legolas, son of mirkwood (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tofindthesun) wrote2012-04-06 10:52 am
tofindthesun) wrote2012-04-06 10:52 am
app @ abaxcity
player information.
name: scarlet
are you over 18?:4 yes
personal dw:chimney
email/msn/aim/plurk/etc: eisrequiem(at)gmail(dot)com
characters in abax: none!
in character information.
series: lord of the rings, mainly book version with some movie elements.
name: legolas. son of thranduil. prince of mirkwood.
age: ~600-700 (actual age unknown)
sex: M
race: Elf
weight: 162 lbs.
height: 6 feet, more or less
[OPTIONAL] cause of death:
canon point: End of battle at Pelennor Fields
previous cr:
history:
As Legolas is one of the Nine Walkers, the synopsis and his own page might suffice. However, I'm drawing out a timeline of my own that focuses on Legolas as well as including events that may have occurred during his life before the Fellowship. It includes events politically relevant to Mirkwood since, as a Prince, warrior or otherwise, Legolas would likely be included in court and trade matters and have some knowledge of what goes on in the realms near the forest.
Legolas is the son of King Thranduil of Northern Mirkwood; his mother is never mentioned.
Though neither his actual age nor date of birth are actually given, this article section gives a relatively sound reasoning to the paring down the years of which he could have been born in to at least after the year 2000. Additionally, Tolkien has written that for Elves, "separation during pregnancy or during the early years of parenthood (caused by war, for example) is so grievous to the couple that they prefer to have children in peaceful times." 2063-2460, the years of the Watchful Peace, is a sensible time for an Elfling to be conceived. Even so, for most, if not all, of his life, he and his Woodland kin fought the shadows of Dol Goldur and the evil creatures in the forest, secluded and stranded from the rest of the world. Their only interaction would have been with those living East of the forest (the Men of Dale and, in the past, the Dwarves of Lonely Mountain) and any who dared journey through the woods to reach them.
1100
The shadow upon Mirkwood first arrives in Dol Guldur.
2060
Evil power of Dol Guldur grows. The Wise (wizards) fear that it may be Sauron taking shape again.
2063
Gandalf enters Dol Guldur, Sauron retreats to the East. The Watchful Peace begins; evil is no longer a constant threat.
2300-2400
Legolas is born.
2460
The Watchful Peace ends. Sauron returns to Dol Guldur with increased strength.
2578-2579
The Long Winter.
2850
Gandalf enters Dol Guldur again and discovers that Sauron is indeed there.
2851
White Council meets, Gandalf urges an attack on Dol Guldur. Saruman overrules him and begins to search the Gladden Fields west of Mirkwood.
2939
Sauron's servants are searching the river Anduin near Gladden Fields.
2941
Thorin Oakenshield and his Dwarven Company from the Iron Hills pass through Mirkwood by the Old Forest Road to get to the shire. Bilbo the Hobbit and the Company of Dwarves are captured in Northern Mirkwood on their way to the Lonely Mountain, Erebor.
Saruman agrees to an attack on Dol Guldur. Sauron abandons Dol Guldur.
The Lake-town Esgaroth is destroyed by Smaug. Smaug is slayed by Bard of Dale. The Elves of Mirkwood and the Men of Dale march upon the Lonely Mountain, intending to claim the treasures there that were guarded by Smaug. Bilbo's Dwarves have safeguarded it. The Battle of the Five Armies (Elves of Mirkwood, Dwarves of the Iron Hills, the Men of Dale, goblins and wolves from the Misty Mountains) takes place in Dale.
2942
Sauron returns in secret to Mordor.
2944
Bard rebuilds Dale in the aftermath of the Battle of Five Armies and becomes King.
2949
Gandalf and Balin visit Bilbo in the Shire, likely using the Old Forest Road.
2951
Sauron declares himself openly and gathers power in Mordor; he sends three of the nine Nazgûl to reoccupy Dol Guldur.
2977
Bain son of Bard becomes King of Dale.
2989
Balin leaves the Lonely Mountain and journeys through Mirkwood to enter Moria.
3001
Canon begins. Hobbit things happen.
3007
Brand son of Bain becomes King in Dale.
3009-3017
Gandalf and Aragorn search for Gollum in the vales of the river Anduin, Mirkwood, and Rhovanion (the Wilderlands region which Mirkwood is in) to the confines of Mordor. The Misty Mountains and all lands eastward (such as Rhovanion) are becoming dangerous.
