app @ faderift

PLAYER

Name: ssssscarlet
Age: uuhhh 25.... 26
Contact: rancors@plurk / chimney@dw / esquitor#0202 @ discord
Other Characters: nein
Interests: i don't have a concrete idea of what i'm looking for aside from an engaging premise/plot, and looking forward to character interactions. political things aren't my forte but i'm not opposed to them either

CHARACTER

Name: Legolas Greenleaf (legolas means...... 'greenleaf'), Thranduilion, Elf of the Woodland Realm
Canon/OC: canon
Canon Point: shortly post-war of the ring, before aragorn's coronation and before returning to mirkwood
Journal: tofindthesun
Age: no canon age, but my hc/theory is around 650-700, with reasoning in history if needed

Canon World

In the beginning there was only the Void, and Eru Iluvatar himself. Then Eru made the universe, with a lot of pomp and singing. Lots of singing. Music made the world.

First came the Valar and the Maiar, assigned to Arda to shape it according to Eru's will. Melkor rebelled, and a lot of real estate was decimated. This happens several times. The Valar ultimately retreated west away from Melkor's darkness, to the city of Valinor on the island of Aman.

Then came the Elves, the Firstborn of Arda. Melkor found them first. He did a lot of bad shit to them, and thus Orcs were born. The Valar sent a call out to the remaining elves to come West, where they would be safe from the Darkness. From this are borne several groups of elves; the Avari, who refused to go; the Teleri, who went but stayed upon the shore and did not cross the seas (the Silvan, Legolas' people, are an offshoot who stopped halfway and turned back); and the Vanyar and Noldor, who did cross.

Then came the Menfolk, the Secondborn, and Melkor did some more shit and ended up getting dragged to Valinor in chains. A Noldo named Feanor makes some shiny gems called Silmarils that Melkor tries to steal. He ends up with an until-death-do-i-stop-trying-to-kill-you pact from Feanor. Feanor names him 'Morgoth', which is fancy for 'I Fucking Hate You, Thief'. More fighting, more killing, lots of war over Feanor's shinies because Morgoth stole them after all. Morgoth rejoins his Lieutenant Sauron.

Eventually the Valar are fed up with being uninvolved and take Morgoth down; Sauron escapes. Feanor dies at some point, and his kids get the Silmarils back, briefly. One of the Silmarils found its way into the hands of Thingol Greycloak, King of Doriath. Thingol invited some dwarves to help put the Silmaril onto one of his gaudy necklaces. The dwarves were entranced by the Silmaril and demanded it as payment after doing as asked. Thingol refused. In fact, he was so offended that he didn't pay them anything at all, and instead shoved them out of his kingdom. They promptly returned to kill him for that.

After some back and forth of 'I kill you and take the Silmaril, then you kill me and take the Silmaril, then I kill you again and get it back', it ends up in an entirely different party, sparking an entirely different war and some entirely not related killings. This particular Silmaril turns into a Star, is what I'm saying.

Fast forward a few thousand years; Thranduil and Oropher escaped Doriath and settled across the mountains in Greenwood. Sauron befuddles some Elves, tricks them into helping him make some Really Powerful Rings that he unfortunately sticks pieces of his soul in, goes off to make his own Really Fucking Powerful ring with an even Bigger piece of his soul it, and proceeds to try to do something that's more or less world domination.

He doesn't win.

History

Since we're not given much of Legolas's history, this is a bare rundown of events that have happened relating to Mirkwood itself, plus anything directly related to Legolas. some details like age and breath year are based off of this article.

1100
The Shadow (see: Sauron, the fucker) upon Mirkwood first arrives in Dol Guldur, a tower in Southern Mirkwood.

2060
Evil power of Dol Guldur grows.

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 (not canon; chosen via article below in Personality section)

2460
The Watchful Peace ends. Sauron returns to Dol Guldur with increased strength.

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
Events of The Hobbit. Mirkwood (likely including Legolas) participates in the Battle of the Five Armies.

2944
Bard rebuilds Dale and becomes King.

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
LOTR begins.

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, though he is not told of the creature's significance. It is unknown whether or not Legolas had any part in watching over Gollum.

3018
Gollum escapes his guards in August. Sometime in September, Legolas arrives at Rivendell as a messenger on behalf of King Thranduil to deliver this news.

During the Council of Elrond, Legolas recounts the story of how Gollum escaped. He supposedly remains in Rivendell for the next two months, and is chosen to represent the race of Elves in the Fellowship, accompanying Frodo on his journey to Mordor.

3019
All That Shit Happens

With the war over, Legolas is in Gondor, awaiting the crowning of the king and subsequent celebrations before he returns to Mirkwood. He spends his days in rest, and walking among the lands of Ithilien, to bring news of it back home to Mirkwood (now Greenwood again, but he doesn't know that yet) so that his people can settle there.

