About Elladan
Elladan is the firstborn twin though, due to their twin status and shared begetting date, he is not considered to be the elder. As young elves in Rivendell the twins were overprotected and kept close by their mother, Celebrian. After all the happenings of the second age, the Lady Celebrian was a very attentive and protective parent. It fostered a very close relationship between Elladan and Celebrian from a very early age, but it also caused him to often feel caged and restless. It was due to this feeling of being suffocated that Elladan began to follow Glorfindel through the wards so he could get out of Imladris on occasion.
Elladan is extremely close to his twin brother, though they are as different as night and day once you get to know them both. Where Elrohir is outgoing and easy to laugh, Elladan is far more reserved. Growing up it was quickly very clear the difference between the twins. Elrohir was frequently the stronger physically, besting Elladan at the long sword and hand to hand combat. Yet Elladan found he was better skilled at the shorter dual blades, which required more grace and less brute strength. Both twins are advanced marksmen with the bow.
The twins were also quite different when it came to studies. Elladan spent much of his growing years displaying a passion for learning, where Elrohir disliked endless hours at the books and would often sneak away to rejoin the other elves in the training yard. And so it was that Elladan became more advanced in the academic levels. Elladan speaks all the languages of Middle Earth, including Quenya. He also found a passion for art, and spends his free time sitting on his balcony drawing or sketching the sights of and people who visit Imladris. If one was to be invited into his chambers they would notice the abundance of books on the deck and shelves and laying about. Each page is likely to have a picture drawn by Elladan of something or someone that had his attention on that day.
When the Lady Celebrian was attacked and wounded, Elladan felt as if he had lost a part of himself. He and Elrohir had rode tirelessly to rescue her, and to this day Elladan does not fully remember the account of that day. He knows he was filled with a rage and sadness that was not only his own, but a reverberating echo of Elrohir. He remembers riding to the cave where they found her, and then he remembers riding home with her on the horse before him wrapped in his cloak. The only hint at what had happened was the blood and gore that clung to both twins when they arrived back to Rivendell.
After Celebrian sailed Elladan became withdrawn and mostly silent, letting Elrohir be the face and voice for them when they would appear places together, or in court. His only outlet for the pain and sadness was to hunt and patrol the grounds of Imladris, keeping their lands safe for all others.
As time passed the physical difference between the twins grew. Elrohir used his anger and sadness to train and get better, and so he grew into lean, hard muscle. Elladan, often battling the demons of depression over what had befallen his mother, and his inability to save her in time, frequently forgets to eat. He is leaner than Elrohir, his facial features sharper.
It should also be noted that, due to their mixed heritage, Elladan does sport some body hair. It is not as much as a man might, and he cannot grow a beard, but he has enough that he notices it, and it bothers him. He has always wished to be fully elven. And while everyone believes all of Elrond’s children have delayed their choice, Elladan made his decision to be counted among the elves long ago.
