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Fajar

Fajar / Zôrzimril

Name Fajar
Status
Active
Occupation
formerly: Lieutenant of Azruthor, Heir of Castamir
Age
Born in T.A. 2992
Race
Man
Residence
Umbar Baharbêl
Kinship
Outward Appearance

Header by Hravanis.
In the streets or shipyards of Umbar Baharbêl one might encounter a young woman whose appearance holds many strange contradictions. She is clothed like a common labourer, her black curls unkempt and greasy beneath a blue scarf, her skin tanned from working in the sun. Yet it is easy to pick her out in a crowd by her height alone. She stands at around six feet tall, and this is further accentuated by flawless posture - her back never less than straight, her shoulders incapable of slumping even in a moment of distraction. It is a soldier's bearing. Her lean and muscled body and the multitude of scars on her arms only add to this impression.
    
But while her physique suggests a life of battle and toil, the young woman's face bears the mark of ancient nobility. With high cheekbones and an aquiline nose, it is undeniably similar to any bust or statue of a Lord of Westernesse. Only her eyes, dark brown instead of grey, could cast doubt upon her descent. Yet whenever her emotions are roused (which happens often) those eyes erupt with sudden fire. She cannot hide her pride any better than she could a crown welded to her head.

 

Perhaps it is because of pride that she keeps to herself. Her fellow labourers know little more than her name. But seeing her move with the troubled grace of a solitary lion could reveal one more thing about Fajar: here is someone who knows what it is like to be both hunter and hunted.

Background

Where are the valiant princes of whom I have told?
Those who said 'The world is mine'?
Doom has taken them, earth has hidden them.
Who inherits this transient world,
The world to which people come, from which they go, 
The world whose latter end is death?

- The Book of Dede Korkut, transl. Marc David Baer

Zôrzimril was born into the high nobility of Umbar, oldest and fairest of the Númenorean realms in Middle-earth. Her mother Yôzindil could trace her descent back to the island itself - her ancestor was Sakalkhôr the Builder, who raised many structures of the city of Umbar Baharbêl in marble brought from the quarries of Forostar. It is said that parts of the Umbar-môkh are by his design as well.
Zôrzimril's father Zimrathôn could not match his wife in purity of lineage but found favour by his fervent belief in the Church of the All-Seeing, and his service to the Heirs of Castamir. Some years after Thorongil's attack on Umbar he was raised to the station of Harbour-warden.

Under the watchful gaze of many, and knowing her heart was always laid open to He Who Sees All, Zôrzimril grew into a dutiful daughter. She was treasured by her father, even more so after the death of her mother. Zimrathôn refused to remarry, and when his daughter took to physical pursuits and the fighting arts he allowed her to follow this path more suited for a son. Though many did not look upon it kindly, her prowess eventually caught the interest of the Heirs of Castamir. Zôrzimril was assigned as an adjutant to Azruthor. When the Corsairs went to make war against Gondor, she sailed on his ship to Dol Amroth. 

For the people of Belfalas, the cruelty and bloodshed wrought upon their home in the absence of the Prince are still fresh in their minds. But in the end the Corsairs were repelled, and neither Azruthor nor Zôrzimril returned from the war. Those who limped back to Umbar could only have said that she likely perished before him - sent on an ill-fated attempt to infiltrate the harbour of Dol Amroth with a small force, none of whom returned. 
In truth Zôrzimril was pulled from the waters of the bay and imprisoned, but it makes little difference. She may as well have died with the world that shaped her.

Umbar Baharbêl is thoroughly changed. The shrines to the All-seeing are broken, the remnants of his church in hiding, and the Heirsworn are overthrown. The cruel Harbour-warden Zimrathôn is dead, murdered at the very start of the Seastone Mutiny by an unknown assassin. His corpse rots away beneath the ships anchored in Jâshadar, the Fleet-fast.
The woman who was once known as Zôrzimril now calls herself Fajar, but traces of one remain within the other. Vengeance, hatred and lingering devotion propel Zôrzimril forward, through all the indignities she has had to suffer. Fajar is sometimes on the verge of forgetting them. She finds herself lulled into enjoying the rhythm of a labourer's life, and with each day of toil in the shipyards and markets her fear of discovery is lessened. But only time will tell if she is to fade into obscurity, for old loyalties and debts are not so easily cast aside.

Friends
Urikali (devotedly), Urizair (tentatively)
Relatives
Her father: Zimrathôn, Harbour-warden of Umbar, recently deceased
Rivals/Enemies
Ithilros, Urizair (both rather one-sided)
Loves
above all, her city
Hates
the sea
Motivation
Avenging her father's murder. Protecting the one she still owes fealty to. Survival.
Quotes
There can be no life without loyalty.

Fajar's Adventures

Fajar's Adventures

Fajar's Gallery

Fajar's Gallery