| Aldern | |
|---|---|
 Aldern of Melburg | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Other name(s) | N/A |
| Title(s) | The Whispering Sword |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Men (Northrons) |
| Faction(s) | The Crimson Shield |
| Dates active | b. Third Age 1606 |
| Location(s) | Melburg, Upper Anduin Vales, Rhovanion; later Bereg Thumalos |
| Language(s) | Rhovanian, Westron |
| Parents | {{{parents}}} |
| Sibling(s) | {{{siblings}}} |
| Spouse(s) | {{{spouses}}} |
| Child(ren) | {{{children}}} |
Born in T.A. 1606, Aldern was born to a woman widowed two months on a farmstead outside of Melburg. The farm soon failed, and the woman moved into town, where she worked at a tavern, "entertaining" visitors and serving ale. Aldern grew up an outcast among his fellows, but this did not seem to bother him. He spent long hours alone exploring from the eaves of Mirkwood to the foothills of the Hithaeglir. He also became an accomplished thief by the age of 15, making a decent living robbing visiting caravans and merchants. At the age of 16 (T.A. 1622) he left home and traveled down the Anduin to Gondor. There he learned much of the underworld and its ways, becoming a proficient nightblade. The years passed, and he left Gondor (amid a crackdown on street crime) and decided to return to Melburg. He learned that his mother had died, a broken destitute woman, and had been given a pauper's burial. Pained but resolute, Aldern set up shop in Melburg where he trafficked stolen goods to and from Lake-town and other Northman settlements around Mirkwood. He often visited these other towns, and developed a reputation as quite a good "country doctor" (his cover). Soon the local authorities in Melburg and several other surrounding towns began to suspect his involvement in a large smuggling ring, and Aldern began to look for a way out. He found it with a local merchant and mover of goods, Taurthalion, who proposed to travel to the Gundalok in search of disappearing Gramuz markets. Travelling with Taurthalion and his companions opened Aldern's eyes, but just long enough for them to be captured and enslaved in Gundabad (T.A. 1627-1628). They escaped, and had a series of adventures and misfortunes leading them back to Melburg (where the heat was still on), across the Misty Mountains, to the slaying of Thorkung the Dragon, into the Barrow-downs, and eventually to the founding of Bereg Thumalos (T.A. 1640) and the defeat at Bar-en-Hirgûlor (T.A. 1644, where Aldern led the team of infiltrators and saboteurs - the Dindak - who were trapped against the river and slaughtered). Through all of this, Aldern never really became close to any of his companions except perhaps for Feando, who seemed somehow to understand the sullen Aivathiudiska. Crippled after the disaster at Bar-en-Hirgûlor (Aldern lost the use of his left arm and was left with a pronounced limp), Aldern was a bitter, lonely man who rarely spoke, even to his friends. Trusted by few, and trusting fewer others, he spent his time alone in Bereg Thumalos, wrapped in his own misery. The death of Feando at Bar-en-Hirgûlor had truly left him alone in the world.
Aldern's Principal Items:
- Whispering Sword
- ithilnaur short sword (+20)
- floats on water, whispers unintelligibly when swung.
- strikes as 2-Handed sword
- Lock Picks
- exceptional make, +20.