Okay. So. I'm back on my Dol Amroth bullshit. I want to talk location, terrain. Prince Imrahil and his tough as fuck children.
Here's what we know about Belfalas. It's rocky and treacherous terrain, there's part of it that are barely inhabited because nothing grows and parts of it are green and lush (the elves lived there at one point), there's ports and hazards and storms.
Some of this is conjecture and headcanon based on info that is given and some is what Tolkien tells us.
I grew up in Vancouver, it's a pacific rainforest, there's loads of mountains, ocean, it rains a lot, the weather is relatively temperate because the ocean and the mountains tend to shield us from dramatic temperature changes. The areas near cliffs are windy, it's absolutely gorgeous, there's bears and wildcats, and in a lot of places going uphill both ways feels entirely true. There's a big hiking community, there's a lot of rock climbing, there's even some surfing though at least where I was raised, there's a cove that keeps things more even. It gets colder up north, much colder. It's lush and vibrant and there's spots that are incredibly dangerous. There are places where the forests are so thick and remote and wild that people just do not live there.
Now, imagine you're training warriors. Send them up mountain paths, bring them back down, run them up. Bring them down. Marching on flat ground will feel like a cake-walk. Send your warriors to row against the tides and the winds and the waves, teach them teamwork, endurance, how to read the oceans and the skies. No wonder the Swan Knights are regarded as some of the best fighters in Gondor.
This is Black Tusk, a hike from Garibaldi Lake near Squamish in Vancouver. From the start of the hike to Black Tusk is about 14 kilometers. 1,700 meters elevation gain. The last 1.5 kilometers is a scramble up rocky, unstable terrain. Some people run some or all of this track (barring the scramble) the next imagine is the view from the top.
In my mind, that's Dol Amroth (but ocean, obvi so much wilder)
So then we have the Noble, Strong, Numenorean Prince of Dol Amroth and his four kids.
I bet you they grew up on these mountains. Explored the paths, scrambled up, slid down, knees bloody, elbows scabbed. I bet you they swam in the oceans and battled the water, they learned to read the waves and the currents and the riptide. They learned to read the flow of battle. They know how to survive in the woods, to hunt and scavenge. They know how much can be gotten from their lands and use everything they can. They got stronger every time they took another shaky step up because their father wasn't tired so they musn't be either. Their father dived from cliffs and so his children followed. Their father could make a fire and find shelter in the woods, his kids learned. They learned to hunt deer and rabbits and birds, wild pigs and bears. Bears who took a team to bring down, who go so fast and are so strong. The lands belong to them too, you kill only what you must. You replace the trees you fell. Dol Amroth is a wonder, it must be treated as such and it will continue to give.
Sure, you're the prince, at the start of the war, one of the most powerful people in Gondor. You have elf blood. You are mostly Numenorean and very strong. Your children are rich and strong and gorgeous (canonically fair of face. Nice.) You adore them.
And.
Nothing is given in Dol Amroth, strength is earned. There's a war, now is not the time to rest on laurels or you will die. Princess Lothiriel can climb a mountain, Amrothos can outsail pirates. Erchirion can track and kill a mountain lion. Elphir has never met a forest he couldn't navigate. They know the plants that are edible and poisonous. And. On top of that, Dol Amroth has the best harpists in Gondor. So there's that.
As a land bordered by water, there is trade, it is an entry point to Gondor, a massive one, both make this city a target. Imrahil and his people fight a lot of the war on two fronts. And he still brings one of the biggest forces when they go to defend Minas Tirith. What a fucking badass.
God. I love this family.
(Also, could literally anything be further from Rohan? What a massive culture shock for poor Lothiriel. And how embarrassing for Eomer when he's following her up a mountain and dying. Horse riding gave him strong legs and also it did not prepare him for this shit™)
