Another hour or so passed, the moon rose to its highest over the lands of Enedwaith, and the town of Lhanuch was not settling down. Arguments were happening in the Brenin's Hall, arguments about what had happened here the night before involving Pren filled the air. Through all of this shouting, Pren couldn't even lie down to try and sleep, just sitting in the furs watching over Gwennol who slept next to him. A frown on his face as he heard his name shouted in the hall next to the small hut they were staying in, muttering quietly in anger until a wave of cold air went through him. Only now does he lie back in the furs next to Gwennol, running his hand along the fur blankets keeping them warm as he thinks. Tales told to him of his grandfather coming to his mind, Clogynaur Gawr..
Clogynaur was a large man, a giant among the dunlendings, standing equal height with some of the Rohirrim at six foot and three inches. His arms were the size of tree trunks, and legs to go with them. A chest as large as two barrels next to each other, this man could only be described as a giant among the hillmen, giving him the name Gawr. He was a respected and feared member of the Falcon-Clan, living in harsh conditions most of the year around. He wore thick furs, with a cloak hanging from his shoulder to the floor though it never kept him as warm as he wished to be.
Word had come to the clan that two Brenins, from the Avanc-Clan and the Boar-Clan had come to a dispute over the ownership of land near the Dunbog. Fights broke out among the two clans as they tried to claim this small patch of land. After weeks of fighting, nothing had changed and they still were far from claiming the land for themselves and so the Brenin of the Falcon-Clan had sent Gawr with a group of men to sort out this dispute among the clans. And he arrived with a group of twenty men and soon an even bigger fight broke out. Gawr and his men had soon killed most of the avanc and the boars, sending the remaining ones back to their own villages. The two Brenin's had been killed in the fighting, and as a trophy Gawr cut their beards from their chins and rode back.
As the years went past, conflict with Rohan grew stronger and small raids started on the settlements and villages close to the Gap. The Falcon-Clan and the Dragon-Clan mainly doing these, the other clans joining on occasions. Gawr had now started to kill many in these raids, and in the span of three passing winters had managed to get another twenty two beards to add to his collection, as well as two very long ones, with braids all throughout, much more well done than all the others. These two he had gotten from the commanders of a Eored that they had managed to kill.
As winter came again, Gawr once again felt cold to the bone. His collection of beards now at an impressive twenty six, each fair in size and all golden or red. He braided them all tightly together, keeping them all in their original braiding with the more important ones to the top such as the commanders and Brenins. From these twenty six beards, he made a cloak. A cloak that reached from his shoulders to the floor, golden in colour with a lining of red going around it. When the sun shone on the cloak it looked as if it had turned golden, the glow of the yellow hair and the mix of red giving this effect. From this day on he was known as Clogynaur Gawr (Gold-Cloak Giant).
On a raid against a small village, the beards teared and a large gaping hole was in the middle of the cloak. Anger came upon Clogynaur and he set off into Rohan deeper among a group of dunlendings to find the perfect beard to fix this hole. In anger, he marched to the Entwash Vale without being seen. It was there, he saw what he was looking for. A scout had reported back of seeing a man with a beard bigger than the hole, and as gold as the sunlight. This man was Fengel, the King of Rohan. Clogynaur marched down into the plains, before an Eored came upon him and his group with thundering hooves and shining blades.
A fight ensued and in the middle of all this commotion, Clogynaur faced down a general of Rohan, a known man called Hengest. With a beard as red as melting ore, he swung his sword and Clogynaur swung his club. After a few minutes, Clogynaur was knocked to his rear by a horse passing by.
With this, Hengest walked forward and lifted up his sword and struck Clogynaur Gawr on the crown of the head; a blow so fiercely-wounding, severely-venomous and sternly-smiting, that it cut through all his head armour and his skin and his flesh and clove him in twain. The dunlendings saw their leader cut down, and soon fled but were all run down in the end.
Smiling at the thought of his grandfather slaying that many rohirrim and fashioning a cloak out of their beards to show off. He looked out the gap in the wall that made a window, and noted it still pitch black. He then looks over to Gwennol who was stirring, mumbling a few things to her to send her back to sleep before he joins her, falling fast asleep as more thoughts of Clogynaur Gawr filled his head.
