[Nogrod]

On the issue of the local three lords taking advantage of the farmers living around them: I think they have all being treating the farmers unjustly and perhaps also illegally. That said, I think Tancred and Alboin had started it, perhaps without even kind of realising it at first (well, Alboin might have realised it...), but it had grown little by little with their well-being and richness. (This could be the excuse for Tancred if we wish to "save him", that he became blind to what he was doing) Now Friduhelm surely was not with it, but when Faramund rose into lordship he had hard time to show he was "worth the others" and thus maybe mistreated the people around his hall the worst.

I still like the idea that Alboin is the one who is knowing what he is doing while Faramund tries to imitate him and Tancred, and Tancred himself, being old and all, just enjoys his raising living standards taking them for granted and doesn't exactly realise how much wrong he is doing (which doesn't mean he is stupid or weak - he should still be the charismatic old warlord). Tancred might also have a kind of aristocratic view of the world where he would think that after all the service he had done for Rohan it is just fair others support him in wealth after the fact, or something along the lines.


But my idea actually is the following... how about we make Faramund a real tragic character?

He's a reckless, and well, bad youngster who has been given too much too early: insecure, self-important, greedy, egoistic, willing to prove / show himself... you name it. Now his dad has put him back to his place and he is filled with anger and humiliation.

But the more important thing in general would be Friduhelm's promise to pay back to the farmers for any injustice they have been submitted to. Now that is something, as I said, both Tancred and Alboin would be afraid of, and for a reason as the general feeling could spread.

Now if we think Tancred is in the end still the decent man who has just kind of faltered from the narrow road of virtue and is thus incapable of downright monstrosities, then let's enter Alboin whom I still think might be the intelligent and dangerous person.

So hearing about what happened at Faramund's (Friduhelm's) place he would take action and organise the secret assasination of Friduhelm - likely in a way it looked like a natural death, but whatever it looked like, there would be second guesses and they would naturally point at Faramund!

If Athanar and thus king Eomer would bite it that there was just one rotten apple aka. Faramund, he (and Tancred) could continue more or less the way they had done before... Also, by thus creating a more hideous case for the common people to talk about (a son murdering his father) he might wish for the case against wrongly levied payments etc. by him and Tancred to go with lesser notice as they could always exaggerate how badly Faramund treated the people around his lands by creating rumours to fit their needs... (meaning that their practises would look reasonable in comparison to Faramund's and thus the people would settle with them and not try to find out what would be justified in general)

Here we might also have room for a courageous & intelligent Stedford who'd realise at least that it is a cover up and he would come to the Mead Hall raising the concern - or if he knew more he could actually raise a rebellion straight against Alboin! Also we would have this delicious character Faramund still with us with all the complexities.

It would call for some people to write those characters actually, I could take one of them, but let's see... If we come to this kind of solution I think Alboin needs writing as well and I could take him instead of Faramund / Stedford.

But let's see first what you think about this idea (it could easily accomodate a lot of Folwren's ideas).