3017
Gollum is brought to King Thranduil of mirkwood to be guarded. It is unknown whether or not Legolas had any part in watching over Gollum.
3018
Gollum escapes his guards in August either with the help of or by using an orc raid as a distraction. Sometime in September, Legolas arrives at Rivendell as a messenger on behalf of King Thranduil.
During the Council of Elrond, Legolas recounts the story of how Gollum escaped. He supposedly remains in Rivendell, or relatively so, for the next two months. He is chosen to represent the race of Elves in the Fellowship, accompanying Frodo on his journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring. He is one of nine, the others being Gandalf the wizard, Gimli the Dwarf, the Men Aragorn and Boromir, and the Hobbits Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Frodo himself, though he and Gimli are said to agree to going at least to the mountains, if not further.
3019
The Company arrives at Hollin, where Legolas comments that the plant life around the region no longer remember the Noldorin Elves that lived there, and only the stones lament them now. Aragorn mentions that it is far too silent compared to when he used to pass by the region.
After finding out that their originally intended path was being watched by the equivalent of demon spy crows, crebain, and after being attacked by strange wolves, the Company change their route to cross over the Caradhras mountains. Legolas displays his ability to walk on top of snow as he goes to find the sun, and while they manage to make it past the sudden snow storm, the Company reluctantly decides that it is better to go under the mountain through the mines than attempt to continue over it. Legolas, for one, says that he does not want to go into the mines of Moria, but since the rest of the Company goes, he can hardly leave them.
During the journey through Moria, they encounter goblins, a cave troll or two, and Legolas drags Gimli away from his cousin's tomb only to face a Balrog that ultimately takes Gandalf down with it. The Company exits Moria after two days in the dark and heads to the forests of Lórien. After a splash in the river Nimrodel and a song, they are greeted by the Marchwardens Haldir, Rúmil, and Orophin, who escort the Company to Caras Galadhon to meet with the Lord and Lady of Lothlórien, Celeborn and Galadriel. There they reveal that Gandalf had fallen in Moria. Galadriel tests each of them by tempting them with what their heart desires against the dark path that lays ahead of them should they continue to accompany Frodo to Mordor.
In the end, they all pass. As they leave Lothlórien, Galadriel bestows upon them gifts; Legolas' is a Lórien bow and a quiver of arrows. The Company travels by way of boats on the river Anduin. As they arrive at Sarn Gebir before the Falls of Rauros, they are set upon by Orcs. After paddling away, they are accosted at night by a Nazgûl, a ringwraith, though they don't know what it is at the time. Though it is dark and near pitch black, Legolas shoots down the creature the Nazgûl was riding.
The company goes ashore on the banks of Amon Hen where they are attacked by the same host of Orcs that accosted them before on the river. Here, Boromir falls, Frodo and Sam elope for Mordor, and Merry and Pippin are abducted by the Orcs that Boromir was fighting. Instead of following Frodo, the remaining three decided to save Merry and Pippin instead.
While pursuing the Orc host, Legolas proves to be a lot more talkative than he did before. They travel with little rest (in Legolas' case, it's doubtful he slept at all, as it's written that whenever Aragorn or Gimli woke up, they'd see Legolas awake and standing, pacing, or singing). Aragorn tracks the trail until they see a group of horsemen heading in their direction. Legolas alone is able to see them clearly and can immediately count out their apparent exact number, as well as how many of the horses are riderless.
The head of the riders, Éomer, leads the group back around after they unknowingly pass the trio and hold them at spearpoint. Wary of the wizard Saruman's spies, Éomer demands to know they are. After Aragorn proves that they are not spies, Éomer shares what ill has befallen his country of Rohan and offers the three of them the riderless horses to help them find their Hobbit friends.
With Aragorn on Hasufel, Legolas and Gimli on Arod, they follow the Hobbits tracks into Fangorn forest. While there, they come upon Gandalf, now White instead of Grey, who informs them that Merry and Pippin are safe with the treeherding Ents and that their job now is to help Rohan with their soon-to-come war. Gandalf also brings them messages from Galadriel; Legolas' warns him of what should happen if he hears the sound of a gull. Upon arriving at the capital, Edoras, they find that Saruman has taken over the king, Théoden, and Gandalf lifts whatever spell has taken Théoden.
Gandalf warns Théoden of Saruman gathering a host to destroy Rohan. Théoden leads his people to the Stronghold of Helm's Deep. On the way there, they are attacked by Orcs and Wargs (movie element); Aragorn falls off a cliff but survives and manages to make it to Helm's Deep, bringing word of a giant host of Orcs marching towards the stronghold to destroy it. He fights alongside Eomer and Theoden, and Gandalf when the latter arrived with Erkenbrand's Company.
