[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Better late than never I hope! Here is the Bio for Thorn.

Name: Thorn

Age: around 30

Race: Man of the Maenwaith, Eagle clan

Gender: Male

Appearance & Weapons:
Of middling height for one of the Maenwaith, Thorn has somewhat a comely demeanor, and his deep brown eyes betray little emotion. Tied back with a leather thong at the nape of his neck, his black hair falls in long waves between his shoulder blades. His hands also are long, but rough and calloused.

Thorn often wears traditional robes in muted colors, but prefers loose pants and a tunic, particularly when working with horses. His belt is an ornate strip of knotted leather, and hanging from it by a similarly worked cord, are a curved dagger in an unadorned sheath and a sword. A blank metal disk is ever present on a plain black string around his neck.

Personality:
Overall Thorn is a rather serious person. Skilled in weaponry and horsemanship, and after having lived in Umbar for sometime, he is tolerant of ‘outsiders’, less so than his sister, Yalisha, but weighing what he might learn from them to help his people.

History:
Thorn’s childhood was overshadowed by turmoil in the Eagle clan. In the years leading up to the War of the Ring, the Haradrim grew increasingly more warlike and brutal, and many of the clans of maenwaith chose to move further south at that time. But the eagle clan along with some others did not flee, forming rather, a network of alliances to defend against any Haradrim raids. This strategy they learned through bitter experience, did not protect them sufficiently. And so the Eagles moved, inhabiting the most marginal lands of the desert for two years. During this time their ranks dwindled, but when they emerged after the raids were no longer a threat, and the war in the north had become a part of the past, they flourished once more.

As a youth, Thorn was one of the children selected for further training in the customs and ancient ways of his people. Coming from a respected family who had been staunch supporters of Ayar and the leaders before her, he was following in his father’s path. For Thorn and Yalisha’s father had been expected to become an elder of the clan, but the hale man had succumbed to a virulent illness that swept through the encampment, leaving wife and children. Thorn felt set adrift after, missing his father’s company as acutely as his steady wisdom. Noticing the change in her brother, young Yalisha tried her best to console him. But though he cared greatly for his sister he grew to feel that they were they not only distant in age, but also outlook also.
It was not until Thorn became helper to Surinen, a young boy and servant of Thorn’s family, that he found his bearings. Stepping in after the boy’s designated teacher succumbed to the same illness that had taken his father, Thorn and Surinen encouraged each other, and the two became close friends.

Gaining also the confidence of Ayar, Thorn was proud to stand at her side during the last gathering of clans, and spent much of his spare time with the leader and her family. Realizing that he was growing close to Ayar’s young daughters, when the leader suggested to him that someone be sent to Umbar to glean what information they could, he volunteered to go. For though he felt protective of Ráma, as if he were an attentive brother, he became aware that his devotion to Narika ran much deeper.

Thorn spent a year homeless in Umbar, taking odd jobs. During that time he returned to the encampment frequently to visit Narika, and their affection for one another became evident. But after laying the groundwork, and through the help of friends he had made while in Umbar, he succeeded in securing a position as a horse trainer in Lord Falasmir’s stables. Since that time he had not returned home, until now.