Name: Arehin Feaelda
Birthdate: FA 250
Death: FO 121
Hair: Black
Eyes: Ice blue
Weapon: Sword Arguriel, bow
Race: Teleri/Maia/Ainu
Parents: Siltathar, Eol
Siblings: Maeglin
Spouse: Legolas, almost Elladan
Children: Silvermane (adopted), Forestwalker (adopted), Menelendil, Cudin, Belegaladh, Feanna (adopted), Menelendil, Aiwe (adopted), Argilwen
Other names: none
Occupation: Princess of Mirkwood

Daughter of Siltathar with Eöl, spent the earlier years of her childhood in Nan Elmoth before her mother took her to Angband after an argument with Eöl. Although her grandmother Moriel taught her much, Arëhin made a decision to leave once she became an adult, as her grandfather Melkor had made it fairly clear he didn't approve of another female around. In FA 300, when Arëhin was 50, she left and searched for her father in Nan Elmoth. There, she found Eöl with a new wife, and a son on the way. Although she felt all the more rejected by this, she was not willing to give up, and stayed on, becoming friends with Aredhel, and trying to show her father she didn't need to be a male to be an appropriate heir. Arëhin was, like Aredhel, soft on Maëglin from the time he was very young, and secretly spoiled him. In turn, Maëglin slowly opened Eöl's eyes towards his firstborn, and Arëhin learned a little of her father's smith craft before she followed Aredhel and Maëglin to Gondolin in FA 336. Aredhel was wise enough to say Arëhin was her own when asked about the young woman by her brother, and Arëhin was allowed to stay in Gondolin with the other two. When Maëglin was captured by Orcs in FA 511, Arëhin followed him to the hills where he was usually found, and was also taken by a few Orcs that had come back. While Maëglin was offered the rule of Gondolin and Idril, Arëhin was thrown in prison, only to be released by Moriel, who secretly sent her on her way from the dark stronghold. Arëhin happened to notice a small child hiding in the shadows on her way out, however, and when she saw how Moriel treated the child, took her with her. The girl turned out to be Arëhin's half-human sister, Caranel, who Arëhin took into hiding with her for many years. Towards the beginning of the Second Age, Arëhin took Caranel further into Middle Earth, and there discovered Ost-in-Edhil. Caranel and Celebrimbor fell hard for each other, and Arëhin felt comfortable leaving her charge after she and Celebrimbor married in SA 78. Arëhin took to wandering the lands on her own, knowing that she would always be able to return to Eregion, where Caranel and her husband promised she would always have a place.

Arëhin wandered for several hundred years, before she happened on the young kingdom in Greenwood ruled by Thranduil, where she was finally willing to settle for a while. Although she did not get along well with Greenwood 's king, the elder father of Thranduil, Oropher, enjoyed Arëhin's company, and was for some time the primary reason she was allowed to stay. When Oropher was killed in a battle with Durin's dwarves, Arëhin left Greenwood for some time, and found her way to Rivendell, where she stayed for several years. Around SA 1690, Arëhin returned to Eregion to visit Caranel, and stayed with her until 1700, when Caranel left for the Undying Lands. Although Caranel asked Arëhin to join her, the elder politely refused, and returned to Rivendell to stay for a while longer. In the ending years of the Second Age, Arëhin made friends with a strange man named Mithran, who, like her, was staying in Rivendell for a lack of anywhere better to waste time. In SA 3326, Mithran enlisted Arëhin to help in an "experiment", which he claimed would benefit the world at large. What Arëhin did not realize was that this would entail her carrying and for the most part raising half-"wizard" twins Silvermane and Forestwalker. While in Rivendell (before the birth of the twins), Arëhin also became close friends with Elrond's sons Elladan and Elrohir, but was closer to Elladan, who she had more of a relationship than just friendship with. This was especially obvious when Elladan was very willing to help Arëhin with the twins, which could certainly be useful when she was in charge of two rambunctious children not nearly in control of their considerable powers with no wizards anywhere around. In the first year of the Third Age, everyone's suspicions were confirmed when Elladan proposed marriage to Arëhin, who had stayed in Rivendell instead of traveling with Forest and Silver after they became adults. Arëhin refused Elladan's offer, and left Rivendell after almost 2000 years of dwelling there, deciding to return to Greenwood . Arëhin was not exactly welcomed by Thranduil, but he allowed her to stay to accompany his wife Gillin, a princess of Gondor who felt much closer kin to the older strains of the Eldar. Gillin and Arëhin were able to find much common ground, and easily became friends, which made Arëhin's stay in Greenwood (which was, admittedly, mostly just to escape Elladan for the time being) much more tolerable.

