Rohan related lore

[ioreth]

The current epic has drawn me in and I have both met new friends and gotten reacquainted with old ones In the forum-that-shan't-be-named on LOTRO the following was suggested to explain/forestory the upcoming events in the far future. (I made that word up) Do you recognize any Rohan characters from the game? The non-spoiler made me sad, but I was wondering why a certain name sounded familiar.


Song of the Mounds of Mundburg

We heard of the horns in the hills ringing,
the swords shining in the South-kingdom.
Steeds went striding to the Stoningland
as wind in the morning. War was kindled.
There Théoden fell, Thengling mighty,
to his golden halls and green pastures
int he Northern fields never returning,
high lord of the host. Harding and Guthláf,
Dúnhere and Déorwine, doughty Grimbold,
Herefara and Herubrand, Horn and Fastred,
fought and fell there in a far country:
in the Mounds of Mundburg under mould they lie
with their league-fellows, lords of Gondor.
Neither Hirluin the Fair to the hills by the sea,
nor Forlong the old to the flowering vales
ever, to Arnach, to his own country
returned in triumph; nor the tall bowmen,
Derufin and Duilin, to their dark waters,
meres of Morthond under mountain-shadows.
Death in the morning and at day's ending
lords took and lowly. Long now they sleep
under grass in Gondor by the Great River.
Grey now as tears, gleaming silver,
red then it rolled, roaring water:
foam dyed with blood flamed at sunset;
as beacons mountains burned at evening;
red fell the dew in Rammas Echor.

[Varda]

This song is written out in The Return of the King, "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", the very last of the chapter. Since the names are familiar from the book, is it ok to point out which name is meant?

[ioreth]

Horn of course. The current "hint" is that Horn will (eventually) die as was foretold earlier. There was some crying and discussing until someone brought up this ballad, then all was silent. I was glad to see the "for the lore" type of attitude. Mention was made somewhere in that debate that when Horn dies, Nona would quietly fade into the background and that there was something in that about "kindle" (don't remember the exact term - but you get the idea) being the reason. They never really say. Hope flows onward. I dread but look forward to those parts of the story. I cried when Nona grew missing, I imagine I will cry then. There seemed to be strong reasoning that it will be a while yet before we get to that part, maybe not in this release. (I hope)

[arienv]

Interesting storyline in current relatively new zone Rhovanion about the early history of the Rhohirrim

[Varda]

Horn in LotRO lives or dies according to a player decision early in the game. It can cause the other character to die in Horn's place in the game.