Sunflowers. // Great friendship is there between the hobbit-folk and the wandering rangers, and when a hobbit-lass is rescued by two of their number, a reward is due for their tall deed.

I’m sorry to disappoint you, it’s not the immortality, it’s their their clothes :)))) (and maybe their societal structure too) I had a passage in “By the Fire” about this: 

“ Do you know how I’ve never worn one of those fancy dresses, silk ones, like the women of Gondor wear? I wonder how it’s like to walk all day in them, instead of this garb.” Her arms raised, trying to emphasize her poor garments. 

[...] He (Toram) would have liked some fine clothes, like elvish garbs.”

The absolute canonical information we have about the dunedain is that they are “few and scattered” and live in small settlements throughout Eriador. Arnor has been destroyed, Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur have been completely eviscerated. The dunedain have no huge settlement to call home. They have no Minas Tirith, they have no Edoras, no Imladris to go home to, when the fighting is done. All they have are tiny, hidden settlements throughout Eriador and chieftains that fall too young.

From an outsider perspective, the life of the dunedain truly seems bleak. For generations they have been forced to fight against the shadows of Angmar, their young people dying, their hope broken (until Aragorn came). Were it not for them, Eriador would have long fallen. 

Quite funny that the moment the dunedain form the Grey Company and ride south, leaving Eriador defenseless, is the moment the pieces fall into place for the Scouring of the Shire to happen.

Coming back to Sidhen. Comparing her thankless duty to the luxury elves seem to live into, made Sidhen quite envious. They have Lindon and Imladris to call home. Why can’t the dunedain live in a serene mountain valley or a beautiful harbor? Why do they have to wear linen and itchy wool, when the elves adorn themselves with the most beautiful jewelry and dresses made of silk. The dunedain don’t have the luxury of having “Halls of Song” and artisans that fashion swords with jeweled pummels. In her eyes it just seems that her people struggle so much, while others just get to live their lives free of the shadow. 

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t respect her duty. She is one of the most ardent voices and people remember her by her famous words “We can’t question our duty. We can only perform it.” 

Why is she jealous on the people of Gondor? Well, they have a highly structured society. They have well defined regions and an administrative capital. Their documents are safe and well in the archives of Minas Tirith, compared to how the northern dunedain lost everything they had when Fornost fell. They have a well defined nobility, military, working class and so on. Not that she doesn’t understand the fact that they are the only wall against Mordor and that their country has been ravaged by a plague and by dynastic battles of power. 

Why can’t the elves come and help more? Sure, Elladan and Elrohir are around all the time. But two out of so many elves? This is the phenomenon I was trying to counteract with Lothrin and with my musings about various elves from Lindon and Imladris coming to help on a frequent basis.

I believe these negative feelings simply come from a feeling of powerlessness. She just wishes her people didn’t have to always watch their backs and always patrol and always fight and all these feelings of worry and anxiety simply found the elves as their target. Quite human feelings if you ask me.

I plan on doing her page pretty soon, since the next in queue is Melilot.

With Sidhen’s character, I wanted to explore two aspects of Tolkien’s mythology simultaneously: both the apparent lack of women in military roles, as well one of his favorite themes of “everyone, no matter how big or small has a part in the running of the world”. To understand Sidhen, you have to think strictly about character themes such as Sam and Frodo’s.

As for origins, she hails from Esteldin in the North Downs. Her father is a ranger, just as she is, her mother is a crafts-woman and she also has an older sister who married a scholar that specializes in Angmarim customs. In the fic “By the fire” I briefly mentioned that she hails from an uninterrupted dunedain line, but her family were no nobles, no kings, no politicians. 

The point of Sidhen is to shadow Aragorn’s character. Aragorn has pretty much trained his entire life to become a king, but what about his subjects? The rangers of Eriador were the first people Aragorn had to earn the loyalty of and lead. Some of those people were the likes of Sidhen and her father and her family.

Sidhen’s character arc starts first and foremost with her mentorship by the ranger Maradan and her great friendship with Toram. Together, the trio is usually tasked with guarding the south-eastern border of the Shire, as well as running errands and messages between Sarn Ford-Bree-Esteldin-Taurdal. She also loves all the hobbit friends she has made with the guarding duties. In the fic I also mentioned that even if her ranger duties are not exactly the life she would have completely wanted, her people have to carry on so that others like her sister can have families and futures. The dunedain who become rangers don’t have great life expectancy since the job is incredibly dangerous, but she will carry on. So, I can say in this aspect it is a theme of self-sacrifice.

Her character arc reaches the climax during the War of the Ring, where she is left behind by the Grey Company, while her friend Toram is not. She is in Oatbarton during the scourging of the Shire and fights side by side with the hobbits of Oatbarton against the invading ruffians. I would also have to mention that her character is tied to those of Melilot and Adamanta Hornblower since they were also friends but that requires me to get into even more detail. 

From the 30 rangers that formed the Grey Company, only very few returned and Toram was not one of them. With the death of Halbarad, the steward of the north and her truest friend Toram, Sidhen is left in a vulnerable position. All the experience and knowledge she has acquired in her years of servitude make her an excellent candidate for a position of leadership within the dunedain ranks, but her character has never been about becoming someone from no one, hers has always been about impacting those around you, protecting what you love, sacrifice.

Lothrin 

met Astoeth in Lindon, sometime before the ending of the Third Age. They marched together to serve in the War of the Last Alliance. Both lost someone dear to them in the war (Lothrin her elder brother and Astoeth her betrothed). Have stayed truest friends forever since.

met Sidhen in the North Downs, during her childhood. They are frequent travel companions, as Sidhen is always tasked with delivering messages between the dunedain fortifications. They both have a fondness of visiting hobbit dwellings. Through Sidhen she sometimes meets Toram and Maradan.

met Melilot and Adamanta Hornblower during their young years. Has had short meetings with them from time to time, whenever she rode through Oatbarton

met Giznik during her young years of the Second Age. They both have fled the destruction of Eregion and worked together with other people on the construction of Imladris. Parted ways, when Giznik settled in Ered Luin.

met Calnedon for a short while after the Battle of Pelennor in Minas Tirith.

through her friend Naeriel, she has met Duion, but only for a couple short times. 

 never met Lileyn, Bron, Hav or Balna

Sidhen

Toram and Maradan are her friends and companions. She has constant contact with them.

She has a fondness for Melilot and Adamanta and frequently travels to Oatbarton with Toram, for their company.

met Astoeth, whenever Astoeth came to the Shire to gather herbs

Has frequent contact with Lothrin.

Lileyn

at one point in time during the war of the ring she met both Bron and Hav of Dunland. Through time and trails their bonds have grown.

met Calnedon when after the War of the Ring, she traveled to Gondor

Duion

BY THE FIRE // In the little Shire village of Stock, the guests of the Golden Perch inn have some unexpected visitors. (a one-shot about drinking, friendship and song between the rangers and the hobbits)

Well, Halbarad is the second in command of the dunedain, the highest rank there is apart from Aragorn. That makes Sidhen his subordinate.

Sidhen always found him too strict, sometimes boring, and quite frightening at times. It's always vigilance and duty with him. She can't even remember the last time she saw him laugh. That doesn't mean she doesn't respect him, though. She follows his every order without fail. Maybe... What's one evening break from patrolling duty to drink in one of the inns of the Shire? What the commander doesn't know can't hurt him. Until he finds out and he makes her do double patrolling. That’s where the fun really starts.