In TA 37, Greenwood celebrated the birth of its Prince, Legolas Greenleaf, and as the birth had been difficult on Gillin, Arëhin once more stepped in as a mother figure, this time to a boy not related to her in the least. Gillin took two years to recover, by which time Legolas had already accepted Arëhin as his main caretaker, a position in which she was later somewhat uncomfortable, particularly when the boy hit his teens, and it occurred to him just what girls were. Naturally, Arëhin became the object of his first crush, which drove her to leaving again around TA 58. She went back to Rivendell, assuming that over 50 years would be enough for Elladan to have recovered from his spurn. Her assumption was indeed correct, and she and Elladan easily made up, and Arëhin agreed to reconsider his proposal over some time. Three years were spent in peace in Rivendell. In TA 60, Arëhin went hunting with her lover and the two discovered Legolas, several miles from Rivendell. They took him back, where he informed Elrond that his father had sent him to be educated. Arëhin agreed to join Elladan and Celebrian on a trip to Lothlorien to visit their kin, hoping it would give Legolas time to get settled in Rivendell on his own. Arëhin and Elladan spent several years in the Golden Wood, during which Arehin finally agreed to marry him. It was agreed they would wed upon returning to Rivendell in several years, but the plans fell through after the death of their young son, Menelendil, in a hunting accident. Arehin grew distant, eventually ignoring Elladan altogether, and the company finally returned to Rivendell in TA 106. By that time, Legolas had settled into adulthood quite well, and he and Arëhin were able to put aside the somewhat awkward first two decades of their acquaintance and start anew as friends. In TA 400, Legolas invited Arëhin back to Greenwood with him, which she agreed to, at least for a time. In the forest, Arëhin was welcomed by Gillin, and tolerated her husband, who was much more thrilled to see his son back than Legolas's "old nursemaid". During the months Arëhin stayed in the wood, Legolas (who was oblivious to the details of her relationship with Elladan) slowly worked his way towards a not unexpected confession that he loved her. Unable to answer, Arëhin spent the better part of three weeks in her rooms, but finally was able to give Legolas the answer that although it would take her some time to get used to the idea, she did love him back. Somehow knowing she wasn't quite ready to be in it for the long haul, Legolas left the subject mostly to itself for the remainder of Arëhin's visit, which she was thankful for. In a way, it also became a secret just for the two of them, although Gillin suspected when they were constantly sneaking off to be alone together.

Arëhin returned to Rivendell after two decades, with Legolas as her escort, to confirmation of something the two had been suspecting since leaving Greenwood; Arëhin was pregnant. She still managed to hide it for the most part while speaking with Elladan and officially tying up the loose ends left by their abrupt break-up, but was unable to keep it a secret from Gillin upon arriving back in Greenwood . Gillin helped hide the news until after the couple announced their official engagement to the kingdom. Arëhin and Legolas were married in TA 427, following the birth of their son Cudin by six years. Arëhin's life as a Princess of Greenwood was much more settled and less chaotic than any part of her previous life had been, and she finally allowed herself time to just enjoy herself and become adjusted to being in a position and place that would stick for some time. The couple welcomed a second child, son Belegaladh in TA 1092, and when the shadow of Dol Goldur fell over Greenwood three years later, Arëhin, afraid, took the toddler to Rivendell. Arëhin stayed in Rivendell for five years, during the course of which she once again met up with Mithran, who had the idea of including her in another of his experiments. After a year of being bothered with the strange man's request, Arëhin finally agreed, this time resulting in Fëanna, "daughter" of her own husband, and Gandalf, biologically speaking. Forest and Silver, not having seen their mother in years, got word of where she was and, at risk of embarrassing her at home, approached her in Rivendell instead. Arëhin spent her last year in Rivendell with them for the most part, and eventually gave Fëanna up to their questionably sane care. The young wizard taken care of, Arëhin agreed to meet the twins in Gondor every decade, and returned to Greenwood , now called Mirkwood, with Belegaladh.