Legolas and Gimli, meanwhile, have a friendly contest to see who can kill the most Orcs, of which Gimli bests Legolas by 1.
After the battle of Helm's Deep, the remainder of the Company head to Isengard with Théoden and Éomer to confront Saruman. On the way, Legolas is very nearly drawn off the path when he spots eyes on trees as they pass through the edge of the trees that had appeared before the mouth of the Deep, and the group gets their first glimpse of the Ents. Once at Isengard, they are reunited with Merry and Pippin and meet Treebeard, the oldest Ent on Middle Earth, who had led the attack on Isengard. Legolas mentions that he would like to venture into Fangorn forest at some point with a friend, whom he points out is not an elf, but Gimli the Dwarf.
Back in Edoras, Pippin decides to take another peek at the palantír, the Seeing Stone, that Saruman threw down. In doing so, Pippin finds out that Sauron intends to lead an attack on Gondor. Gandalf takes Pippin with him to warn Denethor, the Steward of Gondor who resides in the White City of Minas Tirith. When the fires are finally lit, signalling that Gondor is calling for aid, Théoden begins to gather men to ride for Gondor.
Before they get far, they are found by a group of Dúnedain rangers of whom Aragorn shares lineage. With them, Aragorn follows the prophecy given to him by Galadriel via Gandalf and takes the Paths of the Dead to rally the dead spirits of soldiers to aid him in the battle for Gondor. With these ghosts, the rangers, Legolas, and Gimli, they hijack a few pirate ships and sail them up the river Anduin to join the battle. Unfortunately, this is also when Legolas hears the cry of a gull, awakening within him the sea-longing that all Elves have inherently. Even so, he refuses the call and continues to refuse it for the next century or so, but that's a different story.
Upon arriving at the coast near Pelennor Fields, the Orcs, believing the ships to be their allies from Umbar, welcome the pirates-- only to find out too late that it's really Tolkien's version of the Trojan Horse. The Spirits of the Dead and the rest of the reinforcements then join the battle. Legolas and Gimli apparently have another contest to see who can take down the most enemies.
Legolas is taken from around the end of the battle.
alternate history:
personality:
Legolas Thranduilion, Prince of Mirkwood, is many things. He is the son of Thranduil, king of Northern Mirkwood, and therefore a prince. He is a Sindarin Elf by birth, or at least part Sindarin, and a Silvan, a Wood-elf, by life.
In The Hobbit, the Elves of Mirkwood (the majority of which were Silvan) are depicted singing and feasting merrily, although their singing, while beautiful, was eerie and strange to Bilbo's Company and did not seem to bring them any comfort. They loved best the stars and took to riding or running over the open lands by moonlight or starlight.
Like most, if not all, other Wood-elves, Legolas is kind; they are courteous even to their enemies, or those they suspect to be enemies, as shown when they lock up the Dwarves in The Hobbit yet still provide them with much food and drink. He is also slow to trust, as their distrust of strangers is one of the faults of the Wood-elves. Legolas, however, learns to befriend at least Gimli over the course of the journey.
He is proud of his people, the Wood-elves, and though he is at least part Sindarin, he never makes it apparent. Whenever he has anything to say about his own people, he refers to them as Silvans, and to the language as our Woodland tongue. If one did not know his father was Sindarin, they would likely assume he was a Wood-elf as well. If one was not told he was a Prince, one would likely never know as he does not seem to carry anything that would identify his royal status. He does not refer to his father directly, although to be fair he only ever did mention Thranduil once throughout the whole trilogy; whereas Elrohir brings a message "from my father (Lord Elrond)" to Aragorn, Legolas says he will bring his people to Ithilien "if my Elven-lord allows." This may be a habit borne out of wariness; a Prince in the hands of the enemy could bring much grief to the people and to his father in particular.
From what we know of Thranduil shown in The Hobbit, his and Legolas' personalities seem to clash in some ways, and he actually seems more similar to the Wood-elves than his father-- where Thranduil is greedy for gold and jewels, Legolas neither craves gems nor does he seem to wear them in any manner. He tends to break out into song quite a lot during his time in the Fellowship, particularly after they leave Lothlórien. He is lighthearted and almost childish in his jesting and contesting with Gimli, he jokes about going to find the sun during a snowstorm, and even manages to find himself distracted enough to abandon the group on the way to Isengard to investigate the strange eyes in the trees.
