Argeleb II of Arthedain

Arthedain's tenth King, Argeleb II, spent much of his fifty years' rule in his distinctive deep-blue armor, fighting Angmar's hordes. Never aggressive politically, granting the Shire to the Hobbits was the boldest domestic act of this most-martial ruler. Argeleb was well into the second century of his life by T.A. 1640; having won a stalemate, of sorts, along his border with Angmar even before the Great Plague, he was working on his reputation as a patron of the arts and devoted tender of the Royal Herb Gardens in Fornost. He had grown weary of war as well as policy, and some nobles said, weak with age and disinterest.

Just under 7' tall, with the grey eyes, long limbs, and clean features of Isildur's line, Argeleb looked the image of a great King. The weakness that seemed apparent to many at court did not lie in his greying hair or the lines graven on his face and hands; Argeleb was of high Dúnadan blood and expected to be as fit as a common man a quarter his age for decades to come. The trouble lied in the fading of the martial spirit young or hardhearted men expected in their leaders. Argeleb, followed the Elvish philosophy of his fathers and saw war as a dragging necessity rather than an opportunity for glory. Long years of conflict had left him fatalistic and hesitant to waste lives in aggressive moves. Never naturally expressive, he was no longer willing to put on the public displays required to lead those less wise than himself.