Helediril was a lady of the Dúnedain and royal falconer to King Araphant of Arthedain and King Arvedui after him. She was descended from Rochanar, the horsemaster to High Kings Elendil and Isildur, and possessed his uncanny talent for Beast-speech for which their house had become known. Helediril married Tologur, a Knight of Arthedain, and together they had a son, whom they named Bregur.
When Bregur grew into a boy of ten, it became clear to Helediril that her son did not inherit her gift. Having heard that the line of Rochanar ended in the kingdom of Cardolan during the Great Plague, Helediril wished to ensure the signature talent of their house was not lost. By ill-fortune however, a drake had come down from the mountains of Ram Dúath and begun terrorising the towns of Arthedain. Tologur was slain in battle with the fell creature and Helediril was widowed before she could have a second child.
For many years, Lady Helediril mourned while Bregur became a hale young man. The two drifted apart, with Helediril preferring the quiet of the wilds and the company of beasts and birds while Bregur remained within the walls of Fornost Erain, training to become a knight like his father.
Then one day, as she was wandering the woods of Annúndir, Helediril met Raild, a hunter of Hill-men descent who dwelt within a cabin amidst these trees. They shared a deep knowledge and love of the land in which they lived, and that soon turned to love for one another. Helediril and Raild wed in the way of the Dúnedain; Bregur was distraught at seeing his mother with another man for he had admired his father greatly, though he did not speak up, as despite the rift between them, he still wished her happiness at this time.
The result of their union was a daughter born within Raild’s cabin. At the hour of her arrival into Middle-earth, a noble eagle perched itself upon the windowsill of the cabin, and so the child was named Thorneth in the fashion of all daughters of the House of Rochanar, after a creature seen around the time of their birth.
Thorneth spent her early years divided between her father’s cabin and the fortress-city of Fornost. Helediril had her duties as the king’s falconer, but both she and Raild still loved the wilds greatly and spent much of their time among the trees where they first met. Raild taught his daughter the lore of the land upon which his people had lived for far longer than the Dúnedain, and in this way Thorneth came to know the lands of Eriador better than any of her mother’s people.
Helediril meanwhile trained her daughter in the ways of communing with beasts, which it was said included secrets passed down from her ancestors who had spent time among the Elven people. Thorneth soon began to demonstrate the incredible talent for Beast-speech that her mother possessed, and Helediril was glad.
As Thorneth began to mature into a young woman, she grew tall, a good head taller than her father. She resembled her mother in most ways save for her hair, which was brown like the colour of an eagle’s feathers. On sight, one could not tell her apart from any of the Dúnedain, though her parentage was no secret from the people of Arthedain.
Being the firstborn son, Bregur had the right as heir to the House of Rochanar, but Lady Helediril wished for her daughter to have a place of nobility still. It was through Thorneth that the gift of her house survived, and Helediril would not have her living as some common hunter. Yet Thorneth was barred from succeeding her mother as royal falconer or becoming a knight, for many of Raild’s kin had pledged their allegiance to the evil kingdom of Angmar, and through him they were her kin as well.
With the good word of her mother, Thorneth was allowed to join the army of King Araphant, albeit as a lowly scout. Due to the mistrust that some among the Dúnedain held for her, she was sent on tasks to watch the movements of the Angmarim, far from Fornost Erain. Yet Thorneth minded not, as she loved the land and loved travelling across it.
Before Thorneth departed on her first assignment, Helediril said to her, "Do your duty well, my daughter. Show them that you are loyal to your King, and you shall win their trust in time."
And she did just that.