He is humble as well, never speaking much during the initial journey of the Fellowship and never attempting to take leadership; he puts the unity of the Fellowship as a higher priority over much of his own instincts and choices. Even when his opinion is asked, he manages to word it in a way that it speaks only of his opinions and not his actions; for example, when asked whether he will go into the mines of Moria with Gandalf, the others answer either "I will" or "I will not", whereas Legolas says "I do not wish to go to Moria." When questioned with the choices of resting or to continue tracking the Orcs in the dark, he says "My heart bids me go on.. But we must hold together. I will follow your counsel."
He is, however, devoted to the cause and fiercely loyal to his friends. He had vowed to only go as far as the mountains, Legolas goes with the Fellowship out of Lothlórien and down the Anduin. After he manages to strike a friendship with Gimli, he even threatens to kill Éomer before the latter could lay a hand on Gimli. And though he showed a strong dislike for going deep underground, as shown by his reluctance to enter Moria and his reaction to Gimli's invitation to visit the Glittering Caves, he eventually concedes to Moria and accepts Gimli's invitation-- but only if the Dwarf went with him into Fangorn as well.
Legolas is an Elf, in every manner of the word, and a Wood-elf besides. More dangerous and less wise, graceful and fair, young and old, wise and yet ignorant of the world. He is a warrior nonetheless, and one who is unafraid to befriend mortals even with the knowledge that they will one day die while he lives on.
abilities/powers:
- very skilled with a bow and arrow
- able to wield a long knife
- it's mentioned in the hobbit that wood-elves seem to be able to set and put out their torch fires as if by magic, as well as knock out or put individuals to sleep. legolas is never depicted demonstrating these skills, but given that he was born and grew up among the wood-elves for nigh on half a millennia (and might has some Silvan blood in him), he possibly knows some level of this magic and simply sees no reason to use it.
racial traits:
- elven immortality (unaging), cannot get sick (unless supposedly very, very injured)
- resistant to the extremes of nature (again, unless supposedly very injured)
- able to recover from wounds that would normally kill a man
- keen hearing and eyesight (able to count the number of riders in a group and pick out the three riderless horses among them)
- low level mental communication in the form of very unnerving stares
- able to communicate with nature to an extent (trees, earth, animals, stars, etc)
- fleet footed, can walk on top of snow and travel practically soundlessly regardless of terrain
- elven reverie, able to 'sleep', or rest his mind, even while his body is awake and moving, and can otherwise go several days without sleep in this sense.
first person sample:
It is very quiet here.
[the initial view is of legolas' head with the sky as a backdrop. he isn't focused on the device at all, but on something beyond it, a faraway look in his bright eyes. as if to contradict his words, the wind whistles and throws his hair up around him.]
I did notice it immediately while in that.. place.. but I have recently come to realize just how much. Nothing speaks to me. I feel as a Man would, walking a path and hearing naught but his footsteps and his armor. Except I do not hear even those! Ai, but I do not enjoy this silence.
[and then, as if forgetting that the telephone is still recording, he jolts and sits down-- one might notice as he does so that he's still wearing that thin paper shift from the morgue. sure is a new arrival.
the camera itself is now angled down what is apparently the side of a rather tall building.
and then, of all things, he starts humming.]
third person sample:
He'd like to think that he can still hear the blood pounding in his ears, the rush of adrenaline through his limbs, the clang of metal against metal. The song of his bow. The percussion of his arrows against armor and flesh. Cries and screams and roars, blood, sweat, dirt, the sound of the earth as thousands of feet trample over it.
All he hears now is breathing, his own; soft, faint, and measured. He strains his ears, trying to catch the sound of anything but silence. Ai, the silence. Perhaps he is underground again.
The very thought has him reeling, hands clenching, toes curling, sending his senses into overdrive in a desperate attempt to find any signs of life. It's not until he realizes his breathing has sped up that he finally forces his mind to register what the rest of his senses are telling him.
it does not smell like a cave, and there is adequate light. He surface he is laying upon is hard but smooth, not at all like stone. And he supposes he should be cold, or at least chilled, what with his lack of clothes and this poor substitute for coverage. So someone has managed to whisk him away from the Pelennor Fields in mid-battle, stripped him of his clothes and arms, and transported him to a place of utter silence.
