#tarciryan

          Siriondil was the son of Atanatar I and the eleventh king of Gondor. He led in a time of peace established after his grandfather King Turambar defeated invaders from the East and conquered the land of Rhûn. He wed Ilvanya, the sibling of one of his chief counselors. They bore their husband two sons, Tarannon and Círyan, both mariners.           Tarannon was the Captain of the Hosts during his father’s reign, and upon his own ascension to the throne, he was crowned King Falastur, first of the Ship-kings of Gondor. He spent his youth marauding the coasts, and as king he turned his focus to the growing threat of rebellion in Harad. To appease his conquered subjects, Falastur married a princess of one of the south-kingdoms that was itself occupied by Black Númenóreans, those King’s Men who had come to Middle-earth during the reign of Ar-Pharazôn to oppress its people and sacrifice them to the Cult of Melkor.           This princess, Zâinazimril, was the descendant of the lord Herumor who had fought alongside Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance. She was betrothed by her father to Falastur against her will, and after their wedding he brought her to his house by the mouths of Anduin. But Zâinazimril hated the sea, especially the smells of salt and fish and gulls, and insisted on dwelling in the King’s House in Osgiliath instead.           The people of Gondor feared and hated their new queen, naming her Berúthiel for her bitter temper. As Falastur was often away at sea, she had the King’s House to herself, decorating the courtyard with sculptures from her homeland that disturbed her Gondorian servants.           Though she loathed cats, as her father’s house had been full of them, many cats of Osgiliath became fixated upon her and followed her around. Eventually, Berúthiel accepted her entourage, setting them as spies upon the suspicious Gondorians who stalked her every path. In this way she discovered many dark secrets of the realm, for she followed the tradition of sorcery taught to her ancestors by the Lord Zigûr and could speak with animals and read their memories. The people of Gondor feared and hated Berúthiel and her cats, nine black and one white, cursing whenever they walked by.           Eventually, Falastur heard of his wife’s intimidation of his counselors and returned to Osgiliath to see the truth for himself. He declared the union unsuccessful, as no children had been born between them and Harad continued to simmer with resentment against Gondor, and exiled Berúthiel from Gondor, erasing her name from the Book of the Kings.           Zâinazimril was set on a ship with only her cats for company and cast out into the sea she despised. She attempted to sail to Umbar, a haven of her people, and travel home from there, but she was no mariner and was last seen flying past the city with a cat at the masthead and another as a figurehead on the prow. Thus she passed into legend as the Stolen Princess of Harad and the Black Queen of Gondor, her final fate unknown.

          Tarcíryan was the young brother of King Tarannon Falastur. He was born Círyan, adding the prefix Tar- to his name as had that Númenórean kings of old when it became clear that Falastur would produce no heirs with his hated wife, Queen Berúthiel, emphasizing his position as his brother’s heir. After Tarannon ascended to the throne, Tarcíryan took his place as Captain of the Hosts and sailed alongside the king as he attacked the coastal settlements of the Easterlings. In one of these battles he was slain, leaving his wife Láminë a widow and losing his chance at the throne; instead, his son Eärnil inherited Falastur’s crown upon his death.           Eärnil continued the expansionist maritime policy of his predecessor, constructing a great navy and rebuilding the havens of Pelargir. He captured the Haven of Umbar, establishing it as an outpost of Gondor and learning of Berúthiel’s disappearance. The rulers of Umbar resented Eärnil and Falastur for their conquest of their people, though their own ancestors had long ago conquered this land in turn, and sabotaged one of his voyages three years later. The truth of Eärnil’s disappearance at sea was unknown for many generations, revealed only to the sons of Castamir upon their exile from Gondor.           At the time of his death, Eärnil’s wife Tyelcatálië was pregnant with his last child. She nearly withered away in grief, but her daughters tended to her through the birth of their youngest sister, and she survived into old age. Tyelcatálië and Eärnil’s only son, Círyandil, inherited the throne and dedicated himself to maintaining Umbar, not wishing his father’s achievements to be forgotten. Círyandil defended Umbar against the Haradrim, led by the Black Númenórean lords Eärnil had driven from the city, and was slain before his time in a siege. His wife Netyariel, a weaver, spun herself a veil that she wore in mourning for the rest of her life.           Círyandil was succeeded by his son Círyaher, who set about reorganizing Gondor’s armies with the expertise of his wife, the fearsome warrior Ilwiel. For years they trained their soldiers quietly, but thirty-five years into Círyaher’s reign they struck suddenly against the people of the South who had slain Círyandil. In a swift and brutal military victory, Círyaher decimated the southern forces and exacted submission from the men of Harad. After this victory, he took the name Hyarmendacil, “South-victor,” in the same style as his ancestor Rómendacil I, and Ilwiel took the name Rilyasicil for her skill with the dagger.           During his reign, Hyarmendacil brought Gondor to its greatest extent of power and wealth, even reestablishing trade with Celebrindor, King of Arthedain. Hyarmendacil ruled in peace for the rest of his days, though he was plagued by aches from his old battle wounds that only worsened in his old age. Queen Rilyasicil bore him but one child, Atanatar II, who knew only a life of decadence and would not take the lurking threats against Gondor seriously.