Personality

A more or less comprehensive wiki entry. Some personality extractions and details are from the previously linked article as well.

• Son of Elvenking of Mirkwood, but by no means a 'Prince'. He is only ever introduced 'Legolas of the Woodland Realm', or 'Legolas of Mirkwood', and Legolas is not shown refuting or correcting these introductions.
  
• Sindar by blood, silvan by life. (Or half Sindarin-Silvan, depending on how background headcanon hashing goes.) Considers himself a Wood-elf. (mother is sindarin, and also dead. he still considers himself a woodelf first and foremost.)
  
• Combatant; lover of nature.
  
• Does not like big spiders.
  
• Would be much like The Hobbit's Wood-elves, depicted singing and feasting merrily, loving best the stars and taking to riding or running over the open lands by moonlight or starlight.
  
• Like them, courteous even to their enemies, or those they suspect to be enemies, but also slow to trust. He only takes about a full month to ease up on Gimli.
  
• Very proud of his people, the Wood-elves. Always refers to himself as if he were also a wood-elf, and not a Sinda like his father.
  
• 'A strange elf' (Frodo's exact words); lighthearted and cheerful, showing true fear only when they meet the Balrog in Moria. 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 among the trees.
  
• Playful. Competes with Gimli over how many Orcs killed, in the middle of battle.
  
• Prone to bouts of curiosity that will drag him away from the task at hand.
  
• Puts the unity of the Fellowship as a higher priority over his own instincts and choices, and does not try to assert his own identity or background as the son of a king. Of the many times this happens, it's especially apparent when he's questioned with the choice of resting or to continue tracking the Orcs that took Merry and Pippin. He says "My heart bids me go on.. But we must hold together. I will follow your counsel."
  
• Kinda petty when it comes to trees. Complained about having to be led blindfolded through a forest among his own kin, because Gimli complained first. Probably the only time he complains.
  
• Devoted to the cause and fiercely loyal to his friends. Initially vowed to only go as far as the mountains, but ended up crossing them and going all the way to Gondor. After striking a friendship with Gimli, he threatened to kill Eomer when Gimli was insulted. And though he showed a strong dislike for going deep underground, he eventually conceded to Moria (for the journey they had to make) and accepted Gimli's invitation to the Glittering Caves (for their friendship). Would not even leave Middle-Earth to answer his Sea-Longing until all of the Fellowship had passed.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths
Physical
The usual Elven stats. His strength surpasses that of Men of similar build and stature, he runs lightly over the ground and with exceptional balance, leaving almost no tracks for someone his size. He will not age any further (or if he does, very little), and he will not fall ill under normal circumstances. He has great skill with a hunting bow and a knife; coupled with keen Elven eyesight, he is able to shoot an airborne target in the dark. As a Wood-elf fighting battles against spiders in Mirkwood, he would be counted as an accomplished hunter, accustomed to life in the woods. While it doesn't show up in the books, he would have their heightened healing and hardiness as well, able to survive wounds that might otherwise kill a man through sheer strength of spirit alone.

He can also accurately count 100+ men at a distance of 5 leagues or 17 goddamn miles. Give or take a mile or two. But! He could also just be lying/joking about that. He could be guessing.

Social
His superior stamina and ability to go longer without rest, with less rest, and to... rest as he goes, leaving him as the most well-rested of the group. He alone manages to keep his spirits high, or higher than the others. As an Elf of Mirkwood, keeping one's morale high is critical in fighting the Darkness.

There is no indication whether Legolas is at all involved in 'court life' in Mirkwood. A mortal might be forced to choose between either Court or Combat due to lack of time and age, but an Elf doesn't have the same problems. Given the way Mirkwood Elves have been shown to be so far, it is unlikely that there's much court life to begin with. He does not show any particular courtly manners throughout the books and maintains a pretty constant demeanor regardless of who he's talking to. Unless anyone so much as mentions 'trees', and then he's off on a tangent about how much he loves trees. He loves trees so much.

Legolas understands hierarchy and chain of command, and is capable of setting aside personal status to follow a leader, so long as he agrees with their purpose and intention, and it doesn't involve, like. murdering innocents. At no point during the journey does Legolas try to assert his status as the son of an Elvenking, or use his age as leverage for having more knowledge or experience. Only in Lothlorien when the Lorien elves choose him to be the Fellowship's representative does Legolas take any initiative, and when he does, he's not discomforted by it either.

The Arts
While Legolas himself is never shown to use any sort of 'magic', Wood-elves are said to be able to set a sort of 'barrier' around their campsites that lingers even after they're gone, keeping the area wholesome and free of the Darkness. They were also written to be able to put out their campfires at will in The Hobbit. Though Legolas does not do anything of the sort throughout The Lord of the Rings, it may be because that would defeat the purpose of trying to undertake the journey covertly. Even Gandalf did not wish to light a fire with his staff, lest it draw anyone's attention, despite the fact that they were already in a snowstorm and no one would have seen it. And 'magic' such as the Wood-elves used would've left a trace of them behind.