There's something hard in his hand and, as he sits up, he laments the loss of his bow and knives. Perhaps, when he finds them again, he'll reacquaint himself with his weapons by testing them out on the one who brought him here. One does not disarm and disrobe a Wood-elf without repercussions.
case no: HIT ME
name: scarlet
are you over 18?:
personal dw:
chimneyemail/msn/aim/plurk/etc: eisrequiem(at)gmail(dot)com
characters in abax: none!
in character information.
series: lord of the rings, mainly book version with some movie elements.
name: legolas. son of thranduil. prince of mirkwood.
age: ~600-700 (actual age unknown)
sex: M
race: Elf
weight: 162 lbs.
height: 6 feet, more or less
canon point: End of battle at Pelennor Fields
history:
As Legolas is one of the Nine Walkers, the synopsis and his own page might suffice. However, I'm drawing out a timeline of my own that focuses on Legolas as well as including events that may have occurred during his life before the Fellowship. It includes events politically relevant to Mirkwood since, as a Prince, warrior or otherwise, Legolas would likely be included in court and trade matters and have some knowledge of what goes on in the realms near the forest.
Legolas is the son of King Thranduil of Northern Mirkwood; his mother is never mentioned.
Though neither his actual age nor date of birth are actually given, this article section gives a relatively sound reasoning to the paring down the years of which he could have been born in to at least after the year 2000. Additionally, Tolkien has written that for Elves, "separation during pregnancy or during the early years of parenthood (caused by war, for example) is so grievous to the couple that they prefer to have children in peaceful times." 2063-2460, the years of the Watchful Peace, is a sensible time for an Elfling to be conceived. Even so, for most, if not all, of his life, he and his Woodland kin fought the shadows of Dol Goldur and the evil creatures in the forest, secluded and stranded from the rest of the world. Their only interaction would have been with those living East of the forest (the Men of Dale and, in the past, the Dwarves of Lonely Mountain) and any who dared journey through the woods to reach them.
1100
The shadow upon Mirkwood first arrives in Dol Guldur.
2060
Evil power of Dol Guldur grows. The Wise (wizards) fear that it may be Sauron taking shape again.
2063
Gandalf enters Dol Guldur, Sauron retreats to the East. The Watchful Peace begins; evil is no longer a constant threat.
2300-2400
Legolas is born.
2460
The Watchful Peace ends. Sauron returns to Dol Guldur with increased strength.
2578-2579
The Long Winter.
2850
Gandalf enters Dol Guldur again and discovers that Sauron is indeed there.
2851
White Council meets, Gandalf urges an attack on Dol Guldur. Saruman overrules him and begins to search the Gladden Fields west of Mirkwood.
2939
Sauron's servants are searching the river Anduin near Gladden Fields.
2941
Thorin Oakenshield and his Dwarven Company from the Iron Hills pass through Mirkwood by the Old Forest Road to get to the shire. Bilbo the Hobbit and the Company of Dwarves are captured in Northern Mirkwood on their way to the Lonely Mountain, Erebor.
Saruman agrees to an attack on Dol Guldur. Sauron abandons Dol Guldur.
The Lake-town Esgaroth is destroyed by Smaug. Smaug is slayed by Bard of Dale. The Elves of Mirkwood and the Men of Dale march upon the Lonely Mountain, intending to claim the treasures there that were guarded by Smaug. Bilbo's Dwarves have safeguarded it. The Battle of the Five Armies (Elves of Mirkwood, Dwarves of the Iron Hills, the Men of Dale, goblins and wolves from the Misty Mountains) takes place in Dale.
2942
Sauron returns in secret to Mordor.
2944
Bard rebuilds Dale in the aftermath of the Battle of Five Armies and becomes King.
2949
Gandalf and Balin visit Bilbo in the Shire, likely using the Old Forest Road.
2951
Sauron declares himself openly and gathers power in Mordor; he sends three of the nine Nazgûl to reoccupy Dol Guldur.
2977
Bain son of Bard becomes King of Dale.
2989
Balin leaves the Lonely Mountain and journeys through Mirkwood to enter Moria.
3001
Canon begins. Hobbit things happen.
3007
Brand son of Bain becomes King in Dale.
3009-3017
Gandalf and Aragorn search for Gollum in the vales of the river Anduin, Mirkwood, and Rhovanion (the Wilderlands region which Mirkwood is in) to the confines of Mordor. The Misty Mountains and all lands eastward (such as Rhovanion) are becoming dangerous.
3017
Gollum is brought to King Thranduil of mirkwood to be guarded. It is unknown whether or not Legolas had any part in watching over Gollum.
