#oc saulwyn

[arofili]

men of middle-earth ♞ house of éorl ♞ headcanon disclaimer

           Helm was the son of Gram, and the ninth King of Rohan. He inherited the throne in the midst of a war with the Dunlendings, a struggle that continued throughout his reign. His wife was the shieldmaiden Gledhild, and together they had three children: a daughter, Saulwyn, and two sons, Haleth and Háma.           Saulwyn was a beautiful maiden, and many men sought her hand, though she thought little of them and spent her days in the making and singing of songs. Helm would not force her into marriage, and resentment against the king grew amidst her admirers. At last, when Saulwyn was in her thirties and remained happily unwed, one such man beseeched his father to secure the princess for him, and the father agreed.           This was Freca, a Lord of Rohan with Dunlendish blood who claimed also to be descended from King Fréawine’s younger son Grimwine. He had for years neglected his duties as a servant of King Helm, but now he rode to Edoras with a great force of men, threatening rebellion should the king not concede for Saulwyn to be wed to Wulf, his son. Freca’s demands enraged Helm, who insulted him and struck him with his fist. The blow was so mighty that Freca was killed, and afterward Helm was known as Hammerhand for his great strength.           Freca’s men fled Edoras as traitors and exiles, but four years later they returned in greater force, allied with the Dunlendings and led by Wulf. They invaded and overtook Edoras, slaying Helm’s elder son Haleth at the doors of Meduseld, the last of its defenders, and Wulf usurped the throne of Haleth’s father. At the same time, a separate force engaged Helm at the Crossings of Isen, but their forces were too great, and he withdrew into Súthburg, enduring a long siege.          Here Helm and those loyal to him held the fortress through the dreadful Long Winter of 2758-9. He blew his great war-horn every time he rode out to battle, breaking through the Dunlending ranks all in white, stalking men like a snow-troll and slaying them with his bare hands. Yet as the winter stretched on, the Rohirrim grew weaker and weaker from famine and siege. Against his father’s counsel, Helm’s younger son Háma led a party out into the snow to find food, but they were lost in a snowstorm and never returned; shortly thereafter, Queen Gledhild was slain in combat, leaving Helm all alone save for Saulwyn his daughter.           Helm grew gaunt from grief and famine, but still his horn sounded as he rode to war, filling his foes with fear. On one such nighttime sortie, Helm did not return, and when the sun gleamed on the morrow a white figure was seen standing still upon the Dike, alone, for none of the Dunlendings dared come near. There stood Helm, dead as stone, still standing and ready to fight: he had been slain by famine and cold, not by the hand of another.           Saulwyn alone of his immediate family survived him, but his sister-son Ethelward lived also, and with Saulwyn’s support gained the trust and favor of the Rohirrim, rising to power as their king. He would defeat the Dunlendings and overthrow Wulf, becoming King Fréaláf, establishing a second line of kings. Saulwyn his cousin was ever stalwart at his side, a faithful counselor to the end of her days.           When Saulwyn was very old and near to death, she returned to the great valley now known as Helm’s Deep seeking the wraith of her beloved father, rumored still to roam the walls of the keep that had been renamed the Hornburg. Her body was never recovered, but at the time of her disappearance Helm’s great horn was heard once more, and it is said that Saulwyn and her father yet wander through Rohan, defending their people and bringing comfort to them through song.

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