@tolkienocweek // day seven // the children of eomer and fealasse // laywyn
Joy in Water
Laywyn was the sixth child and the most ambitious. She desired power and autonomy and, above all, legacy. She was alike to her brother, Trygve, ageing similarly to the Dunedain and retaining her youth to the end of her life. After she came of age, Laywyn spent her time in the court of Gondor, as one of Queen Arwen’s ladies, learning statecraft and the workings of nobility.
After the skirmishes and battles with the Haradrim in the Fourth Age, Laywyn assisted in the peace treaty and negotiations with the ambassadors that had come to Gondor, lead by a Prince of a kingdom neighboring Harondor. By the conclusion of their visit, Laywyn had won his heart and he announced an upcoming marriage that would create a lasting peace between his kingdom, Gondor, and his lady’s homeland of Rohan.
The marriage was heralded throughout the lands as a sign of healing the divide of the Men of Middle earth. Laywyn’s marriage was fruitful, both in children and in fulfilling her ambitions. In time, she became Queen to when her husband ascended his seat, enjoying a period of unprecedented peace. But this was not to last. There were still many who were displeased with this foreign queen and her half-blood whelps, as well as those who disliked the influence of Gondor on their realms. Faced with treachery, both within and on his borders, the King retaliated by calling his people to arms and going to war with the rest of Harad. He denied military aid from his northern allies, stating that this was a matter for the Haradrim to deal with, but accepted the help of food and supplies.
The King spent the rest of his life fighting, losing his life on the battlefield along with most of his sons and daughters who were of an age to aid the war efforts. And so, though the war was won, and the Haradrim united in an empire, the likes of which have never been seen before, Laywyn lost her husband and all but three of her children; a daughter who had managed the military supplies and routes, and two younger children who had not yet seen even five years. She ascended to the throne as Sovereign, after her eldest daughter refused the throne, preferring to support her mother in administrative matters.
Laywyn ruled her empire for almost 160 years, choosing to abdicate at a similar time as Eldarion, with whom she shared friendship, and had maintained a correspondence all these long years. They had rejoiced when their plotting had succeeded, and the fostering of their children had resulted in strong bonds of love, as well as a marriage between their realms. Their shared grandchild, who would one day rule the reunited Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor would have allies on all sides.
As with Trygve, there is much controversy surrounding Laywyn’s passing, over whether they were simply long-lived Dunedain or Peredhel. It is recorded in letters to her siblings, friends in the Gondorin court, as well as the testimony of her own children, that Laywyn had bid them farewell before she laid down to eternal sleep.
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