3018
Gollum escapes his guards in August either with the help of or by using an orc raid as a distraction. Sometime in September, Legolas arrives at Rivendell as a messenger on behalf of King Thranduil.
During the Council of Elrond, Legolas recounts the story of how Gollum escaped. He supposedly remains in Rivendell, or relatively so, for the next two months. He is chosen to represent the race of Elves in the Fellowship, accompanying Frodo on his journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring. He is one of nine, the others being Gandalf the wizard, Gimli the Dwarf, the Men Aragorn and Boromir, and the Hobbits Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Frodo himself, though he and Gimli are said to agree to going at least to the mountains, if not further.
3019
The Company arrives at Hollin, where Legolas comments that the plant life around the region no longer remember the Noldorin Elves that lived there, and only the stones lament them now. Aragorn mentions that it is far too silent compared to when he used to pass by the region.
After finding out that their originally intended path was being watched by the equivalent of demon spy crows, crebain, and after being attacked by strange wolves, the Company change their route to cross over the Caradhras mountains. Legolas displays his ability to walk on top of snow as he goes to find the sun, and while they manage to make it past the sudden snow storm, the Company reluctantly decides that it is better to go under the mountain through the mines than attempt to continue over it. Legolas, for one, says that he does not want to go into the mines of Moria, but since the rest of the Company goes, he can hardly leave them.
During the journey through Moria, they encounter goblins, a cave troll or two, and Legolas drags Gimli away from his cousin's tomb only to face a Balrog that ultimately takes Gandalf down with it. The Company exits Moria after two days in the dark and heads to the forests of Lórien. After a splash in the river Nimrodel and a song, they are greeted by the Marchwardens Haldir, Rúmil, and Orophin, who escort the Company to Caras Galadhon to meet with the Lord and Lady of Lothlórien, Celeborn and Galadriel. There they reveal that Gandalf had fallen in Moria. Galadriel tests each of them by tempting them with what their heart desires against the dark path that lays ahead of them should they continue to accompany Frodo to Mordor.
In the end, they all pass. As they leave Lothlórien, Galadriel bestows upon them gifts; Legolas' is a Lórien bow and a quiver of arrows. The Company travels by way of boats on the river Anduin. As they arrive at Sarn Gebir before the Falls of Rauros, they are set upon by Orcs. After paddling away, they are accosted at night by a Nazgûl, a ringwraith, though they don't know what it is at the time. Though it is dark and near pitch black, Legolas shoots down the creature the Nazgûl was riding.
The company goes ashore on the banks of Amon Hen where they are attacked by the same host of Orcs that accosted them before on the river. Here, Boromir falls, Frodo and Sam elope for Mordor, and Merry and Pippin are abducted by the Orcs that Boromir was fighting. Instead of following Frodo, the remaining three decided to save Merry and Pippin instead.
While pursuing the Orc host, Legolas proves to be a lot more talkative than he did before. They travel with little rest (in Legolas' case, it's doubtful he slept at all, as it's written that whenever Aragorn or Gimli woke up, they'd see Legolas awake and standing, pacing, or singing). Aragorn tracks the trail until they see a group of horsemen heading in their direction. Legolas alone is able to see them clearly and can immediately count out their apparent exact number, as well as how many of the horses are riderless.
The head of the riders, Éomer, leads the group back around after they unknowingly pass the trio and hold them at spearpoint. Wary of the wizard Saruman's spies, Éomer demands to know they are. After Aragorn proves that they are not spies, Éomer shares what ill has befallen his country of Rohan and offers the three of them the riderless horses to help them find their Hobbit friends.
With Aragorn on Hasufel, Legolas and Gimli on Arod, they follow the Hobbits tracks into Fangorn forest. While there, they come upon Gandalf, now White instead of Grey, who informs them that Merry and Pippin are safe with the treeherding Ents and that their job now is to help Rohan with their soon-to-come war. Gandalf also brings them messages from Galadriel; Legolas' warns him of what should happen if he hears the sound of a gull. Upon arriving at the capital, Edoras, they find that Saruman has taken over the king, Théoden, and Gandalf lifts whatever spell has taken Théoden.
Gandalf warns Théoden of Saruman gathering a host to destroy Rohan. Théoden leads his people to the Stronghold of Helm's Deep. On the way there, they are attacked by Orcs and Wargs (movie element); Aragorn falls off a cliff but survives and manages to make it to Helm's Deep, bringing word of a giant host of Orcs marching towards the stronghold to destroy it. He fights alongside Eomer and Theoden, and Gandalf when the latter arrived with Erkenbrand's Company.