The next thousand years passed in shadow in Mirkwood, with only unhappy dates marked; the murder of Legolas's younger sister by Orcs, his younger brother hunting years later, and a year following, the death of his mother. In TA 3018, Arëhin joined Legolas in Rivendell for the Council of Elrond, though she had little to say in the meeting itself. Arëhin stayed in Rivendell for the majority of the War of the Ring, leaving with Elladan and Elrohir's company when they met up with the Three Hunters and the Rohirrim in Rohan. Arëhin enjoyed a brief day with Legolas before returning to Mirkwood, escorted by her wizard "children", who had also joined Elladan and Elrohir's band. Legolas returned home for a decade before setting out for Ithilien; Arëhin chose to remain instead in the newly renamed Eryn Lasgalen to look after the aged and ailing (with heartbreak, if not the wearies of the world and ruling in general) Thranduil, who had grown much kinder to her cause as the years went on. Arëhin was the only one by Thranduil's side when he died in FO 30. A bit of a struggle ensued, as all three eligible Princes of the kingdom were gone (Menny was far too young), which ended when Cudin returned and took over the throne in proxy for his absent father. Rulership decided for the time being, Arëhin felt comfortable leaving after seeing Thranduil buried with his wife, and went to Ithilien to search for her own spouse. She arrived in Ithilien in FO 31 to find Legolas living with Aragorn's eldest daughter and a girl who called him father. Arëhin, of course, made the wrong assumption, but eventually accepted that the girl in question, Aiwë, was another of Mithran's mad experiments, this time with Isthia falling prey to "helping" him. Arëhin gave Legolas the grave news of his father's passing, and after a few days, the entire company left Ithilien to return to Eryn Lasgalen, where Cudin had been dealing with attacks by Orcs that were sent by Valhin. After some travelling, the company returned to Isthia's house in Ithilien, where Arehin and Legolas's only daughter, Argilwen, was born.A second War ensued, which ended in FO 36 with the birth of Dunel and Valion and the death of Isthia's younger sister, whose dying wishes were for Isthia to take care of them, and for her husband Valhin to let them go. Valhin heeded her words for some time, and the company settled in Ithilien once more, in a considerably larger house, and celebrated the marriage of Cudin and Isthia, who had fallen in love during the adventures. Belegaladh took over Kingship of Eryn Lasgalen, leaving Cudin and Menelendil (who, at 25, was a complete momma's boy) to live in Ithilien with the others. A few more adventures with Valhin and his progeny ensued over the next eighty years. In FO 121, following the death of Aragorn, Arëhin and Legolas journeyed overseas to the Undying Lands, leaving behind all three of their sons, but taking Argilwen.

Arëhin was wise thanks to her many years observing the world at large, but that did not stop her from being standoffish, to some extent prejudiced towards non-Elves, and notably (particularly in the mistaken case of Isthia) jealous later on. Despite this, Arëhin was very ladylike, and amiable the good majority of the time; strife and misunderstandings notwithstanding, she easily made friends with most people she met. In earlier years, Arëhin was undoubtedly too trusting, a flaw she later overcame by becoming instead distant and unwilling to trust anyone she did not know. Arëhin's one weakness was children, as evidenced by her reaction upon meeting Aiwë, even after discovering the girls' parentage. Arëhin was not unlike Maëglin or Moriel in looks, with Moriel's dark hair and haunting stare, and her brother's (or rather, father's) silver-blue eyes. Her skin was pale naturally, a fact not helped much by her preference of night, starlight, and the woods. Arëhin's features were sharp and compact, a stark contrast to her husband. Arëhin was fond of wearing long dresses, though she resorted to pantsuits when traveling, and her favorite colors were silver, lavender, and dark blue, although as Princess of Green/Mirkwood, she was also commonly seen in green. Arëhin typically used a bow in battle, mostly due to having more experience with it; she actually preferred sword fighting to the "faceless assault" of archery, and possessed a sword entrusted her by Maëglin, Anguriel.

Back

Last updated: August 26, 2007