Additionally, he is shown to be able to commune with the environment during the Fellowship's journey. Many times he speaks of things that the trees and stones say, about words in the river and the silence of Moria. Thranduil has shown to be able to speak with some creatures. This is, supposedly, an effect of the Song that made the world being in every living thing, and will likely not carry over to Thedas. He'll certainly think he can try teaching things to talk, though.

In all, basic wilderness-survival based 'magic', mostly concealment, support, and defense-type. And putting out campfires I guess.

Weaknesses
Youth
Despite being centuries old and calling the rest of the Fellowship 'children', he still behaves pretty young himself, singing when he will and leaving jesting comments almost as often as he can. The unfamiliar may think he isn't being serious, or even rude. He's curious enough that he'll even forget the current task and go off to look at something particularly interesting. Like Ent eyes.

Slow to change
As most Elves tend to be. Although, given that Legolas has powered through friendship with at least one man, maybe two, several hobbits, AND a dwarf in a somewhat reasonable span of, like, 4 months, maybe he's not as slow as most Elves. Being told by a respected authority figure (Elrond, Gandalf) that 'this person may be trusted' also helps.

Sorrow / great heartbreak
Said to be able to kill an Elf, or weaken their spirit to the point where wounds and illness might take them. Such an Elf is said to be 'Fading', as in their spirit is quite literally wasting and fading away, no longer able or willing to sustain its own body.

Sea-longing, mild
Sea-longing is when an Elf longs to sail across the sea to answer the call to Valinor. Generally triggered by looking upon the sea, or in Legolas's cases, hearing the cry of a gull near the waters. Fortunately, the Sea-longing seems to be tied to the fact that the Music that made the world lingers very strongly in the waters of Middle-Earth. In Thedas, it shouldn't prove to be a problem, since the Sea won't call to him here. But he might still remember the call he'd heard before, and it can prove to be a distraction. While not ultimately fatal, it would be more of an internal struggle that comes up occasionally.

Suggested Nerfs

Whatever the standard is for Tolkien Elves. I don't think he has anything overly powerful enough to require nerfing, aside from limitations on the Elven magic, should he be allowed to have it.

Probably nerf his Elf Eyes. NERFED TO ONE (1) MILE!!!

↠ Legolas will need to sleep, eat, and drink to survive, though slightly less than normal people. He will be able to heal only as fast as is possible with native healing magic and will remain immune to illness, but he will not be immune to Blight corruption or able to cleanse it from a being or area.

↠ Legolas will maintain his ability to communicate with animals, but not plants or the land itself, and he will find that native animals come across as less intelligent/communicative than he may be accustomed to -- he'll be capable of a similar level of communication as is possible with mabari, where animals may understand him fully and respond to instructions, but their return communication will be limited to things that could be conveyed without spoken language or, to the extent his communication is nonverbal/impression-based, those impressions will be limited to flashes and prone to garbling.

Arrival Inventory

• Tunic (mildly fancy), undershirt (plain), breeches (soothing texture), cloth shoes (stylish but practical), a belt (functional)
  
• a glass carafe of dorwinion wine (not watered down and really goddamn strong)
  
• pocket baubles. a pebble (polished), seed crumbs (for critters), lint (who dreams about lint??)
  
• hair ornament made of leaves and twigs (Mirkwood brand)

'Human'ization

There is no height specified, but from previous experience I've found a height of about 6' to be right for Legolas, since he's of a later generation of Elves, and compared to other members of the fellowship. His eyes are commonly described as 'bright' or having a 'light' or a glimmer in them, especially when his curiosity spikes.

Other than that, Legolas is never mentioned as having any characteristics non-human enough to require altering.

Fit

• Would make a decent field scout.
  
• Though it's not mentioned explicitly whether the Elves of Mirkwood actively hunt down the spiders in their forest, even the occasional hunting of them means Legolas has experience waging battles in a heavily forested environment, meaning woodlands survival and likely guerilla tactics
  
• Combatant. Unknown whether he's specifically a 'warrior', or if this fighting experience is a natural by-product of living in Mirkwood. Either way, he's skilled and confident enough to make fighting a contest with Gimli to see who can kill the most.
  
• Once he's chosen to fight for something, he sticks with it until it's done. He stuck with the Fellowship, and stayed in Middle-earth for over a 100 years despite the Sea-longing after it was over, until all of the Fellowship (save Gimli) had passed.

SAMPLES

threads from the may/june test drive (contains 3-4 samples depending on length requirement)