WIP

A knight of Theoden King, Pæga served his country dutifully from a very young age. In return for this service, he was awarded the right to own and work land in the Éo-marc. Wed to the native woman X, she bore the horse-lord two children, X and Æaba. This family, and several others, lived peaceably within the settlement of Benestede. Although Pæga’s service had earned him a comfortable wage, the family worked the wooded foothills they called home, herding a small flock of sheep and cutting timber from the local wood, selling lamb, wool, and lumber at the local market. The family also kept a couple of pigs, and several chickens, as well as tilling a small patch of land for vegetables. What they couldn’t forage or grow for themselves, the family would barter for at market, subsisting alongside the other families that lived in Benestede.

X, Pæga’s son, was brighter by far than his peers. Unsatisfied with the local custom of oral tradition, he yearned for knowledge and book-learning that simply could not be provided by their culture. Despite his aspirations, the young man grew strong, assisting his mother and father with the chores and duties of their life until he was a grown man. Some three years ago, he took what estate he was owed, and left in pursuit of learned men in the north, against his mother’s protestations.

Conversely, Æaba was a girl of her people. Even as a child, she loved the company of horses - spending her growing years in the company of those few animals that the villagers possessed. X, Pæga’s long-serving warhorse was a constant companion, and Æaba remembers fondly the day she was finally big enough to ride the mighty beast. Like her brother, she worked the homestead, skilled at finding wood to cut, and keeping the animals cared for. Comfortable in the company of animals alone, she would tend to the family flock of sheep, keeping them safe from the sly wolves that ever yearned to steal one away. It was a common sight to see the young, comely woman, watching over her charges with stave in hand, singing a ballad of her warrior ancestors.

With her brother left, Æaba took on a new vigour. In his absence, she found herself increasingly in a more masculine role, and remained unwed despite three suitors from their own homestead alone. Old enough now, she would watch the family flock from the back of X (now-old warhorse), a spear in hand in place of her stave. Evil creatures walked the fields of the Mark now, a fell shadow from the tower of Orthanc. Unafraid, the girl trained with the young men of the village as a makeshift militia, keeping watch for roving threats from under the cover of darkness.

It was on one such night that evil did befall their home. Charged as Benestede’s fastest rider, Æaba spirited to the local town to raise the alarm and summon aid for her home. Despite her best efforts, the local yeomanry could not be mustered swiftly enough to save everyone from harm. Although Benestede survived, and the raiding pack of Orcs were driven into the night, Pæga’s wife was mortally wounded, and died in her daughter’s arms.

Shortly after his wife’s passing, Pæga determined to travel north in pursuit of his wayward son, bringing Æaba with him. Although she’d witnessed her mother’s passing, the young woman’s boundless cheer was undamped.