A Knight's Beginning
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Biography
Born the illegitimate daughter of a highborn noble woman who, on her way home from a festival in Lossarnach, was accosted by brigands upon the main road. Her savior was a handsome young ranger, who's family and title she never learned. Only his name, Boraichel. The dark haired man brought the noblewoman and her ladies home safely but tarried at the young woman's request. The two fell in love, in spite of her father's distrust and disapproval of the union. In time, Boraichel was driven from the city, having impregnated his love without wedding vows- or her father's permission(which was indeed a scandalous crime).
Ilmarein was born the following summer, and raised by her grandfather, a Lord of Dol Amroth, as one of his own. Her mother, having had enough of the scandal that followed her, left for the North in a futile attempt to find the ranger she so loved and had been denied. Ilmarein would never know her.
Life in her grandfather's house was difficult, for though she was considered his child in name, none forgot the truth- and none would in turn let Ilmarein. Given every comfort and every opportunity, Ilmarein grew to be an exceptionally bright young woman with a keen eye for strategy her grandfather and those who knew of it- found to be most odd for one of her sex. Having no desire in fact for the softer things most her peers enjoyed, Ilmarein's efforts in things such as embroidery and tapestry weaving left something to be desired. In time it became a bit of a running joke, Ilmar the manly, she came to be called. For she was far more handy with a sword than a needle, and had no patience for the dresses her grandfather forced upon her. But it also kindled a new desire in her mind, one she knew would not be welcomed easily- and one she was unwilling to give up.
Ilmarein, or Ilmar the Manly(as she was called far more often), signed her name for the roster of new recruits late into the summer of her seventeenth year. Daring to join those attempting to become Swan Knights, she was laughed at, taunted...and in time ordered back to her grandfather, which she grudgingly did. Yet she returned the next summer, and the summer after that, until her grandfather and the Prince of Dol Amroth relented, and seeing she had no interested men in marrying her(or was likely to) allowed her at last to train for knighthood.
Five years later, and three years after her peers had enjoyed the culmination of their own accolades, Ilmarein Edheladan was granted knighthood and entry into the Swan Knights of Dol Amroth.
