldwig, was an old man at the Battle of the Hornburg, but he was still a commanding presence and was the first to realize that orcs had penetrated the Deep through its culvert, and led the counter-attack himself.           Dúnhere, Lord of Harrowdale and nephew of Erkenbrand, served under Grimbold in the Battle of the Fords of Isen, and later rode the muster of the Rohirrim at his homeland of Harrowdale, answering the call of the King for soldiers to fight in the War. Many riders answered and all were welcomed, including Wídfara of the Wold, Herubrand and his son Herefara, the ceorl Fastwine who had served as a messenger and won the King’s favor, and many others. Wídfara joined the éored of Elfhelm, while Herubrand, Herefara, and Fastwine were invited to Théoden’s personal éored, the King’s Riders, to replace three soldiers who had fallen at Helm’s Deep.           The only warrior whose service was refused was the Lady Éowyn, the King’s sister-son, who was commanded to remain in Rohan to lead in his stead. But Éowyn would not be denied, and she disguised herself as the warrior Dernhelm and rode with the Riders to Gondor against her uncle’s orders. On the journey, she befriended Meriadoc Brandybuck, who was likewise defying Théoden’s word, and together they rode the horse Windfola into battle. In the end, the combined attack of Dernhelm and Merry were enough to slay the unkillable Witch-king of Angmar, though not in time to save the life of Théoden King.           Many men fell in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, including six of the King’s Riders: Harding and Horn, valiant men both; Herefara and his father Herubrand; the ceorl Fastred, akin to Fastwine, and Guthláf the banner-bearer. So also fell Dúnhere and Déorwine and Grimbold, mighty commanders. All were remembered in the Song of the Mounds of Mundburg, a grand poem honoring those who gave their lives fighting against the Shadow, their names going down in history alongside those of Gondor’s Captains of the Outlands who also perished on that fateful day.

"Now I know you’ve had too much ale, princess.”

Gárulf's mind raced, but his lips stayed still. Hal's arm was wrapped around the slim waist of one of the busier whores of the Seven Arms, and Gar refused to acknowledge how satisfied Hal looked, or how pretty the girl was. He just didn't say anything. Same as always.

“As far as friends go, Léofa is, at one and the same time, the best and the worst. On the one hand, he’s been the only thing that’s stayed the same since my father died, and he’s never even considered sticking a knife in my back: I can tell. On the other hand, he’s never had any qualms about stealing from me, especially when it concerns those who I’d been considering for more romantic attachment, rather than sexual…turns out, Léofa always got in first and stole their heart, as well as their virtue and sundry other trinkets. I swear, the next time he tries it, cradle-mate or no, I’ll gut him.”

“When Hal brought the little Viper into the Seven Arms in the first place, I thought he was mad. Not only was it another mouth to feed, but the eyes – that boy’s dangerous, we could both see that. Problem is, Hal seems to think he can change him, or failing that, train him to direct it elsewhere. He doesn’t have many bad ideas, but this is one of his worst. If we put a sword in that boy’s hand, we’ll be dead as soon as our backs are turned. And what scares me more than that is that I can’t tell if Hal just can’t see it, or if he just doesn’t care anymore.”

"I had three older sisters. When my father died, we all went our separate ways: Heruwyn took to the streets – the simple lass became a simple whore; Gléowyn was always a little more…adventurous – she became a whore in a general sense, but she had the wit to seduce one of the richest lords in Gondor…she lived with him at his manse in Pelargir for a time; and Léofwyn…the little darling married a normal market trader, and had a normal market life. They’re all dead now. The line of Wulf only has one more hope – a broken old sot with an ugly mug and a racking cough that just won’t go away."

Gárulf can be seen to be quite highly educated for a sellsword – he learned the healing arts at his father’s knee, and he had started an apprenticeship of his own before his father died in the consumption epidemic of TA 2929. He hides his intelligence reasonably well, to fit in with the other sellswords, who often have no other training. He can speak and read Westron and limited Adunaic and Khuzdul.

"Hang in there." He murmured gently, on the off-chance that he would still be heard.