Calto was one of the first elves, among those who woke upon the shores of Cuiviénen. At the time of his awakening, a brotherly fëa-bond was already established firmly in his heart with Tarwë, quendë beside him. The brothers were counted among the Nelyar, and though they pledged their service to Elwë as the Great Journey began, their loyalty was first to one another.
Upon Elwë’s disappearance in Beleriand, Calto and Tarwë were among the leaders of a group of Nelyar who set out to explore the lands to the northwest. With them were Alcarenna and Torhir, who would settle in the land of Hithlum, but Calto and Tarwë found their new home in the land of Nevrast.
As the language of the Grey-elves evolved, Calto adapted his name to Galdor and assumed the role of his people’s lord. Tarwë discovered he was much happier serving as deputy to his brother and the leader of hunting patrols, changing his name to Taureg. For years they lived in peace in lands near the sea, until the Lieutenant of Angband unleashed orcs upon the Edhil. Galdor’s civilization was small enough not to be a major target like Menegroth or the Falas, but they suffered from lack of soldiers, and many were killed in skirmishes, though they escaped the worst of the First Battle of Beleriand.
When the Noldor appeared out of the West, Galdor was glad for their aid, and welcomed his far-sundered kin to Beleriand. He agreed to allow Turukáno to settle at the coast, where he founded the city of Vinyamar. The Thindrim and the Golodhrim mingled in Nevrast, and Galdor found through his close counsel with Turukáno that he greatly admired the young lord, nearly to the point of infatuation. Taureg teased him of his affections, which Galdor took in stride, for he knew Turukáno still grieved the death of his wife, and he himself had no desire to act on such feelings.
When Turukáno began to order his new kingdom of Ondolindë, he offered Galdor a lordship in his hidden city. Galdor pondered this invitation, and after taking counsel with Taureg he accepted, and led his people to Tumladen to aid in the construction.
In Gondolin, Galdor became the Lord of the House of the Tree. He was a mighty lord, wielding a great club in battle and was renowned as the bravest of the Gondolindrim save for the King himself. He was the only lord of Gondolin who was fully Thindarin, and his House consisted almost entirely of Thindrim. He was deeply fond of all things that grew, having adapted his name from the early Quenya Calto, translating to “light,” to Galdor, with the double meaning of both “lord of light” and “lord of the trees.” While Taureg preferred the wilderness of an open forest, Galdor cultivated many great trees within the city itself.
Though Galdor was reluctant to march to war in the Fifth Battle, he could not abandon his beloved king. He and Taureg led a force of warriors, wielding clubs and spears as their lord and his brother did, and fought valiantly even as the battle turned ill. Amid the chaos of the retreat, Taureg was slain in an attempt to rescue the young warrior Legolas, who had been ordered to stay behind in Gondolin but disguised himself to join the ranks of the Tree. Legolas carried much guilt, blaming himself for Taureg’s death, and vowed from then on to protect Taureg’s brother with his very life. Galdor deeply grieved his brother’s death and struggled with placing blame on Legolas he knew was only partially justified, and accepted the youth’s vow of fealty as penance for Taureg’s death.
When Morgoth’s forces assailed Gondolin and the city’s fall began, Galdor and his warriors had been positioned at the northern gate with the House of the Hammer of Wrath. While Lord Rôg charged with all his folk into the fray, Galdor hung back, defending within the walls of the city rather than attacking the enemy without. Orcs fell like leaves about them, but soon the folk of the Hammer of Wrath was utterly destroyed and the folk of the Tree were forced to retreat. As they made their way to the Square of the King, they rescued the Folk of the Wing from their pursuers, saving the lives of both Tuor and Ecthelion, who had been injured and had to be carried by the Man.
In the King’s Square, Turukáno at last saw the ruin of his kingdom and threw his crown upon the roots of Glingal in grief and rage. Galdor was dismayed at the crumbling of his king’s resolve and hurried to pick up his crown, offering it back to Turukáno and begging him to fulfill his mantle as their leader. Yet Turukáno rejected him a final time, and Galdor was forced to part from the one he loved in sorrow.
Galdor joined the exiles of Gondolin with much of his House as they fled through Idril’s secret way. He was in the forefront of the survivors, leading a patrol ahead of the rest of the host. His eyes were clogged with ash and tears, making it difficult for him to see ahead, so he delegated navigation to his squire Legolas, whose eyes were the keenest of all the elves of the Tree.
Thus Galdor and his followers returned to the coastland of Beleriand, this time in the south by the Havens of Sirion. They dwelt in Arvenien by the Mouths of Sirion rather than on the Isle of Balar, and thus many of their number fell in the Third Kinslaying. Galdor fought in this battle and saw his companion Egalmoth, the only other surviving lord of Gondolin, fall at the hands of Amras Fëanorion.
Yet Galdor survived, alone of his rank, through the end of the War of Wrath, when, wearied of death and longing to see those he had lost again, he accepted the invitation of the Valar and sailed to Aman at long last. With him was Legolas, whom he released from his service upon their arrival in Tol Eressëa; though Galdor continued on to the mainland in hopes of reuniting with his brother upon Taureg’s rebirth, Legolas remained on the Lonely Isle, where he embraced his distant Telerin kin and took the name Laiqalassë.