Legolas and Gimli, meanwhile, have a friendly contest to see who can kill the most Orcs, of which Gimli bests Legolas by 1.
After the battle of Helm's Deep, the remainder of the Company head to Isengard with Théoden and Éomer to confront Saruman. On the way, Legolas is very nearly drawn off the path when he spots eyes on trees as they pass through the edge of the trees that had appeared before the mouth of the Deep, and the group gets their first glimpse of the Ents. Once at Isengard, they are reunited with Merry and Pippin and meet Treebeard, the oldest Ent on Middle Earth, who had led the attack on Isengard. Legolas mentions that he would like to venture into Fangorn forest at some point with a friend, whom he points out is not an elf, but Gimli the Dwarf.
Back in Edoras, Pippin decides to take another peek at the palantír, the Seeing Stone, that Saruman threw down. In doing so, Pippin finds out that Sauron intends to lead an attack on Gondor. Gandalf takes Pippin with him to warn Denethor, the Steward of Gondor who resides in the White City of Minas Tirith. When the fires are finally lit, signalling that Gondor is calling for aid, Théoden begins to gather men to ride for Gondor.
Before they get far, they are found by a group of Dúnedain rangers of whom Aragorn shares lineage. With them, Aragorn follows the prophecy given to him by Galadriel via Gandalf and takes the Paths of the Dead to rally the dead spirits of soldiers to aid him in the battle for Gondor. With these ghosts, the rangers, Legolas, and Gimli, they hijack a few pirate ships and sail them up the river Anduin to join the battle. Unfortunately, this is also when Legolas hears the cry of a gull, awakening within him the sea-longing that all Elves have inherently. Even so, he refuses the call and continues to refuse it for the next century or so, but that's a different story.
Upon arriving at the coast near Pelennor Fields, the Orcs, believing the ships to be their allies from Umbar, welcome the pirates-- only to find out too late that it's really Tolkien's version of the Trojan Horse. The Spirits of the Dead and the rest of the reinforcements then join the battle. Legolas and Gimli apparently have another contest to see who can take down the most enemies.
Legolas is taken from around the end of the battle.
personality:
Legolas Thranduilion, Prince of Mirkwood, is many things. He is the son of Thranduil, king of Northern Mirkwood, and therefore a prince. He is a Sindarin Elf by birth, or at least part Sindarin, and a Silvan, a Wood-elf, by life.
In The Hobbit, the Elves of Mirkwood (the majority of which were Silvan) are depicted singing and feasting merrily, although their singing, while beautiful, was eerie and strange to Bilbo's Company and did not seem to bring them any comfort. They loved best the stars and took to riding or running over the open lands by moonlight or starlight.
Like most, if not all, other Wood-elves, Legolas is kind; they are courteous even to their enemies, or those they suspect to be enemies, as shown when they lock up the Dwarves in The Hobbit yet still provide them with much food and drink. He is also slow to trust, as their distrust of strangers is one of the faults of the Wood-elves. Legolas, however, learns to befriend at least Gimli over the course of the journey.
He is proud of his people, the Wood-elves, and though he is at least part Sindarin, he never makes it apparent. Whenever he has anything to say about his own people, he refers to them as Silvans, and to the language as our Woodland tongue. If one did not know his father was Sindarin, they would likely assume he was a Wood-elf as well. If one was not told he was a Prince, one would likely never know as he does not seem to carry anything that would identify his royal status. He does not refer to his father directly, although to be fair he only ever did mention Thranduil once throughout the whole trilogy; whereas Elrohir brings a message "from my father (Lord Elrond)" to Aragorn, Legolas says he will bring his people to Ithilien "if my Elven-lord allows." This may be a habit borne out of wariness; a Prince in the hands of the enemy could bring much grief to the people and to his father in particular.
From what we know of Thranduil shown in The Hobbit, his and Legolas' personalities seem to clash in some ways, and he actually seems more similar to the Wood-elves than his father-- where Thranduil is greedy for gold and jewels, Legolas neither craves gems nor does he seem to wear them in any manner. He tends to break out into song quite a lot during his time in the Fellowship, particularly after they leave Lothlórien. He is lighthearted and almost childish in his jesting and contesting with Gimli, he jokes about going to find the sun during a snowstorm, and even manages to find himself distracted enough to abandon the group on the way to Isengard to investigate the strange eyes in the trees.
