Odothel, the Swan of Mirkwood

Character Name: Odothel

Name Meaning: "Seven Sisters", for she is named after the constellation that in Quenya was known as Remmirath. 

Other Names:

Alpalindë, Telerin for "Singing Swan". This is the name her grandfather called her, though it has been some time since she has heard it now. 
Gwelwien, mother-name. "Daughter of the Air". This is the name her mother gifted her, for she was dismayed her daughter seemed fully caught in the clouds of dream and air. Odothel does not realize it is meant as insult.

Age: 2,760.

Date of Birth: October 250, TA. 

Race: Elf

Residence: Mirkwood

Profession: Minstrel

Appearance: Odothel is radiant, much in the way an elf is known to be. She is tall, with high cheekbones, and a way of movement that is like floating. Her eyes are different from many of the elves, golden like warm sunlight, and her hair is the color of moist soil, a sight common in her woodland home. Her face is not slender, though, for there is a softness to her features that many would not think right upon a being of her blood. 

What is most noticeable about her is the ethereal expression she so commonly is seen wearing, though. Stoic lips, sad eyes; one would think they hear the sound of mourning songs and ocean waves when they stare into them too deeply.

Personality: Many would think the woman blank, for her expressions all carry an even, mournful look, and she is slow to speak or sing. Truthfully, she was not always so quiet, though since the loss of Calrein, she has spoken very little. Nonetheless, Odothel was always a cerebral maiden, more prone to thought and consideration than action. She dreams often of Valinor, and feels the call of the sea, though is unsure now what she should do. This dilemma has drained her of much of her warmth, so many think her cold that do not know her story.

While all elves hate the dwarf-kind, she harbors extra animosity toward them.



Parents:

Aerlindir, father. Atta. Thy Sea. An architect and woodworker who studied in Lothlorien for a time before returning to the Woodland Realm. He is a quiet, reserved elf, often plagued by memories of a place he never knew, and dreams of Alqualondë.

Sabariel, mother. Emmë. Mine. A minstrel in Thranduil's court, and known for her harp and flute playing as well as her voice. She is elegant, lovely, and a bit more blood-focused than Aerlindir. She finds status to be important, and as such disapproved greatly of many of her daughter's choices.

Grandparents:

Cairindir, paternal grandfather. Túratta. Lost Ship. A Teleri elf that, for a time, lived in Mirkwood. His first name was forgotten, for when he fled with his mother to the mainland to escape Feanor and the first Kinslaying in Alqualondë, he changed his name to "wandering ship", for he no longer felt as if he had a home. He married an elf-maid when he was older, and his blood has haunted his son and his grandchildren, causing them a deep longing for the sea and Valinor. He and his wife returned to Valinor, and now his granddaughter wishes to see him again. 

Nenlirien, paternal grandmother. Túremmë. Water Song. A Teleri elf that escaped the kinslaying alongside Cairindir and his mother. Odothel remembers her being very wise and kind, the warmth of spring in her eye. She is now passed to the West with her husband. 

Sibling(s):

Aurindir, brother. Hanna. Morning Crown. Born June 141 of the Third Age. A carpenter, like their father. Named for the constellation known in Quenya as Anarríma, the Sun Crown.

Spouse:

While Odothel is not married, she is betrothed to Adanedhel, an arrangement made by her mother to help ensure her daughter's line remained uplifted and not dredged with commoners. 

Calrein was Odothel's love, a lowly guard and not of title or noble blood. They were going to leave together to go to Valinor, despite the fact her mother did not approve of him. Her grandfather liked him, though, and gifted him one of his old shipbuilding books. Calrein, though, did not survive the Battle of the Five Armies, and Odothel still mourns his loss deeply. 

Children:

None.

History:

Her grandfather, at one time, had another name. One that was given to him by his mother and father. Though, as he fled the Kinslaying of Alqualondë, he shed the old and gave himself a new one: Cairindir, for he was indeed a lost, wandering ship.

None had expected the treachery of Feanor; when they stormed the city, his father put himself and his mother on one of the swan ships from the harbor, bidding them to sail to the east and warn the kin of what was coming. And so they fled to warn the king of the Woodland Realm, the lord of the Sindar carrying news of blood and death with them.

It was too much for his mother to bear, and she willingly released her life for her grief. Cairindir felt lost, though lingered long with the elves of the wood and settled there with his wife, Nenlirien.

Odothel was always closest to Cairindir, for his longing, restlessness spoke to her as if it was her own heart, and as she grew and was schooled in the art of elves, the tasks of the minstrel’s work, she also found much time to sit and read the old books illuminated by her grandfather himself, depicting paintings and descriptions of the land of the Teleri he used to call home, and a long study of the swan ships that had been the city’s joy and pride.

Her brother and she were always quiet, carrying about their business with grace no matter their age. She took to singing for the king Thranduil when she came of an appropriate age, and her flute and harp playing was some of the finest in all of Mirkwood. Her brother, Aurindir, took up the carpentry trade of her family, and helped build the city in the wood to even grander proportions, filling it with lovely pieces, and on the side dealing with fletching and bowyering.

Her light and depth called to one of the young elves of the soldiering rank, and though his post was merely guarding the front gate his spirit was the most beautiful thing in their darkening kingdom, and so it was Odothel began to spend time with Calrein. He was low of birth, by elven standards, though he was wise, and kind, and smiled more than Odothel. Cairindir took a liking to him, and spoke to him often of the Teleri, of Alqualondë, and even offered to teach him the craft of ship building.

They vowed to go West together, to build a ship, like the swan boats of old, and venture back to Valinor. For a time, they were happy. Odothel's mother did not want her daughter to marry an elf lower in stature, though it never stopped the two of them from singing together, walking the forest together, or eyeing the starlight from the boughs of the grand trees about their home. 

In time, Cairindir ventured to the West along with his wife, and Odothel felt a great sadness for the loss of her grandfather. Calrein and she decided they would leave soon, though their plans were interrupted by Thranduil's march to Erebor. 

"Do not fret, alpa nin," Calrein had told her with a smile as he stood garbed in the armor of the Woodland Realm, ready to leave. He often called her his swan, using the lost Teleri term Cairindir had taught him amidst their many conversations. "I will return to you, and then we shall return to the West."

Calrein never came home, and was counted among the fallen of the Battle of Five Armies. Odothel was never the same. 

Always quiet, she became a ghost and shadow among Mirkwood, his helm all she has left propped upon the shelf of her bedroom. 

Her mother quickly arranged with Saeros, one of the high standing guards and soldiers to marry Odothel off to his son, though the young elf was nothing like what Odothel wished for, and her heart still fully belongs to Calrein. She struggles now with whether she should go to the West, or let her fea leave and join her love on the bright shores he now walks. 

The Swan still sings for Thranduil and the court, though none know how long she will continue to do so.