He is humble as well, never speaking much during the initial journey of the Fellowship and never attempting to take leadership; he puts the unity of the Fellowship as a higher priority over much of his own instincts and choices. Even when his opinion is asked, he manages to word it in a way that it speaks only of his opinions and not his actions; for example, when asked whether he will go into the mines of Moria with Gandalf, the others answer either "I will" or "I will not", whereas Legolas says "I do not wish to go to Moria." When questioned with the choices of resting or to continue tracking the Orcs in the dark, he says "My heart bids me go on.. But we must hold together. I will follow your counsel."
He is, however, devoted to the cause and fiercely loyal to his friends. He had vowed to only go as far as the mountains, Legolas goes with the Fellowship out of Lothlórien and down the Anduin. After he manages to strike a friendship with Gimli, he even threatens to kill Éomer before the latter could lay a hand on Gimli. And though he showed a strong dislike for going deep underground, as shown by his reluctance to enter Moria and his reaction to Gimli's invitation to visit the Glittering Caves, he eventually concedes to Moria and accepts Gimli's invitation-- but only if the Dwarf went with him into Fangorn as well.
Legolas is an Elf, in every manner of the word, and a Wood-elf besides. More dangerous and less wise, graceful and fair, young and old, wise and yet ignorant of the world. He is a warrior nonetheless, and one who is unafraid to befriend mortals even with the knowledge that they will one day die while he lives on.
abilities/powers:
- very skilled with a bow and arrow
- able to wield a long knife
- it's mentioned in the hobbit that wood-elves seem to be able to set and put out their torch fires as if by magic, as well as knock out or put individuals to sleep. legolas is never depicted demonstrating these skills, but given that he was born and grew up among the wood-elves for nigh on half a millennia (and might has some Silvan blood in him), he possibly knows some level of this magic and simply sees no reason to use it.
racial traits:
- elven immortality (unaging), cannot get sick (unless supposedly very, very injured)
- resistant to the extremes of nature (again, unless supposedly very injured)
- able to recover from wounds that would normally kill a man
- keen hearing and eyesight (able to count the number of riders in a group and pick out the three riderless horses among them)
- low level mental communication in the form of very unnerving stares
- able to communicate with nature to an extent (trees, earth, animals, stars, etc)
- fleet footed, can walk on top of snow and travel practically soundlessly regardless of terrain
- elven reverie, able to 'sleep', or rest his mind, even while his body is awake and moving, and can otherwise go several days without sleep in this sense.
first person sample:
It is very quiet here.
[the initial view is of legolas' head with the sky as a backdrop. he isn't focused on the device at all, but on something beyond it, a faraway look in his bright eyes. as if to contradict his words, the wind whistles and throws his hair up around him.]
I did notice it immediately while in that.. place.. but I have recently come to realize just how much. Nothing speaks to me. I feel as a Man would, walking a path and hearing naught but his footsteps and his armor. Except I do not hear even those! Ai, but I do not enjoy this silence.
[and then, as if forgetting that the telephone is still recording, he jolts and sits down-- one might notice as he does so that he's still wearing that thin paper shift from the morgue. sure is a new arrival.
the camera itself is now angled down what is apparently the side of a rather tall building.
and then, of all things, he starts humming.]
third person sample:
He'd like to think that he can still hear the blood pounding in his ears, the rush of adrenaline through his limbs, the clang of metal against metal. The song of his bow. The percussion of his arrows against armor and flesh. Cries and screams and roars, blood, sweat, dirt, the sound of the earth as thousands of feet trample over it.
All he hears now is breathing, his own; soft, faint, and measured. He strains his ears, trying to catch the sound of anything but silence. Ai, the silence. Perhaps he is underground again.
The very thought has him reeling, hands clenching, toes curling, sending his senses into overdrive in a desperate attempt to find any signs of life. It's not until he realizes his breathing has sped up that he finally forces his mind to register what the rest of his senses are telling him.
it does not smell like a cave, and there is adequate light. He surface he is laying upon is hard but smooth, not at all like stone. And he supposes he should be cold, or at least chilled, what with his lack of clothes and this poor substitute for coverage. So someone has managed to whisk him away from the Pelennor Fields in mid-battle, stripped him of his clothes and arms, and transported him to a place of utter silence.
There's something hard in his hand and, as he sits up, he laments the loss of his bow and knives. Perhaps, when he finds them again, he'll reacquaint himself with his weapons by testing them out on the one who brought him here. One does not disarm and disrobe a Wood-elf without repercussions.
case no: HIT ME